It was so cold that even worms in the rotten body had frozen up. And it was quite clear that the dead body lied here at least for month.
The split scalp and heavy vase - "the instrument of crime" lying nearby certainly confirmed the murder case. Neighbors called for police when Satibaldi - the old bachelor living here, did not show up for a long time.
Police started to interview neighbors and closest people. He was originally from these places but moved to another part of the country where last years before retirement worked as the manager of brewery and after retirement he settled down back in his home land. He bought the large country house but unlike locals did not bothered himself with farming and only was interested in hunting.
He did not have the family, lost any contacts with his numerous local relatives and only his niece used to come weekly to clean up the house and cook. But why she had not showed up last month? This fact alerted detectives and when asked Asel told that she was sick all this time so they started to check other leads. But all of them - robbery, revenge and so on, broke up.
Somehow they learned that her sickness was nothing but the illegal abortion. There were rumors that she travelled to one remote village where she did that. The girl refused to tell anything about but she had the elder brother who was in army and detectives decided to try him.
They send request and he was granted short leave, upon arrival he did not resist for long and told that soon after moving to this village his uncle put an eye on his sixteen years old sister and asked their father to let her help with house work. She agreed readily but in a first visit he raped her and that continued for next six months. Then she had to make illegal abortion and nearly died because of blood loss. And she told her brother everything.
He continued "I went to the old man but he started to mock us, called us beggars, said that she had sex for money. I just boiled with rage and grabbed the vase and ...."
"I already had call-up papers in my pocket so just went to the army thinking that I will forget everything by the time, but the dead man appears every night in my dreams. Now I eased myself..."