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

looking for a friend, they were happy to let us look inside. We might need your distraction soon. Heading to the top floor now. Be on the ground floor in five minutes. Can you come then?

I responded. Already here. In restaurant having coffee with Isabella. I’ll keep her occupied. The little dots moved, indicating Imani was typing something. They stopped, started, stopped. I chuckled. I’d surprised her, and she was likely wondering how the hell I was in the situation I was in. She’d have to wait. Finally, her response came through.

??? Okay. You can explain later. Bye. I slid my phone back in my pocket.

“Is everything all right?” Isabella asked.

I gave her a sad smile. “I guess so. My friend hasn’t found Angelica yet. She was just checking where I was. I told her I was here, having coffee with you.” She nodded, and something I couldn’t read flashed across her eyes. She placed a hand on her forehead and shut her eyes. I leaned forward. “Are you all right, Isabella?”

“My head. It is spinning. Sleeping… is hard since my son-in-law was killed.” Her eyes opened, and I was pretty sure it was fear shining from them. “What if someone wants to kill all of us? Enrico owed lots of money to that ’orrible man at the glass factory. My daughter told me he threatened her over the telephone… before Antonio was killed.” Oh, crap. Had we discounted the killer?

“What did he say? Do you know?”

She shook her head. “She said she didn’t want to upset me, but she told Antonio, and he was going to fix it….” She looked at the ceiling, then back at me. “He didn’t fix it very well.”

I frowned. “Apparently not.” My head throbbed, and I rubbed my forehead. Just what I needed—a headache. I downed the rest of my espresso—the coffee was smooth and rich, but I still preferred my cappuccinos. I had a feeling that espressos were the coffee of choice for Italians, and I hadn’t wanted to trouble Isabella.

My phone rang. I jumped in my seat. Dammit, Lily. Stop being shocked at the smallest sound. I answered it. I breathed out in relief at Will’s name on the screen. I looked at Isabella. “Sorry. I have to take this.” She waved me to take it. I answered the phone. “Hey, what’s happening?”

“Things are becoming more complicated.”

I scrunched my forehead. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve found out about Lorenzo Zanini’s threat to Mrs Dal Lago. And Agent Tondato has proof that the alibi was manufactured. We’ll be back there in minutes, and so will Mrs Dal Lago. Whatever you’ve got going on, you need to stop now. Mrs Dal Lago has said we can have a look for Angelica. She claims she has nothing to hide.”

I sagged, whether in disappointment or relief, I didn’t know. There wasn’t anything I could explain to Will, so I just said goodbye and hung up. At least Isabella would feel better soon, when her daughter came home. “Thank you for the coffee and food. Are you feeling any better?”

She shrugged and stroked the plait that sat over her shoulder and fell to her lap. “Maybe a little. Will you stay with me a while longer?” I couldn’t ignore that puppy-dog-pleading look that radiated from her eyes.

I smiled. “Sure.”

She placed her soft, wrinkled hand over mine on the table, and as much as I wanted to pull away—touching strangers was so ridiculously awkward—I stayed where I was because let it not be said that I disappointed old people who were going through a tough time.

Thankfully, Will must have called Imani and explained the situation because within two minutes, she walked through the restaurant door. “Lily! There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Before I could stand and greet her, Mrs Dal Lago hurried through the door and came straight to our table, her face troubled. “Mama!” She said something in Italian, her hands waving. Isabella stood slowly and embraced her daughter. I had no idea what they were saying to each other, but at least I was free to leave and not be touched.

I went to Imani and made a bubble of silence. “Apparently we’re allowed to search for Angelica.”

“I heard. Will and B are already here. They’ve gone straight to the office—they want you to meet them there.”

“Okay. Also, we need to check on Mum.” I dropped the BOS and was about to say goodbye to Isabella, but she and her daughter were arguing, voices raised. Her daughter planted her hands on her hips. Her mother jerked her chin up and waved a finger at her. What was harder to understand than Italian? Italian when two people were yelling over the top of each other. To interrupt or not to interrupt. Imani and I shared a double eyebrow raise. Hmm, one of us should be recording this. I pulled my phone out again, found the recording app, and pressed record. Unfortunately, I only managed to get a minute of it before Isabella stared at me, her tirade fading away. Her daughter turned towards us, likely to see what her mother was looking at.

I smiled. “Sorry to interrupt. We’re going to go now and look for Angelica.”

Both women nodded, and Isabella managed a small smile. “Thank you for staying with me.”

“It was my pleasure. I hope you’re both going to be okay.”

Her daughter sent a glare my way. “We will be fine. Thank you.” Oooooookay. Maybe we weren’t welcome in this establishment anymore. Will had helped interrogate her after all. But if we changed hotels, we’d be less likely to get to the bottom of this disaster.

“Okay. Ciao.” I waved, and Imani and I hurried out. As soon as we were in the hallway, I stopped recording. “I’ll need to get this to Mum, see what they were saying.” It struck me that I hadn’t seen her since I’d returned. “Let’s check the bar. And where’s Millicent?”

“She’s got the rats. Since we’re allowed to look through things