by Fiona Grace
Audrey sighed. “Yes. He and I got into a little squabble the day before. I went over to apologize to him, and I found him.” She winced, trying to fight back the memory of his mangled body on the ground below her.
“Oh, no! Sweetie, that must’ve been awful! Why didn’t you call me?”
“Like I said. I’ve been busy.”
“They’re not going to arrest you, are they? If they do, I’ll sic Max on them. You tell them that,” she said, indignant.
“He’s an IP attorney.”
“So?” That was Brina’s problem. She really thought her husband could do no wrong. “He is part of the biggest firm in the city. He knows people. You’ll have the best legal defense they’ve ever seen in that one-horse town.”
“Okay, hold on. Let’s not get carried away. They haven’t arrested me. They’re still investigating,” she said, eyes volleying around the bedroom. Everywhere she looked, she saw something that needed TLC. At a nice Back Bay Apartment, she could probably have multiple bedrooms. A view of the skyline. A doorman. A non-possessed shower. “I wanted to call you because I just got off the phone with Dr. Carey, from Back Bay Animal Care.”
“Let me guess. They want you back.”
Audrey paused, dumbstruck. “Wait. How did you know that?”
“Because you’re awesome. Duh. Continue.”
Once again, Brina was the all-knowing Buddha. “She’s offering me a substantial raise. And even better, Dr. Watts actually left. She told me that I was the best doctor there, because I didn’t have all the drama. Can you believe that?”
“Of course I can. Because it’s true,” she said, matter-of-factly. “So, are you going to take it?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t know. That’s why I called you. What do you think?”
“Don’t be a goofball. Of course I think you should. But for purely selfish reasons. I miss your face.”
Audrey smiled. “I miss you, too.”
“And also, I think it might be a good idea to skip town before they lock you in prison. I saw a Lifetime movie on that, once. Girl got locked in some prison in a third world country and she didn’t speak the language, and I think all she had was a speeding ticket,” Brina said in a conspiratorial whisper. “For a murder, you’d probably get the firing squad.”
Audrey winced. “Well, that makes me feel better.”
“So, fly away home! Let me know when your flight gets in and I’ll meet you at Logan.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Sure it is. I’m on Expedia right now. There’s a flight that leaves from Palermo in three hours.”
Audrey sighed. “Actually. The police told me that I can’t leave town.”
“What? Not at all?”
“Not at all.”
“Is that even legal? You’re an American! I’ll ask Max about—”
“No. It’s fine. Besides, I’m not sure I want to take the job yet. I need to think on it more.”
Brina blew out a big breath of air. “Really? Why? You have no money left. You said the house is a wreck. Now you’re accused of a murder. You really think it could get any worse? I mean, why would you even bother staying? You can have everything you had before, but better!”
She swallowed. Everything you had before.
Meaning bitter cold Boston winters. Lonely nights eating leftover Thai in an empty apartment. Years upon years of high school reunions with absolutely nothing of significance to brag about.
“Hello? You still there?” Brina said, knocking her out of her desolate thoughts.
“I am. I’m just thinking, how much better? Because it wasn’t just the crappy Southie apartment and Dr. Watts that bothered me. It was everything. The monotony of life. The knowledge that this was what I had to look forward to for the next fifty years. I don’t know if hopping on a plane back to that life is the answer. This may be insane, it may be an uphill battle, but it’s different, at least.”
“Very different. You may have the inside of a prison cell to look forward to if you stay. Or worse, the firing squad!”
Audrey groaned. “They don’t do that anymore.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll let you know what I decide,” she said, ending the call.
She slipped out of the bed and went to the window. Maybe this would be the last view of freedom she’d ever have.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Audrey woke the following morning to a loud banging on the front door.
She sat up, a bolt of fear ripping through her. It was the kind of knocking the police did, right before they rammed down the door and arrested whoever was inside.
Grabbing her robe, she threw it over her tank top and shorts and was just tying the tie when she noticed the cop car outside.
Oh, no.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the door. When she opened it, she almost expected to be cuffed and led outside.
Instead, Officer Ricci hung on the door frame, looking tired, lips twisted to one side. “I’ve been knocking for ten minutes.”
“Oh.” She let out a relieved sigh. “Sorry. I didn’t realize. I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I guess I was catching up.”
She’d spent the evening mulling over her options. Honestly, as Mason was so kind to point out, she really didn’t have many. Unless she planned to Von Trapp it over the mountains in the dead of night and escape to the airport, she had to stay put.
But as she slept, her mind kept reeling back to that overwhelming sense of suffocation she’d felt living in Boston. She could have a new place, a better working situation, but would it matter? Everything else would be the same. She’d still be the same. And she’d have left Sicily without completing her mission. Her mission to fix up a house and live in it and experience all of what living abroad had to offer. Her father would be so disappointed.
Ricci’s eyes trailed down to the ground and his frown deepened. “Yesterday was a warning. You were let off easy. It won’t be repeated.”
She nodded. “I understand, and I appreciate …”
She stopped when she realized what he was staring at. Nick was sitting right beside her, licking his paws, enjoying the entertainment.
