A Fine Line Read Online Free Page A

with as soon as possible.
    â€œYes, he was… very polite, and besides, he knew my friend.”
    â€œDon’t worry, Signora, you don’t have to justify yourself. I was only asking the question in order to get a clearer idea of the situation. So, Signor Bronzino called you two days after meeting you at the party. I assume there were other calls, other telephone conversations?”
    â€œYes, he’d phone me and we’d chat.”
    â€œAnd did you sometimes phone him?”
    â€œI can’t remember. Maybe I did.”
    â€œMaybe you did. When did you meet again?”
    â€œI’m not sure. He told me that he was often in the area where my office was and asked me if I felt like taking a break and coming outside for a coffee. He kept insisting, and one time I accepted.”
    â€œWas that the only time you met, apart from the evening of 3 April?”
    â€œI think so.”
    I let those words hang in the air for a few seconds, with their heavy burden of ambiguity.
    â€œDo you know the Hotel Royal in Milan?”
    She looked at me in genuine surprise. “No… I don’t think so.”
    â€œDid your partner ever go to Milan on business?”
    â€œYes, he had meetings there.”
    â€œDo you know which hotel he stayed in when he went to Milan?”
    She half closed her eyes, and let several seconds go by before replying. She was trying to understand. “It may have been that one, yes.”
    â€œThe Royal?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œDid he always go there?”
    â€œI think so.”
    â€œA couple of times a month, as we said before?”
    â€œMore or less. Sometimes he went more often.”
    â€œDo you remember if there was a particular day of the week when he went on these business trips to Milan?”
    A deep breath. Our eyes met for a few seconds. Then she looked away. “I think it was Monday.”
    â€œThank you. Now I’d like to bring this document to your attention. It’s a record of calls made to and from the defendant’s mobile phone. To be more specific, the one Signor Bronzino was using at the time of these events. This record shows that there was a call lasting five minutes and twenty-three seconds to a number in Milan late in the evening of 6 March 2006. The number is that of the Royal, the hotel we were just talking about. Do you have any idea why Signor Bronzino should have telephoned that hotel that evening?”
    â€œYou should ask him.”
    â€œAs it happens, I have asked him, but right now I’m interested in your opinion. Can you answer me? If it’s any help, I can tell you it was a Monday.”
    The worst situation for a witness to be in, especially a witness of dubious honesty, is when he or she realizes that something is about to come out, but isn’t sure exactly what and can do nothing about it. She pursed her lips in silence.
    â€œDo you know if the defendant knew your partner?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œYou don’t know, or he didn’t know him?”
    â€œHe didn’t know him, as far as I know.”
    â€œI ask you the question because it turns out that your partner spent the night of 6 to 7 March 2006 at the HotelRoyal in Milan. So it’s quite likely that he was there when that phone call I told you about occurred. Can you explain that coincidence?”
    Castroni tried to object, but didn’t sound very convincing. Even he was starting to realize that something was wrong – very wrong – in this affair. “First of all, this is an inadmissible line of questioning. Questions should be about facts, not speculation. Secondly, I’d like to know how counsel for the defence comes to be in possession of this information.”
    Basile looked at him and turned towards me. He didn’t say anything. Castroni’s objection made sense, but it was obvious that the witness would have to answer the question anyway.
    â€œYour Honour, the defence has