Entry for October 19, 2006On July 29th 2005 Carlos Silveira received a formal letter from the director of the judiciary police concerning Joćo Vilhenas investigation. A month had gone and not much had been added to the initial deductions and facts. After the testimonies of all the people involved, and a through out evaluation of proofs, the orders were to close at once the investigation. As far as the director was concerned, it was self explanatory: Joćo Vilhena had died of natural causes. It was the first time in twenty years of experience that Silveira had ever seen a dubious case close so fast, and because this proceeding was so unusual, he had been angry and distrustful of what may lay behind Joćo Vilhenas death. He pleaded with the director first in the format of another letter, arguing the investigation had only just started, and many factors concerning Joćos death still needed to be explained, but the director was unflinching, even after Carlos Silveira appealed with his boss, who told him he had his hands tied up, and so two days later the investigation was closed and archived. Right away the detective was assigned two murder cases, and although Carlos Silveira kept pursuing the investigation on his own, he found himself overwhelmed with all the opposition around it, and the matter was dropped, in spite of the formal and informal requests of Mafalda Vilhena and myself for it to continue. Together the two of us called the main papers and told eager reporters the odd facts about the closure of the investigation. After several interviews, repeatedly guarantees that they would write about it where responded with silence. All newspapers refused, after first agreeing in publishing the story, to print one word about the dismissal of the case. The apathy of the press was incompressible, unless someone had gone to great efforts to stop the matter from getting out. We consulted a lawyer to find out if the decision could be revoked, but there were no legal grounds for action. Several letters were sent to the director from us, and not one response was obtained. We were left with only one option: to continue the investigation on our own, and for that Carlos Silveira was very useful by conceding all the material he had collected including interrogatories, autopsy reports, and other laboratory results. For the past months Mafalda and I have been struggling to clear up Joćos death without being able to advance much about it. Sally Bales body was found dead, victim of strangling, in Monsanto on August 24th. When the police discovered her body, detective Carlos Silveira tried everything to re-open Joćo Vilhenas investigation claiming that the two deaths had been related. The answer from above was categorical An investigation concerning Sally Bales death will be initiated in collaboration with the Irish authorities, but Joćo Vilhenas case is not to be re-opened. And although Miss Bales case had been assigned to another detective, Carlos Silveira was able to collaborate. He had fought hard to be assigned to the case, but it seemed he wasnt wanted: never when he had asked for an investigation before, he had been turned down. He had many years of experience and an exceptional record of solved murders, which had earned him a place in the annual list of the ten best working detectives in Lisbon. A month after the body was found, the detective in charge found Sally Bales killer. Her ex-boyfriend was arrested on September 30th after being held for questioning for two days. Later, his lawyer would accuse the police of using illegal methods to pull a confession out of him, for his body showed signs of considerable laceration. But the police claimed the physical aggressions had happen in the cells while he had been jailed, and that no force had been used by officers. The prisoner, Alberto Neves, had suffered two serious concussions in his brain and was in state of shock the day of his first court appointment. He couldnt stop crying compulsively and because of that the judge agreed to place him in a mental institutionNeither I, nor Carlos Silveira, or Mafalda Vilhena were convinced with the closure of Sally Bales case, but were of the opinion her death had been linked with Joćo Vilhenas.Furthermore, on August 25th, the Vilhenas initiated a legal dispute against Mafalda over Joćos estate. The first session already took place without much being added, except that Mįrcia and Hugo hired the most well-regarded lawyer in the field of inheritance. Carlos Silveira had guessed the Vilhenas would try to get hold of Joćos patrimony, which made Mafalda all too eager to prevent her adoptive parents from wining the case, at least until Joćos death was cleared up.Entry for October 1, 2006When Carlos Silveira reached Sćo Paulos street he didnt go to VPF Cream Gallery, but to the precinct just down the road. He would ask to look at the complaints me and Joćo had filled and in returned found out No complaints were filed by either Joćo Vilhena or Isabel Sobral concerning a death threat. The officers on duty couldnt remember any incident on the address the detective had given them. It all had happened almost a year ago anyway. He went to the building and up to the gallery. From the windows he decided for the one which matched the description I had given him and as he went down and around to the next door, he tried the bell for the apartment on the third floor, and a woman spoke on the interlocutor. After introducing himself, Carlos Silveira said Im looking for your husband, because of an incident last year in August when he attacked and insulted your neighbors. But he didnt even know his name, because neither I nor Joćo had been aware of it, and the complaints