Delayed Death (Temptation in Florence Book 1) by Beate Boeker Read Free Book Online

herself together. The Commissario had sharp eyes. She had to keep her wits about her. "Yes."
    Commissario Garini nodded. "Signor Cervi will take notes about our conversation. Do you agree to this?"
    "Of course!" Fabbiola sat on the sofa. "Don't we, Carlina?"
    Carlina nodded. "Yes." She felt like a puppet on strings, moving without her own will.
    Signor Cervi took out a notebook and a pen.
    "Come here, my dear." Fabbiola patted the place next to her.
    Carlina dropped onto the sofa and looked at the Commissario who took a seat in the battered armchair to her left. His face was lean and thin, and his nose reminded her of a hawk. No, the resemblance with a hawk came from the eyes. They were light and hard and gave her the impression he could spot a detail at a distance of several kilometers. He didn't look like someone who would understand a silly mistake or two.
    "I understand from your family that you were the last person to see Nicolò Mantoni alive."
    "Together with her cousin, Emma, that is." Fabbiola pushed the cushion behind her back and leaned into it as if she wanted to talk for an hour.
    Commissario Garini nodded. "Quite, Signora Mantoni-Ashley. However, I would appreciate if you could let your daughter tell me in her own words." He focused on Carlina and waited for her to begin.
    Carlina met his eyes. They were cool and expectant, and for an instant, she thought she saw an ironic twinge in the faint lifting of an eyebrow. Her heart plummeted. How could she tell this unemotional man she had moved her dead grandfather around?
    Fabbiola took her hand and pressed it so hard, Carlina thought her bones would crack. "Tell him about father's phases, dear."
    Carlina frowned. Why was her mother so protective all at once? "My grandfather . . ." her voice cracked. Damn . Carlina could feel herself blushing. The Commissario would think she was an emotional wreck. She cleared her throat and recommenced, "My grandfather was a bit . . . eccentric."
    Fabbiola lifted both hands, still holding onto Carlina's hand. "He wasn't eccentric; he was crazy. But lovely crazy, if you know what I mean."
    Commissario Garini gave her a look as if "lovely crazy" didn't exist in his dictionary.
    Carlina tried to free her hand, but Fabbiola held onto it.
    "My mother means he had different phases, but they didn't do any harm," she said.
    Commissario Garini frowned. "What phases?"
    "Well, he had a phase when he joined the Sun Worship Church. Have you heard of them?"
    He shook his head.
    "They adore the Sun and sink into meditation whenever it comes out."
    She had been right about that ironic eyebrow. It twitched higher. She could tell Garini wasn't a man to waste sympathy on anybody's foibles. Oh, God. "He also had a health food period, when we were only allowed to eat homemade bread. During that period, he drank vinegar for breakfast."
    "Vinegar and honey," Fabbiola corrected. "It's supposed to be good for you."
    "I see." It sounded as if the Commissario was wondering why Nico hadn't been locked up years ago.
    "Another period was the bad vibe period," Carlina said. "That's when he felt bad vibes that prevented him from doing some things."
    "How convenient." Commissario Garini's voice was dry.
    "It had nothing to do with convenience!" Fabbiola fired up. "It was a real feeling, and it made him sick to do things that went against his conviction." She patted the cushion behind her back for support.
    The Commissario inclined his head. "I understand."
    He thinks we're a bunch of lunatics. "These last weeks, he had the bad past period." Carlina tried to convey with her voice that she was in full control of all her intellectual capacities, even if the same couldn't be said of all her family members.
    The Commissario lifted his eyebrows. "What does this mean?"
    Fabbiola made a throw-away gesture with her hand. "Oh, it was nothing. He told us we had bad things in our past that would catch up with us. We laughed so hard about some of the things he invented." Without