Everything to Gain and a Secret Affair (48 page)

His wife, Sylvie, had loved Grandma Bronagh as much as he had, and the two had become very close over the years. His grandmother had been a true Celt, spiritual, mystical, and a little fey. Sylvie had shared these traits, been very much like her in many ways.

His only regret, whenever he came back to Venice, was that he had not brought Sylvie here before she died. They had put it off and put it off, and suddenly, unexpectedly, it was too late. Sylvie was gone. Who could have known that she would die like that? In childbirth, of all things in this day and age. “Eclampsia” it was called; it began with seizures and ended in coma and death.

Losing Sylvie was the worst thing that ever happened to him. She had been too young to die, only twenty-six. His grief had overwhelmed him; he had been inconsolable for a long time. In the end, he had managed to
come to grips with it, throwing himself into work in an effort to keep that grief in check and at bay.

As he went toward the Basilica, his thoughts were still centered on Sylvie. She had died in 1989; the baby, a little girl, had lived. She was called Helena, the name he and Sylvie had chosen. Now six years old, she was the spitting image of her mother, an adorable creature who entranced everyone she met.

Certainly she was a great joy to him. Whenever he felt depressed and disturbed by the rottenness of the world, he had only to conjure up her face and instantly he felt better. She made life worth living, his beautiful child.

A fleeting smile crossed Bill's face, touched his eyes when he thought of her. Because his job as a foreign correspondent took him all over the world, she lived with his mother in New York. Fortunately, he saw her frequently and the time they spent together was genuinely meaningful. She was a good little girl, spirited, intelligent, and not too spoiled, although his mother did dote on her only grandchild.

He had just spent two weeks in
Manhattan with them, after covering the start of the Bosnia peace talks in Ohio. He would go back again in December, to celebrate Christmas at his mother's apartment in the East Sixties. When he wasn't in the middle of a battlefield or covering a major story in some far-flung corner of the globe, Bill made a point of being with “my best girls,” as he called them. There was nowhere else he wanted to be, especially on important occasions and holidays.

But this week in Venice was his time for himself. He needed it badly, needed to put himself back together after his three-month stint in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bill felt diminished by the conflict he had witnessed in the Balkans, and he was depleted, weary of war, of the destruction and the killing.

He wanted to forget. Not that he ever really would forget any of it. Who could? But he might at least be able to diffuse some of those horrifying images, still so vivid, that had left such a terrible scar on his mind.

His best friend, Francis Peterson, a war correspondent for
Time
magazine, believed that none of the newsmen would ever be able to expunge the violent images of Bosnia. “They're trapped in our minds like flies
trapped in amber, there for all time,” Frankie kept saying, and Bill agreed with him. All of them had seen too much savagery; its imprint
was
indelible.

Francis and Bill had met at Columbia University's School of Journalism in 1980, and they had been fast friends ever since. They were often covering the same wars, the same stories, but even when they were not, and were in different parts of the world, they stayed in constant touch.

Francis was currently assigned to Beirut, but he would be arriving in Venice in an hour or two, and they would spend a few days together. Later in the week, Frankie would fly to New York to celebrate his father's seventieth birthday.

Bill was glad his old friend was able to join him. They were exceptionally close, shared the same interests and understood each other well, were usually on the same wavelength.

Suddenly Bill realized he was the only person in St. Mark's Square, alone except for flocks of pigeons. The birds flew around him, soaring up above the Basilica. Usually the square was the center of animation in Venice, teeming with people, mostly tourists from all over the world. Now he was its solitary occupant,
and as he glanced about it seemed odd to him, strangely surreal.

As he continued to walk, he became aware for the first time of the unique paving in the piazza. In the past when he had strolled here, there had been hundreds and hundreds of pairs of feet covering it, obviously the reason he had never noticed it before now.

His eyes followed the flow of the pattern: flat gray stones covering most of the square, balanced on either side by narrow white marble bands set in classical motifs. At once he was struck by the way the motifs directed the eye and the feet toward the Basilica. No accident, he thought, walking on. When he came to the church, he did not go inside. Instead, he turned right and went down the Piazzetta San Marco, which led to the water's edge.

For a long time Bill stood looking out across the lagoon. Sky and sea merged to become a vast expanse of muted gray, which soon began to take on the look of dull chrome in the lowering afternoon light.

It was so peaceful here it was hard to believe that just across the Adriatic Sea a bloody war still raged. Nothing ever changes really, Bill thought as he turned away from the
water at last. The world is the same as it's always been, full of monsters, full of evil. We've learned nothing over the centuries. We're no more civilized now than we were in the Dark Ages. Man's monstrosities boggled his mind.

Hunching deeper into his trench coat, Bill Fitzgerald retraced his steps across the empty square. He began to hurry now as dusk descended, making for the Gritti Palace, where he always stayed. He loved its old-fashioned charm, comfort, and elegance.

The rain started as a drizzle but quickly turned into a steady downpour. Bill, increasing his pace, was almost running as he approached the side street where the front entrance to the Hotel Gritti Palace was located.

He sprinted around the corner of the street at a breakneck pace and collided with another person also moving swiftly. It was a woman. As her large-brimmed cream felt hat and her umbrella went sailing into the air, he reached out and grabbed hold of her shoulders to prevent her from falling.

Steadying himself, and her, he exclaimed, “Excuse me! I'm so sorry,” and found himself staring into a pair of startled silvery-gray eyes. In Italian, he added, “
Scusa! Scusa!
”

She responded in English. “It's all right, honestly,” and disentangling herself from his tight grip she ran after her hat, which was blowing down the street.

He followed her, outran her, caught the hat, picked up the umbrella wedged against the gutter, and brought them both back to her. “I apologize again,” he said.

