Chapter 27
The beloved woman
(Tancredi)
What I’m about to do differs slightly from the script we decided on with Riccio. Our client dug deep into his instinct for self-preservation to give us two names to use as possible scapegoats. But, Riccardo and I also have the task of looking over our shoulders to protect us from the facts in the Public Prosecutor’s knowledge.
De Nicola is a little too eager to go to trial and his bragging makes me think that he knows a lot more than he’s saying he does.
And I think part of his reconstruction of events stems from the statements of the young woman striding out around Naples’ villa comunale park.
Elena Silvestri, a part-time shop assistant with a background in the circus, is the reason why Riccio fluctuates between redundant bouts of depression.
