Vendetta

The young man stood quite still for a moment, his slender fingers steepled as though in prayer.

'The task we now face is to ensure that we do not suffer as much damage from this innocent man being brought to trial and acquitted as we would do if he were really guilty.

In a word, this show trial of Renato Favelloni, and by implication of l'onorevole himself, engineered by our enemies, must be blocked before it starts. Your report makes it perfectly clear that the evidence against Favelloni has been cobbled together from a mass of disjointed and unrelated fragments. Those same fragments, with a little initiative and enterprise, could be used to make an even more convincing case against one of the other suspects you mention.'

Perched precariously on the low, fragile chair, Zen felt like a spectator in the front row of the stalls trying to make out what was happening on stage. The young man's expression seemed to suggest that the next move was up to Zen, but he was unwilling to make it until he had a clearer idea of what was involved.

'Do you mind if I smoke?' he asked finally.

The young man impatiently waved assent.

'Which of the other suspects did you have in mind?' Zen murmured casually as he lit up.

'Well, it seems to us that there are a number of avenues which might be explored with profit.'

'For example?'

'Well, Burolo's son, for example.'

'But he was in Boston at the time.'

'He could have hired someone.'

'He wouldn't have known how. Anyway, sons don't go around putting out contracts on their fathers because they want them to study law instead of music.'

The young man acknowledged the point with a prolonged blink.

'I agree that such a hypothesis would have needed a good deal of work before it became credible, but the possibility remains open. In fact, however, Enzo Burolo has close links with one of our allies in the government, so it would in any case have been inopportune to pursue the matter. I cited it merely as one example among many.

Another, which appears to us considerably more fruitful, is the fellow Burolo employed to look after those absurd lions he bought.'

Zen breathed out a cloud of smoke.

'Pizzoni? He had an alibi too.'

'Yes, he had an alibi. And what does that mean? That half-a-dozen of the local peasantry have been bribed or bullied to lie about seeing him in the bar that evening.'

'Why should anyone want to protect Pizzoni? He was a nobody, an outsider.'

The young man leaned forward across the desk.

'Supposing that wasn't the case? Supposing I were to tell you that the man's real name was not Pizzoni but Padedda, and that he was not from the Abruzzi, as his papers claim, but from Sardinia, from a village in the Gennargentu mountains not far from Nuoro. What would you say to that?'

Zen flicked ash into a pewter bowl that might or might not have been intended for this purpose.

'Well, in the first instance I'd want to know why you haven't informed the authorities investigating the case.'

The young man turned away to face the window. The tall panes of glass were covered with a thick patina c)f grime which reflected his features clearly. Zen saw him smile, as though at the fatuity of this comment.

'When one's opponent is cheating, only a fool continues to play by the rules,' he recited quietly, as though quoting.

'This piece of information came to light as a result of research carried out privately on our behalf. We know only too well what would happen if we communicated it to the judiciary. The magistrates have decided to charge Favelloni for reasons which had nothing to do with the facts of the case. They aren't going to review that decision unless some dramatic new development forces them to do so.

Isolated, inconvenient facts, which do not directly bear on the case they are preparipg, would simply be swept under the carpet.'

He swung round to confront Zen.

'Rather than squander our advantage in this way, we propose to launch our own initiative, reopening the investigation that was so hastily slammed shut for illjudged political reasons. And who better to conduct this operation than the man whose incisive and comprehensive review of the case has given us all fresh hope?'

Zen crushed out his cigarette carelessly, burning his fingertip on the hot ash.

'In my official capacity?'

'Absolutely, dottore! That's the whole point. Everything must be open and above board.'

'In that case, I would need a directive from my department.'

'You'll get one, don't worry about that! Your orders will be communicated to you in the usual way, through the usual channels. The purpose of this briefing is simply and purely to ensure that you understand the situation. From the moment you leave here today you will have no further contact with us. You'll be posted to Sardinia as a matter of absolute routine. You will visit the scene of the crime, interview witnesses, interrogate suspects. As always, you will naturally have at your disposal the full facilities of the local force. In the course of your investigations you will discover concrete evidence demolishing Pizzoni's alibi, and linking him to the murder of Oscar Burolo. All this will take no more than a few days at the most. You will then submit your findings to the judiciary in the normal way, while we for our part ensure that their implications are not lost on anyone concerned.'

Zen stared across the room at a detail in the corner of the tapestry, showing a nymph taking refuge from the hunters in a grotto.

'Why me?'

The young man's finely manicured hands spread open in a gesture of benediction.

'As I said, dottore, you have a good track record. Once your accomplishments in the Miletti case had been brought to our attention, well, quite frankly, the facts spoke for themselves.'

Zen gaped at him. 'The Miletti case?'

'I'm sure you will recall that your methods attracted, ah, a certain amount of criticism at the time,' the young man remarked with a touch of indulgent jocularity. 'I believe that in certain quarters they were even condemned as irregular and improper. What no one could deny was that you got results! The conspiracy against the Miletti family was smashed at a single stroke by your arrest of that foreign woman. Their enemies were completely disconcerted, and by the time they re-formed to cope with this unexpected development, the critical moment had passed and it was too late.'

He came round the desk, towering above Zen.

'The parallel with the present case is obvious. Here, too, timing is of the essence. As I say, the truth would in any case emerge in due course, but not before l'onorevole's reputation had been foully smeared. We have no intention of allowing that to happen, which is why we are entrusting you with this delicate and critical mission. In short, we're counting on you to apply in Sardinia the same methods which proved so effective in Perugia.'

Zen said nothing. After a few moments a slight crease appeared on the young man's brow.

'I need hardly add that a successful outcome to this affair is also in your own best interests. I'm sure you're only too well aware of how swiftly one's position in a organization such as the Ministry can change, often without one even being aware of it. Your triumph in the Miletti case might easily be undermined by those who take, ah, a narrow-minded view of things. The size of the Criminalpol squad is constantly under review, and given the attrition rate amongst senior police officials in places such as Palermo, the possibility of transfers cannot be ruled out.

On the other hand, success in the Burolo case would consolidate your position beyond question.'

He reached behind him and depressed a lever on the intercom.

'Lino? Dottor Zen is just leaving.'

Once again, Zen felt the pale, cool touch of the young man's hand.