“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” she said, then closed the magazine and tossed it on the table.
“How does Paul fit into all this?”
She gave me a funny look.
“I got it, I’m not supposed to know what happened down there. And neither are you. But for a second, let’s drop the act.”
She nodded. “Paul was meant to check that the shielding was in place.”
“And he didn’t?”
“He signed off on it. But it wasn’t there.”
“Isn’t that super-rudimentary?”
“He says he doesn’t know what happened. That he was distracted, and he assumed the team had gotten the setup right.”
It took a moment for those three little words to sink in.He was distracted.
“Oh my God,” I said.
“What?”
I leaned forward and put my head in my hands. “This is all my fault.”
“Of course it’s not your fault,” said Mary Lou dismissively.
“I told Paul I wanted a divorce.”
“When?”
“Two or three nights ago,” I said. “He was upset and came down here to sleep on the ship. That’s why his name wasn’t on your list at the pier.”
“He may very well have been upset, but you’re not responsible for his actions, any more than he is responsible for yours.”
I wondered for a brief moment if she was implying that she knew my actions lately hadn’t been stellar.
“Besides,” she said, “whatever you told Paul the other night wasn’t new information.”
I asked her to repeat herself.
She looked me straight in the eyes. “Naval Intelligence has people working this whole island, and if you don’t think they’re keeping an eye on Teo Manca, you’re not as smart as I thought you were.”
“You’re saying Paul knew about Teo and me?”
She nodded.
“They told him?”
“They had to. You were compromised, and they worried he might be unwittingly passing information along toLa Spedizionewithout realizing it.”
I couldn’t help it; I let out a short laugh. No wonder Paul had taken the news so well.
“How long has he known?” I asked.
“A couple of months?” said Mary Lou.
