-Shh, they might hear us. -I whispered as quietly as I could, pressing my back against the cold stone wall.
-On the count of three, here we go.
-One...two...three. -and the shot rang out.
**********
The week before...
-Good morning. -I said as I walked into the inspector's office.
-Good morning. -said Dante and Silvio almost simultaneously.
-Oh, if only it were good.- Ashley muttered.
-Let me guess, another murder?
-Unfortunately, yes. So let's go to the crime scene. -Said Silvio.
-Can you text me the address?
-Sure.
-Where's Alice?
-At the lab writing reports. - answered Dante.
-Why don't you ask where Olivia is? -Silvio asked with a laugh.
-Because, first of all, I'm not interested in that information. Secondly, I hope she won't be here today at all.
But then the door to the office opened, and all my hopes were dashed.
-Good morning. -said Olivia. I have to be honest, it was the most disgusting voice I'd ever heard.
-I have to tell Alice about the murder, I'm going to the lab. -Finding a reason to leave and not be in the same room with Olivia was easy.
-I'm coming with you. - Ashley didn't want to be there either.
The two of us walked out into the corridor and into the lab where my assistant was writing a report.
-Alice, we've got a murder. Get the stuff you need and let's go. -I said as we entered the lab.
-Okay, I'll get everything I need and then we can go. -After saying that, the blonde got up from the table and started packing.
-Whose car are we taking?
-Let's take mine. - I suggested.
-Okay. Is Olivia coming with us, too?
-Of course not, I won't let her anywhere near my car.
You might think I have a personal grudge against Olivia, but you don't. And by the way, she and I have a mutual hatred for each other.
20 minutes later, Alice, Ashley and I were driving my car to the crime scene.
-What time is it?
-It's exactly 8:00. - replied my sister, looking at her wristwatch.
-How much further do we have to go?
-Fifteen minutes .
As I said fifteen minutes later we pulled up to a block of flats where the murder had taken place. The three of us got out of the car and headed for the entrance.
-Silvio was supposed to throw down the code to the intercom. - I said, pulling out my phone.
Within seconds I found a text message with the code and entered it.
-Who is it? - Silvio's voice came from the intercom.
-Special Forces. - Ashley answered in a flash, and strangely enough, the door opened.
-Decided to join NOCS?
-Why not?
We climbed the stairs to the first floor and approached the flat we needed.
-Come on in. - Dante opened the door.
-Where's the body? - I asked.
-In the living room. -Dante said, pointing in the direction of the room where the murder had taken place.
Ashley started looking for clues, while Alice and I went to look at the body. When we got into the living room, we saw a dead man lying in the middle of the living room on the white carpet in a pool of scarlet blood. I put on my gloves and started the examination. The corpse had a ligature mark on his neck, i.e. a trace of strangulation by a rope, and in the area of the heart there was a stab wound. Inflicted with some kind of sharp object, probably a knife. Apparently, he was strangled and then stabbed in the heart.
-Shoe marks on the floor, on the window sill and the window's open. I think it's obvious that the perpetrator escaped through the window. -said Ashley as she approached the window.
-I think he did, it's only the first floor. He probably came down the drainpipe. -I confirmed my sister's theory.
-Have we I.D.'d the victim yet? -Ashley asked.
-Yes, his name is Francesco Salvione and he's 38 years old. The neighbour said he lived alone," Silvio replied and took a picture of the shoe prints on the windowsill.
-I get it. Rose, what about the body?
-I can tell you that this man died a violent death, from a strangulation type of mechanical asphyxiation. Simply put, he was strangled with a rope and then stabbed in the heart. Death occurred no more than two hours ago. -I said to my colleagues, turning my gaze to them.
-Why stab him in the heart? - My sister asked.
-When we catch the killer, we'll ask him. Alice, we can take the body to the morgue.
-Okay-a second after Alice said that, Olivia came into the room.
-Why are you looking at me like that? I was gone for half an hour, so what? There was a queue at the coffee shop.
-I love it when people take responsibility for their work. - I said, looking at Olivia, who was calmly sipping her coffee standing in the doorway.
-Here's the rope they used to strangle him. -said Silvio picking up the rope from the floor.
While we were looking for clues, Olivia was just wandering around the room.
-Who does fingerprinting like that? All you can do in the lab is look at microscopes and clean test tubes. -said Olivia and started walking towards me.
-Look, you can stay out of the way, do your job, or at least pretend to do your job as usual.
-I am working.
-What kind of work? Walking round the room drinking your coffee?
-In fact, I... -she didn't get a chance to finish because she dropped a vase from the dresser and it shattered into lots of little pieces.
-Well, you've got a job to do. Clean it up now. -Olivia didn't say anything and just rolled her eyes and started cleaning up the pieces.
-Silvio, are there any witnesses? -Ashley asked.
-There is, but he's pretty drunk right now.
-That's fun, but we should question him anyway. We'll question him later when he's sober. - said the colleague and went to the book rack, apparently something on the rack attracted her attention.
-Colleagues, I found a ring. - said the girl and carefully took the ring in her hands.
-A ring? - I was surprised by her find.
-Yes, a ring, and a bloody ring at that. -Ashley clarified and put the evidence in the gripper.
-I'm 100% sure it's the victim's blood. - I said, looking at the bloody evidence.
-It probably is.
We searched for evidence for another hour or so, but we didn't find anything else. And since there was nothing left to do at the crime scene, Ashley suggested we go canvass the neighbourhood.
-Which flat should we start with? -said her sister.
-Let's start with the one across the hall.
We went to the door of the flat across the hall and rang the bell.
-Open up, it's the police. - Ashley shouted and two seconds later the door opened.
-Hello, I'm Chief Inspector Ashley Grace.
-I'm Chief Inspector Rosalind Grace, could you answer a few questions about your neighbour Francesco Salvione?
-Yeah, sure, come on in. -said the old lady and let us into the flat.
-Please tell me your name. -I asked
-Martine Roberti.
-What can you tell me about the murdered man?
-He lived alone, I told your colleague. He didn't receive guests, didn't say hello to anyone. He was strange.
-Strange?
-Well, he was quiet, always with a scowl on his face. If you said something to him, it was like he didn't notice you.
-Maybe there's something else? -sighing, the sister asked.
- He didn't drink, he didn't smoke. Oh yeah, he'd go out every Friday night at 7:00 and come back very late, like 1:00 in the morning. That's all I can tell you about him
-I get it. Thank you, goodbye.
-Goodbye, if you remember anything else, call this number. -I said and gave the old lady my card.
-Goodbye.
-I'll have to find out where he went every Friday. -said I, closing the front door behind me.
-You think it had something to do with the murder?
-I think yes.
We questioned five other neighbours and they all said the same thing: "Didn't receive guests" "Didn't drink or smoke" "Was strange". When the crime scene was examined and the neighbours questioned, we all drove back to the police station.