A Death In Tuscany (Sarah Woods Mystery Book 13) (5 page)

Chapter 9

Later that afternoon, Carter and I decided to pay Brittany a visit.

She invited us into her apartment and I immediately noticed how calm she seemed. I soon understood why. There was an empty bottle of wine and her breath reeked of alcohol.

“I’m glad you stopped by,” she said, slurring her words. “I wanted to thank you both.”

I didn’t blame her for drinking away the pain. I’d probably do the same thing. “How are you holding up?” I asked, and immediately regretted it. What a stupid question.

“Can I offer you a drink?” She went to the cabinet and retrieved two more wine glasses then filled them each without waiting for a reply. How could we say no? We were in Tuscany, after all.

“Thanks,” Carter said, accepting the glass. “Were you able to get through to your family back home?”

“Not much family to call. Just Dick’s brother.” She pulled out a chair and tried to sit down, almost falling over. I leaned over, took her arm and helped guide her back into her seat.

“Have you had anything to eat?” I asked her.

She seemed to ponder the question. Finally, she shook her head. “Nope. I’m not hungry, anyway.”

“You need to put something in your belly.” I went to her fridge and looked inside. I didn’t expect much so I was surprised to find a platter of cheese and crackers, cut fruit, and cold cuts. “Has someone else been by to visit you?”

“Yes, the sisters next door, Lauren and Jamie. They came by to offer their condolences and brought some food. Like I said, though. I’m not hungry.”

I barely knew Brittany, but I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. You forget to eat and sometimes forget to breathe. I didn’t want to force myself on her, but I could see she was heading down a dangerous path with the alcohol. I prepared a small plate of food, brought it to the table and convinced her to take a few bites.

“Have you heard anything from the coroner’s office?” Carter asked.

She shook her head slowly. “Not yet.”

“I know you mentioned that you contacted Dick’s brother, but what about your own family? You should have someone here for support.”

“I only have a sister but we’re not very close. She hated Dick, so she’s really not all that sympathetic right now. She didn’t even offer to help me make funeral arrangements.”

“Jeesh,” I said. “Why don’t you get Dick’s brother to help out?”

“I’m sure he will. In fact, he’s on a plane right now. He’ll be here sometime tonight.”

“That’s good,” I said. “Will he be staying here with you?”

“I offered for him to stay with me but he insisted on getting his own room.”

“What’s his name?” I asked.

“Calvin. He’s Dick’s only sibling. Parents are gone.”

Brittany was starting to sway in her chair and I thought she might slide right onto the floor. “Oh God,” she said, holding her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Carter and I helped her to the bathroom, where she proceeded to throw up into the toilet. I gathered her hair and tied it back into a pony tail, just like my girlfriends and I did for each other back in college. Carter wet a hand towel and placed it on the back of her neck. Then we left the room, giving her privacy.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have forced her to eat,” I said.

“It’s not your fault. You were just trying to help.” He picked up the empty wine bottle. “
This
is what’s making her sick. Alcohol on an empty stomach is never a good idea.”

“We shouldn’t leave her alone like this,” I said.

“What she needs is sleep. A few hours to forget about her shitty reality.”

Shitty, indeed.

Glancing around the villa, I noted how sparse the place was in terms of personal items. I’m always curious to know what people bring from home on vacation. Some people feel the need to pack half of their belongings, only to use half of what they brought.

“Are you looking for something?” Carter asked.

I was a little embarrassed to admit that I was wondering about the gold nugget. I’d never seen a raw piece before and wanted to hold it in my hand, to feel its weight. “I’m wondering what happened to the gold Dick found yesterday.”

Carter gave me an amused look. “Why, you want to steal it?”

“Yes,” I said, keeping a straight face.

Carter knew my sense of humor and thankfully didn’t take me seriously. I have a knack for cracking inappropriate jokes in tense situations.

When Brittany emerged from the bathroom, her skin was pasty white. She practically fell onto the bed and closed her eyes. “I ruined your vacation, didn’t I?”

“No,” I said, covering her with a blanket. “You didn’t ruin our vacation. Just try to get some sleep, okay?”

She closed her eyes and Carter signaled to me. “Let’s leave her be.”

