They all looked a little twisting their mouths, they knew that the work would have been pretty boring and without guarantee of success.
After ordering via phone some coffee and croissants, Germano asked them to start with the letters.
The work turned out to be pretty repetitive and consisted in opening the letters one by one and having a quick look at the last line, in order to know if the letter was useful to the investigation or not.
They spent almost an hour of fruitless searching until Inspector Parisi found the name Valentina at the end of one of the letters.
Phrases like no one can move me like you ... life should be lived even if you have everybody against you, and the notes that go out of your piano, almost filled the dozens of lines of the letter and left the impression that the girl in question was touched by the notes played by Brandenburg at depths very different from what one might imagine.
After showing the two pages to Germano, Inspector Parisi, seeing his friend and colleague quite thoughtful, decided to add something.
“See, Vincent ... there is also a phone number below, that Valentina herself wrote here ... probably because she wanted to be called ... should I deepen the matter?”.
“She probably wanted to be called by the Master, I mean ... what if it was the police to call her, instead ... anyway, investigate about the user and find out who this Valentina is, let's see, maybe there's something we still don’t understand”.
“You don’t seem very convinced, Vincent ...”.
“See Angelo, in the letter ... this girl used formal speaking terms, as if she had just met Brandenburg, or at least as if she was not in such great confidence; let’s wait to see if there are other letters written by this Valentina and then we could also deepen the matter”.
“Okay, as you wish”.
As soon as Germano lowered his eyes, to continue the analysis on the letters along with his men, his attention was again drawn by another of his employees, Inspector Di Girolamo.
“I've found another one, Commissioner ... this time the sender is Giulia, however, it’s better you read what’s written ...”.
This time the letter was explicitly of a sexual nature, not at all prudish; the girl in question fantasized about erotic adventures with the German artist, having as a background his piano. Germano read it carefully twice before turning his gaze to the date on which was written, it was May 27th of that same year and the fact that the postmark dated May 30th,confirmed its veracity.
At that point, the commissioner turned to the other inspector, Angelo Parisi.
“Do you still have the agenda with you, Angelo?”.
“Yes, here it is!”.
“Well, check when was the last time a Giulia appears among the students expected at the house of Brandenburg for a lesson”.
“Just a moment”.
The last time this happened was May 25th, two days before this letter was written; the doubts the commissioner had, at this point, increased.
“What do you think, Vincent?”.
“I think that writing those lines, Giulia has done nothing but annoy the Master, who indeed stood off the girl, for more than a month and a half, he did not give her a single music lesson”.
“It's plausible ... you can see by scrolling back the pages as there was always a Giulia on Wednesday at 18.00, every Wednesday, and from that day onwards, May 25th, the time when this girl used to have lesson is always empty”.
“Um ... maybe this deserves more attention than the other one, we have to investigate further; from this moment on, let’s look only for other letters written by this Giulia”.
“Okay, Commissioner”, this time was Di Girolamo to respond, on behalf also of the other two people present at that time in the office, Inspector Parisi and Agent Venditti.
The activity continued throughout the whole morning, after which the commissioner tried to take stock of the situation.
“Other names that might be interesting have not been found, we should focus on these Valentina and Giulia and try to understand a little more about them and the kind of relation they had with the Master; in any case, I pinned the details of a cultural center from which they were sent several letters to the teacher, nothing strange, most of all are pre-printed letters with wishes for Easter or Christmas, but ... since I have not yet figured out how Brandenburg came into contact with his students...”.
“I’ve found a pair of letters from an orphanage ...”.
“Ah ... show me”.
“Here they are”.
At that time Inspector Di Girolamo pointed out he has also found something interesting, letters related to a cultural club called “Young Artists”.
Germano asked him to see those, too.
The excited exchange of banter and suggestions, which at that time filled the commissioner’s office, was abruptly interrupted by the entry of Inspector Gianni Piazza, who, holding some papers in his hands, invited all those present to sit down and listen to him.
The technicians had been able to enlarge the images of the rear of the scooter during the maneuver, from which it was possible to read the first two digits of the plate, respectively, 7and P, they hadn’t been able to read the others.
Impossible had been the identification of its driver; unfortunately, the distance from the point where the camera was and the low quality of the image had prevailed.
They had been able, however, to confirm the model of the vehicle, an old Aprilia in production until the late ‘90s, very common at that time, but probably no more in 2013.
After Piazza’s monologue, there were a few seconds where no one spoke; it was the commissioner to take the decision to speak first.
“Well, then we'll move this way, you, Piazza and Venditti will work on this plate, call the DMV and try to find out how many of these scooters Aprilia are actually around here; focus only on the area surrounding Rome, its province, and only if you see that the results do not satisfy you, widen the search to the entire city of Rome, then ...”.
“How could we do that, I mean ...”.
