"THE DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT" "Every time I go the police station in my neighborhood, the inspector in charge tells me not to worry." "They are very busy, but they'll find my little girl." "I've been going there once a week." "He always repeats the same thing..." "He says he'll find my Donatella, but it's been over a month that she's missing." "They still haven't found her, I can't take it any longer." "Go on, I'm listening." "You know how things are done in Italy, failing to get anywhere with a minor official... by going over his head, you've got results..." " How old is your child?" " Twenty-five." "A woman of twenty-five is hardly a little girl." "My daughter is a child at whatever age." "She was born that way." "The doctors said it has something to do with my wife being RH negative." "Even if she's 25, she has the mind of a three-year-old child." "Have you ever thought about putting her in a hospital?" "There are lots of places that take care of girls like that." "In a mental hospital?" "No, never." "But why not?" "What if she had some kind of disease like," "I don't know..." "like hepatitis, for example." "Wouldn't you have her in a hospital now?" "What's that got to do with it?" "That's another matter." "In that case, I'd want her in a hospital, but what of other illness?" "The doctor says she's sick, but she's only being honest." "Her illness is to go with every man, she smiles at them and does whatever they ask." "I can tell you this and you understand but others... how can I explain to them it's an illness?" "That's why I always kept her in the house." "I even had to put locks on the shutters to keep her from going out on the balcony." "Here you are." "Berzaghi Donatella, daughter of Amanzio and Coletti Maria." "Let me see." "Copies have been sent to the Vice Squad to be checked." "Also to the Interpol." "Here we are." "Every police station in Italy has the information." " But who is still searching her now?" " Nobody." "In Italy every year thousands of girls disappear from their homes." "If an officer happens to run across your daughter, he's already pretty good if he remembers a photo out of the thousands he sees every day." "Then my poor wife died and I had to go on working." "So I was forced to leave my child by herself all morning." "But I telephoned her every hour," "I had taught her how to talk on the phone." "I called as usual that day, and she answered the phone." " Does it hurt?" " Like hell." " Why don't you get it looked at?" " No." " Grappa in the morning?" " Ever since I hurt my knee in an accident," "I've got the habit of having a shot of grappa." "But I don't keep it in the house." "I only drink it here at Michele's on my way home from the office." "You were saying that day..." "One..." "Two..." "Three." "She always answered on the third ring like clockwork." "I wanted to keep calm or I might have a heart attack." "And Donatella would be left to die in an insane asylum." "Once before I dialed the wrong number and I thought I was going to die." "Nothing could have happened." "I phoned her just an hour before, she said everything was fine." "Oh, God..." "God..." "Maybe she's sick?" "Donatella!" "Donatella!" "Donatella..." " And no sign of this unlikely disappearance?" " No." "It was all in order, all closed as usual." "The door takes six turns to let anybody in." "The windows and the shutters were fastened inside." " They didn't touch a thing." " Nothing was missing?" " Dresses, toilet articles?" " No." "With the exception of the dress she had on." "Ah yes, and a little teddy bear." "One I bought for good luck... when I worked as a truck driver on the run from Milan to Bremen." "But after my knee injury, I gave it to her." "She always kept it close." "Well, supernatural cases aren't provided for in our regulation manuals so..." "He means someone familiar with the set-up here entered the apartment with a false key." "Maybe he was a good-looking kid, and she... if that's the way she is, just followed him sweetly out." "That's pretty much what they told me at the police station in the neighborhood." "He'll get on in life that kid." "Listen..." "Nobody saw her go out?" "The porter, the neighbors?" "They were all questioned, I asked around too but..." "So one day someone disappears and you never hear anything more of them." " It happens though nearly every day." " But this time it happened to me." "It's my baby girl who's disappeared." "Yeah, but for the other fathers it's their little girl." "How can I think about the others?" "The others..." "We can think of them when things go well." "Do something for my baby girl." "Will you handle this case, captain?" "According to you, why did they abduct the girl?" "Many girls are exploited as prostitutes, and you leave it to the Vice Squad." "Did you have a look at that poor man's eyes?" "I always ask stupid questions, don't I?" "Mascaranti, do me a favor and get a haircut." "Good morning." "Good morning." " Are you the manager?" " Yes, to help you in any way." " You're so young." " You advance your career quickly nowadays." "Especially when you know how to advance." " And you know how to do it?" " Yes, I'd say so." "Especially when I'm inspired." " Let's give it a try out?" " A try out?" "With this?" "I always want to try out the things I buy." "That's my system." "Not a bad system." " Coming with me or do you trust