Chapter 10

After Brittany fell asleep, Carter and I left her apartment and headed over to the main building. It was almost five o’clock and the sun was just setting in the valley.

“Look at that,” Carter said, pointing to the trail sign that led to the hot springs. There was a sign posted in English and Italian,
closed for maintenance
.”

“Maintenance?” I chuckled. “Interesting word choice.”

Eduardo was behind the counter, talking to someone on the phone. When he looked over and saw us, he made a gesture that he’d be with us in a moment.

The dining room was empty of guests. Maria the waitress was setting the tables for dinner. She was humming a tune to herself, engrossed in her work.

Once Eduardo placed the phone on the receiver, he apologized for making us wait. “I’ve been getting calls all afternoon,” he said. “This horrible news about the drowning has travelled fast. I’m not sure what to tell everyone.”

“Accidents happen,” Carter said. “That’s what you tell them.”

“In Italy, people are very superstitious. We don’t believe in accidents.”

Carter and I glanced at each other, confused. “Okay,” I said, turning back to Eduardo. “Then what do you think happened?”

He crossed himself, a solemn expression on his face. He looked directly into my eyes. “Have you ever heard of the
malocchio
?”

“No, but
mal
means bad, right?”

He nodded. “That’s correct.
Malocchio
means The Evil Eye. If someone gives this to you, you will have misfortune.”

I was beginning to understand. “So you think Dick drowned because someone put some kind of curse on him?”

“Si, exactly,” Eduardo said with conviction. “In Italy we say: ‘
Non e vero ci credo
,’ meaning, ‘It’s not true, but I still believe it.’”

“I understand,” I said. “Kind of like voodoo. Has anyone actually ever gone to jail for giving someone the evil eye?”

“Of course not.” Eduardo tried to laugh it off, making light of the conversation, but I could tell he truly believed that Dick’s death was the direct result of
malocchio
.

Carter chuckled and shook his head. “I can’t believe we are actually having this conversation.”

Carter is the least superstitious person around. He purposely walks under ladders just to prove a point.

“Look,” I said to Eduardo, eager to end the topic of black magic. “We just came by to see if you’ve heard anything from the coroner’s office about Dick.”

Eduardo sighed and shook his head. “Not yet. I don’t expect to know anything until tomorrow.”

“Brittany mentioned to us that Dick’s brother is arriving tonight. Has he booked a villa here for himself?”

“Si. He’ll be checking in around seven o’clock.”

“We noticed a sign on the trail to the hot springs,” Carter said. “No one is allowed to go down there?”

Eduardo paused, as if needing a moment to come up with the right explanation. “The police insisted that I put a sign up. Just for a day or so until the manner of death has been confirmed, that’s all.”

“So they’re unsure his death is accidental?” I asked.

“Murder?” Eduardo lowered his voice. “No, I’m positive there was no murder. An accident, like you say.”

“But you don’t believe in accidents,” I reminded him.

He shrugged and smiled wearily. “Forgive me, but I would like to ask a favor. I would be grateful if you would not say that word. You go talking about murders and the next thing you know, those nasty journalists from Rome or Florence come hound me.”

“No worries,” I said. “I don’t intend to spread rumors or give people the wrong idea; but if we find out that Dick didn’t drown, then that means someone killed him. If there’s a killer among us, we need to warn people of the danger.”

Eduardo just stared at me, and for a second I thought he was giving me the evil eye. “Ms. Woods, I can assure you this is one of the safest places in all of Italy. We haven’t had a murder here in … well I can’t even remember the last time.”

“Believe me,” I said. “I hope you’re right.”

The phone started ringing and Eduardo sighed. “I apologize, but please excuse me. I need to take this call.”

“I hope I didn’t offend Eduardo,” I said to Carter as we walked back to our villa to get ready for dinner. “Poor guy must be completely stressed out about this situation. I would be if I were him.”

“Maybe Chiara gave Dick the stink eye,” Carter said, teasingly. “After he got her demoted.”

I laughed. “Stink eye and the evil eye are two different things.”

“Whatever,” he said. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m curious to see what his brother is like. I wonder if they were close.”

“Probably,” Carter said. “Especially if he’s flying all this way. It’s not like there’s anything he can do at this point, really.”

