A Villa in Sicily: Capers and a Calamity

by Fiona Grace

She followed his pointed finger to a tiny building with a placard on the door that said, in letters so faded, it was hard to see, Dott. Ma o. The U and the R were missing entirely. Not exactly great advertising; it was almost as if he didn’t want anyone knowing he had an office there. The rest of the place looked just as shabby. There were a bunch of grass clippings out front that hadn’t been swept up, the stones on the sidewalk were a trip-and-fall accident waiting to happen, and the orange paint on the façade was peeling to reveal the rotten wood underneath. “Hmm,” she said, peering up at it. “I wish I’d known before we stopped here. Maybe I could’ve met him under better circumstances.”

  “It can’t have gone good. You’re all red.”

  She peered at her face in the side-view mirror. She was beyond that—red, sweaty, and tired. She looked as if she’d run a marathon. “He threatened me to stop intruding on his business of taking care of the animals in this town. Can you believe that?”

  “Yep.” He shrugged as he pulled away from the curb. “I told you. He’s a scumbag.”

  “I thought you were exaggerating. But he really seems to have a bad reputation. Not to mention that he overcharges people like that poor woman. No wonder you guys are in trouble.” She clenched her fists on her lap and frowned, hardly paying attention to Vito’s near miss with a bicyclist until the tires screeched under them.

  “So what are you going to do?” he asked as he overcorrected and nearly hit a trash can on the curb.

  She shrugged, cradling the kitten on her lap while Nick whined in the back seat. “What I have to do. Take care of the animals. That’s my job. If he doesn’t like it, let him come at me.”

  Vito laughed as he drove around a corner, and the shelter came into view. As tired as she was, the sight energized her, because she knew she could make a difference there, and now, because of her run-in with Mauro, she was really motivated to. Vito drummed his hands on the steering wheel and said, “I knew I liked you.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Sabina!” Audrey called as they went inside the shelter. She looked around, still cradling a squirming Stripe in her arms. “We’re here! Reporting for duty!”

  “Over here!” Sabina called from the kennel area.

  Audrey peeked into the reception area and smiled. They’d been busy while she was gone. The place was animal-free now, and clear of cat hair and feces. Someone had even put a few magazines on the coffee table. It looked like an actual waiting room. “This is looking good!” she remarked to Vito.

  He shrugged. “Well, you might be the guru of everything animals, but I know my way around a mop. So there,” he teased.

  She laughed and followed him into the kennel. There, she found Sabina, sitting in a rocking chair near the window, with five of the cats surrounding her. She was reading them an Italian children’s story.

  Audrey cast a confused look at Vito. Vito rolled his eyes and said, “They’re her babies.”

  “I see that,” she whispered, taking Stripe to an empty kennel. When she’d successfully gotten him situated, she looked around. “Okay, I’m going to continue giving the examinations. Vito, I want you to make sure you keep a list of the males that need to be neutered, because we’ll be handling that next, and then releasing the animals into the wild to make room for the ones that need us. Make sense?”

  Vito nodded.

  They washed up at the sink, donned gloves, and started where they had left off the night before, easing into a groove, inspecting the animals one by one.

  Vito was a perfect assistant, handing her the first animal of the day after checking his vitals.

  Which reminds me. I haven’t heard anything from Concetta today. Should I be worried?

  As she examined a gray kitten, she peered in her pocket at her phone. No messages. Not even an Everything’s going well. She handed the kitten to Vito and quickly typed to Concetta: Just checking to make sure everything’s okay?

  A moment later, the response came through: Perfect! No problems. When will you be coming home?

  I’m not sure, she responded, as she looked over the long rows of cages. This definitely was not the two-day appointment that Matteo Gallo had hired her for. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get it all done if she had the week. If she was going to examine all these animals and neuter the males, she had to get a move on.

