SALVE ROMA! A Felidae Novel - By Akif Pirincci Page 0,17

an order by thinking aloud. Antonio’s retransformation from the astonished kiddo back to the cool dandy was worth seeing. One could see in the black skinny lad whose fur now shimmered in pastel orange in the warm light of the lamp how he rebuilt his smug veneer that had fallen down in the whirlwind of activity.

»Scusa, il mio amico«, Antonio said, stood up and came real close to me. I lost myself in the green of his eyes, in which light and dark veils seem to sough. »Is it possible that you are experienced in stuff like this?«

»In what?«

He smiled wearily as if I wanted to fool him.

»Okay, okay«, I replied. »The truth is that I encountered such difficile cases a couple of times.«

»And who won?«

»Good, I hope, il mio amico.«

»È un detective!« he suddenly yelled out so loud that not just I but even jaded Giovanni winced. »We got ourselves a real detective! Finally investigative know how moves in with us. Forget London, where dark creatures in tweed rush through the fog, forget New York with all its serial killers. From now on the criminal tango is played in Rome!«

»Without my magnifying glass and my cape I’m pretty much left stranded, Dr. Watson.«

»Don’t hide your light under a bushel, Francis. Just a minute ago you delivered a great piece of criminal investigation. In front of me there’s an expert. It cannot be denied, your witty reflections speak for themselves. And you know what: I want you to teach me a thing or two, I want to be your Dr. Watson. The both of us, you, the Master, and I, your apprentice, will end this series of murders.«

»How did you conceive the idea that I will actually let myself in for that, you wacko?«

»Because I can read it in your eyes, Francis. I see the flare of curiosity and the shine of ambition in them. Admit it to yourself, il mio amico: You’re hooked! And this bait probably isn’t even the tastiest compared to the former ones. But you can’t help it, you are crazy for these cases with many barbs. So let us apprehend our first dark angler together before he has fished everyone in this sea.«

»As we have reached fishing by now: What are the odds of one those colleagues with gills hopping into my mouth within the next seconds, before I crack from hunger?«

»You want to eat something? That’s it?«

Antonio looked at me as if I had just stated that I derived from trolls.

»No, first I want to hold a presentation about Garry Kasparov’s strategy at his last tournament. Of course I want to eat, and I want it now, what do you think, douche bag!«

»Now, now Francis, you’re in Rome, the culinary Mecca of the whole planet. You are going to tuck in so many delicacies, that you will eventually crave for a rotten fishbone.«

»You don’t happen to call this Spaghetti Bolognese with a hint of green on the stairs up there delicacies?«

»Spaghetti Bolognese with a hint of green?«

He shook himself grossed out so that for a moment every single hair of his velvet fur sat up like spines and let him look like he had licked on a socket.

»My dear Francis, I believe, you really are starving, hunger has made you rant by now. So what does your palate crave for? La Rosetta have the best fish. If you are into meat, we should go visit Checchino Dal 1887. And La Pergola is the home of the real haute cuisine.«

»Phew, difficult choice«, I said, while I had to try hard not to drool all over myself again. »The problem is that I lost my platinum card on the plane.«

»Boo, only morons and humans pay for food! As an honorary gourmet critic all the top chef in the city are at my paws. Feasting is culture, and who could evaluate the quality of this culture better than our kind with our sensitive tongues. At least I’d rather swallow prussic acid than beg for trash in this horrible place. Come on, Francis, follow me and let your palate experience the fourth Lucullan dimension.«

»Eccellente, Antonio!« Giovanni said. »Until now I never even had a clue about this gluttony being culture but as I value culture above all things, I’m also going to take one for the team and join you.«

»No way!« Antonio replied unlovingly and headed towards the stony hill that consisted of rotting wall pieces and pillars, which had fallen over and broken into rough slices. »You