were missing from the police station. The woman knew right way what the detective had been talking about. This way he had been sure hed guessed right. The husband, Jacinto Melo, wasnt home, so the detective sat waiting for he should be back in an hour. Fifteen minutes had gone by and he was placing the key on the door. His body was sweaty and fat, and as soon as he saw the detective, he yelled to his wife What the hell is going on in here? Carlos Silveira flipped his badge and the man suddenly was quiet and submissive. He yelled for his wife to make coffee, which Silveira declined. Without taking his eyes of him, he slowly sat across from the detective, and waited for him to speak. He said that unless he would collaborate, he would have to take him down to the precinct. He might even have to stay overnight. And told him there was a possibility he would be accused of being involved in a murder, since he had threaten Joćo who now had turned up dead. Upon hearing this, Jacinto Melo became very nervous, sweating more and more. His chin was watery and his hands restless and humid. Carlos Silveira wanted to know if someone had paid him to scare Joćo. But the man had firmly denied I was just upset about him. And after a few minutes of heavy silence, the detective handcuffed his hands on a chair, and pressed his face against the wall. His wife was still in the kitchen, but by the time she was back, Carlos Silveira had been sure Jacinto Melo had acted on his own accord. Two days had gone by when Silveira barged in the autopsy department of the Military Hospital, which provided the police with criminal pathologists, and asked to speak with Manuel Ribeiro. He was out of himself, sure the technician had forged Joćos autopsy report. After investigating some facts about Mr. Ribeiro, Carlos Silveira hadnt found anything that could lead him to believe he had known Hugo Vilhena, or had any other suspicious acquaintances. How could he explain Joćo had no traces of alcohol in his blood? He had drunk one bottle of champagne and plenty of wine at dinner. Manuel Ribeiros demeanor was contained and calm. He answered that those had been his findings, and unless he had made a mistake, which was a permanent possibility in all human action, he was sure of what the autopsy had demonstrated. Later that day, Carlos Silveira would get a call from his superior and be threatened with suspension, would he carry on using those methods of coercion. Entry for September 12, 2006After reaching a dead-end with the case, Detective Carlos Silveira decided to focus on other events in Joćos life, which for him seemed suspicious: the murder attempt and the death threat at the Lab. Emmanuel Duarte had been identified by several people as the man who had stabbed Joćo on May 28th. The past five years, he had worked in construction for a company rooted in Lisbon, and since his arrival to Portugal he had been arrested several times. The only fact going for him the night of the attempt had been the statement of his boss. Manuel Dias had testified Emmanuel Duarte had been at the construction site all night with him, after a serious problem with the work had been spotted. Originally from Venezuela the stabber had a history of violence since early age, and in spite of the criminal record and eye-witnesses, the only think Carlos Silveira could do was to take him to the precinct for questioning.It was Thursday, July 18th, when Carlos Silveira went to his apartment in Almada. As soon as he opened the door, Emanuel Duarte, for no reason, pushed it against Silveira and started down the stairs. It was the first time he saw the detective but yet he had done that. Silveira went after him, chasing him until he was almost reaching the highway, but when Duarte was getting on the fast-moving road, he tripped and fell. The detective threw his body on top of him and the Venezuelan hit his head on the floor losing consciousness. Instead of taking him to the hospital, Carlos Silveira dragged the unconscious man to his car, and when he woke up he was sitting in his office with blood smudged around his forehead. Remember Joćo Vilhena? was the first thing the detective asked him, but the man did not know who he was. It was only when Carlos Silveira showed him the photograph that he discovered who the detective had been talking about. He remained quiet, unaltered. Later Carlos Silveira would admit to being a little afraid of what he might have done. His stare was crazy, he said.Youre going to tell me what really happened that night. was the next thing the detective told him. Afterwards, what happened in the room that day nobody knows. The fact was, Emmanuel Duarte left the precinct, went home, and his wife complained to the police he had been beaten. But before he was gone he confessed that a tall, blond, blue-eyed man with an American accent hired him one day to tail Joćo, and give him a scare.I followed him for a week and then the guy calls me up again and tells me that he needs him killed after all, but he wants it to look like a brawl, as if a guy had just gotten on a fight with him. I was drunk that night, otherwise I wouldnt have missed.When asked about who it was, Emmanuel Duarte had never gotten any name or number. It was the man who always contacted him. In spite of this Carlos Silveira didnt arrest the stabber I know I used illegal means to obtain the information, but Joćo Vilhena was dead and it was more important to get some kind of lead than to arrest a man who had tried to kill him and failed. He would end up getting away with it in court anyway. I couldnt use the evidences I had obtained without been accused of assault. So we made a deal, and he hadnt broke his share yet.
