She placed her elbows on the top of the car, her eyes locked on Maurizio, and thinking carefully at his question. “I don’t know. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with dating the son of the boyfriend of your mother, but it might make the situation quite bizarre. Perhaps she doesn’t feel comfortable telling her this detail; not at least until she’s sure she wants to spend her life with him. In her place, I would have done the same.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he said, pointing his finger at her, and entering the car. “The problem is, in this case, we have a murder, and there are a few options we might think about. The first is Igor Leonov, jealous of Madlen’s relationship with Mr. Calvani, decided this has been the time to show her she belonged only to him, and if he couldn’t have her, then nobody would. He didn’t want to kill her, because deep inside he still loved her. Yet he was ready to make sure that everyone who came too close would be eliminated. So, strong of his previous connections with the criminality, he got a weapon and carefully planned a way to murder Mr. Calvani.”
Senior officer Milani followed him without saying a word, focusing on the possibilities he was going to present her.
Starting to drive, he continued the list of his suspects. “Then we have Luciano, he doesn’t need to murder his father for money. He has the funds already, together with fancy cars and easy life. Yet, the father doesn’t have much time for him. Mrs. Moretti, his neighbor, confirmed there had been a tensed relationship between the two, and it often transpired into frequent arguments.”
With a slow movement, Senior officer Milani turned her glance at him, “Oh please! This is not a reason to kill. In that case, I should have killed my father, bring him back to life, re-kill him and repeat the sequence at least ten times, for all the times we argued!” She raised her hands to her chest. “Sir, haven’t you ever argued with your father, and yelled at him that you wished he was dead?”
The sudden roar of his laughter relieved the heavy atmosphere created by the conversation. “Indeed we argued, and once I also punched him on the nose... That wasn’t a good move from me. You might be right; a fight can happen, and this doesn’t mean he could have killed him. Yet, there’s the controversial figure of Irina, despite the turbulent relationship between her parents, she has a good relationship with her father; so close to have her going to see him and staying at his place. The fact that she didn’t tell her mother about her intention to spend some time with her father, could be a good explanation for Ms. Fazekas not to know about her move. But then...” He recalled what he saw last night. “Then the car of Igor was found in Civitavecchia abandoned in a parking lot. Eventually, he agreed with some fishermen to bring him to the coasts of Corsica. Perhaps he had someone who could have smuggled him eluding the coast guards and the border police.”
Senior officer Milani pursed her lips, twisting them to the right side. “Was his daughter, Irina, with him?”
“Probably, yes. In his apartment were found traces of DNA belonging to him, and some sporadic traces most likely belonging to a woman. The neighbors confirmed having seen a woman resembling Irina, going in and coming from his apartment. I consider her presence strange enough because, according to the border police, none of her passports were recorded after the time she left Italy in October. Although coming from a Schengen area, you won’t necessarily have to pass for the passport control, the authorities would have the list of the passengers on a flight, boat or train. If you come by road, the passport control can’t be eluded. What did she have to hide, if not her involvement in the murder? Why murder the father of her boyfriend?” He grinned, knowing the answer was right in front of him, but he couldn’t grab it.
“What if her father asked her to help him? What if she had the connections to help him reach France or any other country like a ghost?” She pondered, weighing all the possible explanations.
“That’s the reason why I call her figure controversial, and her relationship with Luciano more suspicious. If you are in a relationship with someone, the least you want to do is make them suffer, so you are not going to kill the father... I can’t place her anywhere with any certainty,” he said, his eyes steady on the road. “There’s more,” he added. “Last night, we met a very strange crew of fishermen. The captain is a man who used to frequent one of the restaurants on the dock, but suddenly, he’s reluctant to even step foot outside of his ship. The rest of the crew arrived later, only exchanging murmured words between each other. It was as if they were going to a funeral...”
“Well, that’s weird,” muttered Senior officer Milani.
“Would you consider it a coincidence that all these facts
