by M. L. Ray
“So they did know each other? I don’t remember that.”
“This was after you had graduated. Federico spent a lot of time here even then, mentoring younger students, even teaching some classes. He was determined to support Juno.”
“I had no idea he taught here.”
The Dean chuckled. “Federico was flamboyant about some things but he took teaching very seriously.” He sighed, his smile fading. “It devastates me that he let his demons get the best of him. I saw him about a week before he died and he seemed healthier and happier than ever. He swore me to secrecy, but he was thinking about getting married. I don’t suppose it matters now to tell you. I know how close you were.”
Levi nodded. So Isa was being honest. His heart pounded with sadness for her loss. “His fiancée was attacked and stabbed in Venice two nights ago. She’s going to be okay, but we pretty much suspect Tudor Welch is behind it.”
“Mio Dio.” The Dean looked sick.
“Obviously, given that Tudor has already attacked Juno, and is now the main suspect in two stabbings, I’m very concerned that he’ll go after her. Before the murder, they had a run in at her ballet company where he threatened her. Dean, I need to know everything you can tell me about Kevin Hawkes/Tudor Welch, his relationship with Federico… and everything you can tell me about Arturo Corri and Lucy Graziano.”
***
Juno stayed in the studio after practise and ran through her routine over and over. She was now due to dance two acts of Jewels—Rubies, and also Fausta’s part, Diamonds. The latter was the last section of the entire ballet, and the act Juno had least experience in and so she wanted to make sure she nailed it for Fausta. It was weird—when Fausta was alive, they had fought constantly, never a good word to say to each other but now the girl was dead, and so violently, Juno wished she had made more of an effort.
Finally, her feet ached, her toes blistered, and she went to change. Stepping into the shower, she heard the last of her colleagues leaving the dressing room. Silence except for the shower water which pulsed hot all over her aching body.
Afterwards, she dried herself off, grabbing the ancient hairdryer and giving her damp hair a cursory blast before brushing it out and leaving it loose. She wondered if Jake and Moriko were still in the building-she had forgotten to ask Jake to walk her back to the vaporetto.
The café downstairs was empty and Juno cursed silently. She grabbed a hot chocolate from the machine and sat down to text Knox.
“Hey, you.”
She looked up to see Arturo walking toward her. “Hey, yourself. What are you doing here?”
“Came to show the artistic director some of the shots we’ve been working on.” He sat down opposite her and pulled out a contact sheet. “Have a look. They loved them.”
Juno picked up the contact sheet and looked through the images. “That’s me?”
Arturo laughed. “Who else?”
“You’re a genius,” she breathed. The photographs were sensational, capturing the fluidity of her body as she danced—she could almost hear the music as she looked at them. Arturo’s eye was… unbelievable, as was the fact that it was her, Juno, in the pictures. She shook her head and handed him back the sheet. “I’m speechless.”
Arturo grinned. “Helps to work with the right people. Here, I have something for you and Levi. A wedding gift.”
She looked at him sharply. Did he know about the imminent wedding? The thought struck her then passed, and she relaxed. Of course, he didn’t… she was engaged, and he had known that for some time.
She pulled a heavy frame out of a paper bag and gasped. It was a shot of her, topless, mid-flight, grand jeté, her limbs stretched out gracefully, her eyes closed. The light and shadow on her body, the way it captured both movement and stillness. Juno’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Arturo…”
She reached out and grabbed his hand and he squeezed it. “Levi Zapata is a very lucky man,” he said, his throat thick, then looked away as if he were embarrassed.
“Arturo… I have to tell you something. Levi and I… we don’t want to wait. We’re getting married this Friday morning, at City Hall. I would so love it if you were to be there. I understand if you don’t want to but—”
“—I would be honoured. Truly, Juno. And if you’ll allow me, I can be your official photographer.”
Juno flushed and smiled. “I would pay you.”
“Absolutely not.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of her fingers. “I’m very happy for you, Juno.”
“Thank you.” She felt her face flame red and hurriedly changed the subject. “How are Isa and Cat?”
“Isa is a lot better, thank you. Cat’s taking her home on Monday, if she continues to improve over the weekend. Isa says herself—she was very lucky.”
“I still don’t understand why he would try to kill Isa.”
“You think it is this Tudor Welch person?”
“I do. It’s his M.O.”
Arturo frowned. “I’m surprised Levi isn’t here to pick you up considering Welch is still at large.”
Juno felt guilty. “I was supposed to ask my friend Jake to walk me home. Levi is out of town for the afternoon.”
“Oh?”
She hesitated then shrugged. “He’s gone back to his alma matar to ask some questions about Tudor Welch.”
There was a small pause. “I see. Listen, I can be your chaperone. Let me take you home.”
To her surprise, he stayed with her on the vaporetto to Santa Croce and she thanked him as they got to Levi’s apartment building. “Would you like to come in and meet Levi’s brother and his wife?”
“Thank you, but I won’t. I promised Cat I’d go sit with Isa this evening.”
Juno smiled at him. “White knight.” She kissed his cheek. “Give them my love, won’t you? And I’ll see you on Friday morning?”
“Just text me when and where.”
