by Fiona Grace
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Because it was on the way, Audrey decided to check in on the animals at the clinic. When she got there and saw the yellow crime scene tape, she remembered she had to text DiNardo before she could go in.
The officer came right away, but even with him there watching her, it was still eerie. She did her best to ignore that spot in reception, speeding through her chores. It wasn’t an easy time, having to take care of pets mere steps from where a man had lost his life. Her clinic was cute, reflecting her personality, with the bright white walls and the photographs of baby animals everywhere, but if anything could turn it into a house of horrors, that was it. She was constantly looking over her shoulder as she gave the little bunnies their bottles.
Luckily, though, they were so adorable, and appeared to be growing under her care. It was hard to think of evil when cuddling a tiny little bunny that wouldn’t even fill a teacup.
When she finished up, she burst outside as if the black mold and the ghost of Vito Cascarelli were chasing her. Then she thanked the officer, and they parted ways.
It was about three as she used her phone to guide her to via Camilla. After having missed lunch due to her eagerness to get away from Mason, she was starving, so she stopped at a little street vendor on the way and got something called a Scaccia, which was kind of like a cross between lasagna and a calzone. As she was nibbling the crust and trying not to let the grease from the pepperoni dribble down her chin, she turned onto via Camilla and immediately heard the construction racket, halfway down the street.
There was a pretty home there with a massive balcony and a rustic, arched doorway, behind construction scaffolding. Audrey spied the sign from the inspector on the door as she approached. When a large, intimidating man with gray, buzzed hair walked out, grunting, she knew she’d found the right place.
“Hello,” she called as he dumped a bucket of brown water on the ground. “Mr. … um. Are you Horst?”
He turned to her, frown deepening. “What if I am?”
“I’m Audrey Smart. I just—”
“Are you the new inspector?” he said in a thick German accent. “As you can see, renovations are ongoing. Come back later.”
So he knows something happened to the inspector, she thought, adding that to the growing list of suspicions she was compiling in her head. “I’m not the inspector. I’m another person whose house the inspector flunked, and I wanted to ask you some questions.”
He started to walk away, disinterested, then seemed to think better of it, because he stopped. “No time.”
“It’ll only take a second.” She followed him, still clutching her half-eaten sandwich. “Anyway, what’s wrong with your house?”
She almost made it to the doorway when he turned on her, so quickly and unexpectedly, she nearly poked him in the breastbone with her nose. The guy was huge. Huge and scary. Despite being older than most of the regular one-euro people, probably pushing seventy, he didn’t look any less intimidating. “Plumbing issue, electrical … it’s BS.”
“I understand. You have experience renovating houses?”
“Me? I have the most experience! I remodel houses all over Germany. Big ones, small ones. For over fifty years! My father was a contractor. My father’s father was. I learned from the best. And this man comes in and fails me?” He huffed, his face reddening, the creases on his forehead deepening. “It’s… unglaublich!”
He looked a little like he was about to blow a gasket, and Audrey didn’t want to bother him anymore, so she took a step back.
When she did, he pointed at her chin. “You have …”
She wiped at it and found a huge string of mozzarella had stuck to her face. “Oh. Thanks.” Okay, so maybe he wasn’t about to kill her. “Your house does look lovely. I’m sorry that happened. You clearly know what you’re doing.”
“You bet der hintern I do.”
“I failed three days ago. When did you get the notice that your inspection failed?”
He thought for a moment. “About then, too.”
“Yeah, it’s funny! That’s how I found out that there were a bunch of other people who failed,” she went on lightly, trying to be as delicate as possible. “I was talking to my friend who was at the bar with you last night, and they mentioned you’d failed and were unhappy about it. Huh?”
He nodded, but was already eyeing her suspiciously. Okay, Aud. Be cool or he’ll probably pick you up and throw you into the next street over.
“Had to unwind, right? Have a couple beers, relax … I mean, I personally had a few glasses of wine. It was so stressful.”
He continued staring her down, like, And what’s your point?
“I bet you wanted to just find that guy and …” She shook her fists in front of her, miming someone shaking a person by the shoulders. “Gah! Am I right?”
He frowned. “I only had one beer. I got a call from a lady friend. She was arriving from overseas in Palermo last night, and needed me to pick her up.”
“Lady friend?”
“Ja … now, what are all these questions for?”
She sighed. She supposed those things could be easily verified, if she asked for the name and the flight, all those things that’d just make him more suspicious of her. So she decided to come clean. “I’m sorry. But the guy was found dead in my clinic and now the police probably think I did it. So I just wanted to see if I could help them in any way.”
“Your clinic?”
“Yes. I’m a vet.”
He took a deep breath and stepped out again, then sat himself down on the small stone wall outside the house, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He actually patted the spot next to him for her to sit.
For a second, she thought of her father, holding that postcard out to her and smiling. He was a little gruff, too. He’d left when he was in his mid-forties, but whenever she thought of him, it was as if he hadn’t aged a day. Maybe he looked a little like old Horst here.
She scooted next to him and sat as he said, “Don’t tell me you want help on your place.”
