Maurizio rolled his eyes. He heard the same story so many times. It was the typical bullshit many men tell women to bring them to their bed. He wasn’t free from that sin, but since he met his wife, his life felt complete, and he didn’t need to go looking for anything or anybody else. Certainly, Madlen was beautiful and much younger than Claudio, and therefore younger than his ex-wife.
Perhaps he got attracted by her exotic beauty, the particular job she was doing, or the fact that she might have fewer inhibitions in bed. Whatever the reason, it was a lousy line. So much exploited to become obsolete and vulgar. If I had a son, I would certainly teach him never to use this type of rationality with a woman or disrespect her. A disgusted grin darkened his face as he kept writing.
“Did he ever mention the idea of marriage to you?”
“No, or better, he would have, but he was living with his son, and he was afraid if he remarried, with a former sexy dancer, he would have never accepted it.” Her gaze lowered to her fingers twisting each other on her lap.
Interesting, he thought. “Have you ever met his son?”
“No, I haven’t,” she replied and continued to explain the story between Claudio and herself. “I didn’t want to leave my job, as that was the only source of income for me. I needed to provide for myself. So, on our anniversary, he brought me here and asked me if I liked the place. I thought he wanted to move in here so we could have been free to live together even if not married. When I told him I liked it very much, he showed me the purchase agreement and that the apartment was registered in my name. He gave me an apartment all for myself, and he promised to pay for all my expenses. When he told me he wanted me to quit the job, I never would have guessed he came up with this plan, so I thought it could have been a good compromise until we wouldn’t have the chance to get married or to live together like a family.”
Turning his eyes at her, he started to put all the pieces together, “I’m sorry if I sound indiscreet, but unfortunately, this is my job. How did he pay your expenses?”
“He gave me a monthly allowance of 2000 Euros,” she admitted, blushing as she explained the sum, she received from her boyfriend. “With my former job as a dancer, I couldn’t dream of earning so much. For me, it was a good deal because I could quit my job and keep seeing Claudio in my own apartment. This was going to be the place where we could have our privacy.”
Well, this at least puts a shade of doubt on her involvement. What kind of interest would she have had in killing the source of her income? Without him, she would have to find another job or to return to work as a stripper.
“What are you going to do now?” His concerned tone warmed her heart, as there was someone who wasn’t judging her as a prostitute who stole the husband from another woman and the family life from their son.
“I guess I’ll have to find a job, perhaps I’ll be back at the Venus Caprice, although I wish not to...” She shook her head, that wasn’t indeed her first priority at the moment, she still had savings before she would have needed to find a job.
Maurizio stood from the sofa, placing the notebook back in his pocket. He thought he had enough information for the moment and planned to come back to her once he put in order all the information that he gathered during the preliminary work.
He peered at the clock and realized he had another appointment with the neighbor of Mr. Calvani, but also, had to skip lunch.
“Just one last question, at what time did he leave?”
“It was about 02:15 am. I don’t remember the exact time, but that’s the closest one.”
Grabbing back the notebook and fixing that detail on it, he turned his glance at her. “For the moment, I don’t have any other questions, but I would be grateful if you wouldn’t leave the city until the case is solved.” he concluded as he parted from the sofa.
“I understand, and I also wish to be kept informed on the advancement of the investigation. Of course, I understand I’m not his ex-wife, but I think I have the right to know who killed the man I fell in love with.” She tried to keep her voice calm, but her attempts failed, as she tried to stand to guide Maurizio to the door.
“Before I forget about it,” Maurizio said retracing his steps. “Do you know this telephone number?” He took a leaflet where he wrote the Russian number that called the victim.
She took the paper in her hands and after having observed for a while, she replied. “No, I’m sorry.”
“No problem, thank you very much, Ms. Fazekas,” he greeted.
Once Maurizio left the apartment, Madlen stood in front of the closed door, thinking about what had just happened and what would have come up next.
The problems created by Claudio’s death didn’t have an easy fix. They would have required some fast action. The first thought that popped in her mind was the probability of the detective considering her a possible suspect for the murder, and if she wanted to continue her life in peace,
