by Beate Boeker
Just then, a cell phone gave a ping. They all jumped. Emma – who had not said a word for ages – pulled out her phone and checked her messages, then looked up. “It's for you, Carlina.”
“For me?” Carlina frowned. “Why do you get messages for me?”
“It's from my friend Andrea. He said a friend of his cousin is moving out of an apartment right here in the historical center, and I told them you might be interested.”
“Why sure.” Carlina looked at Garini for confirmation.
He nodded.
Emma looked at her cell phone. “They say now would be convenient.”
“Now?” Carlina gulped. “It's eleven o'clock at night.”
Emma shrugged. “They're leaving town for a week tomorrow and just remembered to send the message.”
“Well, then we don't have much choice.” Carlina turned toward the staircase. “I'll get my coat.”
“What about me?” Olga asked. “Are you shelving the topic of an attempted murder just because it's not convenient?”
A pause followed, so intense it was almost painful. The bolder members of the family – Emma, Lucio, and Fabbiola - met her gaze without smiling. The others looked away.
Uncle Teo cleared his throat. “Come with me.” He took her arm. “We'll cool your wrist, so you'll soon feel better.”
Twenty minutes later, Carlina and Stefano were standing in the middle of an apartment. It was on the second floor in a historical building, with the neighboring houses so close that you could touch them if you leaned out of the window.
“I know why they wanted to do the viewing at night,” Garini whispered into Carlina's ear. “At night, you don't notice that the place is much too dark.”
“Our house is pretty dark, too,” Carlina said. “At least on the ground floor.”
“True, but at least it doesn't smell of mold.”
“It's not that bad.” Carlina was determined to see the good points of the apartment. “The bedroom is nice, though, isn't it?” She knew that Stefano liked to spend time in his bedroom. That's where he played the saxophone and listened to music. It was also the place she liked most in his current apartment. It was full of his personality, while the other rooms had a bare aspect that didn't make her feel welcome.
The young man who showed them around the apartment flung open the door to the bathroom. “I won't follow you in. It's too small for all of us.”
Carlina went through the door and almost stumbled backward. The smell of mold became so strong that she had difficulty breathing. “Oh, my.” She suppressed the reflex to cover her nose with her hand.
One look at Garini was enough – they had to get out of here, and fast.
As they trooped out, her shoulders slumped. “We'll never find something.” A sigh from somewhere deep inside went through her, and a sudden wave of fatigue almost swept her off her feet. “Is it us? Are we too demanding?”
“No.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. “We'll find something. We just have to keep on looking.” He stopped at the next lantern and turned her face to him. “You're too tired tonight.” His lips brushed hers. “Tomorrow, things will look better.”
Carlina sighed. “I don't want to go home. The idea of possibly meeting Olga on the stairs is making me queasy.”
He smiled. “I've got a solution for that. Stay with me tonight.”
Something warm filled her, and her heart expanded. “I think I'll take you up on that offer, Commissario.”
A quarter of an hour later, Stefano opened the door to his apartment and let her go in first.
One of the nicest things about being in a relationship is the way you can snuggle up together at night. Carlina smiled as she went inside and hung up her coat. Due to his job, they couldn't share the night as often as they wanted, and she was looking forward to curling up with him. Safe from interruptions, able to shut out the world for a few hours. She sighed in happy anticipation when her foot slipped and she lost her balance. With a crash, she ended up on her back. “Ouch!” Her hand touched the stone tiles on the floor and slipped to the side. “What on earth . . . ?”
Garini bent down. “Are you all right?”
She stared at the floor. “Everything's wet! That's why I slipped. Look!” She pointed at the floor where a puddle had formed.
His gaze followed her outstretched finger. The trickle of water came from underneath the bedroom door. With two big strides, he went to the door and pushed it open.
From where she was on the floor, Carlina could only see the profile of his face. It looked grim. She could see him swallow hard. Fear clutched her stomach. She scrambled to her feet and hurried to his side, where she took his hand while forcing herself to look inside.
