That told Brunetti nothing, so he asked again, 'What does that mean?'
Perulli couldn't restrain a quick gleam of anger as he looked across at
Brunetti, but when he spoke his voice was calm, almost too calm. To
the people who disagreed with him, it meant that it was impossible to
persuade him to look at things from a different point of view.'
'Meaning their point of view?' Brunetti asked neutrally.
Perulli did not rise to the bait and, instead, said only, 'From any
point of view different from the one he had decided on.'
'Did you ever have this experience with him?'
Perulli shook the idea away with a negative motion of his head. 'I
told you, we never worked on the same committees.'
'What committees did he work on?' Brunetti asked.
Perulli put his head back against the top of his chair and closed his
eyes, and Brunetti could not stop himself from thinking that the
gesture was consciously posed to show the energy Perulli was willing to
expend in order to answer the question.
After what seemed an inordinately long time, Perulli said, 'As far as I
can remember, he was on the committee that examined the Post Office,
and one that had something to do with farming, and a third one .. .' He
broke off and glanced at Brunetti with a very small, private smile,
then he continued, 'I don't really remember what that one was. Maybe
the mission in Albania, all that humanitarian aid stuff, or maybe the
one about farmers' pensions. I can't be sure.'
'And what did these committees do?'
What all of them do Perulli said, his voice honestly surprised that a
citizen should need to ask. They study the problem.'
'And then?'
'Make recommendations.'
'To whom?'
To the government, of course.'
'And then what happens to their recommendations?'
They're examined and studied, and a decision is made. And if it's
necessary, a law is passed or the existing law is changed.'
'As simple as that, eh?' Brunetti said.
Perulli's smile didn't have time to blossom fully before the frost of
Brunetti's tone blighted that smile.
'You can joke if you want, Guido, but it's not easy, running a country
like this.'
'You really think you run it?'
'Not I, personally,' Perulli said in a tone that suggested some regret
at this fact. 'Of course not.'
'All of you together, then? The people in Parliament?'
'If not we, then who?' Perulli demanded, voice rising to something
that resembled indignation but was closer to anger.
'Indeed,' Brunetti said simply. After a long pause, he went on, his
voice perfectly normal, 'Do you know anything else about these
committees, perhaps who else served on them?'
Deprived of an immediate target for his displeasure by Brunetti's
sudden change of subject, Perulli hesitated before he answered. 'I'm
not sure there's much to be said about any one of them. They aren't
important, and usually new members or those who aren't well connected
get appointed to them.'
The see Brunetti said neutrally. 'Do you know any of the other people
who served on these committees?'
He was afraid he had pushed Perulli too far and that the man might
dismiss his question or refuse to give him any more time, but after a
moment the parliamentarian answered, 'I know one or two of them, but
not at all well.'
'Could you talk to them?'
'About what?' Perulli asked, immediately suspicious.
'Moro.'
'No.' His answer was immediate.
'Why not?' Brunetti asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.
'Because, when you called, you said you wanted to ask me some
questions. You didn't say you wanted me to start doing your job for
