The Walnut Cake

On the Monday, I had lied to the carabiniera.

I'd promised myself I'd only lie about one thing, my name. That was the second lie. I'm putting it down here because I don't want them held against me later, one at a time. Chiara had never told me about a woman in uniform. The sandal, yes: she'd lost it jumping into the boat. But who picked it up, she couldn't have known. She was already a long way off. I said yes because the carabiniera was looking at me like someone who already knows the answer, and saying no would have given her a different one. It was only on my way up the stairs that I realised both answers were wrong.