A Villa in Sicily: Figs and a Cadaver

by Fiona Grace

  Audrey smiled. “This is a no-kill shelter. If they’re not adopted, they stay here forever. They’ll always have a home here with plenty of love. I’m planning to ask for volunteers to come in and give the strays love, whenever—”

  “The streets are overrun with strays,” she snapped, speaking over Audrey. “And if you start taking them in, it’s only a matter of time before this place is, too. I give you a week, no more, before the place is full of mangy mutts with nowhere to go. Disease will spread among the animals, and it will be far too expensive for you to maintain. You have not been here long enough to see the massive stray problem we have on our hands.”

  “I agree. I’ve seen a little, but not everything. Yes, it’ll be tight. There is a big stray problem in Mussomeli. I’d love if we could have the storefront next to this place, since it’s empty, too, but we simply don’t have the money to —”

  “If you don’t have the money, how are you going to feed all those strays?” she demanded, hands on her hips.

  Audrey blinked. Why did this suddenly feel like an inquisition? “We’ll have to ask for donations.”

  She laughed. “Madre de dios. Like I said, Mussomeli isn’t a rich town. Most people here are struggling to survive. They don’t have money for donations.” She said it like it was a dirty word.

  The tour was over. Sure, there was the stockroom and lunchroom in the back, but Audrey was worried her guest would go ballistic if she saw those, since the renovations hadn’t touched them, their meager budget spent on the more important patient areas. She motioned to her to turn around and they walked back up to the front of the building. “Well, I do understand that, but all the expats moving here might. And someone needs to deal with Mussomeli’s stray problem.”

  “Yes, that is true, Dr. Smart, but I’m not sure this is the best way to go about it. It’s wasting money that can better be spent elsewhere. The streets downtown are so full of potholes and the fountain in the main square is crumbling away and no one fixes those, because the city doesn’t have the money. Yet we have money to care for strays?” She shook her head. “If we don’t get the common areas of Mussomeli taken care of, it’ll turn away all those people who are thinking of moving here. They’ll buy one-euro houses in other cities. You know, plenty of other cities are doing the program. Mussomeli needs to stand out to attract those who moved out back to it.”

  And Audrey thought Mason was a Johnny Raincloud. This person was unbelievable. Falco had told her it wasn’t in the budget to give her more money right now. Now, Audrey wondered if Falco would ever have the money in the budget. She frowned. “Yes. I see what you’re saying, but—”

  She stopped when they reached the reception area and she noticed Mason, standing in the corner, scanning the area carefully, like he’d just entered a minefield. He focused with disgust on a woman who was feeding a cannoli to the tiny pug on her lap. Other than that, with his longish hair slicked back on the sides—likely he’d just showered—and his white T-shirt, he looked like a sexy greaser.

  Johnny Raincloud or not, she smiled. He’d come.

  When his gaze shifted toward her, though, that look of disgust didn’t disappear.

  In fact, it got worse.

  Okay, I know we don’t get along all the time, but what’s that look all about? she wondered, scanning over toward G, who was deep in conversation with another one of his friends. The appointment book in front of him looked pretty full. Maybe he could be her permanent receptionist. He was darn good at it.

  She almost forgot about the woman next to her until the older lady cleared her throat, loudly and obnoxiously. “You say you have had inspections? Where are your permits?”

  Audrey turned to her, a little distracted. “Uh, permits?”

  “Yes. You have permits, don’t you? You need permits.”

  “Oh, yes. Sure. They’re around. I think. Somewhere. It’s been so much of a whirl—”

  The woman let out a little huff. “They need to be posted. In the main area. Easily seen. You may do things different in America, but this is how we do things in Sicily.”

  “Oh.” Audrey had them… somewhere. Probably in the mess of papers in the reception desk. “We were planning to do that when we—”

  “See that you do.” The woman crossed her arms. “It’s code, and extremely important. You could be closed down today.”

