Death by Fountain

by Jennifer S. Alderson

  The man grew pale at the mention of his surveillance system. His eyes locked onto Rachel’s photo, her image temporarily transfixing him to the spot. When he recovered, his anger was palpable.

  “The police already question me,” he snarled in heavily accented English. “Go away—we don’t want you here! You leave us alone.” He pointed to the door, his expression making clear that he was resolute in his decision.

  “Please, sir, my brother’s life is at stake! The police think he hurt her, but he did not. And they aren’t even looking for another suspect! If you saw anything suspicious, you have to help me. His future depends on it!”

  When the hotel manager remained silent yet continued pointing towards the exit, the young receptionist spoke softly to his boss in Italian, clearly trying to reason with the man. But the manager would not budge—Lana and Alex had to go.

  “Why won’t you help us?” Alex’s anguished cry filled the room.

  Lana gently pulled her boyfriend towards the door. “Hon, if we get arrested, then there’s no one left to help Randy.”

  That seemed to calm him down enough to get him back outside.

  As soon as they were on the street, Alex stared at the hotel’s sign. “That guy is acting really suspicious. Why was he so mad that we were asking questions about that night?”

  Lana grabbed his hand as a horrible thought entered her brain. “Maybe he hurt Rachel.”

  Alex took in her words before kissing her on the lips. “Of course! You’re a genius. That would explain his intense reaction. Oh no, we mentioned the video surveillance. I hope he doesn’t try to delete it. We need to call the police!”

  Alex sprinted away from the hotel’s entrance and dialed the lead investigator’s number. Before the officer could answer, the manager exited the hotel and scurried down the street.

  “He’s trying to get away!” Lana whispered frantically, pulling on Alex’s arm. Just as she began sprinting after the manager, the receptionist opened the hotel door.

  “Hey—are you really trying to help your brother?”

  Alex stopped and turned to the younger man. “Yes! I feel so helpless—the police aren’t even looking for other suspects. But I know he didn’t do this. He was at the train station when it happened, but the cops don’t seem to care.”

  The young man nodded in sympathy. “My uncle spent seven years in prison before his lawyer could prove the police arrested the wrong man. It’s a horrible fate, being jailed for something you did not do. Your pretty friend was here. Come inside and I’ll show you the video.”

  Lana’s heart about skipped a beat as they followed the receptionist back inside and into the office.

  As the young man began rewinding the security tapes, he half turned to Lana and Alex. “I was bringing room service to a guest when the fight started, and by the time I returned to my desk, it was over and my boss was walking inside with his girlfriend on his arm. So I didn’t see it happen, but he did mention that there were two tourists fighting outside. When the police came by later and asked if we had any recordings of that night, my boss lied and said that the cameras were broken. I knew he was hiding something—they work perfectly. So I took a look at the recording; that’s why I recognized your pretty friend.”

  “I don’t understand—why didn’t he want the police to see the video?” Lana asked.

  “My boss’s girlfriend comes to the hotel every Friday, and they stay the night. He tells his wife that he works the night shift once a week to prove to his employees he is dedicated. Ha! My boss, he is afraid if he shows this to the police and they use it to arrest someone, perhaps they will give it to the media and his wife will see him kissing his girlfriend. Here—take a look for yourself.”

  When he pushed play, he leaned back and let them watch it in silence. The video was quite grainy, its quality made worse by the moonless night and sheets of rain. It was positioned above the door and turned so the camera could see the entire entrance as well as parts of the sidewalk.

  The street was empty for the first few seconds, before Rachel ducked under the hotel’s awning and shook the rain off her jacket and purse. While she rubbed her hands together, Randy jogged past her, completely oblivious to her presence. His jacket’s shiny fabric shimmered in the camera’s lens. No wonder it was easy for the police to follow, Lana thought.

