"Fedeltà" drabbles by Neville Hunt

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Well?

Fedeltà #521

The detective was in Livia’s house around 45 minutes. While Paolo was waiting, he got a call on his mobile.

“Well?” asked Tony minimally.

“Well what?” asked Paolo, taken rather off-guard.

“You know what!” barked Tony, testily. “How did the identification thing go with Livia?”

“In all honesty, Tony, I’ve no idea.” This was a risky response, which succeeded in pissing off the boss instantly.

“Why the fuck not?” he shouted, “where the fuck are you?”

“In the street outside her house.” replied Paolo.

“Why, what’s happened?

“She’s got a copper in there with her. He’s been there ages.”

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What goes around hangs around

Fedeltà #520

Paolo waited outside on the road for half an hour, out of curiosity and to see how long the detective stayed at Livia’s house. It was an odd feeling for Paolo. It was based in jealousy, but had anger and humiliation built-in too. If he’d thumped the steering wheel any harder, he might have been in danger of triggering the air bags.

Since he had to return the car, the most sensible thing would have been to press the entry phone and get Livia to open the gates. But Paolo wasn’t being sensible. He was being Paolo. Planning retribution.

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Livia’s limits

Fedeltà #519

Despite the fact that it was clear the detective was taking Livia home, Paolo was concerned that Tony was likely to give him hell if he, Paolo, hadn’t made sure Livia actually got home. Accordingly, he followed the police car to her house, watched her get out of the car and immediately feign an attack of grief, prompting the detective to come round and help her right through the gates to her front door.

Paolo started wondering if the detective had been invited in, and was ‘getting his kippers in the grill’!

“Fucking pig!”

But Livia wouldn’t go that far!

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Police escort

Fedeltà #518

With formalities somehow concluded, it was time for Livia to go. Paolo had waited patiently outside the mortuary to take her home, even though it would be silent and frosty. After all, he’d been charged by Tony to look after her, although right now she was the last person he wanted to be near.

Paolo was therefore rather irritated when she walked out of the mortuary alongside the detective and followed him to his unmarked police car. It was clear that the policeman would be driving her home.

Paolo had to make that assumption. Livia wouldn’t be letting him know.

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Is that a yes?

Fedeltà #517

Livia was there a long time. She took ages to calm down, and in the process, suddenly she would flare up and be inconsolable again. The detective reassured her over and over again that he would personally make sure her husband’s killers would be brought to justice.

However, when she’d finally appeared to come to terms with it, he still had to formalise the identification of the body with her for his report.

“So Mrs Monelli, can you confirm that the body you have been shown is your husband, Terence Monelli?”

“Are you totally fucking stupid?”

“Is that a yes?”

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Promises, promises

Fedeltà #516

The detective hadn’t wanted Livia to see Terry’s hands, and he was right try to avoid this as when she saw them, with fingers crudely removed, she went into a fit of screaming. Tears pouring, mascara painting lines on and smeared across her face as, pointlessly and ineffectively, she’d gone to wipe her tears.

“What have they done to him? Who could have done this to my Terry? Why, why, why?” Livia delivered these questions over and over, as though by repeating them, she might eventually get the answers.

“Whoever did it, we’ll get them. We will!” promised the detective.

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Hands and fist

Fedeltà #515

The detective went to restrain Livia from hitting his chest.

“Come on ma’am. Steady on. It wasn’t me that killed him!”

Livia put up some resistance to his attempt to stop her hitting him. Inside, she was loving the fact that she was bashing a copper and getting away with it. Outside she continued screaming and wailing. The assistant went to pull the sheet back over the body.

“What about his hands?” Livia cried out “What about my Terry’s hands? Why are they tucked under him? Let me see his lovely hands!”

“Let the lady see them!” instructed the detective.

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Dead man...chest

Fedeltà #514

The knife wound in Terry’s chest was not dramatic or particularly obvious. Paolo had done a neat, efficient job, but Livia was looking out for anything that would suitably preface a further outburst of grief.

Somehow, between her histrionics, she managed to utter the words “Is that where they stabbed him? Is that how they killed him?”

The detective and mortuary assistant both nodded in unison, which gave Livia another signal to wail at the top of her voice and, for some reason, bang her fist repeatedly on the detective’s chest as though he’d been personally responsible for Terry’s death.

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Show me all

Fedeltà #513

Livia’s screaming seemed to go on for ages, prompting the mortuary assistant to go to drop the sheet back over Terry’s head, so make it easier for her. But Livia wasn’t having this. The last thing she wanted was to curtail her histrionics. This had to be her finest hour, a tour de force no less.

“Stop!” she screamed. “Show me what they did to my Terry. Show me now!”

The mortuary assistant was taking his lead from the detective, who glanced down at Livia and then nodded. The white sheet was pulled back to reveal most of Terry’s body.

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No!

Fedeltà #512

In the room, the white-coated mortuary assistant beckoned them over to what looked like a bank of large office drawers. He waited until Livia, who was still being steadied by the detective, was near. Then, following a nod from the detective, he pulled out the drawer to reveal a figure covered by a sheet. He lifted the sheet to reveal Terry’s head, cleaned up after his involuntary maceration in the river.

Livia looked, and after what seemed like an age but was just a couple of seconds, she screamed, suddenly dropping all her weight on the detective’s arm.

