There. Unreliable witness. I had suggested she use the word “unreliable” about herself. Giving ourselves a label that corresponds to the negative opinions other people have of us, or the fears we arouse in them, helps – or may help – to defuse their unfavourable implications. If I say I know you consider me a bad lawyer who’s inclined to make misleading arguments, I reduce the negative, prejudicial force of this opinion. Bringing it to the surface, making it explicit, I make it debatable, lessen its ability to work beneath the surface of your awareness as an insurmountable precondition of your judgement. Stating that nobody had asked her for any explanation also suggested, without overdoing it, some form of negligence on the part of the original defence counsel. He hadn’t dealt with a problem that actually should have been faced head-on, and in that way had left an unfavourable opinion of the witness to fester, an opinion that had then been translated into a judgement of unreliability in the ruling.210

“I want to look further at that expression you yourself used: unreliable witness. The negative opinion of you contained in the ruling didn’t derive only from this criminal record of yours, which we’ve now clarified. There were also inconsistencies in your account of that afternoon, are you aware of that?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then let’s examine these inconsistencies. You said you went to see the elderly lady you used to keep company for a few hours every day. Is that correct?”

“Yes, it’s correct.”

“Do you still go to see this particular lady?”

“No, unfortunately she passed away.”

“Until when did you go there?”

“Until about a year ago, which is when she died.”

“Can you tell us the length of time you spent that afternoon, the afternoon of the murder, in this lady’s apartment?”

“I was there from three o’clock to seven o’clock.”

“How can you say this with such certainty and precision at this distance in time?”

“I’d like to clarify the misunderstanding —”

“I’m sorry, don’t bother to clarify anything. Just answer my questions. How can you be so sure about the time after all these years?”

“Because in the days immediately after the murder, when it turned out that Iacopo was a suspect, I thought carefully about what I’d done and about the time when I’d seen my son come home. I assumed I’d be questioned by the police and I hoped I’d be able to provide him with an alibi.”

“Is that what happened?”

“No, I was never called by the police.”211

“But when your son was arrested, didn’t you think of going to the police or the prosecutor and making a statement that would clear him?”