“How is your grandmother?” the old lady asked. “I thought I saw her sometime last week.”
“She’s fine,” Christina responded, carefully.
“So when did you come back?” the lady insisted and walked down a corridor.
“Oh, just a few days ago,” Christina said, playing along.
“Would you like some ice tea?” the woman yelled from somewhere the back of the house.
“I would love some,” Christina replied and sat on the sofa. The interior of the house reminded her of Fabiani’s.
“Is your husband with you?” the man asked her and went to the bar to pour some whiskey in a glass.
Christina looked at him, surprised, and was thankful that his wife walked in right at that minute, and the question was left unanswered.
The old couple stared at each other a little weird and then back at Christina.
“Darling,” the lady said. “You seem a little disoriented. It must be the heat. Why don’t you drink your tea and go lay down for a while?”
Christina agreed. “The truth is that I haven’t been feeling very well.” Placing her untouched glass of ice tea on the coffee table, she rose to her feet. She wished good-bye to the old man and walked to the front door, followed by the lady.
“You say hi to Marcello and your grandmother for me,” the lady said. “You should come over for dinner one night. Just give me a call before, and I’ll have everything ready in a flash.”
“Okay, we’ll do that,” Christina agreed and left. She walked back to the house next door and around the back, just in case the neighbors were watching her. After staying there for a few moments, she rushed back to her car. Jumping inside, she locked the doors and lay back against the headrest, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. How come this old couple acted like they knew her? And why were they talking about her husband? What husband? Everything was so confusing.
A big black limousine, similar to the one that had brought her to the house the other day, drew her from her gloomy thoughts. The limo pulled up to the Fabiani’s house.
Christina started the car and drove closer but couldn’t see much through the trees. The garage door opened, and the car pulled inside. Then the door rolled back down.
Christina stood there for a while, undecided. I better be careful, she told herself. It might be dangerous to go and knock on the door. It’s better to call Dan and let him know that someone is at the house.
She turned the car and drove down the street and around a corner. Pulling over, she stopped the car and called Dan on his cell. When she was transferred to his answering service, she left a message for him to call her right back as soon as he got her message. Then she drove back to the house, parked in the same spot down the street, and remained there, watching the house.
She was scared but excited at the same time.
***
Driving back to the police station, Alexis was silent and Dan furious. He couldn’t believe he had been conned like that. Who was she? Who was that woman he was madly in love with? What kind of game was she playing? Tormenting thoughts whirled around in her mind. One thing was for sure, though, he would never trust her again.
Thinking back how dumbfounded she seemed at his mentioning Fabiani when the very next day she was in his arms kissing him passionately, Dan wanted to kick himself. I should have known better. She played me like a rookie.
“Are you okay?” Alexis inquired as soon as they parked in front of the police department.
“No, not really,” Dan admitted truthfully. “I’ll talk to you later,” he yelled over his shoulder, jumping out of the car and heading for his own. He had so much to do.
***
Christina waited for a while, parked down the street from the house. Checking her watch, she realized it was getting late. Where on earth was Dan? It had been almost two hours since the limousine had pulled up, and Dan was nowhere to be found. She was tired. He either didn’t hear my message or something is up, she thought and decided to head back. It was hard enough driving on these winding, country roads in bright daylight. At night when there were no streetlights would be terrifying. She started the engine and was about to leave when the garage door opened, and the limo drove down the driveway and stopped at the edge. Christina’s breath caught in her throat, and she shrunk in her seat, watching.
A few minutes later, the front door of the house swung open, and a tall, slender woman with golden brown locks and green eyes came outside. Christina’s breath caught in her throat, watching her spitting image marching to the limo like a model on the catwalk.
Christina remained motionless, watching the limo driving right by her. The tinted windows didn’t allow her to see inside, but she was sure of what she had seen…wasn’t she?
With shaky hands, she started the engine and headed back to the mansion—at least she hoped that was where she was heading. There was still plenty of daylight, but she was too shaken up to be paying attention around her.
Feeling a little dizzy and disoriented from everything that had happened—not to mention the fact that she had nothing to eat all day—she flew down the country road, heading God knows where.
Going around a sharp curve, she was startled to see a Jeep stopped almost in the middle, blocking the road. A scream escaped her lips as she wrenched the wheel violently to the right, frantically hitting the brakes. Her car skidded off the road and onto the unpaved, bumpy shoulder.
Chapter Twenty
DAN FINISHED TALKING to Miles and throwing the phone next to him on the sofa, he leaned back and locked his hands behind his neck. Think! He ordered himself. He’d headed back to his hotel room, not wanting to face Christina right now. He needed time to decide how to handle this whole mess. But it wasn’t easy. Burning images of her in Fabiani’s arms kept on haunting him.
And now, after talking to Miles, he was even more confused. Miles had spent the last two days in Las Vegas talking to his contact over there and comparing notes on the Rosettis.
