“Where was Grassetti when he got the call?”
“In Rome, near the Colosseum, more than that I can’t tell you because he then turned off his cellphone.”
“Angelo, to your knowledge do all the staff at the morgue do shifts? Or are the administrators exempt from that?”
“I seem to remember that the employees go home at six in the evening, once for an identification ...”
“Great, okay, do you have the number?”
“Wait a second.”
After rummaging through his agenda for a few moments, inspector Parisi finally found the index and went to the letter ‘M’.
He wrote the number on a sheet of paper and passed it to Germano.
“Hello.”
“Hello, I’m a chief of police, am I speaking with the morgue?”
“Exactly, that’s us.”
“Well, I need to speak with the personnel manager, can you pass him to me?”
“Certainly, sir, please hold.”
The wait in question lasted for more than two minutes before a voice on the other end of the line spoke up.
“Hello my name Trinca, with whom am I speaking?”
“Good morning Trinca, my name is Vincent Germano, I’m from the police. I’m calling because I would like to have a chat with you this afternoon, until what time will you be in your office?”
“Today I’ll be here until 7:00 pm. When would you prefer to come?”
“I’ll be there at 5:00 pm, I have a couple of things to take care of and I doubt if I’ll make it any earlier.”
“Ok chief, until then.”
“Thanks for the courtesy, I’ll see you later.”
Throughout the conversation inspector Parisi had not stopped for a moment wondering what the hell Germano was trying to find out from the morgue personnel manager, but knowing him he knew that he would soon find out.
The chief hung up and put all the photocopies of the documents concerning the death of Ferdinando Rocca into a folder; those papers would certainly turn out to be helpful that afternoon.
“Excuse me, Vincent ...”
“What is it, Angelo”
“Shall I continue analyzing this phone data, or is it better that I take care of something else?”
“Continue, continue, let me know if by any chance you notice anything strange and ...”
“And?”
“Nothing, Angelo, tonight I’ll be able to tell you whether or not you can stop researching.”
“If you say so ... until later then.”
“Yes, we’ll brief one another later.”
That morning continued in the same vein, except for the theft in a supermarket where the thief, arrested around the same area immediately after, kept ranting from the holding cell claiming to be the victim of a conspiracy.
After returning home for lunch, Germano got back into the car and headed for Rome’s central morgue. He was a good half hour early on the schedule but would calmly have accepted to spend a bit of time in the waiting room.
Contrary to expectations, however, Mr. Trinca met him around 4:20 pm, immediately showing himself to be extremely helpful.
“Tell me everything chief.”
“Look, we are conducting an investigation into the suicide of a lady that happened at the Castelli Romani a few weeks ago. The case has not been archived yet, but we’re almost there. I just came to you because ...”
“I understand chief, a routine investigation then?”
“Exactly, the only thing I need to ask you is whether on the night between the second and third of last December any bodies arrived here ...”
“Well ... I can’t tell anything from here, but if you wait a minute I’ll go into another office and I’ll try to find out.”
“Fine, I’ll wait for you here.”
He also told Germano that he could smoke, so he lit a cigarette and immediately leaned out of one Trinca’s office windows. However, he didn’t give him any time to smoke it all, in fact, after three or four minutes, he was back.
“Here I am Germano, go on, you can keep smoking.”
“Did you find anything?”
“That night three arrived; the first was that of a motorcyclist who unfortunately died on the road, while the second belonged to a local criminal, perhaps a drug dealer, fatally injured as a result of a reprisal, the third ...”
“The third?”
“It hasn’t been identified yet, it’s still here.”
“Can you give me some more details about this one?”
“Sure, around sixty years old, medium build, no sign of a struggle, died of a heart attack ... we think it’s a homeless man, given the way the body was found.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Nothing really, he was laying on the ground on one of the sidewalks along the Tiber, he actually seemed to be sleeping, instead ...”
“Clothing?”
“A bit wrinkled and of low quality. Also, he had no wallet or documents with him.”
“I understand ... in fact there is still another question that I’d like to ask you.”
“I imagine that this is actually the main one, right? Why else would you have asked for the personnel manager if you only wanted to know what body had come in or left from this hellish place?”
“You are very perceptive, Trinca ... in fact I would like to know who was on duty that night ...”
“I’ll tell you in a moment, please wait.”
The diligent employee pulled out a file with the time sheets of all employees of the building; he looked at them carefully before resuming his talk with Germano.
“A certain Duccio Martinelli, he was on duty that night in the room where the bodies are taken, more precisely ... he checked in at 10:54 pm and left at 7:07 am the next day.”
“Thank you, Trinca. You’ve really been a big help.”
“Think nothing of it, Germano.”
Chapter 8
Getting back to the office proved more problematic for the chief than expected. An accident in one of the tunnels on the Ring Road required him to stop for more than an hour; locked in his car in the tunnel and having nothing better to do, Germano reflected upon the value of the latest information.
