temptation in florence 03 - bankers death (2 page)

Benedetta threw up her hands. “I don't care where you come from but I forbid you to destroy my son!”

Ernesto laid a hand on her arm. “Mama, please. I--”

“Let me finish!” Benedetta shook him off. “When your father died, I did not know how I would raise you. I did not know how to go on, how to manage. But with Teo's help, we overcame all the problems, and I could raise you to become a responsible adult!” She clenched her fists and lifted them as if she was going to punch somebody. “I utterly refuse to let my son be killed in something as unnecessary and stupid as bungee-jumping!”

For once, the family stood as if in trance. They had never seen such an outburst from Benedetta, who was one of the more balanced people in the family.

Carlina swallowed so hard, it hurt.

“Carlina!” Her aunt turned on her. “You're always so sensible! You have to help me. I rely on you. You have to tell him to stop this! You have to exert all your influence. If you can't do it, I . . . “ she burst into tears and dashed them away with a trembling hand, then drew herself up to her full height, “. . . I will forbid you to ever cross the threshold of my apartment again!”

Fabbiola gave a start and jumped to the defense of her daughter. “Now, really, Benedetta, isn't that a bit exaggerated?”

“You!” Benedetta turned on her sister with a sound that made Carlina's hair stand on end. “You've been eating stupid health food for weeks, and I might just as well tell you right now that I'm not willing to have the vile stuff on my table anymore. You can eat in your own apartment from now on!”

Garini bent his head. “What's with the heath food stuff?”

“Later.” Carlina bit her lips.

Valentino started to clap his hands in a slow and deliberate way. “Bravo, Benedetta. I knew it was right to come back. Such emotions. Such drama - much better than in the best Arabic families. And all for free. I really don't need to go to the theater anymore.”

Leopold Morin pushed through the family members until he stood next to Benedetta. He did not touch her, but his kind, brown eyes fastened onto her with an intensity even Carlina could feel though she was not its object. He muttered something under his breath.

Benedetta gave him an anguished look, then covered her face with her hands and ran from the room. Leopold Morin followed her without a word and closed the door behind him with a soft movement that somehow seemed louder than a bang.

“Who on earth is that?” Valentino asked. “I've never seen him before.”

“He's French.” Annalisa smiled at Valentino. “Don't say you've forgotten me, or I'll be insulted.” She shook her long hair, which had the same red color as her brother's, and gave her cousin a come-hither smile.

“How could I forget you? You're the most beautiful woman in this room.” Valentino took her hand and blew a kiss onto it.

From behind Carlina came a sound that she couldn't place, as if someone was choking or swallowing hard. Or was it suppressed laughter? She looked over her shoulder but couldn't tell who had made it.

Valentino gave Annalisa a caressing smile. “But I still don't understand why a totally unknown Frenchman is joining in a family party.”

Annalisa shrugged. “He's a university professor from Paris who's spending a sabbatical in Florence, and he lives in grandpa's apartment on the ground floor. Ever since grandpa died last September, it was empty, and when Leopold became friends with Uncle Teo during Christmas, he moved in. He's quite nice, even if a bit dull at times.”

Carlina wondered how Annalisa could explain the background details with such a calm voice, as if the preceding scene had not even touched her - which it might not have, come to think of it. Annalisa looked picture perfect but often worked with an agenda of her own.

“What a shame.” Valentino said. “I had quite counted on living in grandpa's apartment during my time in Florence.”

“Why aren't you staying with your mother in Fiesole?” Lucio asked. No doubt he did not want his wife's attractive cousin in the same house.

Valentino shrugged. “She left for a cruise and took all the keys with her. Short of breaking in, I can't get into the villa.”

“You can stay with me,” Uncle Teo said. His face was gray, and he looked as if he regretted having introduced Valentino into the party, but Carlina knew that his loyalty would never allow him to leave a family member in need.

“Cool.” Ernesto clapped his cousin on the back. “We can have more fun if you're staying at our house.”

Valentino hesitated, then nodded. “Let's get out of here,” he said. “Too much family all at once is bad for the constitution. I've got a great car. She's a beauty. Get your sunglasses, Ernesto, and we'll cruise the hills for a change.” He winked at his younger cousin. “Might even be some nice chicks about.”