“Who knows? Maybe he just wants to say his final good-bye.”

As we crossed the courtyard to our villa, we saw the sisters approach us. Lauren seemed to be getting around faster. Maybe she was finally getting used to the cane.

“We were hoping we’d run into you guys before dinner,” Jamie said to us. “Brittany told us everything that happened and we just wanted to say how sorry we are. Must have been awful to discover his body like that. I can’t even imagine.”

“It was a shock,” I said. I decided not to tell her that it wasn’t the first dead body I’d ever seen. Not that it gets any easier. “It was very nice of you to make that food platter. We saw it in her fridge.”

Lauren said, “It’s the least we could do.”

“I think she needs friends,” Carter said. “We’ll check in on her, let her know she’s not alone.”

“Absolutely.” Jamie looked at her sister who was leaning on her cane. “Since we’re right next door to her, we’re happy to do that, right? I mean, it’s not like we’ve been doing much anyway.”

“Sure.” Lauren lowered her eyes and I got the sense she was feeling embarrassed about her foot situation. “Another day or so and maybe I can lose this thing.” She tapped the cane on her foot. “I didn’t come to Italy so we could sit around in our villa drinking wine all day.”

“Come on,” Jamie said, encouragingly. “It’s not so bad, is it? Part of the reason we came here is to sample the food and wine, and that’s what we’re doing, right?”

Lauren nodded. “I guess so.”

It was refreshing to see two sisters getting along so well in the face of adversity. Why couldn’t all siblings be so understanding? “Well, Carter and I are going back to get ready for dinner. We’ll see you down there later?”

“Sure thing,” Jamie said. “As a matter of fact, we’ll go check on Brittany now and invite her to join us for dinner. She’ll probably decline, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“Good idea,” I said. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

Chapter 11

When Carter and I arrived for dinner, we noticed that the sisters were sitting alone. As we passed by their table, I asked, “Looks like Brittany decided to stay in.”

Jamie shook her head solemnly. “She only wants to stay in bed, poor thing. But look over there.” She discreetly nodded her head to someone at the table behind me. “That’s Dick’s brother.”

I didn’t look right away, so as not to seem obvious.

Carter and I continued on to our reserved table. As he pulled out my chair for me, I turned specifically to get a gander at the new guest. He appeared a few years younger than Dick, but they were definitely brothers. They had the same dark hair and brooding eyes, lanky build. Not really handsome but there was something pleasant about his features.

Maria the waitress greeted us with some menus. I was so famished, I didn’t bother with the menu. I just ordered the chef’s special and Carter followed suit.

“Wonderful,” she said. “The chef has prepared a wonderful steak tartar. You will adore it.”

“Wait,” I said. “Is that raw steak?”

She nodded.

“Sorry, never mind. I’ll just order the spaghetti bolognaise, grazie.”

When the waitress left, Carter said to me, “You have a problem with raw steak?”

“I guess I’m not very adventurous.”

“Well, maybe not when it comes to food…” he winked at me and I knew he was referring to our little romp in bed earlier that day.

“You’re naughty,” I whispered to him. “But I like that about you.”

When I heard a familiar woman’s voice, I looked up to see the Canadian couple pass by our table to theirs. Hope Dillard waved to me and said, “Buona sera.”

I replied in kind, but said nothing more.

The dining room seemed particularly quiet and gloomy this evening, as if we were at a wake. I almost expected to look over and see an open casket with Dick’s lifeless body inside, hands folded on chest. It didn’t seem possible that it had all happened that morning.

Every now and then, I’d sneak a glance at Calvin, wondering what he was thinking. I had noticed that every time Maria went to his table, he was polite and soft-spoken. I was beginning to sense that he and his brother were quite different.

After dinner, we noticed Calvin standing just outside smoking a cigarette. As it turned out, he’d been waiting for us.

“Excuse me,” he said, approaching us cautiously. “My name is Calvin Thompson. I’m Dick’s brother. Are you Sarah and Carter?”

“Yes,” Carter replied as we all exchanged handshakes. “We’re really sorry about your brother.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. It’s been a weird day.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and made an effort to smile. “I was told by the owner, Eduardo, that you two were the ones who found him.”

