Delayed Death (Temptation in Florence Book 1) (27 page)

"Ciao, Carlina!" Bright eyed, her pigtails crooked, Lilly bounced into Carlina's arms. "Hmm, it smells nice here!" She wriggled out of her aunt's arms and ran to the kitchen.

"I've made a cake for you." Carlina picked up the pink backpack Lilly had dropped. "Oh, my, this is heavy. Are you planning to stay a week?"

Lilly answered from her place in front of the oven. "I only packed what I need."

Carlina opened it and took out a box with colored pencils, a drawing book, one teddy bear and one tiger with a missing ear, a package with cards, and a Nintendo player. She placed everything on the low table in front of the sofa. "Hmm," she said. "One tiny thing is missing. Where are your clothes?"

"Mama will bring them." Lilly hopped back into the living room. "When can we eat the cake?"

"Carlina!" Gabriella's voice came from below. "Come and help me!"

Carlina went to her door and looked down the staircase. "Don't tell me you can't carry Lilly's suitcase. She's only staying two nights."

"It's not the suitcase. It's Lollo."

"Lollo? Who's . . ." Her voice faded as she saw her sister coming up the stairs with a bird cage in her hand. It was covered by a pink shawl. Carlina blinked.

"It's my canary!" Lilly ran from the kitchen to her mother and stopped right in front of her. She lifted the pink shawl, looked underneath, and clicked her tongue. Then she crooned. "We're almost there, Lollo. Don't be afraid. I'm with you."

Her mother gave an exasperated sigh. "Lilly, if you'd step to the side for a minute, I could go upstairs and get rid of this heavy cage. Now move, will you?"

Lilly turned on her heels, bounced upstairs to her aunt, and took her hand. "You don't mind that I brought Lollo, do you? Mom said you would be angry, but I knew it would be fine."

Carlina's gaze met her sister's for a pregnant moment.

Gabriella looked defiant.

Lilly tugged at Carlina's hand. "Lollo would be sad all alone at the house."

Carlina glared at her sister. "You said two nights, didn't you?"

Lilly gave her an anxious glance. "Are you angry, Carlina?"

Carlina took a deep breath. Exasperation and amusement fought within her, but finally, the latter won, and she started to laugh. "No, I'm not. Let's get Lollo inside, shall we?"

As they settled the cage in the kitchen, Gabriella gave many contradictory instructions about how to deal with any possible crisis and how to take Lilly to school the next morning. Then she helped to make a bed out of Carlina's sofa and took her leave.

Carlina looked at her niece who was munching cake with a happy grin. "Well, Lilly? What do you want to do today?"

Lilly didn't hesitate. "I want to ride with you on your Vespa. You said you would take me to the hills."

Carlina smiled. "Did I?"

"Yes." Lilly shoved another piece of cake into her mouth. "I brought my helmet."

"But we can't take Lollo."

"Oh." Lilly put her head to one side and gave her canary a considering look. "I think Lollo is tired from moving. He will enjoy a rest now."

Carlina suppressed a smile. How easy to interpret everything the way you wanted. "That's settled, then."

Lilly's helmet was bright pink. It had been Carlina's birthday gift for her niece two months previously. Feeling her arms circling her waist, holding on tight, hearing her squeal with glee when going round corners, and stopping whenever they saw something they liked, filled Carlina with happiness. They had agreed that two tugs meant "please stop", and so they ambled through the hills of Florence, alongside vineyards filled with heavy bunches of grapes, dusty, purple, and sweet. Their way led them alongside low stone walls, giving off heat after a morning full of sun and sheltering them from the autumn wind. They found a donkey with ears that looked as if somebody had chewed on them, an olive tree that reminded them of an old mountain troll Lilly had in one of her picture books, and a quiet church built of beaten sandstone where every whisper returned with an echo. At a small inn, they had Lilly's favorite pasta, spaghetti with pesto sauce. Their last stop was at the historical Gelateria Vivoli where they both devoured a huge portion of homemade ice-cream. When the sun set, they trundled home, happy, exhausted, and full of good food. Carlina decided to warm Lily up with a hot bath before putting her to bed. While her niece soaked in the hot water, singing a song for Lollo to compensate for the long day all alone, she went to the living room to get Lilly's pajamas from the sofa they had already turned into a bed.