She shook her head. “I’m good. I’ll get it done. There’s a hole in the second floor, so I’m probably going to have to replace the whole thing.”
“A hole?” He tilted his head. “Just patch it. Quick fix.”
“Oh, I tried. I put a plank over it, so I wouldn’t fall in, but now it really needs to—”
“Still. You patch. It’s quick. Nothing like this mess they’ve got me doing.” He jerked a thumb behind him. “Maybe the new inspector will be better.”
“So you heard that he died. Who told you?”
“The police.”
“Oh. They’ve interviewed you?”
He nodded. That was good; at least they were doing something. “Was not something that surprised me. He made enemies all over town, only one month on the job!”
“One month? Really?”
Horst nodded. “Yes. The old inspector, the one before this guy, looked at my place a month ago. He was good. He checked it out. Said all okay. No problems with electric. And then he left, and I got Cascarelli, that Dummkopf. Gave me six citations. Six!”
It didn’t seem right, talking ill about the poor guy for just doing his job. At least, Audrey assumed it was ill. She wasn’t really sure what a Dummkopf was, but it sounded bad. “Well, he told me the city was coming down hard on them to keep to code, to avoid liability issues.”
He grunted. “Yeah. Probably fired the other man. The reasonable man, in order to give the job to him.”
Audrey let that sink in. Yes, that made sense. What if the prior employee was bitter over losing his job and having it go to someone else? That was a possibility. One thing was sure; Vito had a lot of possible enemies. Poor guy.
“Do you know the name of that other inspector?”
He scratched the side of his temple. “Dellisanti. That was it.”
“Great. Thanks. I appreciate that.” She stood up. If Dellisanti had been fi
red and replaced, maybe that was a motive for murder, too. It was another lead, at least.
“Audrey, I wouldn’t go looking for too much trouble, if I were you,” he said.
“Oh, I won’t,” she murmured, but she was already making plans to track down this disgruntled former inspector, Dellisanti. And anyway, I don’t have to. It usually finds me first.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
As Audrey walked back up toward city hall, she passed the same food cart. This time, it was nearing dinnertime, but she couldn’t help but get a pistachio granita. It was calling to her.
Despite her poor mood, the center of town was alive and vibrant as usual. When she’d first arrived here, it was much less crowded than it was now. There were people around, shopping at the local stores or getting in their daily exercise, and a couple of girls were playing hopscotch on the sidewalk. The windows of all the homes were open to let in the cool Mediterranean breeze, and the sun was as bright as ever.
She was just maneuvering around them on street, breaking up the chunks of ice with the long spoon, when she saw the elusive Councilman Falco, heading up the steps to the stately building, briefcase in hand.
Rushing to catch up to him, she called, “Councilman!” just as she dropped the thing on the ground. Green ice went sloshing everywhere.
He stopped and went over to her. The man was kind and sympathetic, but also inordinately busy. She always felt like she needed to talk in double-time whenever she was around him. “Uh-oh. Looks like you had an accident.”
She sighed. “It’s just par for the course with the way my week is going.”
His face turned grave. “Yes, I heard about the murder in your clinic.”
“I’m sure the whole town has by now. And I’m sure you heard the clinic was closed down by that inspector. Now I can’t even make repairs until the police give me the all-clear. I’m allowed to keep strays there until the mold problem is cleaned up but I can’t see appointments. So it’s a bit of a problem.”
She hoped he’d say, No! I’m shocked! We need to fix that right away. You can’t stay closed. But he simply said, “It’s a shame. Certainly. But you get that mold taken care of, and we’ll get the new inspector to pass you right away.” He patted her shoulder and started to hurry away.
Did he hear anything she’d just said? “Like I said, I can’t, until the police—”
“Well, I’m sure they’re working as hard as they can.”
Audrey was less certain about that. Sure, DiNardo had solved the last two crimes, but if it weren’t for her, he’d probably still be searching for clues on the first one.
“Who is the new inspector?” she asked, jogging to keep up with him. “Do you know?”
“No. I don’t. I’m not even sure if they’ve appointed one. But come on in. I’m sure you can ask around inside.”
He moved so quickly, she was out of breath by the time she reached the top of the steps. When she got there, he powered inside, almost as if he were trying to leave her behind.
“There’s the information desk,” he said to her, patting her on the shoulder again. “You have any problems, you just see me.”
And then, before she could even thank him, he disappeared, almost as if in a puff of air, like a magician. That was the hilarious thing about Falco. He’d been her biggest champion, wanting to get this clinic off the ground, but the second a problem appeared? Poof.
And unfortunately, she seemed to be a problem magnet.
She went over to the lady at the information desk and smiled at her behind the plexiglass divider. “Hi, do you speak English?”
The older woman peered at her over her bifocals. “Yes. What can I help you with?”
“I’m wondering if you know anything about who the new city building inspector i—”
“Building Inspector’s Office, Room 134,” she said briskly.
“Oh. Okay. Would you be able to tell me the name of the former building—”
“Building Inspector’s Office, Room 134,” she repeated, almost as if she were a recording.
Well, that was that. Audrey backed away. “Thanks,” she said, heading down the long hallway.