Carter said, “Actually, Sarah is the one who first spotted him in the water.”

Calvin turned to face me directly. “You jumped in and tried to save him?”

I was lost for words. “Well, there wasn’t much I could do at that point. I’m really sorry.”

His eyes remained fixated on mine as he took both of my hands in his and held them. “Thank you for trying just the same.”

I could feel my cheeks getting hot from his intense stare and the warmth of his hands. “Um, you’re welcome. I guess anybody would have done that.”

He gently let go of my hands and chuckled. “Actually, I don’t think many people would have done what you did. Takes guts.”

Carter cleared his throat. “So, it’s pretty lucky that you got a plane ticket last minute. How was the flight?”

Calvin blinked as if waking from a daydream. He focused on Carter and said, “Pleasant flight. I got the last seat on the plane, in fact.”

“So, if you don’t mind me asking,” Carter began. “Have you seen Brittany since you got here?”

His demeanor changed. “No, and I don’t care if I do.”

“Really?” I asked. “Why not?”

He hesitated. “To be honest, I don’t think my brother’s death was an accident.”

It took a moment for his words to sink in. “Wait, you think Brittany killed him? I’m sorry, but I really don’t think that’s possible.”

“You don’t know her. She only married my brother for his money and now it looks like she’s a rich woman.”

“But she seems so distraught,” I said. “You can’t fake that kind of misery.”

Calvin shook his head. “Look, I don’t have all the details yet. But you better believe I’m going straight to the coroner’s office tomorrow morning to demand a full autopsy. I’ll bet you anything my brother didn’t die from drowning. He was a strong swimmer.”

“The rocks down at the hot springs are very tricky,” I said. “They are slippery. One false move and it would be very easy to lose your balance.”

“Drowning accidents here are uncommon. Eduardo told me so.”

“Your brother was down there after dark,” Carter interjected. “Looking for his wife’s diamond earring.”

Calvin scratched his head. “I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense at all. My brother makes over eight hundred bucks an hour. Why would he waste his time looking for some earring?”

“I don’t know,” Carter said, clearly eager to end this discussion.

It seemed pretty obvious to me that Calvin wanted Brittany to be guilty. Maybe he was just jealous she stood to inherit a fortune.

“Anyway.” Calvin took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to vent. I really just want to thank you for doing what you could for my brother.”

“It was nothing, really,” I said.

“Just one more thing.” Calvin said as we started to walk away. “Do you know what happened to Dick’s cell phone? The police officer I spoke to told me they never recovered it.”

“It wasn’t with his things,” Carter said. “He could have dropped it in water.”

Calvin nodded thoughtfully. “Makes sense. His cell phone
was
practically glued to his ear. I’m surprised he agreed to this trip. He’s – he
was
a workaholic.”

“What did your brother do for work?” I asked.

“To tell you the truth, my brother was a developer and as ruthless as they come. A hard ass for sure, but very good at his job. In fact, he was in the middle of some negotiations for a huge project. Luxury condos, I think.”

I decided to shake things up a bit and ask the uncomfortable question. “Was your brother a violent person? Specifically, did he ever hit Brittany?”

Calvin took a step back and lifted an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“She has a black eye. I noticed it the first night we all got here. She did her best to cover it up with make-up, but it’s hard to disguise.”

Calvin licked his lips and took his time responding, which could only mean one thing. “Look,” he said. “I’ll be the first to admit that my brother was no saint. He used to beat on me when we were kids but I just figured that’s what big brothers did. I had no idea he was abusive to Brittany.”

“But you’re not surprised,” Carter said.

“I guess I’m not surprised. My brother was under constant pressure at work. In fact, the last time we spoke on the phone, he told me I was an asshole. Just because. So, I know firsthand how difficult he could be; but that’s my point. Brittany only married him because he has money. Why else would she? Certainly not because he’s a kind-hearted soul.”

I was growing tired of this conversation and all I wanted to do was get into P.J’s and go to bed. “Well, I’m sure you will get some answers tomorrow after the coroner performs the autopsy.”

“Yes,” Calvin said, his demeanor softening. “And I apologize for the long rant. It’s been a helluva day, for everyone involved.”

“Yes, it has.”