“He would’ve killed me.” Ravenna could barely say the words without heaving.
“Yes, he would have. If anything good came from my exile from Florence, it was that I saved your life by chance.”
Ravenna pressed her hands over her stomach to relieve the pressure, but the cuffs and the chain painfully poked her. “If he was about to kill you there at the haunted house, how did I come to meet you at his stables instead?”
Another grimace thinned Malina’s lips. “That was Giulia’s courtesy as well. When she didn’t see me banging on the door, screaming to be let out, she sent the boyfriend to check what I was up to. You should’ve seen him. The poor boy pissed himself as soon as he entered the sacrificial room. He couldn’t stop screaming and Livio asked his minion to kill him. Before dying, in a vain attempt to save his life, he gave away Giulia’s presence outside.” She shook her head. “When Giulia entered the room, dragged in by the minion, she immediately assessed the situation, gave her dead boyfriend a glance, and told Livio she wanted to be like him. He laughed, then said, ‘Little girl, you don’t know what you’re asking.’ She answered by walking to him and rising on tiptoes to kiss him on his mouth.”
Ravenna couldn’t shake the image of what must have been a bloody kiss and felt even worse. Despite the pain, she pressed down on her stomach and hunched over, gasping for air.
“Giulia wasn’t happy with me just dying and convinced Livio a better solution would be to pull one last, cruel prank on me by making you think I had an affair with your fiancé, then sacrifice me to Hazelthot. Giulia was jealous of you as well, and Livio liked the idea of humiliating you.”
“He probably thought I wouldn’t have dared to publicly reveal the affair.” Ravenna tasted blood in her mouth.
“Yes, I believe they counted on you coming alone and not bringing the cavalry along. That upset their plans for the two of us. In the commotion that followed, half of the household converged to the stable. Rumors spread fast among the servants, and soon after you left, escorted by your mother and their maids, half of Florence had arrived. I managed to escape while Livio tried to send everyone away.” Malina caressed her arms, goose bumps on her skin. She looked at the window and shivered. “It’s getting darker.”
“Are you okay?” Ravenna had noticed Malina’s hair looked more ruffled than a moment earlier.
As if following Ravenna’s thoughts, Malina passed her right hand through her mane. “The pull to change is getting stronger.”
Ravenna nodded, not knowing what to say or how to help her in any case. She decided to go for idle conversation. “What happened next?”
“As you know, Livio went on to marry several young girls who died either during childbirth or soon after—”
“Those girls were all from outside of Florence, seemingly with no families.” She did remember all the gossip Livio’s marriages generated for more than a decade. Anybody who knew her thought she wanted to know what happened to her ex fiancé.
“They were rarely seen outside of his properties and didn’t socialize. The only people allowed to see them were the family’s medicus, and Giulia.” Her hand still resting on her head, Malina leaned sideways against the radiator, adjusting her body once or twice before she could find a position. “Of course, nobody knew of Giulia. Nobody even suspected she was the only bride Livio kept and respected the whole time, while the others were sacrificial lambs. Literally.”
Ravenna was stuck at something Malina had just said and had barely listened afterwards. “Alberto Giudici…”
Malina shrugged. “What about him?” She massaged her temples with unsteady fingers.
“He was Livio’s medicus.”
Malina dismissed her words by waving one of her hands outward. “I would’ve known.”
“No, it wasn’t common knowledge. Alberto, who was related to my mother, presented Livio to my family, vouching for his intentions when Livio asked my hand in marriage. I remember the night Alberto came to talk to my father. One of the servants knocked on my room to tell me my father was talking with my mother’s cousin about marrying me to a merchant. I went downstairs and eavesdropped from the wall of the adjacent room. When my father asked about my potential husband’s wealth and health, Alberto told him he was his personal physician and that there was nothing to worry about.”
Malina scratched her head, then frowned. “Do you think Alberto knew of Livio’s proclivities?”
Ravenna’s heart was heavy. “I hope he didn’t, but if he did—” A sudden smell coming from under the door hit her nostrils and she gasped in recognition of where they were.
****
Alexander’s previous anger toward Ravenna turned to fear for her. He barely glanced at the plate Marta had brought him. Before him, positioned over a lacy napkin on a small coffee table, lay one of his favorite breakfasts, croissants fresh from the oven and the homemade marmalade Marta personally prepared with the apricots from his Amalfi villa. He had presently forgotten all about his headache. Samuel had kept talking on the phone while his mind replayed his last words to Ravenna. Sensing the angel was telling him something important, he tried to focus on the here and now. “Can you repeat that?”
“I said I’m driving to Ravenna’s. Maybe we can find a clue about her kidnappers. Malina never made it home, and we thoroughly searched her car, but it turned out to be clean.”
“Sure. I’ll meet you there.” Alexander threw the handset on his loveseat and almost dropped the breakfast plate on the floor when he stood and moved the coffee table out of the way in his eagerness to get out of the house, only to stumble on it. His head wasn’t as clear as he had thought.
“Mister Drako.” Marta was looking at him from the hallway. She was on the last step of the stairs, balancing a tray with a fuming moka, cup and saucer, and a second plate full of mini-pastries.
