“Oops. Sorry.” Just so I wouldn’t create more havoc, I sat next to Imani, out of the way in case Millicent stepped through. My phone dinged with a message. I looked at my screen. “It’s from Millicent. She can get here soon—she just has to find somewhere private to travel from.” I tapped my foot on the ground and tried to tune the barking out. They were loud. My toe tapping didn’t work. Funny that. I raised my voice to be heard over the dogs. “Wanna play I spy?”
Imani threw me an unimpressed gaze. “Are you serious? There’s like five things in here.”
“We could pretend we’re in the bar at the hotel and do stuff that was in there.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re weird.”
“Yes… frequently… many people.” I grinned. “Being weird, impatient, and easily surprised are my three biggest skills.”
A brief vibration of magic tickled my scalp, and Millicent stepped through her doorway. “Hey, ladies. Sorry you had to wait with all that noise.” I stood, and we hugged.
“The noise is my fault. I knocked to check if you were home. Big mistake.”
She laughed. “We really should train them better. I’ve had that conversation with them before, but they don’t listen… obviously. Anyway, come in. I understand it’s urgent.” She unlocked the door, and the dogs stopped barking, but they did jump up on Millicent. “Get down.”
“Yes. Super urgent.” I gave both dogs a quick pat on the head.
Imani came in and shut the reception-room door. “We need to get back to the hotel ASAP. I was hoping you and the rats could come with me. I don’t want Lily there right now, just in case she’s been compromised. She might have been caught by a security camera snooping in the hotel office.”
Millicent frowned as she continued through kitchen and into the family room. “What do you need? I’ll convey it to the rats.” She walked to the corner where there was a plywood box with a doorway cut into it. “Cinnamon, Bagel. I need your help.”
Imani explained the plan as my cute little friends exited their sleeping quarters. I grinned and sat on the floor. “Hello, you two!” They scurried to me and squeaked. I patted each of them on the back. “How have you been?”
Millicent smiled. “They say they’ve been good and that they miss you—you don’t come over enough.”
“Sorry. I’ve been making the most of being able to go out again, and we’re supposed to be on holiday. Anyway, it’s great to see you.” Bagel climbed up my shorts and top, then up to my shoulder. Her favourite spot. She nuzzled into my neck.
“Okay, ladies, pay attention.” I looked up, but silly me. Millicent was talking to the rats, not me. She told them what we wanted them to do. “They say they’re happy to help.”
“I knew we could count on you guys. Thank you.” I stroked Bagel’s back.
“Squeak, squeak.”
I looked to Millicent for a translation. “She said always.” Millicent picked up Cinnamon. “Now that’s organised, I guess I should dress for a Venetian holiday.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t come? Maybe I could be a big distraction for the old woman? She could get angry at me while you two are checking out all the rooms.”
Imani bit her bottom lip and held it there for a moment. “Hmm. Tell you what. We’ll go without you, but if we need a decoy, I’ll text you ‘yes,’ and you come to the reception room, then try and keep her there as long as possible… using non-violent means.” She gave me a stern look.
“Oh my God. As if I’d do anything to forcibly keep her there. I don’t want to end up in jail. I figured she could interrogate me about why I was in the office. I could string that out for ages.” I was queen of the confusing conversation. Ooh, a fourth skill.
Imani looked at me for a while, likely thinking. She finally said, “That could work.” She looked at Millicent, who had magicked a pretty summer dress on—it was white with a small-blue-flower print. It had two big pockets at thigh level, and she slipped Cinnamon into one and Bagel into the other.
Millicent smiled. “Ready to roll.”
Imani made a doorway. “After you.” Millicent stepped through, and Imani followed. The doorway shut, leaving me alone. Well, Millicent’s two dogs were here, but I was practically alone. Now all I had to do was wait.
And we all knew how good I was at doing that.
Chapter 7
My phone rang. It had only been about five minutes since they’d left. Had they already found something? Heart racing, I slid my phone out of my pocket.
Damn.
Unknown number.
