Charmer's Death (Temptation in Florence Book 2)

by boeker, beate

  Enrique gave Ricciarda's raven beauty another wistful glance, then waved and said he had to return to the Café.

  “I'm glad she has gone.” Fabbiola shook her head. “She made me nervous, that one.”

  Ricciarda took a deep breath. “Boy, do I agree. This was an exciting morning.”

  Garini came back with long steps. “Where is Annalisa?”

  Carlina's eyes widened. “Do you think she's in danger?”

  “No.” His voice was curt. “But she needs to take your place at Temptation.”

  “My place? At Temptation? Why, in God's name? Yesterday, you almost tore me to shreds for allowing her to work here, and today, you ask me where she is.” All at once, things seemed too big to take in. She blinked.

  He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “Today, things are different.” He grabbed her arm and led her back to the store room where he took one of the foldable chairs from the wall. “Sit down and call her. She has to come here. I need you with me.”

  Carlina felt too rattled to resist. She dialed Annalisa's number, cut short her apologies for not having appeared at work in time, and asked her to come to Temptation to help immediately without divulging any background information.

  Annalisa promised to come within the next fifteen minutes.

  Fabbiola suddenly remembered that she urgently needed to buy Padano Grano cheese for lunch by order of her sister Benedetta and rushed from the store with an airy wave of the cushion.

  The doorbell rang, and a pair of giggling girls walked in. Ricciarda went to the front of the store to deal with them.

  Carlina leaned her head against the shelf behind her, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

  “Don't you ever do this to me again.” Stefano's voice was low, but it had a harsh edge.

  Her eyes flew open. “What do you mean?”

  “Getting yourself almost killed.” He bent forward and took her chin in his hands. His light eyes bore into hers. “I've never been so scared in my life.”

  His fingers felt warm and firm, and the expression on his usually so imperturbable face warmed her deep inside. “I didn't do it on purpose, Garini.”

  “I know.” He shook his head as if he still couldn't believe it.

  “Where are you taking me now?”

  “Home.” His mouth was grim. “Your home, that is.”

  “That's not necessary. Give me another five minutes, and I'll be fine again.”

  “It's very necessary. I told your great-uncle that he could help me by shadowing Leopold Morin.”

  “Who?” Carlina looked puzzled.

  “The French tourist who fainted on top of Trevor Accanto.”

  She got there with lightning speed. “Morin?” Her hand crept to her cheek in dismay. “You mean they're related?”

  “It's possible. What if they got divorced because Suzanne couldn't get over Trevor and Leopold Morin decided to take his revenge? Alternatively, she could be his sister, and he feels that Trevor had to be punished for making a wreck out of her.”

  Carlina's head whirled. “It's all a bit much for one morning. But I've never heard of a murderer who faints on top of his victim.”

  His mouth twisted. “You don't know Leopold Morin. He's a persnickety man. I wouldn't put it past him to do the deed and then faint in horror.”

  “What about the nylons? How did he get them?”

  Garini shook his head. “I don't know. We'll figure it out later. But first, I need to warn your Uncle Teo and take him off the case.”

  “So that's why he was so busy these last days and looked like Santa Claus with a secret.” Carlina got up. “I thought he had figured out a new way to fold money for the Christmas gifts.”

  “Into kangaroos?” he asked.

  Carlina gave him a sharp glance. “Are you making fun of my family?”

  He gave her one of his rare smiles. “I'd never dare.”

  But when they walked into Benedetta's kitchen, the one place where they could be sure to find all the family information they needed, any lingering trace of amusement dropped from his face. “What on earth--?”

  Leopold Morin was sitting at Benedetta's kitchen table, right next to Uncle Teo.

  They looked up at the same time, tears running down both their faces.

  “Why are you crying?” Carlina darted forward. Something sharp pricked her eyes. She blinked and recognized the mountain of brown, paper-thin peels in front of the two men and the glistening pieces of white onion in the bowl between them.

  “They're cutting onions together.” Garini's mouth was grim. “What a charming family picture.” His voice was acid.

  Uncle Teo ducked his head.