Dan rehearsed everything in his mind. The thought of Christina made his heart sink. No matter who she really was, or what kind of game she was playing, he was still desperately in love with her. And the fact was that her grandmother was dead. Maybe she already knows, he thought. No, he told himself. No matter what, Christina was no murderer. He opened his notebook and went over his notes. Miles told him that the maid at the Rosetti’s mansion in Nevada wasn’t cooperating at first, but after he had told her that she could be arrested as an accessory to murder, she spilled her guts. She had told Miles and the Las Vegas Police detective that the old lady didn’t fall down the steps by herself. One of Fabiani’s men pushed her.
According to Miles’s information, the half-crazy old bat had found out that Fabiani was responsible for his father’s death, and she tried to take revenge. The good news was that she’d found out about Fabiani before she signed Christina’s inheritance over to him. It seemed that Fabiani realized what she was up to and had her killed.
But what about the money? Dan wondered. How is Fabiani planning to get his hands on it? Then he thought about Christina again, and the image of her in Fabiani’s arms flashed before his eyes. Dan clenched his fists. They had probably planned all that together, he decided. However, his instinct told him he was wrong. His anger made him jump to conclusions, but Dan was a good detective. Soon enough, he realized that things couldn’t be that way. So many things didn’t fit.
***
Dan headed back to the police station to talk to Alexis. They spent the next couple hours comparing notes. The problem with the case was that the more he dug in, the more complicated it became.
Two hours later, he pushed his chair back and locked his hands behind his head. “We need to stop for now,” he told Alexis, who agreed and rose to his feet.
“You know that we need to bring her back in for a statement,” Alexis mentioned. “Things have changed.”
“I know,” Dan agreed. “But I need you to give me twenty-four hours??
? I need to talk to her, first.”
Alexis hesitated for a moment.
“Please,” Dan insisted. “I need to do this.”
“Okay,” his friend agreed with a frown on his face.
“Thank you,” Dan replied and walked to the door. “I’ll be in touch,” he yelled over his shoulder and walked outside.
On the way back to the mansion, he tried to pull his thoughts together and decide what he was going to tell Christina. He’d been thinking about it over and over again, ever since he saw her with Fabiani. I’m sure there is a good explanation, he tried to persuade himself, unable to believe that she could have betrayed him like that. But still, the fact remained that she had lied to him. Besides, the way Fabiani held her and kissed her and the way that she had responded to his kiss was an indication of how close they were.
Dan was puzzled about that relationship. Why did Christina pretend that she didn’t know him when he mentioned his name? And what about her grandmother? Did Christina know she was dead? He breathed out heavily. It was time to have a talk with her.
Arriving at the mansion, he parked the car and rushed up the steps, two at a time. The day before, Christina had given him keys to the mansion, since Kalliopi and her family were going to take a few days off, visiting the rest of their family on the island of Lefkada.
Dan reached into his pocket for the keys. On a second thought, he put them back in his pocket and rang the bell, wanting to keep this conversation as impersonal as he could. No matter how things turned out, one thing was for sure—his relationship with Christina had ended.
He waited for a couple of minutes, but there was no answer. She’s not back yet from meeting with Fabiani, he realized and felt the bitter sting of jealousy.
Drawing a deep breath, he walked back downstairs to wait in his car.
Time went by excruciating slow, and two hours later, Dan was ready to explode. Seeing that Christina wasn’t coming back, he started the engine and headed back to town.
Driving around a curve, a fire red sports car flew by him, and Dan took a glimpse of the woman sitting next to the driver. She looked a lot like Christina.
What the hell? He immediately slammed on his brakes and turned around, heading back to the mansion. Arriving there, he didn’t pull in the driveway but instead parked the car up the street, hiding behind the wall surrounding the property.
He jumped outside and ran around the corner in time to see Christina climbing out of the car and waving good-bye. The car left the other way, so Dan didn’t have a chance to have a look at the driver.
His attention shifted back to Christina, who was wearing a pair of tight-fitting jeans, a tiny white top that hardly left anything to the imagination, and very high heels. She had her hair pulled up on top of her head with a couple of locks loose around her face. Her arms were covered with colorful small bracelets, and she was carrying a couple of shopping bags. He watched her walking up the steps and the way her hips were swaying made his blood boil. This wasn’t the Christina he knew. This was an amazingly sexy creature, who could seduce even a saint!
He watched her go inside and stood still for a few more minutes to catch his breath. Then he walked to the mansion and up the front steps. Squeezing his fists and steeling himself to face her, he rang the bell. He waited for a couple of minutes, and when there was no answer, he rang again.
He heard noises from inside. She’s probably checking the peephole, he thought. Finally, Christina answered the door in a small white negligee that left nothing to the imagination. She was barefoot and had let her hair down. Dan’s first thought was to grab her in his arms and take her upstairs to the bedroom, but he restrained himself. He drew a deep breath and clenched his fists.
Christina opened the door wide and walked down the corridor. “Come in!” she yelled over her shoulder.
Dan walked inside and closed the door behind him. He followed her into the kitchen and saw her picking up a glass of wine, which was already served on the kitchen counter.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked, and he felt weird at the impersonal tone of her voice. So it was over, he thought. She’d probably used him for her own purposes, and now, she wanted him to realize that their relationship had come to an end.
