temptation in florence 03 - bankers death (4 page)

Uncle Teo cleared his throat. “It's good that you're all here, so you'll all be informed at the same time. I'm afraid I have to tell you bad news.”

Ernesto's head shot up so fast that his red hair flopped back. He stared at his great-uncle with wide open eyes, but he didn't say a word.

“What is it?” Fabbiola bent forward until her chest almost touched the gray bread pudding.

Uncle Teo hesitated. “You see, I . . . . “ he took another deep breath. His voice sounded brittle. “I thought I would be very clever and invest some money, so you'll be all set, even after my death.”

“But we're fine as we are!” Fabbiola lifted her eyebrows. “You've always helped us when there was need.”

Uncle Teo gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, my dear. However, it's not enough, and I wanted to leave you in a better situation when I'm gone.”

“But . . . “ Annalisa shook her shiny red hair. “I don't understand . . . “

Uncle Teo held up a hand. “Let me finish, please.” He was quiet for a minute, as if he had to find the inner strength to go on.

The clock above the door ticked through the silence.

“To make a long story short,” he finally said, “I gave Valentino money to invest, and he lost it.”

“What?” Benedetta jumped up. “He's a good-for-nothing loser, that one! I knew it! Can you go to the police? How can he lose the money you've given him?”

“Please sit down,” Uncle Teo closed his eyes for a moment. “This is not a case for the police. I gave Valentino the money voluntarily. He promised to triple it within one year, but something went wrong.” He lifted his thin shoulders. “I can't say I understand it all, but he can't return the money at the moment.”

“But . . . “ Fabbiola frowned. “Is it a lot of money? Did he say he would return it at a later point of time?”

Uncle Teo sat as if frozen. “It does not seem to be possible to get the money back in the immediate future. He says we have to wait.”

“But in that case, it's not so bad,” Carlina wanted to do anything to wipe that look of hopelessness from her great-uncle's face. She bent forward and covered his hand with hers. “You just wait a little longer, and maybe Valentino can return the money next year or so.” However, even as the words left her mouth, she remembered the mysterious “they” who “wanted the money back”. Who were they? Why was it so urgent?

Uncle Teo shook his head. “We don't have time. You see, the bank is asking for it.”

“The bank?” Benedetta frowned. “But these were your savings. They should not have any say in that at all. After all, you can do what you want with your savings.”

“These weren't my savings.” Uncle Teo sighed. “It was a mortgage I took up on this house, and I have to pay it back immediately, or we'll all be kicked out.”

For an instant, nobody said anything. It was as if a silent bomb had exploded, leaving nothing in its wake, not even a tremor of feeling.

Then Annalisa jumped up and screamed. “Are you telling us we're all going to be on the street, homeless?”

Uncle Teo stared at the table without moving.

“Annalisa, please.” Her mother got up and put her arms around her. “Pull yourself together. I'm sure it's not as bad as that? Teo?” She looked over her shoulder.

“I'm sorry, Benedetta.” Uncle Teo didn't meet her eyes.

“But . . . “ Ernesto paled. “I'm sure there's a mistake somewhere. Valentino wouldn't do this to us.”

Uncle Teo didn't reply. He just moved his head from right to left in slow motion.

“Where is he anyway?” Fabbiola pushed her chin forward. “I want to talk to him. Let him explain what's happening!”

“He's in a business meeting all day,” Uncle Teo said. “I'm not sure at what time we can expect him at home tonight.”

“Home!” Lucio's voice was fierce. “I can't believe he would dare to come here again, after what he has done!”

Uncle Teo shrugged. “I took out the mortgage. I believed him. It was my mistake, not his.”

“But he promised to return the money three times!” Red blotches of anger appeared on Fabbiola's face. “And now he says it's all gone. How can he do that?” Her voice got louder with every word. “At the same time, he's flaunting his riches, drives around in a Mercedes convertible and shows everybody who wants to see it or not a platinum watch from some famous Swiss company that probably cost more than half the house!”

“It cost twenty-five thousand Euros.” Ernesto's voice was bitter.

“There you go!” Fabbiola clenched her hands into fists. “But he says he has no money! Let him sell the watch, I say!”