Now was not the time to be getting a sales call from some company who wanted to sell me ink cartridges, or from someone telling me the “police” were after me for avoiding taxes. Just in case it was important—maybe Will was calling me from the PIB Trieste office—I pressed the answer button. “Hello?” I braced myself to hang up quickly if it was a scammer. Normally, I’d love to keep them on the phone and pretend to believe them to waste their time, but I wasn’t in the mood.
“Hello, Miss Bianchi?” The woman on the other end sounded familiar and had an Italian accent.
Who could it be? I wasn’t answering till I knew. I mean, why did people do this? Call someone and ask who they were before saying who the caller was. Excuse me, but you’re calling me, bucko. “Who is this?”
She tittered. “Mi Scusi! It is Isabella from the ’otel. I was wondering if you could come and join me for a coffee. The camera, it showed you were in the ’otel office. I’d like to know why.”
Crap. What the hell should I do now? What if I admitted it, and she had me arrested? Well, it’s not like they could arrest me while I was in the UK, but it meant I couldn’t go back to Venice… ever. And she was a fairly nice old lady who was going through enough right now with the murder of her boss. Maybe she’d forgive me if she knew why I was looking? “Sorry. I was just trying to find some information. My dear friend Angelica has gone missing, and I’ve been looking everywhere. She has a habit of drinking too much and falling asleep in weird places. I thought maybe she had accidentally gone in there and, you know, fallen asleep.” What was a lie between strangers?
“Mio Dio!” Silence for a bit. “I’m so sorry.” She sighed, and her voice sounded worn down, tired. “All the things happening here. Evil is around. First, my son-in-law is murdered, and they think my beautiful Elena has killed him. I know she would not. She is a good girl, and she loved him. And now your friend is missing. What are we going to do? Who will be next?” Were they sniffles I could hear on the other end?
Wow, she was the suspect’s mother? No wonder she was upset. Hmm, I debated her claim that her daughter loved him. Elena didn’t love him enough to either break it off with him or not see other men, even though it broke his heart. “It’s okay, Isabella. I’m sure Angelica will turn up soon. Are you going to be all right?”
“I don’t know. Oh, Miss Bianchi. I’m very worried. I don’t feel well. My daughter is with those agents, and my grandson is out. What should I do?”
Damn it. My conscience knew what the right thing to do was. At least I could legitimately go back there without getting in trouble. “Why don’t I come and have that coffee with you until you feel a bit better? I’m not busy at the moment. I can stay till your grandson gets back.”
“Oh, would you? Grazie, grazie.”
“I’ll see you in a minute.” I hung up and sighed. Now it was going to be awkward when Imani and Millicent messaged or called. I couldn’t very well say too much in front of Isabella. Well, at least I’d be doing my job and distracting the old lady. Maybe this would work in our favour. Who woulda thunk it? The universe was playing nice for a change. Although what would it ask in return?
I made my doorway to the hotel reception room and stepped through. I didn’t even have to buzz because Isabella was waiting for me. She had a white apron on over her pink-red-and-white floral-printed dress. She slapped her hands on her cheeks, and a look of relief washed over her face, although it did not
hing to erase the dark circles under her eyes. “Grazie, grazie! I’m so glad you came. I wasn’t happy when I saw you in the office camera, but I understand now.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know what to do. I’ve been cooking to, how you say, not think of my sadness, and also, with Antonio gone, we have more work to do. This could not have happened at a worse time. The ’otel, she is almost full at the moment. Finally, after a quiet winter.” She seemed to come to, her eyes widening. “Forgive me. Please, come and have coffee and zaleti. I baked it today.”
Mmm. I could never turn down a dessert, especially a homemade one, well, assuming zaleti was a dessert. The word baking had been used, so I assumed the best. “That would be lovely. Thank you.” As we walked down the hallway and through to the dining room, I couldn’t help listening for Imani and Millicent, or glancing around. Which part of the hotel were they in? Were they having any luck? How long would it take to find Angelica?
My stomach twisted, and the urge for dessert deserted me. I was even too stressed to laugh at the similarity of dessert and desert. As we entered the restaurant, the fragrance wafting out of the kitchen sent my tastebuds into a frenzy. “That smells delicious.”
