Who is Shara Marst? (The Pireia files.) Read online

  The detective ignored the comment, said goodbye politely and left. The others followed him.

  Karla turned to Shara and said:

  - Are you sure about this?

  - Yes, do not worry.

  EPISODE 2

  Questions

  - What do you think?

  Detective Lowe was standing outside in the harbor area with his companions, looking towards the door of the tavern. The previous scene had perplexed him, the attitude of Shara had been completely surprising. He had never been threatened in all the years he had been in this profession and had found it very unpleasant.

  His first reaction was to arrest the girl and accuse her of contempt of authority, but his instinct, coupled with the fear that his companions had shown since they had entered the place had made him cautious.

  - Do you two have something to hide?

  His companions remained silent, looking at each other uncomfortably, until he asked them:

  - What is going on?

  - You see, boss - one of them started - I understand that you are new here and do not know what is going on, but ...

  - What Col wants to say is that - interrupted the second - there are times that it is better not to get involved into certain things.

  - Yes, - corroborated the first one - also, she has already stated that she was at the farm last night, so it has nothing to do with her.

  The two nodded in his direction with their heads down. Lowe looked at them, frowning.

  - How do you know whether she is telling the truth

  he asked?

  - They always tell the truth ... - Col answered - And even if they do not ...

  - It’s not worth it - said the other policeman, quietly.

  Lowe remained silent, sorting out his thoughts. Why did a thin, short girl like that impose so much fear on his two companions, both policemen with years of experience behind them?

  After seeing reports of the girl's father, Lowe had suspected that he was not an honest man, although they never had had enough evidence to arrest him. However, after that scene he was almost certain that there was something far greater going on than he thought. Did his colleagues believe that the daughter had inherited the father's businesses after his death? Would all that have to do with the woman who had been found dead at dawn in the tunnel?

  - I did not come here to let myself be threatened - he told them -. We're going to investigate and we're going to find the murderer. He added, looking toward the tavern again, or murderess.

  His companions looked at him worried and anxious but did not dare to contradict him.

  - Okay - Lowe spoke again -. I want to know more about those two men who were with Lisa last night. Find out where Neil lives.

  - I know where he lives - said Col-. In a house on the other side of the center of the city. - and added, timidly:

  - We went to school together.

  Lowe was surprised but did not make any comment. In these small towns, it was not uncommon that everyone knew each other or even that they had coincided somewhere.

  - Okay, you and I will go to his home – and then, addressing the second:

  - Setti, go to the office and check the call records. I want to know whom he called before he left here. Also make a couple of calls to find out where Red may be.

  - Yes sir.

  They got into the car to first go to the office to drop off Setti, who, although he did not seem enthusiastic about investigating the matter, was much happier to be able to hide in the office and go after the paperwork, than of what Col seemed think about the idea of ​​going to visit Neil at his home to question him.

  It did not take long to get there. Neil's house was silent, and no one answered the door. It was a two-story house on the outskirts, near the farm that the girl in the tavern had mentioned earlier. Maybe they should stop by there, too, Lowe thought.

  After waiting for about fifteen minutes, it became clear that no one was going to open the door, so Lowe began looking through the windows, under the worried look of his partner.

  He could not see anything through the windows of the main facade, because they had the curtains drawn. He continued around the house, while Col followed him, until he reached the backyard. Lowe glanced at everything and scribbled down in his notebook: a tidy and well-tended garden.

  The detective then tried to knock on the back door of the house, but he did not get an answer either. However, in that part of the house, the curtains were not drawn. Climbing up on a rock that had decorative purposes, he tried to get a glimpse of the interior of the house, while shading himself with his hands.

  The room that could be seen from that window looked like the kitchen but what he saw disconcerted him: the cupboards were open showing all the glassware broken, forks, knives and spoons were strewn all over the floor as well as the crockery being completely shattered. Even the telephone, which judging by the discoloring of the wall, had been hanging there at some point, was now lying on the ground, as if it had been ripped off in a fit. Something had happened there.

  ____________________________________________________________

  - What have you discovered? - Lowe asked entering the office, where Setti was sitting at a large wooden desk half hidden behind a computer and a big pile of papers.

  Setti raised his head and sighed.

  - He called the girl, Shara, - he said, handing over the printed sheet to his boss with the call log of Neil's cell phone of the recent days.

  - To her cell phone?

  - No, to the farm’s telephone. She took it. They spoke for 9 minutes and 10 seconds - he pointed to the last line printed on the document -. It has been the last call made from that number.

  Lowe observed the sheet. The call had taken place at ten minutes to three.

  - That verifies that Shara was on the farm, so we can leave her alone - said Setti, who had entered with Lowe.

  - Yes - Corroborated Col.

  Lowe looked at them incredulously and said:

  - That just means that Neil spoke to someone who was at the farm at ten minutes to three - and he added harshly - and I would appreciate it if you would stop giving your opinion. What are you afraid of? The two policemen ducked their heads, just as they had done on the dock.

