Chapter Four

“He who lets the sea lull him into a sense of security is in very grave danger.”
    �" Hammond Innes 

There was a lightness to the afternoon I hadn’t felt in weeks, as if meeting Gabriel had somehow lifted something, but even as I laughed, I caught the wind turning colder off the sea. I tugged my cardigan closer around me and followed Sofia through the cobbled streets. We were on our way to her grandparent’s house for lunch. Gabriel had invited me to visit the research institute and I was hoping to visit later with Sofia.

Sofia’s grandparents greeted me warmly and told me I was a pretty girl. I smiled and nodded, repeating ‘Grazie’ until my cheeks ached. We ate carpaccio, thin barbecued steaks, with salad and the softest white bread. Then Nonna produced a platter crowded with dolci, an array of small confectionery delights. She handed me a plate. I grinned appreciatively at her.

“Goditeli!” she beamed. 

I sat back and nibbled at the decadent desserts, utterly content in the warm shade of the arbour on the small terrace, listening to Sofia chat with her grandparents. Clouds inched across the sky, obscuring the sun and a chill crept over my skin, the hairs on my arms raising. 

Giuseppe, Sofia’s father, insisted on driving us to the institute. With the window rolled down in the back of the car, the sea air rushed in and buffeted my face, providing a little relief from the mounting heat. The air had thickened into soup, cloying and clinging to my skin, the earlier cool wind seemingly stifled. We swung out on the coastal road, circling down along the rocky cliff sides. 

I wiped my sweaty palms on my overalls and took a sip of water Dario, the receptionist at the institute, had kindly offered me. He had called through to alert Gabriel he had guests and offered us water in perfect English. He sat now chewing on a nail, his eyes fixed on the doors as if he was expecting someone. Sofia was fanning herself with a pamphlet, while critically scanning the reception area.

The institute was a converted boathouse, renovated to house several offices, a laboratory and a large seawater tank. It was humble with mismatched worn furniture, posters peeling off the hastily painted walls and a pervading odour of fish. I wasn’t disappointed. I had expected a sleek construction, oozing pretension,  but this was modest. I imagined money had been spent on research and conservation instead of fancy furnishings.

A door squeaked open and Gabriel strode towards us, unsmiling. My initial enthusiasm drooped. 

“Hello,” he said, his eyes darting to Dario briefly. “I didn’t expect you to visit so soon.”
I bit my lip, annoyed at his lack of welcome.

“Well, I’m not here for long and Sofia had no plans this afternoon,” I disclosed, jutting out my chin a little. “But if it’s inconvenient . . .”

“It’s not that you’re not welcome,” he said hurriedly, walking closer. “It’s just today . . . well, we’re a little stressed.”

He looked again at Dario who shook his head and shrugged. I glanced at Sofia.
“We can leave,” she suggested to Gabriel. “If you’re too busy. Come back another day.”
He held up his hands. 

“No, sorry, that’s rude of me after you’ve come all this way,” he said. “We usually have to beg people to visit.”
Sofia and I exchanged looks of confusion but allowed Gabriel to lead the way. He looked back at Dario and nodded curtly.

Once we were in one of the offices, full of charts and graphs pinned to the walls with idle computers humming, Gabriel ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to say this in front of Dario,” he said, uneasy. “You see, one of our volunteers has gone missing.”
“Oh no,” gasped Sofia. 

“He’s one of our divers, Francesco,” Gabriel continued, gazing toward one of the windows that looked out onto the sea. “He didn’t go home last night and no one knows where he is.”

“Has anyone called the police?” Sofia asked.

“No,” sighed Gabriel. “It’s too soon for the police to take an interest. They’ll say he’s probably drunk somewhere or in bed with his girlfriend.”
“What about the coast guard? Maybe he went diving?” I threw in.

“His equipment is still here,” said Dario. “And today was a no dive day for him.”

“So there’s no help now?” collected Sofia.

