The Broken Frame by Claudio Ruggeri Read Free Book Online

van went silent. The silence was broken only by the noise in the headphones that the Commissioner had just started listening to.
    “Hi Mom, how’s it going?”
    “Oh, I got a cold. Shit.”
    “I told you to keep yourself warm. Instead of that you never give me a straight...”
    "It just happened. As for the rest, is there any news?"
    “Nothing here, I haven’t seen or heard anyone. What about you?”
    “The same, nothing. Not even the leaves are moving over there.”
    “You know what? After everything, I feel a little sorry. For the son, I mean. After all, he’s just a moron who’s going to find himself with a life sentence on his shoulders.”
    “That’s the best way. They already have the murderer, so they won't keep searching.”
    “Yes Mom, you’re right, as always. How do you want your coffee?”
    “Short and strong.”
    “What do we do now, Commissioner?”
    “So far, there’s nothing we can do. We can't accuse anybody after just a conversation with di Girolamo.”
    “But they admitted it.”
    “Nothing admissible for the trial. Right now, we just have to wait, and see what else they say.”
    Germano was trying to gain time. In fact, there was something not quite right, and that concerned the entire investigation. His concerns were not entirely related to the fact that they’d reached a solution so quickly. They were more to do with the way the answers seemed to have dropped down on them from above. In spite of the complexity, their methods of investigation were limited to following the tracks left by someone else. Moving in a way that would be expected of any policeman in the world.
    "What, Vincent?" asked Inspector Parisi. He’d begun to perceive his colleague and friend’s sudden sense of disorientation.
    "I can’t explain it, but there’s something that still doesn’t convince me."
    “Is it something in particular?”
    "Details, nothing but details. It's all so strange Angelo. You know the first thing that struck me with this case? Something for which I haven’t managed to find an explanation. The fact that Michele Riva, when we arrested him, chose Morosini as his lawyer. Not Giacchieri, who has always been the family legal advisor.”
    "Maybe because Giacchieri is a civil attorney, and not a criminal lawyer. We should check."
    "Another thing, Angelo. Do you remember how long it took for Michele Riva to tell us he had a lawyer?"
    “I don’t remember exactly. Although I remember it wasn’t necessary to tell him he was entitled to a lawyer, because Morosini appeared immediately at the police station.”
    "How much of an inheritance did old Riva leave?"
    “Nobody knows exactly, but at a guess I’d say it’s around two or three million Euros.”
    "All right, we’ll handle it like this. You continue to listen, I need to return to the office for a moment. Let me know if there’s any significant change.”
    "But Vincent, is everything okay?"
    "Don't you worry, I just need to get rid of these nagging doubts. I don’t want to waste any more time."
    Germano, careful to remain unnoticed, climbed out of the van and went to one of the unmarked cars parked at the other side of the road. On the way to the police station, he called the lawyer Giacchieri, the regular legal adviser to the Riva family, to tell him of his planned visit.
    “I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know earlier about this visit, Mr. Giacchieri, but...”
    “I understand Commissioner. What did you want to speak to me about?”
    "I wanted to ask why you didn’t take on the defense of Michele Riva when he was arrested. After all, you had a very close relationship with his father, right?"
    "To tell you the truth, I thought I'd offer my services, free of charge, when the boy was indicted, but I didn’t have the time."
    “I must confess that even my own men were confused at the speed with which things happened.”
    "And I'll tell you more, Germano. Old Riva made ​​an appointment with me a few days before he died."
    “Did