The Scent of the Night

The eighth book I have read in reverse order is the Scent of the Night which is primarily a story about a financial swindle plus unrequited love.

There is a sub plot which for once is unconnected with the main story. The Commissioner discovers that the murdered mother of Françoise, the child he and Livia were to adopt but since this had taken place with the sister of Mimi and her husband and two sons, had a substantial amount of money in account where the pass book had been taken by Salvo. Now we as readers of the book in question Salvo not wanting the state to take hold of the money had asked a local Magistrate notary to take the account and invest on behalf of he boy until he was of an age to benefit. Fortunately he had received a receipt and the child been formally adopted. However in the natural course of his life he had forgotten about this and disclosed to anyone including his long distance partner Livia, his deputy Mini or he sister and her family. Being Salvo he was understandably aghast at the accusation knowing that the Commissioner was not his friend. Rather than explain the position given the attitude of the Commissioner he visits the notary who has retired and is momentarily anxious in case the money was invested in the King Midas Fund but all is well and the funds are secure and he finds the receipt which he sends without explanation to the Commissioner. With lots of goodies he goes to see the sister and explains the position which she takes in her stride. The boy now has his own horse and tells Salvo that his ambition is to become a policeman when he grows up. He also find out that Livia has been to see the boy secretly and this does not help the difficulties the couple are experiencing.

The main story begins when an angry investor tries to hold up the King Midas Associates office of the head the one man investment company who had disappeared. The swindle is a familiar one. Investors are offered an exceptional rate of interest of 20%. This is paid to the first investors which is in effect one fifth of the amount invested at that point. The consequence is that all their friends relatives and friends what to join in and offer more money as well as some of the original investors. The swindler then arranges to disappear with all these funds which he has invested in various off shore accounts. The Inspector investigates the two assistants and the secretary receptionist office keeper. According to the office assistant the young man who dealt with the computerisation of accounts had gone to Germany and would be back within a month. The team discover that in fact he had not gone to Germany but had bought a ticket to another destination which he had also not used thus attempting to provide a false trail.

They discover that this young man was having a house built on isolated land which contained the olive tree that Montalbano would visit and talk to seek answers when he was stuck on a case. When he discovers that the tree has been torn down to build the property he breaks windows and splashes graffiti and action which is discovered by an assistant who nevertheless covers up when the father of the man makes a formal complaint about the vandalism attack. Payments for the house appear to have been made direct to the young man from account of his employer but were not part of the swindled funds.

The other assistant is an attractive young woman Michela Manganaro living with her parents in a ten story block of public housing and in bed when Salvo calls and finds that she is strapping, tall and beautiful with a brief miniskirt and a blouse barely containing her other attributes. It emerged she had already been seen by his deputy and he quickly assumed seen in every despite the engagement to Beatrice and the forthcoming wedding. She regarded Mimi with hostility, hence also the Inspector because his deputy had not disclosed the engagement and marriage until after their encounter. They go on a car ride so she can talk freely and during their conversation the Inspector asks if she had slept with her boss. She laughs and discloses that he is gay and that he was having a relationship with the other assistant, the man who said he was going to Germany but who whereabouts also remained unknown. She had that from the public appearance he was courting her and his secretary Maristella who he showered with chocolates and flowers and who adored him.

The search for the assistant continued until evidence of buying but not using a ticket to Lisbon leads them back to the half built villa where they find two packed suitcases but they do not find a brief case which they find contained diskettes and computer account codes.

It is then he decides to approach a retired university teacher who has caused previous amusement mixed with irritation from reporting saving seen tings like flying saucers and aliens. The married man appears sane and sensibility but admit he does end to see things are not there but figments of his imagination but in this instance he is adamant about seeing a car and a motorbike in an area on a cliff top known to be used by lovers while taking of his usual late night walkabouts. It appears to be the car used by the missing King Midas swindler. The inspector visits the place, looks over onto the rocks below and then arranges one of his diving expeditions. He arranges for the vehicle to be raised with inside the body of the shot assistant.

Salvo began to work out the mystery and that the assistant had in turn worked out not only what King Midas was doing but how and used this knowledge to blackmail his boss and lover into ensuring their relationship was to be long term. Despite being in love with the assistant the boss knew his own future was in question wile the young man lived and had killed him. This knocked on the head the belief that the two men had been killed by the Mafia upset to find that their money laundering investments were part of the swindle. But where is he?

It then that the maestro works out that the secretary is more involved that she has let on as she did not appear surprised when the Inspector had reported various developments and concerns. She was convinced King Midas would return as would the male assistant. He learns from the friend (Voice of the Violin previously) who is a distant relative of the secretary that she lives alone in a great house inherited from her parents and that she had been very attached to her father to an extent she had not reported his death for several days as if unaware he had died. After he witnesses he involvement as a pedestrian in car accident he helps her home after she refused to go to the hospital. He persuades her to show him the home and finds King Mafia dead, shot with the briefcase nearby in a bedroom with the woman genuinely unaware he is there, repressing what she has done. After shooting his lover he turned to her for help and she had killed him, perhaps to save him from what lay ahead when he was caught. They may never come to really known her motive at the time. He arranges for the doctor to send her into a long sleep so he can have forensics in the house and remove the body the following morning. The case is solves and the briefcase will enable the authorities to find the missing money.

Having commenced with food and end with first Salvo wolfing two servings of grilled fish as first and second courses and then having an explored her finds a rural restaurant no more than eight tables in the middle of nowhere. He is given a jug of dense red wine while the food is prepared. He is offered burning piraciati something the Inspector accepts even thought he warned, “if you are up to it. His mouth burns and he chokes when it arrives and then enquires what is in it! Olive oil, half an onion two cloves of garlic, two salted anchovies, a teaspoon of fine capers, black olives, tomatoes, basil, half a pimento, salt, pecorino cheese and black pepper. Extreme cooking proving pleasure and agony intermingled. He was unable to eat a second course as it took a day for the taste buds to return! He also enjoys nannatu, flat crispy dumplings studied with fish eyes from the tiny baby fish not thrown back to the sea and cooked with lemon. To punish himself for eating a technically illegal dish he does not ear another course. Returning from an unsatisfactory day’s work and an unholy exchange with Livia as he forgets she is coming over fort he wedding and has purchased the present he has forgotten he finds a dish of patati cunsati- a potato based dish with onions, capers, olives, salt and pepper and this is the overture to the arrival of Mimi having second thoughts about the wedding and in need of several tots of whisky. During the visit to see Mimi’s sister he had eaten pasta al ragu and pork and on return he cooked himself and egg with four fresh sardines tossed in olive oil, vinegar and oregano. Feeling hungry the following day he goes to the restaurant for the pasta in squid ink and a dozen baby octopus dumplings.

And Mimi ? Well the wedding is delayed a month because of a family illness but it does take place with him as witness accompanied by Livia. And as for the book it does not satisfy as much as several of the others and I wish I had read them