Free The Brave by Nicholas Evans Page A

drizzled. They were the only customers and had been given a table right in the window which felt a little like being in a zoo. Gina had already apologized twice, saying the place was new and that she had no idea if it was any good. Tom didn't come to Great Falls nowadays unless he absolutely had to. The east side of the mountains held too many memories and he didn't want to risk bumping into her. It was funny how you could fool yourself that you were over somebody. Watching her now across the table while she chewed her lip, deciding what to order, he knew he wasn't and probably never would be.
    The waiter, who looked about fourteen, was hovering to hear what they wanted.
    "I'll have the linguini," Gina said. "Then the tuna. Rare."
    "Excellent choice. You, sir?"
    "Is it locally caught?"
    "The tuna?"
    "The linguini."
    "Ah—"
    "Just kidding. I'll have the same."
    Gina was giving him that weary smile she always put on when he tried to be funny. Maybe she thought, given what had happened to Danny, that lightheartedness of any kind was inappropriate. She was right, of course. He'd allowed his pleasure at seeing her to get the better of him.
    They had spoken on the phone almost every day since the news came through and Tom had foolishly allowed himself to enjoy being in touch with her again, almost as if he nurtured hopes. The waiter asked him if they wanted to see the wine list and Tom noticed how the question tightened Gina's attention. She was clearly interested to learn if he was still clean. He was and had been for eight years and he found it faintly insulting that she should doubt it. He ordered a bottle of mineral water.
    It was almost a week since they had first found out about Danny and they still had only a vague notion of what he was supposed to have done. All the military was saying, officially, was that an incident had taken place in which there had been an "as yet unspecified number of civilian fatalities." The Naval Criminal Investigative Service had been called in to establish what had happened. All the men involved, including Danny, had been suspended from active duty and were confined to their camp in a deserted factory outside of Baghdad. Danny had called and e-mailed Gina a few times but said he had been advised by his lawyer, provided by the military to represent him, not to discuss the incident with anybody.
    "Dutch managed to get hold of his friend in Naval Intelligence last night," Gina said quietly, leaning forward so as not to be overheard. Dutch (even the name made Tom bristle) was her husband. The ex-Marine she'd left him for and who had become stepfather, hero and role-model-in-chief to Danny.
    "Does he know anything?"
    "More than he was ready to tell."
    The waiter was back with the water and they watched in silence while he filled their glasses. When he'd gone Gina leaned forward again.
    "Seems Danny's platoon was out on a routine patrol when they came under attack. One of their vehicles was blown up by a roadside bomb. One guy killed and two badly injured. Danny and the others went after the terrorists and killed them. Apparently there were some civilians killed in the cross fire. That's all the guy would say. He told Dutch we shouldn't worry too much. The investigation's just routine. He said it happens all the time. It's just that after Haditha, the top brass are paranoid about the media accusing them of a cover-up."
    "Did he have any idea how long this investigation's going to take?"
    "No."
    "We've got to get him a proper lawyer."
    "What do you mean, a proper lawyer? He's got one."
    "No he hasn't. He's got some military gofer they've foisted on him. Whose side's he going to be on, for heaven's sake? He'll just be covering their ass for them."
    "Dutch says these military attorneys are completely independent."
    "Oh, really. That's what Dutch says."
    Gina sighed and looked away and Tom silently rebuked himself for the knee-jerk sarcasm her husband's name always triggered.
    "Have you heard from Danny?"