“No...!”

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Readiness

Fedeltà #511

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” asked the detective.

“No... I’m not!” said Livia, seemingly struggling to keep her composure. “But it’s got to be done sometime and it’s got to be done by me because his bloody brother seems to have lost the plot. So best I get it over with now. Then I’ve got to find out how to tell my son...” at this she sobbed... “He’ll be devasted, poor boy.”

Then Livia steadied herself, gave a little cough and declared, “let’s get it over with” and moved forward towards the room where the bodies were stored.

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Indemnity

Fedeltà #510

Livia’s objective for this mortuary visit was twofold, although the one would help with the other. First and foremost, she had to convince the police of her genuine grief, misery and sense of hopelessness following husband Terry’s untimely death. She had to make certain her alibi, together with her sense of loss, kept the finger of suspicion well away from her, whatever tricks young Paolo might think he had up his sleeve.

Secondly, there was the matter of Terry’s life insurance. She wanted to avoid any chance of the insurance company getting one of their own investigators on the case.

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She ain’t heavy

Fedeltà #509

As Livia reached the door, a man approached from her right. He went to take her arm, first checking for her approval. He was clearly a detective assigned to accompany her to the identification of the body and subsequently make a report on the outcome. She allowed him to take her arm. She visibly flopped a little, catching the detective slightly off-guard as she let him take some of her modest weight.

Paolo watched the performance from Terry’s car. He had to admit to himself that she had put on a wonderful performance. She would be a powerful adversary.

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Reluctant

Fedeltà #508

The small woman walking towards the door of the mortuary had the look of someone not wanting to be there. Twice during the short slow walk she half-turned, as if to go back, twice deciding to continue, albeit with heavy feet and heavier countenance. A close examination of the woman’s face would reveal to the casual onlooker an expression as though the entire world was weighing her down, watery eyes and trace of mascara on the run. She was smartly dressed, but that served to emphasise her reluctance.

But the onlookers weren’t casual, as she knew they wouldn’t be.

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Curtain up

Fedeltà #507

The rest of the journey to see the body went in frosty silence. Livia sat in the back of the car a masterpiece of cold, beautiful haughtiness. Paolo pulled up and made no attempt to get out and open the door for her as one might expect of a chauffeur. To Paolo’s silent delight, Livia’s composure was rather compromised as the small woman struggled down from the large SUV, her skirt riding up.

However, it provided Livia the ideal launchpad for her transformation into a distraught, grieving widow for anyone around who might be watching. And they were.

Curtain up!

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Dream on

Fedeltà #506

After Paolo’s ‘speech’, a silence reigned in the car you could cut with a knife. Then Livia spoke.

“And you think because of that I should let you shag me, Paolo. Is that it?”

“That might’ve been nice before I realised how you used me, but right now, I think I’ll settle for repayment of the two hundred grand you squeezed out of me. That seems a better deal now, and one you can afford, given the huge life insurance payout heading your way.” Paolo was deadly serious.

“In your dreams little man!” Livia replied.

’And your nightmares,’ thought Paolo.

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The lad speaks

Fedeltà #505

Paolo arrived at Livia’s at 1.45pm and was sent to the garage to get Terry’s car out. He wasn’t invited in.

At 2pm, Livia swept out, ignoring Paolo’s opened passenger door. She would sit in the back, with Paolo as chauffeur. That pissed him off!

“Now look here Livia,” he said, “you know and I know you have Terry’s blood on your hands as much as me. What you don’t know is I have the means of taking you down as much as you can get me. Don’t think being miles away on a cruise gets you off the hook!”

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The lad

Fedeltà #504

Paolo asked Tony to clear it with Livia, as he said she might be rather cool towards him for some reason best known to herself.

“I think she might see me as a mere lad,” he told Tony, indignantly. “I think she might prefer to go with you.”

“Well that ain’t gonna happen. She’ll get who I say or she can find her own fucking way there!” Tony insisted. “Leave it to me.”

Tony called Livia and told her the score. Paolo would drive her... in Terry’s car.

“Well make sure your lad gets me there on time!” she concluded.

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Stiff competition

Fedeltà #503

“Is anyone accompanying her?” Paolo asked about Livia’s trip to identify husband Terry’s body.

“I’m not fucking going with her!” Tony announced. “If you’re so bloody interested, why don’t you take her? She’s due at the mortuary at 3pm. I suggest you pick her up at 2. But if I hear you’ve been trying it on with her, you’re in the ground, even if you’re a star right now!”

“OK!” Paolo was perhaps a little too hasty to agree. On reflection, he realised tomorrow was Tuesday. He was about to piss off Marcia once more!

...but then it was Livia!

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Identification

Fedeltà #502

Over lunch, Paolo probed Tony gently about Livia.

“How was Livia? Hope she’s OK. What a lousy homecoming!”

“You suggesting I’m lousy?” asked Tony, but it was clear that he was just joshing.

“You know what I mean. Terrible strain on her.”

“She’s got to go identify the body tomorrow. I just hope they cover his hands!” volunteered Tony.

“I’m sure they’ll do what’s right, unless she asks to see them.” Paolo was in reassurance mode. “Have you not seen Terry yourself?”

“Absolutely not! Like you, Paolo, I’ve got no taste for the macabre.”

’Like fuck you haven’t!’ thought Paolo.