“Yes, and when he’s gone, then where do they look?”
“We’ll be out somewhere. No connection.”
“Another alibi,” she’d said, turning away but dropping it, tired of arguing. After that, neither of us mentioned it.
The man with the book now looked at me again. I had to be waiting for somebody, even somebody I didn’t want to see. I rapped a coin on the window, making Claudia turn her head.
“What are you doing here?” she said after I’d kissed her, made a show of getting another coffee.
“Not too loud. I think he’s police,” I said, moving my eyes toward the other end of the window. She glanced over, startled. “It’s okay. Just have coffee with me, I’ll explain it later. What’s in the box?”
“Lace,” she said vaguely, still distracted by the man. “A special order, at the Europa. Why police? What are you doing?”
“Waiting for Rosa. I have to warn her.”
She stared at me.
“Drink the coffee.”
“Warn her. And then they’ll see you together. And me. I told you I didn’t-I’m leaving.”
But just then the man closed his book and started going through his pockets for change. After dropping a few coins in the saucer, he headed for the door.
“See if he goes to the Bauer,” I said, my back to the window, not wanting to turn around.
“No. San Marco.”
“Then there must be someone in the lobby.”
She looked at me, disturbed. “Are you crazy now too?”
“Somebody has to be watching. They know.”
“They know? And you’re waiting for her?”
“She has to call it off.”
“They’ll see you with her.”
“We just happened to run into each other. Had a coffee. That’s all.”
Claudia moved to leave, but I put my hand on her arm, holding her.
“We have to tell her,” I said. “She’d be walking into a trap.”
“Oh, but not us.” She looked down at her coffee. “How long have you been here? If they’re watching-”
“I’ll say I was waiting for you.” I glanced at my watch. “Just give it a few more minutes. She has to come back sometime.”
But we had finished another coffee before Claudia finally looked over my shoulder and nodded. “ Ecco. La brigadiera.”
Rosa was coming over the bridge, improbably, with a shopping bag. I hurried out. An accidental meeting.
“You’ve been shopping?” I said, a public voice, then under it, “I have to talk to you. Cavallini knows.”
“What?” she said, surprised at my being there.
“Come and have a coffee,” I said, still public. “Claudia’s here.”
She studied me, then followed me inside. Claudia was bringing a new cup over from the bar. She handed it to her but didn’t meet her eyes, barely acknowledging her.
“You have to call it off. Cavallini knows. They’ll be waiting for you.”
“What?” she said again, loud this time, so I leaned closer to her to tell her the rest, just a murmur to anyone else, barely audible over the steam hiss of the coffeemaker. She took it in blankly, staring out at the campo. When I finished, she asked for a cigarette and glanced around the room while I lit it for her.
“Calm down,” she said, looking at my fingers, shaking a little.
“It’s the coffee-I’ve been waiting. I was afraid I wouldn’t get to you in time. I didn’t know where you were.”
“You’re panicking,” she said, blowing out smoke.
“No. He knows.”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Stop worrying. It’ll be all right.”
“How can you say that?” Claudia snapped. “How can it be all right?”
“Claudia.”
“You want to drag everyone down with you?” Claudia said, then turned away, a frustrated gesture, as if she were stamping her foot.
“You can’t go through with it now,” I said quietly.
“We have to. They move him tonight. So you had a friendly talk. So he’s wearing a gun. This doesn’t prove anything.”
“You can’t take that chance. You’ve got people to think about. Someone must have talked.”
“Maybe. It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does. I know, everyone just knows his piece. But one piece leads to another. One of the links breaks, the whole thing can fall apart. All it takes is one.”
She took a sip of coffee, slowing the moment. “Only if he really knows what is going to happen.”
I looked at her. “And no one does?”
“It wouldn’t be wise, would it? If someone did talk.”
“You told everybody a different story?” Claudia said. “Including Adam?”
“A man so friendly with the police.”
“You think I’d tell them?”
“The boy didn’t think he was betraying us either. Helping. Medicine.” She drew on the cigarette, then put it out. “I’m never going to be in that house again. Now stop worrying. Maybe Cavallini thinks he knows something, but he doesn’t. I told you we’d be careful.”
“You also said they weren’t expecting you. But they are. They know something ’s happening.”
“That can’t be helped. We always knew there was a risk in getting him.” She looked up. “But not to you. Or you,” she said to Claudia. “So stop scaring yourselves and go home. If it’s true about Cavallini, you don’t want to be seen with me.” She put her hand on my arm. “Just open the gate.”
“If he’s coming at all. Or is that part of the story real?”
She smiled. “Someday I’ll tell you. Tonight you see nothing. Maybe someone was there. Maybe a ghost.” She patted my arm. “Thank you for the warning. I know you meant it for the best.”
“But you don’t believe it.”
“It doesn’t matter if I do. It’s too late to stop it now.”
“Not if you want to stop it.”
She gathered up her shopping bag. “But I don’t. There’s no choice-to save him. Cavallini? I can’t worry about him.”
“You have to. The boy could be killed. Do you want that boy’s death on your hands?”
“Do you?” she said sharply.
In the moment that followed, nobody moved. Then Claudia, who’d been staring out the window listening, stepped away from the counter and put herself between us.
“No. Nobody wants that,” she said gently, making peace. “I’m sorry,” she said to Rosa. “It’s just all nerves with us, worried for you. But if it’s the only way-”
I looked at her, surprised, a sudden turn midstream. Rosa, also surprised, said nothing, just shifted the bag in her hand, waiting.
“Then we’ll leave the gate,” Claudia said. “Our piece.”
Rosa didn’t reply, just nodded and went out the door. I watched her start across the campo, dragging her leg, then turned to Claudia, my face a question mark.
“You can’t stop her,” she said. “You can see that. She’s going to do it no matter what.” She picked up the box. “Have you paid? I still have to drop this at the Europa.” Suddenly business as usual.
“There won’t be any way to connect us,” I said, as if we were still arguing, but Claudia just shrugged, resigned to everything now.
I followed her out and over the bridge to the passage to the Europa, lined with gondoliers, a few of them halfheartedly making a pitch but most just smoking, waiting for tourists from the hotel.