  - Two weeks ago, ... - Col began. A colleague had an accident and he died ...

  - He had a family, with three children - Setti added.

  - Two weeks ago? - Lowe asked. Didn’t the girl's father die two weeks ago?

  - The previous inspector, your predecessor, was investigating the case.

  - My predecessor, didn’t he ask for a transfer? - Lowe said.

  - Yes ... after the death of his partner - answered Col.

  - The case was closed without evidence - continued Setti -.

  The death of Marst, Shara's father, was an accident, they said in the end. But who knows if the policeman's death ...

  Both policemen looked around, worried, as if someone in one of the other offices could be listening to their conversation.

  Lowe experienced a chill. Great, he just needed to run into the mafia. He had had enough endured in his previous case with that scandalous divorce and that scene in the office. But this seemed far more dangerous. However, he decided, he was not going to be intimidated. He was going to do his job and was going to put Lisa's killer in jail. Whoever it was and whatever the cost.

  He looked at his companions. Although he might not be able to ask for their commitment, he thought and then shook his head. I cannot do it alone.

  - Setti, have you located Red or do you have any idea where he might be?

  Setti sighed, and so did Col, realizing that they had not managed to change their boss's mind.

  - No, but I have the address where he stayed a year ago, before moving to the Marst tavern.

  - Well done, follow up on that please.

  - What about Neil? - Setti asked timidly.

  - The house is in shambles -

  Setti opened his eyes wide, q
uite surprised, but Lowe ignored him

  - Have you called Neil's number? -

  - It's off.

  If he's still not showing up in a few hours, I want a search warrant for his home. Both cops nodded.

  - Is Lisa's autopsy available? "

  - No not yet.

  Okay, it will not be long now I guess.

  - Have the men that I sent back to her apartment returned yet?

  - Yes, they returned with a few bags. They brought in the typical, makeup, a hair brush and some things to catch fingerprints. But they did not see anything strange. Anyway, she was renting and had been for only two weeks ...

  - Two weeks? - Lowe interrupted.

  - Yes ... -

  - And where did she live before? Does anyone know?

  - No, but we can ask the landlady who rented the apartment.

  - Do so, I do not know what you're waiting for. Col left in a hurry to make the phone call and Setti remained sitting behind the computer.

  - Do you want to see the bags in the meantime? - Setti asked his boss.

  - Yes. Are they in the other room? –

  His partner nodded.

  - Great, stay here and keep searching.

  Lowe left the small office in the hall and crossed to the front room. He opened the door with the bunch of keys he had been given when he started working there

  . The room was large and had a conference table in the center with several black leather chairs. On the table were several clear plastic bags with labels.

  He approached and lifted the first bag carefully. It contained a wooden hair brush. It did not seem like much but when he was about to put it on the table again, he realized that it was engraved with initials: L.M. Surely, they were Lisa's initials ... But wasn’t her last name Lewis? He would have to check for a possible name change.

  He continued to check the objects: a dark red lipstick, some keys, a bag ... Then he came to the bags that were at the far end of the table with the label: found with the body.

  These were the objects that she had with her when she was found dead. What was more shocking might be the bag she had carried. White, like leather, soaked with blood. In another bag, there was the necklace of precious stones that had been found around her neck and for that reason ruled out the possibility of a robbery. It was of very fine silver, but it had some encrusted stones that, judging from the color and shape, looked like emeralds. Next to the necklace was a bag with the money they had found in her purse. An amount big enough to catch a plane and disappear for a great length of time. No, they had not killed her for money, Lowe thought.

  At that moment there was a knock at the door and Col walked in.

  - I talked to the lady who rented the apartment to Lisa.

  Lowe nodded to him to continue talking. She says she never told her where she had stayed before, but that everyone knew. But she does not want to talk about it over the phone. Lowe raised his eyebrows, that lady has seen a lot of detective movies. Shrugging his shoulders, he headed for the door.

  - Okay, give me the address, he said, leaving the room. Meanwhile, take the necklace to a jeweler, I want to know exactly what stones it carries. And find out if Lisa used another name at some point. Col nodded and went to the office Setti was in, while Lowe left the station with the note in his hand carrying the address of Lisa's landlady. It was a location, not far from the police station, so he decided to walk.

  He got there in about fifteen minutes. He rang the bell. After a few minutes of waiting, he began to hear footsteps approaching on the other side of the door. A moment of pause, while the lady on the other side watched him through the peephole. He made an effort not to smile. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened just a crack, just enough to show the face of the owner of the house. She was an old lady with white hair and exaggerated makeup, wearing huge golden earrings, who asked him who he was. - Detective Lowe, ma'am – and showed her his identification.

  - Are you Mrs. Rios? You spoke earlier on the phone with ...

