So if Lorenza’s son had been convicted of murder, he was probably guilty.

These were not reflections to share with the mother of an accused man.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll need copies of the papers as soon as possible, tomorrow even. And your son will have to appoint me as his counsel and revoke any previous appointment. Before doing anything I’ll have to call Costamagna’s practice and inform them that I’ve been entrusted with the case.”

“Why?”

“Professional courtesy. That way we pretend to respect each other. Then I’ll go straight to the head of the appeal court and discuss the need to extend the time limit. It isn’t an easy situation, it’s only right you should know that. If the judge won’t bend, we’re in real trouble. Is there anything you’d like to ask me?”

“No thanks,” was all she said.

I shrugged. “Then I’d say that’s all for now.”

24

3

The next morning I went to court with my colleague, Consuelo Favia. She was born in Peru and was adopted by a friend of mine, a civil lawyer, when she was four. Her features – olive complexion, very mobile dark eyes, plump cheeks with high cheekbones – clearly show she’s from the Andes, but in every other respect she’s unmistakably a citizen of Bari, and that includes her accent, typical of the downtown area, and her ability to speak in impeccable dialect when necessary. She came to work with me when she was a girl and had just passed her professional exams. Now she’s the senior lawyer in the practice. Every time I think about that – to me she’s still a girl – I feel an unease that I have to dismiss in order to avoid other thoughts flooding in.

As we walked to the courthouse, I told her about my meeting with Lorenza. I omitted telling her that we’d known each other before, I’m not quite sure why.

“What was your impression?”

“Of her or her story?”

“Both.”

I didn’t reply immediately. In reality I wasn’t sure what my impression had been, either of her or of what she’d told me.

Usually in such cases – and in this more than in others – I have two conflicting feelings. One derives from my natural, naive tendency to believe people: the reason why, as a young boy, it was easy for people to get me to drink. The other, 25mistrust, is an intellectual fact, and derives from my knowledge of how things usually are.

“I don’t know,” I replied at last. “She says that when the murder was committed the boy was with her at home. If it’s true…”

“Obviously she testified to that, and obviously the judges didn’t believe her.”