Page 41 of Chasing Caine
“After—”
Before I could finish, Carabiniere De Rosa and his partner returned. “Thank you for your cooperation. You’re free to go.”
The three of us left through the atrium door and made our way back to Via di Nola. Antonio ran his hand from my shoulder down my arm and raised an eyebrow. “As I was saying… I get you back after we speak with Bianca?”
I wanted to find the missing fresco for him. We worked so well together at the auction last month, when we proved one of the paintings had been stolen. And despite its foregone conclusion, we worked well together on the burned Chagall copy. Why didn’t he want to do this with me? Sure, it wasn’t touristy stuff and it couldn’t be done from the comfort of a bedroom, but wasn’t our goal to get to know each other better? Mario said Antonio told him art crimes were important to me, but did he think it was just a fun little side hobby? Didn’t he realize just how important it was?
No, maybe not. There was so much I hadn’t told him yet.
I said, “We’ll speak to Bianca, go to the museum, then go—”
He nestled his face against the side of my head as we walked, lips brushing my ear, hot breath and voice quiet enough for me alone. “Back to bed?”
That depended on what Bianca had to say. What if it was an intentional omission? What if there was something suspicious? Something else missing she hadn’t mentioned. Something else Antonio knew but hadn’t told me.
Carabiniere De Rosa all but accused him of stealing the pots and fresco already.
Was that just a suspicious nature or was there something else behind it?
Had Nathan been right about Antonio all along?
Chapter 15
Samantha
Thevastscalemodelof the Pompeii site spread out across the center of the room. The model provided a unique perspective of the city, showing how the excavations stood over a century ago. Each wall was hand-painted to match how it had looked when unearthed. Many of the walls had deteriorated at the actual site since the model was completed, so it was an even more remarkable example of the city’s original grandeur.
Couples, families, and individuals moved through the space, taking cursory glances at it, but it was most popular with the children. It was difficult to absorb the enormity of Pompeii any other way.
A drawing of the city hung on the wall opposite us, frescoes stood in the room next to us, and statuary lay beyond. The National Archaeological Museum should have been a highlight of my visit. Three hours ago, I’d been excited to come.
But all I saw was Carabiniere De Rosa quizzing Antonio. Mario revealing they already knew about the missing pigments.
And Bianca. What did she have to say for herself? A shoulder shrug and ‘I didn’t think they were related.’
Unbelievable. Just as useless as Antonio’s ‘I didn’t think it was important.’ How could a missing fresco and the missing pigment pots—both under the control of the Pompeii conservators and vanishing in the same week—notbe related?
And the worst part? I had nowhere else to go. No other clues to follow. No links, no people, nothing to do. Whoever took all those things was probably going to get away with it.
“I was thinking,” said Mario. “When Samantha leaves you for me, perhaps you could pick up Umberto?”
Antonio laughed. The two of them had been back to their normal joking selves the moment we left the lab, as though the interview at the site hadn’t even happened. “I don’t think his girlfriend would be happy about that.”
“Or maybe she would!”
They continued giggling like schoolgirls, probably waggling eyebrows or winking at each other. The laughter died faster than it likely would have if I’d joined in—if my arms weren’t crossed and I wasn’t staring daggers at the model. I was being a piss-poor tourist.
Antonio and I had only known each other for four-and-a-half weeks. Hard to imagine it was so short at times, but it was clear in a moment like this. On the way to the museum, he’d told meagainthat the investigation wasn’t my job, tried explaining the role of the Carabinieri to me like I didn’t know, and attempted to distract me by suggesting we could hike the Amalfi Coast.
The last one caught my attention. If he hadn’t been an ass about the investigation, it probably would have worked.
“I’ll see if I can get you access to the archives.” Mario patted Antonio on the back and whispered something to him.
Antonio slid his arm around my waist and kissed my temple. “Penny for your thoughts?”
Relationships took time to build. That didn’t happen overnight.Let him in. Stop pushing him away.“The site’s so easy to get into. The thief could be anyone.”
“Sì, this is true.”