Again, Uncle Teo shook his head. “This is not getting us anywhere, Fabbiola. The watch is nothing compared to this property. It's right in the historical center of Florence, and it may be old, but it's in top shape, and it has seven large apartments. Investors would pay a million or two to get it.”

Benedetta's eyes widened. “Did you get a million from the bank?”

Uncle Teo swallowed so hard that Carlina saw his Adam's apple move. “More.”

Deflated, Fabbiola dropped back onto her seat.

Annalisa lifted her head and twisted out of her mother's hug. “I honestly can't understand how the bank can have been stupid enough to give you a million Euros or more for this house, when they had no idea what you wanted to do with it.”

“They knew.” Uncle Teo's voice was low.

Carlina winced. He had always been so self-confident, and now, nothing was left. He could not even look into his own mirror anymore.
Damn Valentino.

“They knew?” Annalisa lifted her shoulders. “How can they have known that you wanted to gamble with it and have given it to you anyway?”

“They probably hoped it would happen.” Leopold Morin spoke for the first time. His voice was calm, and his face was filled with pity as he looked at his friend, sitting shrunken in his chair.

“No, no, that's not correct,” Uncle Teo shook his head yet another time. “They did say there was a chance to get the money back - of course we didn't tell them we wanted to triple it - and they believed that Valentino could do it. The bank even made us take out a life-insurance to cover the risk of anything happening to Valentino.”

Total silence reigned after his last sentence, but it felt as if a current of strong electricity was sweeping through the room.

Carlina saw Annalisa's eyes lightening up. Her own eyes widened.
Oh, no.

Emma, who had not said a word so far, straightened in her chair and pulled back her shoulders. “Are you telling us that you'll get the million back if Valentino dies?”

Carlina held her breath. How typical of Emma to bring things to the point.

Uncle Teo eyed Emma with mistrust. “That is the case, yes, but . . . ”

“Perfect.” Emma spread her exquisitely manicured hands. “So let's kill him.”

The family perked up.

Carlina gasped.
I don't believe this.

“If you kill him, you won't get anything.” Leopold Morin's calm voice cut through the speculative silence. “That's the law.”

Bravo, Leo.
Carlina smiled at him.
That's the only way to discuss things in this family - pretend to go along and point out the holes in the plot.

Uncle Teo cleared his throat. “Actually, the life insurance specifically mentions that the manner of his death would not matter. It seems that life in Dubai has its dangers, and they thought it would be wise to add this as a precaution.”

“Life in Dubai is nowhere near as dangerous as life in Italy.” Emma smiled like a very happy tiger.

Lucio looked at her with a puzzled frown. “But, darling, you must be joking. If you kill your cousin, Carlina's Commissario will investigate the whole thing, and we'll all end up in prison.”

Emma winked at Carlina. “Oh, I doubt that he would investigate us so very closely. After all, he can't very well have relations in prison and continue with his career.”

Carlina's throat constricted. She knew that Emma often uttered threats she didn't mean, but on the other hand, Emma had a strong streak of self-preservation - some might call it egotism - and for the moment, she could not judge how serious she was. “Stefano would definitely not investigate this case.” She tried to make her voice final, as if she knew it for sure. “He already tried to get out of the last case because our family was involved, and at that time, we hadn't even started to go out together. So don't kid yourselves.”

Fabbiola bent forward. “He would do it for you, my dear.” She gave her daughter a sunny smile. “A man in love will do anything.”

Carlina jumped up. “I can't believe I'm having this conversation. First, nobody will kill Valentino. You must be out of your minds to even discuss it!”

“He deserves it,” Annalisa inspected her nails with a slight frown. “No doubt several families in Dubai would cheer if we did the job for them. He seems to specialize on seducing women as a sideline.”

Carlina glared at her and decided to ignore that comment. “Second, even if you did kill Valentino, I would under no circumstances at all ask Stefano to do the investigation and to hide incriminating material. Have you all gone crazy? How could I put our relationship under so much strain?”

Fabbiola turned down the corners of her mouth. “I think you could show a little bit more family loyalty.”

“Mama! We're talking about murder here! Haven't you ever heard of some of the simple rules that our society is based on? Like the one that you can't kill everyone who happens to be in your way?”

