“What was it you wanted to see me about?” Dickce asked. She was pleased to know that her sister’s interest was engaged. That would make things easier.
“After you and Benjy left, I came to a startling realization,” An’gel said.
“You realized that Rosabelle had made herself an even bigger target by declaring her intention to move to Italy with Antonio.”
“I thought you would probably see that, too.” An’gel shook her head. “I am concerned over what could happen tonight. The killer may be even more desperate now.”
“He or she might also target Antonio,” Dickce said. “I hadn’t thought of it before, but that would also be a way to stop Rosabelle from moving to Italy.”
“Possibly,” An’gel said. “But Rosabelle could inherit substantial property in Italy. I can’t imagine that Antonio’s son, Benedetto—wasn’t that the name?—that Benedetto would be happy to have an American stepmother taking part of what he thinks of as rightfully his.”
“True.” Dickce felt a paw on her leg, and she resumed rubbing Diesel’s head. “I have to say, after hearing that conversation in Italian, I have an odd feeling about this Benedetto.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember I told you that he was talking to a man, whom he addressed as mio caro?”
An’gel nodded. “That may simply be a term of affection for his son. It’s not something an American man might do, but he’s Italian.”
“Rosabelle said something a bit odd, too, in reference to Benedetto. It was right before you came up and startled me.” Dickce paused for a moment. “Antonio said, ‘I must think of Benedetto. He is my son.’ Then Rosabelle said, ‘So you say.’ Don’t you think that’s a strange response?”
“In the context of changing his will, no, not necessarily. That could be all Rosabelle meant. ‘So you say you have to consider your son.’”
“I suppose,” Dickce replied. “Maybe I’m making too much out of it. There was something about the tone of his voice during that phone conversation.”
“We’re both letting our imaginations go into overdrive, I think, thanks to the stress of the situation.” An’gel shook her head. “Back to what I originally wanted to tell you. I called Kanesha right away to tell her about Rosabelle’s plans, and she’s on her way here.”
The doorbell rang, and Dickce started. “Perfect timing.”
“Let’s go.” An’gel rose from the desk and headed out of the library. Dickce and Diesel followed.
An’gel opened the door to admit Kanesha, who greeted them both. Diesel started to dart out once the deputy was inside. He made it onto the verandah, but Dickce moved quickly enough to grab him. She got him back inside and waited for An’gel to shut the door.
An’gel wasn’t moving. Instead she stood there staring out at the driveway and frowning.
Dickce released the cat and shut the door herself. She did take a peek at the driveway, but all she saw was Kanesha’s patrol car. What was so strange about that?
CHAPTER 28
“There’s no car,” An’gel said. She stared at the door as if she could see through it.
“Yes, there is,” Dickce replied, obviously puzzled. “Kanesha’s squad car is right there on the driveway.”
“Are you all right, Miss An’gel?” Kanesha asked. “Were you expecting another car?”
“There should be another car in the driveway,” An’gel said. “All our other guests have put their cars behind the house, near the garage. I should have realized it earlier, when he arrived.”
“What are you talking about, Sister?” Dickce said.
“Antonio,” An’gel replied. “There’s no car in the driveway, so how did he get here? He surely didn’t walk.”
“That’s definitely strange,” Kanesha said. “He could have taken a taxi from Athena.”
“Then how did he get to Athena? Surely he didn’t take a taxi all the way down from Memphis—assuming that he flew into Memphis, that is.” An’gel couldn’t make sense of it.
“We’ll just have to ask him,” Dickce said. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.” She chuckled. “Unless he got beamed down from the mother ship.”
An’gel threw her a sour look. She turned to Kanesha. “Let’s go into the library. Dickce and I have a few things to share with you before you talk to Rosabelle.”
An’gel resumed her seat at the desk, and Kanesha and Dickce took chairs near it. Diesel sat in front of the deputy and chirped.
“Yes, cat, I see you,” Kanesha said. Her hands remained on the arms of her chair. Diesel looked at her for a moment before turning and going to sit by An’gel’s chair.
“Dickce, tell Kanesha about the phone conversation you overheard,” An’gel said.
Dickce gave a quick summary of Antonio’s side of the conversation.
“You’re sure that he was talking to a man?” Kanesha asked when she finished.
“Yes,” Dickce replied. “We think it could have been his son in Italy, but the tone of the words sounded a bit, well, intimate, for the lack of any other word.”
“The main point is that he promised this person he was going to ask Rosabelle for a divorce,” An’gel said. “There was no hint of it otherwise in his demeanor toward Rosabelle.”
“That could be a side issue that has nothing to do with the murder,” Kanesha said. “The main point, it seems to me, is the plan to move to Italy and the effect that could have.” She frowned. “What should I call her? Sultan was her maiden name, wasn’t it?”
An’gel nodded. “We still think of her that way. Keeping track of the three husbands and their names seemed like too much trouble. Antonio’s surname is Mingione, but he also has a title, Conte di San Lorenzo.”
“That makes her the contessa, then?” Kanesha asked.
“Yes,” Dickce said. “Now that she wants to go live in Italy, you can bet she’s going to make the most of it, too.”
“Until we solve this case, I can’t allow her to leave the country,” Kanesha said. “She’s a suspect along with most of her family.”
“The only exceptions being Benjy and Junior, right?” Dickce said. “Because they had no opportunity to go upstairs and set the stage for the accident.”
Kanesha nodded. “I’ve ruled them out. I need to talk to the contessa and her husband now. I need to make sure she understands the situation.”
An’gel rose. “I’ll go up and let them know you want to talk to them.” She didn’t relish the prospect of interrupting whatever little tête-à-tête Rosabelle and Antonio might be having. She couldn’t put it off, however. When she arrived at Rosabelle’s room, she tapped lightly on the door. She heard nothing from inside the room. Were they asleep? She rapped soundly three times, and after a moment, Rosabelle opened the door. She was in her dressing gown, and An’gel felt a bit awkward.
She looked at the doorknob as she spoke. “Sorry to bother you, but Chief Deputy Berry is here. She needs to speak to you and to Antonio right away.”
“Now?” Rosabelle sounded peevish. “I suppose we might as well get it over with. Tell her we’ll be down in about ten minutes.”
The door shut in An’gel’s face. Rosabelle hadn’t even given her time to tell her where Kanesha was waiting for them. An’gel turned and went back downstairs.
“They’ll be down in ten minutes,” she reported to the deputy.
“Thank you, Miss An’gel,” Kanesha said.
“Have you made any progress with this case?” An’gel asked.
“Not really,” Kanesha replied. “I have gone over all the statements several times, and there isn’t anything in them that is all that helpful. No one saw anything. There were no fingerprints on either the tube of Vaseline or the water pistol.”
“So frustrating,” An’gel said. “At some point, if you can’t resolve this, you’ll have to let all of them leave, won’t you?”