“I’m sorry captain, but I needed to have a fresh and cold drink, and afterwards Finocchi showed up and took also something for himself. Maybe we’ve wasted time, but now promise that we’re gonna set to work really hard. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything that would help us to make the connection between the facts and the people in the inquiry process, but I guess everything will become easier as we’re already two persons instead of one”.
“I was kidding if you understood me right”, the captain said to them, ”Among other things and the documentations on your working desk, I noticed the letter that was sent to you before. But I forgot to tell you something important. The expert that examined the text carefully, wasn’t able to decode those words written over there, however he found that the letters are in Greek.”
“Ah.. therefore, I confirmed the impression I had when reading the text for the first time”, admitted Zamagni, “I never have learnt Greek, hence didn’t know what to say, but now we are sure about it.”
“Yeah. The point is that unfortunately, this expert lacking a full proficiency of Greek language, has failed to provide us with the text decoding. We need to have the decoding from somebody else.”
“Sounds good, meanwhile me and Marco will take care of the rest.”
“I think you’d have no time for now”, said Giorgio Luzzi.
“I’m not clear at all”, said the inspector, “What’s up? Is something else so urgent that we’d rather leave this at a later time?”
“We still don’t know for sure, but I guess we’re gonna get to know very soon.”
“May we have a little bit more of information?”, asked Zamagni kidding.
“You’re right. Now I’m gonna explain it better to you”, returned the captain.
“We’re listening very carefully”, said Finocchi.
“Do you remember a hemiplegic boy?”, the captain began to speak, turning to the inspector.
“...Marco?”, asked Zamagni, after a moment of hesitation.
The agent Finocchi turned around, with a hugely surprised face.
“Ah, sorry, I didn’t think it was about him”, said immediately Zamagni.
“I don’t really understand what you’re talking about”, returned Marco Finocchi to them.
“Do you mean Marco Mezzogori?”, Zamagni asked the captain, who in return nodded as a sign of approval.
“Yeah, I’ve known him, if it’s correct to say so”, then continued the inspector, “I’m informed that he was found dead yesterday in late afternoon.”
“Could you extend some explanation to me as well?”, asked Finocchi.
“I will tell you everything after a while”, Zamagni cut it short, before turning to the captain once more.
“How come you already know that?”
“I’ve been informed about the results of autopsy. It’s been a murder.”
The inspector still remained speechless and after some moments, the captain began to speak.
“From the results of autopsy, it comes out that a fight has been occurred between the hemiplegic boy and the murderer. Nobody knows the real cause of the fight, but we should keep inquiring further on.”
“Why did you approach to me personally, captain?”, asked Zamagni, “I‘ve got acquainted with the boy by chance, at the time he was found dead, and additionally, we need to take care of the verification of these documents. Isn’t anybody else who could be in charge of this case?”
“Perhaps would be”, returned the captain, “but there is one other detail I haven’t yet mentioned to you.”
“What is it about?”
“The boy’s aunt has called the police, probably after the family has been informed on the results of autopsy, and has explicitly demanded you to deal with the investigation of this case.”
The inspector remained silent for a couple of seconds, and then nodded.
“Ok, as you wish.”
“Have you become famous now?”, the agent Finocchi asked Zamagni.
“I don’t think so, but I know personally the boy’s aunt. It was just to do her a favor as she‘s my acquaintance by chance. ”
The agent nodded.
“Well, what are you waiting for?”, the captain said to them, as if he was feeling around the pressure that needed to be taken away.
“Let’s go right now”, said Zamagni, and Marco followed him while both of them went down the street.
“Now, it would be the right moment to talk to me and tell me some more things.”
“I’m gonna tell it to you on the way to San Lazzaro of Savena.”
“But what are we supposed to do right there? Do you need to pass by your house at first?”
“No. That’s the place where the murder did occur.”
IV
“Could you let me know on what I’m supposed to do right there?”, asked the agent Finocchi, sat down on the passenger seat while coming close to San Lazzaro of Savena.
“All happened just by chance”, began to speak the inspector Zamagni, driving the car in the attempt to escape from the heavy traffic on the road, “I know shortly Carla Mezzogori, the aunt of hemiplegic boy who remained dead from the murder. She asked me a favor to go and see the apartment where her sister-in-law actually lives. It was very obvious that the boy, given his physical disability, was living together with the mother.”
Marco Finocchi nodded, and then let the inspector to go on with the whole story.
“His mother declared that she went out for a while in the evening of the same day the boy was found dead. She still says of going out to buy some stuff as always, and once back home, she found her son laid down on the floor, with no sign of being still alive.”
“But who could have wanted him dead?”, Finocchi asked such a question to himself and to the inspector as well. “I mean... he was an innocent boy, I guess. I think he hasn’t been harmful to anybody. One of the reasons occurring to my mind right now, is the vengeance for an offence the boy has committed before.”
The agent remained silent for an instant, and then got back to reasoning.
“But how can we? Perhaps it has to do more or less with a sort of dispute?”
“I couldn’t really make a guess in this regard”, said Zamagni, “If it was about a sort of dispute, who would be the other person the boy has been disputing with? There wasn’t anyone else inside the apartment, is that right?”
“Yeah, exactly”, nodded Finocchi, “It seems nobody, so far.”
“Another assumption is that of a petty thief who enters the apartment forcefully seeing the window left open, comes across with the boy over there, then suddenly a fight occurs between them while the boy is disadvantaged because of his general physical disability.”
“Based on this version, to my opinion there’s a problem in terms of time, which means that, everything is supposed to happen very quickly”, said the agent.
“For now, we can only make guesses”, returned Zamagni, “Until now there are very few facts on which we can give any opinion.”
“What did mother say when you visited her with the sister-in-law?”
“Nothing