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

ring, not that that was probably a deterrent for someone who was having an affair with a married woman and looking for more on the side.

He shrugged. “If you change your mind, you know where I am. I’m Vince, by the way.”

I answered, “Hi, Vince,” to be polite. Then I gave him an “I don’t think so” smile and took the drinks to where Mum and Imani were sitting. I made a BOS, handed out the drinks, and sat. “Oh my God. What a sleazebag.”

Imani smirked. “I thought it looked like he was hitting on you. What a charmer.”

“Yeah, who in their right mind would pick Will over him?” I rolled my eyes.

“You could do worse.” Mum cocked her head to the side while she regarded him. “Nice brown eyes, thick, dark hair, high cheekbones.”

“He’s not much taller than me, and he has no class. He thinks he’s all that, which is really annoying. Maybe if you’re into one-night stands and braggers it’d be fine, but not me. All I can think is ew. And I can’t believe you’re checking him out.”

Mum laughed. “I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole. I was just making a point that he wasn’t ugly. Besides, I have to get into the spirit of what I’m going to do.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve decided that I’ll butter this one up—we already know he likes older women. How old do you think he is?” Mum asked.

Imani checked him out. “Twenty-seven, tops. And Mrs D must be at least fifty.”

“So he’d totally go you, Mum.” I laughed. “But then, he just tried to hit on me, so he’s probably into women whatever their age. So what’s the new plan?”

Mum stood. “I’m going to pump him for information… um, not pump, pump, but you know what I mean.”

My mouth dropped open. She wasn’t usually crude, at least not the parent I remembered, but then again, I was a lot older now. Maybe I just missed a lot of references when I was younger, or she didn’t speak like that in front of me because I was only young? “Mum!”

Imani laughed. “Nice one, Katerina.”

“So, as I was saying, I’ll flirt with him, keep him distracted, and see what I can find out about Mrs D and her relationship with Mr D. Imani can keep that boy at the front desk occupied, and you can slip into the office. Easy-peasy.”

They had the easy jobs. “Yeah, super-duper easy-peasy.” Sneaking around wasn’t my favourite thing to do. Not only did I hate doing the wrong thing, I was paranoid about getting caught. I needed to have a plan in case I did. Maybe I’d just say I was lost? Gah, why couldn’t my brain come up with something better? I tapped my thigh. “None of us are meant to be alone though.”

Imani shrugged. “Don’t worry, Lily. We’re all still in the hotel, and we need to get this done quickly. If anything happens, just scream—that goes for you too, Katerina. If Will says anything later, I’ll take the heat.” Oh, well. If she was happy to take the blame, who was I to stop her? And it wasn’t like we were going to be out of hearing distance of each other.

“Okay. Now, wish me luck.” Mum smiled, undid the top two buttons of her summery shirt, and turned. She sauntered—sauntered!—to the bar. Who was this woman, and what had she done with my mother? When she got there, she leaned over the bar, giving him a look down her top.

Imani grinned. “Your mum’s got some moves. Look at her work it.”

“Mmmhmm, just look. I wish I didn’t have to.” I stood. “Come on. Let’s get this over and done with. I think you should go out and distract that guy first. Get him to look towards the front doors, and I’ll slip into that room. If you feel my magic because I have to unlock the door, do something with your magic, too, so he doesn’t realise what I’m doing.”

“Sounds good. Give me a minute, then come out.”

She walked fast, and I lagged behind, giving her time to get the job done. Once I reached the doors, I glanced down the hallway. Impressive. Imani was a fast worker. She had the young man’s attention. My heart raced as I left the bar area and moved to the right and the office door. I took my phone out, ready to take a photo, and tried turning the handle with the other hand. It was unlocked! It must be my lucky day.

As I opened the door, my whole body tensed, waiting for someone to call out and ask me what the hell I was doing. But the shout never came, and I slid into the room and closed the door quietly behind me.

The office was typical of any office anywhere, except for the pretty terrazzo floors, and Venetian-glass chandelier hanging in the centre of the room. There were two boring timber desks, each with a black office chair and one guest chair in front of one of the tables. One table was tidy and organised, the other had an array of paper on its surface and two dirty coffee cups.

The urge to check out what was on the tables was strong, but I needed to take the photo first. Maybe Agent Tondato would get a search warrant once they’d spoken to Mrs Dal Lago.

I lifted my phone. “Show me Mr Dal Lago the last time he was here.”

The windowless room was lit as it was right now—by the chandelier in the middle of the ceiling. He stood face to face with his wife. She had her hands on her hips as she looked up at him, an annoyed expression twisting her face. His face was red, his eyes shooting daggers. Seemed he was angry. I took a photo of them from the side, capturing both expressions, then I took one of him from the front and one of her. I panned the phone around the room, making