by Fiona Grace
“You are?”
“Yes. I thought that maybe it was his ex-wife, since I read that there had been a recent divorce. Maybe it wasn’t amicable, they got in a fight, and she stabbed him? But why in my place?”
“Yes, and why was he there to begin with?”
“I know. I didn’t call him. But maybe someone did. My thought was that he was there to put a notice of the revocation of the certificate of occupancy on the door. There’s a chance that Luca, the boy who was watching the place that day, left the door open, so it’s possible the inspector went inside for some reason … I don’t know why. But maybe the murderer was lying in wait, ready to attack!”
“Not Luca …?”
“Oh, no. Not him. That was just an accident. I think maybe someone came to see me, opened the door, and met him there. Maybe they had a discussion and it went south, and then whoever the killer was just decided to end him, right there. I do think it was a spur-of-the-moment, crime of passion thing. They used my letter opener!” She was babbling now, so fast that she could barely control her own tongue.
“Letter opener?” His eyes bulged.
She slumped back in her chair, trying to force away the memory of the last time she’d seen that letter opener. “This all could’ve been solved by now if I had cameras installed in reception. I was planning to, when I had the funds.”
“Perhaps whoever did the crime saw that you had failed inspection, and is trying to—what’s the word—picture you?”
“You mean frame me?” A shiver passed through her. “Maybe. That did cross my mind. But who? It’s not like I have enemies.”
“I don’t think you need them. It might be that that person saw the notice, had the opportunity, and knew he could get away with it.”
“Yes. That makes sense. But who?”
He pressed his lips together. “Maybe you should let the police handle it. So you don’t get your pretty head in trouble? If a man commits murder, there is little to stop him from murdering again to conceal the first crime. You could be in danger. Yes?”
She rolled her eyes. “Like I said, I can’t wait. I have to get that clinic open. Not just for me but for the animals. For the town. Before I moved here, everyone was telling me how important it was to get those animals off the street. Now, no one seems to care how much they suffer.”
“A man did die.”
“Yes, I know.” Was she sounding insensitive? Yes, probably. But sometimes she got that way. Sometimes she held the plight of animals over that of her fellow human beings.
Arturo came back and refilled her wine glass. She eagerly took another sip. Now it was going down like water, and she felt even more lightheaded, probably the result of her empty stomach. G ordered two specials, which she was glad of, because her mouth was full of wine.
G watched her with concern. “You may want to go easy on the wine.”
She sighed. “I need something to relax me. I’m so jittery. Probably because I haven’t had any sleep.”
“No?” He inspected her closely. “Where have you been sleeping lately? You stay in a hotel?”
She held her wine glass to her lips. “Oh, um. Not—”
“I don’t let you stay in a hotel! Not my friends! No, you come and stay with me. I have a nice, comfortable room, just for you!”
She almost choked on the sip of wine in her mouth. “Actually, no. I’m already staying with … I already have a place to stay, so I’m fine.”
“Oh? With who?” He leaned forward, the sparkle in his eye a challenge.
“ A … friend.”
One of his eyebrows arched. “A friend?”
“Yeah, um …” She looked away awkwardly. “Just a friend. You probably know him. Mason, the contractor? I think you’ve met him.”
G’s eyes sparked with recognition, but it wasn’t the good kind. It was as if she’d mentioned a particular ingredient he wasn’t very fond of, because he seemed to clench his teeth a bit. Did that mean he didn’t like the man? Or that he didn’t like the man with her? “Ah.”
She added quickly, “He’s, like I said, just a friend.”
“Ah. I see.” He sipped his wine. “That is good. As long as you are taken care of, with this friend of yours. Then … what will you do?”
She shrugged. “What do you think I should do?”
“I would take this time to work on your own place, si? Consider it a blessing and fix it up so you can stop staying with this friend of yours, eh? And at least get back into your own place and get a good night’s sleep.”
Yep. No doubt. He was definitely a little peeved about the Mason thing. But if he was, why didn’t he make his move? What was he waiting for?
She nodded slowly. Moving out of Mason’s sounded like the sane plan. The safe plan. And yet …
She wrinkled her nose.
He laughed. “You think something else?”
“I think I should probably go around and check all the other houses with notices on the doors. Maybe that way, I can find someone who had a beef with Vito Cascarelli and would want to see him dead.”
“Sounds like a bit of a … um, a cat chasing its tail?”
She sighed and polished off her second glass of wine, even before the food arrived. Now, she really felt woozy. Woozy, but … undaunted. Fearless. Determined. “It’s not so bad. I mean, I have plenty of time, since I’m not working. And I have been meaning to get out there and see more of the city. It’ll be like exploring.”
“Maybe, but you do not know the city. It could be dangerous.”
She waved that away. “Bah. What could happen?”
At that moment, Arturo arrived with their food, as well as bread and a slurry of olive oil full of fresh spices. The plate in front of her contained some rolled fishy gray things, bursting with breadcrumbs. She’d been hungry before, but the pungent, salty scent of the seafood turned her stomach. She set her wine glass down, and when Arturo dutifully went to fill it, she put a hand over it. “Could I have a glass of water instead?”