He heard the censure in her voice, but ignored her, and while trying to look more sober than he felt, he walked toward her. “Thanks.” He grabbed the moka and filled the cup to the brim.
Marta raised one eyebrow. “Sugar?”
He shook his head and drank the entire cup. Then he continued until the moka was empty and he felt like a black hole had just formed in his stomach.
Marta handed him a napkin. “You should let Pietro drive.”
Alexander knew she was right, but he couldn’t stand his own presence at the moment and needed to be alone. “I’m fine. Stop worrying about me.” He left a kiss on her cheek as he navigated around her and gained the stairs. He ran down before she could say anything that made irrefutable sense and forced him to follow her suggestion.
Probably called by his wife with a heads-up, Pietro managed to catch up with him at the garage door. “Mister Drako?”
The couple had a way of pronouncing his last name with so much loaded content that they were able to express a whole concept within it. “I already told your wife I’m fine.”
Pietro’s face was a mask, but Alexander noticed the way his lower lip trembled a bit. His majordomo was prompt in hiding the tick denoting his uneasiness. “I wanted to let you know that Miss Del Sarto came back yesterday afternoon and left a message for you. In case you haven’t touched base with her yet, she wanted to invite you for dinner yesterday night.”
“At what time was she here?” A sour feeling crept inside of Alexander, until he could taste it in his mouth.
Pietro removed a speck of dust from his livery. “It was in the afternoon, soon after lunch time.”
Uncertain of what to do with that information, Alexander thanked him and found his way inside his car without realizing he had done so. He was already halfway to Ravenna’s when he finally engaged his mind in the act of driving. Once he reached her house, the mere sight of her door threw his stomach in knots. Ravenna’s fiancé wearing an apron was the only image he could see. He stepped out of his Mercedes, but his legs refused to climb the steps.
“Alexander. Up here.” Samuel waved at him from the open window to the right of the
door. The angel disappeared for a moment, then reappeared beside the door he had opened for him.
Alexander took the stairs as steadily as his trembling legs allowed. “Any witnesses?” He didn’t know how to ask about the fiancé and hoped Karl wasn’t there.
“None. Ravenna was kidnapped between shifts. There are no signs of forced entry.” Samuel sidestepped to close the door behind him, then showed Alexander the wooden surface was intact. “We’re running prints, but I don’t think we’ll find anything useful.”
“She knew the person who abducted her.” Alexander looked around the hallway. The apartment didn’t show any sign of altercation. The pair of ballerina flats he had seen her wear were neatly arranged by the door. He saw her walking around, her black hair moving as she swayed to the kitchen. “Was she alone?” He didn’t want to know if she wasn’t, but what Pietro had told him and the sight of the kitchen table decked for two made him think.
Samuel followed Alexander’s eyes and he too focused on the table. “Yes, she was alone.” He walked to one of the chairs that lay at an angle to the table and automatically put it back under it.
“Was she expecting someone?” Alexander didn’t like asking roundabout questions, but when it came to Ravenna, he had to admit he wasn’t sure how to behave.
“I already called her fiancé, Karl, and asked him to come here.” Samuel gave his cell phone a peek. “Meanwhile, let’s search the rest of the house and see if we can find anything useful.”
Alexander dragged his feet after Samuel, trying his best to steady his nerves before Karl arrived. Not even ten minutes of fruitless search had passed when the doorbell rang.
Samuel opened the door for Karl and it was immediately evident the two men knew each other. Somehow, Alexander took offense to that. Then Samuel made the official introduction between the two, and when Karl approached him to shake his hand, Alexander counted to ten before he reciprocated the gesture.
Karl turned to Samuel. “We met yesterday.”
“You did?” The angel gave Alexander a puzzled look.
He looked down at the point of his shoes, suddenly remembering he hadn’t thought necessary to mention that detail to Samuel when they had talked earlier. “I came by to talk to Ravenna about the case, but she wasn’t home. Karl was here.”
Samuel stared at him for a moment longer than necessary, but at least the angel didn’t humiliate him by putting him on the spot. Instead, Samuel took a chair from the kitchen and invited the other two to sit.
“What is this all about?” Karl warily looked around. “And where is Ravenna?”
Samuel shifted on his chair, his broken wings restrained by the back. “Karl, I’m sorry I have to tell you this way, but I must inform you that Ravenna was kidnapped yesterday.”
Karl, who had just sat, shot back up. “No, it’s not possible!” He leaned over the table and steadied himself by pressing his hands on the surface.
“I’m sorry.” Samuel walked to the sink, took one of the two long-stemmed glasses set on the table, filled it halfway, then strolled back to the table and placed it before Karl.
“I prepared this romantic dinner for us.” Karl didn’t pick up the glass. He stared at the table, his eyes glassy. “I thought it would fix things between us.”
Samuel sat back on his chair and rearranged his wings behind him. “I apologize in advance, but I need to ask you—”
Karl raised his face to look at the angel. “Anything. You can ask me anything.”
Samuel sighed. “You were here when Alexander stopped by, but did you see Ravenna?”
