Rendezvous in Rome

by Carolyn Keene

  “I’ve heard about them,” Nancy told him. “But I haven’t found out anything concrete. Fabio Andreotti offered to buy all the stolen jewelry, though. What do you know about him?”

  “He has an excellent reputation,” Officer Franchi told her. “We’ve never had any problems with him.”

  Nancy nodded. “So you think it’s just a coincidence that his name keeps popping up?”

  “Artifacts and jewelry are his business. But if you find anything more, let me know.” Officer Franchi’s dark eyes swept over Nancy. “I called the River Heights police department. You’re very respected in your country. I’m sure you’ll let me know if you uncover any leads.”

  It was after ten o’clock by the time the police left, but Signora De Luca asked Nancy and Bess to stay behind. Over iced tea and biscotti the De Lucas and Sandro repeated their accounts of the evening for the girls.

  “Who knew you were going out?” Nancy asked Signora De Luca when they were done.

  “The people at the reception,” the woman replied, speaking in heavily accented English. “But all of my friends know Carlo is here. No one could know the house was empty.”

  “How about the doorman? Do you trust him?” Bess asked. She looked grateful to be hearing English again.

  Signora De Luca nodded forcefully. “He has worked here for years. The police spoke to him.”

  Turning to Sandro and Carlo, Nancy said, “You were here for two hours after Signora De Luca left. Could anyone have gotten in without your noticing?”

  “No one was here when we were,” said Carlo.

  “Well, did anyone know you wouldn’t be here?” Nancy asked.

  Sandro took a bite of a biscotto and explained, “We were going to watch television with Massimo, but we got hungry and decided to go out instead. No one could have predicted that.”

  So once again Massimo was connected in some way. “Where is Massimo now?” Nancy asked.

  “He didn’t come with us,” Carlo said. “When I told him we wanted to go out, he changed his mind.”

  There was nothing suspicious about that, Nancy thought, unless you added it to all the other little clues pointing to Massimo. She and Bess hadn’t found any jewelry in his apartment, but Nancy supposed he could be keeping it somewhere else.

  Nancy’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Sandro. Was all of his concern about the jewelry just an act? she wondered. After all, being in the apartment as a guest gave him pretty good access to the safe.

  Nancy shook herself. It looked as if one person was responsible for all the thefts, and she seriously doubted that Sandro would steal a necklace from his own mother.

  She and Bess chatted with the De Lucas and Sandro while they finished their iced tea, but no one could shed any more light on the evening’s events. After promising to call Signora De Luca the minute they uncovered anything, the girls left.

  As she rode back to their pensione Nancy felt frustrated. She hadn’t unearthed a single clue in this case. There were never any signs of forced entry and no telltale marks on the safes. It was as if a ghost were pulling off the thefts.

  Nancy was exhausted, but that night she couldn’t get to sleep. She tossed in bed, trying to figure out how everyone fit into the latest crime. Massimo knew the apartment would be empty. Was it more than a coincidence that he had canceled his plans to join Sandro and Carlo? And where did Sandro and Claudia fit in? They had been acting weird, too.

  Nancy groaned, throwing her arm over her face as she rolled over in the twisted sheets yet again. How was she ever going to get to the bottom of this case?

  • • •

  “Boy, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to leave Rome and give up eating those delicious pastries every morning,” Bess said the following morning as she and Nancy finished their breakfast at the café near their pensione. “So what do we do today?”

  Nancy stifled a yawn. Even though she had slept late, she didn’t feel very rested. This case was starting to get to her. “We could try to find out where the stolen jewelry is going,” she suggested. “I also want to go back to Preziosi to look into the store’s finances. They don’t seem to have many customers, did you notice?”

  After breakfast Nancy called Claudia at the store. “Are you busy right now?” Nancy asked. “I wanted to ask you a couple of questions.”

  “Not that busy,” Claudia told her. “Things are quiet, and Paola is out looking at merchandise this morning.”

  “Actually, I was going to ask how well the store is doing,” Nancy said. “But if Paola’s not there . . .”

