Deception of the Heart (8 page)

Her good mood held all through the dinner and the following coffee and cake in the
salotto
. Only when they were bidding their goodbyes, the first work session between Pete and Daniel planned for the following morning, did she feel a sudden sense of worry that refused to be dismissed. She glanced back at the Spitieris standing in their impressive doorway with Jonathan, his back casually propped against the frame. She didn’t know why she felt the need to turn around once more. Maybe she wanted to wave, or smile… Or maybe it was something else commanding her to look back, an invisible force that had already taken over without her even noticing.

They were watching
Pete and Melanie, which wasn’t so unusual. Yet there was a sense of urgency and seriousness in their eyes, all the cheerfulness from just mere moments ago wiped away as if it didn’t ever happen. She swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the sudden bubble of hysteria rising in her throat, as she tripped on the stones paving the driveway. They looked… worried, to say the least. Worried and guarded, like people expecting the worst and ready to deal with it. She had no idea why they would feel that way. They all smiled the moment she looked, but they were just one millisecond too late to make her doubt what she saw.

She would have to talk to Pete about it, given a chance. Right now, he rushed her into the waiting car, talking about the one he had rented for them starting tomorrow instead of today, as he initially planned. An unexpected mishap at the airport caused by some glitch cancelled his order
, and Daniel’s gracious offer to lend them his car and his driver had saved the day and their budget. He insisted on them using his machine, explaining wryly that he himself was a horrible driver and relied on the service of his trusty chauffeur, Paolo.

As she
sat in the car and listened to Pete’s litany of complaints, starting with the airport and ending with the indulgent lifestyle that offered chauffeurs, maids, and cooks, she was soon distracted from her bizarre observation at the door. She hoped the chauffeur didn’t speak English well enough to understand Pete, and she cringed at the thought that he just might. But apparently her worries were unfounded, for his serene smile didn’t waver once all the way to their hotel downtown. By the time they got out of the car, the velvety darkness of an Italian night wrapping around them like a diamond studded cloak, she had forgotten it all together. The thought of seeing Jon the next day was the only thing on her mind.

‘Bernard, I don’t think she knows anything.’ Jon ran a hand through his hair, frustrated by his friend’s stubbornness. ‘I watched them both last night, and I am pretty sure she isn’t in on it.’ He thought back to last night, Melanie’s face rising before his eyes. She was even prettier than her photograph, he thought, annoyed with the way his blood leapt to life at the memory of her voice and smile. She wasn’t a movie star, not even close. She was a bit too thin and too pale for that. Her long dark hair could have benefited from a clever cut, and he could tell that she wasn’t a big makeup fan either. He thought of Daphne, with her endless line of jars, brushes, and little tubes occupying their bathroom in the days they still lived together. Compared to Melanie, his ex-fiancée certainly seemed like some exotic bird of paradise, exciting and aware of her power over men.

Melanie
Bennett didn’t even know she was pretty; he would bet his last dollar on that one. With her dark blue, simple sheath dress and low-heeled shoes, she could have been one of the thousands of girls working in the business district back home. And yet… something about her pulled him in with gravity much too strong for his liking. Maybe it was the odd air of innocence in the way she looked at him, her hazel eyes framed with dark curly lashes seeing straight into his heart. Or the way she blushed when embarrassed, the light pink hue adding color to her pale cheeks and making him think of the roses in Sophia’s garden.

He needed to convince
Bernard she didn’t need supervision. Some self-preservation instinct urged him to keep his distance even though every cell of his body looked forward to seeing her again. Which was exactly the problem. She was just another case, he reminded himself sternly. This sudden and very unwelcome physical attraction was haunting him at the worst possible moment. Melanie Bennett spelled trouble, and if he could avoid her, he certainly would.

‘I could come up with a plausible excuse why I am too busy to show her around,’ he said hopefully
. His fingers drummed impatiently against the tabletop while he waited for Bernard to answer. ‘I’m sure Sophia could whip up some replacement, if needed. I know she could.’

