Aldo didn’t say a word. It was like he didn’t understand where he was or how he arrived at the Police Department and the reason why he was there.
Maurizio guided him inside the room. Generally, he would have brought him to the room for the interrogations, where there would have been cameras and recording systems. Nevertheless, he needed to understand the reason for his visit, before moving to what he considered ‘the next step.’
Giving a fast glance around before closing the door he made sure not to have the attention of the other officers. “Please have a seat,” he commenced as he also closed the curtain of the windows on the corridor.
Aldo went to sit down on a chair at the table in the middle of the room; the one used for short meetings with the members of his team. Maurizio lingered, observing him, to make a fast evaluation of the person in front of him. He wasn’t the same person; the conflict tearing his soul apart, transpired evidently from the red eyes. Those were the eyes of a man who couldn’t sleep anymore, the ones who had experienced something the soul wasn’t ready to cope with.
Keeping his gaze steady on Aldo, Maurizio, slowly, sat down in front of him. “Mr. Carrisi, what’s the reason for your visit? I once gave you my telephone number and I expected you would have called me, before reaching the Police Department.”
Twisting his entwined fingers on the table, Aldo drew a long, broken breath, in the attempt to hold back his tears.
“Aren’t you going to record this conversation?” he asked in a whisper.
“Are you going to confess something you’ve done? Do you want to have an attorney present?” Maurizio asked while keeping his eyes on him.
“Yes, I need to confess something, and I don’t need an attorney. I trust I am in the right place to turn myself in.”
Nodding, Maurizio stood from the chair and looked toward the door. “Then we need to move to another room. Please, follow me.”
Silently, with slow movements, Aldo followed Maurizio out of the room, walking the aisles without caring about the curious glances he’d received.
Together they reached the room for the interrogatories, and as Maurizio prepared for the recording, Aldo went to take a seat at the only table in the middle of the room.
As everything was ready, Maurizio turned his eyes back at Aldo, “What do you need to tell me?”
Aldo kept his gaze lowered on his hands on the table. “I killed a man; I killed a man I’ve never met before, and who hadn’t done anything wrong to me. I killed him to save my life, thinking it was worth living. I’m carrying the guilt of a murder.” His eyes met Maurizio’s, toughening his expression. “I was wrong, and my life wasn’t worth his death, and I keep seeing his eyes everywhere I go.”
Maurizio knew whom he was talking about, but for the sake of the recording and for proof he had to collect, he had to get the full name.
“Who is the man you killed? Do you know his name?”
Nodding, Aldo turned his glance away from Maurizio. “Igor Leonov, Irina’s father. I killed Igor Leonov, and God knows I regret it every second of my life.”
“Can you give me more details about what happened? How did you get to know him? On which occasion you killed him, and why you said your life was threatened?” He was sure he knew all the answers to those questions and understood, he reached the conclusion of the case. Nevertheless, he had to make sure he wasn’t forced into a false confession to protect the real murderer.
“I’ve known Irina for a couple of years. Fishing is not a profession to get rich with, but it’s something I inherited from my father and my grandfather. Sometimes I round my gain by smuggling people through the border between France, Spain or wherever else. There’s a man, Alec Beaufort, he’s the contact person to transport people in and out of the Italian territorial waters. I always wondered why Irina who’s Italian, too needed my services as she could travel between the EU without any restrictions. Yet, it was clear she necessitated to get in and out without the authorities knowing. I got paid well for the service and so I didn’t complain about it. Concerning the rest of the crew, they simply didn’t have any say in this. This is my boat; my business, and they are paid to come with me and fish.” His voice started to get steadier, as the weight from his soul got lighter and lighter.
“You are aware those charges will...”
“I know, and I don’t care. If I need to go to jail, even for the rest of my life, so be it. All I need is to get rid of the weight I’m carrying on my shoulders, and if I have to carry with me Irina, so much better,” Aldo interrupted. “I don’t know whether you’ve met her, but she’s the kind of woman a man can’t refuse. She has a way to obtain what she wants, either with her beauty or with the threat she can pose to the life of anyone. She doesn’t stop for anything, and whatever goal she has in mind, she will be able to reach it, or to make sure someone will do it for her, like in this case.”
There was a short pause of silence, but Maurizio waited for Aldo to finish his story. It would have taken time, but he wasn’t in a hurry— not that day.
“She knew I was attracted by her since the first day I saw her, and she used it at