“Make a phone call to the traffic police and ask them for support for this type of investigation, I don’t know, probably the first thing you might do is to see if the owners use to pay stamp duty and insurance or do not, this should already be an indication of use of the vehicle; however this is just an idea, ask them for suggestions”.
“Okay, Commissioner”.
“Di Girolamo, you will work on Valentina, pick up all her letters, remember what we said, okay? Let’s do the same thing with the other girl, Angelo, the more passionate one, maybe too much passionate. Everything’s clear?”.
The four answered almost in unison, some with affirmative nods of the head and others in words. Although everything seemed really planned, something was still missing. Germano took the floor again.
“About me ... I will visit the cultural center first, and then the orphanage and the music club, I need to figure out how Master Brandenburg developed its contacts, how he moved in certain circles and ...”.
“And?”.
“Nothing, Angelo, I’ll hear from those who knew him ... is everything clear to everyone?”.
This time there was no need for confirmation and the commissioner was left alone soon after. As soon as this happened, Germano began to write down in his notebook both the addresses and the phone numbers of the places he was going to visit soon.
The cultural center, the first one on the list that the commissioner had drawn up himself, was in one of the streets that bordered the old town center of Frascati; it was not difficult to find it, following the directions that the commissioner had shortly before received by the Director of the Institute. He almost unconsciously found himself in front of the building in which cultural activities took place.
The director, shortly before, had been very vague about the activities that he himself had been called to preside, and the commissioner became more and more curious about them.
The cultural center o
ccupied the entire first floor of the building in nineteenth-century style that dominated the central square of Frascati. Germano tried to give a look around when he went in but he couldn’t; Enrico Angelini, the director, received him and took him immediately to his office, which was, unfortunately, near the front door and this didn’t allow the commissioner to continue further in his personal reconnaissance.
Mr. Angelini, about six feet tall and with a big mustache that reminded the policemen of the past, soon showed himself very friendly, inviting the commissioner to sit down and have a coffee.
Germano immediately understood that the man in front of him, was in the fact studying him; indeed he knew there was the possibility that Angelini had not believed that such a meeting was due to the death of Master Brandenburg, and now wanted to understand what Germano had really come to do.
The commissioner then tried to go straight to the point, asking the personal opinion of the director on the figure of the Master.
“You see, Commissioner ... Brandenburg came here three or four times a year ... and it’s not that there was a very thorough knowledge between us; for all I know, I can only say he was a good person”.
“Yes ... specifically, what the Master came here to do?”.
“More than anything else, he was invited to attend the award ceremonies; the guys who have distinguished themselves worthy, for instance in national competitions, indeed, received certificates and some subsidy to continue their studies”.
“Any guy could be rewarded here or only those who are enrolled in your center?”.
“Well ... of course only some of our students, who perhaps had made a good impression at regional or national level”.
“What kind of arts are treated in this center, Mr. Angelini?”.
“We have a workshop where we teach how to play several musical instruments, from piano to saxophone, then there's a whole other part about literature and cinematography ... but our pride has always been Music”.
“Do you know if some of your guys has never taken private lessons from Master Brandenburg?”.
“Not that I know, but in reality, I never got to know exactly if that happened”.
“Why not?”.
“Because Brandenburg was not that talkative. When we invited him, he showed up five minutes before the ceremony without exchanging a single word with anyone, then took the stage, two sentences of circumstance and he went away soon after; no boy or girl never asked me how to contact him so, if that happened, it was not by me”.
“Do you have a telephone number of ...”.
“Unfortunately not, the Master wanted be sent only an invitation letter then he would have replied confirming whether or not he would have taken part to the ceremony, nothing more”.
“I see ... I would have one last question, Angelini ...”.
“Tell me, Commissioner ...”.
“What did you think when you came to know, I guess from newspapers, Brandenburg’s death?”.
“What did I think? That perhaps in some people’s lives, there is a part that is never shared with others, that one we call private life ... some of us, like the Master himself, still manage to keep it private, away from prying eyes and judgments ... I know, Commissioner, that what I have just said is somewhat vague, however, it was the exact feeling I had while reading the news”.
“You’ll find it hard to believe, Angelini, but I’m not surprised at all”.
The answer to that last phrase of the commissioner, was a half-heartedly smile, after which the two exchanged a few words of circumstance and then said goodbye.
Germano immediately climbed in the car and headed to the second destination of his afternoon tour, the orphanage.
This time he found waiting for him a nun, Mother Alberta, who had been running the structure for many.
The room in which the commissioner was invited, appeared quite austere, with a small table completely filled with papers and one chair as only furniture.
Germano, indeed, had to sit down on one side of the bed, the one you put your feet while sleeping; at this point, he could finally start the conversation with Mother Alberta, who preferred to sit on the only chair in the room.
“You were fast, Commissioner ...”.