  She pocketed her phone and was just about to continue her examination on the kitten when the door from the outside opened. The councilman strode in, wearing a full suit, casting a scrutinizing eye over the place. He glanced at Sabina, who didn’t even pause from the story she was animatedly telling to the cats, who seemed more interested in cuddling Sabina than the story itself. His lips curled into something like disgust.

  But his expression changed when he saw Audrey.

  “Ah, Dottore Smart!” he said, clasping his hands together. “The woman of the hour. I was just telling the mayor about the way you’d transformed this place from a wreck to a respectable shelter. We are so—” He paused and touched his cheek. “What happened there?”

  “Oh. Nothing. Just a war wound,” she said, touching her own face. Crusty blood flaked off. She probably should’ve seen to it, but she had other things on her mind.

  “Well. As I was saying. We are so proud.”

  “I beg your pardon, Councilman Gallo,” she said as she removed the stethoscope from her ears. “But I had a lot of help with Vito and Sabina. I helped get the animals caged, but they’re the ones who’ve been cleaning this place up. It looks good, doesn’t it?”

  “Incredible! My allergies are barely acting up. I don’t sneeze like crazy whenever I come in here,” he said, peering into one of the cages. “It’s a miraculous change and it’s one that we’re very happy for.”

  “Of course. I’m happy to help,” she said, almost feeling guilty. They might have been happy, but they were paying her an arm and a leg for the service. Considering most of the island was struggling to pay for basic animal care, she wondered if she should be doing more. “I still have much more to do, but I think it’s coming along. I’ll have the males neutered by tomorrow and released and then—”

  “Would you be able to stay on another day to catch additional strays? I’d love you to talk to the council about the plan, going forward. They’re very interested in hearing alternative ideas, and yours was most welcome.”

  “I suppose, but—”

  “You’ll be compensated, of course. The daily rate.”

  Whatever that is. She couldn’t argue with that. Not with all the bills she had waiting for her at home. Plus, Concetta was fine back in Mussomeli. She wouldn’t complain. “I’d love to.”

  “Perfect. Now . . . Do you have any other recommendations you’d like to go over with me?”

  She did. Most importantly, she’d wanted to go over her findings and thoughts with Dr. Mauro. That way, she could help him make the needed changes so that he could carry the torch while she was gone. But it was clear Dr. Mauro wanted nothing to do with her. Without his help, all of her recommendations wouldn’t be worth anything, and it was going to be an uphill battle to get these animals the care that they needed. It was on the tip of her tongue to say, Find a different permanent veterinarian for the island, but she hesitated.

  “Yes,” she said instead. “But why don’t I put all my recommendations together and we can discuss it later? I have a lot of them, and a lot of work to do here first.”

  He nodded. “Oh, of course, of course. I love seeing these animals in such good hands. Mussomeli is very lucky to have you, Dottore Smart, and so are we.”

  He turned, startling a stray, who hissed. He backed up, then nodded at Sabina before making his exit. Audrey smiled as she watched him go.

  Vito snapped, startling her out of her thoughts. “Can we keep going?”

  “Oh. Sure. Yes. Where were we?”

  “On number twenty-two,” he said, scanning his clipboard. “Doctor, it’s a wonder you don’t have a big head, with everyone saying how won
derful you are all the time.”

  She gave him an elbow to the ribs and continued on with the examinations. It was definitely going to be a long day.

  *

  Audrey yawned as Vito dropped her off in front of the hotel.

  It was only seven in the evening, but she was exhausted. Other than the time she’d spent at the kennel, she’d also spent a few hours after lunch alone with Nick, trying to track down more strays like Stripe. She’d gotten four of them, and had the scratches to show for it. None of them had gone without a fight.

  Now her muscles ached from the exertion. Her eyes crossed, and she couldn’t see straight. All those cat chases and examinations had made her almost delirious. She was sure she’d dream about cats tonight. She almost couldn’t find the door handle to let herself out. Groping aimlessly, she finally caught it and pulled.

  “You going to be okay?” Vito asked.