‘
Look, I am very sorry you don’t like this part of the assignment.’ Bernard’s clipped tone destroyed any hope he had of persuading him to drop the Melanie operation. ‘You might be right, but then again, you could just as well be wrong. It’s a risk we can’t really take now, as things are. Plus there is some new info on Pete’s assistant.’

Why did he feel disappointed? He was supposed to keep an open mind and expect the worst, the way he always acted while on an assignment. Still,
Jon couldn’t help but regret that she might be involved after all.

‘We’ve
traced multiple donations to the Peace Brigade from his account. Guess who deposited them into the bank? Melanie Bennett, each and every time. They’re not huge amounts, but substantial enough to make us believe that she must be aware of what she was doing. The money had been laundered through three bogus charities, just the way the PB handles things. Still, Marc here did an excellent job and pinpointed its source, which is Melanie Bennett’s pocket. Still so sure about her innocence?’

‘That changes things
.’ He sighed and eyed his wristwatch. He expected her to arrive with her boss in less than half an hour, and he had to get his emotions under control before then.

‘
Ehm… Look, I don’t want to interfere or anything, but Daphne says hello.’ Bernard sounded rather embarrassed, his voice softer. ‘I know you don’t want to talk about it and all, Jon. I understand, really. It’s just that I promised Mariah I would let you know. So there, you’ve heard it from me, and now let’s forget it. I will make sure we will see each other today, okay? It’s time I met our little Miss Bennett, it seems.’

‘You
betcha.’ Bernard had decided the operation was close enough to its climax to require his presence, and he arrived in Rome just twelve hours after Jon. The agency usually operated on that model, reserving Bernard’s involvement for the final hours of the development. Jon had to tie up all the loose ends before they “accidentally” met later on. Leaving contact info with the other agents in the house would ensure Bernard could reach him no matter what Melanie’s plans were for the day. He wouldn’t think about Daphne now, Jon decided. His job required his full and total attention.

Jon
went to talk to the Spitieris, a last moment consultation meant to calm them down. The older couple hated pretending just as much as he did, if not more. Daniel insisted he had been a writer and publicist, not an actor. Lying and pretending to be friendly with a man about to try killing him was certainly more than he had bargained for. Sophia wasn’t faring any better. She liked Melanie. The girl was honest, she fumed. Her only fault was being caught in the midst of the drama she had no idea even existed.

He needed
another quarter of an hour to calm them down, after which he talked to the other agents supervising the house. He wondered briefly what Pete would say if he knew the maid, the cook, the gardener, and the chauffeur were all on the agency’s payroll. Would he dislike them more or less? He had overheard him talking to Melanie about the Spitieris’ indulgent lifestyle last night.

Jon
was done just in time to see Pete’s shiny, red rental convertible arrive, the glossy hood and open top conjuring images of fun and vacation. In his white linen shirt and beige pants, Pete Brunner looked perfectly at ease, his laid-back looks at odds with his hidden sinister agenda. He walked toward the staircase with his laptop in a soft brown leather bag slung casually across his shoulder, laughing loudly as he talked with Melanie.

And that was when he saw her properly for the first time on
that brilliant, sunny morning. She hadn’t noticed him yet. She was too preoccupied with Pete, which was probably a good thing given the way she affected his senses. He couldn’t look away. His greedy gaze went over her slim silhouette in the simple turquoise dress that matched the hairband holding back her long, dark hair. He watched the sun pick up the reddish highlights in her otherwise thick, silky chocolate colored waves. It tumbled to her shoulders, drawing his eyes to the fragile beauty of her collarbones and the surprisingly shapely bust accentuated by her slender waist. She made him think of his time in Egypt, where he worked on an assignment years ago. On a rare day off, he and his friends went on a trip to the Valley of the Kings. He recalled the pictures carved on the walls of the ancient temples of slender princesses holding up offerings to the Amon Ra in a ceremony from thousands of years ago. Melanie looked just like them, her delicate, almost ethereal, beauty at odds with her alleged crimes.

