The Haunted Inspector

by Ruggeri, Claudio; Kerry, Judy;

  “Yes, Inspector...”

  “I’ve just had it confirmed that it’s tomorrow that we’ll be needing your men.”

  “Ok, fine, I’ve already put them on stand-by. Their names are Benigno and Di Stefano, what time shall I tell them?”

  “Tell them to come to my station for six thirty.”

  “Will do, good luck.”

  “Thanks, and...I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  For the last call he would have to wait a few minutes, so he started to think about a possible plan of action.

  If everything went according to plan, they would have to detain five people: the referee and the four dealers.

  Parisi could take care of the referee; one of the pushers, the one on the moped, was one for the Mobile Police Unit, whilst there needed to be three cars ready for the other three, one with Di Girolamo and Pennino on board, another with Venditti and Fiorini, and Germano already had an idea in store for the third.

  He stepped into the bedroom and, checking whether his wife was still awake, lay down beside her.

  “Are you asleep, darling?”

  “I almost was, but then the phone rang...why don’t you get them to call you on the mobile even when you’re at home?”

  “I know, you’re right...so are we going to your mum’s for lunch tomorrow?”

  “She invited us a month ago; if we let her down she’ll stop speaking to us.”

  “Even if we’re a bit late getting there?”

  “What do you mean, ‘we’? What are you planning?”

  “I was thinking that we could spend a bit of time together tomorrow morning...”

  “Together?”

  “Yes...I’m leaving early tomorrow morning but should be back by about ten thirty!”

  “Are the kids coming with us?”

  “Well...if your dad could come and pick them up at ten that would be great, that way they could spend more time with their grandparents!”

  “And what do you have in mind for us, on the other hand?”

  “A surprise, be ready for ten thirty tomorrow morning and wear something sporty.”

  “All this secrecy is intriguing...”

  “All will be revealed soon...”

  “Why are you getting up again? Weren’t you coming to bed?”

  “I need to make one last call...”

  He walked softly along the hallway and turned into the dining room, where he stopped in front of the sofa and picked up the phone.

  “Hello.”

  “Di Girolamo, it’s me.”

  “Oh, hello Inspector...”

  “I’ve told everyone, what news have you got for me?”

  “I’ve done everything too, we’re all meeting tomorrow at six thirty in your office.”

  “Perfect, see you tomorrow.”

  “Yes, see you tomorrow.”

  7

  “Right...so here we are...”, as soon as Officer Venditti, the last one to arrive, stepped into the inspector’s office, he made a start.

  “...this is the plan: Di Girolamo and Pennino, you’re going straight to the stadium, try to get into the referee’s changing room and install the camera; don’t rush it, make sure that it’s positioned so that we can see as much as possible.”

  “And what about the audio?”

  “Here are four bugs, put one in each corner of the changing room. Contact me as soon as you’re done.”

  “Got it”, they both replied in unison.

  “You then come back here and take a different car; it will be your job to arrest Andrea Vinciguerra, here’s the file.”

  As they both took a look at the various notes and observations relating to Vinciguerra, the inspector continued, this time turning to Detective Parisi.

  “Angelo, you’ll be taking care of the referee. Find out where his dressing room is and then watch the match from the stands. I’ll let you know when to make your move.”

  “Ok.”

  “There’s also a previous offender, his name is Proietti. Venditti and Fiorini will deal with him. Here are the photos and notes.”

  As he handed these to his colleagues, Germano exchanged glances with the two members of the Mobile Police Unit, who were patiently awaiting their orders.

  “Our colleagues, Benigno and Di Stefano, will be taking care of Carlo Anselmi, the unemployed guy with the scooter; I’m sorry to make you work on a Sunday morning, but we do need you.”

  “Not a problem, Inspector, it comes with the job”, replied Benigno.

  Detective Di Girolamo had by now had time to get an overview of Vinciguerra.

  “That leaves Emanuele Bianchi...” he said.

  Germano replied with a hint of a smile, adding that he would be taking care of Bianchi, using an external car.

  They all remained in their places except for Di Girolamo and Pennino, who set off for the stadium.

  It was just before eight, and things took on an informal look that morning: the two officers would be going into action wearing tracksuits.

  They phoned the caretaker and asked him to open up on the pretence that they were plumbers who had come to repair some faulty pipes that were causing the showers to lose pressure.

  The caretaker was somewhat suspicious, not recalling any request for repairs, but they both tried to put him at ease, commenting that such an early job was a real nuisance to them too.

  Once inside the building, they were only out of sight of the caretaker once they entered the walkway to the changing rooms; they placed the toolbox on the floor and started checking the pipes.

  As soon as they had identified the pipes leading to the referee’s changing room, their interest increased; Di Girolamo climbed up to check the length and depth, and at first sight he was convinced that one camera would suffice.

  When his feet were back on the ground he shared his views with Officer Pennino, who responded with a question.

  “Do you think we’re going to have to force the door open?”