  Benedetta peered around the door of a cupboard where she had rummaged around. “Ah, the Commissario, and Carlina! Are you staying for lunch? Do you know Leo?” She waved at the two men. “He's French, but his Italian is beautiful.” She kissed her fingertips. “So impressive.”

  Carlina's gaze darted from one to the other.

  Leopold Morin was shifting on his chair like a five-year-old with a bad conscience.

  Uncle Teo wiped away his tears, winked at Carlina, and got up. “Listen, Commissario, I need to talk to you.”

  He took Stefano by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

  Benedetta lifted her eyebrows and looked at Carlina. “What's going on?”

  “Nothing.” Carlina followed the men and closed the door behind her.

  “He was lonely,” Uncle Teo was in the middle of a voluble explanation, both hands twirling in front of his chest. “And me, I know what it's like to be lonely. So we sort of . . . talked.”

  “I told you to keep your distance, Signor Mantoni!” Garini's voice was glacial.

  “Well, yes, I know.” Uncle Teo moved his head from side to side as if considering the idea. “And I admit that the first contact wasn't voluntary. I . . . well, I bumped into him.”

  Stefano didn't say anything, but his silence was intimidating enough. It swirled around him like a black cloud.

  “And we . . . we started to talk, and then I realized what a nice man he was.” Uncle Teo beamed at him.

  Garini pressed his lips together.

  “You can trust me, Commissario.” Uncle Teo nodded to himself. “I've been around for almost eight decades, and I know people. Leo would never hurt a fly. Never.”

  Stefano's face didn't twitch a muscle. “Your harmless Leo was found on top of the victim in a dead faint.”

  “Yes, he told me so.” Uncle Teo wrinkled his nose. “A bit disgusting, especially for him. He easily finds things disgusting, you know, and--”

  Garini interrupted him, “And this morning, a Suzanne Morin threatened Carlina with a gun at Temptation.”

  Uncle Teo turned his head in surprise and peered at Carlina. “Oh, my. Are you all right, Carlina?”

  “Yes, I am, Uncle Teo,” Carlina came closer. “But I really think you should have obeyed the Commissario. It could be dangerous, you know.”

  “Nonsense.” Uncle Teo drew himself up, and before they could stop him, he turned on his heels, burst through the door into the kitchen and launched himself at his new friend. “I say, Leo, is it possible that you are related to a Suzanne Morin?”

  The sharp vegetable knife dropped with a clatter onto the shiny tiles on the floor. Leopold Morin turned as white as the onions in the bowl next to him and fainted.

  Benedetta jumped forward and caught his slight frame before he could drop to the floor. “Have you gone out of your mind, Uncle Teo?”

  Garini suppressed an oath. Two long steps brought him next to the Frenchman. “We need to lie him down somewhere.”

  “In my room.” Benedetta lead the way.

  Garini carried the lifeless Leopold and laid him down on Benedetta's bed. Then he looked around. The whole room was painted in lilac with only the ceiling left in white. Lilac curtains filtered the weak winter-light, and even the bedspread had a deep purple hue.

  Benedetta held a peeled o
nion beneath Leo's nose.

  His eyelashes fluttered, then opened. “Where am I?”

  “In my bedroom.” Benedetta sat on the bed and started to rub Leopold's hands.

  An expression of panic came into Leo's eyes.

  “I'm here, too.” Uncle Teo bent forward. “And so is the Commissario.”

  “The Commissario.” Leo repeated. His eyes opened until the whites showed all around.

  “You don't need to be afraid,” Uncle Teo sat on the other side of the bed. “The Commissario is almost a member of the family. He looks fierce, but underneath, he's not that bad.”

  Carlina choked.

  Garini took out a small notebook. “I need to take your statement as soon as possible, Mr. Morin.”

  Leopold Morin sighed and closed his eyes again.

  “He needs more time,” Benedetta gave the Commissario a dark look. “He has only just come back from a deep faint.”

  “I don't have much time, Signora.” Garini returned the look with an impassive face.

  “It's all right.” Leopold lifted his hand. “I will tell you everything.”