“I will. Thank you again, Arturo.”
“My pleasure, piccolo. Bonne noche.”
“Bonne noche.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It was much later, almost ten p.m. when Levi returned home, exhausted and starving. Nook, Juno and Knox had been talking, waiting for him, and he smiled at them wearily as he dumped his bag on the table.
Juno came to him, kissing him gently. “Hungry?”
He nodded, and she smiled. “Go sit down, I’ll make you something.”
Levi fell gratefully into the chair, rubbed his face. “Hey, kiddos, how was your afternoon?”
“We did nothing, and it was wonderful,” Nook smiled at him. “You look done in.”
“I am, and I’m not sure I learned anything new.” He looked up as Juno poked her head around the door.
“Leftovers or would you like something fresh?”
“Leftovers will be fine, baby, thank you.”
In a couple of minutes, she was back with a tray of piping hot pasta and a bottle of beer. “Thank God for the microwave.”
Levi scarfed down a scorching hot bite of leftover lasagne. “Ouch.” He took a swig of beer. “Okay, so, if you don’t mind me eating with my mouthful…”
“Used to it.” Knox winked at him, grinning. “What happened?”
“Well, he confirmed what we all knew—Tudor AKA Kevin was an abusive bag of dicks even back then. The Dean told me he had several complaints made against him, and the last one was made by Lucy Graziano, anonymously of course, but it seemed he discovered she’d complained about him.”
Juno paled and looked upset. “So he had reason…”
“Yup. And not only that, darling, but Federico was the one who was tasked with investigating her complaint. He found in her favor in his report and Tudor was on his way out—except at the last second, his parents pulled him from the school. No-one ever knew how he found out Lucy was behind it. He was already on a last warning.”
“What did he do to her?”
Levi h
esitated but looked at Juno. “He raped her.”
Juno swore loudly and got up, pacing around. Nook reached out and grabbed her hand, comforting her. Levi swallowed another bite of lasagne but it stuck in his throat at seeing Juno’s distress. He put the tray down and drew her onto his lap. “I’m sorry, baby.”
She leaned her forehead against his. “But Ferdie was trying to help her.”
He nodded. “It seems they grew very fond of each other and became good friends. Lucy formed a crush on Federico, it seems, and that’s one thing we all got wrong. There was never a sexual relationship between Ferdie and Lucy—that was all a story Lucy told because she was crazy about him and so deeply traumatized from the rape that she fixated on him as a way of coping. But Ferdie… damn him, he still wanted to help her, so despite the crush, and perhaps ill-advisedly, he continued to see her, to counsel her.”
“And Tudor?”
“Ostensibly, he was back in the States at the time of Lucy’s death, but no-one can actually remember seeing him in New York around that time. He was absent from Julliard for a few weeks but claimed he was at his parent’s estate in the Hamptons.”
“But he could have been in Italy on a fake passport?”
Levi nodded. “It’s a possibility. Anyway, he had a reason to hate Federico… and that’s why he went after you in New York. Of course, he didn’t dare try to kill you there.”
“Do you think he killed Lucy?”
“Yes.”
“You sound certain.” This was from Knox, his usually jovial face creased with stress. Levi felt a pang. He glanced over at Nook, who also looked sick at heart and pale.
“Jeez… you guys, I’m sorry.”
“None of this is your fault. If anyone should be sorry, it’s me. I should have reported Tudor back in New York, but I was just… I flew back the moment I was free of my commitment. I just wanted to get away. If I hadn’t…” Juno’s voice broke. “God damn it. Maybe Fausta would be alive…”
“Okay, we’re stopping this now.” This was from Nook, and although her voice shook, she looked fierce. “This is down to that asshole and no-one else. Believe me, I spent years blaming myself for Shawn. Martha still does blame herself. And fuck that shit. Fuck it.”
There was a long silence before Knox put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Well said, She-Ra.”
Nook burst out laughing and Juno grinned. Levi rolled his eyes but was grateful to his brother for dissipating the tension.
Later, in bed, he kissed Juno gently. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“You didn’t, darling. I’m angry, is all, and I just regret not finishing this whole business in New York.”
“You were a kid, baby.”
“I know. God, I just want this all to be over and to get on with our lives together.” She smiled then. “We’re getting married…” She rolled over and checked the clock. It was after midnight, and she rolled back and face him, smiling, “tomorrow. How crazy is that?”
“And yet… is it weird to say it just feels so right? It’s a strange feeling knowing you’ve met the person. I never thought I would feel that. Knox told me when he met Anouk, right from the first moment, he was enchanted. That he knew he was done, even though Nook really didn’t like him that first time.”
They both chuckled. “I always thought he was being Knox, you know, exaggerating. I’ve always been the more practical one. I’ve had to be.” He brushed his lips against hers. “But I get it now. You’re my person.”
“And you are mine. It’s weird, I kind of remember you from when I was a kid and now I think, how strange is it that you were always in my life, but we just didn’t connect until now?”
Levi nodded. “And I wonder, now, if we would ever have been more if Ferdie… if he was here, now. Whether my useless brain would have allowed me to dream I could be with you. Whether Ferdie would have approved.”