“Of course.”
He went off to get it and she stared at the food. “What is this?”
“Sarde a beccafico,” G said, quickly polishing off the first one. “Delicious. Sardines stuffed with pine nuts, raisins, breadcrumbs, parmesan. An island specialty. You try!”
He pointed at her plate with her fork, but that description had her stomach turning even more. Raisins and sardines? No thanks.
But he was staring at her, expectant.
“Oh … I’m …” She took a little bit in her fork and tasted. It was, in a word, weird. She could definitely taste the raisins. And the sardines. “Yum.”
“I tell you, you like it.”
She took another bite. It actually wasn’t terrible. Nothing in Sicily was. The more she ate, the more she liked it. He was still watching her, and she wanted to please him. He was a good man, listening to all of her problems, offering suggestions and advice. Mason would’ve likely replied with some kind of joke, or teased her. But not G. He was actually trying to help.
In fact, this whole meal had been, at this point, all about her and her many problems. She needed to show him how much she appreciated him. This. All of it.
“It is really good. And this is really a great place. Thanks for taking me here.” She grabbed at the breadbasket on the table and found a slice of crusty bread. She dipped it in the olive oil and took a bite. “Mmm. Good bread.”
At least it would sop up some of the alcohol in her stomach.
G tilted his head at her. “You’re going to the clinic after this?”
She nodded.
His gaze turned deadly serious. “You should be very careful. You know that there is one other possibility.”
“Like what?”
“That it was dark, and the person who murdered the inspector thought it was you.”
A chill went down her back. “That’s ridiculous. Like I said, I don’t have any enemies! Besides, I’m going to have a police officer meeting me there.”
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For the first time, she was actually glad of that. Because as G’s words echoed in her ears, she had to admit, she really didn’t know. Was someone trying to kill her? If so, why?
Arturo arrived with her glass of water. She said, “More wine, please,” hoping for the first time that the police did meet her at the clinic. If not, who knew who else would be there, waiting for her?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
As they left the restaurant, Audrey felt like she was floating on air.
She was a lot tipsier than she was used to. But she only realized the fact when they arrived at G’s café, and G let go of her arm and she had to physically brace her knees so they wouldn’t buckle under her.
“I should walk you home,” G said.
“Don’t be silly.” She smiled toothily up at him, batted her eyelashes as winsomely as she could. “I’m fine. Besides. I’ve got to go to the clinic, remember? The police will be there.”
“Si, but you don’t seem to be in any condition to—”
“I’m okay! Really!”
Here she was, looking up at him on this romantic, moonlit night, practically begging for a kiss, and he wanted to talk about her safety? What a letdown. What happened to the moon hitting her eye like a big pizza pie?
Seriously, did she need him to spell it out for her? He wasn’t interested.
“I’m fine,” she said, smiling again. “Besides, I’ll be totally fine. I have Nick, who is not only a faithful pet, but he once saved my life. He’s totally fierce.”
“All right, Principessa.” His eyes were definitely full of worry, not amore. “You take care of yourself, now.”
Audrey toddled along the street, heading toward the clinic, thinking. What the heck was wrong with her? One minute, she was practically drooling over Mason, and the next, she wanted G to kiss her? No wonder she didn’t have either one of them wrapped around her finger. She was a waffler, and completely fouling this up. She deserved to have a love life that was a total train wreck. Brina would be so disappointed.
As she walked down the empty, dark pathways lit only by the dim, sparse streetlamps, she thought back to her conversation with G at dinner, and started to feel a little worried. Does someone want to kill me? If so, who?
The thought marinated in her head, making her stop and turn around every few steps. Every time she did, Nick let out a little whimper, wanting her to continue on. She’d brought him a bit of the sardine-raisin dish as a treat, but he hadn’t been a fan either. Now, he was irritated.
I’m being paranoid, she thought as she walked toward the main road in town. When she got there, she breathed a sigh of relief, because there were many people there, in the center of the city, listening to a man playing an accordion near the fountain. A few drunk young people were dancing to the music.
She didn’t stop to listen. She had too much on her mind.
The moment she rounded the corner and headed toward the clinic, she found waiting for her Officer Ricci, the young, buff officer whom she knew quite well. She tried to wave at him, but the floor seemed to be tilting. Her arms flailed as she struggled for balance.
She paused, propping herself up against a telephone pole to wait. It was really warm now, and she couldn’t breathe. The air felt like a physical object, heavy, weighing down on her. Also, the scenery seemed to want to spin around her. She blinked.
Ricci came running up to her. “Eh … you okay? Sit.”
He guided her and sat her down on the stoop of the building next door, while she took a few breaths. Yes, four glasses of wine was more than she was used to, but she’d felt fine when she left the restaurant and got out in the fresh air. She blinked and stood up. “Sorry. I’m good. Guess I just had a little too much wine at dinner.”
With his help, she walked to the door. He took aside the yellow crime scene tape and let her go in. She did her best to ignore the spot where Vito Cascarelli’s body had lain, sidestepping around it as she went to the animals. A few times, she touched the walls on either side of her, as if on a ship at high seas.