  “I'd like to tape your statement if I may.” Garini pulled the small tape recorder from the pocket of his leather jacket. “And I should tell you that you have the right to ask for the presence of a lawyer.”

  “I don't need a lawyer, and yes, you can tape everything I say.” Leopold started to talk without opening his eyes.

  For once, the whole Mantoni family kept quiet, and only the cultivated voice with the slight French accent filled the purple shadows of the room.

  “I got married to Suzanne eight years ago. I always knew she didn't love me as much as I loved her, but that didn't matter to me. I also knew she married me after a big disappointment, but I didn't care. We were happy, or so I thought.”

  Leopold took a deep breath. The tight control of his emotions was only visible in the stiff way he held his hands flat on the lilac cover, at the sides of his body.“Last year, we decided to go to Florence for the Christmas holidays. I spent the morning in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. It's my favorite library. When I came back to our hotel room, I found a letter. Suzanne had left me . . . for a man she had only met that very morning. She said it had been a “coup de foudre”, love at first glance. She said he was the one man she had been waiting for all her life. She asked me to forgive her.”

  No one moved. The quiet voice held them enthralled.

  “I know it sounds unbelievable, but it happened like that. I tried to find her.” The voice grew tight with the memory. “She had turned off her phone. I didn't find a trace. I thought they had left Florence. Finally, I decided to go back home. I waited for Suzanne to come back. I waited for weeks.”

  Carlina swallowed. She had a lump in her throat.

  “Then, one day in January, Suzanne was back at her work. She looked like a different woman, crazy, worn-out, a decade older. I tried to make her talk to me. She said he had dropped her. He had dropped my Suzanne. He had destroyed her.” His thin shoulders shook. “She didn't want to come back to me. She said she wasn't worth it.”

  He fell silent.

  “Please go on, Signor Morin.” Garini's voice held a gentle note.

  Leopold opened his eyes and looked at him. “I found out his name. I found out that he came back to Florence every year. And every year, he had a new lover. I decided to go and see him. I wanted to see the man who had destroyed my Suzanne.”

  Benedetta caught her breath so loud, they could all hear it.

  “And I did.” Morin sat up. “He was attractive, yes, but I could not see the reason why women loved him so much. I followed him wherever he went. I tried to understand. It became . . . an obsession.”

  “Did you ever talk to him?” Garini asked.

  “Yes.” The thin face looked tired. “I once asked him the way to the library. He knew it. He was a well-educated man.” He fell silent and looked at his hands.

  “What happened next?” Uncle Teo's voice sounded rough.

  Garini gave him a warning glance.

  “I found out that he often went to church. He never stayed long. Five minutes, sometimes less. He didn't go to confession; he just prayed.” Leopold closed his eyes for a brief moment. “That morning, I didn't feel like following him into the building. I knew he would come out soon, and it . . . it perturbed me to see him pray. It seemed a sacrilege. I couldn't bear it. So I went to the café across the street and ordered a coffee. It was such a cold day. I never stopped looking at the doors, though.”

  “Did you see anybody come in or go out? Anybody you knew?” Garini bent forward.

  Leopold didn't hesitate. “No. I saw some women, but with their thick coats and scarves, they all looked alike. I wasn't paying attention to the women anyway; I only wanted to follow him when he came out again.” He shrugged. “But he didn't come.”

  Benedetta's eyes grew rounder every second.

  “I finally decided to find out what had become of him. As far as I knew, there was no other exit to the church, but maybe I wasn't well informed. I went inside. It was icy and dark. I walked slowly, as if in admiration of the building. Like a normal tourist.” He gave a little nod. The pink skin on his scalp showed through the short-cropped hair. “I didn't see anybody. I thought I had missed him, but to make sure, I went to the front.” He shrugged. “He always used to pray in the front. The back seat wasn't the right place for him.” He swallowed so hard, his Adam's apple moved visibly. “I stumbled over him. I knew immediately it was him. I can't tell you why. That's the last I remember until . . . “

  “Until?” Benedetta bent forward.

  “Until that dreadful Swiss woman tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on me.” His thin lips twisted at the memory, and a bit of color came back into his pale cheeks.