On July 29th 2005 Carlos Silveira received a formal letter from the director of the judiciary police concerning Joćo Vilhenas investigation. A month had gone and not much had been added to the initial deductions and facts. After the testimonies of all the people involved, and a through out evaluation of proofs, the orders were to close at once the investigation. As far as the director was concerned, it was self explanatory: Joćo Vilhena had died of natural causes. It was the first time in twenty years of experience that Silveira had ever seen a dubious case close so fast, and because this proceeding was so unusual, he had been angry and distrustful of what may lay behind Joćo Vilhenas death. He pleaded with the director first in the format of another letter, arguing the investigation had only just started, and many factors concerning Joćos death still needed to be explained, but the director was unflinching, even after Carlos Silveira appealed with his boss, who told him he had his hands tied up, and so two days later the investigation was closed and archived. Right away the detective was assigned two murder cases, and although Carlos Silveira kept pursuing the investigation on his own, he found himself overwhelmed with all the opposition around it, and the matter was dropped, in spite of the formal and informal requests of Mafalda Vilhena and myself for it to continue. Together the two of us called the main papers and told eager reporters the odd facts about the closure of the investigation. After several interviews, repeatedly guarantees that they would write about it where responded with silence. All newspapers refused, after first agreeing in publishing the story, to print one word about the dismissal of the case. The apathy of the press was incompressible, unless someone had gone to great efforts to stop the matter from getting out. We consulted a lawyer to find out if the decision could be revoked, but there were no legal grounds for action. Several letters were sent to the director from us, and not one response was obtained. We were left with only one option: to continue the investigation on our own, and for that Carlos Silveira was very useful by conceding all the material he had collected including interrogatories, autopsy reports, and other laboratory results. For the past months Mafalda and I have been struggling to clear up Joćos death without being able to advance much about it. Sally Bales body was found dead, victim of strangling, in Monsanto on August 24th. When the police discovered her body, detective Carlos Silveira tried everything to re-open Joćo Vilhenas investigation claiming that the two deaths had been related. The answer from above was categorical An investigation concerning Sally Bales death will be initiated in collaboration with the Irish authorities, but Joćo Vilhenas case is not to be re-opened. And although Miss Bales case had been assigned to another detective, Carlos Silveira was able to collaborate. He had fought hard to be assigned to the case, but it seemed he wasnt wanted: never when he had asked for an investigation before, he had been turned down. He had many years of experience and an exceptional record of solved murders, which had earned him a place in the annual list of the ten best working detectives in Lisbon. A month after the body was found, the detective in charge found Sally Bales killer. Her ex-boyfriend was arrested on September 30th after being held for questioning for two days. Later, his lawyer would accuse the police of using illegal methods to pull a confession out of him, for his body showed signs of considerable laceration. But the police claimed the physical aggressions had happen in the cells while he had been jailed, and that no force had been used by officers. The prisoner, Alberto Neves, had suffered two serious concussions in his brain and was in state of shock the day of his first court appointment. He couldnt stop crying compulsively and because of that the judge agreed to place him in a mental institutionNeither I, nor Carlos Silveira, or Mafalda Vilhena were convinced with the closure of Sally Bales case, but were of the opinion her death had been linked with Joćo Vilhenas.Furthermore, on August 25th, the Vilhenas initiated a legal dispute against Mafalda over Joćos estate. The first session already took place without much being added, except that Mįrcia and Hugo hired the most well-regarded lawyer in the field of inheritance. Carlos Silveira had guessed the Vilhenas would try to get hold of Joćos patrimony, which made Mafalda all too eager to prevent her adoptive parents from wining the case, at least until Joćos death was cleared up.
