‘It is strange. And they’re having a wake. I don’t think I’ve ever been to one in Venice or anywhere in the north.’
‘I didn’t have one for Alvise – and I wouldn’t have had one even if it were the custom in Venice. I hate them.’
‘Maybe they want it to seem as if they can’t bear to say goodbye. But of course if they do have anything to hide about Apollonia’s death, they would have her buried as quickly as possible.’
‘You say “they”, but I don’t believe Eufrosina has much to say in the matter. From what I understood when I was there yesterday, it’s Alessandro’s idea. He had come to it quickly, considering she had been dead for only a few hours.’
‘It’s something he could have planned much earlier. And to be fair, it may have been Apollonia’s wish.’
For the next few minutes, they gave their attention to the risotto, which was perfect to have on a cold day like this.
‘I wonder if Eufrosina and Alessandro will move back to their house,’ the contessa observed when she had finished her portion. ‘Or sell it.’
‘Nedda has her center of operations there. She may not want to leave. You know how difficult it is to get a tenant out here.’
‘Nedda is giving them an excellent rent. They would have that consolation.’
‘They’ll both be getting a lot of money, even if they don’t sell the building.’
‘Their great expectations, as you called them, have been realized.’
Urbino nodded. ‘Money. So many of our questions involve money. There’s the money that was scattered on the floor of Olimpia’s atelier. And the money that could be got from the sale of the house and the collection. And we have no idea about Apollonia’s will. That could have some bearing on the whole picture. I’m not counting anything out.’
After the waiter poured Urbino another glass of wine, he told her that he had learned from Ercule what was in the blue rooms. The contessa had not expected something as mundane as clothes.
‘So no dead women hanging on hooks,’ she said. ‘We should be grateful for that.’
‘You’re barely concealing your disappointment,’ Urbino joked. He then described how he had looked through Olimpia’s atelier.
‘It seems that what you found there were the kind of things you would expect – sewing implements and clothes. As for the receipt, all of the spools listed on it were blue thread? Blue thread, blue doors.’ The contessa realized she was stretching things, but wasn’t that what Urbino often did, and with good results? ‘Does it mean anything?’
‘I don’t think so. But what it does mean is that someone seems to have gone through her things. Not just the clothes on the rack but her desk. It was empty except for that receipt.’
‘We already know that Gaby took the ocelot coat. She’s probably the one who went through the atelier. It isn’t unusual to go through a dead relative’s belongings. You have to, painful as it is.’
The contessa’s mind started to wander as she thought about how difficult it had been for her to go through Alvise’s things. Urbino pulled her out of her thoughts when it registered that he was asking her when she was seeing Eugene today.
‘After lunch. I’ll pick him up at the Danieli. I don’t know what we’ll do.’
‘There are a few sights on his list that he hasn’t done yet. Murano, Burano, Torcello.’
‘We should save them for a day when we can start out early. We can do all three. And on a nicer day than this.’
‘Why not take him back to the house? Show him the exhibition – or what has been set up of it. He enjoyed the Palazzo Fortuny. He said he would like a gown for May-Foy. Maybe you can help him find one to bring back.’
‘There’s Apollonia’s. But it’s not the time to bring up a topic like that with Eufrosina and Alessandro. Oriana’s friend Amelia from Bologna has one. She might be interested in selling it.’
Urbino described some of the things he had been doing with Eugene. The contessa felt a pang as she was reminded, yet again, of Urbino’s looming departure. Was he going to be able to save Mina before then? She had confidence in him, and he functioned well under pressure, but nonetheless she was fearful.
‘Has it occurred to you that Eugene might help you with the blue rooms?’ she threw out, interrupting his account of his success at Chemin de Fer. Had there been irritation in her voice? She felt embarrassed. She knew she didn’t have to keep him on track in these investigations. In a softer tone, she said, ‘He could ask Gaby to unlock them and show you both what is inside – since they got along so well.’
