of statement—suggesting Giulia was weak in any way—would make her bristle with fierce defensiveness, but not this time.
As the information settled into his brain, Carmine blinked a few times. “Wait. Wait. Did…” He shook himself. “Someone killed Enrico il Sacchi?”
Coolidge nodded. “Upstairs in his suite. My men don’t believe your sister killed him, but she was in the room at the time of the murder.”
Carmine faced Giulia. “Is that true?”
Giulia swallowed, swiping at her eyes and smearing more of her dark kohl. “Yes. But I didn’t kill him.”
“Who did?” Carmine asked.
“There was… There was a man in the suite. Two of them, actually, and they were dressed like they worked here, but—”
“Two?”
Scowling, Giulia nodded. “I don’t know why they were there. I mean, what the hell is someone working here doing in the room at that hour? Ricky had security outside when we went in, so I… I think this man was in the room already. Both of them. The lights were off when we got there, but…” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to explain it. He was just suddenly there.”
“And he, what?” Carmine glanced back and forth between Giulia and Coolidge. “Came out of nowhere, murdered il Sacchi, and left with his friend, who was also mysteriously there?”
“He, um.” Giulia cleared her throat and hugged herself. “All I know is that Ricky and I were arguing. Then he grabbed me, and he was threatening me, and this man…” She exhaled, shoulders sagging as she looked at Carmine with tear-filled eyes. “He saved me.”
“Since when do you need rescuing?”
Her expression hardened to an icy glare. “I can take care of myself, but I’m not stupid enough to think a bullet won’t kill me just like it’ll kill you.”
Carmine instantly sobered. “Did he threaten to shoot you?”
“No.” She shifted her weight. “But I know his reputation. I know what he’s—”
“And you still went up there with him? By yourself?”
“Hey!” She stepped up close enough she landed on one of his toes, and despite being a few inches smaller, she may as well have been right in his face. “The son of a bitch attacked me. We went up to his suite, and he—”
“And he could have done anything to you!” Carmine snapped. “What were you thinking? Do you want me to tell Mama you were—”
Coolidge cleared his throat. “Listen, I don’t mean to interrupt a family situation, but I do have a murder investigation to finish.”
Carmine narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t you just say my sister isn’t a suspect?”
The inspector raised his chin and looked down his slim nose at Carmine. “No one believes she’s the one who swung the statue. But she is a witness.” He inhaled deeply. “And il Sacchi’s men say she ran out with the killer and disappeared.”
Carmine slowly turned to Giulia.
Shifting her weight, she set her jaw. “I didn’t run out with him. He and the other guy ran out, and so did I.” She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “I was scared, all right? And whoever he was, he did save me from Ricky.”
“So where is this man now?” Carmine asked.
Coolidge shook his head. “We don’t know. My men did tell me there were some boys caught burglarizing suites on another floor. Irishmen, all of them.”
“Irish?” Giulia straightened, and she grabbed Carmine’s arm. “The boy who saved me and the boy who was with him—they were both Irish!”
Carmine cocked his head. “What? Are you telling me you were—a couple of Irish thieves were stealing from Ricky, then killed him to save you?”
She shrugged. “All I know is Ricky and I started arguing, and then this redheaded kid comes out of nowhere and hits him with the statue.”
Carmine eyed her, then Coolidge. “Did anyone know about the thieves before il Sacchi was killed?”
Coolidge shook his head. “No. They were caught by accident while my officers and the hotel’s staff were looking for the killer.”
“So you’re telling me that a group of thieves broke into rooms here at the Plaza,” Carmine said, “and the only reason any of them got caught was because someone brained Enrico il Sacchi?”
“Apparently so.” Coolidge gestured at a suited man who was clearly flustered, flailing his arms as he spoke to an officer. “He said none of his employees were aware of anything awry. No one knows how they all slipped past security or how they got into the rooms. But when security responded to the scene in il Sacchi’s suite, they realized there was another issue.”
Carmine nodded