me alone?" " I'm coming." "Sandro!" "My coat and the test plate." "Look, it's not that I don't trust you alone," "I'm coming for the pleasure of being with you." "Hello, headquarters..." " Hey, what the hell...?" " Well, I've arrived." " Arrived?" "!" " I've a date nearby." "Are you going to buy the car?" "Today I tried it, tomorrow I may buy it." "Thanks for the lift." "You are so cute." "You know what you can do about that." "These cars may be nice but, oh mother, they're so crampy!" "More, more... stop!" "Ciao, Pimp" "You've earned some money these days, eh?" "So now you're in the car game, Salvatore?" "It's all straight with the law, I swear." "Don't swear or you'll go to hell." " What's new with the girls?" " That's all over with, after 2 years in jail." " I've got a clean business." " You smell fishy from a distance too." "I've become a respectable citizen, my money is coming from cars." "Your money's still coming from women, you're a pimp." "The best on the Milan market for putting women on the runway." "Isn't that what they call it?" "Putting women on the runway?" "Enticing the prostitution?" "Exploiting?" " What do you want from me?" " News on this girl." " I never saw her." " What she gets you?" " Nothing, I mean..." " Okay, I believe you." "But you can help us anyway." "Take us to all the houses you know." "The most expensive first, the ones where a girl like this could become a gold mine." "It wouldn't work no way." "The minute the police go in one of those houses, all the others will know." "And you'd never see any girls." "Who mentioned the police?" "You'll be our guide." "Mascaranti and me will be two clients in search of... distraction." " We pretend we are like clients?" " Right." " What's the matter?" "Got any objections?" " No, but who pays?" "Are they going to reimburse our expenses?" " It's all a matter of filling up the right form." " Well..." "Why are you laughing?" "You'd better not cheat us or you'll beg me in your prayers!" " Well, Salvatore?" " I can't..." "If I help you and they find out, I'll be finished." "If you don't help us, you'll also be finished." "They'll kill me if I help you!" "Those people don't play around." "Mother, you ought to know them!" "I thought that was an old trick hiding merchandise in cars." "But... what merchandise?" "I've got nothing hidden." "What's this then?" "Open it up." "What a pretty package, Christmas wrapped and all!" "I think I can guess." "I did, captain!" "It's cocaine, and a lot too." " What a surprise." " Are you joking?" "I don't sell cocaine." " It was in your car and... hidden." " I see, that girl!" " She put it inside, that girl!" " What girl?" "I don't see any girl here." "You sent her, that dope is yours!" "Tell it to the judge that it's ours." "Maybe he'll believe you." "I don't think so." "You'll get a few years and when you come out, no cars, no girls, no money." "You set me up, you put that stuff there!" " How did he take it?" " Pretty hard." " Poor sucker." " Poor sucker, my foot." "After all the crap he's done, for once I give him a chance to do something good and you feel sorry for him?" "It's not that I feel sorry for him." "I'm only sorry I had to set him up." "Listen, sweetie, you've set me up too." "But this is marvelous, so natural and delicate." "It's for the cover." "The photographer's first rule:" "capture in one image the essence of the whole event." "That's a little presumptuous on the part of the photographer, don't you think?" " Why, 'Mr. Modesty'?" " Well, pretending that one click explains why men go on suffering and dying strikes me as a little presumptuous." "Explaining is easy, the hard part is being understood." "I don't ask the people understand, I just want them not to kill each other." "But maybe I'm asking too much..." "Darling, people will go on hating and loving, killing and dying, and there's nothing you can do about it." "I can't, you can't, nobody can do anything about it... and things are the same as always." "Terrific." "Let's go to bed, it's late." "I can't, I have to check the captions of all the photos." " Leave it and get some rest." " I will when the book comes out." " By the way, how's your sinus?" " Still bad, thanks." "Why don't you take care of yourself?" "Do what the doctor told you" " and you'll see it'll cure up." " Sure, why not?" "I'll send out a circular to all the robbers and murderers running around loose here in Lombardy." ""Dear sirs, you're kindly requested to behave for 15 days because I have to cure my sinusitis."" " Darling, you aren't the entire police department." " Yes, you know." "Salvatore, while I'm with the girl, don't try anything funny or you'll regret it." "I promised to help you, and I'm not used to breaking my promises." "You have to pay now, before you see the chicks, or they'll suspect you." "I know, payment before delivery." "Gentlemen, maybe an aperitif first to stimulate your fantasy." "Please." " Cheers." " Cheers." "Here's the price of the ticket to the show." "The show begins promptly, with the most exceptional girls to be found at the moment in Milan." "Giselle, French: bursting with a depraved and morbid imagination." "Erica: her parents were a typical SS couple in charge of a concentration camp." "And this is Hildegard, as pale and dark as the night she was conceived, as tall as the Carpathian mountains where she grew up." "Well, I've always preferred