Juno smiled at him, touching his face, stroking his cheek. “He would have. He would have been delighted. He loved you like a brother, you know. In a way, I think he has a lot to do with us being so comfortable together, so quickly. He used to tell me stories all the time, about you and him at college. And whenever you would write or call, I got the story. So, I felt pretty close to you already, if that makes sense.”
“It does.”
“And I think, when I first saw you after Ferdie’s funeral, I reacted the way I did because it reminded me of how happy it made my brother to be your friend. And I didn’t deserve to be your friend because I failed him.”
Levi frowned. “You did no such thing.”
“I did. I should have been there for him at the end.”
Levi was quiet for a time, considering and Juno watched him. “What is it?”
“I didn’t mention this earlier because I didn’t want to upset you. But, cards on the table. I think… I think Isa Papini is right. I think Ferdie was murdered.”
He watched for her reaction, for her to get upset but she nodded. “I think so too. I was so angry at him for falling off the wagon, I never considered that he didn’t. It would be so easy to stage, right? And the polizia, I told them about his addictions, I told them… God, Levi, I was so angry with him. Of course they took my word. An addict is an addict. Fuck.”
He drew her close then, feeling her trembling. “We can go to them, get them to reopen the investigation.”
“Do you think they’ll listen?”
Levi smiled at her. “I’ll use my dad’s name to get something done.”
“Fancy.” But she was smiling. “Being serious for a moment, and I know this might seem weird, but I feel like a weight is being lifted. Like I’m going to find out the answers to all my questions.”
Levi stroked her face. “And if we find out Ferdie was murdered?”
Juno’s smile faded and a determined look came into her eyes. “Then whoever murdered him will be made to pay.”
Levi nodded, then moved closer and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss went on and on and when they finally broke apart, he grinned at her. “I love you, Juno Martello.”
She rolled him onto his back and straddled him. “No more talking,” she said, and he chuckled at the determined look on her face.
His hands went automatically to her hips as she stroked his cock against her belly. He felt it respond immediately and gave a sigh of pleasure. Juno’s dark hair tumbled down over her shoulders, the moonlight through the window giving her olive skin an ethereal glow. She met his gaze steadily, her dark lashes sweeping down onto her cheeks as she blinked.
His fingers squeezed the soft flesh of her hips then he snaked a hand between her legs and began to caress her. He could feel how wet she was getting for him. With his free hand, he cupped her breast, massaging it, his thumb tracing a rhythm back and forth over the nipple.
“Do you want to be inside me?”
Her voice was not more than a whisper. He nodded, and she guided him inside her velvety warmth of her sex. They moved together, slowly at first, their eyes locked on the other’s, their breath aligning.
Levi watched as her body undulated with her movements as she rode him, her breasts bouncing against her chest, her belly quivering, her sex swelling and reddening as she became more and more aroused.
Juno tightened her thighs around his hips, clenched her vaginal muscles around his cock and Levi groaned. “God, Juno, you drive me crazy…”
She replied in fluent Italian, her voice low and seductive, and Levi’s cock responded, growing harder, straining to thrust deeper and deeper inside her. Juno’s skin was flushed with dewy sweat and she glowed in the low light. Levi tangled a fist in her long hair, winding the dark strands around his fist and tugging her head back gently in the way he knew she loved.
As their pace quicken, Levi flipped Juno onto her back, barely breaking stride, and began to thrust hard, pushing her knees up to her chest, wanting to sink into her further and further, consume her.
Juno s
eemed to sense his urgent, animal need, and she clung to him, completely in the moment. “I love you,” she whispered, “I love you more than anyone has ever loved anyone else. You are my world, Levi Zapata…”
With a long groan, Levi came, his body shuddering and jerking as his cock pumped his seed deep inside her. His fingers found her swollen clit again, and he gave it a hard pinch as his cock pulsed and Juno cried out and came, hard, almost weeping with pleasure. “Oh, mio Dio, mio Dio…”
They collapsed on the bed together, panting hard but unable to tear their eyes away from each other. A new, deeper connection had been forged between them this night and they both knew that from now on, no matter what happened, they would go through it together.
And soon, so terribly soon, they would find out just how bad things were going to get.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The detective who had investigated Ferdie’s death was able to see them the following morning, and so Levi and Juno went to the police station. Juno’s hand was in Levi’s and he could tell she was nervous but as soon as the detective, Giovanni Rossi, began to speak, he felt her relief.
“To be honest, I’m glad you came in.” He smiled kindly at Juno. “I remember talking to you at the time and wondering if, after time passed, you’d be back. Something has always bothered me about your brother’s death.”
Juno swallowed hard and nodded. “From what I know now, Ferdie was clean right up to the moment the heroin was injected into his arm.”
Rossie nodded. “I note the semantics, Signorina Martello.”
“Juno and yes. Can you tell me more about the physical evidence?”
“I can. As you know—and please, if you need me to stop, just say—when you found your brother, he was found with a tourniquet around his bicep, and track marks in his arm. It was his right arm and Federico was left-handed so that checks out, except… when he had been using before, he always, without fail, injected between his toes. It was noted on his rehab notes—he tried to hide his addictions from you.”