  “You want to see the accounting books?” Claudia guessed. She hesitated, then said, “If you come now, it will be okay. Paola won’t be back until after lunch.”

  “We’re on our way,” Nancy said, then hung up.

  Claudia was helping a customer when Nancy and Bess arrived. She motioned for them to go into the back, then returned to the woman who was looking at leather bags.

  In the back room Nancy saw a ledger sitting in the center of Paola’s desk. Claudia had obviously pulled it out for them.

  “That was my first sale of the day,” Claudia said a moment later, joining Nancy and Bess. “Lately sales are even slower than usual.”

  She sat down at Paola’s desk and gestured to the ledger. “Before you came I looked through this book to see if I could see anything that did not look right, but it is pretty much the usual business stuff. No large sums of money.”

  “So if she’s selling stolen jewelry over the counter, the books don’t show it,” Bess said. “Not that you would expect them to.”

  Nancy had been glancing at the figures, trying to make sense of them. “If I’m reading this thing correctly, these numbers don’t show a bustling business either,” she observed. “The store is barely breaking even.”

  “The rents on via Condotti are very high,” Claudia said with a sigh. “The tourist trade is not enough to carry us anymore. Paola is trying to change our merchandise to attract more local customers.”

  “So she may need more money to keep the store afloat,” Nancy said. “But so far we can’t prove any of the stolen jewelry has been here. Oh—by the way, you haven’t seen any Etruscan pins come in today, have you?” she asked.

  Seeing Claudia’s blank look, Nancy told her about Signora De Luca’s pin. As she talked Claudia grew visibly more distressed.

  “So the thief is still at work,” she said. “Sandro did not tell me a thing about this latest theft. We must do something!”

  Nancy was also surprised that Sandro hadn’t mentioned anything to Claudia. “Did you talk to him last night?” she asked.

  “No,” Claudia said, a little too quickly.

  Nancy looked at Claudia closely for a moment, then said, “Well, we need to know more about where the stolen jewelry is going. Who’s buying it? And is it being sold in Italy or smuggled out?”

  Bess seemed perplexed. “You mean learning that might help us figure out who the thief is?” she asked. “But that seems like pretty specialized information. How can we find it out?”

  “You need to talk to an expert,” Claudia said. “What about Fabio Andreotti? I know you suspect him, but I cannot imagine him stealing.”

  Nancy was doubtful, but she decided to go along with Claudia’s suggestion. If nothing else, it would give her a chance to find out more about how Andreotti himself might be involved in the thefts.

  The girls set out on their Vespas to catch Signor Andreotti at his office. Claudia piggybacked behind Nancy, giving her directions through the back streets, while Bess rode behind them. They were still several blocks away when Nancy felt Claudia’s grip tighten.

  “There he is!” she exclaimed in Nancy’s ear.

  Nancy stopped, waving for Bess to pull up alongside. “There who is?” she asked Claudia.

  “Fabio Andreotti,” Claudia replied. She gave a meaningful nod across the street. “At the café.”

  Nancy spotted Fabio Andreotti seated at an outdoor table under
an umbrella. He was engaged in a lively conversation with a woman seated across from him, his smile lighting up his stern, chiseled features. The woman’s back was to the girls.

  “Who’s he talking to?” Bess wondered aloud.

  “Maybe we should go closer to get a better look,” Claudia suggested.

  The three girls rode slowly down the road until they could see the woman’s profile. Claudia did a double-take when she saw the woman.

  “What is Paola doing here? She is supposed to be looking at merchandise,” she said in confusion. “I had no idea they knew each other.”

  This was news to Nancy, too. As the girls watched, Paola picked up a small fabric Preziosi sack near her chair and drew a package partially out of it, showing it to Andreotti. Then she slipped the package back and handed him the whole bag.

  Fabio Andreotti looked around him, an uncomfortable expression on his face. He started to say something, but Paola put her finger to her lips to silence him. Then, as the girls watched, she put on a pair of sunglasses, stood, and disappeared into the street!

  Chapter

  Eight

  DO YOU THINK THAT—” Bess began.