Once the traffic had loosened up and finally managing to leave that smoggy dark tunnel, the chief discovered that someone from the police had tried several times to contact him. As soon as his cellphone had a bar he also tried in vain to call his colleagues, but the phone lines were all busy.
It was another twenty minutes before he could finally open the door to his office, in which, to his surprise, he found inspector Parisi.
“What’s happened, Angelo?”
“A certain inspector Garcia from Buenos Aires called; he absolutely wants to talk to you.”
“Did he tell you anything?”
“No, he just said to let you know you immediately.”
“I understand ... but right now there's something else I have to do.”
“Can I give you a hand, Vincent?”
“You could ... let’s go on the computer. Find me all of the unsolved murder cases that happened last month.”
“For Rome?”
“No, cover the whole of Lazio.”
After entering the first keywords there jumped up three names, two women and a man, the latter in his thirties and murdered with a shot to the head.
Parisi, sensing that the chief had not yet found what he was looking for, remained comfortably in his seat, waiting for new instructions.
“Listen Angelo ... try instead with recoveries of bodies, always in the same areas and during the same period.”
“All right.”
The search this time resulted in five names, two women and three men.
“Another thing, Angelo, exclude all those definitely aged under fifty or higher than eighty.”
“Ok.”
This time the result was only one, the body of white male, aged around sixty-five, who was recovered a few weeks previously
near the Fiumicino docks, his death attributed to drowning, and now he was at the Rome morgue waiting to be identified.
When Germano made a sharp gasp, Parisi did too, the inspector understanding that there was something going on and that perhaps even the time for serious action was approaching.
“Anyway Vincent ... I would like to remind you to call inspector Garcia, in case you ...”
“Later, later, listen Angelo, do we have any way of finding out if Ferdinando Rocca donated blood? Or even if there is one of his biological samples anywhere?”
“I don’t know, but I can try to make some calls ...”
“Great, make them.”
Inspector Parisi went back to his office, where he remained for half an hour before knocking on the chief’s door again.
“Well?”
“Nothing, Vincent, he didn’t donate blood or semen, no recent analysis or surgery, in short a wild goose chase.”
“Blast it ... ok, listen to something else. A few days ago you told me that you had taken a look at his tax return, right? Who from the Finance Police helped you? .”
“Marshal Piccolo.”
“Great, I’ll call him right away.”
Considering that it was almost dinnertime, Germano didn’t have much hope of finding the marshal still in his office, but instead he had a pleasant surprise.
“Finance Police ...”
“Good evening, I’m Germano of the Police, I would like to speak with Piccolo, the Marshal ...”
“It’s me, chief, tell me.”
“Hello, I’m calling you because a few days ago you helped my colleague, inspector Parisi.”
“Ah yes, I remember.”
“Well, I hope you still have the data on Ferdinando Rocca with you ...”
“I ought to, usually I always keep the various files on hand for at least a couple of months. Please wait a second.”
“No problem.”
Listening to a rustling of papers through the receiver, Germano felt that the marshal had in fact found that file.
“Here we are, chief, I have it before me. What do you need to know?”
“I would like you to look for any medical expenses that Rocca may have deducted from his taxes.”
“One second...”
Meanwhile Parisi received a call on his mobile phone. As soon as it ended the inspector tried to capture the attention of Germano, but in vain.
“Yes, chief, for dental care, seven thousand two hundred euro to be precise.”
“Who was the dentist?”
“A certain Fulvio Piccirillo, he should have his office in your area.”
“Yes, I seem to remember ... thanks Marshal, now I have go.”
“No problem.”
Germano jumped up from his chair and headed for the door, but Parisi’s voice stopped him.
“Vincent, where are you going?”
“To see Dr. Piccirillo.”
“And what are you going to do there?”
“Have a cavity fixed, see you in a bit.”
“Wait! Di Girolamo called me a minute ago, whom I had asked to keep his eyes open for that Andrea Grassetti, do you remember? The brother of Mrs. Rocca ...”
“But why, were we able to find him?”
“Not yet, no, however, an hour ago, Grassetti bought a Rome-Paris train ticket by credit card, the train is leaving tonight, as well as an Air-France flight tomorrow afternoon for Kuala Lumpur.”
Those words literally froze Vincent Germano.
The chief rubbed his forehead before he could take up the subject again.
“Ok ... then this is what you should do Angelo. Send Gianni Piazza and Di Girolamo to intercept that train, tell them to find a way to make it stop in the middle of the countryside and to make Andrea Grassetti get off, but not before, however. Don’t try to stop the train when it is leaving, he must not notice anything ... then ... call Paris and get in touch with the Police Judiciaire.”
“To ask them what?”
“To arrest him at the gate, just as soon as he tries to set foot on that plane.”
“But Vincent ... they’ll want explanations ... with what charges ...”
“Tell them we’ll have all the papers in a matter of hours.”
