A Death In Tuscany (Sarah Woods Mystery Book 13) (4 page)

“Seriously?” I said. “He thinks he found gold?”

“That’s what he said.” Lauren pointed to her sister. “She heard the conversation, too.”

Jamie nodded. “He warned Britt not to tell anyone about the gold.”

I remembered the article Carter had read about the gold found in the area over two decades ago. What are the chances that Dick actually found some? “I assume Dick had no idea you guys were listening to their conversation.”

The girls simply shrugged.

When Carter and I returned to our room, we were both too tired to do anything but go to bed. We had to reserve our energy for the next day in Rome.

Chapter 6

For some reason, the alarm didn’t go off the next morning. We scrambled to get ourselves ready and decided there would be no time for breakfast. When we walked out of our villa we could barely see ten feet in front of us, the whole mountain was fogged in.

“Shoot,” I said. “I hope it’s not like this in Rome.”

As we descended the stairs, we heard a wavering female voice calling out to us from across the courtyard. As she got closer, I could see it was Brittany.

“I’m so sorry to bother you guys. I think I might need your help.”

She looked horrible. Her hair was a rat’s nest and her eye make-up was smudged with dark rings under her eyes. There were tear tracks on her cheeks.

“Are you okay?” Carter asked. “Did something happen?”

“I’m worried sick,” she said, her shoulders quivering. “Dick never came back last night. I stayed up until midnight waiting for him but I guess I fell asleep on the sofa. I just woke up and … well he hasn’t been back. Would you mind going with me down to the hot springs? I really don’t want to go down there alone. I knocked on the sisters’ door, but they’re probably still sleeping.”

Carter glanced at me. “What do you think, Sarah? Do we have time?”

I glanced at my watch. How could I be so heartless? Rome wasn’t going anywhere. We could see it another day. Besides, Carter was giving me that look, and I knew he wanted to help. He’s a sucker for damsels in distress.

“Okay, let’s go check it out,” I said. “Maybe he just got lost or something and spent the night in the woods.” But even as the words came out of my mouth, I knew it sounded crazy. There was no way he could have gotten lost when the trail was so clearly marked - unless the batteries in the flashlight had died and he got turned around. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

But Brittany clearly did not have a good feeling about this. Seeing her in her pajamas and robe, she was probably so worried that she forgot to get dressed.

“Have you tried calling his cell phone?” Carter asked her.

“Yes, but it’s been turned off since last night. I’ve been calling him nonstop.”

She looked around the courtyard as if not sure what to do next. Carter gently took her arm and led her towards her villa.

“Why don’t you get some clothes on and wash your face. You’ll feel much better. We’ll be waiting for you right here, okay?”

She trudged up the steps to her door. Once she was inside I turned to Carter. “What do you think happened to him?”

“I have no idea, but it can’t be good. Best case scenario, he just injured his leg and can’t walk. Worst case scenario, he’s dead.”

“Or, maybe he decided to go have a drink at a local bar last night. He could be in another woman’s bed right now, for all we know.”

He gave me a stern look. “Please don’t mention that to her.”

I made a motion of zipping my lips shut.

When Brittany emerged from her villa, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a sweater. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a braid. With no make-up on her face, the shiner on her left eye was quite apparent, but neither Carter nor I mentioned it.

“Okay,” she said, slightly out of breath. “I’m ready to go.”

The three of us headed down the trail, walking at a brisk pace with Carter in the lead. Most of the trail was slippery and I had to watch my footing, but at least the fog was beginning to dissipate the further down we went.

The sound of the water in the distance caused my heart rate to increase. I realized that, if it were Carter who’d been missing all night, I’d be a complete basket case, too. Brittany was being a trooper and I was proud of her.

As we rounded the corner and entered the clearing, it felt like we were walking into a sauna. The humidity along with the smell of sulfur made my eyes sting.

Carter immediately began shouting Dick’s name but there came no response. Brittany ran over to the side of the stream and bent over to pick something up. It looked like a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. “His clothes,” she said, holding his things protectively like a baby. “He must still be down here somewhere.”

We all began shouting his name. Brittany went upstream, while Carter and I headed downstream. I jogged down to the farthest end where the waterfall cascaded into a larger pool area. I felt my insides tense up when I saw the half-naked body. I blinked rapidly and leaned over to get a better look. The body was prone, face submerged in water, limbs spread apart, floating.

