Cold Case - 2. Chapter 2

Commissario Sassetti was a lean man with greasy black hair and a piercing look. Adam and Steve sat down in front of Sassetti’s messy desk. Commissario Sassetti measured them from behind it.

"I’ve already informed you of the reason of our visit. I think our case of burglary and your case of murder are connected," Steve said without any introductory words.

Commissario Sassetti looked at Steve, and then pulled a cigarette from a packet. He pushed the cigarette between his lips and lit it. Sassetti leaned back in his chair, measured Adam and Steve, and then blew the smoke of the cigarette towards them. Adam coughed. Sassetti gave him a cold look, but then rose to his feet and opened the window.

"I have received your query," he said, sitting down again. His English was good, albeit with a hard Italian accent. Sassetti took another pull on his cigarette.

"Jeremiah Irons had a small shop in Rome. His main shop is in London. We’ve searched the shop, two rooms, a salesroom and an office room. Nothing attracted our immediate attention. The papers and so on are currently being looked through. The neighbors say that the shop was only opened on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Jeremiah Irons didn’t run the shop to make a living," he said.

"The shop was a contact point," Steve replied. He presented his speculations to Sassetti: He told him that he suspected Jeremiah Irons had dealt with illegal goods and had been in touch with the Antique Mafia.

Commissario Sassetti pulled on his cigarette thoughtfully, and then put it out in an overflowing ashtray.

"Coffee?" he asked, looking between the two detectives.

Steve and Adam nodded. Sassetti rose to his feet, opened the door and shouted something in Italian. A couple of minutes later, an officer brought three cups of coffee.

"Cappuccino," Sassetti said, seizing one of the cups.

Adam straightened impatiently. "Jeremiah Irons was a dealer in Aztec artifacts. He was killed with an obsidian knife. He was thrown down the Spanish Steps. How does this sound to you?" he asked.

Sassetti measured him. "A ritual murder, you think?" he asked back.

"Either a ritual murder or the murderer wanted it to come across as one," Adam replied. "The Aztecs cut the hearts of their victims out and threw the bodies down the stairs of their pyramids."

"A blatant attempt to set us on the wrong track, I think," Steve said, nodding to himself.

Commissario Sassetti pulled another cigarette from the packet and turned it in his hand. He looked at Adam.

"Why do think it’s a ritual murder?" he asked curiously.

"I’ve just mentioned the obvious facts," Adam replied.

"Too obvious, way too obvious," Steve said.

"What if in fact it was a ritual murder and the murder wants you to think it was not?" Sassetti asked, looking between Adam and Steve.

"This doesn’t make sense to me," Steve replied. "Why perform a ritual murder in public when you don’t want the police to take notice of it?

"Because the police was not the addressee of his message?" Sassetti asked back.

"The Antique Mafia? A warning?" Steve asked, nodding slowly.

"A warning perhaps," Sassetti replied. He looked at his cigarette and then lit it. "A warning, yes. But a warning to whom? Tell me of that burglary case."

Steve told Sassetti the details, yet refrained from mentioning Timothy Baker’s vision. "A friend of Derek Peterson’s father knew that the man had hidden an obsidian knife in the library," he said. "Derek Peterson had never heard of the knife and he didn’t find one. Police didn’t find it either. Either there has never been an obsidian knife in the house or the burglar took it along. Derek Peterson as well as his father collected Aztec art objects. Derek Peterson’s father had bought the vases from Jeremiah Irons eleven years ago. Joseph Peterson passed away three years ago. The case was closed, but I have a feeling that there is more to it. The obsidian knife, Commissario Sassetti. Why did Joseph Peterson possess an obsidian knife? Why did he hide it? Where is the knife now? Who took it? Did Joseph Peterson himself take it from its hiding place? His son Derek Peterson? If so, why did the man lie? Or did the burglar take it? Was he after the knife?"

"Many questions, detective," Sassetti said with a small smile. "What if that knife never existed? The man who told you of it might have been mistaken."

"Certainly," Steve replied. "There’s no plausible, rational explanation for my speculations. I follow my guts."

"This makes a good detective," Sassetti said with another smile.

He rose to his feet, opened the door and shouted something. A couple of minutes later, an officer brought an item in a polythene bag. He placed it on Sassetti’s desk, and then left the room. Sassetti pointed at the item.

"An obsidian knife," he said.

Adam and Steve leaned forward. Steve reached out and held the bag up. The blue-green knife looked antique.

"An expert will investigate it tomorrow more thoroughly," Sassetti said.

"I didn’t know you found the knife," Steve said with surprise.

"We found it this morning. Or more precisely, it was delivered. One of the secretaries found a parcel in the parking area. The woman took it inside and reported her finding. We’ve already investigated the parcel and the knife for fingerprints. None," Sassetti said.

"Who left the parcel? Wasn’t the man recorded? You have video control, don’t you?" Adam asked.

Sassetti shrugged. "We’re currently watching the videotapes. Nothing so far. Don’t expect too much of them. The video surveillance system is old. This is Rome, detectives," he said.

"You mean it’s not working properly?" Steve asked in a perplexed voice.

Sassetti pulled on his cigarette. "The parcel was left on the ground at the far end of the parking lot. The videotapes show the place slightly blurred," he said.

Steve glanced at Adam in disbelief, but Adam didn’t react.

"Did someone choose this place because he knew the video surveillance system was not working properly?" Adam asked.

Sassetti fixed his eyes on him. "Only police knows," he said.

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sassetti put out his cigarette, rose to his feet and opened the door. He talked with a man, then left the room and shut the door.

"What do you think?" Steve asked, exchanging a look with Adam.

"If a police officer is involved, then Sassetti will shield him. I’m pretty sure of it," Adam replied.

"Do you think police is involved?" Steve asked.

Adam shrugged. "The Italian Mafia has connections. The Antique Mafia doubtlessly has also," he replied.

Steve leaned back in his chair. "Now what?" he asked. "The Antique Mafia or a ritual murder or a combination of it?"

The door opened and Commissario Sassetti returned. He excused himself. A burglar had been arrested and was being interviewed. Sassetti’s presence was required. The Italian detective scribbled a phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Steve.

"Call me if you have any more questions. This is my private number. Better call me privately, detectives," he said.

Sassetti gave them a grim look, then left the room and slammed the door shut. Adam and Steve looked at each other.

"He’s covering up something," Steve said slowly.

Adam checked his cell phone. No reply. He closed the phone and pushed it back into the pocket of his jacket.

"All right, let’s go," he said, smiling at Steve.

***