Nodding, she took the hat and the umbrella from him. “I'm fine, really.” She glanced at the hat. “And this isn't any the worse for wear either.” She shook it and grimaced. “Just a
bit
splattered with mud. Oh well, never mind. Who cares? It was never my favorite hat anyway.”

“I'm a clumsy fool, barreling around the corner like that. It wasn't very smart of me. Are you sure you're all right?” he asked in concern, unexpectedly loathe to let her go.

She proffered him a faint smile, slapped the hat on top of her dark curls, and sidled away from him, saying, “Thanks again.”

He stood rooted to the spot as if paralyzed, watching her walk off when he wanted desperately to detain her, to talk to her, even invite her for a drink. He opened his mouth. No words came out. Seemingly, he had lost his voice, not to mention his nerve.

Suddenly he galvanized himself. Almost running up the street after her, he shouted, “Can I buy you a new hat?”

Without pausing, she called over her shoulder, “It's not necessary, thanks for offering, though.”

“It's the least I can do,” he cried. “I've ruined that one.”

She stopped for a moment and shook her head. “No, really, the hat doesn't matter. 'Bye.”

“Please slow down. I'd like to talk to you.”

“Sorry, I can't. I'm late.” She glided on, swung around the corner.

Bill hurried after her.

It was then that he saw the man coming toward her, waving and smiling broadly.

The woman increased her pace, waving back and exclaiming in Italian, “Giovanni,
come sta?
”

A moment later she was holding her umbrella high over her head so that the man she had called Giovanni could properly embrace her.

Disappointment surged through him. Immediately, Bill turned away, rounded the corner, and went down the street toward the Gritti Palace. He could not help wondering
who she was. Certainly she was the most stunning woman he'd seen in a long time. Those luminous silver eyes set in a pale, piquant face, the head of tumbling dark curls, the elegant way she carried herself. She was beautiful, really, in a gamine sort of way. It was just his luck that she was apparently already spoken for. He would have liked to get to know her better.

T
hey met in the bar of the legendary Gritti Palace, which faced the Grand Canal.

“It's great to see you, Francis Xavier!” Bill exclaimed, “Just great that you could make it.” He enveloped his best friend in a bear hug.

As they drew apart after their rough, masculine embrace, Frank said, “And likewise, William Patrick. It's been too long this time around. I've missed you.”

“So have I—missed you.”

Still grinning at each other, they both ordered single malt scotch from the hovering waiter and sat down at a small table near the window.

“A lot of wars have been getting in the
way,” Frank went on, “and we seem to have been covering different ones of late.”

“More's the pity we haven't seen the same action.”

They exchanged knowing looks for a long moment, remembering the tough situations they had encountered together and had shared. Genuinely close since journalism school, the two men, who were not only friends but colleagues, understood each other on a very fundamental level. And each worried about the others well-being. They had a great deal in common, always had had—a love of truth and the need to find it, traits which made them superlative newsmen; diligence, honesty, and a zest for adventure. Yet, despite the latter, both were cautious, fully aware of the dangers involved in their work. Whether together or alone on assignments, they always endeavored to minimize the risks they took in order to get the story.

Their drinks arrived, and after they'd clinked glasses, Frank said, “There's no way I'll go back to Bosnia, Bill.”

“I know. And I don't blame you. I've sort of had it myself. How is it in Beirut?”

“Fairly quiet. At the moment, anyway. Things are improving, getting more normal,
relatively speaking, of course. I don't think it will ever be the Paris of the Middle East again, but the city's perking up. Good shops are opening, and the big hotels are functioning on a more efficient basis.”

“Hezbollah's still lurking, though.”

“You bet! We have to live with the threat of terrorism around the clock. But you know that.” Frank lifted his broad shoulders in a light shrug, his dark eyes narrowing. “Terrorism is more prevalent than ever. Everywhere in the world. The bastards are all over the place.”

Bill nodded, took a sip of his drink, and leaned back in the chair, enjoying being with Francis Peterson.

Frank said, with a wide smile, “Let's change the subject, get to something more worthwhile. How's my little Helena?”

“Not so little, she's grown a tad. Which reminds me . . .” As he spoke Bill pulled out his wallet, removed a photograph, and handed it to Frank. “Your goddaughter wanted you to have this. She sends you hugs and kisses.”

Frank stared at the picture Bill had just handed him. He smiled. “She's the most adorable kid, Billy, you're so lucky. I see she's still got that Botticelli look about her . . . positively angelic.”

“To look at, yes, but she's mischievous, a bit of a scamp, my mother says.” Bill grinned. “But then who wants a perfect kid?”

“A perfect kid, if there is such a thing, would be insufferable. How's Dru?” he asked, putting the photograph in his own wallet.

“Pretty good, thanks. You know my mother, Frankie, full of piss and vinegar and energy, and as loving of heart as she ever was. She sends you her love, by the way.”

“When you speak to her, give her mine. Better still, I'll call her myself when I get to Manhattan, to say hello. Incidentally, I'm sorry I couldn't get home when you were there. I had a really tough deadline for my piece on Lebanon. There was just no way I could take off at that time.”

“I understood.”

Frank went on, “I gather you weren't particularly impressed with the peace talks in Dayton.”

Bill shook his head. “I wasn't. The Serbs are a diabolical bunch. Gangsters. They're never going to agree to a proper and
fair
peace treaty with the Bosnians, you'll see. As for all this UN talk about prosecuting some of the Serbs as war criminals, you can forget it. I assure you it will never happen. They're never
going to get those butchers to the Hague to stand trial, for one thing. Just take my word for it. The Serbs are going to get away with their crimes.”