I could not speak or even breathe. For a second, my eyes must have deceived me because I thought I saw him move. Was he still alive? There was no way he could breathe in that position.

I kicked off my shoes and stripped down to my underwear.  With caution, I stepped down the rocks and into the pool.  “Carter,” I called out. “Can you come here, please?”

He was beside me in an instant. The first words out of his mouth was, “Oh shit.”

“No kidding,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Apparently, we’ve got a worst case scenario on our hands.”

“I don’t think Brittany should see him like this. I’ll take her back up to the office and tell Eduardo to contact the authorities.”

“Shouldn’t we make sure he’s dead, first?”

Carter shook his head. “The body is bloated, Sarah. The guy is a goner but if you’d like to go and check his pulse, be my guest.”

“Britt is going to freak out. Can you take her back? I’ll stay here with the body.”

“Are you sure? I don’t think there’s any point in trying to help him, now.”

The last thing I wanted to do was stare at a corpse for the next twenty minutes, all alone, but it was the right thing to do. “Yes, I’ll be fine. Just hurry, please.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said. “I promise.”

Moments later, I heard Brittany sobbing uncontrollably, her pitiful screams echoing throughout the valley. I was thankful that Carter had offered to break the news to her. He must have somehow convinced her that she’d be better off not seeing her husband in the state he was in - which was dead.

Chapter 7

In all my fantasies about visiting Tuscany, not one of them included the possibility of hanging out with a corpse. 

It wasn’t hard to imagine the scenario. He could have lost his balance on one of these slippery rocks, smacked his head, passed out and drowned.

Not that I didn’t feel badly for the guy. As much as I disliked him, he didn’t deserve to die like this. Of course, I didn’t know him well enough to make that kind of determination. Maybe he did deserve it after seeing the bruise on his wife’s cheek.

In my life, I’ve known several women who have chosen, for better or worse, to stay with abusive husbands. They all had their reasons and who am I to judge them? I’ve never been able to understand how you can love someone who hurts you, physically or emotionally. Then again, love means something different to everyone.

If I were to analyze Brittany’s reaction to her husband’s death, I would say she truly loved him. Of all the nightmare scenarios you could imagine, this topped the charts. The honeymoon of her dreams turned into tragedy.

My butt was getting numb from sitting on the rock. I got to my feet and stretched my legs. Twelve minutes since Carter and Brittany left.

I could only imagine what was going on up at the resort. Poor Eduardo, I could picture him trying to keep this unfortunate event under wraps. When the cops and the ambulance made their appearance, however, eventually the guests would find out what happened. What a mess.

Minutes later, I heard the sound of footsteps on wet earth. I looked up and over toward the trail. Four young men were trotting toward me with a stretcher. Carter was behind them, talking to a uniformed police officer. I let out a sigh of relief and moved to the side to get out of their way.

The young men were wearing tall plastic boots that went up past their knees and they didn’t hesitate to get right in the water to collect Dick. It took a little doing but they got him on the stretcher and carried him up to dry land. Now lying supine, I could clearly see Dick’s bloated face and the nasty looking contusion north of his temple. They covered him with a sheet and headed back up the trail.

Carter introduced me to the police officer who spoke perfect English. He asked me a few questions but seemed pretty laid back about the incident overall.

“Can’t remember the last time someone drowned in this town,” he said. “Must be five or six years, at least. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Sure,” I said. “But I doubt I’ll be much help.”

He took out a small notebook and pen from inside his uniform jacket as he scanned the area. “Have you seen anyone else down here this morning?”

“Not since we got here about half an hour ago,” I said.

He took a few steps toward the water and peered into one of the pools, as if looking for clues. “How well did you know the deceased?”

“Not well. We sat next to he and his wife at dinner the first night we arrived. Last night, we invited his wife to join us for coffee after dinner. She was concerned when he didn’t show up.”

“And yet, she didn’t contact the authorities that he was missing?”

“Well, I don’t think she wanted to jump the gun. I don’t know about Italy, but back in the states we have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person.”

The officer nodded and scribbled in his notebook. “What was her reaction when she found out her husband was dead?”

Carter cleared his throat. “I was the one who told her. She was pretty upset.”

“Upset? You mean, sobbing?”

“Yes,” Carter said. “She was visibly shaken and sobbing hysterically.”

“Okay,” he said with a tight smile. “I guess that’s all I need for now.”

