Maurizio wanted to clarify Leonardo’s presence to avoid useless misunderstandings and uncomfortable feelings Madlen may have about any suspicion of her involvement in the murder.
“Pleased to meet you, come inside.” She kindly invited them in, carefully closing the door behind her.
Maurizio and Leonardo walked behind her to the living room, without bothering to remove their jackets. They didn’t have any intention to remain there for a long time, or at least this was what they both hoped.
As they were all seated on the couch, Madlen glanced at them furrowing her brows. “How can I help you?”
“I would like to get to know more about your background. As for now, I know you came to Italy as a seventeen-year-old girl looking for that kind of fortune and future you couldn’t see in your country. What I don’t know is what happened since the day you arrived.” Maurizio commenced, trying to keep the discussion on a general tone, without entering into the details.
He hoped she would be open to willingly provide them with all the answers to their questions without the need to pursue and insist on what they already knew.
She took a deep breath. “It might take some time. Are you sure you don’t want to take off your jackets?” she asked in an amused tone.
She wasn’t an old lady, but she lived in Italy for a long time, and her life had been anything but boring. Exchanging a fast look between each other, Maurizio and Leonardo stood up from the couch and comply with Madlen’s suggestion.
“After the death of my father in Hungary, the economic situation of my family degraded, making me an easy target of ruthless traffickers. At that time, it wasn’t uncommon for girls coming from Eastern Europe to become victims of the prostitution network. For this reason, at the age of seventeen, I agreed with my mother to move away from my hometown. She had some friends here in Rome who could host me. Although I was to be considered underage, I was under her responsibility, and the Italian authorities didn’t have anything to complain about it. My mother and her friends took care of the bureaucratic work. I started working as a waitress at the Venus Caprice, and after I was offered a job as a dancer.”
She paused for a moment, thinking about her story and how lucky she’d been compared to other girls moving to Italy looking for a better life only to find themselves stuck into an endless nightmare.
“Here I met Ivan Leonov, an Italian-Russian citizen five years older than me, and we connected since the first moment we met.”
“Is he the father of Irina?” Maurizio wondered, reaching for the notebook from his pocket, knowing this was the good time to write down the information before he might have forgotten.
“Yes, I got pregnant, and we decided to get married. Things seemed to go fine, but after the birth of Irina, the relationship with Ivan started to deteriorate. He became increasingly jealous of my job and wanted me to quit, but the salary of a waitress isn’t quite the same as a dancer, and without that extra money, we couldn’t provide for Irina. Therefore we realized there wasn’t any other solution but to walk away from each other.”
Leonardo remained silent, as he didn’t need to write notes. He was able to memorize and keep all the details stored in mind, and this skill was very useful for his work at the forensic department.
Irina was three years old, and I was afraid I wouldn’t have had the possibility to take care of her. After a discussion with my sister, we decided it would have been best for my daughter to return to Hungary and live with her. She had a normal family, something I couldn’t offer.” Averting the eyes from them, she glanced at her entwined fingers on her lap, recalling that difficult decision.
Maurizio nodded. “Does your daughter return to visit you often?”
“There isn’t a precise schedule, when she has time twice every year. Why does it matter?” Madlen tried to understand the reason for their interest in her daughter.
“Just curiosity— you mentioned she was thinking of coming to Italy to study or perhaps to find a job, and I was wondering whether her desire was due to a relationship with a young man here.” He couldn’t say there was a girl with her same name who’d been seen, or better heard, in the company of Luciano.
“Do you mean if Irina has a boyfriend here?” Madlen goggled at Maurizio, surprised at his suggestion. “We’re always together when she comes to visit me. Of course, she doesn’t need any permission to travel, and she’s no longer a child. Yet, I know she would have told me if there was someone she was interested in.”
Leonardo drew a long breath and exhaling slowly, turning his eyes to Madlen. “And what about your husband? What kind of relationship does he have with you and Irina?”
Surprised at his question, she remained speechless for a fraction of a second. Her lips twitched into a shy smile. “I have no idea where he might be presently. I know he kept in contact with Irina, the problem between us didn’t involve her, and she wasn’t the reason why we decided to divorce.” She took a pause regaining her composure. “He wasn’t a good husband, but at least I can say he was a good father.”
“So, I assume he was also paying her child support? And what about the alimony to you?” Maurizio chimed in, writing in his notebook about checking the identity and the location of the man.
“We agreed he would have paid only the child support. I was able to earn enough to sustain myself and send some money to my sister. If he
