UNDER THE CLOAK

by Lennek, Nicole

  He lifted his face, reading her silent request, and he moved decisively penetrating her, while she was bending her own pelvis to go towards him.

  She would have regretted, she thought. She was using him, she thought again. She swallowed: those were not real sensations. She tried to deceive herself, moving at its own pace, finding a perfect synchrony in his lunges, capturing his lips, biting his throat. He clasped her hands behind him, driving her fingers in his flesh.

  They were on the same wavelength. They were remarkably in sync, he thought, while watching her lose her control.

  Chiara turned slowly, watching him sleep. Three times they had sex: three wonderful sexual acts she shouldn’t have had, not with him, not like that.

  She didn’t know how to feel. She had used him: she wasn’t sure of being able to keep the feelings out. She slipped out of his bed, trying not to make any noise and she went to the desk: she began to look at the documents.

  It was dark outside, she sighed.

  She observed bank’s documents. She bit her lip and looked around the room: all was silent. She took a picture and observed a file; she opened it with finesse, looking out for avoiding any mess. First pages were not interesting: they were old report about car thefts. Then, she noticed the transcription of some interrogations to some suspected terrorists.

  She observed the dates – six months before, nine months before. Why did he have them? She photographed them quickly: she couldn’t read them in short time. She observed the surrounding. Had he a strongbox? He brought at home the duty pistol, so he had a safe place to keep it. Where? She found nothing. He could have it in bedroom, but looking for it would have been too much risky.

  She stopped, and rested motionless. She was hearing noises. Quickly, she walked toward the kitchen; she grabbled a glass, just a moment before he appeared in the doorway. He had put the pants of a suit and a shirt; his hair was dishevelled.

  “Hi!” They were embarrassed. Chiara looked at him and then lowered her gaze:

  “I was thirsty. I’d better go back to my hotel. I… I shouldn’t even be here!”

  “I’m coming with you” He walked toward her.

  She shook her head:

  “I’m taking a taxi. Ale, forget what happened, okay? I don’t need a complication at present, and you’d be a complication!” Meanwhile, she thought “such a complication: a huge one!”

  He stared at her and nodded:

  “I agree, but I don’t like that you wander in the night alone in a town you don’t know!”

  “I’m in uniform. Do you really believe that someone could molest a cop? Be quiet, my car is coming!”

  He raised an eyebrow:

  “What if I didn’t wake up?”

  “I would have left a note. You sure agree we’d better forget this evening, don’t you?”

  He nodded. Yes, he needed to forget. He wanted to keep her away. That wasn’t the right way to do it.

  He watched her go out. She closed the door to her shoulders. He sighed. He had no sleep, he looked at the time: 3:00 a.m.

  Sleepy or not, it was definitely better getting back to bed.

  Chapter 11

  Chiara went to bed at 4:30 a.m.

  When she had arrived at the hotel, she had a shower and spent a lot of time thinking.

  She had believed not to be able to rest; instead, she had collapses as soon as she laid her head on the pillow: a deep sleep, without dreams.

  When she opened her eyes, she seemed to have slept for twelve hours. It was 7:02 a.m. indeed. She got out of bed: at 8:00 a.m. she had to be at the HQ. She observed the phone: no call. She would have to ring her mother, but there was no time at all. She sighed and texted her then started dressing quickly.

  At 8:00 a.m. she was in front of the HQ. Carlo smiled and went towards her; there was an Arabian girl beside him.

  “There you are, Chiara. This is my ex wife. Amina is an interpreter of the court and is here to give us a helping hand!”

  Chiara’s look must have been very significant. After she had greeted Amina, she saw her going toward the Chief. Carlo approached her smiling:

  “We are on good terms. I saw your face! Do you want a coffee?”

  Chiara nodded, shifting her attention to the Chief who was talking at some people in his office. How luck, Alessandro wasn’t here.

  Carlo always joked, he was enough friendly, and yet… what if his ex wife had a connection with the terrorist? Maybe he inadvertently was passing information to her or to be an interpreter helped her in distorting something? She should have added her name to the list but now there was something more important she had to think about: the robbery had yielded a lot of money. For what?

  She grabbed the coffee that Carlo was holding and looked up at him: he watched her almost insolent. He looked odd. Was she becoming paranoid? She sighed.

  “What’s up, detective?”

  “Nothing, Carlo, nothing. So, your wife is Arabian?”

  “Yes, she is. I thought I already told you. Perhaps, our different backgrounds separated us.”

  Chiara swore mentally. It was true. He did. She had to be more careful and focused on the case, instead of getting lost in memories that she wouldn’t even had to have.

  “Aren’t you afraid that someone might think badly now?”

  Carlo frowned. A lightning flashed in his eyes.

  “No, no, why?” Maybe there was a suspect in Carlo’s eyes, but then Chiara saw him smile and shake his shoulders:

  “Chiara, detective, the briefing is in twenty minutes. Why don’t get to out for a walk?”

  She nodded, despite the photos in her phone weighed as boulders. She didn’t want to think back to the last night. She didn’t need to think again.

