'I'm still alive because I do things delicately, Guido,' he said
without any attempt at humour, gave a farewell not distinguished by its
friendliness, and hung up.
Brunetti called down to Signorina Elettra, and when she answered, said,
'I'd like you to add one more thing to your .. .' he began, but was at
a loss for a name for what Signorina Elettra did. To your research,'
he said.
'Yes, sir?' she asked.
'Military procurement.'
'Could you be a bit more precise?'
'Getting and spending,' he began, and a line Paola was forever quoting
rushed towards him. He ignored it and continued, 'For the military. It
was one of the committees Moro was on.'
'Oh, my,' she exclaimed. 'However did that happen?'
Hearing her unfeigned astonishment, Brunetti wondered
how long it would take him to explain her reaction to a foreigner. Her
response presumed Moro's honesty, and her astonishment that an honest
man had been placed on any committee that would make decisions that
might somehow affect the allocation of significant amounts of
government funds.
'I've no idea he answered. 'Perhaps you could see who else served on
the committee with him.'
'Certainly, sir. Government records are very easy to access she said,
leaving him to speculate about the precise level of criminality lurking
in that verb.
He looked at his watch and asked, 'Should I go and have lunch or should
I wait?'
'Lunch, sir, I think she advised and was gone.
He walked down to Testiere, where the owner would always find him a
place, and had a fish antipasto and then a piece of grilled tuna Bruno
swore was fresh. For all the attention Brunetti paid to it, the fish
could have been frozen or freeze-dried. At any other time, ignoring a
meal this fine would have shamed Brunetti: today he could not drag
himself away from his attempt to discover the connection between Moro's
professional life and the suffering inflicted upon his family, and so
the meal remained eaten but untasted.
He stopped at the door to Signorina Elettra's office and found her
standing at her window, looking off down the canal that led toward the
Bacino. Her attention was so absorbed in whatever she was watching
that she didn't hear him come in, and he stopped, reluctant to startle
her. Her arms were crossed on her breast, and she stood with her
shoulder leaning against the window frame, one leg crossed in front of
the other. He saw her in profile and as he watched, she lowered her
head and closed her eyes for a heartbeat longer than necessary. She
opened them, took a breath so deep he saw her breasts rise, and turned
away from the window. And saw him watching her.
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Three seconds passed. Paola had once told him that the Irish often
said, in moments when consolation was necessary, 'I'm sorry for your
trouble', and it was on his lips to say this when she took a step
towards her desk, tried to smile, and said, 'I've got everything but
said it in the voice of someone who had nothing.
Three more seconds passed and then he joined her at her desk, in
unspoken agreement that they would ignore what had just happened.
He saw two piles of papers. Standing, she pointed to the first, saying
as she did, That's a list of students who have fathers in the military
or the government that's the only thing I checked about the students.
And under it is a list of the faculty, which branch of the military
they served in, and the final rank they held. And beneath that a list
of the men who served on the committee for military procurement with
Dottor Moro.'
Curiosity overcame good sense and he asked, 'All right. Please tell me
where you got all of this.' When she didn't answer, he held up his
right hand and said, 'I promise, on the head of anyone in my family you
