«All this does not make sense! Where are all of them? Let’s go to the other floor».
They had left the apartment. I kept throwing a sad look at my apartment, then, grasping a sudden idea, I shouted, screaming Andrei, who was already climbing the ladder.
«Stupid, stupid! How did I not think about it before?».
The cops were immediately around me.
«We must take the electric current away, come on».
I went into the apartment, followed by Andrei. In the storage room I lowered the general switch lever. The apartment fell into the dark, broken only by the weak light of the landing.
«The computer is still on?».
Andrei was astonished at this question and ran to see.
«Yes, it is still on».
I reached and sat beside him: the man looked curiously at me.
«What does that mean?».
«We have to wait. Let’s see what’s going on».
Andrei was astonished,
«Why is the computer still on?».
«We have a continuity group, I forgot about it. Runs as soon as the current is missing. To avoid the risk, it was indispensable for his work».
«Interesting».
«It should last an hour, a whole hour without current».
«Is this what we are waiting for? That the computer goes off?»
«That’s right».
«Dear lady, I do not think I have an hour to lose here. There are more important things to do!»
I just hoped my suspicion would be grounded.
«If what I think is true, you will not have to wait an hour».
The computer went off.
Now the darkness was total.
«What do you want To tell?».
Andrei was upset.
«It means the UPS was unloaded. It had already been used and had not had time to recharge. It takes hours for it to come back to full operation and have not had them available».
«So…».
«So the light is back soon, between six and a half and the seven I would say».
«And it missed at least one hour».
«Sure, an hour during which my husband went on quietly to work. And when he was due to leave he left the computer on. Perhaps he had not realized that there was no light, it was day after all…».
«Then, if the batteries last an hour, anything has happened between five and a half and six and a half, now that the computer turned off. And then, somehow, someone must have reactivated the light».
«I guess that’s how it is».
I looked at him carefully, trying to penetrate his impassioned
«Are you sure nobody left this house?».
«So they say the neighbors, the shops in front of you, the annoying gossip woman that lives in front of you and spending the day at the window spying on passers-by. They only saw people coming in and no one left after five o’clock».
«What time was the light coming in?».
Andrei had been caught in a counter-attack,
«Why is that important?».
«At seven o’clock, perhaps seven o’clock a quarter, they are not sure».
«Well, of course it’s important. It should have turned on at six o’clock! It always turned on at six o’clock, at this time!».
«So the current went back to the seven when all had already disappeared. Who can have it restored?».
«This is irrelevant, the problem is another. If no one has come out, they must still be here, all of them!».
Andrei motioned to his men to continue.
«Then we have to look for them».
We climbed to the fifth floor. Here the situation was quite different, there were signs of irregularity, very obvious: the door to the apartment at the bottom was completely missing, as it had been scavenger and removed. We all stayed open mouth.
Pistols to the hand, the younger policemen came cautiously into the room. Spini lit the light.
An incredible force had destroyed the room. The door had been thrown inside and lying in the back against the couch. The furniture had all been moved and the furnishings was smashed, some even pulverized. Curtain pieces shredded with shreds scattered everywhere. Another door, leading to the bedroom, had also been dislodged.
«Who lived here?».
Finish not to notice the past form used by Andrei. The man did not realize it, and even in me was the horrible suspicion that the chances for the occupants to be free from such destruction were scarce.
«I did not know them well. A Chinese family who had opened a nearby restaurant. They were eight, I think. A couple, two other men I never really knew about kinship and three kids. There was also a very old woman, the grandmother of one of them, I think».
«It is evident that these did not come out of goodwill like the others. Someone had to come in to pick them up».
Andrei pointed to the furniture in the middle of the room.
«They had been trying to get inside. But it was useless, apparently».
Guido… What probability were I still seeing him again? What end could he have done? I could not accept the idea that something had happened to him, that he was hurt or worse.
«Who can have done all this? What strength has the doors broken in this way?».
Andrei shook his head, did not know what to answer. A policeman called him with a scream. We rushed into the room. Within the wardrobe, there was a daunting surprise: it was the old woman, crouched in a fetal position, as if hiding. Her eyes wide open, her mouth shouting.
As if an ice cube had wrapped around me, I found myself trembling, unable to stop.
«She’s dead?».
«I’m afraid of that».
Andrei shook my arm, as if to console me. I thanked him mentally.
«They tried to hide it. They knew they were in danger. But she didn’t do it».
Andrei carefully examined the corpse.
«There are no apparent traces of violence, perhaps she is dead of fear».
I turned, I could no longer hold that view. I did not know her, had perhaps met her a couple of times on the ladder, but that absurd death had even shaken me more than that of my parents. It was all too strange, surreal. Never, as long as I lived, I could forget her vitreous eyes.
«What must have been so terrible of…».
«She was very old, maybe stirring was sufficient».
He put an arm around my back and escorted me out.