As she went through her regular routine, she had to brace herself against the counter a few times to keep from falling over. This was not good. She fought to keep herself upright, blinking her eyes. Then she poured herself a cup of water and guzzled it. Better. Sort of. Well, not really. Now, her stomach hurt.
Ricci watched her from the door. “Everything all right, Dottore?”
She smiled and patted his hard chest, admiring how well-built it was, then realized that sober Dr. Smart never would do that. “Uh, fine. I’m almost done here. If you want to help, the food for the cats is over there?”
He crouched down, following her pointed finger, and dragged out the giant bag of dry cat food, then started to fill the dishes. Meanwhile, the animals were going crazy, their barking and whimpering so shrill to her ears, it hurt. They had every right to be antsy—though she’d been in twice to see to the bunnies, the other animals hadn’t had their daily exercise today. Maybe she’d come in tomorrow and give them a good workout, if the officer would let her.
“So,” she said casually as she checked on the bunnies. They were all doing well, their eyes open, and now, they seemed to be moving much more, exploring the incubator. She picked one up and started to feed it with the prepared formula. “How is the investigation into the inspector’s death going?”
Ricci shrugged. “Slow. We follow tips. But not many of them. I think the detective doesn’t know anything just yet.”
Great. That was not what she wanted to hear. “So he doesn’t have any suspects?”
Ricci filled a cat dish and looked at her sheepishly. “Well … you.”
Oh, even better. “There has to be more. Doesn’t he have any leads at all? I mean, I wasn’t the only one the inspector flunked, right? The man has to have plenty of enemies.”
“Yes. But I spent all today looking into that list. All good. All checked out. I interview all people around this area at that time. No one see anything. Someone see the inspector go in, but no one see them go out, or anyone else there. So!” He threw up his hands. “It’s a big mystery.”
“What time did he go in?”
“Around nine.”
“I was coming home from Agrigento at that point. Mason Legare can vouch for that,” she said. “I told DiNardo that.”
“Si, but no one knows when he was murdered. It may have been much after that.”
Audrey sighed. “That’s great. Just wonderful.” She finished with the bunnies and reached in to pet old Bruno’s fur. “Do you know what else he’s doing?”
“No. Just that he is doing everything he can. DiNardo really try.”
She groaned. Yes, he probably was. He was a good detective. Unfortunately, with her livelihood on the line, he could’ve been Superman, and it wouldn’t have been enough. She wanted to be cleared of this crime and get on with her life, now.
“I know. And I know you are doing everything possible, too.” She patted his arm, feeling how massive and solid it was, and then realized Sober Audrey probably wouldn’t have done that either.
She said goodbye and walked up to the front of the clinic with Ricci dutifully watching her every move. He opened the door to let her pass through. When she reached for the light switch, she accidentally glanced at the spot where the dead man had lain, and the dizziness overcame her. Everything started to swirl and her gut twisted. Suddenly, she lost her balance and found herself falling …
Right into Ricci’s arms.
He caught her, almost as if this were a dance and he was dipping her, so that they were face to face, with very little space between them. She giggled. “Oh. Whoops.”
Ricci started to lift her back on her feet, but his attention was caught by a figure, standing still on the sidewalk. Audrey followed his line of sight to …
Mason.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
She scrambled to get herself up. “Oh. Hi, Mason. What are you doing here?”
“Just came to see if you nee
d help,” he mumbled, his voice guarded. “But it looks like you’re doing just fine.”
He turned to leave.
“Oh. Thanks!” She nudged Ricci away and bounded down the steps toward Mason. She turned to make sure Ricci was closing and locking the door and putting up the yellow tape, and as she whirled she stumbled backwards into Mason. “Whoops.”
Luckily, he took ahold of her at the last minute and helped her straighten. “Whoa.” When she righted herself, he said, still in that guarded way, “Are you okay?”
“Totally!” she said, waving at Ricci. “The officer had to escort me as I took care of the animals. Because of the murder, you know. So I’m done. I’m ready to go home. Thanks, Officer.”
She knew she was babbling but couldn’t stop herself. The streets were spinning. She wasn’t sure how far she went before Mason clamped a hand on her arm, dragging her in a different direction than the one she’d been headed in. Where was she? Everything seemed foreign. She giggled. That’s because you’re in a foreign country, dummy.
“What happened to you, girl? You been drinking?”
Oh. Well, I had a glass or two. Or three, or four, at dinner?” She let out a girlish giggle that she didn’t know she was capable of. The stars overhead were spinning around her.
“Dinner?”
She was so busy marveling at the stars all around and fumbling for her answer that she didn’t watch where she was going. Suddenly, a curb jumped out in front of her, and she went stumbling, nearly falling like a house of cards in the middle of the street.
“Whoa,” Mason said, lifting her to her feet.
She stared up at him. God, he was so beautiful. It should be a crime to make anyone that gorgeous, with his cinnamon hair catching the moonlight, flopping in his face. His blue eyes were dark now, but focused on her intensely. That jawbone of his could cut diamonds. In Hollywood, talent scouts would be swarming all over him. No doubt. She licked her lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss him, when …