  “Of course,” she yawned. “With a good night’s sleep. Thanks.”

  “You sure you don’t want to go get something to eat?” he asked, pushing aside his hair so she could see his eyes. “My treat.”

  “Your treat?” She laughed. “And how do you have the money to—”

  “I do,” he said, a hint of pride in his voice. “I wash dishes at Pietro’s on the weekends.”

  “Wow. Vito. You’re really busy. But save your money. You going away to school?”

  He shrugged. “Not right away. I don’t want to leave my grandmother alone.” He tapped the side of his head. “She’s not all there anymore, if you know what I mean.”

  “Oh,” she said. Seemed like a lot of responsibility to be saddled on one eighteen-year-old boy. She wished she could do something for him. “I’ll see you tomorrow? Maybe we can catch some more cats?”

  He smiled. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

  She stepped onto the curb, Nick following close behind. She closed the door and waved. She expected him to tear off, tires screeching, but he watched until she was inside the hotel door. It was only when the door had closed behind her that she saw the red of his taillights streak across the glass. She pushed open the door and watched him leave, gnawing on her lip. Audrey. I hope someone hasn’t developed a crush on you. But that’s just your luck. You finally find a man to fall head over heels for you, and he’s half your age.

  Sighing, she started back inside when it hit her. She wasn’t as upset about Vito maybe having feelings for her. That, she could easily deal with. What hung more heavily over her was the thought of Dr. Mauro.

  What an arrogant jerk.

  Then she thought about Concetta, who was only doing her job, and doing it well, and Audrey couldn’t help but be a little jealous. For what? Concetta didn’t even have her license yet! Envy was totally unwarranted. She had to admit that if Concetta had moved in on Mussomeli and started caring for the animals without so much as a word to her, she’d have been upset, too.

  So maybe Dr. Mauro’s response to her was justified.

  She hadn’t been very nice to him either. She’d gotten defensive with his Little girl comments. They were both short-tempered at the time, and had flown off the handle. Maybe now that they’d had time to let the dust settle, they could come together and have an understanding.

  It was worth a try.

  As she stood there on the front stoop with Nick, she said, “What do you say we take a little walk, bub?”

  He was already three steps ahead of her when she started out.

  The narrow streets were only sparsely lit by streetlights, and she wasn’t sure if it was safe. She didn’t know exactly where she was going, but she had an idea. She turned a corner, following, based on memory, the route Vito had taken out of town, and smiled when she saw the crumbling building on the corner that belong to Dr. Mauro.

  It was dark inside, so she expected he must’ve gone home for the night. But when she tried the door, it opened.

  She looked at Nick. “Stay here, bub. I’m just going to go in and try to clear the air. I won’t be long.”

  She went inside and found herself in a small, darkened vestibule. There were two glass doors on either side. Squinting in the moonlight cast in through the door, she read on one of them, Dr. Mauro, Veterinaria. Beyond it, she could see the shapes of chairs in the darkness, and what looked like the typical waiting room.

  The place was clearly closed.

  She pulled the handle, thinking that one, for sure, would be locked. But that one opened, too.

  That’s odd, she thought. Yes, the place was shabby an ill-kept, but did the man usually leave his place open when it wasn’t operating?

  Stepping through, she hesitated, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light being cast in from the one small window in the room. “Hello?” she called, her voice echoing hollowly through the room.

  She took another step in, and another, until she almost tripped on the coffee table in the center of the room. Looking around, she could just barely see the old pictures of animals on the wall, the old, mismatched vinyl chairs bleeding their stuffing, a fish tank humming in the corner of the room. The place was hopelessly cramped and small, and smelled like cat litter. There was a door near the reception desk, but it was closed.

  Turn around, a voice inside her said. This isn’t good.

  Audrey ignored it. Instead, she focused on a sound, beyond the gurgling of the aquarium’s filter in the corner. It was the sound of running water and it sounded like it was coming just beyond the door. Had someone left a faucet on?