“No,” agreed Gabriel. “But his mother is frantic, so is Dario, his older brother. We’re all worried and have spent the morning calling everyone who might have seen him or know where he is.”

I pulled at a loose thread escaping my pocket.

“I hope he is all right,” said Sofia. “Is there anything we can do?”
“Thank you but no,” sighed Gabriel. “I think we’ve exhausted every idea and suggestion. All we can do is wait for now.”
“His poor mother,” Sofia murmured. 

I nodded, my earlier light hearted mood entirely soured.
“Well, we won’t bother you then,” I concluded . “We don’t want to add to your troubles.”

He looked at me, his eyes softened.

“Stay, your visit will be a much needed distraction for all of us, I promise,” he assured us. “Besides, there’s a cormorant chick who needs feeding.” 

There were three others gathered in the laboratory, nonchalantly scribbling notes on paper, tapping keys at a computer and turning the pages in a folder. I imagined they were making little progress today. The awkwardness and insensitivity of our intrusion was palpable. Gabriel ushered us in and introduced us.

“This is Elena, our vet.”
I estimated Elena to be in her early fifties, grey showing at the roots of her lustrous brown mane. She pushed her glasses up her nose and stood to greet us. 

“And here is Stefano, our full time diver.”
Stefano was tall and muscular, dwarfing Sofia and I. He had a shock of red hair and vivid green eyes. He smiled showing perfect white teeth and winked at Sofia. She glared disapprovingly at him, as if she were twenty years his senior rather than ten. 

“George is our qualified biologist and Tamara, our intern.”

Tamara, a pretty brunette, eyed us distastefully.

“Davvero stai facendo da guida proprio oggi?” she deplored.

My Italian was too poor to translate but I understood her tone.

“Now, now, Tamara, that is no way to treat guests,” admonished George, coming forward.

He was blonde, dressed casually in linen pants and a polo shirt. 

“Pleasure to meet you ladies,” he smiled. “You must excuse our lack of enthusiasm today, we’re not at our best. Any questions you may have I’d be delighted to answer.”
There was no mistaking his accent.

“You’re English?” I asked.

“Guilty as charged,” he grimaced. 

“There, Jenny, you’ve met a fellow compatriot,” said Sofia. 

“I was trying to avoid that,” I confessed, rolling my eyes.

“Awful, isn’t it?” empathised George. “You come here to get away from English people, and then find you can’t escape them even here. We’re like a disease.”
“Eh, too harsh,” objected Stefano, in a heavy accent. “I like Inglese, especially if they is as pretty as this one.”

He winked at me this time. 

“Of course,” concurred George. “Present company excluded.”

Gabriel pulled us away to continue with our tour. He led us through a narrow corridor. A happy chirp preceded a scrawny tabby cat dashing towards us.

“Oh hello, micio,” cooed Sofia, crouching and holding out her hand.

The tabby ran to her, sniffed and butted her hand. I noticed several tears in his ears and a scar on his tiny nose.

“This is Disgatto, the last member of our team,” announced Gabriel. “He is a stray we found outside being bullied by the gulls. So we adopted him and tried to make him respectable.”

I bent to greet him and stroke my hand along his back. He purred appreciatively. 

“He’s adorable,” coddled Sofia, scratching Disgatto’s chin.

Disgatto flopped to the floor and rolled over, baring his stomach.

“An incorrigible flirt,” admonished Gabriel, jokingly. 

Disgatto sprung up and trailed us into Gabriel’s office. The room was surprisingly tidy and well organised. Gabriel explained how they were currently compiling a report on the various species of sea life that would be affected by a new hotel complex on the east of the island. 

“We already know that the land provides potential nesting sites for sea birds, but we want to show the impact on the sealife,” he outlined. “They plan to have easy access to the beach from the hotel and offer boat tours and water sports from it. Now it’s a very quiet and secluded bay, a haven for wildlife. So we’re doing all we can to stop planning permission.”
“Good,” stated Sofia. “We need to preserve some of the island, not let the tourists exploit it all, it’s our home.”
We circled the empty water tank and Gabriel admitted it rarely housed any sea life but Stefano and Francesco liked to use it for diving practice. After shutting Disgatto out onto a small terrace, he introduced us to Pavarotti, the great cormorant chick that had been found washed up on shore by a fisherman twenty miles away. He was still covered in fluffy down and squeaked raspily when he saw Gabriel.