She smiled. “I love to cook. I’m preparing tonight’s menu. Our two most popular food is bigoli in salsa and fegato alle Venezian.” I had no idea what they were, but they smelled divine.
“Maybe I should book a table for tonight. I’d love to try them.” Would we be eating dinner like normal people tonight, or would we be in a frenzy of searching for Angelica? I couldn’t see any of us having much of an appetite if she was still missing, or even worse, if we found her body. Argh, do not go there, Lily!
She led me to a table for two near the kitchen door. “Sit, please.” She smiled, and once I was seated, she disappeared through the swinging door to the kitchen.
I gazed around the restaurant. Maroon carpet, tables set with thick, clean white tablecloths. Small vases with flowers sat in the middle of each table—it was all very quaint. It looked like a lot of work, but for a witch establishment, it would’ve all happened with a thought. Come to think of it, why was she physically cooking and not magicking it? Maybe her magic was even weaker than her daughter’s and it was too tiring, especially since she was cooking for a lot of people?
She returned to the table with the best-smelling coffee ever and a dinner plate full of what must be zaleti. I’d never heard of them before, but I was game. They were diamond-shaped, yellowish biscuits with icing sugar sprinkled on top. “Thank you.” I took one and put it on the small plate that had already been on the table when I sat. I inhaled the coffee steam through my nose before I sipped it. The taste dazzled my tongue, and then the warmth travelled down my throat. “Ahhhh. Wonderful. Grazie.” I enjoyed using what little Italian I knew, plus it was probably nice for my host that I tried to dabble in her language.
“Prego.”
I bit into the cookie and chewed. “Mmm. That’s different. Oh, are those raisins?”
“Si. They are soaked in liquor first.” She winked. Shame cooking them would kill the alcohol. Not that I was desperate for a drink. The clearer my head, the better right now.
My phone dinged. I looked at Isabella, hoping the unease snaking through my belly wasn’t showing on my face. Had they found something? I smiled awkwardly. “Sorry. I just need to check this… just in case it’s about Angelica.” I carefully looked at my phone, making sure I was the only one who could see the screen. It was from Imani.
So far, nothing. We’ve looked in all the rooms on our floor and the floor above, although three were occupied. When we explained we were looking for a friend, they were happy to let us look inside. We might need your distraction soon. Heading to the top floor now. Be on the ground floor in five minutes. Can you come then?
I responded. Already here. In restaurant having coffee with Isabella. I’ll keep her occupied. The little dots moved, indicating Imani was typing something. They stopped, started, stopped. I chuckled. I’d surprised her, and she was likely wondering how the hell I was in the situation I was in. She’d have to wait. Finally, her response came through.
??? Okay. You can explain later. Bye. I slid my phone back in my pocket.
“Is everything all right?” Isabella asked.
I gave her a sad smile. “I guess so. My friend hasn’t found Angelica yet. She was just checking where I was. I told her I was here, having coffee with you.” She nodded, and something I couldn’t read flashed across her eyes. She placed a hand on her forehead and shut her eyes. I leaned forward. “Are you all right, Isabella?”
“My head. It is spinning. Sleeping… is hard since my son-in-law was killed.” Her eyes opened, and I was pretty sure it was fear shining from them. “What if someone wants to kill all of us? Enrico owed lots of money to that ’orrible man at the glass factory. My daughter told me he threatened her over the telephone… before Antonio was killed.” Oh, crap. Had we discounted the killer?
“What did he say? Do you know?”
She shook her head. “She said she didn’t want to upset me, but she told Antonio, and he was going to fix it….” She looked at the ceiling, then back at me. “He didn’t fix it very well.”
I frowned. “Apparently not.” My head throbbed, and I rubbed my forehead. Just what I needed—a headache. I downed the rest of my espresso—the coffee was smooth and rich, but I still preferred my cappuccinos. I had a feeling that espressos were the coffee of choice for Italians, and I hadn’t wanted to trouble Isabella.
