Reaching a good position, he noticed a group of four people walking in the direction of the boat where Aldo was. Something was also off with them. They were walking in a group, but none of them exchanged a word. They all appeared to be mesmerized...scared even; nothing to do with the fishermen he always remembered from the time when he went to the very same dock as a child with his mother to buy fish.
The people he could recognize as fishermen belonging to the same team, were charmingly chattering together, exchanging jokes or orders, and most of all they were all quite vociferous and loud. These men seemed as though they were walking inside a church, as if they were going to a funeral.
And perhaps they have witnessed one, he considered. He took note of the name of the boat and decided he would have reached the closest canteen. Some places were open during the night, planned just for the fishermen who were leaving late. If nobody had given him useful information about that strange ghost crew, he would have tried the morning after until someone would have explained to him what was going on with these people.
The group reached the ship and went in without greeting the one who Maurizio considered being the captain.
“Anything interesting?” Leonardo’s voice interrupted his inner considerations.
Turning his face to him, he grinned. “You bet there is. Have you ever had any experiences of members of a crew being silent, and barely talking to each other?” he asked as they started to walk back to their car.
Shaking his head, Leonardo had to admit it would have been the first time he’d heard something similar.
“I took note of the name of the ship; either we find someone ready to tell us what is going on with those people, or we will have to find out, our way.” Maurizio kept walking in the opposite direction, turning his face every now and then to check the boat.
A loud yawn from Leonardo’s mouth echoed in the silence of the night. “I guess we won’t have time to go to sleep, will we?” he complained.
“I would like to ask around first, then we can return home, and tomorrow we will take care of the rest. Believe me, I’m dead tired too, and thinking of driving all the way back to Rome and home, is already killing me.”
They reached the closest canteen, which was still open. Maurizio wasn’t familiar with the town or the places, but he required information for his own peace of mind.
The place was ready for closure, as there weren’t any customers, and the personnel started to clean up. The man behind the cash register was going to tell those who entered to go out, but his mouth froze as he saw the two officers coming inside. The first reaction was whether they were performing a routine check of the business activities for any irregularity, but noticing the forensic police vest, he relaxed immediately. “Good evening,” he greeted. “What brings you here at this time of the night?”
Maurizio looked around to get familiar with the environment. “Good evening, to you too. Is this a place where the fishermen come here to have dinner or lunch?” He didn’t have time for pleasantries, and he went straight to the point.
“There are many places where they go, but this is the closest one,” the man replied as the other two kept tending to their cleaning chores.
“Do you know anything about a fishing boat called, “Sea Rider?” Maurizio asked.
“Aldo’s boat? Sure, he came here every day for dinner. However, it’s been a few weeks. I see it there, but he doesn’t get out of it anymore. Sometimes I walk around, I have some good friends among those fishermen, and Aldo was one of them.”
Narrowing his eyes, Maurizio glared at Leonardo with a barely perceptible nod. “What happened? Did you have an argument?”
Shaking his head with his hands raised he said, “That, I’d be damned if I know what’s going on. To tell the truth, detective, the whole crew became like ghosts. None of them frequent any of the bars or restaurants they used to. They hardly exchange any words with the other fishermen. Some talk about an ancient curse, a tale whispered by the seamen, but you know those are just legends, and there isn’t any curse, or any evil creature that can steal the soul of a sailor,” he chuckled, amused recalling that story.
“I don’t believe in those stories either, but sometimes those legends can hold a foundation of truth. Do you recall anything that took place recently, which could explain their change in behavior?” Maurizio inquired.
He was aware that in such a small environment, if someone had some trouble with any irregularity, the last person they would have talked to it was a police officer. Yet, if the case was perhaps more serious, like the case of a murder, they would have been more likely to talk.
“I can’t say whether there had been anything that triggered their sudden change of behavior. The only thing I can say, and I know, is from one day to another, they quit coming to this restaurant to eat, they became all silent, and Aldo refused to leave his boat. I have asked the others, but none of them could understand what was going on.” Some fishermen smuggled either drugs or weapons between the coasts of Corsica and Italy, but that was a detail he wasn’t going to mention for no reason in the world. If that was the reason for Aldo and his crew to change their behavior, it would have been something the officers had to find out on their own.
I’m their friend; they all have families, and I’m not going to reveal anything that could bring such a financial catastrophe. Fishing is not an easy job or something to
