Death by Fountain

by Jennifer S. Alderson

  “This church? As if it’s an insignificant—” Craig exploded.

  Lana talked over him. “We can walk around and see what looks good when we’re done. There are a whole bunch of restaurants in this neighborhood so we shouldn’t have trouble finding a place to eat,” she said to Jake, before grabbing Craig’s arm and pulling him to the back of their group.

  “Hey, Craig, are you doing alright?” she whispered. They were stuck in line so couldn’t sneak away to talk privately, but it was so noisy with tourists and traffic that it was easy enough to create a few seconds alone.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, though his eyes were boring a hole into Jake’s back.

  “You don’t seem alright. What’s your beef with Jake?”

  Craig whipped around to face her, and his expression softened. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Ah, yeah,” Lana said sarcastically. “What happened between you two?”

  “I’ve never been a fan of Jake, that’s all.”

  “Really? You didn’t seem to have a problem with him until he told the police that he and Rachel had been dating. Were you going out with her, too? Is that what this is all about?”

  Craig blushed and averted his gaze.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. So when did you date Rachel?”

  Craig leaned in close, Lana assumed to ensure the rest couldn’t hear their conversation. “We were never a couple, but we did go out a few times soon after Randy broke up with her. But I haven’t seen her in months.”

  Lana knew he wasn’t telling the truth because she had seen Rachel’s photos. She let his lie slide for now, asking instead, “Did Randy know that you two were seeing each other?”

  “No,” he hissed, “Randy would not have invited me to the wedding if he did. Heck, I doubt he would ever want to speak to me again if he found out.”

  “You had better tell me what happened. Did you two date long?”

  “Not at all. After Randy broke up with her, she started calling and texting me, saying that she had always liked me and now she was free to ask me out. It was flattering. Rachel was a beautiful woman.”

  “And your friend’s ex. Didn’t that bother you?”

  “It never bothered Randy,” Craig snapped back. “Do you know how many girls I lost to him? He didn’t do it intentionally, but Randy is the kind of guy that women want to be with. And after they broke up, Rachel asked me out! It was the first time someone who had once been interested in him turned out to show an interest in me. I was thrilled beyond belief, not bothered.”

  Lana narrowed her eyes and started to respond when Craig added, “It doesn’t matter; she wasn’t really interested in me. She was using me to keep tabs on Randy, and after I stopped sharing anything about him with her, she dumped me.”

  “Then why were you two snuggling at the Crocodile Café three weeks ago?”

  Craig’s face drained of color. “What?”

  “Rachel posted a photo of you two on her Facebook page. You looked pretty close to me.”

  “Oh, no! I sure hope Randy doesn’t see it. No, we were definitely not dating,” Craig whispered back.

  “Then what were you doing?”

  “We bumped into each other at the Crocodile Café, and she offered to buy me a beer. I figured it was serendipitous, us running into each other like that. I should have known it was a setup. I now know from Jake’s conversation with the police that she and he were already dating, which means Rachel wasn’t interested in me at all, at least not romantically. She was just using me to get to Randy again.”

  Lana felt her stomach tighten. “What happened exactly?”

  “After a bit of chitchatting and flirting, she asked if I was still in touch with Randy. It made me so mad that I blurted out that he and Gloria were getting married. I thought if she knew he was off the market that she’d stop obsessing about him. How wrong I was.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I figured she would be shocked by my news, but she already knew he was getting married on Christmas Eve and about our trip to Rome. She wanted to know the name of Gloria’s village. I bet Jake told her about the wedding and she came running to me to find out where, figuring Randy would have confided in his old friend. After I let it slip that Randy hadn’t told anyone where it was being held, she called it a night, and I never heard from her again—until she showed up here in Rome.”

  “Oh, Craig,” Lana murmured. He looked so forlorn, Lana felt bad for him.

