Sleepless Night Page #2

But copycats do. lmitators who want

to recreate sensational murders...

- What do you think, Moretti ?

- Well, the Dwarf is dead...

and... me too,

l don't believe in ghosts.

- So? - The case is more complicated

than that. You saw the cut-out?

animals like that next to the bodies.

A pig, a rooster and a chick:

in that order.

- Your memory's coming back.

- lt happens.

And just like then,

you'll have no finger prints,

no sexual molesting, no seminal fluid

or other biological traces.

How are you going to catch him ?

''Peking'' ! Yes...

Giacomo ! Telephone !

Hello. Lorenzo who ?

Of course.

Ah, my father, is he still alive ?

l haven't talk to him for years.

So what's up ?

No, l don't want anything to do

with that... No way !

Thanks for calling,

but l'm really trying to forget.

- Well. - Sorry.

- Giacomo, what's wrong? - Nothing.

Mummy !

Lorenzo ? Giacomo. Can l stay

at your place for a few days ?

l changed my mind.

l'll come tomorrow morning by train.

Okay. Ciao.

- So ? Go to work !

- Sorry. l have to go.

- What are you doing, Giacomo ?

- Bye-bye, Peking.

He's crazy !

- Hi, Lorenzo ! How are you ?

- Fine.

- How are you ?

- Great.

- What are you doing ? - l've been

working in my Dad's law office.

You know him... he's always

on my back, just like then.

- How long do you want to stay ?

- l don't know.

- Why do you call me ?

- l thought you might be interested.

Anyway, you can stay

as long as you like.

Good morning. My name is

Adolfo Farina. l got summons.

Yes, take a seat, in there.

- You'll have to wait a while.

- Not too long, l hope.

l've got an alibi,

l was with my girlfriend.

Will you make copies of all the old

files for me ? For old times sake.

Ok. For old times' sake.

Thanks.

- You're pretty good on that machine.

- l had to learn.

- Things have changed.

- l know.

Now the police talk about GPS bugs,

telecommunications printouts, DNA...

We used to say ''tailing''

and now they say ''surveillance''.

We used to say ''following leads''

now they say ''tactical intervention''.

They sound more like

marketing managers than cops !

This investigation could take a long

time. You might go back to Rome.

- What's keeping you here ?

- My mother, Maria Gallo.

l heard what you said.

l would never have recognized you.

- What do you mean ?

- You were just a boy then.

- Oh, you are the Chief lnspector...

- Moretti. l'm retired now.

- What are you doing here ?

- The same as you, my boy.

- What's that ?

- Answering the call of a ghost.

Listen,

l would like to take you somewhere.

- There.

- The ghost of the past !

We lived on the first floor,

me and my Mom, just the two of us.

- Then you went and live

with your father. - Not for long.

- Never came back here ?

- No. This is the first time.

- lt happened under the stairs.

- Yes, in front of the cellar door.

- l'll be upstairs if you need me.

- Alright. And thank you.

Mummy !

Mummy !

Mummy !

- You alright ?

- Yeah.

He killed her, right in front of me,

with a musical instrument.

- They said... it was an english horn.

- You didn't see anything else ?

-You asked me the same question then.

-And what did you answer ?

That l couldn't see his face.

But there was something.

Not something l saw,

but something l heard.

- What ?

- A sound.

A strange sound,

a kind of whistling, or hissing.

There was all the other noise.

The struggle, my mother's screams,

and this whistling.

l hear it almost every night, but

l still can't figure out what it was.

What a great team,

you and l.

You remember, but don't know.

l know, but don't remember.

- So, you don't remember the promise

you made to me. - What promise ?

- ''l'll find out who killed your

mother.'' - l told you that? - Yes.

And then you said:

''Even if it takes me all my life.''

Well, maybe that's why l'm here now.

- And what are you involved in now ?

- Nothing. l'm unemployed.

But before, l was working

in a chinese restaurant.

- A young man should have

different experiences. - Really ?

- You never said that to me.

- Where are you staying ?

- l'm staying at...

- ln a hotel.

Giacomo, you could have

stayed here with us !

- Which hotel ?

- Dad, leave him alone.

l only asked him a simple question.

Excuse me, it's maybe important.

Yes...

This is he...

How are you ?

We could make it for tomorrow.

Wait, l'll make a note of it.

Where's my pen ?

Does someone have my pen ?

Use mine, Dad.

Thank you. Ok...Go ahead.

Yes.

- You never drink ?

- Not anymore.

- An alcohol problem ?

- An everything problem.

You see my parents? Mom's kind of out

of it, and my Dad treats me as a boy.

Dad never treated me any way at all.

He remarried and had another kid.

- l was just a trouble for him. - For

mine l'm just a huge disappointment.

He wanted an athlete and me,

l've got pseudoallergic asthma.

He wanted someone different.

So he sent me all over the world

like a parcel.

Four years of college in Switzerland,

private university,

and graduate studies

in lnternational law in New York.

My Dad and l used to have fist fights.

He used to beat my Mom up too.

Have you seen Gloria ?

- Gloria ?

- l told her you're here.

- Does she still play ?

- Yes.

What are nice people like us doing

in a place like this? The smoke!

Oh, my poor allergic baby.

You look great.

As beautiful as ever.

- You never said that to me before.

- l guess l was shy, l was only 1 2 !

Hey, cool it, guys. Gloria's already

got a boyfriend:
name Fausto.

- Chance encounter. - lt wasn't by

chance. We were made for each other.

lt just took us a while

to realize it. Right, Gloria ?

- How's the show coming ?

- Well.

We open next week.

We're doing ''Swan Lake''.

- l hope you'll come and see it.

- Sure. - Sure.

- Giacomo, what's up with the

famous Dwarf ? - The Dwarf is dead.

But someone has brought him back to

life, is that what you mean, Fausto?

- Or it's his ghost.

- Oh, come on, what ghost !

- What are you talking about ?

- You were only 3 years old.

l don't think the Dwarf is dead.

lt wasn't his body they found,

it was someone else's.

He's just been laying low,

keeping very quiet until now.

Quit calling him ''the Dwarf''.

He had a name. Vincenzo De Fabritiis.

lf it comes to that, he had a ''nom

de plume'' as well: John McKenzie.

- Good memory.

- Yes. l had a couple of his books.

- Do we have to talk about this ?

- Why not ? lt's part of our past.

- Do you still live in the same place ?

- No, we moved.

Do you remember when

that vagabond, Leone, ate a dog ?

A lot of other awful things happened

to animals around that time.

Just before the murders began.

Cats drowned, dogs burned...

- Sometimes we did things like that.

- Yes, but we were just naughty kids.

- You weren't a kid anymore.

You were almost eighteen. - Ok.

- But you were right behind me.

You too, Gloria. - No. - Take it easy.

lt's the Dwarf's curse.

We used to play dirty tricks on him.

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