A Death In Tuscany (Sarah Woods Mystery Book 13) (3 page)

Chapter 5

I decided to head down the trail that pointed to the hot springs, mainly because it was familiar territory. With limited daylight left, I wanted to play it safe. The sun was already descending into the valley at 4:00, almost obscured by the heavy clouds. One hour until sunset.

I was aware of how constricted my lungs felt and surmised it must be the elevation. I’d read in one of the booklets that the commune San Casciano dei Bagni sat almost two thousand feet above sea level. That must be the reason I felt so out of breath. Usually, I can go five miles without much effort.

When I got to the hot springs area, I wasn’t surprised to find the place deserted at this time of day. I decided to have a look around, thinking that perhaps I’d find Carter’s missing money just lying around on the ground. I knew it was a fruitless effort, but I did it anyway. After a few minutes I had no luck in finding anything except a pair of dirty undies tucked under a bush. Yuck.

I wondered if Carter had made a mistake with his cash. I’ve done it countless times and I know how easy it is to lose track. Especially on vacation.

With no time to dilly dally, I decided to head back up the trail toward the villas.

As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one on the trail. Dick and Brittany were heading toward me, both carrying flashlights and towels. My first instinct was to run past them with a quick wave hello, but I was curious what they were up to.

“Going back for another soak?” I asked them. “You guys are brave.”

Brittany shrugged slightly and gave her husband a quick glance as if she were afraid she might say the wrong thing. “Well, actually I lost one of my diamond earrings this morning. Must have slipped out of my ear when I was changing out of my bathing suit. Probably on the ground here somewhere. That’s why we have the flashlights.”

“What a coincidence,” I said. “I was just looking for something, too.” I made a point not to mention the missing cash.

“Really?” Her eyes widened. “That’s so weird. You didn’t happen to see a diamond earring did you?”

“Sorry, I didn’t. But, good luck with the search.”

Dick had continued walking down the trail, completely ignoring me. “Come on Britt,” he said with an irritated flick of his hand. “We need to do this before it gets too dark.”

Britt offered me an apologetic look, but there was something about her expression that seemed off. “Enjoy the rest of your run,” she said, and quickly caught up to her husband.

When I got back to the room, Carter had just gotten out of the shower.

“How was your run?” he asked. “You weren’t gone very long.”

“It was fine.” I grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from my forehead. “I passed Dick and Brittany on the trail up from the hot springs. Apparently, Brittany lost one of her diamond earrings this morning and they were going to try and look for it. They had flashlights and towels, but I’m not sure what the towels are for. I can’t imagine they actually expect to find the earring floating in the water.”

Carter straightened and gave me a wide-eyed stare. “Maybe the same person who stole my cash has her earring.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but Brittany was acting strangely and her husband was being a prick as usual. I got the sense he didn’t want his wife talking to me.”

“You think she lied about her missing earring,” Carter asked.

“I don’t know, but what else would they be doing with those flashlights?”

Carter shrugged and gave me an innocent expression. “Maybe he collects rare insects. The ones that only come out at night.”

I gave him a playful punch on the arm. “Yeah, right, I’m sure that’s
exactly
what they’re up to.”

I opened my laptop and did a search online for a Richard and Brittany Thompson in the New York City area. I found a wedding announcement in a local paper with a thumbnail sized photo of the two of them. Neither Brittany nor Dick had Facebook accounts. A few articles I found about Dick were work related. He was a successful developer with a reputation for being a hard ass. I couldn’t find anything on Brittany Thompson. It might help if I knew her maiden name.

“Hey,” Carter said. “I’m starving. I thought you were gonna take a shower.”

“Sorry.” I closed the laptop and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

Two hours later, around 7:30pm, we headed down to the dining room for dinner. The usual suspects were all present. Lauren and Jamie were already sharing a bottle of red wine, while the couple from Canada were munching on focaccia bread. I noticed Brittany sitting at her table without her husband. She looked pretty in a silk blouse, her hair styled in a chic French braid. Despite her cheery disposition, once again I got the sense that something was wrong. I might not be an expert in body language, but I had learned a thing or two about reading people’s mannerisms. Brittany was chewing on a fingernail. Now, I surmised she wasn’t a nail biter because her fingernails were neatly manicured. So something must have been bothering her.

“Did you find your earring?” I asked her.

At first, she looked at me with confusion, but then she cleared her throat and said, “No luck. It’s like a needle in a haystack.” She chuckled softly but there was no hint of amusement in her eyes.

“Sorry to hear that.” I made a show of looking around. “I hope your husband hasn’t stood you up for dinner.” It was meant to be a joke but she didn’t smile.

“He’s still down at the hot springs. He said he wouldn’t come back till he found the darned thing. He can be very stubborn.”

I chose not to comment.

She glanced down at her lap and I got the hint that she’d rather be left alone, so I kindly bid her a nice evening and joined Carter at our table.

A new waitress appeared and introduced herself as Maria and proceeded to rattle off the entrée specials in perfect English. I ordered the lasagna and Carter ordered a grilled chicken plate with potatoes and beans.

“By the way,” I asked Maria. “Does Chiara have the night off? I don’t see her around.”

Maria paused and bit her lip. “Oh, I’m sorry. I think Chiara works in housekeeping now.”

“Really?” I said. “She’s no longer a waitress?”

Maria nodded, and seemed rather uncomfortable talking about it. “Yes, that’s right. I don’t really know why, but that’s what I’ve been told. Would you like a bottle of wine with dinner?”

“Yes,” Carter said, “Whatever you think will go best with the chef’s menu.”

After Maria left our table, I looked at Carter and I could tell he knew what I was thinking. “I bet Dick got her in trouble and now she’s been demoted.”

