Chapter Seventeen
The first court appearance for Angelo on the drug charges was short and clinical. The police prosecutor handed Matthew a copy of the fact sheet as soon as he sat down at the bar table, and, after nodding at Angelo, told Matthew that there was no objection to bail being continued.
The case was the first adjournment of the day. Outside the courtroom, Matthew spoke briefly to Angelo in the elegant, old-world foyer of Central Court of Petty Sessions, preparing him before they confronted the storm of reporters and photographers waiting for them on the steps of the building. He instructed Angelo to pause for the cameras so that the inevitable photos in tomorrow’s papers did not show any sign of avoidance or anger.
‘You’re an innocent man, wrongly charged, so you’ve nothing t
