Read Online Into the Killer Sphere by Stefania Mattana - Free Book Online

death; it was not supposed to be a party, after all.
    Ramona agreed to talk to Chase, who showed great interest in the customs of the house.
    “Signora Agata is a creature of habit, nothing has ever changed since I started working here,” Ramona commenced. “She doesn’t like changes and never accepts them willingly. Even her new blood pressure pills have become a nightmare. Every time she has to take them she complains with me as if it’s my fault. I think it’s a way to express her affection for me. She’s a strong lady, she went hungry during the war, she’s always telling me about that,” Ramona vented.
    “She seems like a very precise person, the kind of person who’s never late. Is she?” Chase asked, his green eyes fixed on her brown ones.
    “Of course she is. She shares that with Signora Gloria. They are as accurate and punctual as Swiss watches, that’s why they get along.”
    “And what about Signor Piero?” Chase went on. Ramona offered him a salmon canapé, but he refused with a wave of his hand.
    “Signor Piero was a creature of habit as well, especially when it came to his dogs. Getting used to those routines was such a pain for me at the beginning, but luckily I’ve never had to deal with his animals. Anyway, the pay is good after all, so I can’t complain.”
    Chase casually leant against the mantelpiece and decided to play the sympathy card. He was sure he could obtain more information about the Gallis’ time idiosyncrasies by making Ramona comfortable and chatting to her while she went about her duties. To be honest, Chase was usually a precise kind of guy himself, although he tolerated a low level of chaos, especially Angelo’s level of chaos. He couldn’t understand how a maid could do her job properly without attention to detail.
    “I can totally understand you, Signorina Sadoveianu . ” Again, he didn’t manage to pronounce her surname properly. “ I suppose that Signora Agata’s life is regimented almost hour by hour, or perhaps I am overstating your situation?”
    Ramona’s eyes lit up. “No, you’re not, not at all! Every day is the same, precise story. When something changes, Signora Galli gets mad and I am lumbered with her.”
    “No way!” Chase plied her with sympathy.
    “You’re not gonna believe this: every day I wake Signora Agata in the morning, at eight o’clock. Not a minute later, of course. Then she has her breakfast and gets ready for the day. Later, while she reads the paper, I tidy up the house; afterwards I accompany her on her daily walk, you know, just a couple of minutes to keep the circulation in her legs going . Before lunch sometimes she reads or watches TV, while after lunch she reads again or crochets or socialises with her acquaintances. That’s the part I like the most, when she enjoys her friends. Before having dinner, she personally chooses a book to read the following day. I don’t know how she can read an entire book every day. After dinner, which I usually serve at eight or nine o’clock depending on whether or not I’ve finished my tasks, she watches TV, then goes to sleep.”
    Ramona was a river of words. She took a little breath, then kept talking.
    “It’s been five years since I began working here. Occasionally we receive a visit from somebody new, but her usual visitors are her regular friends, and Gloria and Marco of course, and especially Gloria. You know, she likes gardening and I can’t do anything related to plants, so Signora Agata lets Gloria help her there. Signor Piero was generally much more flexible than Signora Agata, but he was inflexible over two things: meals and walking his beloved dogs.”
    Ramona snorted and mechanically wiped the counter with a dishtowel.
    “Do you remember what time Piero fed the dogs?” Chase asked.
    “Do I remember? How I could forget it! The animals go out at 10.00 in the morning, then at 4.00 and 9.30 in the evening, while they eat at noon and at 9.00 in the evening.” She