  A sinking feeling settled over Audrey, as she realized the woman hadn’t introduced herself. “Um, you know I’m Dr. Smart. But I don’t think I caught your name?”

  “Mimi Catalano. I’m on the council with Orlando Falco,” she spat out, still looking around, her face pinched. Audrey had to wonder if she was mentally compiling a laundry list of complaints.

  Mimi Catalano. Why does that name sound so familiar? “Oh. It’s nice to—” She started to extend her hand but the woman pushed forward, toward the door, shoving her outstretched hand back.

  “I will return to make sure these violations are taken care of,” she muttered, and about-faced with dramatic flair, applying giant-framed black sunglasses to her face.

  Take your time. Seriously, take ALL the time. Audrey stared after her, clenching her teeth hard as the woman sauntered away, scrutinizing the buffet with disgust.

  When Audrey finally looked away, Mason was standing in front of her, still fish-out-of-water. “I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d stop by to see how things were going,” he said casually. “But they can’t be going that good, huh?”

  So he remembered. She smiled at him. “No, actually, they’re pretty good! H—”

  “What did that old, black-hearted sea hag say to you?” he muttered, staring daggers at the woman.

  Audrey blinked. Suddenly, the pieces fell into place. Now, she remembered exactly where she’d heard that name before. Coming out of Mason’s pretty mouth. “Wait. Mason. Is that… Is she …”

  Mason smirked. “Yeah. She’s the witch who shut down my renovation.”

  The words were still hanging in the air when there was a massive thud and a shriek. Audrey’s head snapped to the buffet in time to see Mimi Catalano’s feet, flying up behind the food table.

  “Oh, my God!” she shouted, skirting around the table. She found the councilwoman lying, dazed, on her back, in what looked like a puddle of pee. “Are you okay?”

  She reached out her hand to help her up, but Mimi scowled and took another man’s hand. When she got to her feet, she peeled off her sunglasses and said something in Italian. Her back was soaked, and her face was red. And Audrey didn’t think she could look any angrier.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “An animal must have had an …”

  She trailed off when Mimi’s hand went behind her back, and she must’ve felt the dampness, because her eyes went from angry to downright scary. “Madre di Dios, this place is a death trap!” she shouted, effectively silencing the entire room. Now, everyone was looking at her.

  Audrey groped idly for some napkins on the table, not that they’d do much good, as the woman stormed to the door.

  “You have not seen the last of me, Dr. Smart,” she said, pushing her sunglasses up on her nose. “You can count on that.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  When Audrey finally flipped the sign in the storefront from APERTO to CHIUSO, she leaned against the door and let out a sigh of relief as she scanned the empty waiting room, full of empty cups and plates and the normal debris a hundred or so pets would leave.

  “Thank goodness that’s over,” she muttered to the ceiling. “I’m exhausted.”

  G poked his head up from behind the reception desk, where he’d been busy writing something in the appointment book. “I hope not too exhausted. You’re going to be very busy soon, my dear.”

  She raised an eyebrow and peered over his shoulder at the appointment book. Sure enough, every available slot for the next week seemed to have been booked. “Wow.”

  He smiled. “What can I say? You were sorely needed here.”

  “I guess. Thank you
. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Audrey said. “You’re a natural at this.”

  “Ah.” He waved the thought away, as if to say, Think nothing of it. “Turns out this is a lot like taking reservations during the dinner rush. I’m good at—how do you say—doing two things at one time.”

  She stiffened as a thought came to her. “Dinner rush? Wait, aren’t you expected at the restaurant for dinner?”

  “Nah. I get my business partner, Valentina, to cover for me today.”

  “Business partner?”

  “Si. She handles my books and more. She’s as stunning as she is smart. Customers like her more than they like me!” He chuckled.

