The door opened ajar and from the chain that locked the door the eyes of a young woman peeked through the opening.
“Sorry to disturb you, Ma’am, Detective Scala here. May I ask you a couple of questions?” Maurizio said, showing her his badge.
The woman hesitated a moment, and after a fast glance over her shoulders to check that whoever was in the same apartment with her, didn’t have any objection, she opened the chain that locked the door.
She didn’t allow Maurizio to come in, but simply stood there waiting for the questions he needed to ask.
“Do you know the man who’s living in this apartment?” Maurizio asked, pointing at Igor’s door.
Her expression tensed and her body stiffened, clenching her fists. “I don’t know anybody here, and I mind my own business.” She closed the door, but Maurizio didn’t want to desist.
“Madam, please, I need to ask only a couple of questions. It’s important, will you help me?”
The door opened once again, with her eyes wide open, he noticed the terror depicted in her face, and taking one step inside he peeked around, “Are you alone?” he asked.
She whimpered at his reaction. It wasn’t anything or anyone she was fearing, but everybody knew Igor was a dangerous person, and nobody wanted to be associated with him in any way. “Please, I haven’t done anything bad, I try to live my life in peace here.”
Maurizio wiped his forehead. “I only need a couple of questions, nothing more.”
She nodded weakly lowering her gaze and tracing a couple of steps away from the door, she allowed him to enter the apartment, closing the door behind him.
“It won’t take long, and we can remain here in the entrance. Do you know whether Mr. Leonov had any visitors recently? Did he receive any guests?”
“You will never tell anyone, about what I tell you, will you?” she trembled.
“The door is closed, nobody will know anything. Whatever you tell me is going to be more confidential than the sins you tell the priest.” Detective Scala wanted to ensure her that in any case her safety would be considered a priority. If she had information that could have jeopardized her life, he would have taken all the necessary steps to keep her identity secret.
“Like I said, I tend to mind my own business, in this part of the city it makes the difference between keeping yourself alive or not. Anyway, I met him with another woman, as I was going out or coming in a couple of times. I didn’t mind listening to what is coming from other apartments. Here, everybody is more or less noisy.” Her features relaxed as she talked to the detective, yet she kept her eyes away from him.
Scala slipped his notebook from his pocket. In the middle of those pages, he still had a picture of Irina, the one he obtained times before from Madlen. “Do you recognize the woman in this picture? Was she the one who was with him?” he said, handing her the image.
She grabbed the picture in her hands and nodded. “That’s her; is she in danger?”
“No, I don’t think so. I just wanted to know who was living with him or he was alone. Can you tell me whether she had been here for a long time? When was the first time you noticed her?” He gently retrieved the picture and placed it within the pages of the notebook.
“Hard to say, I thought she’d been here for quite some time. It can be months, but whether it’s two or ten months, I can’t exactly say.”
We need permission to listen to all the telephone calls between Luciano and his girlfriend. We need to know whether there are any clues that can nail them both to the crime, only one of them or it was something Igor planned, and executed on his own. I’m still baffled by the reason why any of these two lovers would have done anything like that.
The clacking of footsteps on the floor, suggested the forensic team had arrived, and perhaps it would be better to reach them.
“I think this is enough for now. Thank you for your cooperation and I wish you a pleasant day, Ma’am,” Maurizio smiled charmingly as he opened the door ready to leave the apartment.
“Thanks, you too,” the woman replied quietly, almost whispering, hurrying to close the door behind him.
Hesitatingly, Maurizio remained to think about the clues that started to populate the puzzle in his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment allowing those pieces to come together to form the first draft of what could have been a possible scenario. Yet, he couldn’t find a place for Luciano.
He didn’t have any reason for killing his father. He had access to everything he wanted: money, luxury cars, and a brilliant career in the family firm. The emotional path and jealousy of having his father shared with another woman shouldn’t be a real reason for murder. He was married even before.
Opening his eyes, he shook his head. The one who still had a reason and showed ill intentions was Igor. The fact that a similar weapon was found here should be enough to close the case and release an international arrest warrant for him. Nevertheless, there’s also the position of Irina. She’s been quite an intriguing and controversial figure in this whole puzzle.
I feel like she has an important role in this