  He smirked and shook his head. “You know what hurt the most? As Rachel left, she made a nasty comment about how I must not be such great friends with Randy anymore if I didn’t know where his wedding was taking place. I was so angry with Randy because of that. I know we’ve grown apart, but I always thought he trusted me. Now I understand why he didn’t confide in anyone. Rachel is so manipulative; if he had told me, she would have gotten it out of me.”

  Poor guy, Lana thought. It seemed that whenever Randy was involved, Craig came in second place. Yet Lana simply couldn’t see him harming Rachel, at least not intentionally. Why would he—because she wasn’t interested in him? Craig had no motive to harm her otherwise, and that seemed like a silly reason to kill someone.

  Craig touched her arm, his eyes pleading with her to take him seriously. “Promise me you won’t tell Randy! He would never forgive me for staying in contact with Rachel.”

  What would I gain by doing so? she thought, realizing quickly that nothing good would come from Craig telling Randy the truth about his relationship with Rachel.

  “I promise,” she said solemnly. Before she could cross him off her mental list of suspects, Lana had to know one more thing. “Craig, did you harm Rachel?”

  He shook his head. “I know she could be cruel and manipulative, but she could also be the kindest, sweetest woman on the face of the earth when she wanted to be. I could never have hurt her.”

  “Do you think Randy could have?”

  “No way! Randy is not a violent person. Him pushing Rachel away was uncharacteristic, to say the least, but I know he didn’t mean to and can imagine he felt horrible for doing so.”

  Lana considered his words, before finally nodding in agreement.

  “Are we done here?” Craig asked.

  “What did you do after Randy and Rachel fought in the hotel lobby? Did you walk over to the café with the others?”

  “No, I wanted to see the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere before dinner, but the others weren’t interested. So I left early and walked over to it before meeting up with them at the café.”

  Lana scanned his face, checking his sincerity.

  “Here, let me show you the pictures I took.” He pulled out his phone’s camera and flipped through several photos of the colorful mosaics covering much of the medieval church’s interior. She tapped on one photo, checking the date and time. Craig was telling the truth—while he was taking those pictures, she had been trailing after Rachel and Randy on the other side of town.

  “And after you visited this church, you went straight to the café for dinner?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was everyone already there by the time you arrived?”

  “No, only Bruce and Katherine were there. They seemed a little perturbed that I interrupted their romantic dinner, but hey, you reserved one table for all of us.”

  “What do you mean—when did Heather and Jake show up?”

  “Let’s see, Jake showed up after we had been served our main course. I remember because they had to rush to make one for him, too. It was a set menu.”

  “And Heather?”

  “She didn’t arrive until we finished our dessert. Too bad for her, it was a scrumptious meal. She really missed out.”

  “Okay, thanks. Hey, one more thing, then I’ll let you be.”

  Craig stiffened.

  “Don’t worry, it’s an easy question to answer, I hope. Why did you share all those photos of you and Randy kissing the same women?”

  Craig grimac
ed. “If you look closely, you’ll notice Randy was doing the kissing, not me. They weren’t my girlfriends, but women I was interested in. They all fell for Randy instead of me. I was more friend material, apparently.”

  Lana pursed her lips and nodded, embarrassed for him, yet relieved to know that Randy had not made a habit of stealing his friend’s girlfriends.

  Before she could ask anything else, Craig scurried forward in the line and stood close to Bruce, who was telling everyone about his favorite Italian foods.

  As Lana watched the friends chatting casually, she found it almost impossible to believe that one of them could be Rachel’s killer. Yet it must be one of them—their jackets pointed to someone in their group, not a random stranger.

  She could definitely scratch Craig off her list of suspects. So where did that leave her investigation? Lana set her sights on Jake. She wanted to know why he’d betrayed Randy by telling Rachel about the location and date of his upcoming marriage.

  22 Walking Among The Holy

  By the time they wound their way through the snaking line and entered Saint Peter’s Basilica, Lana was fuming. Had Jake really told Rachel about the wedding? He was supposed to be Randy’s friend. Why on earth would he do so, knowing Randy was trying to keep its location a secret?

