‘And accent?’ Adam put on his own sunglasses to cut out the sun’s rays.
‘She spoke only briefly, and in French. The maid again couldn’t be specific.’
‘And Michele Pinzini?’ Adam pressed. ‘What did you discover about him?’
‘His profession and personal details are all in the file, but there were a number of people, mostly women, who gave information off the record.’ He looked from Adam to Kate. ‘As far as the finer sex was concerned, Michele had a demanding appetite.’
‘He used prostitutes?’ Adam finished his espresso.
‘Sì.’ Giordano rubbed his hands over his face. ‘This was not unusual. What was unusual was how he was found.’
‘You mean the crime scene and the method of killing?’ A frown formed on Adam’s forehead.
‘Yes, it was a horrible death, but there were contradictions.’
‘What kind of contradictions?’ Kate asked.
Giordano shuffled through the photographs until he found what he was looking for. He handed Kate and Adam two close-up images of Michele Pinzini’s lips. Then, sitting back in his chair, he said, ‘There was ambiguity as to whether or not the killer wanted the wife and the unborn child killed, which is why I’ve always been suspicious of the mystery woman in the corridor. What is contradictory is that, despite the brutality of the attack, the killer left a message, one that normally denotes love or tenderness.’ He pointed to Pinzini’s lips. ‘You can see the faded lipstick. Of course we made comparisons with the wife’s brand, but it didn’t match. Whoever killed Michele Pinzini kissed him before setting the room on fire. It was a minor dtail, but one that irked me.’
The significance of Giordano’s last words was not lost on Kate and Adam.
‘I assume you took a swab and compiled a list of properties?’ Adam seemed positively energised for the first time that morning.
‘Oh, yes. They would be on the file too. We couldn’t get an accurate DNA profile, because of the heat in the room, but we tracked the lipstick to a major cosmetic range. At the time, the company had worldwide consolidated sales in excess of fourteen billion dollars.’
Adam leaned closer to him. ‘But you got a description of the shade?’
‘Yes, that is correct. It was called Carmine but the brand had an enormous distribution.’
Adam slammed the table with his fist. ‘That may be the case, Andrea, but the likelihood of it being the same killer has just shot through the roof.’ It was the break in the case that they had been looking for, and final confirmation that they had an international investigation on their hands.
Everyone in the café was staring at them now, so Kate lowered her voice: ‘We’ve been told Pinzini’s wife was concerned about him before the attack.’
‘That is correct. He had become increasingly aggressive, drinking heavily, and appeared agitated, constantly checking who had called at the house or had been on the telephone. Their domestic situation was not a good one, which didn’t help matters.’
‘You said earlier, Andrea …’ Kate paused, as if to clear her thoughts ‘… that a number of people, mostly women, refused to go on the record about their relationship with Pinzini. Were there any men?’
The Italian seemed hesitant. ‘There was one. He is influential, so please do not ask me his name.’
‘How did you find him?’ Adam was unsure about the retired detective holding back on them, but he let it go.
‘At the time of the killing, I looked for similar attacks, but I could not find anything, at least not initially. Then a friend of mine, a nurse in a private hospital, mentioned a man who had been stripped and tied up. He had suffered knife wounds, with a similar blade to the Pinzini killing.’
‘A carving knife?’ Kate asked.
‘That is correct.’
‘And you spoke to that man?’ Adam kept his tone mellow, keen to get as much as he could.
‘Yes, but he asked me to keep everything confidential. Because of his position, I agreed.’ Giordano relaxed his shoulders. ‘He said he had been with a woman, a very lovely woman. At first, everything was fine – she was very loving and sexy.’ His dark blue eyes went from Adam to Kate, and back again. ‘But soon she became possessive, completely obsessed with him. He had wanted to pull back, and when that happened, she threatened to tell his wife. I understand he agreed to give her a considerable amount of money.’
‘Blackmail?’ Kate said in surprise.
‘Yes.’ Giordano’s lips seemed to pucker even more. ‘The attack took place after that. Lucky for him, a visitor, a business colleague, called to the hotel room. The female attacker escaped through another door into an adjoining room.’
‘But you got a description?’ Adam could hardly believe what he was hearing.
‘He refused to give one.’ Giordano’s face was like stone.
‘Don’t tell me,’ Adam was even more agitated, ‘you couldn’t insist on a description because of his position?’