  Garini stared at him without twitching a muscle. “What about your wife?”

  Lines of sadness appeared next to Leopold's mouth. “She cut off contact and filed for a divorce. I haven't seen her since August.”

  Carlina and Garini exchanged a glance.

  Then Garini bent forward. “Are you willing to swear that you haven't seen her since August?”

  He looked surprised. “I swear.”

  “Have you been in touch with her in any other way? The phone? E-Mail? Letters?”

  “No. Nothing at all.” Leopold shook his head in slow motion. “She said it was too painful for her.”

  Garini leaned back. “Your wife, Signor Morin, threatened Carlina Ashley,” he made a move with his hand and indicated Carlina, “today with a gun.”

  Leopold gasped and jumped from the bed. “Suzanne is in Florence? Why?” He swayed and grabbed the bedpost to steady himself.

  “Because she wanted to know about the current lover of Trevor,” Carlina said. “She is convinced that this year's lover killed him. Now she wants to take her revenge on her.”

  Benedetta gave a little cry. “But that's Annalisa.”

  Leopold looked confused. “Who's Annalisa?”

  “My daughter!” Benedetta looked at the onion she still held in her hand as if surprised to find it there and threw it aside. “I have to go to her!” She turned toward the door.

  “Suzanne is now at the police station.” Garini's quiet voice stopped her. “Annalisa is in no danger whatsoever.”

  “But what if they let this Suzanne go?” Benedetta crossed her arms in front of her chest. “She will come here, and she will want to hurt Annalisa!”

  “They have strict orders not to let her go until I'm back.”

  “Madonna!” A voice came from the door. “What are you all doing in Mama's bed-room?”

  “Emma!” Bendetta hurried to her eldest daughter. “Annalisa is in danger!”

  Emma laughed. “You must have misunderstood something, Mama. Usually, it's Annalisa who presents a danger for others.”

  Benedetta stamped her foot. “How dare you say such a thing about your sister, Emma?”

  Emma shrugged. “I kno
w her.” Then she looked at the assembly with surprise written large in her brilliant eyes. “You still haven't explained while you're all standing around the bed?” She craned her neck. “Has anything special happened?”

  Garini gave her a measuring glance. “I'll explain everything to you in a minute, in Carlina's apartment. Would you go upstairs? Maybe Carlina can go with you?”

  Carlina nodded and took her cousin by the arm, but when Garini started to speak again, she stopped at the door.

  Garini slipped the recording machine back into his pocket and turned to Leopold. “I would advise you, Signor Morin, to stay with your friends.” He gave Uncle Teo a glance. “You will not help anybody if you rush to the police station now.”

  Leopold wrung his hands. “Suzanne! Is she . . . is she all right?”

  Garini shook his head. “Physically, she only has a scratch that will soon heal, but I'm afraid she's not quite . . . “

  “What?”

  “ . . . of sound mind.”

  Leopold started to tremble.

  “A psychologist will talk to her, but it would surprise me if she should be left alone after this.”

  “Left alone? You mean she'll become institutionalized?”

  “I don't know.” Garini gave him a long look. “I'm inclined to believe your story, Signor Morin. If it is true, you should know one thing: It is not your fault.”

  The Frenchman looked at him, his skin stretched tight over his face. “I wasn't enough for her.”

  “That's her mistake, not yours.” Garini said. “For the time being, stay here. Please.”

  Uncle Teo nodded and placed a hand on Leopold's shoulder. “Let's get you something to drink, and then we'll eat lunch. Benedetta is a wonderful cook, and you'll feel better after you've eaten something.”

  Emma looked at her cousin. “Talking about lunch - weren't we supposed to meet at Temptation today?”

  “Plans changed.” Carlina drew her through the door. “Come upstairs, and I'll explain everything.”

  Two minutes later, when Garini closed the door to Carlina's department behind him, fear flared up in Emma's eyes. “What is this?” She turned on her cousin like a swift falcon. “A cross-examination?”

  Carlina looked at the floor. “Garini needs to talk to you, and I thought you might want to have me close. But I can leave, if you'd rather not have me here.” She turned toward the door.