“I think I see why you called him Pavarotti,” I said, the constant cries piercing my ears.

Gabriel fetched a bucket containing mashed fish. Sofia and I retreated.

“Yes, it is pungent,” grimaced Gabriel. 

Pavarotti’s beak gaped open and Gabriel spooned the fish into his mouth. He chugged it down his throat immediately demanding more. 

“Well, he certainly eats like most males,” commented Sofia. “Just opens up and scoops it down.”

I laughed while Gabriel frowned in feigned offence. 

“I have impeccable table manners, thank you,” he maintained. 

“That’s not all that’s impeccable about him, I bet,” Sofia whispered to me, elbowing me knowingly.

I shot her a warning look. Gabriel closed the door of Pavarotti’s cage.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I need to wash my hands.

We returned to the laboratory where George, Elena and Stefano had rustled together a few snacks and brewed fresh coffee and tea for me. 

“We couldn’t let you leave without some refreshments,” said George.

“Oh you didn’t need to do that,” I said, mortified. 

George cocked his head.

“It’s not dinner at The Ritz, just coffee and a few biscuits.”

He sat next to me, placed a paper plate piled with cookies in my hand. He leaned back, stretching an arm across the back of my chair. Sofia chatted with Gabriel, Stefano and Elena. Tamara sulked in a corner, pretending to ignore us all. Francesco’s disappearance lurked in the background, momentarily ignored but not forgotten.

“So what do you think of our ramshackle research centre?” George asked.

“I like it,” I said, blowing on my tea. “Perfect for such a small team as yourselves.”
“We do our best, though funding and donations are becoming scarcer by the month,” he frowned. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re making a difference at all.”
“Is it that bad?”
He looked at me frankly.

“Honestly, I’ll be surprised if we’ll still be here in a year’s time,” he revealed.

“Oh no.”
My disappointment was genuine, I was saddened at the thought of this converted boathouse standing empty, no little Disgatto trotting about or no Pavarotti screaming for his next meal.

“I imagine the university’s research teams will take over,” mused George. “So the work will continue.”

I toyed despondently with the tea bag in my cup, only half listening to him. 

“How do you know Gabriel?” said George, following my gaze.

“Oh I only met him yesterday,” I laughed. “On the beach.”

“But he managed to lure you here.”
“He was kind enough to invite me,” I corrected. “And his passion for marine conservation persuaded me.”
“I see.”
He plucked a biscuit from my plate and bit into it. Crumbs sprinkled down his shirt.

“How long are you here for?” he said, munching.

“Two weeks.”
“Well, if you’re anywhere near Via delle Querce Nere, do drop in on me for a coffee. Or if you need anything. I’ll jot my address and phone number down.”

I smiled.
“Thank you.”

Gabriel escorted us out and Sofia walked ahead to look for her father’s car. 

“Thank you,” I said, turning to Gabriel. “We had a good time, meeting everyone, seeing what you do.” 

“The pleasure was all ours. Visitors are vital to the continuation of the institute,” he replied. He looked cautiously at me. “Sorry the welcome wasn’t warmer.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I protested. “I don’t know how you all managed to be so kind and considerate while worrying about your friend. I really hope he is found soon.”
“Thank you,” he said, sincerely. 

He looked at Sofia waving at her dad who was driving up the road.

“Are you free tomorrow afternoon?” he said. “There’s something I’d like to show you.” 

Curiosity and excitement buoyed my flagging spirits. Sofia had any plans perhaps but I replied,

“Yes.”
His lips twitched.

“Good, I’ll pick you outside the church in the piazza at two o’clock?”