Read Online Delayed Death (Temptation in Florence Book 1) by Beate Boeker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Beate Boeker
Ads: Link
lied about . . . about the time when I saw my grandfather last. He was dead when Emma and I went downstairs to pick him up for the wedding." God, he doesn't make it easy. I was so stupid.
"How did you get access to his apartment?"
Carlina stared at him. "With my key, of course."
"You have a key to your grandfather's apartment?"
"Yes and no." Carlina crossed her legs at the ankles to look more relaxed, but she had the uneasy feeling he wasn't fooled. "Our keys are universal fits. I can enter any apartment in the house with my key."
His mouth went slack. "What? You have access to all apartments with one key?"
"Yes." Carlina nodded.
"Good grief. How many apartments are in that house?"
"On the ground floor, we have two - my grandfather on the right." She swallowed. Not anymore. No, better not think about it. "Uncle Teo lives with Aunt Maria on the left. They are --," she broke off and started again. "They were identical twins. They painted their doors bright red and bright green, the colors of Italy."
She could tell he wasn't interested in the colors of Italy and suppressed a sigh. "On the first floor, we have Emma with her fiancé, I mean husband, Lucio, and on the right, her mother Benedetta with my cousins Ernesto and Annalisa. Benedetta is my mother's youngest sister."
He looked a bit dazed.
"Benedetta is the one with the bright lipstick." No, he wasn't interested in the lipstick either. "Ernesto and Annalisa both have red hair. It's funny because their older sister Emma is a lot darker and . . ." Her voice petered out when she saw the expression in his light eyes.
"And the second floor?"
"On the second floor, my mother lives on the right hand side. The apartment on the left is rented to the neighboring house, and they have made a hole into their wall instead and closed the door to our staircase."
Now he looked as if he wanted to congratulate the neighbors for their decision. "I understand you have one brother and one sister."
"Yes."
"Why don't they live with you in the house?"
Carlina shrugged. "Enzo works in Pisa and doesn't want to commute each day, though grandpa told him a hundred times he should live at home." She smiled a little at the thought of her irrepressible brother. "My sister Gabriella is married to Bernando, and they live next to Bernando's mother, thirty kilometers away. The apartment would be too small for them anyway because of Lilly. She's my niece, and she has just turned seven. But they visit us often, and Lilly likes to stay with me because--" She stopped herself. The Commissario wasn't interested in hearing how well she got along with her niece. It wasn't her style to rattle along like a woman without a brain. God, he made her nervous.
"And you? Where do you live?" he asked.
"I live above my mother, underneath the roof."
"Where did you find your grandfather?"
Carlina throat tightened. The preliminaries were over. Now came the hard part. "Grandpa was sitting at the kitchen table." Her voice cracked.
"Go on."
She felt as if he was pushing her bit by bit forward, until she would drop off a cliff. "My cousin . . . Emma threw a fit."
His eyebrows twitched. "Why?"
"Emma was the bride! His death destroyed her wedding."
Commissario Garini looked as if he had no clue what she was talking about.
Do you have no imagination at all? "Can you picture the bride coming up to church and saying that her grandfather just died?" Carlina closed her eyes. It was easier to speak without looking at the man made of steel next to her. "Everybody bursting into tears, the wedding canceled, no dancing, no party, the flowers wilting, the ceremony postponed, the honeymoon annulled . . ." She shook her head so hard, she felt the edge of the shelf beneath her hair.
"I like the wilting flowers," he said. "Nice touch."
Her eyes flew open. I hate you.
He returned her gaze without emotion. "Go on."
Another step closer to the edge . "In the end, we said it would make no difference to my grandfather if we
"How did you get access to his apartment?"
Carlina stared at him. "With my key, of course."
"You have a key to your grandfather's apartment?"
"Yes and no." Carlina crossed her legs at the ankles to look more relaxed, but she had the uneasy feeling he wasn't fooled. "Our keys are universal fits. I can enter any apartment in the house with my key."
His mouth went slack. "What? You have access to all apartments with one key?"
"Yes." Carlina nodded.
"Good grief. How many apartments are in that house?"
"On the ground floor, we have two - my grandfather on the right." She swallowed. Not anymore. No, better not think about it. "Uncle Teo lives with Aunt Maria on the left. They are --," she broke off and started again. "They were identical twins. They painted their doors bright red and bright green, the colors of Italy."
She could tell he wasn't interested in the colors of Italy and suppressed a sigh. "On the first floor, we have Emma with her fiancé, I mean husband, Lucio, and on the right, her mother Benedetta with my cousins Ernesto and Annalisa. Benedetta is my mother's youngest sister."
He looked a bit dazed.
"Benedetta is the one with the bright lipstick." No, he wasn't interested in the lipstick either. "Ernesto and Annalisa both have red hair. It's funny because their older sister Emma is a lot darker and . . ." Her voice petered out when she saw the expression in his light eyes.
"And the second floor?"
"On the second floor, my mother lives on the right hand side. The apartment on the left is rented to the neighboring house, and they have made a hole into their wall instead and closed the door to our staircase."
Now he looked as if he wanted to congratulate the neighbors for their decision. "I understand you have one brother and one sister."
"Yes."
"Why don't they live with you in the house?"
Carlina shrugged. "Enzo works in Pisa and doesn't want to commute each day, though grandpa told him a hundred times he should live at home." She smiled a little at the thought of her irrepressible brother. "My sister Gabriella is married to Bernando, and they live next to Bernando's mother, thirty kilometers away. The apartment would be too small for them anyway because of Lilly. She's my niece, and she has just turned seven. But they visit us often, and Lilly likes to stay with me because--" She stopped herself. The Commissario wasn't interested in hearing how well she got along with her niece. It wasn't her style to rattle along like a woman without a brain. God, he made her nervous.
"And you? Where do you live?" he asked.
"I live above my mother, underneath the roof."
"Where did you find your grandfather?"
Carlina throat tightened. The preliminaries were over. Now came the hard part. "Grandpa was sitting at the kitchen table." Her voice cracked.
"Go on."
She felt as if he was pushing her bit by bit forward, until she would drop off a cliff. "My cousin . . . Emma threw a fit."
His eyebrows twitched. "Why?"
"Emma was the bride! His death destroyed her wedding."
Commissario Garini looked as if he had no clue what she was talking about.
Do you have no imagination at all? "Can you picture the bride coming up to church and saying that her grandfather just died?" Carlina closed her eyes. It was easier to speak without looking at the man made of steel next to her. "Everybody bursting into tears, the wedding canceled, no dancing, no party, the flowers wilting, the ceremony postponed, the honeymoon annulled . . ." She shook her head so hard, she felt the edge of the shelf beneath her hair.
"I like the wilting flowers," he said. "Nice touch."
Her eyes flew open. I hate you.
He returned her gaze without emotion. "Go on."
Another step closer to the edge . "In the end, we said it would make no difference to my grandfather if we
Similar Books