  Rachel froze as he passed, yet once he was out of the frame, she buttoned her jacket back up, then stepped away in his direction. As she did, the hotel manager approached the entrance with his arm around a woman’s waist, as they sheltered under a single umbrella. He stopped just before they stepped onto the red carpet and kissed his date, right as another person ran up to Rachel. Unfortunately for Lana and Alex, the person stood directly under the camera, meaning all they could see was a very grainy image of the person’s head. At this resolution, it could be either Heather or Jake, Lana realized.

  There was no audio, but it was obvious from their gestures that this person and Rachel were arguing. When Rachel pushed against the person’s chest, the hotel manager noticed the argument and shooed them off his property. Rachel began to run off to the left, but the figure in the Straight Up jacket pulled her to the right, in the direction of the Trevi Fountain.

  When Rachel resisted, the person in the Straight Up jacket turned back to yell at her. Lana held her breath as the image of their killer appeared on the screen. Perfectly captured on camera was Jake, and he was livid. When he violently tugged on her arm, dragging her away, Rachel turned back towards the hotel’s entrance, her terrified scream caught on camera. The hotel manager and his girlfriend watched them leave, then rushed inside.

  Lana could feel a tear running down her cheek. Rachel may have been horrible and manipulative, but she still didn’t deserve to die like that.

  “Maybe this will help your brother?” the young man said.

  “Yes, it will help immensely,” Alex whispered. Lana noticed his eyes were welling up, too. “Why didn’t your boss call the police when he saw Rachel and Jake fighting? Or try to help her?”

  “It is better not to get involved in such things. Tourists can be so unpredictable. Besides, what was he supposed to do—chase after them and risk getting hurt?”

  A wave of sadness rolled over Lana. If only the manager had called the police, they may have been able to catch Jake in the act, or perhaps have saved Rachel’s life.

  32 Tracking A Killer

  Much to Alex and Lana’s relief, the hotel’s receptionist called the police for them, and his description of what they’d seen on the video footage sent four officers racing over.

  Alex and Lana watched the policemen as they viewed the surveillance tape, the officers’ jaws hardening when Jake was clearly visible in the close-ups. The lead investigator swore in Italian, then turned to Lana and Alex. “Do you know where Jake Segers is now?”

  After the police confirmed that he was currently in the lobby bar of their hotel, they rushed back out to their vehicles. Alex tore after them, springing into the back seat without asking.

  “What are you doing?” the lead officer growled.

  “We are going with you. We can point Jake out to you—it will save time.”

  The officer mumbled something under his breath, then started his engine. “Close the door,” he barked at Lana before speeding off.

  Lana pulled the door shut and leaned over to Alex. “I can’t believe it. All this time, I thought Jake was so despondent because the woman he loved had died. But in reality it was because he killed her.”

  Alex nodded tersely, but she could see that his thoughts were elsewhere. Lana was grateful the police were with them; she wasn’t certain what Alex would have done to Jake if he’d gotten to him first.

  She gazed out the window, watching the city center fly by, wondering whether Jake would try to lie his way out of this. The video hadn’t captured him killing Rachel, only pulling her away from the hotel and towards the Trevi. Would that be enough to set Randy free? Maybe not, Lana realized
. If Jake claimed that Rachel had gotten loose from his grip and had run off into the night, it would be his word against Randy’s, and Lana wasn’t certain whose would prevail. They needed Jake to confess, in order to guarantee that Randy would be released.

  They had gotten a ride back to the hotel under the assumption that the police would go in first and arrest Jake. However, as soon as the car had stopped, Alex sprinted ahead of the officers, burst into the lobby bar, and made a beeline for Jake, instead.

  Lana watched in horror as her boyfriend threw Jake onto the floor before sinking his knees onto the younger man’s shoulders. Jake wailed in pain as Alex grabbed his T-shirt and shook him violently.

  “We have you on tape. We know you did it! How could you let Randy pay for a crime you committed? You’re supposed to be his friend. What kind of monster are you?”

  When Alex raised his fist to punch Jake, Lana screamed, “No!”

