The Body in the Piazza - By Katherine Hall Page Page 0,43

carrying some shopping bags. Faith presumed the couple had separated for the same reason she and Tom had, but as she drew closer she wasn’t sure that the decision had been mutually agreeable. The woman had been crying, crying a lot. Her mascara had run, giving her a look more at home on Olivia.

“Hi,” Faith said. “Did you find some nice things? Any bargains?”

Terry dabbed her eyes with a sodden Kleenex, which made things worse, but Faith was not about to comment.

“The woman—Sylvia—Francesca mentioned was great. I got a bunch of scarves. She told me which people to go to for other stuff and I’ve pretty much done all my Christmas shopping—lots of those leather boxes and picture frames.”

Faith always intended to shop early, but somehow Thanksgiving invariably arrived with her list still in her desk drawer and still blank. Maybe she should bring some gifts back, too.

“I guess we’re the first,” Faith said. “Tom isn’t much of a shopper, so he decided to hang out near the Duomo. Len, too?”

“Len isn’t much of an anything,” Terry said bitterly and lapsed into silence. Then she dug into one of her bags and pulled out a small wooden Pinocchio key chain, one of the ones with a very long nose. “I got this for my husband.”

What to say? TMI, Faith thought to herself, wishing desperately that some of the others would arrive. Someone, anyone.

Her wish was granted and soon everyone except Olivia and Tom had gathered on the sidewalk. Gianni pulled up just as Olivia joined them. For a moment Faith didn’t recognize her. Somewhere during the time apart she’d found a sink and thoroughly washed her face. Her hair was combed back, and she’d also bought a long rose-colored scarf that was now wrapped around her neck. Yes, she still had multiple piercings—ears, one eyebrow, and a tiny stud in one nostril, but she looked, well, normal, and very pretty.

But where was Tom? He’d been raised in the rigorous Fairchild School of Punctuality. She still struggled to make him understand that a dinner invitation for seven o’clock did not mean standing on the host’s doorstep at 6:59 with one’s finger poised over the bell, even after repeated episodes over the years with hosts still in the shower, putting out hors d’oeuvres, and one notable occasion when their hosts hadn’t arrived yet themselves.

They all got in the van.

“Does Tom have a phone with him?” Gianni asked. “Maybe we should call him.”

Faith shook her head. Both their phones were packed in their luggage. Now that they were at Cucina della Rossi, a number that everyone had from their itinerary, Tom had said they didn’t need them. Faith suspected this was to keep her from sneaking in a call to her sister, but she saw his point and had agreed.

“This isn’t at all like him. I’m sure he’ll be here any moment,” she said.

And there he was, sprinting toward them, much to her relief.

“Sorry, everyone,” he said, climbing into the van. He sounded out of breath. “Thanks for waiting, Gianni.”

“Prego,” he said. “No problem, mio amico.”

Tom slid into the empty seat next to Faith.

She started to ask him where he had been, but before she could, he leaned over and whispered urgently in her ear, “I saw the man who attacked Freddy, but I lost him.”

“No!” She gasped.

Tom nodded gravely. “And Olivia was with him.”

CHAPTER 6

It was a strangely silent group on the return trip. And the trip seemed much longer, Faith thought. She knew why she wasn’t feeling chatty, but what about the rest? Tired from too much walking and too much sun? Renaissance overload?

The Russos were sitting together, but Len was asleep, or at least his eyes were closed. Terry was staring out the window. All Faith could see was the back of her head. Sky and Jack were across the aisle from the Fairchilds, and their body language was different from usual. That is, they weren’t all over each other. Jack looked surprisingly resolute, like a man who has just dodged a bullet and is ready to stand up to another. Sky, on the other hand, looked worried. No, Faith amended, the woman looked scared.

The Culvers were also quiet, and she chalked that up to “Shopping ’til You Drop” syndrome. Olivia, the person Faith most wanted to observe, was up front, out of Faith’s sight line, next to Gianni in the passenger’s seat. Francesca had stayed behind at the house. After she’d put the food away and prepared what would