Moffett's Wife: and her mysterious collapse

By Alan Wallach

The story takes place in Milan, Italy. Marcella Algani is married to American Jason Moffett. Her son Michele is convicted of killing his business partner Gianni Brambilla and is sentenced to a term at San Vittore prison. Marcella knows that he didn't kill Brambilla but there are no leads to who really did it or why. She is convinced that it is someone local, someone in their circle of friends and acquaintances. She decides to fake a stroke-like attack and pretend to be catatonic with the hope that someone will say something incriminating within earshot of her thinking that her mind is gone. The plot works and with the help of Michele's genius friend Alberto they find out that the company is being robbed and was discovered by Brambilla. They killed Brambilla to prevent him from exposing them. They also kill a detective Marcella hires to investigate. The criminals also try to kill Michele and Alberto to prevent being discovered. Thinking her mind is gone, her unexpected testimony in court helps convict the criminals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alan Wallach
• Release date: Mar 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9780996508025

Alan Wallach

Alan Wallach was born and raised in Brooklyn. He has a degree in chemistry. After a tour in the US Air Force as a meteorologist, he went to work for IBM as a programmer and back to school for graduate study in mathematics. He has been associated with computers for most of his business life in one form or another from programming to consulting, training, sales, management and ownership. He has been a technical writer, and for almost 15 years wrote a computer column for the Sunday Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield MA. In the early nineties, his Plain English Guide to Your PC was published and and right before the milennium, The Year 2000 Hoax was released, a book which debunked the doomsayers prediction of an economic collapse because of the Y2K bug.Alan is an accomplished classical pianist and considers music his first love. He is a basketball nut and still plays often in the early morning hours with a similar minded group of nuts.He and his wife have recently moved from the Berkshires in Massachusetts to New Jersey, in full view of the Manhattan skyline. He is now a full time writer working on a new novel and continuing his Kieran series of books for young readers.

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MOFFETT’S WIFE

by Alan Wallach

The characters and events in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to any real people or events is coincidental.

Published by Interlaken Publishing Co.

725 River Rd., Ste. 32-150, Edgewater, NJ, 07020

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright 2016 by Alan Wallach

ISBN 978-0-9965080-2-5

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter X

Chapter XI

Chapter XII

Chapter XIII

Chapter XIV

Chapter XV

Chapter XVI

Chapter XVII

Chapter XVIII

Chapter XIX

Chapter XX

Chapter XXI

Chapter XXII

Chapter XXIII

Chapter XXIV

Chapter XXV

Chapter XXVI

Chapter XXVII

Chapter XXVIII

Chapter XXIX

Epilogue

About the Author

Other Books by the Author

Chapter I

It was getting late for Gianni Brambilla, who had just left his office on Corso Vercelli. He was furious and didn't want to leave right then but his young partner, Michele Algani was already gone. He was sorry he hadn't discussed the things he found out with Michele before he left. He needed him to help gather the information for the carabinieri. Brambilla was an old, but very vigorous man and he showed it by the way he walked. He was short and stocky but walked rapidly with long strides. He had just stepped off the curb, looked left, and was briskly crossing the street to have his usual nightcap. He was heading for the Bar Italia coffee bar when suddenly, a Lancia Flavia sports car sped toward him and hit him with a thwack so loud that many people turned to look. He was thrown at least fifteen feet in the air and fell hard to the pavement. The Lancia started right up and without stopping even to look, drove around the still body and took off screeching. It was only minutes before the carabinieri and an ambulance arrived and pushed the gathered crowd aside to get to the limp body.

The white-coated ambulance attendant shook his head and said to the carabiniere officer, He's dead. He was hit hard, thrown a long way.

The officer called his superior, Maresciallo Muzzi, then took a photograph of the scene, including the body. Several minutes later, the maresciallo arrived and looked at the body which he recognized immediately and issued a brief gasp and whispered Oh my God, under his breath. Andrea Muzzi was the local commander of the carabinieri in Milan. He was an imposing man, tall, swarthy handsome, with an ample head of hair, graying but more heavily gray at the temples, in his blue perfectly pressed uniform.

Did you know him, Maresciallo? asked the officer when he heard the gasp.

Yes, very well, Giuseppe. He's Gianni Brambilla, an old and dear friend. Did anybody see what happened? he asked.

The officer answered, There were three witnesses who said that it was a Lancia and that it looked like it hit the man deliberately, then drove off hurriedly. Somebody got a part of the license plate. He handed the paper with the information to Muzzi and they both watched as they put Brambilla's limp body into the ambulance.

****

The next morning, twenty-six year old Michele Algani had just arrived at his office. Michele was medium tall with an athletic body and a full shock of straight brown hair. He looked the part of the young executive. He was an early bird, so at this hour he was alone with his foot on the ledge under the sill, just looking out his second floor office window onto Corso Vercelli pondering his day. He enjoyed looking down on the summer passers by on their way to work, particularly the young, skimpily dressed women

After a half hour, he heard the rumbling of people arriving in the office. It was his usual wake up call to tear himself away from the window and the passing throng and turn to his appointment book to see what the day was going to be like.