  “That was a rendezvous to pass off stolen goods?” Nancy finished the question for her.

  The three girls looked at one another. “Maybe it is the pin you were talking about,” Claudia suggested.

  Bess grabbed Nancy’s arm. “We have to get it before he can dispose of it!” she cried.

  “He’s paying the check now,” Nancy said as the art dealer rose. “Let’s follow him.”

  Signor Andreotti strolled down the street, swinging the sack Paola had given him. The girls drove their Vespas slowly on the opposite side, keeping behind him. A few blocks later they realized he was going back to his office.

  “Let’s get there first and just ‘happen’ to run into him in the lobby,” Nancy suggested. “Then he won’t have time to get rid of that bag.”

  Speeding past Signor Andreotti, they parked their Vespas near his office. They made a dash for the lobby. A few minutes later the art dealer sauntered into the building.

  “Claudia! And your charming friends,” he greeted them easily in his good English. “Have you brought your necklace to sell?”

  “We’re actually here for some advice,” Nancy said, making up her story as she went along. “We wanted to talk to you over lunch.”

  Signor Andreotti smiled. “It would have been a pleasure, but I’ve eaten. Why don’t you come up to my office instead?”

  The girls exchanged silent glances as they got into the elevator with him. Once they were all seated in his office, the art dealer said, “Four pretty young women in one day is a treat for me.” He put the sack he was carrying into a desk drawer.

  “Who is the fourth?” Claudia asked coyly. “There are only three of us here.”

  “Paola Rinzini,” the art dealer replied. “Do you know her?”

  Well, Nancy thought with surprise, he wasn’t trying to hide his association with Paola. “Claudia works at Paola’s store,” she put in.

  “You two are friends?” Claudia asked.

  Signor Andreotti smiled. “Just friends,” he said. “She comes to me for advice, too.”

  “She has Etruscan necklaces to sell?” Nancy asked, trying to keep her tone light.

  Signor Andreotti gave Nancy a look of mild surprise and shook his head. “No, but she is very interested in them. She wants to open a gallery, so I’m teaching her about antiquities.”

  “Really,” Claudia said, leaning forward. “But she would be your competition then, wouldn’t she?”

  Signor Andreotti gave a confident wave of his hand. “I have lifelong customers,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about Paola Rinzini at all.”

  Nancy’s mind was going in another direction. If Preziosi was barely breaking even, she thought, Paola would have to have another source of income to open her gallery—such as selling stolen Etruscan jewelry, for example.

  Of course, there was still the possibility that Andreotti was lying and was really helping Paola traffic her stolen goods. She still hadn’t seen what was in the sack Paola had given him.

  “I noticed you came in with a Preziosi bag,” Nancy said casually. “Claudia, do you think it could be the pin?”

  Claudia looked at Nancy in alarm, obviously not knowing how to respond.

  Turning back to Signor Andreotti, Nancy quickly improvised. “This morning a customer’s package was switched by accident. She bought a fake Etruscan pin, but when she got home she had a scarf instead,” she said smoothly. “Claudia turned the store upside down looking for that pin. Finally we figured it must have been put into another bag by mistake.”

  She gave the dealer a shy smile. “Perhaps Paola gave you that bag. She could have taken the pin by accident.”

  “I haven’t even looked in it,” Signor Andreotti said. “It’s a gift, for my advice on her gallery. I told her it wasn’t necessary.”

  “Well, would you mind checking for us? Just to be sure?” Bess asked, picking up on Nancy’s ruse.

  Signor Andreotti pulled the fabric sack out of his drawer. Taking a small, flat package from it, he carefully split the tape holding the lid closed, then pulled it off.

  Nestled inside the box was a beautiful leather belt.

  Claudia gave a deep sigh, making Nancy realize she had also been holding her breath. It looked as if Signor Andreotti was telling the truth.

  “I guess someone else has the pin,” Claudia said slowly. She looked even more dejected than Nancy felt.

  “I hope you find it,” Signor Andreotti said, putting the belt back in the drawer. “Now, how can I help you girls?”

