"Dibdin, Michael - Aurelio Zen 02 - Vendetta UC - part 03" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dibdin Michael)

read aloud. 'Maybe you need glasses.'
Zen frowned, ignoring the comment.
'Who asked for it?'
The clerk sighed mightily, pulled open a filing cabinet
and flicked through the cards.
'Fabri, Vincenzo.'
Even now, sitting in the taxi, looking out at the deserted
streets of the dormitory suburb, Zen could feel the sense of
panic these words had induced. Why should Vincenzo
Fabri, of all people, have put in a request for the Burolc
video? He had nothing to do with the case, no legitimate
reason for wishing to view the tape. If nothing more, it
was monstrously unfortunate. Not only would Zen's sub-
stitution of the blank tape come to light, but it would do so
through the offices of his sworn enemy. Nervously Zen lit
a cigarette, ignoring the sign on the taxi's dashboard
thanking him for not doing so, and reflected uneasily that
Vincenzo Fabri couldn't have contrived a better oppor-
tunity to disgrace his rival if he'd planned it himself.
The earlier part of Zen's evening had not improved his
mood. Dinner was always the most difficult part of his
day. In the morning he could escape to work, and when he
got home in the afternoon Maria Grazia, the housekeeper,
was there to dilute the situation with her bustling,
loquacious presence. Later in the evening things got easier
once again, as his mother switched the lights off and
settled down in front of the television, flipping from
channel to channel as the whim took her, dipping into the
various serials like someone dropping in on the neigh-
bours for a few minutes' inconsequential chat. But first
there was dinner to be got through.
Today, to make matters worse, his mother was having
one of her 'deaf' phases, when she was -- or pretended to
be -- unable to hear anything that was said to her until it
had been repeated three or four times at an ever higher
volume. Since their conversation had long been reduced to
the lowest of common denominators, Zev found himself
having to shout at the top of his voice remarks that were so
meaningless it would have been an effort even to mumble
them.
To Zen's intense relief, the television news made no
reference to the discovery of exclusive video footage
showing every gory detail of the Burolo murders. Indeed,
for once the case was not even mentioned. The news was
dominated by the shooting of Judge Giulio Bertolini and
featured an emotional interview with the victim's widow,
in the course of which she denounced the lack of protec-
tion given to her husband.
Even when Giulio received threats, nothing whatever
was done! We begged, we pleaded, we...'