As she bent down to retrieve them, she stumbled and caught her balance with one hand on the bed. The bed moved against the wall, a swoosh rushed past her ear, and just as she started to laugh, remembering the fish mobile, the laughter froze in her throat. A long, thin knife was stuck in the middle of the bed. On top lay the mobile with the wooden fish. They had come down together, but the knife, sharp and thin, had penetrated the mattress at the exact point where Lily's back would have been had she jumped into bed as usual.

The room around Carlina receded, then started to turn in circles. She sank to her knees. Her hand curled into the
fake leopard skin on the armchair next to her.

"Carlina!"

With an effort that felt as if it came from outside her body, Carlina pulled herself together. She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. She swallowed and tried again. "Yes?"

"Why aren't you coming back?"

Carlina stared at the knife, mesmerized.
Garini. I have to call Garini.
She forced herself to get up and looked around the room, blinded by panic.

"Carlina!" A splash followed the words. "Come and have a look! I have great soap bubbles."

"I need to call someone. Stay in the bath." There. Carlina pounced on her phone, lying on her favorite window seat. Thank God he had made her program his number. Aaawful Commissario. She pressed the speed button with shaking fingers.
Please. Answer the phone. Please.
It rang once, then it clicked, and an unknown female voice said. "This is the police operator. How can I help you?"

Carlina swallowed. "I need to talk to Stefano Garini."

"I'm afraid he's not in the office right now. Try to call him on his cell phone."

"I did." Her voice sounded as if it came from a long way off.

"Oh. I'm afraid I can't help you in that case. Can it wait?" The operator sounded stressed.

Carlina looked at the knife stuck in the sofa, at the closed door to the bathroom where Lilly sang, happy and without a clue of how close she had been to death, at the useless bar on the entrance that had failed to protect them.

"Hello? Are you still there?" The female voice snapped.

Carlina felt unable to explain anything to the impatient woman on the phone. "Yes. Thanks." She cut off the connection.

"Carlina!"

"One moment, Lilly!" Her next move was instinctive. Without thinking, without asking herself why she acted as she did, she put on her coat, slid the phone into its pocket, pulled out Lilly's suitcase, threw in Lilly's clothes for the next day, the tiger with one ear, and the picture book, placed a big cushion in front of the knife so it wouldn't be seen, then took Lilly's pajamas and went to the bathroom. "I have a surprise, Lilly." She forced herself to sound cheerful, but it sounded stilted, even to her own ears.

Lilly looked up. "A surprise?"

"Yes. We're going to sleep somewhere else tonight." Carlina took a large towel and held it out to her niece. "Get out. I'll rub you dry." Thank God Lilly hadn't put her head underneath the water or she would have caught a cold when going out again.

Lilly obeyed and stood dripping in front of the tub. "Where are we going?"

Carlina gathered her into her arms with the towel and hugged her tight.
I don't know.
"It's an adventure." Carlina forced a smile. "I won't tell. Get ready. Quick."

Lilly jumped into her pajamas. Then they added a sweater and a pair of jeans. She giggled. "It's not right to dress like this."

"It's an adventure dress."
Please don't ask why.

Two minutes later, they stood at the door, ready to leave. "Let's make it a secret adventure." Carlina said. "We're leaving the house on tiptoes. Nobody should hear or see us. All right?"

Lilly nodded.

Bless you.
Carlina opened the door a crack and looked out.

"But what about Lollo?" Lilly's voice rang out, clear and loud enough to be heard all over the staircase.

Carlina shut the door again with a hasty move. "Lollo? He'll stay here. He's still so tired from the last move."