  The vague moodiness Nancy had detected in Claudia earlier seemed to have returned. Claudia got up abruptly. “I think Nancy has something to ask,” she said, moving toward the door. “Unfortunately, I have to get back to the store.”

  Claudia barely waved goodbye, and then she was out the door. She hadn’t been her usual cheerful self that day, Nancy thought. And seeing the belt had made her even more glum than before. It was almost as if she was disappointed that Fabio Andreotti wasn’t the thief. Nancy couldn’t shake the feeling that Claudia was hiding something, but she had no idea what. Or maybe she was just ashamed that her detective friends couldn’t seem to crack this case.

  Signor Andreotti was looking at her expectantly, Nancy realized. She took a deep breath, then said, “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but someone is stealing Etruscan jewelry out of people’s homes.”

  She and Bess told him about everything, including the fact that someone had ransacked their room. “Since you’re a dealer,” Nancy concluded, “we thought you might be able to help us. We were hoping to uncover a clue as to where the jewelry could be going.”

  The art dealer’s initial expression of surprise had changed to one of close interest while Nancy talked. “Well!” he said now. “So this is the mystery behind your necklace.” Nancy and Bess nodded.

  “The jewelry is almost certainly being smuggled out of the country,” Andreotti continued. “Each piece is one of a kind. They would be easy to spot, even in Milan or Florence.”

  “How could they be smuggled out of the country?” Nancy asked.

  The art dealer considered her question for a moment. “One way is to send it out with regular shipments sent by a legal company. Then the jewelry would be very difficult to detect.”

  “What kind of company?” Bess asked.

  “Any company that ships out of the country. One that exports wine, for example.”

  That didn’t exactly narrow down the number of possible choices, Nancy realized. The three of them fell into a thoughtful silence. Signor Andreotti finally spoke up.

  “Why don’t you set a trap?” he suggested, his eyes twinkling. “Tempt the thief with something he or she can’t refuse.”

  Nancy frowned. “But if we don’t know who the thief is, how can we lure the person into a trap?”

&
nbsp; “Let me think,” said the art dealer, tapping his fingertips on his desk. “There’s a gala tomorrow night for a very talented artist who is having a big show. Perhaps we could set something up.”

  Bess jumped on the idea. “You mean, arrange for someone to wear an Etruscan necklace?”

  “Yes, and I know just the right person!” Signor Andreotti said triumphantly. “A friend of mine is visiting from France. I even have the perfect necklace for her to wear. I am sure she would be happy to be a—how do you call it?—decoy.”

  Signor Andreotti and the girls excitedly pieced together their trap. In the middle of the planning Nancy sat back in her chair and slapped her forehead.

  “Wait a minute. How can we be sure that the thief will be among the guests?”

  “It’s the right crowd,” Signor Andreotti said, showing her the list. Nancy didn’t know most of the names, but several of the women who had been burglarized were listed, including Sandro’s mother. Paola Rinzini’s name was penciled in at the bottom.

  “I invited Paola at lunch,” Signor Andreotti explained. “Give me a list of people you suspect, and I will add them. I’m one of the hosts, so I’m sure there won’t be a problem.”

  Nancy wrote down her name and Bess’s. Then she added Claudia, Sandro, Massimo, and after a moment, Karine Azar. When Signor Andreotti saw the list, he whistled.

  “It’s a good thing our artist is very young. I can say I invited you to generate excitement about the show among the younger generation.”

  After they had gone over all the details of the plan Signor Andreotti recommended a few stores for the girls to visit to buy items they would need the following night.

  As the girls got up to leave he said, “I’m glad you came to me. I would do anything I could to help my friends and to keep our treasured antiquities here in Italy. Besides,” he added, ushering them to the door, “this is the most fun I’ve had in years!”

  • • •

  When Nancy and Bess returned to Pensione Antonio, Bess paused at the telephone. “Maybe we should call Claudia,” she said to Nancy. “I mean, she’s been so nice to us. I hate to think of her as a suspect now. Maybe there’s a simple explanation for how she acted today.”