find any fingerprints on that letter?"
"Yeah, that's right. Half an hour ago, I was at the art gallery, I decided to take a second look. I have the impression there is a small detail that has escaped all of us. Or rather, one which has not received its proper consideration."
“Which is?”
"It was on the counter. The one open to the public, not the one in the back room. A frame holding a picture of Riva, along with his wife and son. All three were posing, the classic image of a happy family."
“Was on the counter? What do you mean?”
"Because I brought it back and sent it to Silvestri, after I had it photographed myself. If you look at the top corner of the frame, you can see some abrasions, the marks are quite clear. In addition, the glass underneath is chipped, which is also clearly visible."
"What do you mean, Vincent?"
"Let me explain. Would you have a frame containing a family photo, on show almost in plain view of the customers? With chipped and broken glass?"
“Probably he didn't notice it.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“Is that what you think?”
"I have a feeling that someone deliberately damaged it. Perhaps by banging it on the counter, as if to destroy something more than just the frame."
“Perhaps it was what the picture stands for, what it means to them.”
“Exactly. I’m pretty sure this frame was intact twenty-four hours ago.”
“What do we do now?”
"For now I've put in a request for the camera footage, both inside as well as the outside film showing the sidewalk. I want to shine some light on this story. It means we'll need to investigate a little more.”
"Okay, Vincent. So we’ll talk as soon as you have the videos?"
“Yes, I’ll let you know.”
November 14
G ermano, as usual, was pleasantly surprised at Di Girolamo's knowledge and speed in finding the CCTV recordings for him to work with. The Commissioner used the whole morning to watch and analyze the films. At the end of this session, and with considerable disbelief, he felt bound to make a formal request for an arrest warrant. He’d inform Parisi about the unexpected results of his investigation as soon as he came back from Rome, where he’d been on another case.
The Inspector showed up after brunch, and found Germano waiting at the door to his office.
“What’s the deal? What happened in Rome?”
"Nothing new, the gambling investigation is still missing a piece."
"Let's hope you can solve it. Things have just changed here, drastically."
"Changed? In what sense?"
“It’s the Carlo Riva case. A few minutes ago I received confirmation of the arrest warrant I requested earlier."
“Who are we going to arrest?”
“I was surprised myself, but we're going to arrest Michele Riva. He’ll be charged with the murder of his father.”
“How did you discover his involvement?”
"One of the tapes shows the son, Michele Riva, when he left the art gallery at 18:50. I already called the forensic department to find the exact time of Carlo Riva’s death, and it was around 18:30."
“Even so, Vincent...”
"I know exactly what you're thinking Angelo. It's unbelievable."
"Did he by any chance provide an alibi for the time of the murder?"
"Actually, when I had the chance to speak to him, the conversation came around to the reason why his father may have committed suicide. I didn’t reveal any details at that time, and he told me he’d been studying the entire afternoon. According to him, that was from immediately after lunch until dinner time, in his studio on the Tiber.”
“Did he tell you if he’d seen anybody? Maybe he studied with a colleague from the university?”
"Not that I recall. Anyway, I don’t think he studies at the university. Dealing with theater probably involves working on a show in that theater."
"It's also possible he asked somebody to cover for him during the time when the crime was committed. We should allow for that, I imagine."
"You’re imagining a lot, Angelo. In fact from
"Yeah, that's right. Half an hour ago, I was at the art gallery, I decided to take a second look. I have the impression there is a small detail that has escaped all of us. Or rather, one which has not received its proper consideration."
“Which is?”
"It was on the counter. The one open to the public, not the one in the back room. A frame holding a picture of Riva, along with his wife and son. All three were posing, the classic image of a happy family."
“Was on the counter? What do you mean?”
"Because I brought it back and sent it to Silvestri, after I had it photographed myself. If you look at the top corner of the frame, you can see some abrasions, the marks are quite clear. In addition, the glass underneath is chipped, which is also clearly visible."
"What do you mean, Vincent?"
"Let me explain. Would you have a frame containing a family photo, on show almost in plain view of the customers? With chipped and broken glass?"
“Probably he didn't notice it.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“Is that what you think?”
"I have a feeling that someone deliberately damaged it. Perhaps by banging it on the counter, as if to destroy something more than just the frame."
“Perhaps it was what the picture stands for, what it means to them.”
“Exactly. I’m pretty sure this frame was intact twenty-four hours ago.”
“What do we do now?”
"For now I've put in a request for the camera footage, both inside as well as the outside film showing the sidewalk. I want to shine some light on this story. It means we'll need to investigate a little more.”
"Okay, Vincent. So we’ll talk as soon as you have the videos?"
“Yes, I’ll let you know.”
November 14
G ermano, as usual, was pleasantly surprised at Di Girolamo's knowledge and speed in finding the CCTV recordings for him to work with. The Commissioner used the whole morning to watch and analyze the films. At the end of this session, and with considerable disbelief, he felt bound to make a formal request for an arrest warrant. He’d inform Parisi about the unexpected results of his investigation as soon as he came back from Rome, where he’d been on another case.
The Inspector showed up after brunch, and found Germano waiting at the door to his office.
“What’s the deal? What happened in Rome?”
"Nothing new, the gambling investigation is still missing a piece."
"Let's hope you can solve it. Things have just changed here, drastically."
"Changed? In what sense?"
“It’s the Carlo Riva case. A few minutes ago I received confirmation of the arrest warrant I requested earlier."
“Who are we going to arrest?”
“I was surprised myself, but we're going to arrest Michele Riva. He’ll be charged with the murder of his father.”
“How did you discover his involvement?”
"One of the tapes shows the son, Michele Riva, when he left the art gallery at 18:50. I already called the forensic department to find the exact time of Carlo Riva’s death, and it was around 18:30."
“Even so, Vincent...”
"I know exactly what you're thinking Angelo. It's unbelievable."
"Did he by any chance provide an alibi for the time of the murder?"
"Actually, when I had the chance to speak to him, the conversation came around to the reason why his father may have committed suicide. I didn’t reveal any details at that time, and he told me he’d been studying the entire afternoon. According to him, that was from immediately after lunch until dinner time, in his studio on the Tiber.”
“Did he tell you if he’d seen anybody? Maybe he studied with a colleague from the university?”
"Not that I recall. Anyway, I don’t think he studies at the university. Dealing with theater probably involves working on a show in that theater."
"It's also possible he asked somebody to cover for him during the time when the crime was committed. We should allow for that, I imagine."
"You’re imagining a lot, Angelo. In fact from
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