  “No, we’ll get it opened...”

  “Shall I call the caretaker?”

  “Yes, call him right now.”

  The caretaker appeared after a few minutes, holding a newspaper, probably the same one that he had been reading when he was interrupted by Pennino; the detective spoke as he saw him approaching.

  “We’ve had a quick look and we now need to turn the water on in all of the shower units to check the pressure.”

  “Ok, where shall we start?”

  “Here...”, replied Di Girolamo, pointing to the door that the referee would be using. So as not to arouse the caretaker’s suspicions, he asked him to stay there and wait for them outside for a few minutes in case they needed him.

  Once inside, Officer Pennino immediately opened the toolbox, which as well as containing various pairs of pliers, also contained the bugs and camera.

  The detective immediately turned on the shower in order to mask the sound and then turned to his colleague.

  “I’ll install the eyes on a beam, that one up there, to capture the whole changing room.”

  “And the ears?”

  “We’ll put one under that table there, one under the toilet and one next to the door.”

  “And where shall I put the last one? Next to the shower?”

  “No, not there, the sound of the water would drown out everything else, no pun intended.”

  “Sorry Detective, but...wouldn’t they do the handover at half time?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Well, they normally shower at the end of the match...”

  “You’re right...I’m not even forty and I’m already starting to lose it!”

  No sooner had Di Girolamo spoken than the bug was in place.

  He then sent a text to the inspector as planned, confirming that the mission had been accomplished and that everything had gone smoothly.

  The two officers stayed for another hour, checking all the other showers, holding ‘technical’ discussions, in such an amateuris
h way that the caretaker would have only required the most limited knowledge of plumbing to rumble them.

  At nine forty they were all gathered back in Germano’s office. The inspector wasted no time in getting started.

  “Here we all are then, everything has gone smoothly so far and now we just have to wait for the teams to arrive and for the referee to make his move. As kick-off is at eleven, everyone should be arriving at the stadium by ten, so we’ll move in shortly afterwards.”

  “Will you be following us from here?” asked Di Stefano.

  “No, no, I’ll be in the stadium car park, from where I’ll be coordinating everything. I’ve already had a small screen installed in the car so that I can see what’s going on in the changing room. I’ll also be wearing headphones to hear what they’re saying. Once we have what we need, we’ll launch Operation EXTRA TIME”.

  “So we’ll be using the radios to communicate?” asked Detective Di Girolamo.

  “Yes, we need to pick a frequency; there’s one person I’ll be arresting myself, so I definitely need to be there.”

  It was around ten past ten when they started moving into place. They arranged to meet in the Frascati stadium car park at ten fifty; Germano had to go home first.

  Arianna was already waiting when she heard the buzz of the intercom, and guessing that it was her husband, she picked up her handbag and went straight down to meet him.

  They could easily be a happily married couple off on a second honeymoon; they certainly gave no impression that they were about to take part in a police operation.

  Only once Germano started setting up the small monitor inside the car, parked outside the stadium, did his wife suspect as much.

  “Sorry, Vincent...”

  “Yes...” he replied distractedly, whilst trying to connect everything up.

  “Have you suddenly become a sports journalist by any chance?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I don’t know...this monitor looks...”

  “Careful, don’t focus on what it looks like, but what it actually is...”

  “You’re a philosopher as well now, then?” By now, Arianna no longer suspected that her husband was hiding something. She was certain of it.

  A few minutes later Germano exchanged a signal with all of his officers, and once he had found the right radio frequency he asked them all to get out of their vehicles and split up, so as not to attract attention.

  The match had just begun; they had more than half an hour to wait.

  Di Girolamo and Pennino popped into the central bar in the piazza, and Venditti and Fiorini went to the Cafè Sport.

  Detective Parisi settled himself in the stands at the same time as Germano and his wife stopped at a newspaper kiosk; only the members of the Mobile Police Unit waited outside the stadium.

  The inspector preferred to keep walking, giving himself the chance to explain everything to his wife, and to thank her for her unwitting collaboration.

  “So, Vincent...when we get back to the car we need to look like two passionate lovers, am I right? Is that what you mean by not attracting attention?”

  “Yes, I would say so, someone is bound to be curious, but the main thing is not to look like police officers.”

  “And then?”

  “Once the operation is launched, all you need to do is get out of the car and retreat to that bar over there.”

  “What a shame, just when things start getting exciting!”

  They exchanged glances and started walking towards the car.

  As the referee blew his whistle twice, placating both the crowd and the players momentarily, the inspector, on the other hand, was on full alert, primed to watch and listen to everything that was about to happen inside the referee’s changing room.

  The sharp images and all too clear dialogue convinced Germano that now was the time to act.

  “Angelo, can you hear me?”

  “Yes, Vincent.”

  “All ok here, you proceed as planned.”

  “Ok.”

  “Everyone else...wait until the suspects have come out before moving in.”

  Once he received confirmation, Germano asked his wife to get out of the car, checked his holster, took a deep breath and prepared himself to start the car.

