Chapter 103
THE BAR WAS EXACTLY WHERE Teo had told me it would be, and when I pulled up in front of the building, I could see him standing under a cork tree, waiting for me.
I rolled down my window and said I’d be right there, then parked on a side street because I was paranoid that someone from the command would come flying down the main road and spot our bright blue Chevelle with the white racing stripe and Armed Forces plates.
Teo met me on the corner and gave me a kiss on each cheek, then, because I was American and couldn’t help myself, I pulled him into a hug that we held for maybe a second or two too long. “Thanks for coming,” I said into the soft collar of his shirt.
“Of course.”
He led me into the bar, which wasn’t nearly as nice as the bars in La Maddalena.
It reminded me of the American Legion where my dad used to sometimes go for a beer.
You know the type of place. Tiny windows, dingy linoleum floors, and fluorescent lighting.
Teo asked what I wanted to drink, and I said I’d take a glass of white wine, so he asked the kid behind the counter for two.
Then we grabbed a small table in the back.
“This place feels very authentic,” I said, and Teo laughed.
“If Aggius has seen a tourist in the last ten years, I’d be surprised.”
I smiled at him across the table, and for a moment, it was easy to forget why I’d come. “It’s good to see you,” I said.
“You, too,” he said, and reached for my hands across the table. It was an intimate gesture, but not necessarily a sexual one, and I didn’t stop him.
While we waited for our drinks, I asked about his work.
He was researching a big investigative piece about these shepherds in Sardinia’s Ogliastra region.
They kept getting diagnosed with cancer—at much higher rates than the general population—and he couldn’t figure out what they had in common aside from the fact that they all let their sheep and goats graze the same fields.
“Can you test the soil?” I asked.
“That’s what’s coming,” he said with a shake of his head.
I had begun to read Teo’s stories religiously, but my Italian was still too weak for me to judge the quality of his prose. I suspected he was a good writer because he was thoughtful and a good listener and because he worked hard to see the world from multiple perspectives.
Our wine arrived.
“I read the piece you wrote last week,” I said. “About the kidnapping in the Barbagia.” Over the last decade, there had been dozens of kidnappings in that area, but this most recent one was noteworthy because the victim was a woman.
“It’s unusual for sure.”
“The husband just fled?”
“That’s how it goes,” he said. “These bandits, they’ve never gone after a woman before. It’s part of their code. So if the man of the house can secret himself off the property, the family is always fine.”
“It’s just not very chivalrous,” I said. “Leaving your wife to fight off a bunch of bandits.”
Teo laughed at that. “Okay, you’re right.”
“Will they get the money?” I had read that the bandits were demanding fifty million lire for the safe return of the man’s wife.
“Maybe,” he said. “I just hate that, of all the stories I write, this is the one that will get picked up on the continent. It’s the only time Sardinia ever ends up in the national news.”
I cleared my throat. “Speaking of Sardinia ending up in the news, that’s actually why I’m here.”
Teo tensed.
“Something’s happened in La Maddalena.”
“What do you mean?”
I told him what Bev had told us. When I was done, he looked completely confounded.
“You really think this sub grounded?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“The navy’s meant to report that. There’s a whole procedure they should be following. It’s part of the region’s emergency plan.”
“I think the only plan they’re interested in is the one that involves keeping this accident quiet.”
“Does Bruno know?”
Bruno hadn’t been in town much lately. He’d been spending more time in Rome, attending to his other responsibilities and trying to convince Ministry of Health officials to put up the cash for a research vessel.
“I haven’t told anyone but you,” I said.
Teo touched two fingers to his lips, clearly deep in thought. “I’m surprised the tugboat operator talked.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve only met him once or twice, but he seems nice. I’d hate to get him in trouble.”
“Do you think he’d talk to me? If I told him it was off the record?”
“Maybe?”
We talked a little bit about the commodore. I told Teo that no one had seen Greer since last Saturday, and that the prevailing opinion, at least among the wives, was that he was awaiting some sort of disciplinary hearing. “Do you think he’ll be court-martialed?” I asked.
“Honestly,” he said, “grounding a sub is so bad for your career that the court-martial is almost secondary. Either way, he’s out.”
“Even if the whole thing was an accident?”
“In the navy, it doesn’t get much worse than hazarding a vessel.” He took a sip of wine. “Is there any talk about promoting Jim Jenkins?”
The Jenkinses were due to rotate out in June. “I hadn’t thought of that. You think he might be considered for commodore?”
“I think so,” said Teo. “He’s done well, and with the national elections coming up next year, they may not want to risk bringing in someone new.”
This made sense, but I had been counting on Mary Lou moving on. Looking forward to it, even.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you all this over the phone,” I said. “Jenkins’s wife was in Bar Sanna when I called you.”
“No,” he said. “It’s good you came. I’m glad for the tip, of course. But I’m also glad for the excuse to see you.”
We looked at each other for a long moment. It was nice to be studied so carefully.
“Teo,” I said hesitantly. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Whatever happens with the investigation, will you make sure my name stays out of it?”
“Of course,” he said.
“Paul would flip out if he knew I’d talked to you about this. He’s already convinced there’s something going on between you and me, and—”
“He is?”
I gave him a small nod.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Right,” I said, and then I started to cry, because somehow the only thing worse than Paul thinking I might cheat on him with Teo was Teo thinking the idea ridiculous.