The implications of that macabre discovery brought a completely different light on the mystery and lighted a glimmer of hope in me.
«They left her here. He didn’t need her from dead».
«What does it mean?».
«The cats were in the house and they were fine. The old Chinese didn’t take anything to take her away but they ignored her. Only the living ones are gone».
«What nonsense. Probably they’re all hidden somewhere, you’ll see we’ll find them».
He was treating me like a little girl! His stupid reassurance was only irritating.
«But you do not realize! No door was forced, except that of the Chinese. Because they had barricaded inside. How did they know it? How could they be sure there was no other? They did not even try»
«What do we know, maybe there’s really someone hiding in one of these apartments. We will have to explore them all before making certain statements».
«Why didn’t the Chinese come out? Why didn’t they go with the others, but have they barricaded at home?».
«I don’t know what to answer. Maybe they did not understand the language, they did not trust who had knocked on their door».
«Nonsense, their language was pretty good. And if Mrs. Righi follows someone, he must be trusted, or the serious situation at the right point. I think rather than just the opposite. They, alone in the palace, had an idea of the danger they were running».
«What makes you think?».
«They did not try to escape, they were barricaded in the house».
An
drei nodded thoughtfully, while an idea was moving in his mind.
«Certainly they made a curtain crack, shrinking it in strips».
«Why do you think they were them?».
Andrei ignored me, continuing his reasoning.
«They tried to plug all the cracks in the door, so it was totally shielded. But it was not enough, I imagine».
«How do you deduce something like that from a shreds curtain? It might have reduced it as an aggressor».
«But it was not shreds! It was shrunk in carefully torn strips, with a purpose. It cannot be done otherwise».
Andrei now had forgotten my presence, lost in his suppositions.
«How did the Chinese know the danger? Was it somehow tied to them? They had had to deal with something like this or knew about other occasions when it had happened. Why did they try to isolate the door? From the outside, they would see the cloth, they would attract even more attention. And above all, if they were aware that they were really in danger, why no one in the whole house faced a window shouting? It would have been a lot easier and faster! I cannot believe anyone came to mind!».
We stayed silent for a few minutes, while the worst fears undermined our courage and the other cops await awkwardly. How many images came to my mind: remember wonderful, small divergences, the comforting routine of our common life. No, Guido was fine, I was sure, could not have done anything irreparable. I got up and decided.
«Let’s see above, we only miss a plan, by now».
We left the last ramp in the row of Indian police officers with the pistols in their hands. Spini locked me in before he came to the top.
«It’s better not to look at it».
No, it was not possible. My whole body was screaming that there was nothing on the ground that nothing could hurt me, everything was normal. But I could not believe it either. I pushed aside the cop and climbed the last steps. Sprawled next to the elevator, there was my husband’s wheelchair. There was no trace of him, but that one witness was enough to frighten me. Guido could not move without it, it was a dead weight.
Andrei intervened right away.
«Do not get hasty conclusions. They probably left it here because they could not carry it over. They will be loaded with her husband on their shoulder and they will continue».
There was a note stunned in my voice, shaky and annoying. Was it terror?
«Where to go?»
«Tell me, this is your home. Where can you go from here?».
I struggled to think, then pointed to a door open.
«There is a staircase leading up to the roof. There is no other way out».
Andrei looked at the other doors of the floor. They were all intact, they could check their interior later, comfortably. He organized the small group and completely opened the door. The staircase was narrow, steep and dark. He pressed the switch unnecessarily: the light bulb was smashed. Pushing the gun in front of him, Andrei began to climb. After an endless minute there was a variation of brightness, a sign that had opened the roof door. A whistle was the order to follow him.
The roof, now lit by a livid moon, was deserted. It was flat, square, with supports to stretch the linen. In the center, a high centralized antenna. On the other side, there was a pair of lockers where the tools were to be cleaned and worn. There were no gaps where such a large number of people could hide. We were all disappointed.
Spini broke the silence.
«I’m afraid there’s no other place but the cellar».
It was a nonsense, I was certain. I almost shouted.
«It is not possible. They went up, they all climbed up, this is obvious. From the outset, the crowd grew and eventually everyone came here».
Andrei came to my aid, supporting my hypothesis.
«I understand that too, but now they aren’t here. You also sees that there is no one! If they have even come here, someone has reached them. Those who pursued them have caught them and are forced to follow them. It seems like a fairly probable explanation».
How could I accept such an idea? Guido was there somewhere. I turned round in that deserted plaza, shaking my hands, desperately looking to see something that had escaped other in the pale light of the moon. It was all so clean, as if it had just been washed, as if the weather had never dared to scratch that surface. Too clean. The antenna looked like a sad stone on that dead house, the goblins two dice thrown on the playing table. Then I noticed the cloth and screamed.
«Come on, soon! Look here!».
