The Body in the Piazza - By Katherine Hall Page Page 0,89

thought to pack a stick of insect repellent back in Aleford. She also wished she’d thought to pack some kind of knockout drops that she could have added to Olivia’s grappa—tonight she’d been imbibing, several glasses of wine and then the after-dinner drink. Olivia’s trusty pistol would have been a big help, but entering her room, locating it if it was in fact still in the drawer, and leaving without drawing any attention to herself, would not have been possible save only in the worst sort of crime novels.

What kind of mosquitoes were these anyway? Same incredibly irritating whine, but they stung like bees and seemed able to penetrate even her shoes. She flashed the light about in an arc and was rewarded by what looked like a more traveled path, wider and with distinct tire tracks, ahead. When she got to it and turned, she saw it extended in two directions. One, judging from the angle, led to the village road, the other her destination?

What had been a slight breeze began to pick up, and soon an odor wafted in her direction. There may not be any swine there now, but she was approaching a place where they had unquestionably once wallowed. She passed a small brick structure with no roof and the walls caved in on two sides. Beyond it she could make out a cluster of slightly larger buildings. There was a banged-up Ape farm truck, pretty much a tiny cab and flatbed built around a three-wheeled scooter. Tom had been fascinated with the one the Rossis had and was no doubt intimately acquainted with the brand now, if this was what they had used to transport him here. Her spirits lifted. Unless another car had dropped the kidnappers off and left, this meant there couldn’t be more than two of them guarding her husband.

Faith circled the darkened buildings, trying to figure out where he was being kept. She was sure he was here. He had to be. One of the buildings was in better shape than the other, and she concentrated on that. It seemed to have several rooms, or animal stalls. There was no glass in the windows, if there ever had been, but at the rear, the windows were barred, presumably to prevent escape and performing the same function now. There was no choice. She had to take a chance.

She stood on tiptoe and peered in the nearest one. Flashing her light, she could make out a large blanket-covered lump on the dirt floor.

“Tom?” she whispered.

The lump moved slightly.

“Tom,” she said a bit louder and more urgently. His head popped up from the dirty blanket. At least it was protecting him from bites, although there might be predators other than mosquitoes lurking in its folds.

He stood up and came to the window. His hands were tied together in front of him. He looked rumpled, but not hurt.

“I knew you’d figure it out, darling,” he said softly.

Faith tried to kiss him, but the windowsill was too wide. She pushed her hand between the bars and stroked his face.

“You haven’t done anything? Said anything?” he said.

“No, but I can. It’s Jean-Luc, right?”

“Yes. I couldn’t sleep last night, so once it was light I went downstairs and was looking online to see whether I could figure out why Freddy had written the theater’s name when Luke tapped on the window behind me and motioned me out, pointing toward the hill. He looked extremely agitated. Like a jerk I didn’t stop to think he could see what I was doing, although I’m sure he’d figured it all out the moment Hattie dropped the pen. Maybe even before then—but anyway that we were with Freddy when he died.”

“Len Russo saw you running. Were you trying to get away?”

“No, but I was running. When I got outside, Luke said that he’d come to the house to get help. That he was walking the way he does early every morning and found a woman who seemed to be unconscious. He wanted to know if I knew any first aid.”

“Which you do.”

He’d even updated his CPR certification last winter. Ah Tom, the Good Samaritan. She didn’t have to hear the rest to know what happened.

“He said he’d go get the Rossis and phone for an ambulance. I said I’d see what I could do in the meantime. The next thing I knew I was trussed up and in a burlap sack on the back of one of those roller skate trucks. I