tall women." "Do you usually make love first thing in the morning?" "I haven't come here for that reason." " Tell me, how tall are you?" " 5 feet 9', so what?" "I'm looking for a girl who's 6 feet." "She's 25." "Maybe you know her or you can tell me where she is." " Why do you want to find her?" "Are you a policeman?" " No, I'm..." "I'm just a friend." "Either you're a policeman or else her boyfriend." "She walked out on you and you're looking for her, aren't you?" "Yes, it's like that, you've guessed it." " Know anything about her?" " No, baby, I've never seen her." "But if you think you're going to find her by touring all the houses, you must be crazy!" " Anyway, good luck." " Thanks..." "VOV COMFORTING EGGNOG LIQUEUR" "Damn it!" "Why did you need handcuffs today?" "Why did you bring them with you?" "By arresting those two, you've ruined everything." "Now the all damn circle will get the information and the investigation will be closed." " It was an instinct." " Give me a cigarette!" "Only when I handcuffed them, I realized my handcuffs were missing." "Sorry." "This tastes like shit." "Now go, you must be tired." "As a matter of fact, I am a little tired." "We had tough days, you know." "Good night." " Mascaranti." " Yes?" " Get a haircut." " Yeah." "Young age is..." " Ciao." " Ciao." "You look like a lion sniffing his pray, I can smell blood." "I'm an old lion, old and toothless." "Actually, I'm like a lion who's ready to be trashed." "Did you do anything nice today?" "I... saw a lot of people, women who sell themselves, men who buy them, and other ladies and gentlemen who've organized this buying and selling into an industry." "You always make the same mistake." "If someone in Milan, or anywhere else in the world is suffering, you feel guilty of his pain." "I'm one of them too, I'm one of the people, their pain might just as well be mine." " Alright..." "Now I'm suffering, so it's your duty to ease my pain." "I'm starving to death, is there anything to eat?" " Ouch!" " Still hurting?" "Yes, by now I've become so attached to sinusitis," "I feel I couldn't live without it." "Well then, you want me to fix a fabulous dinner?" "The cook is about to take action." "Thank you." "Excuse me for not helping you, but I've been on my feet all day." "I'm exhausted." "We're working so hard at the newspaper." "What about me then?" "Oh, come on!" "The bad thing about a book is once it's published... it's a document that remains... to prove forever all the nonsense you said and wrote." "People think that when a policeman solves a case..." "Little higher, please." "Right there, thanks." "...he goes home all happy with a shiny medal pinned to his chest." "But behind every one of our successes is the discovery of another failure, another squalid life thrown away, another misery that goes behind the lack of money." " And if you change your mind, people immediately read what you've written before and call you a turncoat." "And this leaves you as sad as the truth you discover and wishing you could tell it all to go to hell." "I wonder why one goes on writing." "As long as society is the way it is, there'll always be policemen and so here I am doing this crappy job." "That noise is a bore but there's nothing I can do about it." "This is where I was assigned and they tell me I have to stay." "I think they're somewhat racist." "Keep your clothes on and sit down, I want to talk." " You're a police dude, right?" " Yes." "But you don't have to be afraid, I just want some information." "Talking to police dudes always makes me afraid." " Can I drink something?" " I'm looking for this girl." "Look at it." "She's very tall, too tall." "She's a mental deficient and a nymphomaniac." "She's disappeared and I figure she's been put in circulation." "Look at this!" "And a girl like that would have to wind up in a house like this." "With special girls for clients who have exotic taste." "Look at her!" "So that's why you came with me." "You're in luck, someone told me about the girl." " Who was it?" " A client." " We shared him together." " When did he tell you about her?" "A month ago, I don't remember exactly, he talked about her a lot..." "And he talked getting all excited, he said she was a real hottie!" "A real hottie..." " Who was he?" " I don't know, he was nobody particularly strange." " He had a birthmark on his cheek." " Did he say what house he saw her in?" "No, he didn't say in what house he encountered her." "He said he returned there but she was gone..." "He was very displeased about that, he really liked her." "To see her again he was ready to pay half a million lire." " That's a lot." " Yes, that sum was nothing to him." "He was very successful in business: plastics." " Plastics, you say?" " Yes, plastics." "Hello, baby?" "Sweetheart?" " Who was that?" " One of many." " Want a drink, police dude?" " No, and stop calling me that." "The way you say it, you don't even insult me." " As you wish, policeman." " What's your name?" "Negro prostitute: a name that's easy to learn and recall." " Have some fun, arrest everybody." " With great pleasure." "Hands off, Mascaranti." "Arrest the others." " This one's coming with me." " Let's go." "Well?" "That does it." "It's not ideal but you can sleep there for a few nights." " It's ok with me." "If I had some whiskey I'd be almost happy." " I'll get you some." "Where I come from they cast off