Andrei was right next to me. I pointed to one of the box room: from under the door a piece of cloth was protruding, probably a rag. Pieces of the same fabric went everywhere, around the perimeter of the door. Someone else used the same expedient of the Chinese.
Suddenly, from the small window that adorned the door, two eyes appeared. Folly and strenuous, full of terror. I screamed.
The cops pushed me away and surrounded the building. Then they tried to open it. The door was clogged and did not moving.
They pushed it they are four, and the door opened with a dull noise. Inside, scorned in an absurd space, a small, slim, middle-aged man looked at us horrified, trembling.
I went straight ahead.
«Mr. Durante, do not be afraid, I am…».
Addressing the agents, I added, «That’s Mr. Durante. He lives on the first floor!».
Two policemen forced the man to come out. They had to fight, he seemed to have no intention of leaving his hiding place. Once outside, he started to tremble pathetic, looking around with terror. He started shouting disconcertingly.
«Get me out of here, take me away!».
I tried to resist, I told myself that the poor man was under shock and that I had to leave him time to recover. It was all worthless: I jumped almost on him.
«My husband, Mr. Durante, what happened to my husband?».
The man lowered his eyes, embarrassed, pretending not to see me either. He continued to stutter.
«I want to leave, get me out of here».
Andrei moved me gently, shaking her head.
«I doubt that there are many chances to question it under these conditions. He needs a doctor right away».
Then, with resignation.
«All right, let’s all go down».
Mr. Durante retreated with a groan, trying to break out of the arms that imprisoned him.
«No! I will not go down there below. No! No!».
Immediately, like a puppet to which they cut the threads, he dropped to the ground, muttering.
The situation was getting tense. Mr. Durante had also plagued with fear the cops, who were now looking around scared in search of invisible enemies. Andrei sat down on the floor next to the little man.
«Then you have to tell us what happened».
Mr. Durante shook his head.
«I do not know, I do not know».
«What was that of others?».
«I do not know». And bitterly, «I do not want to know».
Andrei was impatient. It was all so absurd.
«Tell us what happened. Start where you prefer, but tell us. Tell us something. If you want to be helped, you must tell us what scare you».
Mr. Durante looked at him apologetically.
«But I want to get out of here!».
«I understand. But you refuses to get off the roof. What do you want to do, fly?».
Mr. Durante lit up with joy.
«Yes sure! This is the solution! You could call a helicopter! Maybe we can still waddle!».
Andrei was astonished, for the first time I read on his face a trace of fear, but he decided to take advantage of it.
«I’ll will do it as soon as you tell me what happened in this house. Not a moment before!».
«But I do not know anything! I did not understand anything!».
I knelt beside them, trying to speak with all the kindness that I was left, while in fact my only desire was to shake it and slap it to force it to tell the truth.
«But you tap
ed the slits of the door! Something had to imagine if you did!».
«The Chinese have told me. When I went to call them, they refused to leave home and told me what to do to save me. But I did not give them straight. Not at all, at least».
Andrei tried to take the situation back.
«Tell me what happened from the beginning!».
«How did it begin? The current was missing, it was five and a half, it was her husband the first to notice it. He phoned Mrs. Paoli. Paoli doing, he did, the duties of the administrator when he was away, she was the only one to have all the keys to the palace, she was dealing with these problems. My wife was from her, they were chatting when Mr. Guido phoned. Paoli was annoyed, took the keys and went down to the cellar and my wife came home to tell me what had happened. She knows, we are in front of us, and Mrs. Paoli».
Mr. Durante paused, breathing again.
«Mrs. Paoli did not return. My wife was impatient, then worried. She asked me to go and see, but I did not want to know that she would go there. She got angry and I heard him knocking out of neighbors. She asked Mr. Giuliani to accompany her. You know, Giuliani was the taxi driver and he was an imposing guy, of those who incite fear. So they went down».
Mr. Durante’s voice began to shake.
«Not even five minutes later, Giuliani knocked on my door. He was agitated, scared. He told me that for my wife there was nothing left to do, that we had to go away there, right away. Then he went to call his family. I was tired, I did not know what to do. Do you imagine it? For my wife there was nothing to do, what did he mean? Was she dead?»
He flew past his eyes, before continuing.
«There was no time to think about it: Giuliani was back on the landing that prompted his wife and children to follow him as soon as possible. He carried his youngest son in his arms, and his wife had stopped to close the door. I tried to ask him questions, but he hit me aside, then went down the stairs. We heard him scream, he and the baby. The poor, stupid wife, she ran down, dragging her behind the other children, I tried to stop her, but it was useless. The ladder was immersed in the dark, I could see nothing, I did not know what had happened. Then she yelled and I ran away. I got up, there was nowhere else to go».
Andrei was left open. The story was crazy, but the man seemed sincere. I no longer knew what to believe.
Lizzi Bizzi and the Red Witch Page 47