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"I agree.But first, maybe we should talk more about Marcus and his accident."
"There's nothing to talk about," he said shortly."We need more information.Without it, we're just going around in circles."
"Why don't you talk to Stefano?He worked with Marcus.He said your grandfather was a mentor to him.Perhaps Marcus talked to him about whatever he was looking into?"
"That's a thought.My grandmother told me that my grandfather was getting a lot of calls in the weeks before he died, that he seemed stressed out about something, and he said he needed to help someone.She just didn't know who.She thought it was a friend and most of his friends were from his days as a police officer, but he'd been retired for at least a decade before he showed up at that school last year asking questions.That's partly why I can't wrap my head around what he was doing.It couldn't have been official police business."
"But he told Victoria he was with the police department.He made it sound like he was on official business," she reminded him.
"That's true," he muttered."But he probably just wanted to use his former position to get answers."
"I think Stefano is your best bet.He left his card."She got up and walked over to the counter where her grandmother had put Stefano's card next to her address book, which she was still more comfortable using than her phone contact list.She handed it to Nick."I know you don't trust him, but it's worth a call."
"I'll call him.At the very least, he can tell me about the crash that took my grandfather's life," he said heavily.
She gave him a long, thoughtful look."Are you okay, Nick?"
He met her gaze."I'll be fine."
"Meaning you're not right now."
He shrugged."Meaning you don't have to worry about me.What are you going to do now?"
She was going to say she'd get on the call with him, but it looked like he wanted to do this on his own.Since it had to do with his grandfather, whom he adored, she decided to give him space."I thought I'd look in the attic, just to see if there's anything else tucked away that might be helpful."
"I'll join you in a bit."
She nodded, then said, "We're going to figure it out, Nick."
He met her gaze."I hope so, Isabella, but I have a terrible feeling my grandfather thought the exact same thing, and then he was dead."
Isabella's face paled at his words, and Nick mentally kicked himself for sounding so harsh.Not that what he'd said wasn't true.But Isabella had just survived a brutal attack and probably didn't need a reminder of the danger they were in.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"You don't have to apologize for speaking the truth.But we're going to make sure we don't meet the same fate, right?"
"There's no guarantee."
"I never thought there was."She put a hand as he opened his mouth."Don't tell me again to leave.It's a waste of your breath and my time.I'm going upstairs to look around the attic.Let me know what you find out from Stefano."
After Isabella left the kitchen, he took several deep, calming breaths, knowing he was far too worked up and personally invested, and that was a dangerous combination.He needed to look at the situation without letting his family connections color his thinking.But he had to admit that learning about his grandfather's visit to the school, his questions about Juliette, and the fire had rattled him.Thinking about the way his grandfather had died had only shaken him up more.He'd never thought it was anything but an accident.Now, he was almost a hundred percent convinced it was not.And he blamed himself for not having questioned the solo car crash when it happened.
Maybe if his grandfather hadn't been eighty years old and retired, he would have done that.But he'd just assumed that the storm and the wet roads had combined with his grandfather's aging eyesight and slower reflexes to result in an accident.Clearly, his grandfather had been a lot sharper than he'd given him credit for.
He didn't trust Stefano, but he punched in his number, anyway.He had to find out whatever he could.And Isabella was right.If his grandfather had spoken to anyone in the police department, it was probably someone he'd mentored, felt close to, and that was Stefano.
"Inspector Gangi," Stefano answered in a crisp voice.
"It's Nick Caruso."
"How I can be of service?"
"I have a few questions."He decided to start with an art question and then work his way to his grandfather."Have you heard of a group calledLa Mano Nera?"
"Sí.They were responsible for multiple art thefts in the sixties."
"It's my understanding that the crew always wore black gloves, which fits the description of the men at the museum."