Oh, she mouthed, red-faced. “I know. I have to get rid of him. And I will. It’s not that easy, though.”
Ricci scowled. “Si, it is that easy. You take him to the side of the road, say your goodbyes, and drive away. The end. Easy.”
“No. You see, he’s injured. And he’s a good tracker. If I dropped him anywhere in town, he’d likely just find his way back.” She shrugged innocently. “He follows me around. I tried to lock him out. He’s been getting in and out of the house—somehow—I don’t even know how!”
The officer hooked a finger at her, motioning her outside. As much as she didn’t want to go out in just a robe, her hair looking like a bird’s nest, she knew she was skating on thin ice. She padded out onto the street, the cobblestones cold under her feet, and followed him to the side of the house. He pointed to the crumbling corner of the home, where, if she stooped, she could see a damp, moldy area, and beyond that, light. Actually, the tiles of her bathroom. And … was that her shower?
Mystery solved. And yet, it presented another mystery. How many townspeople had used that hole to peep in on her when she was bathing?
Sickness swirled in her stomach. “Lovely.”
“I’d close that up quickly, if I were you.”
She nodded. “I will. But even if I do block the hole up, he’ll find another way in. He’s clever.” She laced her fingers together, begging him for more time. “I’d need to go outside the city limits, far outside the city limits, and I can’t … right?”
Ricci crossed his arms. “I don’t care. Either you do it, or I’ll have animal control handle it. And I promise you that they will not be as nice to the animal.”
She sighed. “I guess …”
“Trust me. Do it today. And that should solve your unwanted houseguest situation.”
Actually, as far as unwanted houseguests went, Officer Ricci ranked higher than the fox. But Audrey wasn’t about to tell him that. “I appreciate it,” she told him, her voice mechanical. “I’ll take care of it—and him—right away.”
As she said the words, the little fox nudged her leg, pointed ears turned in her direction. Was it her, or did he understand everything that was being said?
Her face fell. She clutched her stomach. The idea of getting rid of him, leaving him to the wild? It made her feel physically ill.
“Come now, Audrey. You are a doctor of animal care. You know an animal like that belongs in the wild. Not in a home.”
She certainly did know that. But the knowledge didn’t make her feel any better.
*
Audrey didn’t want to borrow Mason’s car again, considering he was such a massive diva.
So later that day, after spoiling Nick, giving him cuddles and filling him up with plenty of fruity treats—more apples and a little bit of honeydew—she put him in a basket and set out walking with him, downhill.
The uphill walk would be her punishment for abandoning this poor creature.
But she wasn’t, she kept reminding herself. He was wild. Free. The world was his home. He didn’t belong to her. And he was better off out in nature, with his other fox friends.
She meandered aimlessly up and down the streets, hoping that wherever she went, he’d be confused by the scent. She wasn’t exactly sure where she planned to leave him, but she wanted someplace perfect. Green. Shady. With plenty of area to scamper about. So that took her far out of the city proper.
She’d probably walked five miles by the time she came to someplace suitable. It was a grassy field, with a dilapidated old shed in the distance, close to caving in. Sweat beaded on her brow as she stopped to rest at a rock on the side of the road.
Audrey looked around and took a deep breath. She’d have to do it now, before she lost her nerve.
Opening the side of the basket, she mentally prepared herself for his adorable little furry face. When he peeked up at her, she realized all the preparation in the world wouldn’t be enough. He crawled into the corner of the basket and wrapped his tail around himself, and shook his head slightly. It was almost as if he was begging, Please don’t do this.
She felt the seams of her composure ripping, ripping, ripping … and then suddenly, tears began to fall. A second later, she was weeping on the side of the road, so hard, a car stopped. The driver, an old man, called something to her in Italian, but she was sobbing too hard to speak. She simply waved him on.
“Come on, now, Nick. I want you to go on. Have a good life. Make lots of nice fox friends …” she blubbered, sniffling. “It isn’t so bad. You’ll have lots of fun out there, much more fun than you’ve been having with me. I promise!”
But her voice was so weak, even she didn’t believe it.
She had to do it quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid.
Only thing was, he wouldn’t get out of the basket. She tipped it to the side, but he stayed propped in his corner. She scooped him out, but he took a swipe at her. Finally, she tipped it over entirely, and he rolled gently out, onto the ground, like a red carpet.
The first thing he did was scamper back to the basket, but she lifted it up before he could take refuge in it. She shooed him. “Go on. Out onto the fields. Run. Scamper. Cavort. You’ll have plenty of fun adventures.”
He stared at her, then tilted his head.
“I’m not going to say it again!” She stamped her foot, angrier at herself for getting attached than at him. “Go on!”
After a moment’s hesitation, he ran toward her, wrapped his tail around her calf like a mink stole, let out a little purr of appreciation, then turned and darted off into the field, chasing after a moth. When he got about halfway to the shack, he paused and turned to look at her.
Before she could wave, he hung a right and went directly to a chain-link fence. He walked the perimeter of it for a little while, and then slipped into a hole beneath it.
An overwhelming sense of dread fell over her then. Sure, she’d been alone all this time, but she’d never felt so alone as at that moment.
