Quickening his steps, he returned to his room and started to coordinate the tasks among the members of his team.
CHAPTER 18
The warrants arrived quite soon, even before Maurizio or anyone on his team could connect with Igor Leonov. The man had simply disappeared into oblivion, which gave him the feeling that either they were on the right path and the man decided to flee, or like the little voice from the back of his head kept yelling, the situation was far more complex than they could have thought.
“I think there’s no other way than go and search his apartment. So far nobody answered, when our officers reached there,” he said to himself, staring out the window. With a growl, he stood from his chair, from which he felt like having spent his whole life and walked to the room where senior officer Sandra Milani and officer Carlo Silvani were working.
He was looking for someone to go with him to try once again ringing Igor’s doorbell, and in case nobody would have answered, they would have come inside anyway. They had the warrant for searching the entire place.
Generally, he would have asked Leonardo to come with him, but since Chief Commissioner Angelini usually frowned at that decision, Maurizio considered asking one of those who stood by the rules were supposed to go with him.
He considered whether to call the forensic team or not. So far, we don’t have any clues to determine the need for their presence, and the louder we are, the worst it can be for the whole operation.
The room was silent, as he came inside, and officer Silvani was alone organizing the files on the database. As he saw Maurizio coming in, he stood up from the chair, standing at attention. Carlo Silvani was one of the youngest recruits in Maurizio’s department, and he was still keeping himself adhering to the strict discipline he’d learned at the Police Academy from which he graduated a few months ago.
“Sir,” he promptly greeted.
“At ease,” Maurizio replied. “You’re coming with me. We need to reach Mr. Leonov’s apartment, and if we don’t find him, we’ll need to enter the place one way or another.”
“Yes, Sir,” officer Silvani marched to get his jacket.
He paced toward the car as officer Silvani remained silent for the whole journey. His discomfort was palpable, but Maurizio had his own thought to focus on rather than on the feelings of his subordinate. He was sure he would have loosened up with a bit of experience in the Police Corps.
Parking the car in front of the building where Igor’s apartment was, the first thing that came to Maurizio’s mind was that he wasn’t in the residential area where wealthy people used to live. It wasn’t the Parioli quarter, that was Esquiline, and crimes were their daily bread in those places. Suddenly something forced Maurizio to stop in his tracks. It was a smell he could recognize in a heartbeat, and a noise capable of shaming him in the noisiest situation. The first was a whiff coming from a bar, where they served his favorite Porchetta sandwich, and the other was the reaction of his stomach to the stimulation.
“Hush!” Maurizio reproached as if he was talking to someone.
A confused officer Silvani furrowed his brow, “Sir?”
“Never mind, officer. Maybe one day I’ll explain. Let’s hurry up, we don’t have time to waste.” Quickening his step, already regretting losing the chance of the only meal of the day, he paced toward the entrance of the building.
Having done that job for many years, he trusted his instinct, telling him to call and have in place already a fire brigade’s team. Something told him that they would find the house empty, as nobody ever answered when he dialed Igor’s telephone number.
Meeting them outside the building, Scala greeted them: “Good afternoon, the apartment is on the third floor, but I can’t say which one of those windows belongs to his or the neighbor’s home.”
“If nobody is inside, we can figure out a way to let you in, and force the front door open, if necessary,” one of the firemen answered, as they entered the building.
Followed by officer Silvani, who kept silent for the entire time, they walked toward the stairs. That building, like most of those in the area, didn’t have more than five floors, so it was uncommon to have elevators. However, Igor’s apartment was located on the third floor, so there wasn’t any need to have one.
Despite that detail, as they reached their target, Maurizio’s breath was slightly labored. His first reaction was trying one last time to ring the bell, hoping someone would have opened it, and better if it were Igor himself.
Luck wasn’t on their side, and although the ringing of the bell was clearly audible, nobody went to open the door. “I guess we need to force the door,” muttered Maurizio, glancing at the firemen.
Opening the door didn’t require extreme measures and as they entered the apartment, officer Silvani could close it behind him.
They both immediately realized something was off. The apartment was empty, but not in the way suggesting the occupant left for good. It was as if the owner left one day, intending to return in the evening or at least the following day.
“Something happened and either he decided to leave, or someone forced him not to return...” Maurizio considered walking around.
“Sir, do you think he’d been...” Officer Silvani didn’t know how to put the possibility to have to deal with another murder, in the same case.
“Murdered? Possible, officer... very much possible, but this is something unconfirmed; this is one of the many hypotheses at the moment,” he explained, exploring the rooms of the apartment. The first room he visited was the kitchen. “The fridge is full, meaning he plans, or he planned to return.”
Officer Silvani walked to the
