A Florentine Death by Michele Giuttari Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Michele Giuttari
one that had been discovered in the evening, which, according to them, was an open and shut case:
FLORENCE: MAN STABS WIFE TO DEATH was the headline in La Nazione. The item itself was brief.
A startling discovery was made in Florence on the last day of the year: a mentally disturbed man who had stabbed his wife to death and kept watch over the corpse for several days. The victim was Lina Pini, 75 years old, who lived with her husband, V.R., also 75, in the Via del Confine, in the suburb of Coverciano. The murder was discovered on the evening of 31 December by Squadra Mobile officers responding to an emergency call from relatives who had been trying without success to contact the couple by telephone. Early investigations have established that Signora Pini had been dead for several days and that during that time her husband, who had superficial cuts on his chest, perhaps caused by a suicide attempt, had remained by her side. He was arrested for murder and is being kept under guard in hospital, where he was admitted because of his mental condition.
The tone of the various headlines about the previous morning's murder was quite different. They screamed from the front pages:
MURDER AMONG THE ANTIQUE FURNITURE
DEATH GOES SHOPPING
SLAUGHTER IN THE HEART OF SAN FREDIANO
MURDERED BENEATH A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CRUCIFIX
They all said that the crime had taken place early in the morning, soon after the shop in the Via Santo Spirito had opened. The dead man was a young assistant who had worked there for some time. His name was Alfredo Lupi, and he had recently celebrated his thirty-second birthday. He had been shot twice, after which his assailant had stabbed him many times, leaving his body mutilated and his face horribly disfigured. There were no eye witnesses. As far as anyone could tell, the murder had only taken a few minutes. Nothing was yet known about the killer or the motive.
There followed interviews with friends and acquaintances of the dead man. None of them could think of any explanation as to why such a good man, a hard worker, devoted to his family - a wife and an infant son - should have been so horribly murdered.
Ferrara phoned the switchboard to find out who had dealt with the two cases. He asked to be put through to Alfredi, who had been called to the Via del Confine, and sent for Serpico, one of the two officers, along with Chief Inspector Violante, who had been handling the case in the Via Santo Spirito.
'Good morning, chief,' Alfredi said when the switchboard connected him.
'The murder last night. Is the case really closed?'
'Seems like it. The judge thinks so, too. It was the husband, poor old guy. No doubt about it.'
'Okay. Send me the file. I'd like to take a look at it before signing the final report.'
'Of course, chief.'
Ferrara hung up and lit his first cigar of the day.
*
Serpico did not have much to add to what the papers had already reported.
'When we arrived on the scene,' he said, trying to sound as official as possible, 'one of the first things we did after finding the body was to interview the neighbouring shopkeepers. We also summoned the victim's wife, Luisa Conti, twenty-six years old, to Headquarters for an initial interview.'
'Relax, Sergi. Tell it in your own words.'
The inspector went red. He ran a hand through his long curly hair, shifted his weight to his other foot, and took a deep breath.
'There's not much to tell, chief,' he resumed. 'She was devastated when she heard the news. She didn't have any explanation for her husband's murder. She kept repeating that it couldn't be true, that it was all a bad dream. She's not a strong-looking woman. She's very young, almost a girl. According to her, her husband had no enemies; all he cared about was his home and his family. In her opinion, it must have been a madman, or a case of mistaken identity. She says the reason she's so sure is because she knew her husband so well. They practically grew up together, they
FLORENCE: MAN STABS WIFE TO DEATH was the headline in La Nazione. The item itself was brief.
A startling discovery was made in Florence on the last day of the year: a mentally disturbed man who had stabbed his wife to death and kept watch over the corpse for several days. The victim was Lina Pini, 75 years old, who lived with her husband, V.R., also 75, in the Via del Confine, in the suburb of Coverciano. The murder was discovered on the evening of 31 December by Squadra Mobile officers responding to an emergency call from relatives who had been trying without success to contact the couple by telephone. Early investigations have established that Signora Pini had been dead for several days and that during that time her husband, who had superficial cuts on his chest, perhaps caused by a suicide attempt, had remained by her side. He was arrested for murder and is being kept under guard in hospital, where he was admitted because of his mental condition.
The tone of the various headlines about the previous morning's murder was quite different. They screamed from the front pages:
MURDER AMONG THE ANTIQUE FURNITURE
DEATH GOES SHOPPING
SLAUGHTER IN THE HEART OF SAN FREDIANO
MURDERED BENEATH A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CRUCIFIX
They all said that the crime had taken place early in the morning, soon after the shop in the Via Santo Spirito had opened. The dead man was a young assistant who had worked there for some time. His name was Alfredo Lupi, and he had recently celebrated his thirty-second birthday. He had been shot twice, after which his assailant had stabbed him many times, leaving his body mutilated and his face horribly disfigured. There were no eye witnesses. As far as anyone could tell, the murder had only taken a few minutes. Nothing was yet known about the killer or the motive.
There followed interviews with friends and acquaintances of the dead man. None of them could think of any explanation as to why such a good man, a hard worker, devoted to his family - a wife and an infant son - should have been so horribly murdered.
Ferrara phoned the switchboard to find out who had dealt with the two cases. He asked to be put through to Alfredi, who had been called to the Via del Confine, and sent for Serpico, one of the two officers, along with Chief Inspector Violante, who had been handling the case in the Via Santo Spirito.
'Good morning, chief,' Alfredi said when the switchboard connected him.
'The murder last night. Is the case really closed?'
'Seems like it. The judge thinks so, too. It was the husband, poor old guy. No doubt about it.'
'Okay. Send me the file. I'd like to take a look at it before signing the final report.'
'Of course, chief.'
Ferrara hung up and lit his first cigar of the day.
*
Serpico did not have much to add to what the papers had already reported.
'When we arrived on the scene,' he said, trying to sound as official as possible, 'one of the first things we did after finding the body was to interview the neighbouring shopkeepers. We also summoned the victim's wife, Luisa Conti, twenty-six years old, to Headquarters for an initial interview.'
'Relax, Sergi. Tell it in your own words.'
The inspector went red. He ran a hand through his long curly hair, shifted his weight to his other foot, and took a deep breath.
'There's not much to tell, chief,' he resumed. 'She was devastated when she heard the news. She didn't have any explanation for her husband's murder. She kept repeating that it couldn't be true, that it was all a bad dream. She's not a strong-looking woman. She's very young, almost a girl. According to her, her husband had no enemies; all he cared about was his home and his family. In her opinion, it must have been a madman, or a case of mistaken identity. She says the reason she's so sure is because she knew her husband so well. They practically grew up together, they
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