Chapter 3 - The scoop-2
2834 Words
«Giuseppe».
«Listen Pippi3. You’re right, and I’m not going to make a row. You can do everything you want, but you have to let me call the newspaper. I’m not going anywhere and I’ll tell you what you want. But let me call, I have to think about my career, too ».
«Ok, do the article, but don’t move. In a while the members of the Operative department will be here».
«Listen, what’s your surname?».
«Why?».
«So I can write it in the newspaper».
«No, forget it. I don’t want any trouble» the marshal told him, but he seemed tickled by the idea of appearing on the front page of a newspaper, in the crime news read all over the country, so the reporter exaggerated.
«What trouble? I’ll just say that the San Domino carabinieri are doing the investigations under the command of marshal…».
«Forget it for the moment. Really. I don’t want any trouble. Maybe tomorrow you’ll write it, but not today. You know the hierarchy don’t like it ». Reason and duty prevailed and didn’t leave space for any negotiation which could make his image stand out, even if he would have been proud of it, after so many years in obscurity doing precious work for the local people who turned to him knowing that he would find a common sense solution if the law wasn’t on their side.
«Ok. I’ll just write about the Station and the department. Ok?».
«Ok, but listen, don’t say too much».
«Why? In any case what I know won’t interfere with the inquiries».
In part resigned – because with a reporter you can’t really do much – and in part concerned about what had happened and the work that had to be done, the marshal broke off the private conversation to go back to his role as a public official.
«You’re right. But I still haven’t taken your statement».
«And what difference does it make? What I write comes out tomorrow in the paper. And tonight I’ll tell you everything and sign the statement».
«Ok, do what you want, but don’t move from here».
«Don’t tell me that you met someone from Salento? You guys really are everywhere…» commented the colleague who had been listening to everything on the phone and who didn’t really understand a lot of what the two Salentinians had said. In the newsroom he often heard Saru’s calls in broad Salentine dialect, but listening live to him seemed like a new thing, he could feel the substantial difference like when you let yourself be convinced to try out a frozen pizza when you’re used to always going to the pizzeria with a wood-oven beneath your place. And from his point of view, Saru delighted in looking at the perplexed expressions on the faces of his colleagues who liked to listen to him from time to time catching the meaning of the odd word. For everyone Saru’s calls in dialect represented a kind of cabaret, a break in the boredom of a tiring day.
«It was wonderful to listen to you, but I didn’t understand anything. What the f**k did you say?».
«It’s too long to explain it now. The language classes, even if they’re so fundamental to learn the culture of Magna Grecia, will have to be for another time. Now let’s think about the article. Did you already talk to the boss?».
«Everything all right. The fliers are already printed…».
«What did you write?».
«Bolognese tourist killed at the Tremiti Isles».
«Perfect. How did you organize the space?».
«We moved a politics page and the crime news goes to the third page. I deleted some things I had written and I left half a page as opening. Is that ok?».
«Ok».
After writing the news and closing the paper with a bombshell, the two colleagues went on talking for a few minutes. Saru still had a bit of time before the investigators from the Operation department from Foggia and the magistrate of the day, who were reaching the island in a helicopter, would put the screws on him with the usual ritual of questioning. In the end he was the only witness or anyway he was the one who had arrived first on the crime scene, but he could also be a suspect. In these cases, actually, nothing is ever left to chance and even the hypotheses that are theoretically or logically the weirdest are never completely discarded without careful investigations. In other words, for Saru it was not really an easy situation because while it was true that he was at the restaurant when he heard the woman’s scream, it could not be ruled out at the moment that he may have killed her.
«Can you explain how you ended up in this story» asked his colleague understandably interested.
Saru explained that everything had happened while he was eating, but he knew that the colleague would go further with his probing.
«How did you know her?».
«Fuck, let it go! I’m desperate. What a bummer!».
«Come on, tell me» insisted his colleague who had already understood, but he preferred to hear it from the person directly involved.
«I met her yesterday when we were doing the boat tour around the island. It was love at first sight. We looked into each other’s eyes and we liked each other…».
By saying this he knew he had aroused the curiosity of his pal who now wanted to know more details about the meeting which sounded hot.
«And?» the colleague interrupted him, jealous of the ability of Saru to build interpersonal relationships with an ease that he didn’t have.
«And what?».
«What did you do?».
«What do you want me to do? I was with my girlfriend and she also had company…».
