The Year of the Mantis

his story. “I remained at home, as today I was supposed to go to lectures at the university. Obviously, this is not going to happen, and I believe I’ll be away from my studies for some time.”
“So, the victim left, and you remained home,” repeated Detective Scala continuing to write in his notebook. “Do you know the name of the club he used to go to?”
A moment of silence filled the room. Luciano felt almost ashamed to admit he had no idea where his father spent his evenings.
Claudio didn’t need a guardian, being old enough to go wherever he pleased without telling anyone his plans. Yet, Luciano wondered whether knowing that detail could have somehow helped in that situation and perhaps could have also prevented the tragedy. He shook his head at that thought. Obviously, something similar couldn’t have been predicted or avoided.
If there were someone after him, it would be a question of time before he would have succeeded. “No, I have no idea about his whereabouts, but perhaps his girlfriend can provide some information. Her number can be found on his mobile phone’s directory,” Luciano suggested.
“Does it belong to the victim?” Detective Scala asked, glancing curtly at the jacket on the couch.
“Yes, when I woke up this morning, I thought he was still sleeping. Generally, he gives me a ride to the university if our schedules coincide. Today, I thought I could get his Lamborghini for myself, that’s why I didn’t think to go and wake him up.” Luciano recalled, feeling his desire to have the car foolish and meaningless. “I checked the jacket to find the key, but it wasn’t there, so I thought it was in the pocket of his jeans. This meant I couldn’t get the car unless I would have gotten the spare keys he keeps in the drawer of the desk in his studio. When I reached the garage...”
His voice trembled and couldn’t talk anymore. Telling how he found his father dead in a pool of blood wasn’t something easy to speak out loud. Probably he would never be able to talk about that sight when he reached the car.
Giulia held Luciano tightly in her arms, trying to console him, wondering whether the Detective could continue the questioning later or another day.
With a nod, raising his eyes at Luciano, Detective Scala pursued. “Have you ever met his new girlfriend?” He understood it wasn’t easy going through the facts, which could have led to his father’s death, but there wasn’t any other way to get a clear idea of all the players in Mr. Calvani’s life and those who could have a reason to have him dead.
“No, I haven’t. We tried to avoid talking about her, although I decided to live with my father, this didn’t mean I approved his lifestyle.”
“Hmmm,” muttered Detective Scala. “And where were you last night?” he turned his glance to the one who could have had a good reason to get rid of Claudio Calvani, his ex-wife Giulia.
“I hope you don’t think I could have killed my ex-husband!” Her green eyes opened wide at what appeared to be an outrageous comment. “However, to satisfy your curiosity, I have been traveling by train from Reggio Calabria, where I had a job meeting. I arrived this morning at the Termini Station at about six o’clock and got a taxi to reach home, just in time to receive the call of Luciano.” She averted the look from the detective and searched for something in her purse. “Here, this is the train ticket validated yesterday evening and checked by the ticket inspector. And this is the receipt of the taxi driver. I hope you’re satisfied.” She slammed the receipts on the sofa table in front of them.
“Mrs. Calvani, it wasn’t my intention to doubt your words; I’m trying to understand what happened to your ex-husband,” he tried to justify himself. Yet grabbing the travel documents as proof to be inserted on the list of pieces of evidence.
“My surname is no longer Calvani. My name is Giulia Martini,” she pointed out, hissing, yet trying to remain calm.
Detective Scala observed the spaces of the apartment. “I’m afraid I will need to look around, and for a few days, we’ll need to close up this place for investigations. Do you have a place to go in the meantime?” he asked Luciano.
“Yes, I can go to live with Mum, but I will also need to get my personal items...” his voice trembled, thinking about the chance of not being able to return there for a long time.
“Sweetheart, this won’t take long, you can get new clothes. Grab your books and laptop for now,” Giulia reasoned.
“We can let you take your laptop with you, but the home should remain the way it is. If you can bring your computer to the Police Precinct, they’ll make a copy of the hard disk, and you can leave right away.”

CHAPTER 2
Remained alone in the apartment, after Luciano and Giulia left, Maurizio walked toward the couch, waiting for the forensic team to reach the apartment from the garage to continue their search.
He started to analyze some details of the crime, beginning with the discussion he had with the two closest people to the victim. The ex-wife, although she was the one to have a good motive, has a bulletproof alibi, the son didn’t have any apparent reason to kill his father, he ruminated. He remained to live with him after the divorce; if there was resentment or desire to revenge for the offense to his mother, he would have also decided to stay with her. Yet, we need to confirm his alibi being close to the crime scene.
He shuffled on his feet, as he finished writing in his notebook his first impressions. The door opening forced him to return from his thoughts, and Forensic Inspector Leonardo Romizi, leading the