Balancing up crime from the perspective of the criminals was the third episode of Inspector Montalbano Shapes in Water, which in fact is the title of the first published book. I forgot to record until well into the programme so had to watch the first part on the BBC I player until reaching the recoded final section.
I can understand why the first book has becomes the third in the series because of the “softer” approach to criminal activity protecting the reputation of individuals.
A well known politician is found to have died in a heart attack while being serviced by a prostitute in a notorious beach spot frequented by the lowest level of whore, one of whom an illegal immigrant witnesses the arrival of the vehicle and disappearance of the female whore.
The story which Montalbano uncovers is complicated. Because of the man’s political position the establishment of presiding judge, local bishop and other interests want the death quietly buried in order to protect the widow and her son. There is something about the situation which rouses the Inspector’s natural instinct to get to the bottom of what happened.
A gold diamond encrusted necklace has been found by one of two “street cleaners” who had held on to the find wanting to pawn to gain the funds to take their sick son away for specialist treatment which could save his life and which was urgently required. Montalbano tracks down the man and his wife through blagging his way into the home of the other cleaner who discovered and reported finding the body. After hearing the story of the sick child the Inspector gives a receipt for the necklace on the basis that it was handed in on the day of its finding and makes sure the news of finding is out there.
This has the desired effect because a lawyer the political fixer of the dead man comes forward to claim the necklace with a cock a bull story about it came be lost.
Now that I come to write I have not grasped some of the essential elements and I am to busy to watch the programme again. He alleges that a wife had persuaded her husband to go down to the site to observe the life having worn the necklace at a social function earlier. The implication is that they had got out of their vehicle to have sex among the dunes and the necklace had not been noted as being lost until later. What with the death it was publicity the family did not want. (The bit I am not sure about is that the wife, a six foot woman from Sweden regarded as a free spirit was married to the man’s son),
Montalbano agrees to return the property on the understanding that the man who found the necklace said to be worth 70 million lire (only about £30000 before the euro) to pay the finder a reward of 10 million and he then advises the family to immediately make arrangements to take the child for treatment and leave as soon as the money is paid. This appears to have taken place without a hitch.
When Montalbano revisits the site he find a hand bag clearly belonging to the wife from Sweden, and the witness to the event describes the woman in the car as tall, not one of the regulars and having left he car made her way to the roadway. The witness also reveals that oddly the woman was immediately picked up by a car as if by prior arrangement. Montalbano turns a blind eye to her illegal status because of her help.
He then visits the widow to pay his respects and finds her a fine woman but no illusions about her husband except that she does not understand the circumstances of his death as he has a cottage by the sea which he used for his affairs. The photo in the car shows that he was wearing his underpants pants inside out something about which he was fastidious and would never do.
Montalbano visit the cottage and finds it is a large villa where they are women’s clothing and a hand gun in a side drawer.
Her gets to know the daughter of the man’s son and her story helps him understand what has happened. It is true that the daughter had been seduced by her father in law who had shown a violent streak and had bullied her into further sex. He had a tendency to tear off her clothes which is why she had clothing at the villa. However she had not been with him the night he died. She had lost the necklace but previously, and she had also lost a bag which had her initials
When the Inspector the widow he had noted the beautiful and distressed nephew who had a petit mal occurrence he was present. Eventually the Inspector is able to establish that the boy had become the lover of the politician and had been with him at the villa on the night of the heart attack. He had called on his uncle’s lawyer for help and the lawyer had seen the opportunity for advancing his own political fortunes within the Party by discrediting the family and in particular the husband of the woman he tried to frame. He had arranged for a contact who was a cross dresser to come out and drive the dead man from the villa via a river bed onto the beach and to the spot where the car was found. He had dumped the necklace and bag hoping that the combined publicity with ruin the political reputation of the family.
The Inspector had taken the Swedish wife to the villa to test out that a car could be driven from their off road to the site where the body was discovered. She is a fast driver of fast cars. She stumbles and hurts her ankle at one point and gets Montalbano to rubs some ointment. She takes off her skirt and comments he is a gentleman when he does not take this as an invitation. When he decides to close the case as requested covering up various aspects she offers herself but again as in the previously episode he is tied to mistress more than he appreciates.
The lawyer is found shot and the Inspector realises that the murder weapon is the one he found at the villa, and left there. The nephew is then found dead having gone off the road at a bend high on the cliff side. He therefore closes the case much to the delight the establishment but without disclosing or recording all that he knows. He has confided in his mistress who is surprised that he has behaved out of character. On reflection despite another messed up weekend with him she appreciates that he was being kind to various people rather than cow towing to the establishment.