  However, one look inside the church cleared her heart and mind of the anger and helplessness she was feeling, and replaced it with serenity and hope. Saint Peter’s Basilica was truly the most impressive religious structure she had ever seen. The vaulted ceilings were stories high and held up by a rib cage of stone pillars decorated so lavishly that they seemed to blend into the floor and walls. Its roof was so much higher than a normal church’s, and simply standing underneath it made Lana feel tiny and insignificant.

  Rising like a tree from the building’s center was the Papal Altar. Curving black pillars of wood held up a tent-like canopy, topped by a globe and the cross. It stood in front of a recessed circular staircase that led down to the cavernous crypts.

  Soaring about the altar was a glorious dome made of windows and paintings. Streams of sunlight lit up the colorful portraits of popes, apostles, angels, and saints decorating it. Massive tombs dedicated to the popes matched the size of the chapel. The larger-than-life sculptural representations of these holy men were forever towering over the visitors and pilgrims gathered around their feet. Lana walked slowly past the masterfully carved sculptures of apostles and popes, taking in the fluidity of motion captured in stone and wood.

  Visiting the church was a heavenly experience, yet Lana’s brain was beginning to go into sensory overload. She completed her initial walk around the building, absorbing the enormity of the artwork—both in the literal and spiritual sense—before circling back to Michelangelo’s Pietà. This majestic portrayal of Mary Magdalene holding her dying son was the reason why Lana wanted to come here. There was something so tragic yet serene in Mary’s expression as she tenderly comforted her only child.

  The statue was placed quite close to the main entrance, meaning there was a constant stream of visitors trying to start their tour there. Lana joined the back of the crowd, patiently waiting to get closer to the marble masterpiece. When a large group entered and immediately pushed their way to the front, Lana stepped away, deciding to come back to the Pietà later. There was still plenty more to see.

  When she turned around, her eyes passed over Jake, who was playing with his phone. She strode over to him. “Hey, how are you holding up?”

  He looked at Lana with a perplexed expression on his face. “Fine, thanks.”

  “I can imagine it must be difficult to process your girlfriend’s death.”

  His eyes widened in surprise before his lips pulled down. “Yeah, it’s been tough. I mean, I thought we were going to have a romantic week in Rome together, and now, she’s gone.”

  “Yeah, I bet.” Considering Randy’s wedding was taking place in days, not weeks, Lana decided to take the abrupt approach. “So Jake, if you knew the wedding was supposed to be a secret, why did you tell Rachel about it?”

  Jake’s head jolted back. “What are you talking about?” he whispered, but wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I didn’t tell her—who gave you that idea?”

  He lied so sincerely, it was scary. He appeared to be truly offended.

  “Craig told me about how Rachel tried pumping him for information about the wedding. It seems she already knew the date and country, just not the exact location.”

  Although Jake remained silent, his chiseled jaw tightened.

  “Stop lying! We’re in a church, for goodness’ sake. You might be struck down if you keep it up.”

  His shoulders slumped. “I didn’t know about her and Randy.”

  A security guard, one of many roaming the vast space, approached them from behind.

  “No talking,” the guard whispered and pointed to a prominent sign calling for silence.

  Lana mouthed “Sorry” to the guard, then crooked her finger at Jake. She led them away from the Pietà and towards the bathrooms.

  “Why did you tell Rachel about the wedding?” Lana hissed.

  “How was I supposed to know she and Randy were ever an item? No one told me about them. Apparently it’s a forbidden subject.”

  Lana glared at him, considering his words. Randy didn’t know that Rachel was going to start working at Straight Up Climbs again, meaning he wouldn’t have known that she and Jake could have met. And if Randy had never mentioned Rachel to her, then the chance that he had told Jake about his stalker was slim to none.

  Was it coincidence that Rachel and Jake had recently started dating? Possibly, but this was Rachel—by all accounts an extremely manipulative young woman. If she knew that Jake and Randy were acquainted, then she might have asked him out in order to find out more about her old flame. After all, she had done the same thing to Craig.

