Leonardo cringed at the idea, but perhaps that was a good one. Although he was in better physical shape, Maurizio was shorter and had smaller feet, which could fit in the span of the cornice. “Be careful,” he warned with a whisper.
Taking a deep breath, Maurizio raised his eyes at the sky, as if to ask for some blessing coming from somewhere. Then, collecting all his determination he began to move carefully, his first steps along the walls of the building. Every sort of dramatic movies came to his mind, but trying to focus his mind on his task, he kept going without letting those thoughts distract him.
Easier than he thought, he reached the corner of the building. There, a couple of meters away, was the access ladder to the rooftop. He considered the missing of the security cage was something to point out, because in that case the intruder would have been forced to find another access, or escape, for the matter.
Peeking from the corner, he glanced at Leonardo. “There’s a service ladder. I’m using that to reach the ground floor. Meet me downstairs and call your team to gather here immediately with the complete equipment. We need to find out whether the intruder left any traces which we can analyze.”
Without waiting for his answer, and already dreading being hung from a narrow cornice, he hurried to walk to the ladder and climb down.
Never in his life, he recalled being so happy to have his feet on the ground. However, he rushed to the main entrance of the building, waiting for Leonardo, who arrived at the same time. The expression on his face revealed how he felt having to explain everything to Mrs. Moretti.
“I know,” chuckled Maurizio. “She knows how to get the information she’s looking for.”
“What’s more disturbing is that she knew who my mother is and where she lives. She also asked me to greet her, next time I see her. How’s it possible that she—” Leonardo wondered, unable to put in words the confusion Berenice could bring to his mind.
“She knows everything and everybody. She lived longer than us and has more connections than the organized crime itself.”
With a laughter, they returned to the car.
“I have called the whole team. They’ll be here in a few minutes, so, perhaps we should wait for them. They don’t have the keys to the apartment,” Leonardo recalled, so they waited in the car for the forensics van to arrive.
CHAPTER 16
Aldo and the crew were seated at the table in the small common room of the boat. It was as if a thick curtain had fallen between them, offering an odd silence, which was palpable as none of them dared to make a sound. The slow movement of the lamp, in harmony with the tidal waves of the sea, oscillated to and fro, providing ample light alternately to different sides of the table.
The creaking of the vessel and the ropes which kept it anchored to the dock broke the silence every now and then. The onset of quiet, caused a nervous twitch on Aldo’s lips.
With his hands on the table, fingers entwined, he mentally went through the details of the plan for that night, the way they would have murdered Igor and concealed his body to the bottom of the sea. He will be in good company with all the other unfortunate souls, who found their resting place among the waves.
Time seemed to pass slow, and every minute brought more restlessness to the members, wishing for something to happen that would have saved them from the plan they had to agree to. Suddenly, the weak whistle returned them to reality, and like the flip of the switch, they all stood up simultaneously to get ready. Irina and Igor arrived, and that was their signal they were waiting for.
Wearing his jacket, Aldo walked to the bridge, and his eyes caught sight of the two visitors. A weak nod with his face, keeping his grave expression, was all he could offer them.
“So, is everything ready? Are we late?” Irina asked, trying to break the ice, as if to warn Aldo to behave more naturally.
An uncertain smile formed on Aldo’s face, concealing the turmoil in his soul. His body tightened up with a shiver when the face of Igor appeared in the light of the boat as he moved out of the shaded position he had been in.
His pale skin and blond hair already caused him to resemble that of a corpse. That might make things easier, at least from a psychological point of view, Aldo considered. “Please, come inside, we’re leaving immediately, before the tide will become unfavorable.” His voice, hardly a growl. I still don’t like the whole situation.
Expecting to be followed by Irina and Igor, he turned his shoulders to them and walked toward the same place, where a minute before his crew, which were now busy with the routine operation to leave the dock, idled.
Without saying a word, Irina and Igor walked behind him, and as they reached the common room they took a seat at the table. The feeble light of the lamp barely illuminated the entire room, leaving some corners immersed in darkness, where shadows tended to stretch like the hands of demons, waiting for their victim.
The ship began its route. Aldo kept his eyes at the pitch-dark sea, hoping to arrive at the designated place for the murder in a short time.
The door opened, which startled him, “Captain, we’ll reach the place in a while.” Mario’s voice trembled. “Are you sure we’re going to get out clean with it? Isn’t there a better way?”
“There isn’t.” Aldo clenched his teeth, hissing at Mario’s remark. He’d rather