evil spirits with that." "They don't need much where you come from." "What's that girl looking for?" "A window or a gas pipe?" "We must never leave her alone..." "Or else she'd kill herself with the first thing she finds available." "I know." "What I didn't know was you've founded a home for the redemption of..." "If that's what you want, police dude, you're wasting your time." " It's difficult to redeem me." " Listen, Herrero..." "All I want from you is your help in finding Donatella, you're free to give it or not." " This is my home, not a prison." " Okay, police du-..." "I'll help you," "I'll phone all my friends who have worked in the last two months in Milan." "You'll see we'll find someone with news of Donatella." "I hope so." "What I hope most is to find the man, or the men, who are exploiting her." "Protecting is the right word, not exploiting." "There are no exploiters in our existence." "Pimps are kind souls who take care of us and love us." "Yeah." "What's the name of the kind-hearted soul who takes care of you?" "Don't start behaving like a police dude again, it's no use." "There's no pimp tied on to me!" "I'm... free." " Any news, Mascaranti?" " Excuse me, captain." "One of those creeps we pulled in this morning spat in my face." "But I'm happy, he'll be in six months more for assaulting a public official." "Don't be so damned happy when you send someone to jail..." "Let's have some news about the guy in the plastics business, the one with exotic taste and a birthmark on his cheek." "Ok, captain." "Mascaranti, do me a favor..." "Don't see so many movies, and get a haircut!" "No... no." "I've never seen this girl before." " Do your best to remember, Mr..." " Salvarsanti." "We're only interested in finding out if you saw her and what house she was in." "If I knew anything, I'd tell you." "We're men of the world..." "so I think there's nothing wrong in frequenting certain houses..." "and certain girls." "We're not interested in your moral problems, we only want to know..." "Darling!" "Sorry, I didn't know you are busy." "Please, don't get up." "I'm sorry to disturb." " My wife." "Dr. Lamberti and Dr..." " Mr. Mascaranti, I'm not a Doctor." "Two agents with an insurance organization." "I just wanted to tell you Françoise and Philippe are here." "You won't be too long, will you?" "Excuse me, but it's a card-playing night and we need a fourth." "Five minutes and your husband will be free." " Excellent, excuse me again." " Don't mention it." " Madam." " Goodbye." "I'm afraid I can't help you at all." "So, if you don't mind, I'd like to join my friends." " Your friends can wait." " Do you recognize this girl?" " No, I don't think so." " Do you know her or not?" " I don't have good memory for faces." " She says she knows you well." " She might be mistaken." " Yes, alright." "She might be mistaken." "Can I use your phone?" " Why?" "Certainly." " Thank you." " I'll have her brought here for a confrontation." " In my house?" "Yes, of course here." "If you don't know her then there's nothing to worry about." "I've been searching my mind... and I think that negro girl..." "I saw her just once." "The other girl..." "I'm sick of your lies!" "I don't give a damn about your sex life, that's your business!" "But I want to know if you've ever seen the tall one." " I said no!" " Do you want me to start shouting?" "Do you want your wife and friends to know what you are, what you need to get yourself excited?" "Girls who are different because of their color or their height?" "Or some other weird fantasies that your sick brain dreams up?" " I'm not sick." " But this woman is!" "She has the brain of a three-year-old child, and you noticed there was something funny about her, but all you could say was that she was a real hottie." "A real hottie." "It makes me sick." " I only saw her once." " When?" "It's been over a month..." "What's the address of the house?" "What a result..." "You push and push to get an address and then the city plan has wiped it out." "Well, we can trace the owner..." "We can reconstruct the map of the building and trace all the owners." "Yeah... and then the tenants and sub-tenants." "A chain that would take at least a month to complete." "And a month might be too late." "The people who are exploiting Donatella know that we're after them." "They are probably scared too and that would be dangerous." "Hello?" "Lucia?" "The doorbell!" "Her phone calls aren't enough..." "When a woman decides to live with a man, she's got to adapt to his job, sweetie." "Wake up, police dude, there's work to do." "There's a hippie outside that wants to see you." "Mascaranti." "Either he's forgotten it's a holiday or something really big has broken." "News or no news, there's never any peace in this damn house." " Sorry, captain." "I've been trying to phone but..." " I suspect it was busy..." "Salvatore's here, he has something to tell you." "He wouldn't tell me, says it's only for your ears." "Hello, is Mafalda there?" "What is it, Salvatore?" "This morning somebody's offered to give me Donatella." "What did you say?" "They know you're on their ass and they're scared..." "But they want to make a deal if they have got to get rid of the girl." " Who are they?" " I don't know..." "One of them came to my home but I've never seen him before..." "He made the offer... but he said he has two partners in the deal." "Why did he