I can understand why the first book has becomes the third in the series because of the “softer” approach to criminal activity protecting the reputation of individuals.
A well known politician is found to have died in a heart attack while being serviced by a prostitute in a notorious beach spot frequented by the lowest level of whore, one of whom an illegal immigrant witnesses the arrival of the vehicle and disappearance of the female whore.
The story which Montalbano uncovers is complicated. Because of the man’s political position the establishment of presiding judge, local bishop and other interests want the death quietly buried in order to protect the widow and her son. There is something about the situation which rouses the Inspector’s natural instinct to get to the bottom of what happened.
A gold diamond encrusted necklace has been found by one of two “street cleaners” who had held on to the find wanting to pawn to gain the funds to take their sick son away for specialist treatment which could save his life and which was urgently required. Montalbano tracks down the man and his wife through blagging his way into the home of the other cleaner who discovered and reported finding the body. After hearing the story of the sick child the Inspector gives a receipt for the necklace on the basis that it was handed in on the day of its finding and makes sure the news of finding is out there.
This has the desired effect because a lawyer the political fixer of the dead man comes forward to claim the necklace with a cock a bull story about it came be lost.
Now that I come to write I have not grasped some of the essential elements and I am to busy to watch the programme again. He alleges that a wife had persuaded her husband to go down to the site to observe the life having worn the necklace at a social function earlier. The implication is that they had got out of their vehicle to have sex among the dunes and the necklace had not been noted as being lost until later. What with the death it was publicity the family did not want. (The bit I am not sure about is that the wife, a six foot woman from Sweden regarded as a free spirit was married to the man’s son),
Montalbano agrees to return the property on the understanding that the man who found the necklace said to be worth 70 million lire (only about £30000 before the euro) to pay the finder a reward of 10 million and he then advises the family to immediately make arrangements to take the child for treatment and leave as soon as the money is paid. This appears to have taken place without a hitch.
When Montalbano revisits the site he find a hand bag clearly belonging to the wife from Sweden, and the witness to the event describes the woman in the car as tall, not one of the regulars and having left he car made her way to the roadway. The witness also reveals that oddly the woman was immediately picked up by a car as if by prior arrangement. Montalbano turns a blind eye to her illegal status because of her help.
He then visits the widow to pay his respects and finds her a fine woman but no illusions about her husband except that she does not understand the circumstances of his death as he has a cottage by the sea which he used for his affairs. The photo in the car shows that he was wearing his underpants pants inside out something about which he was fastidious and would never do.
Montalbano visit the cottage and finds it is a large villa where they are women’s clothing and a hand gun in a side drawer.
Her gets to know the daughter of the man’s son and her story helps him understand what has happened. It is true that the daughter had been seduced by her father in law who had shown a violent streak and had bullied her into further sex. He had a tendency to tear off her clothes which is why she had clothing at the villa. However she had not been with him the night he died. She had lost the necklace but previously, and she had also lost a bag which had her initials
When the Inspector the widow he had noted the beautiful and distressed nephew who had a petit mal occurrence he was present. Eventually the Inspector is able to establish that the boy had become the lover of the politician and had been with him at the villa on the night of the heart attack. He had called on his uncle’s lawyer for help and the lawyer had seen the opportunity for advancing his own political fortunes within the Party by discrediting the family and in particular the husband of the woman he tried to frame. He had arranged for a contact who was a cross dresser to come out and drive the dead man from the villa via a river bed onto the beach and to the spot where the car was found. He had dumped the necklace and bag hoping that the combined publicity with ruin the political reputation of the family.
The Inspector had taken the Swedish wife to the villa to test out that a car could be driven from their off road to the site where the body was discovered. She is a fast driver of fast cars. She stumbles and hurts her ankle at one point and gets Montalbano to rubs some ointment. She takes off her skirt and comments he is a gentleman when he does not take this as an invitation. When he decides to close the case as requested covering up various aspects she offers herself but again as in the previously episode he is tied to mistress more than he appreciates.
The lawyer is found shot and the Inspector realises that the murder weapon is the one he found at the villa, and left there. The nephew is then found dead having gone off the road at a bend high on the cliff side. He therefore closes the case much to the delight the establishment but without disclosing or recording all that he knows. He has confided in his mistress who is surprised that he has behaved out of character. On reflection despite another messed up weekend with him she appreciates that he was being kind to various people rather than cow towing to the establishment.
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