Water, earth, fish, animals, rice: these were the fundamental elements of Italian cuisine in the pre-war and war years, elements that profoundly influenced the culinary creations of one of the most famous chefs in Italy, Gualtiero Marchesi.

Cione is allowed to go home after Lapo admits to the shooting. However, some aspects of the investigation, like the mysterious blood stain in the cellar, still don't square.

While Cioni is questioned by Manara, Count Lapo returns on the scene. Unfortunately, his memory of what happened is very imperfect.

Manara obtains a warrant and brings Cioni in for questioning. Cioni continues to deny any meeting with the Count. This become untenable when he's asked to consider that his fingerprints are on a glass in the Count's cellar.

Magpies [gazze ladre] in folklore are known to be attracted by shiny things. Rossini's opera La Gazza Ladra recounts the story of Ninetta, a servant girl. She is wrongly accused of stealing the silverware that the family magpie stole.

Manara and Lara go over the points of the case. Lara suggests getting a warrant for Cioni, the Count's difficult neighbor.

Charles Ferrant's body has been discovered by a fisherman. The Count is still missing, and Lara's aunt wants a word with Malvina, the Count's housekeeper.

Pre-war and wartime cooking, when fuel for cooking was in short supply, made raw recipes come to the fore.

Violetta writes a letter of farewell to Alfredo. He is miserable, but hears of a party where he is sure to see her. But there, things go from bad to worse. Alfredo ends up having to live abroad, and Violetta's illness gets much worse. Will they ever be able to embrace each other again?

While they're huddled together in the meat truck, Commissioner Manara tries to wheedle out of Lara the reason she's still angry at him from police academy days.

Ferocious bull terriers force Manara and Rubino into a refrigerated meat truck.

Anna and Marika tell the first part of the story of Violetta and Alfredo, their falling in love and their decision to live in Paris together. But their happiness doesn't last...

Cioni, the Count's neighbor and rival vintner, is interrogated by Manara and Lara. Without a warrant, there's only so far they can go.

Gualtiero Marchesi recalls the early years of his friendship with Aldo Calvi, when the would hunt and fish together along the Po.

"We have a missing Count, a cellar full of blood, a mysterious Frenchman..." is how Commissioner Manara sums up the investigation to this point.