go to you if you don't know him?" "Stop fooling around, Salvatore." "Well, in Milan I'm the best to placing girls there is." "So they all know that in our business." "Did you agree to buy Donatella?" "Sure, I said half a million and he agreed." "But look, you've got to advance me the cash, I'm broke." "Where are you going to meet him?" "Give me back the money." " Draw." " I don't know how to draw." "You saw him this morning, you remember your friend." " He wasn't my friend." " Draw." "You're the only one who saw him." "Come on, I'll help you." "I'm afraid, why didn't he show?" "Maybe he knows I betrayed him." "I'm really scared." "Starting tonight, you stick with Salvatore and don't let him out of your sight for a second." "He'll be like your guardian angel, he'll live, eat, even sleep with you just like a loving little wife." " That's all I needed." " Now draw!" "Start with the eyes." "There are three possible shapes:" "circular, oval or elliptical." " He had Chinese eyes." " Draw." "What shape are Chinese eyes?" " They all look the same." " Eyebrows now." "They can be bushy or thin, separated between the eyes or joined." " They were thin and separated." " Now the nose." "I only want to know the distance between the nostrils." "So put two dots under the eyes, close together if the nose is narrow, far apart if it's wide." "Wide nose." " We've got Raffaello at headquarters today." " Now the mouth." "Cheerful, draw a semi-circle upwards;" "sad, downwards;" "tough or mean, straight line." "Go!" " Then our pal is tough." " Now the ears..." "A semi-circle if they stick out far from the head, a straight line if they're close to it." "Draw it." "Normal." "Okay, we're through." "Take it to the artists and tell them to make it a real portrait." " Captain, what about the shape of the face?" " Damn, I always forget." "Now, there are three types of faces:" "the kind that fits inside the circle, or the square or the triangle." " Draw." " Well, triangular." "He had a tough face, even if he was skinny and real short." " Not a very pretty face your friend." " He has the face of a pimp." "And even if they are pretty like Salvatore, they make me sick though." " Yes, what is it?" " Is Mr. Berzaghi in?" " He lives next door, number 14." " I'm sorry." "Thanks." " Good morning, any news?" " Good morning, Berzaghi." "Good morning." " Please, make yourselves at home." " Sorry to disturb you at this hour." "You're not disturbing me in the least, join me." "It's sad to eat alone when you're used to have somebody with you." "Have you any news?" " Something bad?" " Sit down, Mr. Berzaghi." "Sit down, please." "She's dead." "If she wasn't dead, you wouldn't be here..." "You'd ask me to come by." " Is she dead?" " Yes, she's dead." " When?" " The death occurred last night." "Let's put him on a bed." "Not here." "If he woke up surrounded by all those dolls, he'd really have a problem." "Easy." "Find me some grappa." "No grappa in the house." "I'm sorry." "Never mind." "It happens." "Wait." "I saw your daughter, don't do it." "I want to see her." "The law doesn't require you to recognize her in this condition." "Your declaration for me would be enough." "She's my daughter, I want to see her." "It's she." "Donatella Berzaghi..." "My daughter." "No." "It's morning." "Get some sleep now." "I'll wait for the garbage truck to come by, then I will." "If you can't get to sleep right away, take two of these." " Thank you." " Listen, take care of yourself." "You can help us." "Do you think I want to kill myself?" "No." "I'll live until you find my daughter's killer..." "And if you find him in a thousand years, I'll live for just as many years." "Alright..." "I'll see you later." "Would you mind taking these too?" "What are these?" "Toys?" " Why throw them out?" "They are new." " Would you mind taking these too?" "Yes, I'd mind." "With the price of toys what it is." "I've got three kids." "I'll take them but I'll take them in the cab." "All the same to you." "Give me a hand, would you?" "That bear..." " Where did you find that?" " I just found it in somebody's trash." "It was a pity throwing it out." " Did you find it in this area?" " Yes, I think so." " Where?" "It's very important." " Alright then, wait..." "This house is on our first round..." "Yes, it came from that house." " When did you find it?" " What else do you want to know?" "Are you a cop?" "Wait, sir." "It wasn't more than a month ago, that I know." "We've been only a month on this round." "Before that we were downtown, then they bumped us to area B." " May I have it, please?" " But I've become sort of fond with it." "It looks so stupid like, it reminds of my mother-in-law." "May I have it, please?" "In exchange for those toys." " But you threw them out." " Please." " Since your heart's set on it, take it." "Bye." " Thank you." "BURNT ALIVE!" " Out of my way!" " You rat too much, Salvatore." " Dead?" " Shot in the back." "Poor guy." "Donatella and him, both within 24 hours." " Stop it, Herrero didn't kill them." " Why not?" "I'm not so sure of that." "If there were no girls like her, there wouldn't be any pimps either." " Easy for you to say!" " Sure, it's easy..." "But it's also easy to play the victim." "Why don't you girls ever talk when we ask for the names of the men who exploit you?" "It would be useless." "Maybe you send them to jail for a couple of years but nothing changes." "I