She told me. And I didn’t like what I heard, didn’t like it at all. From what I understood of her account, which was quite thorough even though she wasn’t an expert, her son was in a bad position. The evidence against him may have been circumstantial, but it was also – in legal jargon – serious, specific and concordant.

“Guido, I’ve come to you because I didn’t know who to turn to. Going to Costamagna was a mistake, I realize that now. But everyone told me he was good, and also well connected. You must know how it feels when you find yourself involved in something like that. It’s like suddenly discovering you have a serious illness. You start to panic, you look for help, you ask around about who might be the best choice and…”

“I know, it’s not easy to see things clearly. And in fact Costamagna was a good lawyer. Maybe even an excellent lawyer. Unfortunately, in his last years, the disease compromised his abilities. What I mean,” I continued, “is that you mustn’t blame yourself for going to him. Quite simply, things deteriorated.”

She nodded, as if to thank me for taking a weight off her shoulders: the feeling that she had made the wrong choice 21and was somehow partly responsible for the way things had turned out. Then she resumed.

“I want to make it clear I’m not expecting you to work for free. It’s just that I don’t have any money right now. To draw up the appeal motion, Costamagna stripped me of my savings, and I’ve even got into debt. I’m only a substitute teacher, and I also make do with other jobs, but it isn’t easy. I promise, though, I’ll pay you what I owe you, I just need some breathing space.”

Strange how our minds work. I’d been annoyed at the idea that she’d come to me because she was broke. And now that she’d said it explicitly, my annoyance had vanished. Once freed from the semi-darkness of my susceptible ego, the whole thing became quite normal, with nothing offensive about it at all.

So, in total contradiction to what I’d been thinking just a little while earlier, I made a gesture with my hand as if to clear the air between us.

“Don’t worry about the money. We can talk about that later. Right now there are a couple of things we need to clarify: one urgent and important, the other very important although less urgent. The urgent one concerns the first appeal hearing. Do you remember the exact date?”