Ernesto grinned and pulled Rafaele forward. “Sounds good. Rafaele, are you coming?”

“Sorry, bro.” Valentino shook his head at Rafaele. “It's a Mercedes two-seater. There's no room for you.”

Rafaele lifted a hand with a languishing movement. “Don't bother, Ernesto. I'll stay here and eat some more of your birthday cake.” He did not look at Valentino.

Uncle Teo frowned. “I don't think it's right that you leave in the middle of your own birthday party, Ernesto.”

Ernesto looked like a sad puppy.

Caroline suppressed a grin. Her little cousin could do that at the drop of a hat. As usual, it worked like a charm.

Uncle Teo lifted one hand in a gesture of surrender. “Oh, all right. Off you go, then, and enjoy yourself, but think about that bungee jumping. You don't want to make your mother unhappy, do you?”

Ernesto gave him a crooked smile but wisely refrained from answering.

As soon as the door had closed behind the two men, a sigh of relief went around the room.

“Boy, oh, boy.” Simonetta threw her bean bags in a colorful tumble onto the table and dropped onto a chair. “What on earth will you do, Carlina?”

“Me?” Carlina swallowed.

“Well, Benedetta told you to solve the problem, didn't she?”

“Yes, she did.” Emma nodded so hard, her long hair slid forward. “And I have to say, I don't envy you, Carlina.”

Chapter 2

I

A sharp gust of wind blew down the tiny street Via delle Pinzochere and tousled Carlina's brown curls.

“Well, that was a lively family gathering.” Garini zipped up his heavy leather jacket and unlocked the motor bike. “But I still don't understand that ominous reference to health food.”

Carlina pulled her jacket tighter around her. “It's a long story.” She didn't feel like telling Garini.

He gave her a quizzical look. “Something tells me your mother is up to something new. Has she stopped telling the future?”

Carlina sighed. “She gave up reading the cards on New Year's Eve.”

“Oh?” It sounded as if Garini regretted to hear this. “Why?”

“Because the cards did not tell her in advance that I was in danger of being killed last Christmas, so she lost her confidence.”

“But that's good news, isn't it?” Garini frowned.

“I'm not sure if this new eccentricity isn't worse.” Carlina shrugged. She might just as well tell him. He would find out anyway. “She has taken up an obsession with health food, and it's driving us crazy.”

“An obsession with health food?” Garini asked.

Carlina eyed him. Did he sound amused or disturbed? It was hard to tell. She cleared her throat. “Er. Yes.”
Please don't ask.

“What's so bad about the health food phase?” Garini asked.

“Benedetta takes it as a personal insult. You know that she usually cooks for the whole family, don't you?”

Garini nodded.

“Well, Mama now insists on having special food, and she cooks it for herself.” Carlina rolled her eyes. “She's the world's worst cook, and Benedetta claims it turns her off her own meals when she has to look at the stuff Mama is bringing to the table. They are at daggers drawn, and believe me, it's no fun to be around them at all. It's as if they're fifteen, bickering like teenage sisters.” She took a deep breath. “For breakfast, for example, Fabbiola drinks vinegar combined with honey. She claims the Romans already did that hundreds of years ago, and that it's good for your skin or whatever.”

“That rings a bell,” Garini said. “If I remember correctly, your grandfather had exactly the same phase, didn't he? Do you think it's hereditary?”

“God forbid.” Carlina grinned. “Besides, she claims it's something quite different because she uses another type of honey.” She took a deep breath and delivered her mother's clinching argument. “Her honey is collected only by happy bees.”

Garini's eyebrow went up. “How can you tell if a bee is happy?”

He kept a straight face, but Carlina could see the smile lurking deep in his eyes. A tingle of happiness ran down her spine, as always, when she saw that he shared her sense of the ridiculous. Maybe he would not run away after all, even if exposed to all her family's idiosyncracies. “Don't ask Mama to define a happy bee,” she said. “Otherwise, we'll have to go through a sermon that takes about three quarters of an hour. Unfortunately, the bees are happier than we are at the moment. The atmosphere in the house is about as poisonous as the meals she prepares.”

“Is the food really so bad?” Garini asked.