still live the same life, I just have a different pimp." "Alright." "Keep your mouth shout, allow yourselves to be exploited!" "What are you defending by doing that?" "Your honor?" "The bandits and the mafia kill, and people don't talk, why?" "Because talking, for them, is like losing their honor." "Their honor." "Am I under arrest, police dude?" " Guilty of silence." " Go on, get out!" "You're free..." "Free to get yourself murdered." "You have a pimp, don't you?" "Since you haven't got the guts to kill yourself," " let him solve your problem for you." " You're a worm, police dude." "Maybe because you're a good man, it makes you feel like a worm too." "Feel better now, cop?" "You won't solve anything with that gun." "I'm a policeman..." "That's what you all have been telling me, therefore I carry it." "You're going old, and you're afraid you won't be able to clean up the world in time." "Hurry up, darling!" "Before it's too late for you." "I have to do it alone, I have to be the first to see the killer's face." "Someone here, someone in this building..." "Someone I've been seeing all these months, who's been asking me every time we meet..." "How is it going, Mr. Amanzio?" "Have they found her?" "Yes, they did find her..." "murdered like an animal." "What about the agent I sent to guard him?" "What the hell was he doing?" "Salvatore gave him a bash on the head this morning in his house." "Then he decided to run so..." "Well, Salvatore..." "They really screwed you, eh?" "The funny thing is he died just when he was doing the only honest thing he ever did in his life." "Salvatore left this for you in his house." ""I don't like people who take advantage of sick people and burn women." "So I'm getting out, but I'm leaving you a souvenir:" "a list of every house in Milan."" "Give it to the Vice Squad so they can haul in every whore in Milan." "Good morning, Mr. Amanzio." " A double, Michele." " What can I say?" "I know you sympathize, Michele." "Thank you." " Mrs. Concetta." " Yes?" "Mr. Amanzio, my condolences." "I am making coffee." "Well, I'm on my way to the office, what do I owe you?" "Now you might have waited." "You owe 6,000 lire, I believe." " But if you like to pay later." " Why?" "I always pay at the end of the month." "Just a moment, please." "...Goodbye, madam." "Here you are." "Some of Donatella's dresses are here." "If you can wait, I'd be glad to fix a bundle for you." "Mr. Amanzio..." "Never seen him." "Never seen her either." "Your profession?" "You didn't find me in a kindergarten, don't forget." "It was a call house, and you're asking me if I've got a profession!" " I'm a tramp." " What I mean is, have you another occupation?" "I've got time to moonlight?" " What year are you in?" " Senior, modern languages." "What were you doing in that house?" "Attending class?" " It was my first time there." " Stop lying!" "You've been frequenting it for over a year..." "The keepers were pretty well organized, she registered everything." " Your parents?" " Guess how much my dad earns:" "250 mil a month, believe me?" "But if you saw my house you wouldn't." "It's a lovely house, we have two cars," "I can't even count all my mother's fur coats..." "All this comes from my mother's inheritance from an old aunt." " But this old aunt doesn't exist?" " She does, I know how she's called:" ""Call house"." "My mother was a hooker but my dad never caught on." "If she did it, why can't I?" " Your husband doesn't know anything?" " No." " Now I will have to tell him." " I know." " Did he lead you to prostitution?" " My husband?" " He doesn't even know it exists." " Then why?" "It's his fault." "Shouldn't everyone work hard to make money?" "Well, he doesn't." "He isn't very interested in money." "But not I. I want to have everything while I'm still young." "Who cares how I earn it?" "Money doesn't say where you got it." "I don't mix with these people, I'm a lady." "Well, madam... who provides what you sell at your house?" "Really, we don't have a problem, the girls come to us, they are always eager to earn easy money." "And you, like a good Samaritan, you help them." "It's a job like any other." "Some people sell laundry soap, I sell women." "Pity you can't put advertising on TV." "I found it on the stairs, is it yours?" "Well, I'm a little too old for toys." "It's kind of cute, even if it has a stupid face." " Do you know who could it belong to?" " I don't know anyone in this building." "I've only been here for two months now." "Two months only?" "I thought it was more." "I'm going to go back to my home town, I'm fed up here..." "No one ever talks to me." "In my home town I may die of hunger..." " but at least I'll die talking." " Yes, we all have our cross." "Good morning." "Excuse me..." "Well, the problem is mine, but you must let my daughter go." "You can take her away immediately." "Just a minute..." "As far as I'm concerned, your daughter can do whatever she wants, but it must be hard for you to realize she goes to bed with men older than you." " I don't need a lecture!" " No!" " You don't know anything because you don't give a damn!" " How dare you?" "He's talking like that because he doesn't know who you are." "Come on, tell him what you told me before." ""You don't know who I am, I'll have you ruined."" "Call your big-shot friend now, have me ruined!" "Leave it, Mascaranti." "He knows it's his fault his daughter