She got about halfway down it when she came to the room. Unlike the other doors in the hallway, that one was closed. She knocked, and no one answered. She knocked louder, and for a few more seconds, and there was no response. Pulled the knob. It was locked.
“Thanks a lot, Information Lady,” she said, looking around helplessly. It was almost dinner, so maybe he’d gone home for the day.
Audrey noticed a woman in a suit hurrying down the corridor, carrying a stack of papers.
“Excuse me,” she said to the woman, feeling a little guilty because this woman seemed even busier than Falco. The woman turned around. “Do you speak English?”
She nodded.
“I was looking for whoever the new inspector is?”
She started to whirl around. “I don’t know the hours for that office but I just saw Signore Tomas Dellisanti over that way. He used to work there. You could probably ask him.” She pointed behind Audrey. “Last room on the right. Tall. Dark hair. You can’t miss him.”
“Oh! Great!”
Audrey jumped into action and sped down the hallway, following the woman’s directions. When she got there, she pulled open the door, expecting she’d see a waiting room full of people, and would have a hard time picking Dellisanti out. But as she barreled in there, too late, she realized that Dellisanti was in there, standing in front of a large, dark-wood desk, meeting with only one person, a man with a rather square-shaped Marlon Brando head full of white hair.
The two of them turned and stared at her, waiting for an explanation.
She let out a breath.
It was only then that she caught the crest on the outside of the door, and the words Sindaco Roberto Fanelli. She wasn’t really sure what sindaco meant, but clearly, the man behind the desk was an important one.
“Um. Sorry. Wrong room.”
She backed herself out and let the door close behind her. It did, but not all the way. It was open a crack, and the man behind the desk was speaking rather loudly. She grabbed her phone and started working her thumbs, trying to translate as fast as she could. Sindaco was the first word she put in. It meant “mayor.”
Perfect, so she’d crashed a private meeting with the mayor.
Shaking off the embarrassment, she listened and thumbed in more words from the conversation. At first he seemed angry. He pounded the desk with his fist and said something about Cascarelli ruining their revitalization efforts.
Really? Audrey thought. That poor man was working his tail off to please you guys, and this is how you treat him? Nice.
Whatever it was, Mayor Fanelli was clearly pissed off about it. He kept pounding the desk, as Dellisanti interjected something about how he was in complete agreement. Something about how now he doesn’t have to worry, because Cascarelli is gone.
Oh, so Cascarelli was an obstacle? The question was, how ambitious was the mayor? Ambitious enough to remove obstacles, at any cost?
Was it possible the mayor and Dellisanti had something to do with this?
Before that thought could spiral into even more sinister ones, his tone shifted to one that was distinctly more cheerful. Something about offering him the job, having him back. Dellisanti responded enthusiastically with a yes, and they shared a laugh over something Audrey couldn’t hear.
Ha-ha. So funny. You kill the guy who took your job and now everything’s going your way, isn’t it?
She stood there, listening for a while, trying to translate, but her thumbs started to ache. But as she did some thumb gymnastics, trying to stretch them, she realized that she could make out a lot of what they were saying. Really, all they were doing was talking about football and vacation spots and stuff, shooting the breeze. It only fired Audrey up more. A man was dead, a man who’d devoted his life to the city, and they were talking about the best way to see Greece?
By
the time they said their goodbyes, Audrey was good and angry.
Audrey just had to put a wrench in whatever plans they were scheming. She almost felt like Vito was nudging her from the beyond, urging her onward. Give that guy a hard time.
Audrey pressed her back against the wall as the door opened, but she needn’t have worried about him seeing her. He sauntered out like he was all that, his face buried in his phone, which he was holding and scrolling through with one hand. He was nothing like Vito, tall and slim, well-dressed, a man who meant to go places in this world.
As he headed toward the exit, Audrey rushed up behind him.
“Mr. Dellisanti!” she called.
The man turned around, and his confusion morphed into deeper confusion, as in, Aren’t you the lady who stormed my meeting with the mayor?
“So are you the new inspector?”
The man smiled. “Yes … as of a few moments ago, I am. And who are you?”
“I’m Audrey Smart. I’m—”
“American, eh?”
“Yes. The dead man was found in my veterinary clinic. It’s very convenient that Mr. Cascarelli’s dead. That means that you get your job back, huh?”
His eyes narrowed and he pulled on the collar of his dress shirt. “Wait … what are you … are you insinuating something? Are you accusing me of killing Vito to get my old job back?”
She shrugged. “If the shoe fits …”
“In this case, you’re wrong. Vito was a good friend of mine. We got along well, grew up together. I was very distressed to hear of his passing and I want to get to the bottom of it.”
Right. He could just be saying that. “Maybe you were very competitive.”
“We weren’t.” He scoffed. “There was no reason to be. Look. I didn’t get fired from the inspector’s office in the first place. I was promoted to a nice, cushy desk job. I actually recommended Vito for the inspector job, and he got it. But Mayor Fanelli offered me the inspector job back, at a bit of a pay cut, but what can I do? I took it. Because the work has to get done.”