He stepped back from the
open window before she could see him. He just needed a second to collect his thoughts, and he waited for the familiar sense of being in charge to set in. After all those years of working in the agency, being in charge usually came to him naturally. He had learned to impose iron self-control over his emotions, separating his private life from his job with an efficiency that would have made a surgeon proud.

‘
Are you sure about that?’ A snippet of conversation wafted his way, and a friendly smile found its way to his face almost instantly. His autopilot was on again. Who he really was couldn’t be undermined by the prettiest face and the softest smile.

‘Sure I am. Just go and have some fun. I need to make sure that our
Mr. Handsome isn’t in the way, all right?’ Obviously Pete didn’t think anyone would be eavesdropping on their conversation. His lowered guard surprised Jon a little.

‘Don’t call him that. He seems like a really nice person
.’ Melanie sounded flustered by his remark. Still, it didn’t stop her from agreeing to whatever Pete wanted. ‘I will do my best, but I can’t promise to keep him away for too long. Anyway, I honestly don’t see why are you so adamant about it, Pete. I don’t think it really matters.’

‘I happen
to disagree,’ came the crisp answer, and Jon imagined the other man’s lips tightening in disapproval. ‘We’ve been over this before, haven’t we?’

They
were at the door, and the conversation was over for now.

Jon stayed at the window, giving himself a minute to go over what he had just learn
ed from their chat. So Melanie was on a mission to keep him out of the picture. He fought the sense of disappointment that refused to go away. He would just have to see how far she was willing to go to achieve that. He walked to the hallway where he could hear Pete and the Spitieris. Maybe he could enjoy his assignment after all.

‘Today is introductory
.’ Pete was talking again, his voice smooth. ‘Tomorrow I might need you to take notes, Melanie. So you better enjoy your freedom today…’ A round of laughter followed, and Jon’s respect for the Spitieris climbed up yet another notch. For total newbies, they were doing great. They were earning a medal for their acting.

When h
e walked out to join the others, he noticed the way Pete assessed him in a second. For a short moment, Jon had to worry if Pete had changed his mind and sped up his plans for Daniel. Could Pete want Jon to be away with Melanie for that purpose alone? Bernard was quite certain Pete couldn’t resist the extra publicity from Daniel being killed at his reading scheduled for the end of the week.

‘
Looks to me as though we have been banned for today.’ Jon smiled at Melanie, and her tentative smile back affected him more than he would have liked. She might just as well be a killer’s right hand, he reminded himself firmly as he stood next to her. She smelled of lilac and peonies. The sweet, delicate fragrance found its way to his nostrils and deeper into his heart.

‘I don’t want to impose if you’re busy
.’ Was that her way of reeling him in? Making it look as though she didn’t care either way?

‘Well, I am absolutely not
.’ He grinned, noticing from the corner of his eye that Pete seemed relieved. Jon had to wonder what would have happened if he’d said he was busy. Did they have a backup plan? As it was, he wouldn’t find out.

It to
ok but a moment to get her out of the house. Pete’s visible impatience to start his work with Daniel made leaving with minimal fuss easy.

‘What would you like to see?’
he asked. One could tell a lot about a person from what they were interested in.
Apart from killing people, of course
, he corrected himself sarcastically.

‘Piazza
Navona’ came the instant answer, Melanie’s eyes sparkling. She looked good when she smiled. Her lovely, delicate features came to life even more.

His car was parked on the side of the house, the sporty two
-seater sparkling in the morning sun. He held the door for her, biting back a smile as her dress rode up and offered him a good look at her slender thighs. But maybe that was a part of her plan and her attempts to pull the hem of her dress lower were well rehearsed ahead of time. He saw Thomas raking the front lawn’s carpet of red and pink petals fallen from the ornamental trees. His job as a gardener fit well, and Jon made a mental note to mention it to him at the next meeting. For now, Jon needed his help. He apologized briefly to Melanie and walked back to the house under the pretense of having forgotten something. She didn’t mind waiting, she said, blissfully unaware of Jon approaching Thomas to make sure Bernard would know where to find him. He was back fast enough to make his lie believable, and her welcoming smile warmed him. He needed to distract himself and fast, before he fell under the spell of her soft brown eyes.