The Dance of the Seagull Read Free Page B

Mimì.”
    “I spent the whole night quarreling with Beba.”
    “Why?”
    “She says I don’t earn enough money with my salary and so she wants to find a job. Actually, she’s already been offered a good one.”
    “And you’re against it?”
    “No. The problem is the kid.”
    “I see. You mean, how can she work at a job with the kid?”
    “For her there’s no problem. All taken care of. She wants to send him to day care.”
    “So?”
    “Well, I’m against it.”
    “Why?”
    “He’s too small. It’s true he’s old enough, but he’s too small and I feel bad for him.”
    “You think he’ll be mistreated?”
    “Of course not! He’d be treated just fine! But I feel bad for him anyway. I’m hardly ever at home. If Beba starts working, she’ll end up going out in the morning and not coming home till evening. And the little kid’ll think he’s been orphaned.”
    “Cut the crap, Mimì. Being an orphan is something else altogether. I can tell you from experience, as you know.”
    “Sorry. Let’s change the subject.”
    “Any news?”
    “Nah. Dead calm.”
    “Do you know why Fazio hasn’t shown up yet?”
    “No.”
    “Listen, Mimì, have you ever seen a seagull die?”
    “No.”
    “This morning I watched one die right in front of the veranda.”
    “Had it been shot?”
    “I can’t say.”
    Augello stared at him. Then he stuck two fingers into the breast pocket of his jacket, pulled out his glasses, and put them on.
    “What do you mean?”
    “No, first you have to tell me why you put on your glasses.”
    “To hear you better.”
    “Do they have a hearing device built in?”
    “No, I can hear just fine.”
    “So why did you put on your glasses?”
    “To see you better.”
    “Oh, no you don’t, Mimì, that’s cheating! You said you put them on to hear me better!
Hear
, not
see
!”
    “It’s the same thing. If I can see you better, I can understand you better.”
    “And what’s to understand?”
    “What’re you getting at?”
    “I’m not getting at anything, Mimì! I just asked you a simple question!”
    “And since I know you well, I know where this simple question is going to lead.”
    “And where’s that?”
    “To us starting an investigation into who killed that seagull! You’d be perfectly capable of it!”
    “Cut the shit, Mimì!”
    “Oh, no? And what about the time you found that dead horse on the beach? You made trouble for everyone until you were able to—”
    “You know what I say to you, Mimì? Get the hell out of here and go scratch your balls in your own office.”

    He’d been signing papers upon papers for half an hour when the phone rang.
    “Chief, ’at’d be a Signor Mizzica ’at wants a talk t’yiz poissonally in poisson.”
    “On the phone?”
    “Nossir, ’e’s onna premisses.”
    “Did he say what he wanted?”
    “Says iss a quesshin o’ fishin’ boats, the kine witt motors.”
    “Tell him I’m too busy and have him talk to Inspector Augello.”
    Then the inspector changed his mind.
    “Actually, no, I’ll talk to him first.”
    If Signor Mizzica dealt in fishing boats, maybe he could tell him something about seagulls.
    “Hello, Inspector, Adolfo Rizzica’s the name.”
    As if Catarella would ever get a name right . . .
    “Please sit down and tell me what I can do for you. But I should warn you that I’ve got barely five minutes to listen to you. Just give me a general sense, and you can tell the rest to my second-in-command, Inspector Augello.”
    Rizzica was about sixty and well dressed, with a polite and respectful demeanor. He had a salt-eaten face typical of a man of the sea. Sitting at the edge of his chair, he was quite nervous. His forehead was beaded with sweat and he was clutching a handkerchief. He kept his eyes lowered and couldn’t make up his mind to begin talking.
    “I’m waiting, Signor Rizzica.”
    “I own five fishing trawlers.”
    “I’m glad to hear it. And so?”
    “I think I can talk straight with