“I came as soon as possible ... as I mentioned on the phone earlier, I am conducting the investigation into the death of Master Brandenburg and we came to know that ...”.
“That the Master frequented our orphanage?”.
“More or less ... the only thing that it’s still not clear to us, is the kind of relationship he had with this Institute, I don’t know, maybe Brandenburg used to make donations to the orphanage?”.
“He did better, Commissioner, he used to offer his art to the less fortunate children, believe me, anyone who has to live in this place has a pretty important credit with luck ...”.
“I've no doubt, Mother Alberta ... so Brandenburg destined part of his earnings to ...”.
“No commissioner, maybe I wasn’t clear, sometimes he offered some small amount of money but what he actually used to do was to teach kids to play and create music, in the hope that this knowledge could be useful to some of them in their lives”.
“I see ... he must have thought that the music could provide an opportunity of social payback for these young people”.
“Of that, I am convinced; the Master had perhaps unique experience of what it means to make one’s own way in life, especially when you do not have many aces in the hole to play”.
“I think you are right ... so, his visits were regulars? I mean, the Master was used to come here, regularly, right?”.
“He was not a frequent visitor, he used to come to visit a few times a year but then he wanted it was me to report him the most deserving boys and girls”.
“So ... let me get this straight, you pointed out at Brandenburg, those people you thought might have a future in music ... is that what you're saying?”.
“Yes, Commissioner ... I do not see anything wrong, I mean ...”.
“Wait, Mother Alberta, you don’t need to justify, I just wanted to be sure I got it ... are you a musician?”.
“Me, sir? No ... you must have wondered how I did identify the right persons to report to the Master, then ... I used a technique that he himself had taught me, plus I was serving my ear, it will not be that professional but it can recognize good music when it’s played”.
“Ah ...”.
“You see, Commissioner, all the kids had at least one hour of music per week in their schedules, in which they were taught to play, or at least they were given some basis, to play some musical instruments such as flute, violin, piano or saxophone, and those who seemed to be slightly more talented than the others are ... I mean, were reported to the German teacher ...”.
“You’ve talked about a technique that Brandenburg suggested to recognize the potential artists, I'd be curious to know how you do it”.
“It 's easy, Commissioner ... and can be applied to anything in life, just look at the person while playing and try to see if he or she feels emotional transport in doing that, if he or she just performs the score of feels it”.
“Interesting technique ... to hear so, it seems almost obvious but it is not”.
“It wasn’t, for the Master, indeed; he always said that in order to create something from scratch, you need great emotion and disgust for the music already written by others”.
“Very interesting, Mother Alberta ... what happened then? I mean, once you had identified the person, how did you let the Master know?”.
“Simple, I accompanied the boy or girl directly at Brandenburg’s house, I rang the intercom and waited for us to be invited in; once the presentations were finished, I came back here, knowing that I was supposed to go back to take the student after a couple of hours. On that occasion, the Master confirmed me if I was right or not, and we organized, then, one afternoon lesson per week”.
“Did the lessons always take place at Brandenburg’s house?”.
“Yes, always, one hour per week, to be more precise”.
“Do you have, Mother, a list of these boys and girls who came in contact with the Master during all these years?”.
“A list, Commissioner? This story has been going on for almost three decades ... and I never wrote all the names down... I can get you a summary list of the ones that I remember by flipping through the old archives of the boys who have passed through this orphanage, but it will take days”.
“I'll wait if necessary”.
“Well, Commissioner, but I have to ask you a recommendation before you have that list ...”.
“Tell me”.
“You see, some of them have then had extraordinary careers, there are some who composed great soundtracks, pop music for young people or who has been part of major international orchestras and even more; I would appreciate if anyone came to know how these guys have known music and what institution they come from ... I don’t know if you get it, Commissioner ...”.
“You’ve been clear, the private lives of these people won’t be compromised by my investigation, I assure you”.
“Brandenburg wanted so, that nobody knew that it was him to introduce them to music”.
“Why?”.
“He always said it was not right to take others’ merits, that means, if any of those guys has made his way, it was because he had been working hard and firmly believing in his own art, not for the teachings that Brandenburg gave to him; he himself used to say that all he did for those guys was to let them know that there was another way in life, another possibility, but that it was only their task to embrace it or not, and then they’re the only one to deserve credit for doing it”.
“Of course ... may I ask you one last question, Mother?”.
“Yes”.
“Have you ever become suspicious for this extravagant behavior of the Master? I mean ...”.
“I know what you mean ... at the beginning, many years ago, I was a bit undecided whether to let guys work with Brandenburg or not ... but then I realized that the Master had something to be forgiven, a strange feeling I have to admit, though ...you are the detective, Commissioner, perhaps in this case it may be you to clarify some of my doubts”.
The Discordant Note Page 6
