One was just pulling away as he arrived at the imbarcadero
;:0a:iewwhaited forHthe next he had ten Az
people who arrived, most of them Venetian by the look of them. When it
came, he boarded the boat, crossed to the far sule and stood at the
rail, back turned to the g'ryo the city When at last he arrived at the
door to his apartment he paused, hoping that some remnant of humanity
wAd' be
Pao '8H r I' inSide' ^ if ^ ^ he ^ a son liS creatd hinT, HPmSe *,*? ^
*** Without having *** aparLent **'** ** *** *'* let hims^ ^ the
1 will not buy you a telefomno because they create a race of spineless
weaklings; it would make you even more
rejoTedt thl^H ^ ^ ** ^ ^oTa -yTnd
S^S^S*8 ng Ur ^ ^^ She *' her
Her voice came from the direction of the kitchen but
HTkn'wTat inStead' dr ^ hall to--dkolaSud; He knew that years of lying
awake for the sound of the footsteps of returning children would alert
her to ^arrival
S Shee did' d dUb rat t WOULD S n -- -AnA ' She did, and they talked.
Rather, he talked and she
listened. After a long time, when he had explained everything and
named the choices open to him, he asked, 'Well?'
The dead can't suffer,' was all she said, an answer that confused him
at first.
Familiar with her habits of thought, he considered the remark for some
time and finally asked, 'And the living can?'
She nodded.
'Filippi and his father he said, then added, 'who should. And Moro and
his wife
'And daughter, and mother Paola added, 'who shouldn't.'
'Is this a contest of numbers?' he asked soberly.
She flicked this away with a quick motion of her hand. 'No, no, not at
all. But I think it matters, not only because of the number of people
who will be affected but for the amount of good it would do
'Neither choice will do anyone any good he insisted.
Then which will do less harm?'
'He's dead Brunetti said, 'no matter what the official verdict is.'
This isn't about the official verdict, Guido
Then what is it about?'
'It's about what you tell them The way she spoke, she made it sound
self-evident. He had shied away from accepting that, had almost
succeeded in preventing himself from thinking about it, yet the instant
the words fell from her lips, he realized that it was the only thing
any of this was about.
'You mean what Filippi did?'
'A man has the right to know who killed his child
'You make that sound so simple. Like something from the Bible.'
'It's not in the Bible, to the best of my knowledge. But it is simple.
And true Her tone was a stranger to uncertainty.
'And what if he does something about it?'
'Like what? Kill Filippi? Or his father?'
Brunetti nodded.
'From what I know of him and what you've said, I doubt that he's the
kind of man who would do something like that.' Before he could say
that one never knew, she said, 'But you never know, do you?'
Once again, Brunetti had the strange sensation of being adrift in time.
He looked at his watch and was stunned to see that it was almost ten.
'Have the kids eaten?'
'I sent them out to get a pizza when I heard you come in.'
He had gradually, as he told her the story of his meeting with the
Filippis and their lawyer, sunk lower and lower on the sofa until he
was now lying with his head on a pillow. 'I think I'm hungry he
said.
'Yes/ Paola agreed. The, too. Stay here for a while and I'll make