  “Hello?” she called again. “Dr. Mauro?”

  She took a step toward the door, miscalculating where the coffee table was, and jammed her shin against the sharp corner of it. The pain was like fireworks. She hunched over, mouth shaped in a silent scream, before clutching the sore spot and letting out a muffled, “Sugar!”

  Once the pain had subsided, she carefully navigated around the rest of the furniture and made it to the door. Now, the sound of running water was even louder. The door wasn’t closed; it was open, just a crack, and beyond it, she could see a slim strip of light.

  She pushed it open and peered around it slowly. “Hello? Anyone here?”

  The first door was dark, but open. From there, she could hear a scratching sound, and then the whimper of a small animal. She flipped on the light, her eyes slowly adjusting to a couple of kennels. Most of them were empty, but there was a single pup cowering in the middle one. He yipped when he saw her.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she said to him, offering him her hand to sniff. “Where’s the doctor? Do you know?”

  He pressed his wet muzzle against her fingertips in answer.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, going out to the hall again.

  There was a bright light coming from the room a couple doors down. The sound of water was definitely coming from there. Audrey took a few more steps toward it, noting the fixtures similar to the ones in her own exam room—a prep table with a sink, cabinets, and an examination table. These were worn and rusty, and the instruments were scattered about with no rhyme or reason, as opposed to Audrey’s method of neat arrangement. The linoleum tile was dirty and worn.

  But yes, the water was running in the sink.

  Her heartbeat quickened. Something was definitely wrong.

  She went in and saw no doctor, no patient. Someone had just left the faucet running. She quickly went over and shut it off, confused. Had Dr. Mauro just left here without turning off the faucet or light, or locking the door? Had he been in a rush?

  “Dr. Mauro?” she called again, scanning the room.

  Her breath caught when her eyes fell to the floor.

  There was a man’s scuffed dress shoe, there, behind the exam table.

  She craned her neck forward.

  Not only a shoe, but a leg. A man.

  “Dr. Mauro?” she tried again, recognizing the pants, the shirt as she moved forward, revealing more and more of him. Yes, it was the doctor. He was absolutely motionless, his eyes, open, nearly rolled back into his head
. There was a little bit of froth at his mouth, and one hand still clutched at his collar, as if he’d been having trouble trying to breathe.

  He was definitely having trouble now. He was dead.

  Audrey leaned over and touched his skin of his hand. Cold and waxy. She put a hand over his eyes, but the lids stayed open. She staggered back against the wall and stifled a scream, then fumbled for her phone.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Audrey sat on the edge of a planter filled mostly with weeds at the front of the vet center, trying to keep her breathing normal. Nick sat at her ankles, providing quiet emotional support.

  The same three police officers kept roaming in and out of the building, collecting evidence and speaking animatedly in Italian. Two, a man and a very pretty woman with long blonde hair in a ponytail, were young, almost as young as Vito, and the older one was old enough to be their mother. She’s probably my age, Audrey thought sourly.

  They were all dressed very neatly in blue, but something about them seemed much more like the Brady Bunch than CSI. As thorough as they were being, going in and out of the place, Audrey gathered they hadn’t had to deal with much death during their time on the force.

  As she waited patiently for them to ask questions, she yawned.

  Forget about getting back to the hotel at a reasonable hour. Not that she would ever sleep now.

  She shuddered as she thought of the body lying there on the linoleum. Poor man. He may have been an arrogant blowhard, but he didn’t deserve to die. What had happened? Was it a heart attack? He was older, and obviously had a short temper, so that was probably it. Maybe he’d just been washing up when it happened.

  An ambulance arrived, and two EMTs came out with a stretcher. She moved her legs to the side to let them pass in the narrow opening.

  The older police officer approached her. Her bright red-dyed hair curled under her police officer’s hat, and underneath the brim, her eyes were striking blue. Despite her angelic appearance, though, her voice was brusque, with only the hint of an accent. “Ms. Smart?”