He shrugged. “Why do you really care? You barely know the girl.”

It was a valid question, but I didn’t have an exact answer. “I just feel badly if he got her in trouble, that’s all. She seemed like a sweet girl.”

Carter held up a hand to stop me. “I agree, but maybe there are other reasons we don’t know about. It’s none of our business, remember?”

I nodded with a sigh. “You’re right.”

Carter and I spent the next hour drinking wine, savoring the meal, and discussing our plans for the following day. We decided to make a day trip to Rome.

After Maria cleared the dinner plates and brought us two cups of Café Americano, I noticed Carter kept glancing over at Brittany. I had been so consumed with our delicious meal, I’d neglected to realize that she was still sitting alone.

I whispered to Carter. “Looks like Dick never showed for dinner. I’d be pissed.”

“Maybe we should invite her to have coffee with us,” he said. “I think she’s embarrassed.”

I turned in my seat to find Brittany picking at her plate. She’d barely eaten anything. I waved to get her attention.

She looked up, and her eyes had a glassy effect to them, kind of like someone who was stoned.

“Why don’t you join us for dessert or coffee?” I said.

Brittany smiled. “That’s nice of you, but I don’t want to impose.”

“It’s not an imposition,” I said. “Please join us.”

She set her fork down, stared at her plate for a second, then grabbed her purse and stood up. Carter pulled out a chair for her at our table.

“Thank you,” she said to Carter. “You both are so sweet. I must look pitiful eating all by myself.” She gave a nervous laugh. “Dick must still down at the hot springs.”

I checked my watch. “It’s after nine o’clock.”

“I’ve tried calling his cell phone, but it goes straight to voicemail. I’ve left several messages but he hasn’t called back.”

We lingered in awkward silence for half a minute and I observed her face. I could now understand why she wore so much make-up. She was trying to hide a bruise just under her left cheekbone. The foundation didn’t quite cover up the purplish hue underneath. Usually, I try not to jump to conclusions, but something inside me knew that her husband had caused that bruise.

Finally, Carter spoke up. “Brittany, is everything okay? Are you worried about something?”

She shook her head but not very convincingly. “No, why do you ask?”

“Does your husband often stand you up like this?”

She paused. “Well, no, but he’s been distracted lately, so I can understand how he lost track of time.”

Excuses, excuses. “You know,” I said carefully. “Maybe I shouldn’t bring this up, but why was he so angry at the waitress last night?”

Brittany’s eyebrows furrowed as if she had no clue what I was talking about.

“Chiara the waitress,” I said, ignoring Carter’s reprimanding glare. “What was that all about?”

Brittany straightened, as if I’d jogged her memory. “Oh, that. It was just a misunderstanding. The waitress couldn’t understand that Dick wanted his steak rare. I’m sorry if he made a scene.”

“I felt bad for Chiara,” I said, frankly. “She was quite embarrassed, I could tell.”

Brittany nodded. “I know. I apologized to her afterward and she seemed fine after that.”

“And yet,” I said, “She now works in housekeeping.”

Brittany’s nostrils flared slightly. “Oh, I didn’t know that. I hope it had nothing to do with Dick.”

“Anyway,” I said, trying to lighten the topic. “How long have you been married?”

“A few weeks. This is our honeymoon. We couldn’t come right after the wedding because of his work schedule.” She fondled the massive rock on her finger, staring at it longingly.

“Newlyweds,” Carter said. “How’d you two meet?”

She hesitated. “You really want to hear the boring story?”

“Why not?”

Maria brought over the coffee and asked Brittany if she’d like a coffee or a
digestif
. She kindly declined, asking only for a refill on her water.

“We met at the country club about three months ago,” Brittany continued, a wistful smile on her face. “I used to work some of their catering events. Dick was very sweet and we began dating.”

“A quick engagement,” I added.

“Yes. Things moved fast. He’s the kind of man, when he knows what he wants, he goes after it. Dick really is a good guy, I mean, his heart is in the right place. He just gets easily frustrated. I’ve read that people like him with type
A
personalities tend to have high expectations of others and themselves.”

Clearly she was making excuses for the fact that he was an inconsiderate jerk. I decided to change the subject. “So, is this your first time in Italy?”

“Yes.” Brittany shifted nervously in her chair as she checked her watch. “I’m sorry to be rude, but I’m pretty exhausted. I think I’ll head back to the villa now. Thanks for inviting me to sit with you.”

“It was nice chatting,” Carter said. “Will you be fine walking back on your own?”

She got to her feet, grabbed her clutch and offered us one last smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

After she was gone, Carter and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. “Did you see the shiner?” I asked him, tapping the side of my face. “On her left cheek.”

Carter nodded. “Yeah, I saw it. But that doesn’t mean her husband did it.”

“Hmm,” I said. “You’re right. I’m sure she just walked into a door.”

As we left the restaurant to head back to our villa, Lauren and Jamie approached us.

“We don’t mean to be nosy,” Jamie said. “We couldn’t help but notice that you invited Brittany to sit with you. Did she tell you why her husband stood her up tonight?”

I hesitated to comment but I figured there was no harm. “She lost a diamond earring down at the hot springs this morning. I guess he’s determined to find it.”

The sisters looked at each other in bewilderment. Lauren said, “He’s still down there? In the dark? Is he crazy?”

I shrugged. “If the earring is anything like her engagement ring, it’s worth a small fortune.”

Lauren pursed her lips and I got the sense she wanted to comment further. “I heard them arguing this afternoon, must have been around three or three-thirty. They were on the balcony and our window was open, so I could hear everything they said. He was going on and on about a gold nugget that he found at the hot springs this morning. He was insistent on going back there to look for more. I think she’s lying about the earring bit.”