“That’s exactly what makes me suspicious, you know?” Maurizio followed Leonardo with the tail of his eyes, as if to see something through the darkness of the beverage. “This is something that requires a couple of masterminds, not just one.”
“And as she admitted, her father helped her in the planning and execution of the first murder...”
Raising a hand to interrupt what Leonardo was saying, Maurizio moved a couple of steps toward him. “Igor Leonov was a consumed criminal. If he were the one to help his daughter kill Mr. Calvani, there wouldn’t have been flaws, but this wasn’t the case.”
“You are forgetting Mr. Calvani’s murder was carried out professionally; the problem arose when she decided to get rid of an uncomfortable witness. Leaving other witnesses alive... I don’t know. Maybe I should let this be, as the case is closed, at least considering the evidence we’ve gathered and the final sentence of the judge.”
“We don’t have any clues to lead us to other responsible accomplices. You can’t chase ghosts, and there are other cases that need your attention, Commissario.” Leonardo chuckled.
“You’re right, and as a celebration for the conclusion of this case, since it’s almost time for lunch, I’ll drive to my favorite kiosk and get me the best Porchetta sandwich they can prepare. I know a place that won’t fail my trust.” A wide smile brightened Maurizio’s face. He gulped the rest of his coffee, and with a wave of his hand, he left the room.
Going to get the first Porchetta sandwich after a long investigation was almost a ritual, and he preferred not to have any company. He glanced at his belly, which had already begun to growl.
As it always happened, he noticed the weight he’d lost during the course of that investigation. He wasn’t able to keep a steady diet, whenever he could indulge in the sin of gluttony, he would have, knowing for sure that the next complex case would have brought his weight under the suggested values for a man of his age and body structure.
***
As everything returned to the normal routine and the cases seemed to get of easier solution than the murder of Mr. Calvani, the year reached its end, and with it, everybody at the police department hoped that criminality would for once take a break and enjoy the incoming holiday season.
Of course, that was only an illusion, and everyone knew crime doesn’t take any breaks. In Maurizio’s memory there hadn’t been a holiday period, whether Easter, Summer, Christmas, or anything else, when crimes halted for a moment. Those were perhaps the times when they took advantage of the loosened surveillance to strike.
It was a chilly day in early December, and Maurizio was trying to get the grip with the office work that had been left aside before the end of the year. The lights were enough to illuminate the rooms and the corridors, but the thick stormy cover of clouds made the day seem darker.
Looking up from his computer, he grimaced as his eyes met the dark sky outside the window. He stretched his body, releasing a loud yawn, and walked to the window to have a better idea about the weather waiting for him outside.
“It seems like the sky wants to fall, and this means only one thing— the traffic on the Tiburtine will be completely insane this evening,” he whined, knowing there wasn’t any other option.
He recalled his promise to take care of finding a new apartment where to move, and so far, he was either too busy with the case, or there weren’t enough offers for their budget. “There must be a way to get rid of that cursed road,” he growled as his mood darkened.
The knocking on his door returned him to reality, and he turned to see who was the visitor, from the window wall.
Noticing Senior officer Milani, he smiled, “Come in.”
“I was wondering whether you heard about the news,” she commenced introducing the reason for her visit.
“Depends on the news.”
“The news from the prison. Irina Leonova killed herself,” her voice got lower as she spoke as if her name was no more supposed to be mentioned. “She left a message stating that she wasn’t going to stay in jail for most of her life, and that was the only way she could think about being free again.”
Maurizio lowered his gaze and furrowed his brows; he couldn’t say he wasn’t expecting something similar.
Suicide was something fairly common between the inmates, particularly when talking about those who were condemned to a long sentence or were unfairly accused. She admitted the murder of her father and the use of illegal channels to reach Italy. Yet, she pleaded not guilty when they talked about the murder of Claudio Calvani.
Whether it was indeed her father the one who killed him or someone else, it was clear her involvement in that murder too. Therefore, talking about being judged unfairly couldn’t apply in her case.
“That’s very sad, although I can say I don’t understand her act. Many inmates find a new way of life in prison, and use the time to rebuild something, even if it’s destined to remain within the walls of the penitentiary; they most often prefer to use their time in a more constructive way, either by studying and getting a degree or thinking about their life and give it a new purpose...” He raised his right hand back on his neck and massaged it.
“Indeed,” Senior officer Milani replied sadly. “Although she was a murderer, she could have still given a purpose to her life. Of course, by the time she would have gotten out of prison, she would have been a middle-aged woman... Perhaps she feared she’d lost everything, including the mother she tried
