“Do you think that he wants to… use… these contacts, somehow?” Claps asked.
“Yes. He might have done that already to hide away. But there might be other ways in which he wants to use them. I’ve been thinking about this for two whole days, without any conclusions. I’d like you to talk to these people discreetly, without revealing anything.” Sensi handed over the list of names, addresses and some information that they had gathered about each of the contacts. “You’ll have to inform them beforehand about your arrival and about your role, so that they can’t refuse to talk to you. Try to find out what they have that they could offer Riondino. Find something that will get us closer to him.”
*
Riondino clicked on SEND. The file with his photo and the three thousand five hundred Euro payment was sent immediately through the Western Union online system.
“That’s it, Fox, two more days and we’ll have the documents.”
“Are they going to send them here?”
“Of course, they will be addressed to Mr Riondino… for fuck’s sake, Fox! They will be sent to our friend’s post office box. He’ll pick the documents up for us!”
“So he’ll know our new identity? Isn’t that risky, Jack?”
“The documents will be sealed in an envelope… in any case, we’ll make sure that he won’t speak to anyone. At all.”
“Hannibal? Will he take care of this?”
“Yes.”
“He showed up this morning…”
“It’s because of the woman who helped us to take some passport photos.”
“I told you that he wanted a woman.”
“He said that he could smell her scent.”
“Will you be able to control him?”
“Y-yes.”
“You don’t sound too confident.”
“I could smell that scent, too, Fox.”
19
Maybe Claps should have declined Greta’s invitation to visit her at her place. Or rather, he should have declined to meet her at all.
Maybe.
He knew that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of the ghosts that haunted him any more. He knew that he had to commit himself to hunting down Riondino. But the real question was – would he be able to do it? Would he break down again as he did the day before? He needed some help… some support… or better, a guardian, somebody who would help him to not trip up, run away or give up. Somebody that he couldn’t show his weaknesses to. He needed her presence.
Greta.
He noticed almost immediately that she was different – her expression and her movements were different, it was more than just the new hair style and colour.
“I was getting worried about you – you disappeared for a whole day and you didn’t answer my phone calls.”
“I’ve been… busy.” Claps answered as he looked away.
“Any news about Riondino?”
Claps hesitated, then he answered, choosing his words carefully.
“I’m not supposed to talk about it, they are still investigating.” That was the best he could say.
“You took me to Florence with you and you told me about your meeting with Doctor Rinaldi – why do you suddenly want to keep me out of the loop?”
“I wanted to understand why… Riondino had been moved to a psychiatric… hospital… and how he had changed over the years. The investigation is entirely operational now – we have to… find him.” Claps hesitated again. “And…”
“And?”
“Are you sure that all this… is good for you? How long did it take you to free yourself… from the nightmares about Morphy?”
“That’s a different story. I was the prey back then.” Greta pressed her lips together, then attempted to smile. “I have been feeling like a victim until now. I have settled into a life that is not my own. The nightmares have never abandoned me.”
Greta stood up and walked across the room a little way, then she turned round to Claps. “I have been on anxyolitic pills for way too long. I didn’t recognise my own face in the mirror yesterday.”
“Is that why you… changed your hair colour?”
“Yes. I don’t want to run away any more. I don’t want to feel like a victim. I want to be who I am, Greta Alfieri. I want to do what I’m good at; journalism. I want to be more involved.”
“That doesn’t make things any easier for us… I’m not going to be able to tell you anything, if I don’t want it to be all over the TV the same night.”
“I’m not Greta Lafenice, but I’m not the merciless journalist that I used to be either. I will talk about this story only when it’s all over, not a minute earlier. Mark my words.”
Claps remained silent and looked at Greta.
“Help me to stop running away.”
“You… you can’t run away from what you are.” Claps muttered, more to himself than to Greta.
“Help me,” Greta said, and she lowered her eyes.
Claps wanted to tell her that he was the one who needed more help right now, but he had to play the game. Greta’s presence would force him to keep on his toes, to keep wearing the mask that he had on his face. In order for that to happen, it wasn’t necessary for Greta to know how weak Claps really was.
“We… we know why Jack wanted to escape,” Claps finally said.
Greta suddenly raised her eyes towards him.
“Money,” Claps said. “A lot of money that he could use to give himself a new… life, somewhere else.” Claps carried on, telling her all the details that he had heard from Sensi.
Greta listened to Claps attentively, thinking carefully about each of the things that she was hearing. If she could have seen her reflection in the mirror right now, she would have recognised her old self again.
“Yeah…” she said eventually. “I see why he wanted to escape as soon as possible. He had no way of knowing when and if he would ever be released from the rehabilitation centre. Even if he had been released, he would have been subject to continuous monitoring. The company that he worked for would have revealed the scamming scandal to the police eventually, just like they did now, and he would never be able to enjoy that money.”