The scene of the previous day passed before his eyes like a movie and he felt his heart skip a beat. He saw the vivacious smiling woman questioning him curious to know more about his work as a reporter. He saw the mischievous expression on her face when he mentioned a woman he had met at an after-dinner party who they discovered was a mutual friend that, by a strange twist of fate, had talked to her a lot about a reporter with whom she was having a passionate affair. Lucia could not be sure that the guy in the story was him, but Saru had craftily made her believe it throwing into the conversation from time to time two or three hints like decoys for the fish which the woman had snapped up hungrily. She was fascinated by that man who cared so much about discretion and freedom of thought and action and kept repeating to her the importance for a woman of finding a partner who could excite her emotions without any fear of him turning into a stalker when she decided to end their relationship.
He realized that she was attracted to him because he made her feel comfortable, because he let her talk about whatever she liked without any limits or prejudices, because he had listened to her with interest and because they enjoyed talked about all the traveling they had done and the places they’d both visited. Their furtive exchange of numbers had been the inevitable successful completion of an interesting chat which had found them in tune and longing to make a trip together after getting to know each other better which, for obvious reasons, they decided to postpone to when they were back in Bologna.
«You must have said something? Did you talk about anything in particular?».
«She said who she was, where she came from, what she did in her life. I talked a bit about me, about my job, we talked about travels and we promised to continue our chat in Bologna, quietly with no one around to disturb us because my woman was so jealous and her man looked annoyed, too. To avoid creating any embarrassment we decided to stop, ignoring each other for the rest of the day, but I assure you that it was a real pity not to be free, we could have got to know each other better at that moment. And now nothing. What an ugly end» he sighed.
«You didn’t even kiss? It seems strange if I know you» continued his colleague.
«Forget it, here comes the helicopter with the public prosecutor and the men of the Operation department. You’d better leave a note tomorrow for the reporter on day shift because there is going to be a lot of work to do and tell the boss that by tomorrow I want to know if I have to stay here to follow the case or if I have to come back to start work again on Monday». Saru just had time to clarify the last details and say goodbye to his reporter pal when he heard a foreign voice calling him, someone who was not his compatriot and had the cold accent of someone who was born and grew up under the shadow of the Alps.
«It’s me» he answered with a questioning look.
«I’m lieutenant colonel Gianni Lelli, the commander of the Operative Section of Foggia» the official introduced himself with a typical Alto Adige accent which didn’t make a good impression to him.
«Nice to meet you colonel, I’m Rosario Santacroce».
«I imagine you know you’re going to have to tell us a lot of things» started the colonel without making the effort to show any courtesy, confirming the bad impression that the reporter had from the beginning.
«I realize it’s going to be a long night».
«Come, I’ll introduce you to the investigating magistrate, the public prosecutor Carla De Paolis».
«Good evening, I’m Rosario Santacroce».
«I understand you were the first to come onto the scene of the murder» the prosecutor said with a probing attitude and a thinly-veiled dislike that didn’t bode well, making the reporter bristle.
«Yes, I was the first one to run to the place as soon as I heard the scream».
«Why were you here?».
«I’m on holiday, the last day of my vacation on the island, but I’m sure I’ll be staying in the neighborhood for quite a bit longer».
«What makes you believe that? Perhaps you have something to say, something you’re hiding?».
«Absolutely not, but I think it’s very likely that my newspaper will ask me to follow the case. Sorry if I didn’t introduce myself before, I’m a reporter and I work in Bologna, the city the victim was from».
«All we needed was a reporter…» the prosecutor said sighing, making the wall built up by the first exchanges and the unfriendly tone even higher.
«Don’t tell me you also have it in for the free press» said Saru without getting an answer.
«Who were you talking to on the phone just now?» the woman asked.
«It wasn’t my lawyer, ma’am. I don’t need one» answered the reporter who could not explain to himself the hostility the prosecutor was showing towards him.
«You didn’t answer my question».
«You’ll forgive me if I dare to say that I don’t think knowing who my caller was will help you understand and solve the case» retorted Saru triggering the explosion that until that moment seemed just a potential collision unwanted by him. For the umpteenth time, his hot temper and his tendency to forget about tact when what was at stake were what he considered the principles of civil coexistence, risked making the situation complicated. His rationality invited him to let the dispute go, even if he knew he was not wrong to respond in kind to the unfair attack he was being subjected to. But in the end, what interested him the most at the moment was his goal, in other words track down the facts and bring home the story.
«I invite you, Mr. Santacroce, to change your attitude because I don’t like it at all and I think it’s somewhat offensive and rude» the prosecutor topped it off.
«I prefer not to answer because I don’t think this is the place or the time to talk about manners and respect. And even if I don’t think I am under any obligation to tell you this, I was talking with my newspaper».
«Why?».
«You know, I’m a reporter and I witnessed a crime. One and one makes two».
«Are you being sarcastic Santacroce?».
«I’m just answering your questions».