Vesubram SpA. was a company founded by Gianni Brambilla and his grandfather. Ermanno Vesuvio. They manufactured medical equipment. Michele's division, TestOptic specialized in optical test equipment. They were also working on developing lens replacements for cataracts that could focus. Gianni, his partner, ran the ElectroMed division that produced traditional test equipment, digital electro-cardiogram, digital x-ray units, MRI equipment and the like. Vesubram SpA was a public company but Gianni and Michele had complete control of the company with fifty-two percent of the common stock owned by their families together. That was the way his grandfather and Brambilla had arranged things.

The day looked like an ordinary day. He had planned a visit to the research facility in Sesto San Giovanni, a Milan suburb. Suddenly, his secretary burst into his office. Ingegnere, Signora Brambilla just called. She interrupted herself with a crying jag.

Calm down, Maria. He grabbed her shoulders. Maria was diminutive. Michele was not very tall but he towered over her. What happened?

Signor Brambilla is dead, she said and began crying again. He was hit by a car last night on Corso Vercelli.

Michele reacted with a cry of no and flopped down on the couch. Gianni Brambilla was Michele's mentor. Bur more than that, he was his surrogate father. He had taken the young Michele into the business with him four years earlier shortly after his partner, Ermanno Vesuvio, Michele's grandfather, had died. Michele, who had lost his father two years before, had just graduated with honors from the Politechnic Institute of Milan and received his electronic engineering degree. Bringing him into the business had proven to be the right move. The young Michele was a quick study and his energy, technical acumen, vision and astuteness had essentially tripled the company's business and it's value as well. He was also a natural salesman, with the charm probably inherited from his father. People liked him. They took to him. Now, Michele was stunned by Brambilla's sudden death. Although he was approaching eighty years old, Gianni was still a vigorous, athletic man and had certainly lost none of his business acumen.

When Maresciallo Muzzi arrived a half hour later and was shown into Michele's office, Michele greeted him warmly. Muzzi was a long-time friend of his grandfather and Gianni. Michele had met Muzzi many times since he was a little boy. He had come to the office the year before when there was a theft in the building. Ciao, Maresciallo. Sit, please. He shook Muzzi's hand and signaled him to sit on the couch in his office.

I am very sorry to bring you this news, Michele.

I have already heard, Maresciallo. I am sorry, too. He looked away and wiped a tear from his eye. You were a dear friend of his. Did you get who did this?

We do not know who it was, Michele. The witnesses we have spoken to believe it was intentional.

You mean Gianni was murdered? Why? Michele was stunned. He could not imagine anyone wanting to kill Gianni.

We are still investigating. But the news I bring you is that, unfortunately, you are a suspect. I have to ask you, where were you last night at 2100? He was obviously asking the question reluctantly but knew he had to get it out.

Me, a suspect? Michele said incredulously. You must be joking. Why am I a suspect? I loved the man. He was my partner. He took me into the business. After my father died, he filled in for him. I think I was closer to him than I was to my own father, as close as I was to anyone in the world.

We, too, are puzzled by that. But the magistrate is insisting you are a suspect. We are looking for a motive because we are pretty sure that he was run down with your car. We found traces of his clothing on the dented front bumper of your Lancia. Again, I must ask you, where were you last night?

My Lancia? That's not possible. I was home, reading.

Can someone verify that?

Not that I can think of. I was alone. Ironically, Maresciallo, it was one of the few nights that my friend Carla did not come to visit and stay over. We did talk on the phone about nine.

Does anyone besides you have a key to your Lancia?

Michele shook his head and replied immediately. There was no one with a key to his car except him. The extra key was in the top drawer of the dresser in his bedroom. I can't think of anyone. Although, I have not looked to see if my extra key is in my bedroom.

We have already looked. It was indeed in the top drawer of your dresser.

You were in my apartment? he asked, taken aback.

Yes, this morning. We had a warrant. And your car was in your reserved space in the parking garage of your building. Is there anyone you can think of who might have had access to your keys, and who knew the combination to the garage entrance?

I have the keys to my Lancia. The garage combination, I can't say who would have that. It could be anyone. You should ask the portinaio or the building management. I have not used my car for several days. I use the Metro to come to work.

Do you have any idea who would want to kill Signor Brambilla or perhaps someone who benefitted from his death?

You knew Gianni Brambilla, perhaps even better than I did, Maresciallo. He was a tough businessman but an honest one and a fair one. I can't imagine anyone angry enough to kill him. I'm sure there were some that didn't like him. But to kill him? He shook his head.

Was everything all right in the business? Anything happening that might give us a clue?

I have been racking my brain over that, Maresciallo. I did not know everything that was happening in Gianni's division. But I think if anything weird was going on, not only would it be difficult to hide it from me but I'm sure he would have discussed it with me. At least I think so, unless it was something that even Gianni didn't know.

