superiority used by mediocre actors in bad war movies. Brunetti gave
silent thanks for the arrogance of the young.
Quickly, using the same formulaic tone, Brunetti disposed of the
standard questions about name, age, place of residence, and then asked
the boy what he did.
'I'm a student, of course Filippi answered, as though it were
unthinkable that someone his age, from his background, could be
anything other than this.
'At the San Martino Academy?' Brunetti asked.
'You know that,' the boy said.
'I'm sorry, but that's not an answer Brunetti said calmly.
In a sulky voice, the boy said, 'Yes.'
'In what year are you?' Brunetti asked, though he knew the answer and
believed the information to be irrelevant. He wanted to see if Filippi
had learned to answer questions without dispute.
Third.'
'Have you spent all three years at the Academy?' Brunetti asked.
'Of course.'
'Is it part of your family tradition?'
'What, the Academy?'
'Yes.'
'Of course it is. The Academy and then the Army.'
'Is your father in the Army, then?'
'He was. He's retired.'
'When was that?'
'Three years ago.'
'Do you have any idea why your father retired?'
Irritated, the boy asked, 'Who do you want to know about, me or my
father? If you want to know about him, then why don't you bring him in
and ask him?'
'In due course Brunetti said calmly, then repeated, 'Do you have any
idea why your father retired?'
'Why does anyone retire?' the boy shot back angrily. 'He had enough
years and he wanted to do something else.'
'Serve on the board of Edilan-Forma?'
The boy waved away the possibility with his hand. The don't know what
he wanted. You'll have to ask him.'
As if it followed in logical sequence, Brunetti asked, 'Did you know
Ernesto Moro?'
The boy who killed himself?' Filippi asked, Brunetti thought
unnecessarily.
'Yes.'
'Yes, I knew him, though he was a year below me.'
'Did you take any classes together?'
'No.'
'Did you participate in sports together?'
'No.'
'Did you have friends in common?'
'No.'
'How many students are there at the Academy?' Brunetti asked.
The question puzzled Filippi, who turned to take a quick
look at the silent Vianello, as if the other man might know why this
question was being asked.
When nothing was forthcoming from Vianello, the boy said, 'No. Why?'
'It's a small school, fewer than a hundred students
'If you knew that, why did you ask me?' Brunetti was glad to see that
the boy was irritated at having been asked a question to which the
police obviously already knew the answer.
