Read Into the Killer Sphere for Free Online

striding around the room where the forensic team was still working.
    “The chandelier has nothing to do with Piero’s death. It’s not the murder weapon. That must be clear to everyone now, mustn’t it?”
    Basically, they were back to square one.
    According to the blood traces and this new wood splinter evidence, somewhere in Tursenia there was a murder weapon to find. Piero couldn’t have been killed by the chandelier: the scratches on his body seemed to have been caused by the glass splinters falling on him later. This was a subtle difference that only a meticulous technician such as Cangi could have detected and reported.
    Besides, Chase was right about Piero’s unnatural neck position. Unless it was broken, it couldn’t end up like that. Maybe the killer had used a weapon to finish off Galli, and then had cut the chandelier down to create a distraction and make it look like an accident.
     
    Chase was pondering on this when suddenly he sprang towards one of the forensic technicians, catching a glass ball in mid-air as it slipped out from the man’s hand. It was just a matter of a brief moment, and in that moment Chase saved the ball from an unhappy, shattered end.
    “Watch out mate, you could have really messed things up,” the forensic scientist would have heard from Chase if Angelo’s yells hadn’t drowned out all the other voices around, and even drawn the attention of the Gallis outside the room.
    Angelo took the ball from Chase’s hands, holding it by the top.
    “ E Madonna, e allora ?” he screamed at the man. “Be careful! This isn’t any old bloody workshop you’re working here. Madonna Santa !”
    The item was a big glass sphere, the type with fake snow inside. It had a massive, thick base, much wider than the sphere it held. It was quite heavy for an ornament, because of its base. There was a brown-haired dog inside the sphere, precariously standing up on two paws. It wore traditional Italian clothes and was eating a kind of bread wrap.
    In a flash, Gloria arrived at Angelo’s side, and in turn gently took the sphere from his hands.
    “It’s ok, no damage done,” she said to the forensic scientist, then she turned to Angelo. “You obviously don’t know where this belongs, Inspector. Here we are, everything is all right now.”
    She placed the sphere on a cherry wood dresser near the entrance. Gloria’s calmness seemed fake, like she was trying to make the event seem completely trivial. Chase frowned as she put the item in its place: the sphere was placed so that the dog turned its back to the room. Quite unusual for an ornament, as usually you admired them from the front, not the back.
    “I’m sorry, Signora. I didn’t mean to drop it. I can only imagine what sentimental value it must have for you,” the man babbled.
    “Of course it has. It’s a gift from Piero’s daughter,” Mr Galli said with a veil of melancholy. “I guess she brought it back from her stay in Romagna.”
    Chase wondered if he was the only one to sense a certain hesitancy in Marco’s words.
    “Did she stay there for a long time?” Chase asked. He tried to sound as nonchalant as he could. It was an innocent question, after all, but Galli’s use of the word “ stay” instead of “ vacation” made an alarm bell ring in Chase’s head. He was definitely not a master of the Italian language, but the difference between those two words was one of the very first things he’d learnt once he’d landed in Italy. He had needed to give some explanation for his move to Tursenia without revealing the real, awful reason.
    “Actually, Rachele returned to Tursenia recently. Let’s just say that she enjoyed a nice long vacation,” Gloria replied straight away. Now it was also clear to Angelo that they were poorly concealing their discomfort.
    “As you know, Chase, Rachele lives in this house. We interrogated her at the police station yesterday,” Angelo said to break the awkward silence falling into the room.