  The officers pulled Alex off of Jake before his fist could fly. It took two officers to hold her boyfriend back.

  Lana moved in close to Jake, still lying on the floor. “We saw the surveillance video,” she said, raising one hand behind her, in an attempt to stop the police from approaching. She wanted Jake to confess, for Randy’s sake. “Did you mean to hurt Rachel or was it an accident?”

  “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that,” he said, his breathing shallow. “She shouldn’t have run away from me. It’s Rachel’s fault that she fell. She slipped; I didn’t push her.”

  “Did you fight about Randy?”

  Jake closed his eyes and let his muscles relax. To Lana, it was as if he was giving up. “Yes, we did. I could never figure out why she seemed so interested in Randy, yet never wanted to join our rock-climbing sessions. When I saw her chasing after him, I thought their fight in the hotel lobby might have been a ruse and that they were still a couple.”

  His face crumpled, and tears began to flow out of the corners of his eyes. “I lost sight of them and was about to give up when the rain started. While I was jogging back, I saw Rachel under that awning and tried to talk to her. When I asked her if she was in love with me or Randy, she laughed at me. She said I was a pleasant distraction but it was Randy she was after. It made me so angry!”

  “That must have really hurt, to hear her say that,” Lana murmured, hoping he would keep talking loudly enough for the police to hear. All she wanted right now was for Jake to admit that Randy had nothing to do with Rachel’s demise, so her friend could go free.

  “Why did you take her to the Trevi?” Lana asked.

  His face clouded over as the tears halted. “I remembered from our visit that it was under the street level, and I hoped it would give us some privacy. I thought if I showed her the ring, she would forget about Randy. But she didn’t even look inside the jewelry box. She tried to squirm out of my grip, screaming about how Randy was getting away. All she cared about was finding out the name of that stupid village. When I wouldn’t let go, she clawed at my arms and punched me in the stomach. So I hit her.”

  A wave of emotion seemed to overcome Jake, and his eyes pinched shut. Out of the corner of her eye, Lana could see the lead officer shuffle closer.

  “Did you kill her?”

  “No!” he cried. “She started screaming that I had broken her nose and tried to run away from me. I blocked her from getting back up to the street and begged her to calm down so we could talk rationally. I only wanted to persuade her not to press charges. But she wasn’t having it—she was going to make me pay.”

  When Jake fell silent, Lana prompted him again, “And then?”

  “I grabbed her arm to try to apologize, but she pulled away and jumped into the fountain and started climbing up the rocks. She had almost made it to the top when she slipped. She hit her head hard on one of the horses’ hooves before she fell into the water. I tried to pull her out, but her leg was stuck under one of the rocks. I checked for a pulse but couldn’t find one, so I ran away. I didn’t want to get in trouble with the cops again.”

  He looked to the police circling him. “But it’s too late for that, isn’t it?”

  It was chilling to hear Jake tell his story without emotion or remorse. Even now, he maintained that he was not directly responsible for Rachel’s death.

  “Why did you take her wallet?” Lana asked as two officers approached Jake, handcuffs at the ready.

  “To make the police think that it was a pickpocketing gone wrong. She screamed when she fell into the water, and I figured someone must have heard her. So I grabbed her wallet and scrambled over one of the side fences, instead of climbing back up the main stairs.”

  He must not have been too panicked if he stole her wallet, Lana thought. How much of his story was true and how much was made up for the ears of the police, to cast doubt on his role in her demise?

  Lana feared they would never know. She stood up and took two steps back, giving the officers room to move in and arrest him.

  33 A Wedding in Tuscany

  December 24—Il Pino, Italy

  Lana dabbed at her eyes as she squeezed Alex’s hand tight. Randy looked so handsome in his tuxedo and Gloria so pretty in her wedding dress. She gazed across the crowded garden, filled with the friends and family of the bride and groom. There was so much love assembled here, it was almost palpable.

