by Fiona Grace
He looked up at the ceiling. “Yes. But I don’t want to. Especially to a woman who’s been trespassing on my grounds.”
“If I’m not mistaken, you were the one trespassing on the grounds of the Tivoli estate, yesterday.”
His eyes bulged, and he choked. “No, I wasn’t.”
“I saw you there. Running through the grove. Don’t deny it.”
He shook his head and pointed to his leg. It was only then that Audrey realized it was nothing more than a peg, like that of a pirate. “I can easily deny it. I don’t run anywhere, anymore.”
“Okay, so maybe not running, but hobbling. Quickly.”
He shrugged. “All right. So what business is it of yours? Are you the new owner?”
“No. But a man was found murdered there, and you were seen there. So naturally I’m curious.”
“Murdered?” he said, his voice not more than a whisper. “Are you sure?”
“Shot in the back.”
“Shot?” He stared significantly at nothing, his eyes narrowing as if some important though had come to him.
“I’m surprised the police haven’t been here to question you about it, considering your property backs up to the grove.”
He looked around, agitated. “Well, they can’t have thought I did it! Just because I was there? I had my reasons, and I promise you, it has nothing to do with murder.”
“What were you doing there, then?”
“I was . . .” He scowled. “What difference does it make to you? You’re not police. I have no obligation to tell you anything.”
“True. But I’ll be sure to let Detective Dinardo know what I saw so that he can question you.”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Look, if you tell me why you were there, maybe I won’t tell them.”
He sighed. “All right. All right. I was walking through the grove, picking up the oranges that fell on my property.”
“On your property?”
He nodded. “It’s not stealing. They should keep the limbs on their side. The ones on my side? Those are my oranges.”
“But I thought I saw you on their property?”
He shook his head. “You can’t prove it.”
She realized he was right. She couldn’t prove it. She had no idea where the property line was, and maybe it was true that he hadn’t trespassed. Maybe when she’d seen him, he’d been on his side of the property.
The body, though? That had definitely been in the center of the grove, on the Tivoli estate. “Fine. Did you happen to hear or see anything while you were out, on your side of the property?”
He nodded. “I heard gunshots. A quick, one-two. Bang-bang!” He shouted in a loud voice that echoed through the grove, almost frightening her off his front stoop. “For a second, I thought someone was shooting at me. So I ran for it. I hid.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t run?” she pointed out, suspicious.
“Fine. I hobbled for it, if you want to split hairs,” he snapped. “But then I heard nothing. So I went out to see if I could find out who was shooting at me, so I could give them a piece of my mind. It was my property! My oranges!” He scratched his grizzled jaw. “Where was the body found?”
“In the grove. Close to the house. It’s a wonder you didn’t stumble upon it.”
“Not really. The grove is enormous. I didn’t go near the house. Halfway there, I decided that if a man with a gun was the new owner, I probably shouldn’t go there unarmed,” he said, reaching behind him and pulling out a silver revolver, like something out of a wild west movie.
Audrey took a step backwards. Even though he wasn’t pointing it at her, her body tensed. She wasn’t sure what kind of gun had killed Pietro Grinnelli, but it didn’t matter. Any gun was enough cause for concern.
“Ah, don’t worry. It’s not loaded.” He seemed amused by her fear.
“Did you go back with the gun?” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it.
He shook his head. “Nope. I got lost in the grove. It took a while to find my way back. By the time I did, I decided it wasn’t worth my trouble. So I sat down, had an orange, and took a nap.” He gnawed on the inside of his cheek. “That was at around noon.”
“Did you see anyone while you were there, in the grove?”
He nodded. “A girl in shorts. Dark hair. Standing on a rock. I think that might have been you?”
She nodded. That sounded about right, from her recollection.
“After that, I got out of there.”
Audrey sighed. She believed him, even though he was carrying the very sort of weapon used to kill Pietro, because his story checked out. And why would he kill a person, and then stick around to steal oranges? If he’d known what happened, or been responsible for it, he likely would’ve denied he’d been there at all.
Because he was still holding the gun, much too casually than she would’ve liked, she backed away slowly. “All right. Well—”
“You’re not going to tell the police what I told you, are you?” he asked.
“No, but they might find out themselves. You might want to save them the trouble and tell them, before they come looking for you.”
“Bah, let them come. I got nothing to hide,” he said, waving his hand at her. It was the one holding the gun. She’d read enough about gun misfires and accidental shootings to be more than a little afraid. She wasn’t going to be the first one to turn her back on him; that was for sure. “My oranges.”
“All right, well—”
“What’s that?” His eyes caught on something off to her side, behind her. To her shock, he lifted the gun and slowly pointed it.
She looked over her shoulder just in time to see Nick, poking his head through the shrubbery. Fear gripped her. “No, that’s my—”
“Dinner!” he said, as the gunshot went off.
Horrified, she watched as Nick yelped and ducked into the bushes.
“Idiot! That was my pet fox, Nick!” she growled, rushing off after him.
“Let me know if I got him!” he called, howling with laughter. “I’ve got a recipe for meat stew I want to try, and I was just missing the meat!”