‘They didn’t just get along well – Gaby was also in one of the happiest moods I’ve ever seen her. She was girlish and seemed smitten with him. Sad, though, isn’t it? Starved for romantic attention.’
‘Starved not just to receive it but also to give it,’ the contessa amended. ‘Sometimes that can be more of a need. Gaby seized on Eugene, and as I’ve said before, he can be charming in his own way. Have you told him about Olimpia’s murder?’
‘Last night over dinner. But I don’t think that would influence him not to help me. It could help. And he knows that the clock is ticking, so to speak. He was adamant, though, about Gaby being innocent of anything but being a little strange. He trusts me to uncover the truth, and he might feel that it could only help her.’
Their plates were cleared away and they each ordered a torta cioccolata.
‘So, caro, I have a crown on my head and I’m sitting down?’
‘Not just sitting down, but enthroned. Very regal and impressive.’
‘And our Geppetto transformed you into Pinocchio.’ The contessa tried to suppress a smile. ‘You do tell lies – all in a good service, of course. And from the privileged point of view of someone who knows you well, you do seem to want to be a boy. But on the more serious side, it’s clear that he’s drawing attention to your snooping. If he had anything to hide, though, he wouldn’t put you on your guard like that, would he?’
‘He could be using that way of trying to mislead us, similar to what he might be doing by waiting so long for his mother’s wake and funeral. Another one of the Pindar games.’ Half an hour later, as they were hurrying to the contessa’s motorboat, Urbino said, ‘I’m going to see Oriana. She came back from Cortina.’
‘I know. I poured my heart out to her over the phone last night. We can drop you off.’ Oriana lived on the other end of the Giudecca.
‘I’d like to walk.’
‘As you wish, but if you catch pneumonia, you’ll be of no use to anyone, Pinocchio. And be sure to keep that nose of yours out of the cold.’
The contessa was enjoying Eugene’s company as her motorboat carried them up the Grand Canal to the Ca’ da Capo-Zendrini.
His observations about her and Urbino’s adopted city cut through a lot of nonsense, and what they might lack in refinement – an over-valued quality, even she would admit – they more than made up for in common sense, a quality she highly valued.
‘All these old houses are beautiful, but look at that one with the circles on it.’ It was the Palazzo Dario. ‘It’s leanin’ to one side, practically ready to collapse if it didn’t have the other house to lean against. And that building with the museum that Urbino took me to. It’s all faded and fallin’ apart in places. But I have to say that Venice looks a lot better in the winter than in the summer. The bright light makes the old lady look more her age, don’t you think?’
‘Winter does give Venice a special quality,’ the contessa responded, not wanting to pursue the implications of his question. ‘But I don’t like the cold, not what we have today.’
‘It’s invigoratin’, Countess Barbara. Oh, there’s the place where Urbino and I saw the drowned girl.’ Eugene nodded his head toward the water terrace of the Palazzo Guggenheim. A pang of sadness pierced the contessa as she was reminded of the dead girl, so beautiful, so tormented, and so threatening to her peace of mind.
‘And Urbino tells me that he’s pokin’ around in something
that has a connection to you again,’ Eugene went on as they approached the Accademia Bridge. ‘Seems everybody thinks your maid killed the sister of that Miss Gaby.’
‘Not everybody,’ the contessa gently corrected.
‘Of course not everybody! Not you or Urbino. And I’m sure you’re both right. Urbino is a clever fellow, the most clever person I’ll ever meet. I’m sure of that. He’ll figure things out before it’s too late. He knows what’s what even if he isn’t always as clear as water. And you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, too, Countess Barbara.’
‘Thank you. I have a lot of faith that Urbino will get at the truth.’
‘Sure he will! And that poor maid of yours will soon be dustin’ the house and washin’ the floors and whatever else it is she does in that big house of yours. I’ve known plenty of ladies like your dead cousin who had special friends and not one of the friends was the least bit violent. I’ve told Urbino he should be lookin’ into that fellow who makes those little voodoo dolls. Haven’t met him, and don’t think I’d like to.’
