Snapped by Kendra Little Read Free Book Online

hopped out. She nodded at the security guard watching her from the fence
and he lifted his head in response. Obviously he wasn't there to stop people
from arriving or leaving, just keeping an eye on things.
    She rang the doorbell and the door was
promptly opened by a thirty-something man dressed in a dark suit.
    "I'd like to offer my condolences to
Mrs. Mollino," she said.
    The man, swarthy and solidly built, eyed
her closely. He had a handsome face and heart-shaped lips that lifted a little.
In approval? "And you are?"
    "Lucy Hudson, her...friend." No
need to go into details.
    He nodded and led her through to the
formal living room where she'd been received by Janet on previous occasions. The
room was filled with elderly Italians dressed in black, staring at the floor
and dabbing their eyes. A few looked up as she entered but most just continued
to stare. A sob or two punctured the eerie silence and Lucy was glad to leave
that room.
    "Sorry about that," said her
guide in a soft voice as if any sound could disturb the dead. "The mourning
rituals aren't very pleasant, especially because my cousin wasn't an old
man." He paused outside another door. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce
myself earlier. I'm Rocco Mollino, John's cousin."
    "I'm very sorry for your loss."
    He nodded and thanked her, his gaze
lingering longer than necessary on her face. He opened the door and she
followed him into another living room, this one less formal than the antique
and lace of the last but no less elegant. Janet sat on a low chaise under the
window, speaking quietly to an elderly woman dressed in black. She looked up
when Lucy approached and smiled her dismissal to the relative.
    "Leave us, Rocco," she said. "Take Zia Maria with you. And no more visitors until Ms. Hudson leaves."
    Rocco took the aunt by the arm and led
her out, casting another glance at Lucy as he closed the door. Janet sighed
loudly and sagged against the arm of the chaise.
    "I'll be glad when all this is over.
Death is hard work in an Italian family." She was dressed in black skirt
and jacket, her blonde hair pinned neatly into a chignon, her makeup perfect. Too
perfect for a widow.
    "I just came to offer my condolences,"
said Lucy sitting in a large gold brocade chair opposite.
    "Oh, don't Lucy, I've had enough
condolences to last me a life time. My next husband certainly won't be Italian,
that's for sure. I had no idea they'd get so morose. It's not as if John liked
any of them. He used to say they were a bunch of parasites."
    "Oh?"
    She sat up straighter and crossed her
long, shapely legs. "They were always asking for money or employment and
when he didn't give it to them, they'd say nasty things about him." She
offered Lucy a mint and poured her a cup of tea from the steaming pot. Janet
had been a catwalk model before she'd met Mollino and the poise still showed. "Not
a single one of them out there is sad that he's gone. They're only upset
because now they'll have to find other relatives to sponge off. After the
inevitable fights over the business of course."
    "Isn't the beneficiary in his
will?"
    "Yes, but they'll still fight. The
business is going to Rocco, his cousin." She nodded at the closed door. "But
one of the others may try to take the company from him. They're all greedy
enough to do it."
    "Really?"
    She nodded and handed the cup of tea to
Lucy. "Help yourself to milk and sugar. Rocco's nice enough but he's not a
leader. He likes the money, of course, but he hasn't got what it takes to run Mollino
Corp."
    "I'm surprised it didn't go to
you."
    She shrugged. "I don't want it. Construction's
not my thing. I like fashion. With the money I'll get from John's life
insurance policy, I can start my own boutique in Bellerae Road." She
smiled into her cup and glanced at Lucy. "The Mollinos can fight over the business
all they want. I don't care. Besides, Rocco was John's vice-president so it's
natural it should go to him." Janet sipped her tea. "Tell me, Lucy,
why are you here?