Oh, no, she thought, shoving aside prickly tree limbs as she barreled into the bushes. If anything happened to him, I’ll never forgive myself. This is my fault for sticking my nose in business where it doesn’t belong.
“Nick! Are you okay?” she called, cupping her hands around her mouth, her heart racing like a runaway train. “Nick! Please! Answer me.”
Tromping over the uneven ground between the two properties, she came to the first row of orange trees, which must’ve been the delineation line. No Nick. The poor thing must’ve run off, scared to death. Her brave little soldier, the creature who’d saved her numerous times. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
She took a few more steps, sinking deeper and deeper into misery, when she saw it.
Droplets of bright red blood, on the grass.
“Oh,” she murmured, tears flooding her eyes. He needed medical attention, as soon as possible. Straightening, desperate, she shouted louder than ever, “Nick!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Audrey ducked under the branch of an orange tree, growing more and more frightened. She called to the little fox again, but all she heard on the breeze was her own voice, echoing back to her.
“Oh no,” she said aloud as she meandered deeper into the grove, looking for any sign. But there were no footprints, no blood stains other than the first one she’d seen. He’d likely vanished, afraid. Leave it to that jerk Ugo to destroy his faith in the human race. Maybe she’d never see him again.
Her heart lurched at the thought. Though she hadn’t planned on having a fox as a pet, he’d followed her around those first few days, endearing himself to her. Over the months, she’d gotten quite attached to him. “This is what I get for being too curious. I put those I love in danger. Nick!”
Just when she was about to give up, she
heard it: A slight whimper, coming from the bushes.
She rushed over to them and found him, curled in a ball and mewling softly.
“Oh, Nick,” she said, her heart breaking for him. She moved forward, but he flinched. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.”
This time, he let her move aside his bushy tail so she could assess the damage. One of his little legs had a spot of blood; maybe it had been grazed by the bullet, but it didn’t seem to be any worse than how he’d been the first day she’d found him, caught in Mason’s fence. Other than that little spot, he seemed to be intact. She sighed with relief. “Oh, thank goodness! I think you’ll be okay.” She wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts. “But we’ve got to get back to the clinic and patch that up. Come on.”
She lifted him into her arms, cradling his injured leg. The poor little guy was trembling. She held him to her body to keep him safe and hurried the entire way to town. Though she’d be dreading the walk back up, she barely noticed it, so concerned was she with Nick. When she got back to the clinic, the door was already open.
She rushed inside to find Concetta, doing paperwork at the reception desk. “What are you doing here?” she asked in shock. “I thought I gave you the day off?”
“Yes, but I had so much work to catch up on. Goodness. What happened?” she asked, jumping to her feet.
Audrey looked down as she headed to surgery, still holding Nick tight. His heart was beating so fast she thought it might give out. Her white shirt was now had a couple drops of blood on it, making the injury look worse than it was. “Some crazy guy outside of town thought he’d make Nick his dinner.”
Concetta followed her into the room as she laid Nick down and looked around for a sedative to relax him. “Dinner? Really? Gross.”
Audrey shrugged as she found the vial and filled the syringe. Sweet dreams, Bub, she thought as she injected the creature. “I don’t know if he was serious about eating him or not, but he had a pistol. And he shot at him. Luckily, I think the bullet only grazed his back leg.”
“Oh, my gosh,” she breathed, petting Nick’s fur. “Does he need stitches, do you think?”
“No. Probably just a good bandage.”
He closed his eyes and drifted off. “He’s had a busy day. Who could have done something so terrible?”
“Do you know Ugo Telemaco?”
Concetta’s jaw dropped. “Him? Really?”
“So you do know him?” Audrey asked, smoothing back the fur on Nick’s leg so she could see what she was working with.
Concetta, seeing what she was doing, fetched the antiseptic and fresh bandages and medical tape. “Yep. My mother told me he used to run naked through the neighborhood, peeking in people’s windows. And he would always walk around town with a little red wagon, full of junk, so that people thought he was homeless. He’s more than a little. . .” She twirled a finger by her head. “I didn’t know he still lived around here? I thought the town kicked him out.”
“He lives in a shack near the orange grove,” she said, shuddering. All of that sounded absolutely insane. G had said he was eccentric, but she’d had no idea how bad he was. If she’d known, she probably never would’ve gone there. Leave it to G to see the good in everyone.
But Ugo wasn’t good. He’d tried to kill her pet. Which only led her to wonder . . .
“By the orange grove? Do you think he had something to do with that murder?”
Audrey shrugged. “That’s why I was there, talking to him. I’m pretty sure he was the guy I saw in the grove. But he insisted that he was near the area, heard the gunshots, and ran off, thinking someone was after him, and he got lost.”
Concetta frowned. “Likely story. Do you believe that?”
“I don’t really know what to believe. Knowing what I know about him, now, I think he’s a pretty solid suspect. I should probably tell the police about it. He has a gun, he was in the vicinity of the murder when it happened, and he has a history of unstable behavior. In fact, if the police haven’t been to his place, I’m concerned why.”
“Right. Unless they don’t know he’s there.”