has become a wh- a call girl." "You know." "Don't you?" "No." " How many apartments do you own?" " One." " Where I live with my daughter." " Plus three others." " That's not true." " Our records say it is." "A cigarette." "It's my own property, a small inheritance." "You have only an 80,000 lire pension." "But for three years now you've been living a comfortable life, ever since your daughter began..." " I didn't know a thing." "Your daughter says you knew all along, do you want me to send for her?" "No-no." "Oh, the shame of it..." " My God, the shame of it..." " Sorry." "How can I not have noticed?" "If I only suspected..." "It never seems these things could happen to us." "I should have understood..." "If I had really loved her I would have understood and she might not have come to this." " You can always begin again." " That only happens in comics." "I can't begin again, perhaps I really am a coward." "How many of those pills do you think you'll need to kill yourself?" "This death is... benevolent." " Lengthy but benevolent." " Oh, yes." "You're dying but you feel high, you'll get higher and higher until one day you'll explode!" "It's stupid." "Big explosion, and all of that filth name Herrero disappears!" "You're no more filth than lam or anyone else is." "I like you and your friend, the police dude, but now either you both are blind or deluding yourselves." "Why don't you give up this life?" "Because it's mine, and I wouldn't know what else to do." "It's been my job for some time now." "Do you know what age I began?" " Yes, I know." " I was fourteen." "That doesn't prevent you from giving it up." "Then what do I do?" "Redeem myself and join a convent?" "Or should I look for a job?" "What will I show for reference?" "Letters from my clients?" ""This is to certify that this young lady is most capable in bed!"" "It's all bullshit and I'm sick of my illusion." "We all need illusions, you too go on hoping and kidding yourself." "Now you live alone in this house, your man walked out on you and you're still hoping he'll return." "He'll return, you'll see." "Right now he's engaged in enlarging his circle." "That's why he's with another woman." "And he'll take her for a ride in the end." "You know all this, and you haven't the strength to leave him?" " He's my man." " Crap!" "You and your police dude... you're interested in me only because I'm useful." "Maybe at first, but now I'm here with you..." "You've already done all you could that would have helped us," " true?" " No." "Do you mean you haven't told us everything about Donatella?" "Yes..." "I heard about her from another client I had." "When you have a little time, drop over for a glass of wine or playing cards." " Thanks and excuse me." " You're welcome." "Alright, come on." " Why didn't you tell us?" " Don't you get it, police dude?" "No." "Who saw Donatella?" "My man..." "My pimp, as you like to call him." "Was he the one exploiting her?" "That's why I didn't tell you, you see guilty people everywhere." "It wasn't him." "He only saw her once and told me about her." "Now I'm telling you." "I'm betraying him to you." "If you like, I'll teach him a lesson, it depends on you." "Don't touch him, he might think I'm after revenge for love." "Police." "Open up!" "They've come for me, wait before opening." "Do you want us to break down the door?" "I'm coming!" "Are people allowed to sleep anymore?" "Open the door, I tell you!" "Hang on, I'm coming!" "Come on, open up!" " Open the door!" " Here I come!" "A little deaf, eh?" " The baby's flown away." " I've got no baby." "I'm not even married." "It won't start without this." "I'm innocent, I don't know anything about that girl." "Mario, it's no use playing the tough guy..." "I know who you are, the same as she does." "I know there are lots of others tough guys." "We're not after you, Mario, just tell us where you saw the girl." "I never saw her in my life, you're wasting your time with me!" "I don't talk because I'm scared." " Captain." " Yeah?" "I want to resign here and now, my police documents are there." "Now let's have a gentle talk with no risk of offending a public official." "Now, baby, you're the same as me." "I'm not a policeman anymore, you can take a poke at me." "Stand up." "You're tough, aren't you?" "You're tough with women, eh?" " Fight, tough guy." "Come on!" " Mascaranti..." "I haven't accepted your resignation, and now that I think about it," "I won't, so let him alone." "Ok, captain." "I'll come back in the force and wait patiently for this gentleman to speak." "He will... right?" " What do you want out of me?" " Stop acting so tough." "Yeah, tough like steel!" " When did you see her?" " Two weeks ago." "Go on, tell us about her." "She was screaming so much, she got the whole place in uproar." "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Help!" "Is this the one?" "This guy?" " Yes, it was him." " What's his name?" "I don't know, I've never seen him before." "What do you know about him?" "The keeper threw them out of the house that night, him and the girl." " What then?" " Then I heard he was going to Lodi, to a hotel he was the owner of." "Well, if he isn't really the owner, it's the same as if he was." " Good morning, Mr. Amanzio." " Hi, Carletta." " What news of your son?" " He's in Belgium now." "He's found a better job." " What pretty oranges." " Would you like one?" "Take