“Worse than you can imagine.” Carlina shuddered. “If it was only the vinegar-honey-drink, I could live with it, but she also insists on making her own bread. She bought two massive sacks of corn and grinds the stuff herself with a huge grinder in her kitchen.” She made a move with her head, indicating the third floor where Fabbiola had her apartment.

Garini inclined his head. “Interesting.”

“It makes enough noise to shake the whole house and covers everything with flour,” Carlina continued. “Besides, the bread tastes absolutely vile, as Mama refuses to add salt or spices. She even says you can use the corn as chewing gum if you mash it long enough between your teeth.” Carlina shook herself in disgust.

“I see your point.” The corners of Garini's mouth quivered.

Carlina spread out her hands. “And now, as if our nerves weren't already stretched to breaking point, Valentino had to come back from Dubai and give that stupid voucher to Ernesto.” She bit her lip. “I'm sorry. I didn't see that coming when I asked if you'd like to join Ernesto's birthday party.”

Stefano gave her a wry smile. “I've learned to expect the unexpected from your family.”

“Yeah, but unexpected is one thing. Total war is another.” Carlina hugged herself. The wind was making the air brisk, as if spring was still a long time away. In spite of that, she was glad she had followed Stefano outside after the party because she wanted to say good-bye without half the family checking on their every move.

“I can only give you one piece of advice: Stay out of it.” He looked at her, his light eyes scanning her face.

“I can't.” Carlina shook her head. “Benedetta asked me to help.”

“That made me wonder. Why didn't she ask Uncle Teo? After all, he's the patriarch of the family.”

Carlina grinned. “She knows he's a softy.”

“And you aren't?” His smile teased her.

She squared her shoulders and grinned at him. “It may not seem like it at first glance, but I'm tough, you know.”

“I see.” His smile was tender, then he became serious. “So what will you do? Tell Ernesto to return the voucher? Don't kid yourself. Your intervention will only make him angry, and, just for the hell of it, he'll jump from an even higher roof top. He's a teenager.”

Carlina sighed. “I know. I'm stymied.”

“So don't do anything.” He shook his head. “I'll spare my breath. You know, if you had less family loyalty, it might be easier.”

She looked up. “What do you mean?”

He didn't reply. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a hard kiss.

Carlina could feel herself softening. She fell into the kiss with every fiber of her being, feeling, as always, that as long as she was in his arms, the world could get lost, and she wouldn't mind. Their relationship was not yet very old, in fact, it had started more or less after Christmas, but Stefano's job as Investigating Officer at the Florence Homicide Department did not leave them much time to develop their friendship. In January, he had been called away on an international job that required his presence in the Netherlands and had only returned three weeks later. February had given them more time, if one didn't count two homicide cases on his plate and the illness of Carlina's shop-assistant, leaving her all alone with the work at her lingerie store Temptation on Via de' Tornabuoni.

However, with March, spring had come, and Carlina hoped that they would be able to spend more time together, building their trust and love. She knew she had hesitated before inviting him to any family event, thinking that her exuberant and eccentric family might turn him off. Not that he didn't know them - after all, two murder cases in the past six months had brought him into close touch with the Mantoni family, but it was different if you came into it as an outsider than if you were presented as The Boyfriend. The latter position was subject to much deeper analysis. In spite of that, he had not yet run, which said much about his feelings for Carlina.

“Why are you smiling?” His voice was soft.

“I'm just thinking that you're very courageous to keep up being with me in spite of my family.”

Before he could reply, a horn blasted behind them.

Carlina turned her head.

Valentino inched a matte black Mercedes convertible with cream colored leather seats through the narrow street, one hand hanging in a relaxed way out of the window. His dark sunglasses hid most of his face. They were equipped with a mirror effect so that Carlina could only see a distorted version of herself when she looked into his eyes.

“Here's another man I haven't yet met.” Valentino shouted. “You didn't introduce us upstairs, Carlina.” Without waiting for an answer, he continued, looking at Stefano. “Are you sure you're allowed to mess around with my cousin, mate?”

Carlina sucked in her breath. “There's just one person who allows whatever it is that's happening with me,” she said. “And that's myself. Get lost, Valentino.”