“When you catch him, give me a shout. Because, and let’s keep this between us, I’d love to have him as a patient for a couple of hours.”

When Rocco got out into the hallway, he went over to Italo, who was starting to regain his senses. “Come on, Italo, let’s get back to the office. I’ll drive.”

Italo nodded and handed the keys to the deputy chief. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I really—”

“Don’t sweat it, you earned me a dinner!”

THE SEA WAS CALM. A VAST SILVERY GRAY EXPANSE THAT, toward the horizon, almost verged on purple. The constant low waves broke gently against the rocks. The occasional seagull glided solitary through the air. In the distance a ship had turned athwart the horizon line. Corrado Pizzuti was standing outside his café, arms crossed on his chest, his gaze lost in the panorama before him. He’d considered reporting Enzo Baiocchi to the police. All things considered, Corrado was an innocent man. All he’d done was drive Enzo to Aosta, so was that a crime? He’d had no advance knowledge of the reason for that drive—that’s what he’d tell the police. Which, after all, was the truth. If he’d understood that bandit’s intentions along the way, he would have torn out of there, leaving Enzo in some service area along the highway. The real problem was: Would they believe him? Corrado had spent time in prison on two separate occasions, once for defrauding an insurance company and once for peddling narcotics. What would his word be worth to a policeman? Less than zero. Especially given the evidence of that damned receipt he’d had them issue at the hotel. How could he have made such a stupid mistake? The umpteenth mistake of his life.

He had to get rid of Enzo.

It’s him or me, he decided.

“Here’s your espresso . . . ristretto, the way you like it.”

Tatiana had joined him outside, with two demitasse cups of espresso.

“Thanks . . .”

The woman placed her lips against the rim of her demitasse. “The sea is beautiful today, isn’t it? The winter is over. Soon it will be warm and the season will begin.”

Corrado smiled as a motor scooter shot noisily past along the waterfront. “It’s true. And then the noise will start up again and I won’t be able to get to sleep before three in the morning.”

“Hey, what’s got into you?”

At last, he turned to look at her. “Oh, just foolish thoughts in my head.”

“You want to tell me about them?”

“It’s nothing much, don’t worry about it.”

“No, I will worry about it. Since that trip you took last week, you’ve been odd. What happened to you?”