Lilly's mouth turned down at the corners. "He wants to stay with me. I know he does. I have learned at school that canaries are unhappy if they're on their own." Her voice rose. "They pull out their feathers, and then they die!"

Carlina bit her lips. She had to get Lilly out of here, now, without being seen, without being heard. If Lilly was upset about the canary, she had no chance, unless she gagged and bound her niece. She clenched her teeth. "All right." She pushed the suitcase at her niece. "You take this. I take the cage." In two steps, she was in the kitchen, grabbed the cage, flung the pink shawl over it, and returned to the door. "Now quiet. No sound. Okay?"

Lilly nodded. Her eyes shone.

Carlina wanted to hug her, keep her close to her chest, covered by her arms. The responsibility for her niece choked her. How close to death Lilly had been. She had to make sure nothing happened to the child.

The door closed with a soft click behind them. They tiptoed downstairs. Just as they reached the landing to Fabbiola's apartment, they heard a door opening further down.

"
Buona notte,
Benedetta," they heard Fabbiola say.

Carlina turned on her heels, grabbed Lilly's shoulder, and raced upstairs again.

"Good night," Benedetta's voice floated up. "Do you know if Carlina and Lilly have returned from their spree?"

"They have." The stairs creaked under Fabbiola's weight. "Lilly's just taking a bath. I heard the water gurgle."

"Well, if you see them, say good night to them too."

"I will." Fabbiola had reached the landing which led to her apartment.

Carlina, one floor higher, opened the door to her apartment with a shaking hand and darted inside, pulling Lilly with her. She flung the suitcase behind the door and dropped the cage on the low table in front of the sofa so it hid the cushion before the knife.

"Now don't say a word, Lilly, all right?"

Fabbiola appeared at the open door. "Have you finished your bath, love?"

"Yes, she has." Carlina blocked the entrance to her apartment and pulled Lilly close to her.

"How nice." Fabbiola bent down and gave her granddaughter a kiss. "Hmm, you smell good." She looked up and frowned. "But why are you dressed again? Isn't it time to go to bed?"

Desperate, Carlina cast around for an explanation. "It's an experiment." She made an airy move with her hand.

"An experiment? What kind of experiment?"

"Em." Carlina swallowed. "A . . . a clothes experiment. We were talking about the life of adventurers, and we have read how often they sleep in their clothes, so we decided we would try that too."

Lilly nodded with vigor.

Bless her.

Fabbiola crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But that's ridiculous. It's much too hot and uncomfortable."

Carlina took a step forward, crowding her mother's space. "Never mind. It's my evening with Lilly, and tonight, our own rules apply." She tried a carefree smile. "Grandmothers not allowed."

Fabbiola frowned and shook her head. "How unkind."

"Pirates are never kind." Carlina made her voice gruff to make it sound like a game while underneath, she felt sick with fear.
Who can I trust? How can I protect Lilly?

Lilly giggled.

"Oh, well." Fabbiola shrugged. "Sleep well, then."

"Good night." Carlina closed the door as soon as her mother had moved away from the doorstep and sank against it. Through the door, she heard Fabbiola muttering something and let out a sigh of relief. "Gosh. That was close."

"Carlina." Lilly looked at her aunt with troubled eyes. "I think it's a bit scary, our game."

Very scary. And no game at all.
"But no!" Carlina hugged her niece and continued in a conspiratorial whisper. "We'll only wait until grandma has closed her door, then we'll try to escape again. We're pirates!"

Lilly didn't look convinced.

"Okay, I'm a pirate," Carlina improvised. "You're a princess and my prisoner. I'm taking you away."

Lilly nodded. "Okay. But we'll take Lollo."

"Of course." Carlina clenched her teeth.

They descended the stairs a second time. The second they hurried down the last steps, the door to Uncle Teo's apartment opened a crack.

"Good night, then," Angela's voice came through the opening.