Dan stood at the kitchen door, watching her. She was in the process of cutting a salad, and she went on with her task as if he wasn’t even there. However, from time to time, she was giving him sideway glances.
The way her body moved destroyed him, and he couldn’t remember what he had prepared to say. He marched to the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of beer, and took it to the living room. A few minutes later, she came, too. She sat in the armchair across from him, crossing her beautiful, naked legs.
Dan coughed to clear his thought and stared straight into her eyes. “We have to talk,” he said.
“I know,” she replied simply.
“I want to know what’s going on between you and Fabiani.”
She glanced at him, surprised.
“I saw you at the airport,” he replied to the question in her eyes.
“Oh, I see… So you’re spying on me.”
“I’m not spying on you,” he burst out, irritated. “I went to the airport for Fabiani. I didn’t expect to see you there.”
She rose to her feet and walked over to the window.
Dan wished that she wouldn’t do that—the tempting way her body moved sent his thoughts scattered in every direction. “Why don’t you go get dressed?” he suggested abruptly.
She turned surprised and looked at him. Then she smiled wickedly. “Why?” she teased him. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“That’s exactly the point,” he sprung to his feet. “You’re not wearing anything. This thing hardly covers your…” The words trailed off, and he swallowed hard, feeling his passion rising.
“And you don’t like what you see?” she asked and moved slowly, seductively toward him.
Dan took a step back and breathed out heavily. “Christina, cut it out! I came over here to talk, and I’m in no mood for playing games!” he yelled at her.
“Okay,” she responded, shrugging her shoulders, and walked back to sink in the armchair. “Let’s talk.”
“So,” Dan said and sat back down. “What is your relationship with Fabiani?”
“Are you jealous?” she asked and stared at him with half-closed eyes.
Dan stared back at her and tried to decide what to do. Was she playing games again, or was she trying to buy time? His instinct as a policeman told him that she wasn’t as relaxed as she appeared—probably not ready to answer questions about Fabiani.
“Christina, I’m done playing with you. Are you going to answer my questions, or am I going to have to drag your ass to the police station for questioning?” he bluffed. “Alexis can’t wait to get his hands on you.”
She stared at him with eyes wide open in surprise.
“Listen,” he went on. “There is no time for fooling around. People are getting killed, and there is a lot at stake. So you better start talking.”
Christina swallowed hard and had another sip of her wine. “What do you mean people are getting killed? Who got killed?” she asked, and Dan noticed the slight trembling of her hand holding the glass of wine.
“You mean besides the massacre here at the mansion and on the yacht?” Dan asked sarcastically. “Your grandmother, for instance.”
He didn’t mean to tell her like that, but he wanted to shake her up. He saw her growing pale, and for a moment, he thought she was going to faint.
“What?” she whispered and dropped the glass. “Grandma is dead?”
“Yes!” Dan confirmed.
“I don’t believe you!” she yelled and jumped up, not paying attention to the wine, which had spilled everywhere and had made a large red stain on her negligee.
“Believe or not, she’s dead! Someone conveniently pushed her down the stairs,” he went on and watched her reactions.
&nb
sp; She was telling the truth, he decided. She didn’t know about the old lady’s death.
“I had nothing to do with this,” she said quickly, and for the first time, Dan noticed a light Italian accent in the tone of her voice.
He peered at her very carefully. She wrapped her arms around her body and started pacing back and forth in the living room, mumbling something that Dan couldn’t understand. Probably in Italian, he thought, and it suddenly dawn on him. This wasn’t Christina! How could I be so stupid? he thought, frustrated. I was blinded by my anger and didn’t pay attention to details. Now that she had her hair down, he could tell that her hair was a little shorter than Christina’s, and she looked skinnier, too. Besides, the way she moved and the way she talked was quite different. Christina was always a very serious, very reserved person. This girl was sexy, seductive, and provocative.
“Who are you?” he asked suddenly and saw her jump in surprise.
She met the stillness in his eyes and swallowed hard. “My name is Anna Maria Rosetti,” the girl replied, after a moment’s hesitation.
“And where is Christina?” Dan inquired.
“With Fabiani,” she responded.
“Where?”
“At his house in Fiscardo.”
“Get dressed!” he ordered her and grabbed his cell to call Alexis.
***
A few minutes later, they were in his car driving like a bat out of hell toward Fiscardo. The girl had curled up in her corner and hadn’t said a word. By the time they arrived at the house, Alexis’s unmarked Jeep and a couple other police cars were already there.
Dan jumped out of the car and rushed toward the house with a gun in his hands while Anna Maria remained in her seat. The policemen had surrounded the house.
“What’s going on?” Dan yelled at Alexis.
“We just got here,” Alexis replied.
“Okay, let’s go in!” Dan cried out.
“You stay out of this!” Alexis yelled. “The Greek police will take care of it.”
However, Dan didn’t pay any attention to him. All he could think about was Christina and finding her in time.