When Carlos Silveira reached Sćo Paulos street he didnt go to VPF Cream Gallery, but to the precinct just down the road. He would ask to look at the complaints me and Joćo had filled and in returned found out No complaints were filed by either Joćo Vilhena or Isabel Sobral concerning a death threat. The officers on duty couldnt remember any incident on the address the detective had given them. It all had happened almost a year ago anyway. He went to the building and up to the gallery. From the windows he decided for the one which matched the description I had given him and as he went down and around to the next door, he tried the bell for the apartment on the third floor, and a woman spoke on the interlocutor. After introducing himself, Carlos Silveira said Im looking for your husband, because of an incident last year in August when he attacked and insulted your neighbors. But he didnt even know his name, because neither I nor Joćo had been aware of it, and the complaints were missing from the police station. The woman knew right way what the detective had been talking about. This way he had been sure hed guessed right. The husband, Jacinto Melo, wasnt home, so the detective sat waiting for he should be back in an hour. Fifteen minutes had gone by and he was placing the key on the door. His body was sweaty and fat, and as soon as he saw the detective, he yelled to his wife What the hell is going on in here? Carlos Silveira flipped his badge and the man suddenly was quiet and submissive. He yelled for his wife to make coffee, which Silveira declined. Without taking his eyes of him, he slowly sat across from the detective, and waited for him to speak. He said that unless he would collaborate, he would have to take him down to the precinct. He might even have to stay overnight. And told him there was a possibility he would be accused of being involved in a murder, since he had threaten Joćo who now had turned up dead. Upon hearing this, Jacinto Melo became very nervous, sweating more and more. His chin was watery and his hands restless and humid. Carlos Silveira wanted to know if someone had paid him to scare Joćo. But the man had firmly denied I was just upset about him. And after a few minutes of heavy silence, the detective handcuffed his hands on a chair, and pressed his face against the wall. His wife was still in the kitchen, but by the time she was back, Carlos Silveira had been sure Jacinto Melo had acted on his own accord. Two days had gone by when Silveira barged in the autopsy department of the Military Hospital, which provided the police with criminal pathologists, and asked to speak with Manuel Ribeiro. He was out of himself, sure the technician had forged Joćos autopsy report. After investigating some facts about Mr. Ribeiro, Carlos Silveira hadnt found anything that could lead him to believe he had known Hugo Vilhena, or had any other suspicious acquaintances. How could he explain Joćo had no traces of alcohol in his blood? He had drunk one bottle of champagne and plenty of wine at dinner. Manuel Ribeiros demeanor was contained and calm. He answered that those had been his findings, and unless he had made a mistake, which was a permanent possibility in all human action, he was sure of what the autopsy had demonstrated. Later that day, Carlos Silveira would get a call from his superior and be threatened with suspension, would he carry on using those methods of coercion.
After reaching a dead-end with the case, Detective Carlos Silveira decided to focus on other events in Joćos life, which for him seemed suspicious: the murder attempt and the death threat at the Lab. Emmanuel Duarte had been identified by several people as the man who had stabbed Joćo on May 28th. The past five years, he had worked in construction for a company rooted in Lisbon, and since his arrival to Portugal he had been arrested several times. The only fact going for him the night of the attempt had been the statement of his boss. Manuel Dias had testified Emmanuel Duarte had been at the construction site all night with him, after a serious problem with the work had been spotted. Originally from Venezuela the stabber had a history of violence since early age, and in spite of the criminal record and eye-witnesses, the only think Carlos Silveira could do was to take him to the precinct for questioning.It was Thursday, July 18th, when Carlos Silveira went to his apartment in Almada. As soon as he opened the door, Emanuel Duarte, for no reason, pushed it against Silveira and started down the stairs. It was the first time he saw the detective but yet he had done that. Silveira went after him, chasing him until he was almost reaching the highway, but when Duarte was getting on the fast-moving road, he tripped and fell. The detective threw his body on top of him and the Venezuelan hit his head on the floor losing consciousness. Instead of taking him to the hospital, Carlos Silveira dragged the unconscious man to his car, and when he woke up he was sitting in his office with blood smudged around his forehead. Remember Joćo Vilhena? was the first thing the detective asked him, but the man did not know who he was. It was only when Carlos Silveira showed him the photograph that he discovered who the detective had been talking about. He remained quiet, unaltered. Later Carlos Silveira would admit to being a little afraid of what he might have done. His stare was crazy, he said.Youre going to tell me what really happened that night. was the next thing the detective told him. Afterwards, what happened in the room that day nobody knows. The fact was, Emmanuel Duarte left the precinct, went home, and his wife complained to the police he had been beaten. But before he was gone he confessed that a tall, blond, blue-eyed man with an American accent hired him one day to tail Joćo, and give him a scare.I followed him for a week and then the guy calls me up again and tells me that he needs him killed after all, but he wants it to look like a brawl, as if a guy had just gotten on a fight with him. I was drunk that night, otherwise I wouldnt have missed.When asked about who it was, Emmanuel Duarte had never gotten any name or number. It was the man who always contacted him. In spite of this Carlos Silveira didnt arrest the stabber I know I used illegal means to obtain the information, but Joćo Vilhena was dead and it was more important to get some kind of lead than to arrest a man who had tried to kill him and failed. He would end up getting away with it in court anyway. I couldnt use the evidences I had obtained without been accused of assault. So we made a deal, and he hadnt broke his share yet.
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