Death Brings Gold. Nicola Rocca
the man see his anger.
âLook, man,â he started, hitting the centre of the manâs chest with his knobby index finger. âIf youâre looking for trouble, youâve found it. You saw perfectly well that I was playing at that machine. And you also saw perfectly well that I had reserved itâ¦â
âReserved?â Green Cap interrupted. âAnd since when can you reserve a machine?â
Again, that fucking annoying little smile. This man and the way he behaved was unleashing that inner force that would lead Caio to punch him until he smashed the bastardâs face. Nevertheless, he tried to remain calm, although it was not in his nature.
âHey, stranger. Around here when someone tilts the stool forward against the machine board, it means that the machine is reserved.â
âOh, really?â The man was laughing openly. âThatâs truly a good one,â he added, before turning away to resume playing.
Caio was now blind with rage; this man had driven him to the very depths of his anger.
âGet your paws off my money, you dirty bastard,â he cursed, while grabbing him from behind and wrapping his hands around his neck.
Green Cap started waving his arms around, in an attempt to free himself. But, considering his diminutive size, it would have been impossible for the little man to free himself from Caio Merliâs ferocious clutches.
Luckily for Green Cap, there was a man â a recent arrival â that jumped in and was rewarded with an involuntary elbow from Caio for his efforts.
The scuffle continued for a few more seconds, then six-foot tall Anselmoâs face peeked out from the entrance to the room.
âHey, what the hell is going on here?â His rough voice echoed in the game room.
Caio turned, slightly releasing the grasp around the neck of the man who had stolen his win.
âThis fucking idiot took my machine,â he said, tugging him. âAnd my money too.â
âWhat are you talking about?â jumped in the little fellow in the green cap. âThat money was mine, I won it. Besides, if thereâs a fucking idiot between us, that would beâ¦â
The shove he received stopped his sentence and sent him crashing onto the machine. Caio moved closer again, and slapped his face a couple of times, until two strong arms grabbed him from behind.
âYou know I donât want any trouble in my bar,â Anselmo admonished him.
âI swear Iâm going to kill you, asshole!â Caio shouted at Green Cap, trying to kick him. âLet me go!â he ordered the barman, who was keeping both his arms immobilised in a strong embrace.
âIâll do it only when you calm down,â the barmanâs voice left no space for an answer.
Caio wrestled for a few more seconds, then he decided to surrender to the grasp of the two strong arms.
âOkay. Iâm calm now,â he said, although he was still fuming with rage inside.
âGood. Now you two sit here at the table and tell me word for word what happened,â ordered Anselmo.
CHAPTER 12
Raffaele Ghezziâs death was a mess, the Chief Inspector thought. There were those damn traces of glue under the victimâs tongue. And the murder weapon was still a mystery.
David Walker read the autopsy report for the umpteenth time, paying special attention to the parts that he had highlighted. When he reached the end, he remained there engrossed in his own thoughts.
Making an angry grunt, he lifted the office phone receiver and dialled Dr Viscontiâs number.
The phone rang three times, then the Medical Examiner answered.
âHi Umberto, itâs Walker.â
âInspector, good to hear from you. I bet you need something.â
âCorrect,â admitted David.
âShoot,â Visconti encouraged him.
âIâve just finished reading the appraisal regarding Ghezzi.â
âGood.â
âActually, I dare say that I devoured it more than read it.â
On the other end he heard an amused snicker.
âSo, the victim died by strangulation.â
âWithout a shadow of a doubt.â
âBut the murder weapon still remains a mystery.â
An eternal moment of silence.
âWell, I made my observations, David.â
âAnd now Iâll give you mine,â replied Walker. âCouldnât the killer have used the necktie that was found on the victimâs body? That is, I mean, could it be consistent with the marks that youâve found on the victimâs neck?â
The doctor thought about it for a moment.
âIt could be. Yes, I wouldnât exclude it.â
âExcellent,â replied Walker. âBesides, I read about some marks with little squares stamped on the neck â¦â
âYes,â Visconti interrupted him. âThose squares are the pattern on the surface of the ligature strip or, as you have assumed, of the necktie used for the strangulation.â
âItâs exactly with reference to this matter that I wanted some clarification.â
âThatâs why Iâm here, David.â
âI spoke with Carobbio, from Forensics. He confirmed that the necktie found on Ghezziâs body had some small squares tone-on-tone. The surface of the fabric, I mean.â
âWell, then Iâd say thereâs no doubt, David. It must be the murder weapon. If you want, we could confirm that, by comparing the pattern of that necktie with the marks on the victimâs neck.â
Walker waited for a few seconds before expressing his thoughts.
âLetâs do it, Umberto. Although⦠I was also convinced that it was that necktie â¦â
âBut?â the medical examiner asked.
âBut Carobbio excluded it. Categorically.â
âSorry, but why?â
âHe said the necktie was too neat, too clean and ironed to be the one used to strangle a man. In his words: it looked like it came from a drycleanerâs.â
âSo he discouraged you.â
âAbsolutely.â
After an embarrassing silence, it was Visconti who came forward.
âAs for the rest of the picture, is it clear to you?â
âTo tell the truth, I wanted to ask you something else.â
âIâm all ears.â
âWhat can you tell me about his wrists? I couldnât find anything in my report.â
âThe wrists?â asked Visconti, worried.
âYes. As soon as I arrived at the scene, I noticed some reddish bruises around the victimâs wrists.â
âAh,