“I’ll do whichever of the various possible options you suggest, Your Honour. I can present you with a written request to extend the time limit, before the hearing; I can ask you for a simple prior adjournment of the hearing, 86which should also extend the time limit as under article 585, final paragraph; or else, if we want to avoid problems of notification, we can proceed with the hearing and, in the preliminary phase, I can ask you for an extension. I’ve come to ask you which of these solutions you find preferable, and I’ll act accordingly.”

Marinelli cleared his throat and turned his pipe around in his hands, looking at it pensively. “Avvocato Costamagna was a friend of mine,” he said, “as well as a cousin of my wife’s. I wouldn’t want his professional memory to be tarnished by the revelation of any difficulties he may have had in the final part of his career and his life.”

“I completely agree.”

“So I’d rather your demands were satisfied without a pointless strepitus fori.”

“I have only two requirements, one of a more formal character – for the extension to be granted – and the other more substantial: I need the court to be flexible about the requests I’m going to make. Reading the file, you’ll see that at the original trial the defence produced hardly any evidence that might have helped the accused and didn’t even cross-examine the witnesses for the prosecution. Not to beat about the bush: in the appeal, I need to be able to do both these things which were completely neglected at the trial.”

Marinelli put his pipe down on the leather folder he had in front of him, then again cleared his throat to give authority to what he was about to say and to emphasize that this was a kindly concession.

“Very well, Avvocato, here’s what we’ll do. Don’t present any written requests. We’ll see each other at the hearing, and at that point you’ll ask for an extension of the time limit. We’ll grant you a month. That’ll give you time to formulate 87any additional grounds and your requests for submitting evidence. Which will be evaluated leniently.”

“Thank you, Your Honour.”

“They’ll be evaluated leniently,” Marinelli went on, “as long as you don’t exaggerate, of course. This is still an appeal, not the original trial.”

“Of course.”

88

9

That evening, Annapaola and Tancredi and I went out for dinner together. Consuelo never joins us for these meetings outside office hours. She has a husband and a daughter and after work stays strictly with them.

We chose a restaurant called Il piede di porco.

The owner is a man named Orazio, a former specialist in robbing bank vaults and armoured cars. Orazio learned to cook – quite well – in prison, where he spent a number of years.