  This was the first she’d heard that he had one of those. And a stunning woman? Great. She was already intensely curious over Mason’s “friend.” Well, really, Audrey, what about his asking you to tour the island with him meant that you were dating? He’s a friendly man. Hugs everyone. Of course he has a stunning “business” partner, handling his affairs and “more.” She didn’t need anything else to wonder about, so she shoved the thought aside. “Well, I really appreciate you taking time away from your business to help me.”

  “It’s the least I can do. But unfortunately, I do have my own business to tend to, so I do hope you find help soon.”

  “Oh, of course! You were great. I couldn’t ask for anything more from you.”

  “Maybe you get some volunteers? Young people love being with animals. I ask around.”

  “That would be great!”

  He pushed away from the desk and started to clean up some cups and crumpled napkins that had been left around. The place was a bit of a mess, and needed cleaning if tomorrow it was going to be business as usual, but G had done enough.

  She took the plates from him. “Oh, stop. You don’t need to clean up this mess when you probably have one of your own in your restaurant!”

  He flashed her his charming smile and winked. “I insist.”

  “And I insist you go! Please. You’ve done so much. Too much. I can handle this myself. You go home.”

  “All right, all right. If you say so. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come to the restaurant for dinner?”

  She considered the offer, but after the news about Valentina, her heart wasn’t in it. She shook her head. “Honestly, I’m exhausted.” Not to mention that she’d nervously filled up on cannoli and sfogliatelle while greeting potential patients. “I’m just going to go right home after I clean the rest of this up and crash.”

  “So, there is nothing else you need before opening tomorrow?” He pointed to the first appointment for the next morning, which was at nine.

  Actually, there were a few things. After Mason had dropped the bomb that Mimi Catalano, the same stickler who’d closed down his renovations, was now casting her critical eye around the vet center, Audrey had been more on edge than before. She’d been making a mental list to go through the place with a fine-tooth comb and make sure everything was up to code, starting with posting the permits visibly in the window. But she would get to all of that herself.

  “Yes. I’m sure. Again, thank you.”

  He grabbed his skull cap and fixed it on his head, then turned to face her. “You need me to help tomorrow?”

  She shook her head. “Oh, no. Really. I need to learn to deal with this myself.”

  “You can call me if you need anything.”

  “I will.”

  He put both hands on her shoulders and kissed both of her cheeks with great gusto. It wasn’t exactly a romantic gesture, but then again, she was too tired to feel very romantic herself. She wanted to get home and take a nice, long shower, and maybe relax with a glass of wine.

  Instead, after G left, she started to clean up the mess. She walked through the place, trying to make sure everything was spic and span. Each time she entered a room, she pretended she was Mimi Catalano, looking for fault. It was like walking on eggshells. The fact was, she didn’t know what little thing would set the councilwoman off.

  “It’s fine,” she finally said, yawning as she drew the storefront curtains closed, turned off the light, and stepped onto the front stoop. She twisted the key in the lock to make sure it was closed up tightly for the night, then turned to face the dark street. The sun had gone down hours ago.

  She had barely taken the first step when she peered down and saw Nick. The little red fox looked up at her, as if expecting a treat.

  She laughed. “Did you follow me? Have you been waiting out here all day, boy?”

  He sniffed at the toes of her sneakers and wrapped his tail around her legs, his way of saying hello, I’ve missed you. She wasn’t technically allowed to have a wild fox as her pet, but after helping Detective DiNardo of the Mussomeli police with his cat’s problem, she’d been granted a special permit to keep him in her home. He’d been injured then, and needed her help. But now, she needed him just as much. Sure, she had made a few human friends, but Nick was the one who got her through many a lonely night in this new, strange town, thousands of miles from home.

  Two months in Mussomeli, and Nick was already her favorite thing about the place. “All right, Nick, my boy, what would you say to a big bowl of kibble and a few app—”

  Before she could finish the sentence, he jumped to attention, his ears perking up. Then he took off like a rocket down the street. Audrey shouted after him as he went, glimpsing a small black shape darting into a back alley, Nick at its heels.

  A stray, likely.

