by Paolo Copparoni, translated into English by Ruth Stephens
Chapter 4 – A Disturbing Message
Signor Ricetti has been back in Bologna for a couple of weeks and has resumed his regular habits; he goes to the bar to play cards with his friends and talk about football. Then, in the evenings after dinner, he takes Rocky and Rambo for long walks. He’s relaxed and at ease with himself and the incident at the hotel at Agrigento is now just a distant memory.
But, one evening, after watching the Bologna match in the bar with his friends, he arrives home to find a note in front of his door. At first he thinks it’s a message from his neighbours, complaining perhaps that his dogs have been barking all evening. He opens it and reads the chilling words “You are next.”
A shiver runs down his spine. “What? Why me? What does it mean?” he asks himself.
Vittorio understands immediately that it has to do with the murder of Signora Rocchi. He’s gripped by fear. “Who can have written this?” he thinks, as he lets himself in and checks to see if there are any other clues. “Perhaps Signora Rocchi’s death wasn’t about a theft after all. Maybe someone wanted to kill her. And I’m next!”
But all is in order in the house, and there are no traces of intruders…
Vittorio thinks of calling the police.
But the desire to investigate, and so recapture the thrill of his youth, gets the better of him. He resolves not to report the note, but instead to begin to make his own inquiries. On his own he will attract less attention and will surely discover something.