‘So I gather. What about it, for the love of heaven?’

He made three futile attempts to begin, then spread out his hands in appeal.

‘How much did Ricco tell you?’

‘Nothing. He was just getting to the point when Raffaela marched in on marital patrol duty.’

With evident relief, Danilo seized the opportunity to laugh.

‘Ah yes, I see! Well, the point is that while the body hasn’t been officially identified as yet, sources in Rome close to the regiment have informally advised various people here as to certain relevant facts. Some of them in turn informed Riccardo, who told me, and we both agreed that it would be better if you heard it from us first.’

‘Heard what, for God’s sake?’

Danilo faltered again for a moment, then plunged on like a horse taking a fence.

‘Leonardo Ferrero.’

Claudia didn’t move or speak, didn’t react at all for at least a minute. Shock has its uses, and comes in various forms. Hearing that name on Danilo’s lips was like hearing a poodle pronounce the secret name of God.

She reached forward to flick the ash off her cigarette, then slowly stood up, looking around her with the startled expression of someone who has fallen asleep on the bus home from work and awakened to find herself in a foreign country.

Danilo coughed.

‘You knew him, I believe.’

Claudia smiled brightly, as though putting two and two together at last.

‘Lieutenant Ferrero? Certainly we knew him. He was one of Gaetano’s favourites. But that was all a long time ago.’

She finally seemed to become aware of Danilo’s silence.

‘So why bring it up now?’

‘Because on the basis of the information that we have received, and I must stress that this is strictly confidential, the preliminary identification of the corpse that has been found in those tunnels up in the mountains appears to indicate that it is his.’