Montressor spells out some of these details in the very
first paragraph of Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."
At length I would be
avenged; this was a point definitely, settled—but the very definitiveness with which it
was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only
punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed
when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger
fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the
wrong.
Above all, according
to Montressor, vengeance can be successful only if the risk of being caught is remote.
Therefore, Montressor planned his murder of Fortunato with careful attention to detail.
He made sure that his servants were gone on the night of the crime; there would be no
possible witnesses. He made sure that Fortunato was drunk beforehand. He lured Fortunato
with a temptation that he knew his "friend" could not resist--a rare bottle of
Amontillado. He made sure that Fortunato had no doubts about Montressor's apparent
sincerity. He came with the proper tools for his job: a trowel and mortar. He made
certain that Fortunato's screams could not be heard. Fortunato's final resting place was
one that could not be easily found.
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