«You know you can’t talk to anybody?».
«Why?» asked Saru already knowing the answer, the same one which was repeated to him in every situation.
«The preliminary investigation is under wraps».
«I just told them the situation, ma’am. Not even the smallest allusion to a possible line of investigation which by the way I can’t know as you haven’t started yet».
«Later I’ll listen to you and we’ll verbalize your declarations, now would you tell me more or less what you saw?».
«When I arrived it was dark, I couldn’t see anything and while running I stumbled ending up on the woman who was in a puddle of blood. I tried to help her, but she was almost dead».
«Is there anyone who can confirm your version, Santacroce?».
«I suppose everyone who was sitting at the restaurant with me and my girlfriend when we heard the scream. But before continuing I’d like to change my clothes, this smell of blood is making me nauseous and I need my girlfriend to go to the other side of the island to get me some clean clothes».
«Colonel don’t let any of the clients of the restaurant go away before taking their statements».
«I’ve already told them to go to the Guardia di Finanza barracks on the dock».
«Then I’ll go and question them so I can send them home as soon as possible. If you need me I’ll be there, colonel».
«And what about my clothes?».
«Let Mr. Santacroce’s girlfriend be brought at the hotel to pick up some clothes and order your men to take in the blood-stained clothes. When you’ve taken a shower, come to the barracks as well».
Saru nodded and after taking a last look at the magistrate who also looked right back into his eyes as if to reach the center of his soul and capture his feelings (if there were any), he stepped away from the crime scene. A crowd of questions were milling around his mind about the woman whose severity just seemed to him like armor to defend herself. Probably built up after having experienced who knows what insults because of her striking good looks. That’s when he decided to discover a bit more about her.
«Sorry colonel, but is Ms De Paolis always like that?».
«She’s a very tough woman, she knows her stuff. Don’t worry, she’s a serious magistrate».
The last thing the official said left him puzzled as he didn’t understand why he should feel reassured by the abilities of a magistrate not having committed any crime. Saru preferred to keep this doubt to himself. He actually wanted to enjoy the next day’s scoop and he didn’t want to dampen the enthusiasm by thinking of such an irrational threat hanging over him and he preferred to talk to a person he could trust a bit more at that point. So he decided to lighten up the tone with a typically male comment on the magistrate’s qualities.
«Anyway, she’s hot» he said to the colonel referring to De Paolis getting an unexpected answer which confirmed Saru’s certainty that when we talk about women we can almost always find a meeting point, even with someone who looks austere.
«She’s a really beautiful woman and she has already made a lot of heads spin since she arrived in the district attorney’s office, but I warn you that if you are getting any ideas, the queue is long».
«But is it moving at least?».
«What?».
«The queue I mean, is it moving or is the wait pointless?» went on Saru who in his relations with the opposite s*x had never favored haste.
«I can’t tell you that I’m not interested in taking part in the race seeing I’m happily married».
«Where is Ms De Paolis from?».
«I think she’s from the Romagna region, from around Ravenna. She came here for love and until a few years ago she was married to a colleague from Lecce who then left her».
«I can believe it! If she behaved with him like she did with me, it was a miracle that they got as far as marriage and that my compatriot didn’t escape before» shrewdly responded the reporter who had managed to find out something about the woman and was starting to see some answers to the many questions he had asked himself about her.
«Listen Santacroce, now it’s time to talk about serious stuff. We have a murder here and it’s not the moment to talk about women».
«Sorry if I dared to wander off».
«When you’ve changed your clothes, join me at the barracks to take down the statement of what you have told the magistrate and then you can go home because for the time being we won’t need you anymore» advised the officer turning his back on him to go down to the dock to the Finanza barracks transformed into the investigation’s general headquarters. Lelli had barely taken two steps before the reporter stopped him to make a deal.
«I’d like to suggest an agreement where we each play our role, everyone is satisfied, you who have to investigate and me who have to follow the case. I’m willing to boost your image with my paper if necessary, but you have to promise you’ll help me» offered Saru. His proposal fell on willing ears as it was not the first time Lelli had agreed to leak some details to the press in order to help the investigations along and give some satisfaction to his team for their hard work and abnegation. Right after having shaken on the deal, as the colonel headed towards the barracks to question the witnesses, Saru’s gaze fell on the victim who was still not covered with a white blanket. For a moment on his satisfied face a veil of sadness appeared about that beauty defaced by death and harshly revealed by the powerful halogen lamps brought in by the firemen to light up the scene and allow the investigators to find every useful clue.
Notes
1 - A cool way to say stupid
2 - A little city in Salento (Lecce), South Italy
3 - Dialect abbreviation for Giuseppe
- Writer