Claps nodded. “If he got hold of that… money… and he kept it hidden somewhere… he must have had a project in mind to use it for before he was arrested seven years ago. Jack didn’t like the regular life that he had before being arrested and he doesn’t like the life that he had inside the rehabilitation centre either… a life of community work… and regular monitoring… but that’s not it. He had merged with one of the groups of personalities… do you remember?”
“Only partially merged.”
“It doesn’t matter whether it is wholly or partially… he’s still a new, different person… with a degree of self-awareness… a range of memories and instincts… all that he wants now is a new life… where nobody will know who he really is… a new life where he will be free to be who he has become. That’s what he wants.”
“What about… Hannibal?”
Claps could read the meaning behind Greta’s question in her eyes. “Yes,” he said in a low voice. “The new Jack has Hannibal within him… and he is not just a crazy, independent fragment of his life… he is part of Jack now… and that’s why he now needs a new life.”
After a few moments of silence, Claps resumed talking in the same low voice. “Sensi found out something else – he knows the area… where Riondino is lying low.”
“Here in the city?” Greta was startled. “I thought that he was in Rome?”
“The news about Rome is just a way to make him feel safe and make him less cautious.”
“Where is he hiding? It won’t take them long to catch him now, right?”
Claps shook his head. “The area is pretty… large. Sensi told me that they are close, but they still are not quite there. The investigation is still full on – though we might now have a possible lead.”
Claps told Greta what Sensi had asked him to do. “Tomorrow I’ll interview
some of the people from Milan that Riondino… has added as friends on Facebook.” Then he hesitated for a moment. “I will need your help… do you want to be involved?”
*
The largest auditorium in the multi-screen cinema was not busy at all. There were seven films showing and the first early afternoon show on a weekday had never been popular. Most people attended the late evening show.
“You’re going to like this film, you’ll see.”
“Can I buy some popcorn?”
“The film is about to begin!”
“Please? I’ll be quick!”
“Okay…”
“I’ll get the jumbo size.”
“The big tub?”
“The biggest one.”
“Yes, the big tub. You won’t manage to eat all that popcorn!”
“I can eat two if I want. Please.”
“Okay… but if you feel full at some point, I don’t want you to think you have to finish it, okay?”
“And a coke please.”
“Of course, how can you eat popcorn without a coke?”
“We haven’t been to the cinema for so long. I’m always locked in doing work or napping.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since we last went to the cinema.”
“It’s been ages!”
“I’ll take you to the cinema more often, if you behave.”
“I’ll do all my homework and when you ask me to go to sleep I will do so without complaining, okay?”
“Good boy, now go and get your popcorn.”
The woman at the counter smiled when she saw Riondino approaching. “Any popcorn?”
“Yes please – a jumbo tub and a coke,” Riondino said and smiled back at her.
The young woman found it funny that Riondino was talking in a child’s voice – she thought that he was joking or that he was shy buying coke and popcorn at his age.
She didn’t notice the bloodstain on his collar.
*
Claps glanced distractedly at his watch – it was almost midnight and he had been studying Riondino’s friends online for two hours now.
“Are you at home, Claps?” Sensi’s tone of voice was low and dry – it wasn’t promising at all.
“What… time… is it?”
“I’ll send a patrol to pick you up. Come and meet me where I am. Something has happened…”
20
“Riondino walked into the shop as a regular customer a little before closing time.” Sensi sounded cold and professional. He was clearly doing his best to keep his emotions under control. “He surprised her, stunned her and took her to the back room. Then he turned the lights off, locked himself inside the shop and went back to her.”
The lights in the shop were all turned on now. Outside the shop, a group of passers-by had gathered on the pavement. They were illuminated by the pulsing blue lights of the patrol cars and they were being held at a distance from the front door of the shop.
The back door was open – from there, the woman’s legs were visible. She was still wearing one of her boots. A rivulet of blood ran from one of her thighs all the way down to her calf and onto the ripped tights.
“Are we certain that it was him?” Claps asked, a little uncertainly.
“He killed her the same way that he killed the others. This time, though, he spent less time torturing her first, as he didn’t have the whole night at his disposal. He made a C-cut on her stomach, just like he did to the other victims.”
Claps walked cautiously to the back door. He avoided looking at the young woman’s face. He observed the room and then the body, which was lying on the floor in an unnatural position. Its posture revealed a degree of rigidity already. Claps hunkered down and examined the wounds with detachment. Eventually, after a few minutes, he looked at the face – there, he saw all the cruelty and the obscenity of death. She was young, far too young. She must have been beautiful when she was still alive; her face was deformed now in a grimace of pain; her eyes were wide open and looking slightly upwards; her mouth gagged with some duct tape. A tear had moistened her cheek and it was still visible.
How much had she cried before the end?
Had she desired death? Had she welcomed it as freedom?