  As a flashback, she saw him naked on top of her, entering into her, staring at her eyes; she could feel him lapping at her throat with his tongue, taking her lip in his mouth; they had rolled over and she ha been under his body in a tangle of arms and hands; their mouths that were being sought; the mouth of him who stopped on his navel; the trail of hot kisses on her navel… she stopped, turning back by her thoughts. She stared at Carlo, who gave her back a puzzled look:

  “Sorry, Chiara, but… are you daydreaming?”

  “No, no, sorry, I’m here!” She took his hand and smiled him back. She observed Claudia getting over to them, smiling and joking. Chiara felt the phone vibrate. Immediately, she recognized the ring tune of her boss.

  “Sorry, I have to turn away. It’s my supervisor.”

  She walked a few steps away:

  “Pilati! Spisni is anxious. Have you notice?”

  “Boss, I’m telling you as soon as possible. Not now!”

  “Okay, okay, Pilati. I don’t want to put you under pressure, but the rumours coming to us are troubling!”

  “Guys! We’re waiting for you… Detective?”

  Chiara nodded:

  “Boss, I have to re-enter: I will update you tonight, via Skype, if that’s okay. 6 p.m.?”

  “Okay, Pilati. I hope there’s something I can tell Spisni!”

  Chiara smiled. Were the leaders always so anxious? They resembled to each other. She walked briskly toward the meeting room. She had just sit down when heard the door open:

  “Detective Ferrari, welcome!”

  He stood still, without turning around. Chiara felt his gaze, but didn’t look at him.

  “Okay, guys. Retrace the robbery. We have several photos of the area. We have no idea of the commandos who stormed it and it’s worthless to say that those men we arrested claim themselves out of the entire business; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Currently, we have not enough evidence to confirm the latch precaution and in a little we will have to send them home. If we associate these events to threats reported by the control centre in Rome, and we add the fact that in less than three weeks there will be a briefing with several foreign presidents, we can’t take it easy. I ask to our three counterterrorism experts to take the floor an
d give us their opinion!”

  Chiara observed Renato, the commissioner of the operational unit of Rome, and Ludovico, the inspector from Florence, who kept the course with her; they rose simultaneously moving towards the stage. She saw the audience: her gaze lingered for a moment on Alessandro. He was cryptic. This consoled her. Alessandro wasn’t relaxed and seemed to have slept badly. She returned her attention to the context: her colleagues had marked the critical points on the map, the suspects and the possible connections.

  “In conclusion, we set the alarm on level three: all squad remain in warning!”

  Chapter 12

  Chiara approached to Torres, who was motioning to her: “Detective, are you going to question the two men we arrested yesterday?”

  She nodded: “Sure. No problem!”

  “Ferrari, come here too!”

  Chiara whirled and stared at him. He grinned and sighed: “I work by myself, boss!”

  “You don’t mind if Chiara comes too, do you? We have an expert, why not to put her to use?”

  Chiara turned, watching at Alessandro clenching his jaw and barely holding back a reply that surely would have been bitter. She read his facial expressions. It was part of her educational path, studying the faces and the emotions. Nevertheless, at that moment she would not to have those skills.

  “Okay. As you say, boss!”

  Torres smiled, guiltless, without even looking at them:

  “Well done, well done. Then go to the interrogation room in ten minutes!”

  He went away and left them alone in the hall:

  “Detective, I don’t need you to come.”

  “But I will, as I was asked, do you mind? If you do, I’m sorry. I think you will get over it. Two people are better than one.”

  “I’m not used to manage a questioning with other colleagues!”

  “Neither do I, but there’s always a first time. If you take advantage, I will ask and you will listen.”

  “You talk and I listen, you mean!” He retorted.

  She stared at him: “What’s your problem, Ferrari?”

  He breathed. She was too acute and too suspicious, too much, she wasn’t good for that, not now.

  “I’m okay, Chiara. Come on!”

  He walked away. She shook her head, lingering for a moment in watching at him. He was in plain clothes; actually, he was marked free in shifts. Clearly, he had been called only for the briefing.

  He watched at her. He watched her black hair that fell soft on her shoulders. He thought about the tiny star-shaped tattoo on her shoulder. He thought back to her hands that slid down his neck and clawed for the third time; when he thought he had already given all he could and she instead took him even higher. When she had drawn him against herself and then stared into his eyes. He had found her on his own body. Alessandro had felt at the mercy of her hands – water and fire at the same time – and she had whispered: “You drive me crazy.”

  Her voice was hoarse with desire… she was a flame dancing in his eyes. And he had been burned. Damn, if he had! He shook off those thoughts. Right now, he had more important things to do, such as managing the questioning with her.

  Chiara stopped in the hall, observing the pictures on the walls, the medals on the bulletin board, looking at the faces of the old Chiefs. She saw a man entering and she imagined he was the magistrate. Next to him, there was the girl from whom she had saved Alessandro: was she the attorney’s assistant? Could she be? She had to write down her name. Chiara saw that she was watching back, inspecting. Chiara lifted her chin: she had no fear.

  “We are ready!”

  Chiara whirled. Alessandro had stopped with Claudia to sign some documents; she didn’t wait for him. She entered the room:

  “Here we are!”