My phone rang. I jumped in my seat. Dammit, Lily. Stop being shocked at the smallest sound. I answered it. I breathed out in relief at Will’s name on the screen. I looked at Isabella. “Sorry. I have to take this.” She waved me to take it. I answered the phone. “Hey, what’s happening?”
“Things are becoming more complicated.”
I scrunched my forehead. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve found out about Lorenzo Zanini’s threat to Mrs Dal Lago. And Agent Tondato has proof that the alibi was manufactured. We’ll be back there in minutes, and so will Mrs Dal Lago. Whatever you’ve got going on, you need to stop now. Mrs Dal Lago has said we can have a look for Angelica. She claims she has nothing to hide.”
I sagged, whether in disappointment or relief, I didn’t know. There wasn’t anything I could explain to Will, so I just said goodbye and hung up. At least Isabella would feel better soon, when her daughter came home. “Thank you for the coffee and food. Are you feeling any better?”
She shrugged and stroked the plait that sat over her shoulder and fell to her lap. “Maybe a little. Will you stay with me a while longer?” I couldn’t ignore that puppy-dog-pleading look that radiated from her eyes.
I smiled. “Sure.”
She placed her soft, wrinkled hand over mine on the table, and as much as I wanted to pull away—touching strangers was so ridiculously awkward—I stayed where I was because let it not be said that I disappointed old people who were going through a tough time.
Thankfully, Will must have called Imani and explained the situation because within two minutes, she walked through the restaurant door. “Lily! There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
Before I could stand and greet her, Mrs Dal Lago hurried through the door and came straight to our table, her face troubled. “Mama!” She said something in Italian, her hands waving. Isabella stood slowly and embraced her daughter. I had no idea what they were saying to each other, but at least I was free to leave and not be touched.
I went to Imani and made a bubble of silence. “Apparently we’re allowed to search for Angelica.”
“I heard. Will and B are already here. They’ve gone straight to the office—they want you to meet them there.”
“Okay. Also, we need to check on Mum.” I dropped the BOS and was about to say goodbye to Isabella, but she and her daughter were arguing, voices raised. Her daughter planted her hands on her hips. Her mother jerked her chin up and waved a finger at her. What wa
s harder to understand than Italian? Italian when two people were yelling over the top of each other. To interrupt or not to interrupt. Imani and I shared a double eyebrow raise. Hmm, one of us should be recording this. I pulled my phone out again, found the recording app, and pressed record. Unfortunately, I only managed to get a minute of it before Isabella stared at me, her tirade fading away. Her daughter turned towards us, likely to see what her mother was looking at.
I smiled. “Sorry to interrupt. We’re going to go now and look for Angelica.”
Both women nodded, and Isabella managed a small smile. “Thank you for staying with me.”
“It was my pleasure. I hope you’re both going to be okay.”
Her daughter sent a glare my way. “We will be fine. Thank you.” Oooooookay. Maybe we weren’t welcome in this establishment anymore. Will had helped interrogate her after all. But if we changed hotels, we’d be less likely to get to the bottom of this disaster.
“Okay. Ciao.” I waved, and Imani and I hurried out. As soon as we were in the hallway, I stopped recording. “I’ll need to get this to Mum, see what they were saying.” It struck me that I hadn’t seen her since I’d returned. “Let’s check the bar. And where’s Millicent?”
“She’s got the rats. Since we’re allowed to look through things now, she went home. She’s in the middle of a case, don’t forget.”
“I know. Bummer. Stupid PIB.”
“Hey, watch it.”
“Sorry. I would’ve said that about any work that would keep her from looking for Angelica.” I had a way of putting my foot in my mouth when I least expected it. Another one of my many talents.
We checked the bar, and my mother was still there, sitting on a barstool, gazing into the bartender’s eyes. He was laughing, maybe at something my mother had said. I went up to her. “Hello, Lily.” She smiled.
“Just checking up on you. How’s it going?”
“Oh, great thanks. How about you?” Well, she was giving nothing away.
Westerham Witches and a Venetian Vendetta Page 10