Something in the center of the ceiling had leaked and had caused the plaster to come down in big, white blobs. The bed was covered with wet plaster, as was half the floor, where bits of plaster floated around in puddles. Behind Garini's double-bed, the wall was covered with fitted shelves which went from floor to ceiling, one side filled with CDs, the other with books, and all the books at the top and at the bottom had soaked up the water.
Carlina winced. It looked as if most of the damage was in the middle of the ceiling and on the floor, but who knew if the four music boxes that were hanging in the four corners of the room at a tilted angle had suffered. And what about the expensive CD player on the wall? And most of all, what about Stefano's beloved--
“My sax.” His voice sounded as if something had been torn from him. He crossed the room and picked up his saxophone like a baby. With one hand, he wiped the water from its shiny surface. The instrument had rested on its stand by the window, so at least it hadn't stood in a puddle, but bits of plaster had dropped onto it. “I know I should have kept the sax in its case, but I love to see it. It's such a beautiful instrument.” He swallowed visibly. “How could I know that the ceiling would fall onto it?”
Carlina bit her lips. “I'm so sorry.”
He looked up and gave her a wry smile. “I'm afraid I can't offer you a bed tonight after all.”
Something inside her cracked. How sweet of him to think of me when his most precious belongings are under water. She returned the smile. “We still have mine.”
It only took ten minutes to find out that the water came from a broken pipe somewhere inside the walls because the neighbors above them had no problems at all. The subsequent call to the landlord was frustrating because he proved to be extremely reluctant to do anything at all – he just advised them to cut off the main water supply to the apartment, claiming he wasn't in town and could only come to look at the damage in two days' time. Garini's face was grim when he cut the line. “That's it,” he said. “I'll have to move out as soon as possible. He was never easy to deal with, but this is taking things to extremes.”
“Can't you threaten him?”
He looked at her, his mouth a thin line. “Sure. I could threaten him with legal consequences. But then, I'd have to deal with mountains of paperwork, would have to be bothered with this for years, and in the end, I would only spend a huge amount of money, probably to settle out of court. No way.” He shook his head. “Choose your battles, they say. This is not a battle I'm going to fight. I was going to leave soon anyway. We'll find something else, something better. I'll warn my neighbors, though.” He cocked his head to the side, and for the first time since entering the apartment, his forbidding expression softened somewhat. “The guy on the top floor is well connected to several powerful people in town. I don't like him and have given him a wide berth in the past, but I'm sure he can give my landlord hell.”
She took a deep breath. “Right. Then let's see what we can salvage here.” In the next two hours, they moved Garini's stuff out of the danger zone and put everything into the living room to dry. In the end, the apartment was a total mess, and they were both exhausted.
“At least, we still have a place to stay tonight,” Carlina said.
“Yes,” he said with a glimme
r of a smile. “Let's just hope your family has already gone to bed.”
They were lucky and didn't meet anybody as they went upstairs to Carlina's apartment at the top floor of the Mantoni family house. When they finally fell into Carlina's bed, she felt too tired to blink.
“Thanks for your help, Carlina.” He pushed her hair from her face and kissed her. “I'll make it up to you. I'm not sure if I'll have time off work tomorrow night, but if I do, I'll--”
Her eyes closed all by themselves. “I don't have time tomorrow evening. I'm invited to Aunt Violetta's birthday.” Her words were a mumble. “And so are you.”
His hand jerked back. “Whose birthday?”
“Aunt Violetta's. It's her 99th birthday. If we're lucky, she'll be there, and --” Carlina fell asleep before she could finish the sentence.
When she opened her eyes the next morning, he was already dressed. “I have to go, love.”
She smiled at him. His hair was still wet from the shower, and she could catch a faint whiff of his aftershave. Yummy. “Good luck with everything today.”
He bent down and gave her a kiss. “Thanks. By the way, did I understand you correctly last night? We're invited to a birthday of some aunt or other but she might not even be there? Please tell me you were too tired to speak straight and that's it's not another Mantoni thing.”