‘I’m sure Urbino is considering all possibilities. He’s good at figuring things out.’
‘Always has been, the little devil! You should have seen the puzzles he worked on when he was only nine or ten! Hour after hour at a little table set up on the porch, sittin’ all by himself, dressed up by his momma as if he was goin’ callin’ and with her bringin’ him out lemonade and cookies. He knew where a piece fit just by sniffin’ at it.’
The contessa smiled at this picture of Urbino. It was another one of the reasons she liked Eugene. He drew the curtain away from parts of Urbino’s life. ‘The child is father of the man, they say,’ she said.
‘That’s it. Urbino’s just gotten bigger. Hasn’t changed much at all. Except for his name. Rayfie in those days, Raphael bein’ his middle name, as you probably know. He didn’t start usin’ Urbino until he went to high school. Took us all a while to get used to the moniker but it made him and his momma happy.’ Eugene turned to the contessa and gave her arm a hearty pat. ‘So don’t you go worryin’ yourself, Countess Barbara. You’ll have your maid back lickety-split. He’ll put together all the little pieces. There’ll be a big celebration before we say goodbye to you. Here. This’ll make you feel better.’
He withdrew a small, brightly wrapped package from his coat pocket.
‘A little gift from Louisiana.’
She unwrapped it. Inside was a sterling silver spoon. On the handle was engraved “Louisiana”. The top of the handle had a pelican sitting on top of a nest of baby birds.
‘Brilliant, Eugene. Thank you.’
‘Didn’t think it was goin’ be so appropriate. If you look, you can see the word “Confidence” under the pelicans. “Union Justice” is above the pelicans but you can forget about that. “Union justice and confidence” is our state motto, you see. You gotta have confidence, Countess Barbara, confidence that you’ll have your little chick back in the nest before you know it.’
They didn’t return to the topic of Mina or the murder for the rest of the trip to the Ca’ da Capo-Zendrini. Eugene started to talk about his new friends the Chins and how Betty the wife was interested in the different boats she was seeing on the Grand Canal. The contessa mentioned a picture book of Venetian boats that Betty might consider buying and said she would write the name down later.
She gave Eugene a tour of the galleries and salons of the house. Zouzou, who had taken a liking to Eugene that was mutual, followed them. They ended in the salotto blu, which held some of her most treasured furniture, art, and bibelots and was dominated by the Veronese over the fireplace. It was an allegory of love and showed an ample golden-haired Venus being admired beneath a lush tree by two dark-haired, handsome men. When she told Eugene that it was a wedding gift from her husband, he looked at her in transparent amazement.
‘Pardon me for saying so, Countess Barbara, but that’s a strange kind of gift. An almost naked lady sprawlin’ like that with two gentleman callers. But I know they do things different here in Italy.’
Eugene’s criticism of the painting as a wedding gift from a husband to a wife was far from the first one the contessa had heard.
‘I understand what you mean, but my husband and I shared a deep love for the painter. I like to think that the woman is about to choose between the two men and that it’s the right choice. It will change her life for the better, as happened to me. Would you like a drink?’
‘I could go for some of that powerful stuff they sell on the bridge by your villa.’
‘Grappa. We’ll have drinks while we’re looking at the Fortuny exhibition downstairs. But I won’t join you in the grappa. It’s too strong for me. I’ll have sherry.’
‘Just like Urbino. Never understood why the two of you haven’t got hitched by now. You got a whole lot in common.’
The contessa took advantage of pouring out the drinks to screen her embarrassment. ‘Urbino and I are content with the way things are. And, of course, there’s a bit of difference in our ages.’
‘As if that’s stopped any older man from marryin’ a young gal! My May-Foy is fifteen years younger. You aren’t very old. Don’t be puttin’ yourself down like that.’
‘Besides, think of Urbino,’ Eugene pursued. ‘What he needs is an older woman, plain as day. Maybe that’s why he and Evie never worked out.’
