told you, there isn't anything predictable or foreseeable in the near future."
The conversation ended in a much more relaxed way compared to the way it had begun. Germano left the apartment and headed for his car. Once in the car, he called Inspector Parisi.
“Hello.”
“Parisi, it’s me, Germano.”
“Vincent! What the hell is going on?”
"I'll explain it to you later, but for now, you can go home. Suspend the surveillance, we don't need it anymore."
“You’re serious?”
"I need a favor. I need you to track down Tim Simons and ask him to come and see me. But hurry, I have a feeling he’ll be returning to America very soon."
“Got it, Vincent. We’ll see you later.”
“See you later.”
––––––––
L eft alone in his office, the Commissioner thought about the entire case. The complicated series of criminal acts had reached heights of fantasy and cruelty he’d never seen before.
The famous American detective didn’t keep him waiting for long. At the end of that winter afternoon, just before six, he was sitting in the waiting room, preparing to meet Germano in his office.
“Good evening Commissioner.”
“Good evening, Simons. Please, have a seat. Coffee?”
“Yes thank you. A nice, long, American coffee.”
“Certainly.”
"To be honest, I was a bit surprised when your Inspector contacted me, Germano."
"Why were you surprised? After all, a few weeks ago we started to discuss this, and maybe it’s time to finish it. Don’t you think?"
"In some ways you’re right."
“One more thing, I wanted to thank you.”
“Why is that?”
“For your quick and accurate investigation, and then for letting us in on the call to your wife in the United States. Even if you knew that your phone was being tapped.”
“You’re a very cunning person, Commissioner.”
"Thank you. Throughout our discussion, however, there was one thing that I didn’t understand. Only this morning I realized what you meant when you said that you had to drop the investigation. That delving into certain secrets, maybe many years old, would not help to solve the case. That they would only obscure it even more. Mr. Simons, I must confess it was very likely that it would have finished this investigation.”
“But now? What is going to happen?”
"With what we have, we can only hope that at the end the guy confesses. That he will tell the whole story, to condemn the mother and that cheap lawyer."
“I hope so, Commissioner.”
“So do I. Can I ask you a question, Mr. Simons?
“Sure.”
"Now that your daughter will not be attending the Italian university, I assume you are going to return to the United States. Why is that?"
"I decided to send my daughter back to the U.S. because universities across the Atlantic are better. Also because I discovered that here in Italy you can have unpleasant encounters. Sometimes very unpleasant, so it’s better if we all go home, alive and together."
"You're right. Sometimes I also think like you."
“Commissioner, look. When you're away, you have the impression that Italy is a peaceful country. The truth is that too many things happen here. I see them happen every day. In the streets, on the bus, even at the post office. More complex things, thousands of things can happen in the space of time used to pay a telephone bill. The difference is that Italians are very clever at hiding these things. To live as if nothing has happened. To call reality by another name."
“Those are bitter thoughts.”
"I see that you have also been influenced. However, the important thing is that you tell the truth. If we don’t like it, then that should be a secondary problem. It should be an encouragement to give the best of ourselves.”
“You’ll see, Mr. Simons.”
Germano was suddenly interrupted by his colleague Parisi, who showed up at the door.
“Vincent!”
“What is it?”
“There’s some news regarding the Riva case.”
“Okay, tell me what’s going
The conversation ended in a much more relaxed way compared to the way it had begun. Germano left the apartment and headed for his car. Once in the car, he called Inspector Parisi.
“Hello.”
“Parisi, it’s me, Germano.”
“Vincent! What the hell is going on?”
"I'll explain it to you later, but for now, you can go home. Suspend the surveillance, we don't need it anymore."
“You’re serious?”
"I need a favor. I need you to track down Tim Simons and ask him to come and see me. But hurry, I have a feeling he’ll be returning to America very soon."
“Got it, Vincent. We’ll see you later.”
“See you later.”
––––––––
L eft alone in his office, the Commissioner thought about the entire case. The complicated series of criminal acts had reached heights of fantasy and cruelty he’d never seen before.
The famous American detective didn’t keep him waiting for long. At the end of that winter afternoon, just before six, he was sitting in the waiting room, preparing to meet Germano in his office.
“Good evening Commissioner.”
“Good evening, Simons. Please, have a seat. Coffee?”
“Yes thank you. A nice, long, American coffee.”
“Certainly.”
"To be honest, I was a bit surprised when your Inspector contacted me, Germano."
"Why were you surprised? After all, a few weeks ago we started to discuss this, and maybe it’s time to finish it. Don’t you think?"
"In some ways you’re right."
“One more thing, I wanted to thank you.”
“Why is that?”
“For your quick and accurate investigation, and then for letting us in on the call to your wife in the United States. Even if you knew that your phone was being tapped.”
“You’re a very cunning person, Commissioner.”
"Thank you. Throughout our discussion, however, there was one thing that I didn’t understand. Only this morning I realized what you meant when you said that you had to drop the investigation. That delving into certain secrets, maybe many years old, would not help to solve the case. That they would only obscure it even more. Mr. Simons, I must confess it was very likely that it would have finished this investigation.”
“But now? What is going to happen?”
"With what we have, we can only hope that at the end the guy confesses. That he will tell the whole story, to condemn the mother and that cheap lawyer."
“I hope so, Commissioner.”
“So do I. Can I ask you a question, Mr. Simons?
“Sure.”
"Now that your daughter will not be attending the Italian university, I assume you are going to return to the United States. Why is that?"
"I decided to send my daughter back to the U.S. because universities across the Atlantic are better. Also because I discovered that here in Italy you can have unpleasant encounters. Sometimes very unpleasant, so it’s better if we all go home, alive and together."
"You're right. Sometimes I also think like you."
“Commissioner, look. When you're away, you have the impression that Italy is a peaceful country. The truth is that too many things happen here. I see them happen every day. In the streets, on the bus, even at the post office. More complex things, thousands of things can happen in the space of time used to pay a telephone bill. The difference is that Italians are very clever at hiding these things. To live as if nothing has happened. To call reality by another name."
“Those are bitter thoughts.”
"I see that you have also been influenced. However, the important thing is that you tell the truth. If we don’t like it, then that should be a secondary problem. It should be an encouragement to give the best of ourselves.”
“You’ll see, Mr. Simons.”
Germano was suddenly interrupted by his colleague Parisi, who showed up at the door.
“Vincent!”
“What is it?”
“There’s some news regarding the Riva case.”
“Okay, tell me what’s going
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