Westerham Witches and a Venetian Vendetta by Dionne Lister (top rated books of all time TXT) 📕

My mum’s face had looked worried just as I went in for the hug, and Will’s poker face… well, that spoke volumes. I ended the hug and looked at Mum. “What’s wrong?”

She glanced at Will, then looked back at me. “It’s Angelica. We met with the Italian agents at the crime scene, and after about half an hour, I yawned—I’m not used to so much exercise and activity. Being locked in a cage most of the day really does a number on your fitness…. But, anyway, Angelica insisted I come back here and that she’d be back as soon as she could.” Her cheeks reddened, and she looked at the ground. “I fell asleep waiting.” Her gaze returned to mine. “When I woke up this morning, she wasn’t here, and her bed hadn’t been slept in. I would’ve felt if she’d spelled her bed neat—I can’t cast spells, but I still feel it if someone else does. And she said we’d have breakfast together at seven thirty, which is in thirty minutes. If she wasn’t coming, she would’ve called.”

My forehead tightened. I lifted my hand to my mouth to bite my nail, but I forced it back down. I needed to hide my worry. Mum didn’t need to see me stressing right now. Angelica had often disappeared in the last few months, so maybe she’d had something urgent to deal with? “Have you tried calling her?”

“Yes, early this morning, and so did Will just before you came. Her phone rings, then goes to voicemail.”

Will lifted his phone. “I’ve just texted James to get the number for the Italian agents.”

As much as Angelica could look after herself, I had a bad feeling about this. Hopefully our worry was misplaced, and she’d turn up any time now. Will’s phone dinged. “I got James out of bed, but he’s come through.” Will tapped his phone screen and put it on speaker. “Hopefully they speak English.”

“Pronto.”

“Ah, hello. This is Agent Blakesley from the London PIB office. Do you speak English?”

“Yes, Agent Blakesley. I am Agent Enrico Tondato. What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if I could speak to Agent DuPree. She’s not answering her phone, and I know she was meeting with you last night. She hasn’t returned.”

Silence for a few moments, which was plenty of time for the hairs on my arms to follow the example of the ones on my nape and stand up. Finally, his Italian accent came through loud and clear. “She left us last night at about 1:00 a.m. to return to the ’otel.”

“She never showed up.” Will ran a hand through his hair, and my mother sat on the bed and clasped her hands together in her lap. After everything she’d been through, this was the last thing she needed. I sat next to her and placed my hand over hers.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know where she is. If you don’t hear from her by midday, please let me know. I’m sorry, but I must go. Ciao.”

Will’s mouth was open, maybe to say goodbye, but the phone was dead. He shut his mouth and slid the phone into his pocket. “Katerina, can you take us to where you two were last night?”

Mum bit her bottom lip. “Yes, of course.”

Will’s poker face materialised. “She might have had some urgent business to attend to. I know it’s unlike her to not tell anyone, but maybe she thought she’d be quick. We’ll check everything out just as a precaution.” He looked at me. “Be prepared to take some pictures.”

“Okay.” I stood and grabbed my camera from the table. I could’ve used my phone, but at least I’d look super touristy with the Nikon. “Ready?”

“Yep. Let’s go.”

On the way down the hall, Will knocked on Beren and Liv’s door and explained what had happened. “If you guys can stay close to here in case we need you to travel somewhere, that would be great. And if Angelica returns, you can give us a call.”

Beren nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Good luck.”

After we said goodbye, Will knocked on Imani’s door and explained what happened. “Can you come with us?”

“Of course, love. Let’s do this.”

“Are you going to tell Sarah and Lav?” I asked.

“No. They would’ve already left for their photo shoot. There’s no use stressing them out until we have more information.”

He made sense, so I nodded and took a deep breath, trying to fill myself with air rather than worry.

We hurried out, Mum leading the way. Instead of turning left in the alleyways to head towards Saint Mark’s Square, she turned right, and we speed walked through narrow passage after narrow passage between buildings, dodging crowds as we went. After a few minutes, I was thoroughly lost. What a rabbit warren. “You don’t think those agents did something to her, do you?”

Imani, who was behind me, answered, “No. Why would they?”

“Maybe they didn’t like her taking over their investigation?”

Will, who was in front of me, at my mother’s heel, shook his head. “We don’t know that she did. And even if she did, there’s no way they’d even think of harming her. They’re agents for crying out loud.” Okay, so maybe my hypothesis was stupid, but I was desperate for an answer, not to mention, this wouldn’t be the first time agents had turned rogue. Look at Piranha and her crew. If that had taught me anything, it taught me that you can’t trust someone just because they hold a certain job. Now wasn’t the time or place to remind Will of that, so I let it slide. We needed to figure out the why and who; then we’d be more likely to figure out the where.

“She hasn’t gone to ground again, has she?” Imani’s question was totally valid. Angelica still hadn’t explained where she’d been when she’d been in hiding before we took RP down. We figured it had something to do with the PIB directors and Chad, but she wasn’t talking.

We crossed a bridge over a canal.