Maurizio nodded, understanding that what he revealed was only a part of the truth, the rest he had to figure it out on his own.
“Another question if I may—we received a notice of an abandoned car in one of the parking places. It was a white FIAT Punto. Have you noticed anything strange around? You said you walk around to chat with the fishermen, perhaps you’ve noticed the car too, or you’ve heard someone talking about it?” Maurizio needed to get all the information possible from him. Certainly, he could have asked around the day after, but his curiosity had to be satisfied; he didn’t have time until the morning after.
“No, I haven’t noticed anything about any car. I’m sorry.”
As his lips pursed, Maurizio remembered having the pictures of Igor and Irina with him. Perhaps that was information the man was willing to share. If so, they might have left the country relying on the help of those fishermen, and perhaps their departure relates to the behavior of this Aldo and his crew.
Maurizio searched his pockets, extracting the pictures, drawing a long breath, “Have you ever seen any of these two people around here? Did they ever come into this restaurant or have you noticed them passing by?”
Unwilling to give away too much information that could have harmed any of his friends, he took the pictures in his hands and examined them carefully. He certainly remembered having seen the girl roaming around Aldo’s boat, but he was sure this information could have given him more trouble than the one he was dealing with; the ones that turned the whole crew into a ghostly bunch of lost souls.
With a weak shake of his head, he returned the picture to Maurizio, “I’m sorry, Detective, I haven’t seen any of them around here. You should ask whether the fishermen had seen anything; they have better chances to be outside around the dock, either when they are taking care of the boats, or when they are unloading their ships.”
Taking back the pictures, Maurizio looked at Leonardo, and back to the man behind the register. A long, exhausted exhale escaped his mouth as tiredness won over frustration and stamina. “Thank you very much. We’ll try to find our own answer. Have a good night.” He turned and motioned to Leonardo to head out of the restaurant.
“So, perhaps Igor and Irina were here, because the car was still on the parking lot,” Leonardo commenced. “They had probably been seen, because the man was obviously lying, and the most important thing is that this probably had to do with the change in mood of the crew of the Sea Rider.”
“And that’s exactly what we will find out. I’m sure with the right pressure this Aldo will be ready to talk.” He took another look at the dock, and with a grimace he noticed the boat was no longer there. “We will have to wait until tomorrow morning or afternoon, whenever they’ll be back from their fishing gig.”
Tilting his head backward Leonardo whimpered, “I can’t wait. I need to sleep, or I will collapse here. It’s two o’clock.”
“We’ll have to continue tomorrow. First thing in the morning you will go through the examination of the car, and I’ll be back here with officers Milani or Silvani to find out more about those fishermen. I wish I had a search warrant, but that might require time, and it’s something I don’t have. Oh well, let’s go to sleep.”
CHAPTER 20
Maurizio arrived in zombie mode the following morning to his office. He had no idea how he was able to reach the Police Precinct with his car in the state he was in without having any kind of accident. A coffee wasn’t simply a must, it was a civic duty, and for that kind of emergency, it should have been the one offered in the common room by the vending machine. That tasted like the nastiest rat-poison in the world; the kind of beverage necromancers use to wake the dead.
The morning didn’t start off on the best premises, but recalling what was at stake, he gathered all his strength after gulping the murky brew, like a medicine. He paced toward the room where Officer Silvani and Senior officer Milani were supposedly working.
“Milani, come with me, we need to arrive at the Roman Dock in Civitavecchia,” he said without even a simple greeting, slamming the door open.
Officer Silvani, as usual, stood at attention, like a tin soldier, “Sir!” he greeted.
“At ease, officer, at ease,” Maurizio smiled. Perhaps it was excessive, and not being in the army anymore, that kind of stiffness wasn’t required, more than standing up as he came in with more natural moves, like senior officer Sandra Milani did. Nevertheless, it was something that pleased him.
Grabbing her jacket, she smiled, “Good morning, Detective Scala.” She turned to Officer Silvani, noticing he had sat down, continuing his duties.
“Last night, Romizi and I reached the Roman Dock, where we found the car and had it towed to the Forensic Department, so I guess Romizi’s team is playing the little chemist on it today,” he chuckled with an evil grin on his face, as they walked to the parking lot.
“Interesting, but I also have some news for you,” she commenced. “When you told us to have all the Mr. Calvani’s call logs, we found out something interesting. Recently, he received a call from a cafeteria in Paris, besides those from friends and family members in Rome. Then, there was a couple of days of silence and then a regular call log from Hungary. The number was the same as the one he used to receive calls from his girlfriend, Irina Leonova.”
“So, this means she’s back in Hungary,” he muttered. “As we return from Civitavecchia, we will have to pay