  The old woman, who until then had been so slow, moved quickly, opened the door and pulled Lowe by his tie into the house. She immediately slammed the door behind him and, with a sigh, returned to her slow and deliberate movements.

  Lowe managed to keep his balance and looked at her perplexed, while she walked slowly towards the living room, leaning on her stick and gesturing him to follow her.

  - You should not say that out there in the middle of the street, the old woman scolded, when they were seated in a pair of stamped, old and worn upholstered armchairs.

  - You never know who may be listening.

  - Do you think someone could be listening to you? - Lowe asked.

  - Of course - she let out a laugh -. You've just arrived, right?

  Lowe tried to change the subject:"

  - What do you want to talk about?

  - Everything that cannot be said over the phone. I cannot not trust these devices, they are not safe. Not even those from the police network.

  Well ..., Lowe interrupted, incredulous.

  - So, did you rent the apartment to Lisa Lewis two weeks ago?

  - What else could I do! If I had refused ...

  - What's up, ma'am?

  - Nothing, only Lisa had many friends. She still has, even when dead. She rolled her eyes, but then her face lit up, thinking of something and she said with a malicious smile:

  - Of course, she also had many enemies.

  - Enemies? Do you know of someone who might have a reason to kill her?

  - All the guys. Each and every one of them. She played with everyone ...

  Lowe sensed that he was entering a field of comments and criticism from the neighbors of the place, where the information would be unreliable.

  - Did she tell you how much she planned to stay renting the place?

  - She told me that she would not stay long. Of course not, she did not know how to live alone, and she missed the tavern ...

  - The Marst tavern?

  - Is there another? You see, she used to live there before.

  Lowe wrote it down in his notebook, which he had already taken out of his jacket pocket.

  - She told you she had a room rented there?

  - No, the old woman laughed again. She did not need to rent anything. She slept in the main room - she moved her head towards the detective, only inches from his face and said whispering: -, with Marst ... himself.

  Lowe cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the proximity and said:

  - Do you think he was involved in a relationship?

  - Who, Marst?

  The old woman withdrew again and sat up in her chair, proudly.

  - I do not think so, I know.

  - Why did she have to rent an apartment from you?

  Well, the old woman gestured with her face, as if it were obvious and had to explain it to a small child who does not understand anything at all.

  - Because Marst died. And the girl was not going to let her stay there. You know, Marst's daughter.

  Lowe thought of Shara and her aggressive attitude. He was going to have to question her again, she had hidden too many things from him.

  - When she arrived - continued Mrs. Rios -, Lisa brought few things. Only a small suitcase with some personal items. She was disheveled and looked haggard, she did not behave as she used to: always finely dressed and flirtatious - a spark of envy seemed to glimpse in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared, leaving Lowe wondering if it had been his imaginations. Look, it was the same night they buried Marst ...

  Lowe wrote down everything in his notebook and asked Mrs. Ríos one last question.

  - During the weeks that she rented with you, did you have a problem? Did you talk to her often?

  - No - the old woman suddenly became serious. I try not to get in trouble. Lisa paid me the first month in advance, but I have not even touched the money. I have it saved, intact, in case they come for it.

  - Who can claim that money? - You know, those guys, waving
her hand, as if taking away its importance. That money was not hers.

  - Did she tell you so?

  - It was not necessary. It showed in her eyes when she gave it to me - Mrs. Rios' expression seemed amused, as if she had enjoyed the moment -.

  She was afraid.

  Lowe wrote down this last piece of information and got up to leave:

  - Thank you very much, for everything, ma'am - he shook her hand as a farewell -. We'll call you if something else comes up. The old woman squeezed his hand, sinking in her nails, with unusual strength for a woman walking with a cane.

  - Do not call - she said coldly -. I already told you everything.

  Lowe said nothing, released her and headed for the door.

  As soon as he had left, the lady slammed the door shut behind him. The detective sighed, feeling relieved to be on the street again and headed back to the office.

  CHAPTER 3

  Broken crystals

  Shara slammed the phone down. Neil still had not appeared or had given signs of life. She took another drag on her cigarette and then crushed it out in the ashtray. She picked up her bag and went down the stairs.

  - Karla, I'm going out - she told the waitress, who was behind the bar -. If they call again, asking about the murder, tell them to take a hike.

  Karla laughed and kept cleaning. She did not have much to do, since the arrival of the police this morning, no clients had entered the door.

  Shara left the tavern and got into her old scratched car. She started it and went to Neil's house. She was not going to avoid it any longer, she thought.

  However, when she reached the road that led to the house she saw that it was crammed with several patrol cars. Surprised, she parked and walked closer. The house was cordoned off and several policemen came in and left with objects in their hands. Detective Lowe was at the other end of the garden, talking to another man in uniform.

  Shara approached quickly and went to him without saying hello:

  - What do you think you're doing?

  Lowe jumped and turned with a grimace on his face, he had recognized her voice.

  - Miss Marst, what a pleasant surprise! I just wanted to call you ...