“My, my, what high roads we're traveling.” Emma lifted a mocking eyebrow. “I believe you've not quite grasped the implications.” Her beautiful mouth hardened. “If we get thrown out of this house, I would have to live with Lucio's mother.”

Her husband flinched.

“And you, my dear, would have to move into a tiny apartment together with Fabbiola.” Emma's words were level.

Carlina closed her eyes in sudden pain. It was true. She had not thought this far.
Oh, God. What a nightmare.
With an effort, she pulled herself together. “I still don't think we should all sit here and calmly plan Valentino's death.”

Uncle Teo lifted a trembling hand. “Carlina is right. If you need to kill anybody, kill me. It was my mistake.”

“But your life isn't insured,” Emma's voice was even. “So that wouldn't get us anywhere.”

Carlina blinked.
I'll wake up in a minute. I'm having a very bad dream. This is worse than the Mafia.

“Emma!” Benedetta shook her head. “You're going too far. I understand that you want to kill Valentino, and I think he deserves it,” she glanced at her son, “after all, he also tried to kill Ernesto, and . . . “

Ernesto lifted both hands. “Mama, please! He did NOT try to kill me. Hundreds of people have survived bungee-jumping!”

His mother pressed her red lips together. “I will not discuss this anymore. However, isn't there another solution? Can't we borrow the money from somewhere else until Valentino manages to return it?”

Annalisa snorted. “Valentino is not the kind of guy to return money. Ever.”

Uncle Teo gave her a worried look.

“I'm afraid I agree,” Leopold Morin said. “I'd like to offer you something, but I don't have the million you need.” He looked at his folded hands. “Nowhere near, in fact.”

Uncle Teo smiled at him. “Thank you, Leo, but you're a friend, not family. I would not take money from you.”

“I would,” Emma said. “But I think that the amount is way too big for us. We'll have to wait for the life insurance to kick in.”

Suddenly, Carlina felt sick and only wanted to put as much distance as possible between herself and her family. Besides, she wasn't hungry anymore. “I've got to go to work.” She jumped up. “In the meantime, please don't kill anybody. We'll think of a solution somehow.”

She gave Uncle Teo a peck on his cheek and hurried from the apartment.

Out on the cobbled street, she took a deep breath. The sun had come out and basked the family house in golden light. Carlina lifted her face to its warmth, hungry for something good and comforting, to take away the chill deep inside her. Her hand was already feeling for her phone, but just before she pressed the button that would speed-dial Garini's number, she hesitated. Every instinct inside her screamed to run to him, to be calmed by his unshakable approach to things, to hear his sensible voice, soothing her, but suddenly, she realized that it might have an odd effect if she called him half-way on the road to being a hysterical wreck, telling him that her family was planning a murder. He had already resigned himself to many of their oddities, but this one might just be a bit too much to swallow - particularly if she threw in the fact that her mother expected him to put the interests of the Mantoni family over his professional ethics. Under no circumstances did she want to corrupt him.

Her hand fell back to her side, and with a feeling as if her last resort had fallen away from her, she straddled her Vespa and rode back to her store Temptation. The first Easter tourists were flocking into town, and she had to concentrate to avoid running them down. They were apt to walk into the middle of the street, their gaze on some monument or statue, transported into another world, not realizing that the here and now might need some attention, too - or might even present a danger.

As if her thoughts had conjured him up, a man walked right in front of her, crossing the street in a hurry without looking right or left. She swerved at almost a right angle, lost her balance, and fought with the heavy weight of the Vespa. Her hands grasped the brakes with all her strength; her shoulder hurt from the effort to keep the machine upright. At the last moment, she managed to regain her balance and stopped, her heart in her throat.

The man who had caused her problem had long since disappeared down one of the narrow historic streets. Carlina took a shuddering breath. Her knees trembled so hard that she didn't dare to continue to drive.

“Are you all right?” The voice came from her left, from the newspaper booth covered with colorful magazines and daily newspapers. The black-haired owner of the newspaper booth bent out of his little window, his impressive mustache quivering. “I saw everything. He must have been a lunatic. Are you all right, dear?”