Thank you, Michele. I must ask you to remain in Milan until we can resolve this. If there is anything you can think of which will prove your whereabouts when Gianni – I mean - Signor Brambilla was run down, you will call me, yes?

Definitely, Michele replied.

Then for the moment, let me say we will be in touch, he said as he extended his hand. I am very sorry for your loss.

Michele took Muzzi's hand looked into Muzzi's eyes and said, Maresciallo I think you know that I did not kill him. I couldn't have. I told you, I sometimes think that he meant more to me than even my own father.

I do not know why the prosecutor is so persistent in assuming you are a suspect, Michele, but he certainly is pushing. And for the moment, we have no other suspects and no motives. We have only your car.

Michele shook his head. Please find who did this, Maresciallo."

Ciao, Michele" Muzzi said as he flipped a casual salute to Michele, indicating that he expected to see him again and soon.

Michele remained standing with his hands in his pockets as Muzzi left. It was a personal tragedy about which he was still in shock, to lose his partner, his mentor and surrogate father. It was now a bizarre insult that he was being considered as a suspect in Gianni Brambilla's death.

He paced back and forth, head down, looking at the beige carpet in his office. He did have a feeling, particularly yesterday, that something was going on with Gianni but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He deliberately didn't tell Muzzi about it. But he couldn't imagine it to have been anything that would get him killed. And obviously whoever did it was trying to frame him. Otherwise why use his car? But who? And more puzzling, why? He could not even speculate who it was and why they were trying to frame him.

Michele called Fiorenza, Gianni's secretary, and told her he was coming over to take stock of the situation. She had obviously been crying. She had been his secretary, more like his assistant for eleven years. Michele suddenly realized that the whole company was now his responsibility and he had to get up to speed quickly.

Salve, Fiorenza, he greeted her.

Ingegnere, this is terrible. I can't imagine why this happened.

Tell me, Fiorenza, was anything happening that you are aware of that could give me a hint at why this happened. The carabinieri say it was not an accident. They say he was run down intentionally.

The only thing I can say is that right before I left for the day, I heard his screaming on the telephone.

At whom?

I don't know. I stopped to listen but I could not tell. Then I decided to leave, figuring it was none of my business.

In this case, I would have hoped you were a little more curious, he said without a smile.

I'm sorry, Ingegnere, but it is in my nature not to listen to what I am not supposed to listen to, she said looking at him with a frown.

I can't fault you for that. I want to look over things. I'll go through his agenda, and look around to see if I can find anything out.

Call me if you need any help. I will be right out here at my desk.

Thanks, he said as he walked into Gianni's office.

Michele had learned from his grandfather to plan for the worst. The worst thing he could think of at this point was that he would be arrested and officially charged with Gianni's murder, as far fetched as it seemed. But Muzzi had no other suspects and no one had the key to the Lancia. This meant that he would, at the least, have to defend himself, maybe even at a trial. Then he thought he was overreacting. There was no way he would be charged. The carabinieri would investigate thoroughly and would find out who did it. Still, he was in a hurry to look over Electromed to get familiar with what was going on and maybe to find out what was bothering Gianni. Perhaps there was something there that resulted in his death, as remote as that seemed to Michele.

Chapter II

Jason Moffett had been married to Marcella Algani for almost six years. He was a good looking man with thinning salt and pepper hair. He had never been married and felt he didn't have to be. He had no shortage of women in his life. He and Marcella met when she busted out into the social world. She had put herself into seclusion after her husband's sudden death. Gianfranco Algani was the love of her life and died of an apparent heart attack at the age of forty-six. It took her a long time for the pain to wear down. It never wore out.

Marcella Algani was still a stunning forty-something and hit Jason like an electric shock. She looked much younger than her years and had very dark, almost black hair but a fair complexion. She had a lithe, curvy figure and kept herself fit. She had a reputation growing up of being wild in the bedroom. That reputation never left her even after years of marriage and total devotion to her husband.

After a whirlwind courtship, she and Jason got married six months later. Marcella was ambivalent about marrying him. She finally succumbed to his pressure when she saw that Jason seemed to take a liking to the young Michele and watched the young man grow up from engineering student into a very successful businessman.

Marcella always felt in the back of her mind that her wealth was what made Jason marry her. When Gianfranco died, he left her a sizable estate and a very large insurance policy. When her father died, she got even more. And where Jason was concerned, whenever she felt any qualms, she remembered what drove her to marry him in the first place. She felt that Michele needed a father figure, which in retrospect she knew was a mistake. It's not that he didn't have one. Gianni Brambilla always had genuine affection for the boy and was very involved with Michele after Gianfranco died. He eventually showed it by taking him as a partner to replace his grandfather. But Gianni was her father's age and she had no idea how long he had left in this world. She tended to underestimate Gianni's longevity as well as Michele's capabilities and felt Jason would be a big help to him.

And now, the circumstances that at one time seemed to be a bizarre stretch by the carabinieri, turned out to be a nightmare for the young Michele. He was arrested and indicted for the apparent murder of Gianni Brambilla.

The