Eugene mercifully dropped the topic. Ten minutes later, they were in the exhibition room, Eugene with his generous portion of Nardini grappa and the contessa with her sherry.
The items that Eufrosina had been photographing outside their cases had not been reinstalled yet. Eugene gave only quick glances at the purses, scarves, and pillows, but he inspected the Fortuny gowns with much more interest, especially Apollonia’s.
The contessa had received another dress a few days ago. It was still in its tan box. She took it out and unwrapped it from its tissue. It was a pale green silk tea dress. She untwisted it and held it up. Like the other dresses in the collection it was in excellent condition, showing not even the slightest of tears at the edges of the pleats.
‘You see. No wrinkles even though it has been in the box. It’s the secret of Fortuny’s pleats.’
She handed the dress to him. For such a large man, he held it gently and ran one hand softly against the fabric. ‘It’s so soft. And look at the way the color changes, all different kinds of green.’
The contessa rewrapped the dress in the tissue paper and returned it to the box. Eugene had returned to look at Apollonia’s Fortuny gown.
‘A real beauty. It would make a fine birthday gift for May-Foy. The red and the gold would look great on her. She has just the colorin’ for it. And she’s a little bitty thing, May-Foy is. She wouldn’t have any trouble squeezin’ into it.’
‘The dresses are designed to fit most women.’
‘Wasn’t he a sharp fellow! Do you think this one here might be for sale?’
‘I don’t know. Even if it were, it wouldn’t be available until after May. And it belonged to the woman who died the day you were visiting the museum.’
‘The mother of that voodoo guy? Do you think you could ask him? Not now with the funeral and all. I’m not in a big rush. May-Foy’s birthday’s not comin’ up until August. And price is no object.’
‘I’ll see what I can do. There’s also a daughter involved. But if I can’t get this one, I can try to locate another.’
‘Thank you, but unless you can find one exactly like this one here, I’d rather have none at all. Only that one will do. I’m a very particular man.’
‘I can see that, Eugene.’
After Eugene left for the Danieli in the motorboat, the contessa took her own solitary tour of the house, with Zouzou either at her heels or in her arms.
It was a large house, large enough to embrace many people, large enough to seem sadly empty at a dead time of the year like this. The contessa periodically filled it with guests, taking advantage of as many anniversaries and holid
ays and festivals as she could and even generating ones of her own. This Fortuny exhibition was, among other things, one of the latter. She would have family and friends from as far away as Argentina and New Zealand staying with her in May. Before then, there would be several people passing through town who would settle into the Ca’ da Capo-Zendrini for days, even weeks. And carnival would soon be coming. Over the years she had made her peace with the raucous holiday and saw it as a good opportunity to get together with people in her own restrained, but festive way.
She went to the salotto blu to retrieve da Ponte’s memoirs, which she had been reading before she had gone out with Urbino. She looked at the Veronese with more attention than she usually gave it. It had become such a familiar object among all her other possessions that she did not see it any more, not the way she used to. That was one of the dangers of being surrounded by so much. You stopped seeing things – even the most obvious and beautiful of them. That was why someone like Eugene was to be welcomed – welcomed for his uncluttered eye and his direct gaze.
Seeing things as others saw them … Urbino was better at this than she was. The case he was involved in now – the case they were both involved in, she corrected herself – required this kind of vision. Maybe the Pindar clan, as Urbino called her relatives, had become too familiar to her eye and mind – and her heart.
Her steps carried her up the tall winding staircase to the Caravaggio Room, which she had not shown Eugene. When she went inside, her eyes went to the painting that gave the room its name. It was a portrait of a round-faced, feminine-looking young man caressing a mandolin. With a mocking smile on his full lips, he wore lipstick and rouge, and his thick, auburn hair was adorned with a large white flower. His green robe, which had slipped provocatively off one shoulder, gave him even more of an epicene look.
The Veils of Venice Page 17
