The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris West

Author:Morris West
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781760638511
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2017-07-11T04:00:00+00:00

‘You’ve done a very thorough job, my friend.’ Campeggio laid down the typescript and looked at George Faber with a new respect. ‘That’s the most complete dossier I’ve ever seen on Corrado Calitri and his friends.’

Faber shrugged unhappily. ‘I was trained as a crime reporter.

I have a talent for this sort of thing…But I can’t say that I’m very proud of it.’

‘Love’s an expensive business, isn’t it?’ Campeggio smiled as he said it, but there was no humour in his shrewd dark eyes.

‘I was going to talk to you about that. The information in that document cost me a thousand dollars. I may have to spend a lot more.’

‘On what?’

‘To get a signed statement out of one or more of the people mentioned in the dossier.’

‘Have you any idea how much it will cost?’

‘No. But from what I’ve gathered so far, several of them are short of money. The most I can afford is another thousand dollars. I want to know if you’re prepared to put up any more.’

Campeggio sat silent a while, staring down at Faber’s littered desk. Finally he said deliberately, ‘I’m not sure that I should discuss the proposition in those terms.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘From the point of view of the Rota, and of civil law, it could amount to a subornation of witnesses.’

‘I’ve thought of that myself.’

‘I know you have. You’re an honest man – too honest for your own comfort, or mine. Let’s look at it from another angle. How do you propose to approach your prospective witnesses?’

‘I’ve marked three names in the document. Each one of them has open animosity to Calitri. One is an actor who hasn’t had a good part for twelve months. One is a painter. Calitri financed one exhibition for him, and then dropped him. The third is a woman. I’m told she’s a writer though I’ve never seen anything she’s published. The two men always spend the summer at Positano. The woman has a house on Ischia. I propose to go south during the summer holidays and try to make contact with each one.’

‘Are you taking Chiara with you?’

‘No. She wants to come, but I don’t think it’s good diplomacy. Besides I…I need to test myself away from her.’

‘You may be wise at that.’ Campeggio’s shrewd eyes searched his face. ‘I wonder if any of us knows himself before his middle years?…Now tell me something else. Why do you think your witnesses will ask for money?’

‘It’s the way of the world,’ said George Faber wryly. ‘Nobody really wants to be persecuted for justice’s sake. Everybody wants to make a profit on the process.’

‘You’re a Catholic, Faber. How do you feel in conscience about this transaction?’

Faber flushed. ‘My conscience is compromised already. I’m committed to Chiara, I can’t afford the luxury of scruples.’

Campeggio agreed sourly. ‘It’s a very Nordic point of view. It’s probably more honest than mine.’

‘And what is your point of view?’

‘About the money? I’m prepared to give you another thousand dollars. But I don’t want to know what you do with it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.