She walked toward the fence, wondering what kind of business it belonged to. Just beyond the fence, there was a large shed with a corrugated roof. It was only when she walked around to the front of the enclosure that she saw the piles and piles of lumber stacked neatly inside. On the fence, a large sign proclaimed: Altera Ditta di Legnami.
She couldn’t read it, but she could guess what it said. The “A” in Altera was made to look like a few pieces of lumber, nailed together. Cute.
But a distinct feeling of déjà vu crept over her.
She’d seen that logo before.
Her mind spiraled back to that day, when she’d been standing at the front stoop, watching the junk from the renovation project falling at her feet. There’d been all kinds of things—old pipes, nails, trash, tools … but also, a bunch of pieces of lumber with the Altera logo stamped upon them, in red.
Something struck her then.
Fabri had been looking at that lumber, saying something that she couldn’t understand. And he’d been looking up at his cousin, but was it possible that he wasn’t talking to the cousin at all? Maybe he’d been muttering under his breath about the lumber supplier.
Maybe …
She blinked out of her thoughts to see Nick standing on the other side of the fence, looking at her, like, What are you going to do?
“Right,” she said to him, making the decision. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and dialed the general number for the police. When a receptionist answered, she said, “Ciao. Detective DiNardo, per favore.”
The receptionist said a bunch of words, only two of which Audrey understood. Mi dispiace. I’m sorry.
She tried again. “Officer Ricci, then?”
This time, the call was put through. A moment later, a deep male voice said, “Si?”
“Officer Ricci? It’s me, Audrey Smart.”
“Ah. Audrey. Calling me to tell me that you’ve had success in getting rid of your problem, yes?”
She stared at her “problem” through the fence. “Actually, no. Not exactly.” She could almost sense the frustration coming through the phone lines. “I mean, I was going to, I was headed to the outskirts of town to bring him somewhere where he would be happy, and not be able to find his way back, but then I got to this place, and I saw this logo, and I had an idea and it all cemented in my head, like boom—”
“Wait. Slow down. What is this all about?”
She took a deep breath. Fanned her face. The sun was beating down on her, making her feel dizzy, like she might faint. She clutched the phone tighter to her ear and looked around to make sure no one was nearby. Her voice, when it came out, was barely a breath, and so tense that it crackled.
“I think I might know who killed Ernesto Fabri.”
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
There was dead air on the other end of the phone for so long, Audrey thought that she’d lost the connection. “Hello?”
“I’m here,” Officer Ricci said at last, and in those two words, she could tell one undeniable fact: He thought she was off her rocker.
“I’m serious. I feel like you should be casing this joint, or whatever you guys do.”
“Casing … ?” he began, confused. “Let’s back up. Where, exactly, are you?”
“Altera Lumber,” she said, peering through the links of the fence. Sure enough, there were a few men walking about in hard hats and jeans, and farther inside, a large red outbuilding, along with a smaller trailer with a sign that said, Ufficio. “So are you going to call me backup?”
“Backup? Wait. Audrey. Let’s take a deep breath, okay?”
“No, I’m going to talk to them, at least. That’s all. If I have to do it alone, then fine.”
There was a pause. “Wait. Audrey. Detective DiNardo just walked in.” He started to say something in
Italian, probably, Maybe you can talk some sense into this lunatic, and then there was a brief shuffling on the other end.
Finally, a voice said, “Dottore Smart?”
“Yes. Detective DiNardo?” She let out a sigh of relief. At least Ricci had ushered her up the chain of command instead of hanging up on her. “I’m here on the outskirts of town and I think I’ve discovered someone, or a group of people, who might be responsible for Fabri’s death.”
“And how did you do that?” He seemed slightly annoyed.
“Honestly, I wasn’t poking my nose where it didn’t belong. Believe me. Totally by chance, while I was walking out here, I stumbled upon a lumber company, Altera, and I remembered hearing that Fabri was getting into all sorts of trouble for bad deals. And this Altera, I remember, supplied the lumber for the—”
“Altera?”
“Yes! You know it?”
“Of course I do. I know Signore Altera. Very well, in fact.”
Oh, no. Here it comes. He’s his cousin. “Well, I think someone should question him because he definitely provided the lumber, and I think that if he screwed him out of money, that’s a good motive as any—”
“Stop. You’re right. But we’ll question him. Not you. Do you understand?”
“Oh. Yes. Of course.”
“Go home, Dottore Smart. Please. That’s an order.”
She knew that was coming. She sighed. “All right. Fine. I will. But … could you let me know what happens?”
“Audrey,” he said simply. Then he hung up.
So, that was a no?
She pocketed her phone and looked at Nick through the fence. She crouched in front of him. “I know, right?” she said, sticking her fingers through a link to pet the top of his head. “What a rip-off. I provide a possible case-cracking tip and they won’t even let me know the outcome.”
He bowed his head into her pets, clearly on her side.
“All right, goofball,” she said to him, standing. “You are a crazy little fox. If you want to stay here among the lumber, fine. I’m no fox. But I think you’d be happier in the green wilderness.”