Carlina stretched and grinned. She felt wide-awake and happy in spite of the trouble with the apartment. Must be because he's here. “I'm afraid it is a Mantoni thing. She'll be 99, you see, and it's possible that she'll be too tired to get up. However, if that's the case, we'll have the party without her.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Ever heard about canceling a party?”
“Oh, no!” Carlina shook her head with vehemence. “It would be a shame to let all that food go to waste.”
“Of course.” His voice was dry.
“It's a family tradition.”
He sighed. “I should have known.”
“Actually, I wouldn't miss her birthday party for the world. They're always spectacular as Aunt Violetta is not only quite deaf but also thinks that anybody over eighty has the perfect right to say the truth at all times without bothering to be polite. It's quite entertaining.”
“Sounds great.” The irony in his voice was obvious. “But what if she's not there?”
“Oh, then it's pretty tame, but I hope she'll be up to it tonight. She's only missed her own party once so far.” Carlina sat up and hugged her knees.
He smiled. “You're looking cute with your hair all tousled like that.”
She leaned her head to the side and gave him a mischievous smile. “Yeah? You can tousle it some more, you know.”
“Tonight,” he promised. “Now, I have to run.”
“Tonight? You mean, after Aunt Violetta's party?”
Garini grimaced. “Do I have to come?”
Carlina hesitated. “I don't want to scare you, but she said she's very much looking forward to meeting you.”
“What?” He took a step back.
She shrugged. “Real life romances are her hobby. And she's delighted that I've found someone 'at long last'. Or so she says.”
He closed his eyes. “Oh, no.”
“We could say you had to work,” Carlina offered. “Or that you had to take care of your inundated apartment. Which wouldn't even be a lie. She doesn't know that the landlord has refused to come tonight.”
He lifted his chin. “Or we might face the music. I guess I'll have to meet her sooner or later.”
“If she doesn't die first.”
Garini started to laugh. “That's one of the things I love about you, Carlina. There's nothing mealy-mouthed about you.”
She grinned. “I must have gotten that from Aunt Violetta.”
II
That evening, when he was introduced to Aunt Violetta, Garini realized that he had to ask for better preparation in the future to make sure his facial expression did not betray his feelings. Aunt Violetta was twice as broad as she was high. Her chins spread out until they merged into her massive chest, and the brown pile of hair on top of her head was so abundant that it could only be a wig. She moved around in a wheelchair that she worked with an electric panel and shouted her every thought at the top of her voice. To celebrate the occasion, she was wearing a vibrant orange dress that gave Garini the impression of looking at the setting sun with loads of hair on top. When she wheeled the chair around and faced him, he found it hard to keep his expression neutral.
“Ah! The famous Commissario.” Aunt Violetta drove toward him at full speed.
Carlina grabbed his arm. “Don't move,” she hissed. “It's a test.”
Aunt Violetta stopped the electric wheelchair with screeching brakes at the last minute, just before she touched his knees.
“Did you pimp that wheelchair?” Garini couldn't stop himself from asking.
“Of course.” She gave him a wicked grin. “Are you going to arrest me?”
“No.” He returned her gaze, trying to hide his amusement. “Not my department. Am not even sure if there's a law against it.”
“Why are you going out with my Carlina?” Her eyes were milky from age, but the tone of her voice left no doubt that her mind was as sharp as ever.
He realized that a hush had fallen over the assembled family. At least forty people were present in the room that was part of Violetta's ancient villa on the hills north of Florence. The old house would have been intimidating by its sheer size if it wasn't obvious from the cracks in the amber walls and the sagging hinges of the high doors that Aunt Violetta had neglected its upkeep. The room where Violetta greeted her guests must have been a small ballroom in another time, with two glittering chandeliers above them. The sound of clinking glasses, talking and laughter had filled it when he had entered with Carlina, but after Aunt Violetta's question, he could feel the expectant silence.