“Possible. I should tell them, after work,” she said, finishing the bandage on Nick’s leg and cutting the tape. “Should be good as new in a few days. You should go home. There are no more appointments today. And I know we have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Concetta’s face fell. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Cancellations have been coming in like crazy. You don’t have any appointments tomorrow.”
“None? That can’t be right.” Audrey placed Nick in a bed for observation and went out to the front, where she stared at the following day’s schedule on the computer screen. So far, four appointments had been cancelled for the day, and two for the day after that.
“That’s odd, isn’t it?” Concetta asked, pert nose wrinkling.
“Not if word is getting around that I’m the killer,” she said with a sigh.
“You? Come on. Just because you were nearby . . .?”
“The outsider is always the killer. Don’t you know that? Bambino’s owner has probably been going around, passing the fear on to everyone else.”
“Yes. Poor Bambino.”
Audrey nodded. “I know. I keep wondering if he’s okay. Or if she found another vet. Maybe all the cancelled appointments are taking their animals into Palermo? That’s the closest veterinarian, from what I hear.”
“That’s a hike.”
“Yes, but it’d be even worse if they think they can go without, like a lot of them did before I moved in. Or they use folk medicine and prayer instead of actual medicine. If animals don’t get the proper medical care, I shudder to think what could happen.”
She’d been there before. The people of Mussomeli were reluctant to let an American take care of their pets. Then, once she’d been accused of murder, the distrust had run rampant. It’d almost caused her clinic to fold up even before it’d gotten off the ground. It took lots of work to build and maintain that trust, but it seemed like every time she made headway, something pushed her back.
“But they’re just rumors,” Concetta said.
“One thing I’ve noticed . . . People around here take rumors as fact. They don’t even bother to look into them to see if they’re true. They just steer clear.”
Concetta nodded. “Like that mafia rumor. I can’t imagine that man will ever fit in among us considering the things people have been saying about him. It’s sad, really.”
Audrey nodded. “It is. That man at the Tivoli estate is very nice. And I asked him if he was mafia.”
Concetta stared. “You did? What did he say?”
“Of course, he said no. He said he was aware of the rumors and they were ridiculous.” Audrey shrugged. “But I suppose that’s what he would say, even if he was involved in the mob.”
“True. Even with the one-dollar house thing and all the new faces moving in, people are wary,” Concetta said, but suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Oh, wait! Speaking of strangers, I have a message for you.” She went to the computer and tore off a sheet of paper from a pad. “From a Rafael.”
Audrey’s ears perked up. “Rafael?”
“Yes. He said he wanted to speak to you in person, and to stop by his place any time tonight.” She wrinkled her nose. “You know him? Who is he?”
Tonight. For dinner? Her skin prickled at the thought.
“He’s the so-called ‘mafia boss’ at the Tivoli estate,” she said, thinking. “The rich, handsome man who asked me to lunch.”
“Oh! He’s a Piccolo? Rafael Piccolo?”
“Yes. I was just down there, earlier this morning. I wonder what on Earth he wants to talk to me about?”
“Guess there’s one way to find out?” Concetta winked.
“Okay, considering how busy it is, I guess I can close up early. I do want to ask him a question, anyway. Something about what Ugo said made me wonder . . .”
Concetta leaned up against the counter. “Made you won
der what?”
“Well, Ugo said that when he was out there in the grove before I got there, he heard two gunshots. But Rafael never mentioned hearing gunshots at all. He said he didn’t hear or see anything. And I have to wonder . . . why?”
“Oh. That is a question.” Concetta shrugged. “And I still want to know who made that anonymous call.”
Audrey smiled and grabbed her things. “Me, too. But I’m not going to get the answers here. I’m going to get so much exercise, going up and down those stairs,” she said, grabbing her purse and giving Nick a head rub. “I will see you later!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The sun was sinking behind the city as Audrey made her way into the orange grove, shadows growing long, each one looking like a person, watching her. Even though it was still as hot as Hades in the valley, she shivered. Knowing someone had been murdered here, and that the murderer was still on the loose, was worrying enough. But the fact that Piccolo, who seemed nice enough, might be lying to her, was even worse. Not to mention that the neighbor was gun-happy. It gave the bright, citrus-filled valley a sinister quality.
Well, at least this time, you were invited, she thought as the tiled roof of the villa came into view.
She stopped and straightened when there came a faint rustling behind her. Turning, she noticed the leaves of a low, scrubby bush, rustling in a way that was too violent for the meager breeze. She took a step back. Please be a squirrel.
It stopped for a moment, and she was just about to turn and head on her way when the leaves parted.
Crouching there, staring at her with a curious look, was Nick.
“Nick!” she whispered harshly. “What are you—did you escape the clinic? How did Concetta—”
She gave up as he leapt over to her, clearly fine. He started to pull on his bandage, eager to get it off.
“Way to shake it off, Bub,” she said, crouching and reapplying the bandage as best she could. “But you should still wear this. You don’t want the wound to get infected. Come on.”
The moment she dropped Nick’s foot, he gave up with the bandage and started to head off on his own, after a fallen piece of fruit.
