The Colombian Mule Read Free

into a trap. He thought he was going to pick up his woman but instead ran into a bunch of cops who are now accusing him of being the mule’s Italian contact.’
    â€˜So where was his woman?’
    â€˜In a lap-dance joint in Eraclea, visiting her girlfriends. It’s where she and Corradi first got acquainted.’
    â€˜Why did she have her cell phone switched off ?’
    â€˜She didn’t. The joint’s in a basement. There’s no signal.’
    I motioned to Virna to bring me another drink. ‘What have they got on him?’
    â€˜Just the fact that he knocked on the mule’s door.’
    â€˜Well, if you think about it, that’s quite a lot. What does the judge make of Corradi’s protestation of innocence?’
    â€˜He doesn’t buy it. He spelled it out for me. Even setting aside my client’s previous offences, the fact that he has a relationship with a Colombian dancer and that they have made numerous trips to Bogotá to visit her parents makes it really unlikely that he was at the hotel by coincidence or mistake.’
    â€˜What about the phone call that lured him to the trap?’
    â€˜It was made from a callbox in Mestre. The judge and investigators take the view that as a lead it isn’t even worth looking into.’
    â€˜What of the friends he was playing poker with? They must have overheard the conversation.’
    â€˜They’re all ex-cons with records as long as your arm.’
    â€˜What’s the judge like?’
    â€˜Pisano. A good man. He’s open to argument and respects the defense’s right to a fair trial. He might seem like the ideal judge. The thing is he has no particular interest in investigation. He just goes along with whatever the police hand him. He’ll probably wait for a while and then pass the case on up the line.’
    â€˜Then it looks like your client’s fucked,’ I remarked.
    â€˜If he goes to the preliminary hearing with nothing but what we’ve got right now, then yes, he’s fucked for sure. Nowadays trials in Italy are won or lost at the investigation stage. By the time they go to trial, it’s too late. You’re his only hope of not dying behind bars.’
    â€˜I don’t see quite what I’m supposed to do.’
    â€˜My client is the fall guy in some kind of conspiracy. We need to find out who set him up and why.’
    â€˜Have you any firm leads?’
    â€˜Just a feeling. Arías Cuevas was initially arrested by Venice airport cops. But then the special narcotics units of both the police and the Guardia di Finanza suddenly piled in. That’s really unusual for what was, basically, a low-level operation. Added to that, it turns out that the police were acting under the command of Commissario Nunziante, a sworn enemy of my client ever since that jeweler’s store robbery in Caorle.’
    â€˜Remind me.’
    â€˜There was some shooting, two cops were killed and Corradi was indicted. At the trial I managed to get him off, pleading insufficient evidence. But Nunziante swore to take revenge.’
    I took a cigarette out and played with it a bit before lighting it. ‘You were right to call it just a feeling. It’s not much to go on. Besides, as the man said, there are too many Colombian coincidences.’
    Bonotto gave me a worried look.
    â€˜You’re not telling me you’re refusing the case . . .’
    I raised a hand to interrupt him. ‘I’m just saying that before I accept the job, I want to be convinced your client’s innocent. But not of course at my expense.’
    â€˜All right.’ The lawyer took a yellow envelope from his jacket pocket.
    I counted the notes. ‘Fine. Does your client realize that if I take the case, it’ll cost him real money? On top of expenses, I’ll have to take account of the risks involved.’
    Bonotto smiled, got up and began to put on his overcoat.
    â€˜As a matter