“I'm going out with Carlina because I admire her.” He didn't have to think about that. Carlina's hand was still in the crook of his arm, and he could feel it tremble. He slanted her a quick glance. She was shaking with laughter, amused about the antics of her family. Again.
“What exactly do you admire in her?” Aunt Violetta's voice could be heard in the furthest corner of the room, probably as far as the garden beyond the wide open French doors with their peeling paint.
Garini didn't hesitate. “Her gutsiness. Her tenacity. Her loyalty.” Even though the loyalty was for her crazy family and exasperated him more than he could say.
Carlina's hand stopped shaking.
Aunt Violetta gave him a sharp nod. “Good answers.”
He couldn't suppress a smile. “Have I passed muster?”
“You have. But don't rest on your laurels.” Without turning her head, she opened her mouth and bellowed. “Omar!”
A man as tall as Garini himself, all sinewy and muscled, came from the side of the room and stood next to Aunt Violetta. He had dark skin covered with tattoos, eyes so black that it was hard to tell where the pupil ended and the iris began, and he had a shaved head. He reminded Garini of a polished piece of dark wood - but more lethal.
Garini blinked and glanced again at Carlina. She had left out quite a bit of prep talk this time.
“I want to go in to dinner.” Aunt Violetta announced in her voice that made the weak window frames rattle.
Omar lifted her out of the chair like a puppet and put her on her feet. She placed her hand onto his arm and went out of the room in slow steps. The family followed as if it were a religious procession.
“Who on earth is Omar?” Garini whispered into Carlina's ear.
“She adopted him when he was a toddler, during a cruise to Egypt. We have no idea where he came from. He's scary, isn't he?”
“Very.”
“We call him Aunt Violetta's hit man. He never talks, you know. They say he had a traumatic experience in his youth.”
“The adoption, I assume?”
Carlina chuckled. “Bef
ore that, you idiot.”
“Why does she sit in a wheelchair if she can walk?”
“She's faster with the wheelchair.”
“I bet.”
Carlina looked around. She waved at her mother who was taking a seat on the other side of the room and nodded at several aunts and uncles. “Funny, I haven't seen Uncle Teo. It's not like him to be late.”
As if on cue, Uncle Teo walked in, accompanied by Olga, who clung to his arm. She was dressed in a flowing dress all in white that strangely resembled a bride's gown. Carlina's eyebrows went up, but before she could do more than register the sudden darkening of her mother's face, Aunt Violetta had noticed the newcomers. “Teo!” she barked. “Come over here and present your friend to me.”
Uncle Teo smiled and obeyed the command with his head held high in pride.
How sweet he is, Carlina swallowed. He really deserves another romance. If only it wasn't Olga.
“Violetta, my dear.” Uncle Teo bent forward and kissed Aunt Violetta's wrinkled cheek. “Happy birthday. May I present Olga Ottima to you?”
Aunt Violetta stiffened. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Olga like someone who has discovered a cockroach in her pasta. “Olga Ottima?” Her voice held a menacing tone. “The Olga Ottima?”
Olga tittered. “I'm not quite sure what you mean, but I've never yet met another woman with the same name, so it's possible that you're talking about me. Has my reputation preceded me?”
“Indeed, it has.” Aunt Violetta's voice was dry. She turned her head and looked around the table at the family who didn't even pretend not to listen in. “Fabbiola!”
“Yes, Aunt Violetta?” With nervous fingers, Fabbiola pushed a strand of hair from her face.
“Is this the Olga who gave you such a hard time during your last year at school? The one who--?”
Fabbiola jumped up. “Yes, Aunt Violetta, that's her. But we don't have to discuss this now. It's not quite the right time. After all, it's your birthday and we should celebrate, not dwell on ancient stories.” She bent down, pulled a voluminous parcel from beneath her chair and went around the table, holding her present out to Aunt Violetta. “I made a very special birthday gift for you. They're hand-knitted bed shoes, very soft and comfy, for cold nights. Maybe you would like to try them on, to make sure that I've got the right size?”