“What papers? We have nothing ...”
“We’ll have them.”
Dr. Piccirillo revealed himself to be very annoyed at having to interrupt his well-deserved dinner thanks to chief Germano.
In fact, Germano, imagining him no longer at work, decided to go directly to knock on the door of his home.
The first reaction that Germano got were Mrs. Piccirillo’s wild screams who, fearing that her husband was going to be arrested, asked the chief for a gesture of pity.
Overcoming this initial embarrassment, Germano was invited in and was thus able to explain the whole situation to the dentist.
“So, as I understand it, you would like to have an ortho-overview of my late client Ferdinando Rocca, both before and after the various installation work ...”
“Exactly, or at least something with which I can recognize him as though he were a needle in a haystack.”
“I understand chief ... in fact our dentition is like a fingerprint, I don’t think there is too much room for error.”
“Great.”
“The only problem is that I don’t have all the details or data on my patients here at home, I have them in my office ... on the computer we’ll surely find what you are looking for.”
“Come on then, I’ll go with you.”
“Okay chief... is there anything else I should know?”
“Well, actually ... have you ever worked on a body?”
With those words, for which, however, he received no answer except a shrug, the interview ended, as well as Dr. Piccirillo’s dinner.
The two reached the dentist's office in less than ten minutes, and while the elderly professional began to sort through files and papers, Germano took the opportunity to call his office.
“Hello.”
“Angelo it’s me.”
“Hey Vincent ... how's the tooth?”
“Better than expected ... listen, have you heard anything from Piazza and the others?”
“We’re getting it organized, the train will be stopped in the manner and time that you have ordered ... it’s just that ...”
“What’s the matter, Angelo?”
“It seems as though all hell is breaking loose here, I don’t know where to turn ... we received some phone calls ... from high places ...”
“I can just imagine the content ...”
“Yeah, and if you ask me they aren’t all wrong either, given what we're doing ... I mean, stopping trains in the middle of their run and involving police from two foreign countries is just not your classic daily work routine ... ”
“I know ... try to keep everyone calm, and regarding foreign police forces ... you have to act as a bridge with the phone in your office and get in touch with inspector Garcia in Argentina, this way I can finally hear what he has to tell me.”
“All right, Vincent, but let's keep each other in the loop because both of us are risking getting fired.”
“Stay calm, don’t worry and instead get Garcia on the line.”
The chief heard crackling on his cellphone for several seconds before he was able to again hear a voice on the other end of the line.
“Germano?”
“Yes, it's me ... I heard you wanted to talk to me.”
“I’ve been trying to get you since this morning...”
“I know ... please forgive me.”
“There have been some developments regarding that Ferdinando Rocca of whom you spoke to me about, chief ...”
“Tell me everything.”
“I was able to speak with both the anti-drug squad as well as the anti-money laundering squad here in Buenos Aires, both gave me the same answer. They suspect that Rocca laundered money on behalf of some Argentine criminal organizations through the purchase o
f artwork...”
“Artwork...”
“That's right, they also told me that this partnership seems to have broken up no later than nine to ten months ago, only that they still cannot understand whether it was consensual, so to speak, or if one of them tried to cheat the other.”
“In this case I guess that things work for you like they do in Italy ... I mean, the side that got cheated usually prepares a bill that eventually someone has to pay ...”
“Exactly Germano, in this respect our two countries are very similar.”
“Yes ... meanwhile thanks for the valuable information. I'll let you know if I find out anything that might come in handy for you in Argentina.”
“That would make us very happy, Germano ... I’ll say goodbye then.”
The chief resumed his communication with his colleague Parisi and then hung up a few moments later.
Meanwhile Dr. Piccirillo had already managed to recover all the data on Ferdinando Rocca, and was gently shaking the files that were now under his arm as if he were saying to Germano to get ready to leave.
After a few minutes the two had already gotten into the car and were heading to the morgue in central Rome.
Their arrival surprised both the security guard as well as the man who was in charge of the refrigeration room.
The chief apologized for not having called ahead and came straight to the point, speaking directly to the person on duty in charge of the bodies.
“I am from the Police, here’s my identification ... this person who came with me is a dentist who will immediately make some comparative analyses on one of the bodies that you have here ... who are you by the way?”
“I’m Luca Brisa ...”
“Are you the only one working tonight?”
“Yes ... I cover the shift alone ... but in an hour and a half I’m off.”
“Don’t worry, if you’ll give us a hand you’ll see that there won’t be any problems to let you go a few minutes early. Just as a curiosity ... who comes on after you?”
“Next on shift should be Martinelli, or so it says, unless he’s changed with someone else ...”
“Let's hope not ... well, now it's time to start working. The body that we are interested in, Mr. Brisa, is that of a man who was brought here on the evening of May 27, no papers were on him, and I’m guessing he hasn’t yet been identified by any relatives.”
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