“Yes, I did see her.” Karl pointed his chin at Alexander. “She arrived as he left.” He brought a hand to his forehead and pressed thumb and index finger to his temples.
“Did you notice anything different about her?” Samuel shifted once again on his seat, several feathers had gotten stuck between the bars composing the back of his chair.
Karl let out a sound that had started as a mirthless laugh and had become almost a sob. “No, everything was exactly the same.” He gestured toward the table. “She was as pissed at me as she was last time I had talked to her. Nothing had changed.” He finally lowered himself on the chair and took a gulp from the glass. “I had hoped she would reconsider our breakup, but she kicked me out and asked for her keys back instead. When I left, she was closed in the master bathroom. She didn’t even say good-bye.”
Alexander’s heart did a somersault in his chest. He had a hard time controlling his reaction to the news. He put his hands under his thighs and hoped his face wouldn’t betray his highly inappropriate sentiments.
“I wish I would’ve stayed longer. Maybe, if I were here yesterday, she would be safe now. Still pissed at me, but at least safe.”
That comment from Karl had the effect to sober up Alexander immediately. He couldn’t help but wonder if she would be in his arms now, had he given her time to explain herself. He hadn’t let her talk, but insulted her and left. “Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary?” He schooled his face to hide his growing anxiety and guilt.
Karl seemed to think about it for a moment. “No, besides the people outside patrolling her house, everything looked normal.”
Alexander remembered how Karl had acknowledged him. “You thought I was one of the detail people. Had you talked to any of them earlier?”
“Yes, as I reached for the door, one of them walked to the steps and asked me who I was. When I explained him I was Ravenna’s fiancé—” He shook his head and murmured under his breath, “Ex-fiancé,” grimaced, then continued, “he let me enter the house.”
Samuel perked up. “Can you describe him to me?”
Karl nodded. “Big, as would be expected in his line of work, razor-shaved head, but dark-brown stubble, and a northern accent. He gave me his name, but I can’t remember it now.”
Samuel gave him a sympathetic shrug. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter. He almost certainly gave you a fake name. He doesn’t fit any of the people I sent to check on Ravenna, and none of them would’ve asked you who you were anyway. They were all briefed about her family and friends.”
“Can you remember anything else about this man? Anything at all?” Alexander had enough of sitting. He needed to do something and soon.
Karl shook his head at first, then something passed through his mind. “I don’t know if it’s important or not, but the man was chewing on a licorice stick. You know the small piece of wood people chewed on several decades ago?”
Alexander immediately connected what Karl was depicting with what had been an ancient form of toothbrush and toothpaste all rolled in one. He had used to chew on the thin branch of licorice when he was a kid in Greece. Washing one’s teeth and refreshing one’s breath with it had been popular for several centuries in Italy, and only fell out of practice in the last fifty years or so.
Karl stood up. “As I said, it’s nothing. I noticed it only because I love licorice sticks, and it’s so hard to find any store that sells them anymore. I even asked him where I could buy any, but he seemed put out by the question now that I think about it. Anyway, he said it was a gift and left. ”
“Do you remember the make of his car?” Samuel pushed his chair back and stood to accompany Karl to the door.
“No, I’m sorry. He approached me when I had already opened the door and my thoughts were on preparing the surprise for Ravenna. I didn’t think anything strange of him asking my credentials. Actually, it assured me Ravenna was in good hands.” Karl walked through the hallway with a somber expression. His eyes moistened.
Alexander felt a shred of sympathy for the man and gave him his hand. “It isn’t your fault. Anyone would’ve thought the same.”
“He’s right. We’ll find her. Don’t worry.” Samuel patted Karl on his shoulder as he opened the door for him. He waited for Karl to descend the steps, then turned to Alexander. “What’s going on between you and Ravenna?”
“We’ve spent a night together. That’s all.”
He didn’t want to have that conversation, but understood Samuel needed to know. “I wouldn’t have put her in any danger.” He stared at the angel. “You know that.”
Samuel nodded. “You care about her.”
“I do.” He wanted her back at his side more than anything he had ever wanted in his long life. Desperation had a strange way of affecting one’s brain. In Alexander’s case, his mental processes sharpened. “I have a hunch…” When Karl had mentioned the licorice sticks, he had immediately thought to look for all the places in Rome that sold that item.
“What is it?” Samuel stretched his wings to shrug his shoulders.
Alexander raised one finger for the angel to give him a moment, then tapped his cell phone to launch a search. “Let’s see how easy is to find licorice sticks around here.” When the search came back with a list of only three stores in the whole city, he wasn’t surprised. Two of the stores, as expected, were specialized in naturopathic products. One of the two was a place he had visited recently. He looked at Samuel, who had just peeked at the results and had sworn out loud. “It can’t be a coincidence.”
He thought he could smell freshly brewed chamomile and verbena tea with a hint of licorice.
Chapter Ten
Ravenna looked around the small room. The night was almost upon them. The shadows of the bars framing the window had grown longer and longer, until they had disappeared, swallowed by soft light of the end of day.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Malina’s pleas had grown frantic in the last hour.
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