one." " Are you okay?" " The bag slipped out of my hand." "In a small hotel in San Remo, he's spending the winter there, lucky guy." "So then Carletta is being alone in the apartment?" "The owner goes to the seaside and four months she is alone in Milan." "A lot of freedom!" "Mr. Amanzio, how come you got up so early on Saturday?" "You are supposed to be at work?" " Saturday is my day off." " I reckon I'm the only one who does..." "Maybe because I'm not from Milan." "Finally, you're here, I've expected this visit for a long time." " Who is he?" " He's my cousin..." "Although we get along more like a couple of bulldogs..." " What's his name?" " Same as mine." "Franco Baronia." "Franco Baronia, Concetta Giarzone, and Michele Sarrosi." "Michele, Concetta..." "They were all friends of mine!" " Why did you kidnap my daughter?" " It wasn't me that thought of it..." "The idea was Michele's and Concetta's, they said it was you that gave it to them." " Me?" " Yes, you were always talking about Donatella." "How you had to be so careful because of her desire of a man." "The only reason I mentioned that was because they were friends of mine," "I talked to you about her too!" "I didn't do anything, I didn't know they were going to kill her!" "Why did you get into it?" " I'm always alone..." " So what?" "Michele is young and handsome and he never looked at me." "Then one day he started paying me attention," "I was so happy and fell for him." "But you... you..." "What did you do?" "Donatella could be taken only in the morning while you were at work." "But they didn't know how to get her out of the building in broad daylight..." "So they thought of me because I lived next door." "It was Michele's job to get me to go along, and he did it!" " Donatella spent that whole day long next door to me?" " Yes." "And I looked everyplace I could..." "I tried everyplace I knew, Iran to the police station..." "I was going mad and Donatella was here, right here!" "Next door to me..." " With you, making her..." " I didn't do anything!" "When did they take her away?" "That same night around 2 o'clock." "There's no one on the stairs at that hour." "It was easy to get her out without being seen." "Concetta Giarzone, Michele Sarrosi, and Donatella Berzaghi." "Besides my cousin, Franco Baronia." "I was obliged to let them stay here, but registered like everybody." " That's a law and I've got to respect it." " That's right." " I'll call the headquarters for the addresses." " Okay." " Was that the last night you saw them?" " Yes." "I haven't seen him again since that night." "My cousin used to bring lots of girls." "By then I figured what he was doing for a living, he came with friends, women..." "They ate, drank and slept, all for free." " But you kept your mouth shout, swallowed it all!" "Why?" " I was afraid!" "Franco threatened me: if I reported him to the police he'd burn the hotel down." "I couldn't let that happen, this hotel is all I've got..." "I knew for sure he would burn it down if I reported him." "What went on that night?" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "What the hell do you want?" "Get out of here." "Shut up!" " Don't talk nonsense and don't worry." " Get out or I'll send for the police." "You try?" "Just that." "Try call it." "Do you want to see the pretty bonfire I can make of this place?" "Do you want to see it burn?" "When I heard that girl was killed, I knew I had the answer." "What kept you from calling the police?" "Because I'm dishonest too, same as my cousin," "I don't rub, I don't kill but I've got to survive." "When something dangerous happens, I don't look, I don't listen, talk." "My door is closed, I keep my mouth shut." "I'm dishonest too, just like him." "Well, I feel sorry for you, but I have to do it." "Thanks." "Baronia... in Milan no one knows him." "No." "Let's go." "What do you want?" "Why did you kill her?" "What do you mean?" "Why did you kill her?" "Why did you kill her?" "Hello..." "Come here, Amanzi's here, he knows." "Please, hurry!" "Hello?" "Franco, come on, quick!" " Why did you kill her?" " Let me go..." "Tell me." "She was a nuisance!" " My baby was a nuisance?" " She'd never stop crying, she was crazy!" "The police were closing in on us, your Donatella became useless to us." "She was dangerous, that's why we had to kill her." "My baby was a nuisance?" "You creeps!" "You could have brought her back, if you had enough of her." "You could have brought her back, I'd have taken her!" "Even if you had her in a house, I'd have taken her back." "You could have brought her back, if you had enough of her." "You could have brought her back..." "I'm listening..." "give me the addresses." "Concetta Giarzone, Via Tisseri 8." "Michele Sarrosi, Via Tisseri 15..." " Via Tisseri, isn't that the street where..." " Yes, where Berzaghi lives." "Go on looking for Baronia." "Step on it, Mascaranti." "Out of the way, Michele!" "Out of the way!" "Michele!" "Hello, headquarters." "Send three ambulances." "Via Tisseri 8." "Urgent." "My baby was a nuisance..." "She was a nuisance..." "Catching murderers is my job." "That's why I get paid." "I wanted to be the first to look at their faces." "Today is Saturday..." "It's my day off." "I had time to look for them." "If I'd had to work... you'd have been the first to get them." "You Lamberti..." "But today is Saturday." "It's Saturday." "It's Saturday." "THE END"