  Gloria’s Italian family had done a wonderful job transforming the vineyard’s humble garden into a dream location. Garlands of colorful flowers and lights were strung in between the party tents set up between the many fruit trees. The cloth-covered tables were topped with porcelain plates, crystal glasses, and the biggest bouquets Lana had ever seen as centerpieces.

  A gigantic Christmas tree, its branches covered in twinkling lights and a plethora of handmade decorations, stood next to the altar. To one side were several tables filled with more dishes than at an American Thanksgiving. The food smelled so scrumptious, Lana was having trouble concentrating on the extensive vows, given in both English and Italian.

  After the priest blessed them and Randy kissed his bride, Lana and the two-hundred-person-strong audience broke out in cheers and applause. The new couple turned to their friends and family, the biggest smiles on their faces, and bowed when the priest introduced them as Randy and Gloria Rossi-Wright.

  Before they could step away from the altar, Gloria’s mother set a glass vase wrapped in a cloth onto the ground in front of them, and the Italians in the audience began to cheer. The new couple raised their feet and brought them crashing down onto it, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. Gloria had told Lana that every shard was a year happily married—she hoped it was true in their case.

  She felt her eyes watering again as the tension and anxiety of the last few days finally began to dissipate. After all Randy and Gloria had gone through this past year—heck, this past week—they deserved all the happiness a person could want. Now that Rachel was dead and Randy cleared of all charges, she knew they were going to be fine. Gloria was feisty and strong, and loved Randy more than anything. Together, they would be able to overcome any obstacle.

  When the band struck up a bridal march and the new couple took to the dance floor, Dotty leaned over to Lana and whispered, “What’s with the two last names?”

  Lana dabbed her eyes dry and smiled. “Gloria wanted to keep her last name and Randy wanted them to share the same one—in case they ever have kids—so they decided to both use Rossi-Wright.”

  “Well, I’ll be. How modern—good for them. Did you hear that, Earl?” Dotty raised her voice. “The kids are using both of their last names.”

  “It’s a sign of the times, isn’t? I like it,” he yelled back.

  Earl was partially deaf in one ear, but then again, he was also pushing eighty. Despite his age, Earl was an energetic gentleman who treated Dotty like a queen. Lana was glad he was quite fit and didn’t seem to be accident-prone. She had enjoyed getting to know him on the train ride to Tuscany; he seemed like a lovely person and a good match for her b
oss. And Dotty sure did revel in his attention, which was a kick to see.

  “What is going to happen to that Jake fellow? Do you think he’ll be arrested for murder?” Dotty asked, keeping her voice low.

  “That is an excellent question. Jake maintains that he only hit Rachel once and that her death was a result of her fall.” Lana paused, wondering what charges would eventually be brought against him. Luckily, that was no longer her problem. The police had Jake in custody, and Randy was right where he should be—dancing with his new wife at his wedding.

  When the music died down, Gloria clapped her hands together. “Hey, ladies—it’s time to toss the bouquet!”

  Squeals of delight permeated the air as half of the party guests rushed towards the new bride. Gloria made a show out of it, teasing the group of shrieking ladies by pretending to throw the bouquet. Her first fake toss took down two elderly ladies huddled in the front. After they had been helped back to their tables, Gloria apparently decided—for the sake of her elders—to just throw the thing.

  When she turned around and tossed her wedding bouquet high up in the air, Dotty and three others circled underneath it. Lana’s boss elbowed a young cousin to get to it first, twisting her ankle in the process. She landed on the ground with a grunt and cheer, clutching the colorful bouquet in both hands while she looked longingly at her new boyfriend.

  “Watch out, Earl, you might be her lucky number seven,” Lana teased.

  Earl blushed as he held out his hand to Dotty.

  “I hope you don’t mind me catching the bouquet, Lana. I just can’t help myself; my need to catch the thing is almost primal.”

  “Don’t worry—Alex and I are happy living together. There’s no need to rush into marriage,” Lana laughed, hoping Dotty’s remarks wouldn’t give her boyfriend any ideas.