“There’s no need,” Carmelo replied. “I can tell you. The powder from a gunshot stays on leather for a few hours, but can stay on fabrics for several days. So in theory, things could actually be the way the kid says. But did he tell you who he went shooting with?”

“No. He keeps saying he doesn’t want to get his friend into trouble.”

“Or maybe he simply made him up to explain the residue on the jacket,” Annapaola commented. “If he doesn’t tell us who he went shooting with, we can’t do anything with this information.”

“Actually, the problems remain even if he does tell us. We’d have to ask this person, whoever he is, to accuse himself of unauthorized possession and carrying of a firearm. Do you think anyone would do that?”

“Anyway,” Tancredi said, “Cardace has to tell us something more about this phantom guy in the quarry. Then we’ll figure out how to use the information.”

“Agreed. I’ll go and see him again in the next few days.”

“Let’s go together,” Annapaola said. “We can play good cop, bad cop. It may work.”

Orazio approached the table and asked us if we wanted a nice frittura mista. It was ten in the evening and a frittura mista struck us as something that would finish us off, so all three of us declined.

“Not even a portion to share, just a taster?”94

“We’ll have it next time, when we come for lunch,” Tancredi said. “This beautiful girl is young and might be able to indulge herself, but Avvocato Guerrieri and I are both elderly gentlemen, and our doctors advise moderation.”

This didn’t strike me as amusing. I had to repress the impulse to point out that he was almost ten years older than me. I was even tempted to take a nice dish of frittura mista away with me – I’d eat it all by myself, just to show that I could.

“Yes, Orazio,” Annapaola cut in. “I brought my old uncles to dinner with me, but we mustn’t overdo it. One evening I’ll come with my young girlfriends and we’ll have whatever you suggest. For now, bring us some wild fennel liqueur and we’ll finish up.”

Orazio did an elegant about-turn and went to fetch the bottle. The fact that he would serve us himself was a mark of great consideration. There were actually several waiters moving around the restaurant. At least some of them, to judge by their faces, looked like they’d been with Orazio in his previous life, too.

“Anyway,” Annapaola resumed, “you may be interested to know that I went for a little stroll near Gaglione’s apartment. Former apartment, I should say. Anyway, I went over there, asked a few questions in the vicinity, and even went inside the building, where I discovered something that doesn’t appear in the case file.”

“What’s that?” I asked.