Chapter 8

The presence of the police and paramedics had drawn quite a crowd at the resort. Brittany had left with the officer we spoke to.

I wasn’t sure what to do at this point. “Do we wait around to see if we’re needed?” I asked Carter. “Or can we go back to our apartment? I really need to use the bathroom.”

“Go ahead,” he said. “I’ll wait here and find out if there’s anything else we can do.”

“Thanks. Just call me if you need me to come back.”

He kissed my cheek. “You did great, by the way. I’m proud of you. Must have been kind of creepy down there with a dead body.”

“No big deal, really,” I said, although my nerves begged to differ.

I got back to the room, relieved myself and grabbed a granola bar I had stashed in my suitcase. No wonder I was starving, it was almost ten o’clock.

When I heard the knocking, I opened the door to find the Canadian woman standing there with an expectant look on her face. She was probably in her late fifties, with a perfectly coiffed bob hairdo. Self-confidence oozed out of her.

“We haven’t been formally introduced yet,” she said. “I’m Hope Dillard.”

“Sarah,” I replied, shaking her hand. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice all the commotion around here this morning. I saw you walking up from the trail with the police. Did someone die?”

No point in denying it. “I’m afraid so.”

Her eyes lit up. “It’s the husband, isn’t it? The rude man at dinner who’s always on his cell phone.”

I nodded.

“I saw his poor wife talking to the officer. Can you tell me what happened?”

I paused, wondering why this woman had the gall to show up at my apartment and question me. How did she even know where to find me? I decided to answer her question so she’d leave me alone. “He appears to have drowned.”

“Drowned?” she said, full of appalled curiosity. “In the hot springs?”

I nodded again. “Look, that’s all I know. If you need more details, maybe Eduardo can help you.”

She seemed slightly surprised at my curtness, so I softened my tone and offered a smile. “Sorry, it’s been a long morning. I’m a bit on edge.”

“No need to apologize.”

And yet, she didn’t seem eager to leave. Why was this woman so obsessed with Dick’s death? Then I remembered the sisters telling me that Hope was a famous journalist/writer of crime novels. It all started to click. She was looking for fodder.

“Did you discover his body?” she asked and I almost expected her to whip out a pen and paper and start taking notes. “How long do think he’s been dead?”

“Look, Hope. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m feeling tired and I need to lie down.”

“Oh sure,” she said, waving a hand. “I understand. Do you mind if I speak to you about this later? I’ll buy you lunch.”

“I don’t think so.”

Her terse expression told me she wasn’t used to being turned down. “I see, well, thanks for your time. If you change your mind, you know where you can find me.”

“Yes, I do.”

I retreated to the bedroom and opened my laptop. After logging into the internet, I did a search for a famous crime author from Canada named Hope Dillard. The photo had to be at least ten years old, but it made her look smart and glamorous at the same time. According to her website, her career began when she worked for some big newspaper in Toronto. Then she graduated to writing novel
s—
over twenty of them. From what I could tell, she hadn’t had a book released since 2005, almost ten years. I imagined she had probably made a decent income and was now enjoying her nest egg by traveling with her husband. Or maybe she was running out of money and needed to find an idea for a new book.

When Carter returned, he brought with him a shopping bag. “Eduardo gave this to me to bring back to you. Pastries, fruit and a bottle of wine. He appreciates our patience and help with the events this morning.”

“Are the police gone?”

Carter grabbed an orange from the bag and took a seat at the table. “Yes. Dick is on his way to the coroner. If they confirm there’s been no foul play, I imagine the case will be closed.”

“They don’t suspect Brittany of anything, do they?”

“I don’t think so.”

I sunk into the chair and shook my head. “I can’t even imagine how hard it must be. What will she do now? Have Dick’s body shipped back to the states?”

“No idea. Probably depends on the coroner’s exam.”

Carter opened the bottle of wine Eduardo gave him. “I know it’s not even lunch time, but I need a drink.”

“By the way, guess who stopped by to pay me a visit?”

“Who?”

“Hope Dillard, the Canadian author. She was asking questions about Dick and Brittany.”

He chuckled as he went looking for a corkscrew. “I saw her lingering around Eduardo’s office, too. What did you tell her?”

“Very little,” I said. “Just enough to get her off my back.”

“Good. The less said the better. We’re assuming Dick died from an accidental drowning, but that might not be the case at all.”

“Well, the guy didn’t make any friends since he’s been here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pissed someone off.”