  “Again? We have nothing to tell you. We know nothing. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time!”

  Chiara sat quietly, staring at the two men. She knew everything of them: their place of birth, where they worked, when they had arrived to Italy.

  “What were you doing on the highway at that hour?”

  “We were going for a ride!”

  “You had to be at work. Why didn’t you go at work?”

  In that moment, the door opened. Alessandro went in furious and sat down next to her:

  “Why the hell did you start without me?” hissed he livid. She whirled without answering and shook her head, under the curious gaze of the judge and his assistant.

  “We were out for a ride!”

  “We have the evidence that you have made two phone calls to two disposable cell phones!”

  He saw the glint in their eyes. She turned to Alessandro:

  “Has Jamal already arrived?” She saw them wincing and looking around opening their eyes wide. She saw Alessandro inhaling sharply, squinting and growing pale. She froze out. Was that fear? He knew something that she didn’t know. What? And… how?

  Alessandro nodded in denial once she has mentioned Jamal as if he had not even the strength to speak. He clenched his fist.

  “We want a lawyer.” The two said, while their voice was falling off.

  “Okay. You want a lawyer; it’s in your rights. But, just saying, we can provide some benefits for the first one who will give us useful information!”

  She saw them consulting.

  “But, if you want a lawyer…” Alessandro intervened softly. Chiara looked at him… why? Why was he blocking them like that? Luckily, they didn’t grasp the tacit invitation.

  “We just had to smooth the way. We don’t know anything more. We were asked to do the robbery. They gave to us money and told us to take the highway going slow.”

  “Who? Who asked?”

  “We don’t know who they are. We knew them by Jamal. He introduced us to his friends. We don’t know their names!”

  Chiara saw with the corner of the eye that Alessandro indulged in his chair, his eyes half closed.

  She waited for the police report then she got up:

  “Excuse me a moment. Ferrari, can you come out with me?” She saw him nodding. She closed the door behind him and pushed him to the office used as archive.

  “What the hell were you thinking? Suggest a lawyer again? They were about to speak! What if they didn’t? What game are you playing?”

  It was okay investigate under the table and don’t ask too many questions. But she couldn’t even pass for a dope.

  She saw him squinting:

  “Did you want to invalidate the confession? Reminding them the lawyer will prevent them from seizing to anything!”

  “I’ll pretend I believe it!” She said, staring firmly into his eyes.

  “Come on!” He started to leave. She stood before him, laying both hands on his chest. He laid still, staring at her:

  “Where? We’re not done, Alessandro. We can get something more.”

  “I don’t think so.” She was still standing with her hands on his chest:

  “I’m sure! Look me, if I notice another mistake like that…”

  “What are you doing, Chiara?” He replied, whipping and hard. His eyes flashed. He shifted her arms. He advanced on, coming to touch her.

  “You don’t want to know, Ferrari. You’d better hope you never learn it.”

  Then she turned away. She opened the door of the interrogation room with a furious gesture.

  The magistrate looked at them:

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  She looked at Alessandro and then glared at the two men.

  “Where do you meet those Jamal’s friends?”

  “I don’t remember!”

  “Be careful. The benefits are tied to the truth.”

  “At the bar called Sorriso! Only once. They gave to us the directions, then we found the money in front of our home”

  Chiara nodded briefly. They wouldn’t be able to achieve more:

  “Let us an identikit of those men, okay?”

  She left without saying a
word. She was exhausted and worn out. The tension was skyrocketing. She walked outwards. She had to get away from there. She took advantage of all that mess and went out, spur-of-the-moment. She wanted to think.

  Chapter 13

  “Detective…”

  “Chief Torres, I have to stay out for a day!”

  “Now? Today? But…”

  Carlo was looking at her, puzzled. He approached to the manager to be able to hear. She stared at him:

  “Even just half a day. I have to reach the Court of Ferrara for some files.”

  “Boss, I volunteer to accompany her. So I take this opportunity and also take Poletti’s files.”

  Torres stared at them:

  “Okay. We already have the identikit and it will soon be evening.”

  Chiara stared into his eyes. She was thanking him silently. The journey was an opportunity to talk to him, to evaluate, to investigate.

  They were getting in the car when…

  “Detective?”

  She turned to Claudia:

  “Hi. Are you all right?”

  “Yes, but someone is looking for you. He’s a colleague of your sister. He said that there was an accident.”

  Chiara paled. She grabbed the phone.

  Fortunately Mia answered on the first ring:

  “Mia, how are you?”

  “I’m fine, Chiara, I’m fine. Just a bit bruised. The news will pass on television, so I wanted to tell.”

  “Okay. Did you call Mom?”

  Silence. Chiara sighed. Undoubtedly, she didn’t. Mia was still convinced that their mother preferred her sister though she didn’t. Mia was more closed and more rebellious at the same time. She always felt belittled, for no reason. She had chosen the Arma dei Carabinieri. She sighed. Their father’s death in service had left its mark on the entire family.

  “I’m ringing her for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Chiara turned to Carlo who watched carefully.

  “You have a sister! This is nice… I am an only child!”