forced a smile, which looked more like a grimace. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go sit at my desk for a few minutes. Then I’ll go to Massimo’s on my way home.” With that, she’d moved to the back room and closed the door behind her.
Caterina’s brow was pinched with worry as she picked up the stack of invoices the young woman had placed on her desk and began looking through them. Maybe she should have offered to go to the pharmacy for her. She hoped it was nothing too serious.
Caterina had gotten about halfway through her task when she suddenly realized that Fredericka had never answered the question she’d posed about Sargasso. She started for the back room and realized Fredericka had gone, probably to Massimo’s and then on home. Caterina looked at her watch and realized it was time to close up. The answer to her question would have to wait until tomorrow.
Chapter Twelve
Lugarno
Florence, Italy
Ten minutes after her conversation with her boss, Fredericka was walking briskly along the shaded path beside the Arno River, her excuse about seeing their art restorer long forgotten.
When she reached a secluded spot a few streets below the Ponte Vecchio, she sat down on a bench and took her cell phone from her bag. Her hands were trembling, and her stomach was aching, this time for real.
Proud of her ability to handle any situation, Fredericka was suddenly at a loss as to what to do next. She’d heard and understood the entire conversation that Caterina had had with Walter Mariotti and the American woman. It had frightened her, especially since the American didn’t seem like the type to give up once she had an idea in her head.
Fredericka had known from the beginning that there was something un po strano about Giacomo DeLuca. When they first met at a local trattoria, she’d been immediately attracted. He was handsome, well dressed, and extremely sexy, a potent combination that she just couldn’t pass up.
After their first date, when he’d asked her to keep their relationship a secret, she’d thought he might be married but had agreed. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been wined and dined by a married man, or the last. After a while, as the relationship blossomed, she’d realized that he wasn’t married; he was just very, very secretive.
Whenever they saw each other, they went to out of the way ristoranti in small hill towns where no one would know them. Or they stayed at home at either his apartment or hers. Just as she was becoming bored with all this skulking around and was thinking of breaking things off, the relationship had changed.
Giacomo knew she loved beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry, which were hard to afford on her assistant’s pay. So he’d offered her a way to increase her salary. It was simple really. He was looking for a specific kind of collector. One not too fussy about provenance or former ownership. All she had to do was keep her eyes and ears open as she went about her business for Caterina and, if she should encounter anyone like that, pass along his or her name to Giacomo.
At first it had seemed like a lark, a small diversion that was filling her pockets with extra Euros and wasn’t harming anyone. But after a while the stakes became higher. When Giacomo sold a stolen Tiepolo drawing to a collector she’d found, she realized the diversion could be dangerous. If it were ever revealed that she’d been involved in underhanded dealings, she’d not only lose her job but also be banned from working at any of the city’s galleries. She might even be prosecuted. Her instincts had told her it was time to stop, and tonight she had planned to inform Giacomo.
She shifted on the bench and looked at the muddy water rushing by below her. Then the American woman had shown up. What was her name? Laura. Laurel something. The story she’d overheard had filled her with dread. At first she’d tried to convince herself that
Caterina’s brow was pinched with worry as she picked up the stack of invoices the young woman had placed on her desk and began looking through them. Maybe she should have offered to go to the pharmacy for her. She hoped it was nothing too serious.
Caterina had gotten about halfway through her task when she suddenly realized that Fredericka had never answered the question she’d posed about Sargasso. She started for the back room and realized Fredericka had gone, probably to Massimo’s and then on home. Caterina looked at her watch and realized it was time to close up. The answer to her question would have to wait until tomorrow.
Chapter Twelve
Lugarno
Florence, Italy
Ten minutes after her conversation with her boss, Fredericka was walking briskly along the shaded path beside the Arno River, her excuse about seeing their art restorer long forgotten.
When she reached a secluded spot a few streets below the Ponte Vecchio, she sat down on a bench and took her cell phone from her bag. Her hands were trembling, and her stomach was aching, this time for real.
Proud of her ability to handle any situation, Fredericka was suddenly at a loss as to what to do next. She’d heard and understood the entire conversation that Caterina had had with Walter Mariotti and the American woman. It had frightened her, especially since the American didn’t seem like the type to give up once she had an idea in her head.
Fredericka had known from the beginning that there was something un po strano about Giacomo DeLuca. When they first met at a local trattoria, she’d been immediately attracted. He was handsome, well dressed, and extremely sexy, a potent combination that she just couldn’t pass up.
After their first date, when he’d asked her to keep their relationship a secret, she’d thought he might be married but had agreed. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been wined and dined by a married man, or the last. After a while, as the relationship blossomed, she’d realized that he wasn’t married; he was just very, very secretive.
Whenever they saw each other, they went to out of the way ristoranti in small hill towns where no one would know them. Or they stayed at home at either his apartment or hers. Just as she was becoming bored with all this skulking around and was thinking of breaking things off, the relationship had changed.
Giacomo knew she loved beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry, which were hard to afford on her assistant’s pay. So he’d offered her a way to increase her salary. It was simple really. He was looking for a specific kind of collector. One not too fussy about provenance or former ownership. All she had to do was keep her eyes and ears open as she went about her business for Caterina and, if she should encounter anyone like that, pass along his or her name to Giacomo.
At first it had seemed like a lark, a small diversion that was filling her pockets with extra Euros and wasn’t harming anyone. But after a while the stakes became higher. When Giacomo sold a stolen Tiepolo drawing to a collector she’d found, she realized the diversion could be dangerous. If it were ever revealed that she’d been involved in underhanded dealings, she’d not only lose her job but also be banned from working at any of the city’s galleries. She might even be prosecuted. Her instincts had told her it was time to stop, and tonight she had planned to inform Giacomo.
She shifted on the bench and looked at the muddy water rushing by below her. Then the American woman had shown up. What was her name? Laura. Laurel something. The story she’d overheard had filled her with dread. At first she’d tried to convince herself that
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