Claps stood up and walked back to Sensi, who was still in the shop.
“Do you still doubt that it was him?” Sensi asked, abruptly, when he saw him.
Claps didn’t answer – he looked away, trying to imagine the crime scene.
The young woman smiled when she saw the customer enter.
She didn’t realise what was happening when he hit her.
She was dragged into the back room.
There were traces of a fight – perhaps she regained consciousness when he came back to her.
Claps wondered whether she had screamed before he gagged her and tied her hands with the tape. And whether she had tried to wriggle away while Riondino tore her clothes off.
And then… how much pain and horror did she experience when he treated her like a piece of meat?
How long did she pray for it all to end, how much did she yearn to go back home like every other day?
How frightened was she when she looked into the eyes of Hannibal? And then when she saw the knife in his hand?
Was that the moment when a tear had run down her face?
For a moment, a sense of dizziness overwhelmed Claps – he leant against the counter.
Sensi didn’t notice Claps’ distress. “In any case, Forensics are analysing fingerprints – we should have more information in a little while.”
Claps saw the whole crime scene in his mind again.
Why did he keep seeing her smile to greet Riondino as he walked into the shop?
“There are no witnesses. Nobody heard or saw anything. The shop owner has been at home for a few days with a sprained ankle – he didn’t worry too much about the fact that she didn’t call him after her shift to give him an account of the day as she usually did. He began to worry when he phoned her at 10 p.m. and she did not reply. Eventually, after a few other calls and after thinking for a while about it, he decided to go down to the shop. The lights were off, but the front door was unlocked. He called the police at 11.37 p.m.”
Why this woman in particular? Claps was distracted, he barely heard what Sensi said to him.
“Maiezza has collected all the CCTV recordings in the area and is viewing them one by one. Unfortunately, there was no camera outside the shop. The closest CCTVs are fifty and thirty metres away in both directions respectively.”
“Why her?”
“What?”
“Why did he… murder her? Did you ever wonder?”
“She wasn’t one of his friends on Facebook, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Claps shook his head. “He had been in this shop before.” He probably saw her and wanted her. Just like with Laura Minz and Terry Schiavi, seven years earlier. He had chosen her. That’s why he was subconsciously imagining the young lady smile at Riondino, when he walked into the shop to kill her. She knew him. He had spoken to her before. “Look at the CCTV from a few days ago – you’ll find him. If he had been to the shop before… why? What did he need?”
*
It was 2 a.m. and Sensi walked into the office where Maiezza was sitting in front of a series of screens, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. He was analysing the CCTV recordings.
“I called you because I might have found something,” Maiezza said. “Here,” he said, pointing to the screens on his right. “These are CCTV recordings from the two cameras closest to the shop, at around 7.30 p.m… a lot of people walked past the cameras around this time and not one of them looks like Riondino. Four of them have hats that cover their foreheads, and their faces are difficult to see as a result. One of these people walks past the first camera at 7.27 p.m. and past the second one at 8.02 p.m. Here…” Maiezza fast forwarded the tape. “Here.”
The recording was in black and white, and the quality was poor, but i
t was still obvious that it was the same person walking past the two cameras at different moments in time. The point of view of the cameras was from above and, with the hat that the man was wearing, it was impossible to see his face. The body type and the height however, were compatible with those of Riondino. Maiezza played the footage again and again for Sensi. That from the first camera showed that the man limped slightly as he walked forward, but the limping wasn’t apparent in the footage from the second one.
“Thirty-five minutes to walk eighty metres.” Maiezza observed, spelling out his words very clearly.
Thirty-five minutes… it was enough time to kill the young woman. “It’s him,” Sensi roared with anger in his voice.
“It looks like he’s heading towards the city centre, but he’s not visible in the next camera… which is only about one hundred metres away from the shop. He has disappeared.”
“Maybe he took one of the alleys.”
“That’s possible. I asked to view all recordings within a radius of a few hundred metres in order to find him and see where he was heading. It will take a few hours, though.”
“Listen, Maiezza. Let’s find an easier route – let’s follow him backwards, find where he came from.” Sensi sounded excited. “If his hideout is where we think, we’ll find him in one of the CCTV recordings. We have the recordings already – we just have to look at them now.”
“Fuck…” Maiezza said all of a sudden. “We should be able to focus on a smaller area and even identify Riondino’s hideout… we could even see him walk out of there.”
Sensi nodded, then he spoke decisively. “Let’s get to work then.”
Sensi walked towards the front door, and then he paused before leaving the office. He suddenly remembered Claps’ hypothesis. “One more thing – can you see if you can identify him in the CCTV recordings from the area during the forty-eight hours before the murder?”
If Claps’ theory was right, what had Riondino bought in the shop? Some glasses for his disguise? What else? Something that could help him to find Riondino? “I’ll send you a couple of patrol men,” he said eventually before walking out.
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