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

with polished steel frames surrounded the table, and I sat next to Will. Beren sat opposite us next to Agent Tondato’s offsider, Agent Matteo Rinaldi, who wore his dark hair short. He was an average-height, wiry man, likely in his forties, with a five o’clock shadow. Agent Tondato sat at the head of the table. “Would you like a coffee?”

“No thanks.” Will leaned forward and placed his arms on the table. “We’d like to get straight to it, if that’s okay?

Agent Tondato gave a nod. “Of course. Agent DuPree is missing, and you want to find her quickly, no?”

Will’s jaw flexed, his frustration showing. “Yes. The longer this takes, the worse the likely outcome. Now, can you tell us where you’re up to with this case. We’re assuming her disappearance is linked to her involvement in the Dal Lago case.”

The Italian agent nodded again. “And you’ve checked with your head office?”

Will shut his eyes, then opened them. “Yes, of course. We’re supposed to be here on holiday, and Angelica would never just leave for an extended period without telling someone. If you could please take us through the case so far, we would very much appreciate it.”

Grrrr. I was ready to stomp over there and slap the information out of that Italian guy. Why was he being so difficult? Maybe he was just an annoying person.

“Okay. We will help you. But this is highly unusual. We don’t normally share information, and this is not the only case we are working on, so we cannot move as fast as you are asking.” Magic tickled my scalp—I was assuming Agent Tondato’s—and a large file appeared on the table in front of Will. “All the information you need is there, but it’s in Italian.” Wow, he was being super helpful… not.

Will stared at the guy. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He breathed out of his nose loudly. “It’s actually fine. I know a translation spell.” Will’s magic caressed my scalp. Nothing appeared to have changed, but when he opened the file and spread out some papers so we could take a look at them, the text was in English. Nice work.

As we all read through the notes, Agent Tondato gave us an overview. “Our main suspect is still Lorenzo Zanini, even though he has an alibi. It wouldn’t be the first time that family lied or that evidence was tampered with.”

Will had perused most of the documents. “Why isn’t the victim’s wife listed as a suspect? They were having money problems and arguing. Shouldn’t we at least ask her for her magic signature?”

Agent Tondato pursed his lips. “Your Agent DuPree asked me that question, and I told her that we are a passionate people.”

I rolled my eyes. “And ‘it’s not enough of a reason.’ Yes, we know. It is enough of a reason where we come from, and considering that Angelica disappeared close to our hotel, maybe Mrs Dal Lago had something to do with it.”

Beren gave me a subtle head shake from across the table, his green eyes imploring me to be quiet. Oops. Dammit. Me and my big mouth.

Agent Tondato rubbed his forehead. “And how do you know this, Miss…?”

“Bianchi. Lily Bianchi.”

“Oh, you have an Italian background, sí?”

“Yes. My father, but he’s dead.” I frowned. Maybe he’d give me sympathy and agree to get a warrant for this woman’s magic signature.

“Okay, Miss Bianchi. How do you know she went missing near your ’otel?”

I swallowed. Now what was I supposed to say? “Ah… my mother and Angelica share a… connection. After my mother went missing for ten years and we got her back again, we spelled them so they could sense each other if they were within half a mile of each other. They’re best friends, you know. Mum remembers waking up maybe an hour or so after Angelica left to see you. She sensed Angelica was near, but then she lost the… ah… feeling after a moment and thought she must have imagined it because she was half asleep.” Beren blinked and pressed his lips together. I gave Agent Tondato a toothy grin, and Will erected his poker face. Please buy my crap. Please buy my crap.

Agent Tondato stared at me, then regarded Will and Beren. Finally, he said, “Okay, then. Maybe we can confirm this with some security footage, no?”

Will cleared his throat. “Yes, that would be a good idea. Can you do that this morning?”

“Sí. Once we confirm she was there that night, we can… make… more investigation at the ‘otel.”

Will nodded. “Thank you. Also, I’d like a favour, please.”

“Sí?”

“My sister is also an agent—Sarah Blakesley. She’ll be here later this afternoon. I would like her to sit in on any interviews you do. She’s fluent in Italian. I’d like to sit in, too, to observe, if you don’t mind.” Will couldn’t speak fluent Italian, but maybe he could read body language. I was pretty sure they studied that at agent school—reading body language was a useful skill in solving crimes and dealing with people who were likely to lie. If only James was here, we could use his skills. Although, could he pick up if someone was lying in another language that he couldn’t understand? Hmm, I wasn’t sure how his talent worked. Why was nothing ever straightforward?

The balding head agent of this PIB office folded his arms and observed Will for a moment. He then shared a look with his fellow agent, who’d kept quiet the whole time. There’d be no reason to say no… well, except if they were hiding something.

Finally, Agent Tondato spoke. “Okay. This is fine. I have your number, and I will message you when we are coming to question Signora Dal Lago. It won’t be till later because we have to visit Rome for another investigation.” Sounded like there was plenty of crime happening over here. Kind of like in the UK. It never ended.

Still, they were being helpful enough, and the tension in my shoulders