AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"If she was involved in the robbery, and she's tight with Captain Lavezzo, then that says something about him."
"We need to talk to her.Let's see if we can track her down."
"This might be the break we've been looking for, Nick.But why didn't Sam tell us about her last night?"
"He said he just remembered.Honestly, I feel like we're pawns in some game he's playing.You suggested misdirection before.I'm not sure you were wrong."
"Well, it should be possible to verify Catherine's true identity.Sam would know that you have FBI resources to check that out."
"Yes, he would.Sam said he wants to help me, because it's what Flynn would want him to do.Maybe it's not a game; I don't know.But that's not important right now."
"We can try to talk to Catherine tonight, but I don't think she'll tell us anything in this crowd of people."
"I agree.We might have to wait until tomorrow.We could go to her house or the museum and try to catch her alone."
"I hate to wait even a second, though.Let's try to see what we can get from her tonight."
He was about to reply when something caught the corner of his eye.
An object was falling from the third floor of the villa.He jumped back, pushing Isabella to the side as it hit the pool next to them with a heavy splash.A woman screamed, as he stared in shock at the body floating in the pool next to them.
"Oh, my God," Isabella cried."That's Catherine."
He jumped into the pool along with two security guys.Together, they pulled the woman out of the water and laid her on the deck, one guard administering CPR.But she wasn't responding and there was blood pouring from her head and neck.The crowd by the pool was hushed in terrified silence that would only be broken if Catherine took a breath.But her eyes remained closed, her body still.
A man came out of the crowd, claiming to be a doctor.Another woman rushed to help, saying she was a nurse.As Catherine's body was surrounded, he took Isabella's hand and pulled her away from the pool.They stood under the shadow of a large tree.
"Is she going to make it?"Isabella asked.
He looked into her eyes and shook his head."No.She's dead."
"Oh, God, Nick!Do you think she jumped?"
"No.Someone killed her."
Isabella's eyes widened in shock and fear."Right here?In the middle of a party."
"It looks that way."He suddenly realized what was coming."The police will be all over this party soon.We're going to be questioned along with everyone else.You saw nothing.You heard nothing.You know nothing about her."
"But I did see something.I saw her talking to Captain Lavezzo."
"A high-ranking officer of the Carabinieri.We don't know who we can trust.He could have friends in the police department.We have to be careful.If anyone asks why you're here, simply say you love art and you wanted to support the charity.Don't talk about the museum robbery, David Leoni, Tomas and Lucinda, no one."
She met his gaze and slowly nodded."Got it.I'll keep my mouth shut."
"You have to, Isabella.Your life might depend on it."
ChapterTwenty
Isabella was exhausted and still shaken when they returned to the house a little before eleven on Sunday night.They'd spent hours at the villa.No one could leave after Catherine's shocking death.The guests had been questioned one by one by officers from the state police.They hadn't been allowed to speak to anyone, including each other, while they were waiting, and the entire party had been sequestered in the downstairs rooms while the third floor had been examined for evidence.The police had given out little information, but it seemed certain that they believed one of the guests had pushed Catherine off the third-floor balcony.
When they'd been questioned, they'd been asked if they knew Catherine.They admitted to having met her once because their grandmothers volunteered at the museum.They also had to give statements about what they had witnessed since they had been very close to the pool where Catherine had landed.However, that fact seemed to make them less interesting to the inspector questioning them.They could not have physically pushed her off the balcony and then been by the pool when she fell.It was a relief to finally be allowed to go home.
As they entered the kitchen together, she immediately moved to the kettle and filled it with water while Nick went upstairs to take off his still-damp clothes.While the water was heating, she sat down at the table and kicked off her heels.Then she grabbed a pear out of the basket on the table, only to realize the irony of eating fruit from a basket that Catherine had delivered only the day before.
Images of Catherine's limp body floated through her head, and she felt sick to her stomach.She didn't think she'd ever forget the sound of Catherine's body hitting the water, or the sight of her blood filling the pool.How quickly Catherine's life had changed.She'd been beautiful, vibrant, alive and then she was dead.
She was still staring at the pear when Nick returned in jeans and a T-shirt.She quickly returned the fruit to the basket."I can't eat this.Not after what just happened."She licked her lips."When Catherine hit the pool, I didn't even realize it was a person.I thought something had fallen off the roof.But you figured it out immediately.You jumped right in.You tried to save her."
