From Mangia to Murder (A Sophia Mancini ~ Little Italy Mystery) by Caroline Mickelson Read Free Book Online Page B

fierce move he yanked the knife out. The sight of Vincenzo’s fresh blood on the knife was too much for Sophia. She swooned.
    A moment later, she opened her eyes. To her mortification, she was in the police captain’s arms. She wished she could faint again just to avoid having to face him.
    “Good catch, Captain,” one of the young uniformed cops called from the other side of the room.
    Sophia felt her face grow red as Captain McIntyre released his hold on her. His arm lingered at her waist until she regained her composure.
    “Steady?” he asked.
    She nodded. “Thank you, Captain.” She smoothed her dress and didn’t look up to meet his eye. “I don’t know what came over me.”
    That earned her a laugh. Her face grew red again, this time with annoyance rather than embarrassment. His arms might be strong and steady but his manners left much to be desired if he couldn’t even let her save face.
    The medical examiner slipped the knife into a plastic bag and once again drew off his gloves. “Don’t be embarrassed, Miss. Gruesome business, this is.” He said it with such cheerfulness that Sophia wondered just how long he had been pulling knives out of dead bodies. “I’m off then. My wife and grands are waiting with a nice juicy roast for me. I’ll have a report to you tomorrow afternoon, Captain, but there won’t be any surprises. Obviously the knife drove in far enough and fast enough to cause almost immediate death.”
    Who did this? The question ate away at Sophia. Vincenzo was a large, powerful man. Driving a knife into his back with such force would have required a great deal of strength. Or rage.
    “Go ahead and bag him,” Captain McIntyre instructed his men. “I’ll be in the dining room taking statements.” He turned to Sophia, his look measuring. “Are you alright?”
    “Yes, of course, Captain. I’m perfectly fine.”
    “So I saw.”
    She decided to be the bigger person and ignore his sarcasm.
    “What’s our next move?”
    “Our next move?” There was no mistaking the wariness in his voice.
    “You said you wanted my help.”
    “I said no such thing, Miss Mancini. I want you near me not to help me, but so that I can keep an eye on you. I don’t need you sleuthing around and interfering with my work here.”
    “Sleuthing? What an odd word to use, Captain.”
    “Is it now? Aren’t you one of the principals in the Mancini Private Detective Agency?”
    So he knew.
    Why didn’t that surprise her?
    ***
    Once in the dining room, Sophia immediately sought out her brother. She could feel Captain McIntyre’s watchful gaze on her back. He’d reluctantly agreed to let her find Angelo so she could check on Luciano.
    His insistence she remain where he could watch her movements and listen to any conversations she might have was downright insulting, but convenient in its own way.
    “What do you mean he won’t let you leave his side?” Angelo demanded. “Let me talk to him.”
    She laid a hand on her brother’s arm. “Don’t, Ang. It actually might be a good thing, because I’ll be close enough to listen to what he asks people, and how they answer.” The image of Mrs. Featherstone came to mind. “Listen, we’ve got something more important to worry about. When Captain McIntyre and I were outside, Mrs. Featherstone popped up out of nowhere.”
    “Mrs. Featherstone?”
    Sophia resisted the urge to scream. Her brother’s forgetfulness wasn’t his fault but it was going to be the death of her. “Yes, Mrs. Featherstone, the social worker from the court. She was looking for us. She wanted to check on Luciano.”
    “Where is she now?”
    “Captain McIntyre sent her away.”
    Angelo smiled. “There’s a bit of good luck.”
    “Good luck? Angelo, she might find out that Luciano was at the scene of a murder. I’d hardly call that lucky.”
    “It’s not our fault someone iced Vincenzo.”
    Iced? Who had he been talking to? She looked around the room. The somber mood appeared to have