  The first one to come out was Anselmi; Benigno and Di Stefano followed him like shadows on their scooter; the other two suspects drove into opposite streets almost simultaneously, which if anything helped the unmarked cars in their job of keeping tabs on them. The only one still missing was Bianchi.

  Germano, now alone, watched him as he finished off his coffee, followed him with his eyes along the brief section between the stadium exit and the car park, until he saw him stop abruptly.

  What if he’d guessed something was up? Germano rested the paper he had bought a little earlier on the steering wheel, taking the odd distracted look; Bianchi took his mobile out of his pocket and dialled a number and a few seconds later the radio began to crackle.

  “Inspector, can you hear me?”

  “Yes, go ahead.”

  “It’s the Mobile Police Unit here, we’ve got him. We’ll ask for a squad car to take him to the cells.”

  “Great job.”

  The other confirmations followed in rapid succession as Germano continued to observe the boy, who in the meantime had sat himself down on the bonnet of his own car, deep in conversation on his mobile.

  It was too risky to arrest him right there but there was no other option; the inspector drove his own car at a snail’s pace towards Bianchi, who suddenly got into his car, started it and drove off.

  Germano waited until he was fifty metres or so away before moving closer and deciding to run into him from behind. The youth put on the handbrake and got out of his car, visibly enraged.

  “What the hell are you playing at?”

  He did not have time to continue before Germano was on top of him, with the handcuffs ready.

  “Police, I’m arresting you for possessing and supplying drugs.”

  “What drugs?”

  Keeping his weapon on Bianchi, he removed from the glove compartment some bags containing the compromising substance, at which Bianchi resisted no further.

  The most surreal scene unfolded twenty minutes later, after the full-time whistle, when the referee, returning to his changing room to find Detective Parisi leaning against the shower cubicle finishing off a cigarette, mistook him for one of the team managers.

  “Excuse me...I’ll bring you the caution report form shortly.”

  The detective approached him and showed him his ID; the ball that the referee he had been holding suddenly fell to the washed-out floor, as did his gaze.

  “So it’s all over...”

  “No, Referee, there will be extra time for you this time, but behind bars...”

  8

  “Hello...”

  “Is that the Police?”

  “Yes, how can I help?”

  “My name is Valerio Angeli, and half an hour ago I went for a run and came across something...”

  “What do you mean, something?”

  “It looked like a body, a human body...it was in the middle of some brambles.”

  “And where are you now?”

  “I ran home to make this call, as I didn’t have my mobile on me.”

  “Where were you running?”

  “I usually jog in a kind of meadow with some trees, where no one else ever goes, between Frascati and Grottaferrata”.

  “And can you confirm that you are at home now? I’ll send a squad car for you, if you feel up to accompanying us.”

  “Yes...of course.”

  The meadow in question was in fact a kind of uneven clearing surrounded by various ditches. In one of these, lying among the scrub, was the lifeless body of a girl, in the early stages of decomposition.

  The first officers to arrive at the scene immediately sealed off the area. Before notifying Forensics, they tried unsuccessfully to contact
Inspector Germano.

  They only managed to notify him two hours later; during Operation EXTRA TIME he had been unavailable to everyone and when he finally heard, he could barely contain his dismay.

  At first glance, it was already clear that the girl had not ended up in that ditch by accident; there was a rip in the back of her jeans, just below the right buttock.

  The colour of blood, which had stained a large part of the jeans around the rip, was unmistakeable, even though it was a few days’ old; after exchanging a few words with the medical examiner, Germano returned to the station, where some of his men were waiting for him.

  Di Girolamo was the first to speak.

  “Male or female?”

  “A girl. So I want you to start looking at all the missing person reports; I had a quick chat with the medical examiner before I left; look for girls aged between twenty-five and thirty-five who’ve gone missing in Rome and the surrounding area over the past month.”

  “So the body hasn’t been there for long, then?” asked Parisi.

  “Let’s wait for the autopsy report, but I don’t think it’s been there for longer than a month; let’s start looking in any case.”

  One hour later, Detective Parisi was back with the reports on the seven women who had gone missing over the past month. Two could be eliminated immediately, as the girls were not white: the one found had very pale skin.

  Two more were discounted soon after, as the body discovered in the ditch must have been around one metre seventy tall, whilst these were at least ten centimetres shorter.

  This left three, and these included the report on Chiara Clementi.

  Germano dismissed his colleague, asking him to proceed no further with the investigation; they should wait for the autopsy report, after which they would also have the girl’s personal belongings in their possession, to show to the friends and relatives of the missing girls.

  The call from Dr Monachini came on the morning of the following Tuesday, thirty-six hours after the discovery of the body.

  “Inspector Germano’s office...”

  “This is Monachini, is Vincent there?”

  “Good morning, Doctor, just a second, I’ll get him for you.”

  “Germano here.”

  “Hi Vincent, I’ve got some news for you.”