  “Did Rachel know that you and Randy were friends?”

  “I don’t know—she could have…” Jake’s voice trailed off as he considered Lana’s words. His forehead scrunched up, then suddenly relaxed. “Wait, I think she did. When Rachel came in to sign a bunch of paperwork, I was showing the guys in the office photos of me and Randy’s last rock climb.”

  “Why on earth would you remember that?”

  “Because it was a new route that the others wanted to try out, too. Rachel didn’t seem to notice me until our boss told her that Randy had recommended me for a job as guide. Then she did want to take a look. She didn’t say anything then about knowing Randy, but after she was finished with the administrative stuff, she asked me out for a drink.”

  Lana sniggered. “So a sexy stranger ignores you until she hears that you know Randy, but once she does, she asks you out for drinks. Didn’t you think it was a little strange?”

  Jake grimaced. “When you put it like that, yeah, it was odd. She did ask a lot of questions about Randy during our first date. When I asked why, she said that she’d always enjoyed working with him, but they had lost touch since he had left Straight Up. When I told her about the wedding, she asked if she could be my plus one, but asked to make it a surprise. Honestly, I didn’t think it was peculiar at the time. Rachel was hot and came on strong. I was flattered by her attention.”

  “I can imagine. Rachel had a way of hypnotizing the male species.”

  “I guess you could call it that, yeah.”

  “So you booked a ticket to Rome for her without telling Randy. Didn’t you think he would mind, especially since he was being so secretive about where the wedding was taking place?”

  “He told me he was worried about an ex finding out about the wedding, but I swear he never mentioned her name. Rachel said they were friends from work. I had no reason to suspect her of being Randy’s stalker,” Jake said resolutely.

  As much as she wanted to be mad at him for telling Rachel, Lana understood how the course of events had played out. There was no malicious motivation behind his actions, but simply bad luck.

  “Wer
e you following Rachel the night she died, or Randy? I saw you in the city center, close to the Piazza Belvedere, when I was trying to catch up to them.”

  Her question seemed to throw him momentarily off guard, but he quickly recovered his composure. “No, you must be mistaken. I walked over to the restaurant with Craig, Bruce, and Katherine. Heather showed up later.”

  “You walked over with Craig?” Lana blurted out.

  “He’s always so quiet, it’s like he disappears into the background. You know what they say about the quiet ones, right? You better watch out for them.” Jake winked.

  Lana nodded absently, wondering why he was lying again.

  “We waited for you until about nine thirty, and when you didn’t show, Katherine did call you,” he continued. “But you weren’t answering your phone. And when we were walking back to the hotel, we came across that bar.”

  “Really, Jake? Why can’t you tell me the truth? Craig visited a church, by himself, before dinner. He showed me the pictures he’d taken, and I checked the time stamps. His story is true—yours is not. Why did you lie to the police about where you were when Rachel died?”

  Jake glared at Lana before letting out a massive sigh. “Alright, so I was following Rachel. But I didn’t hurt her! I just wanted to see if she and Randy were a couple or not.”

  “What do you mean? You landed the babe, as you said before.”

  Jake puffed out his cheeks. “While I was waiting in the lobby for everyone to return so we could walk over to the restaurant together, Katherine ran inside the hotel and stormed past me. When I looked to see what made her so mad, I saw Rachel waiting outside the hotel. I thought she was waiting for me, so I rose to go to her, but Randy walked outside first.”

  Jake stopped for a moment, as if he was trying to recall the exact details. “Rachel trailed after him, which meant she was waiting for him, not me. Which made me curious, I will admit. So I followed them.”

  “Okay, so what happened when you caught up with them?”

  “I didn’t. I lost sight of her and gave up. So I turned back towards the hotel, and on the way, I spotted a sports bar and had a few beers. That’s why I was late to dinner—but not as late as Heather was.”