  She sighed. That glass of wine and her lumpy but comfortable mattress was calling to her, but catching and bringing in strays was her job, after all.

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the stoop and followed her pet into the alley. It was predictably dark, and the alley itself was narrow, the floor of it curving in a V-shape so that she splashed through a small gully of water at its center. Grabbing her cell phone, she put on the flashlight and arced it out in front of her.

  This is a sure way to get mugged in Boston, a voice inside told her. Maybe even here, too. The brochures said it was one of the safest towns in Sicily, but they always say that, don’t they? The truth is, you don’t know what the crime rate is around Mussomeli.

  “Pssst,” she whispered, passing a few back doors to Barcellona Avenue businesses and garbage cans. The pungent stench of spoiled food wafted into her nostrils, and her stomach turned. “Nick! Where are you?”

  Just then, a cat screeched up ahead and another animal growled. She shined the flashlight toward the sound. Up ahead, the alley stopped at a chain-link fence. There was a black cat at its base, hissing at Nick, who was cornering it, trying to play ferocious beast. He growled again, louder and more menacing this time.

  “Nick!” Audrey warned. “Give it up. You’re scaring the poor little guy to death.”

  She moved closer to the cat, who hissed louder. Even in the dim light, she could already make out the telltale signs of mange on its coat.

  “Poor thing,” she said, wishing she’d brought some supplies with her. She reached into her purse and pulled out a spare dog biscuit that she always carried around with her. What she needed, really, was a cat carrier, someplace to put the animal so she didn’t spread its disease.

  She was just crouching to offer it to the cat when it suddenly lunged at her, jumping over her shoulder, its tail batting her cheek.

  Audrey let out a yelp and fell backward onto her backside in a puddle of dank water. The cat gave her one last look, like, You can keep your cruddy dog biscuit, fool, easily scaled the fence, and slipped over the other side, out of sight.

  Sitting there, shocked, soaked, and shivering, Audrey groaned. “Ow.” She looked over at Nick, who seemed uninterested in her plight. “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten me in—”

  Just then, one of the back doors flew open, spilling the pungent scent of garlic and a shaft of light onto Audrey’s sitting form. A large rotund figure in a chef’s toque took up most of the space in the doorway, shouting frantically
in Italian. It wielded a broom at her.

  “Sorry!” Audrey jumped to her feet. “I’m going!”

  She scrambled back the way she came, not stopping until she’d reached the sidewalk on Barcellona.

  Heaving a breath, she looked at her fox friend. “I think we’d better call it a night, Nick. No more animal chasing, at least until daylight. Okay?”

  He simply turned toward home, intent on leading the way. Good. The last thing she needed was anything else to keep her from her wine and her bed.

  Besides, today might have been busy, but tomorrow promised to be even worse.

  *

  There were a lot of things Audrey Smart loved about Sicily—temperate weather, quaint cobblestone streets, warm breezes that smelled of citrus and olives—but her possessed shower was not one of them.

  “Oh, come on!” Audrey shouted as she twisted the hot and cold knobs to a pathetic dribble of water.

  Her shower was drooling at her, which was actually one of the nicest things it had done for her thus far. In her not-quite-a-month living in a one-dollar house in Mussomeli, she hadn’t once been able to get it to actually serve its purpose of giving her a nice, relaxing, hot shower.

  “I hate you,” she muttered at it.

  She grabbed a wrench and lightly smacked one of the exposed pipes.

  Suddenly, the drool became a torrent, nearly blasting her back against the tiled wall. Holding her hands out and pushing against the full force of the water as it drenched her, she made her way to the controls and twisted them. By then, she was thoroughly soaked, sneakers and all. Joy.

  “Ow. And it looks like the feeling’s mutual.” She rubbed the back of her sore head.

  It actually moaned in answer, so loud that Nick ran away whimpering.

  “Aw, it’s okay, Nick,” she called. He was usually brave when the situation called for it, but it appeared the shower was just too much for him.