Chapter 8 #4
“Call your man in DC,” Sal advised. “He can make the calls that will make things happen here.”
“Can you tell Valeria—” Shelly began.
Sal nodded gravely and turned to Valeria Mero. He began to speak in rapid Italian. At first, the young woman appeared perplexed.
Then she seemed to be in denial.
But then Sal said something that made her slowly nod and agree. And Valeria looked at Shelly and Grant and said softly, “Thank you.”
Grant shook his head and took both her hands. “Grazie, grazie, Valeria!”
They all wished one another good night in both English and Italian.
Grant was on the phone even as they headed down the porch steps and to the car. His conversation was quick.
That was surprising, since it had to be sometime in the very wee hours of the morning back in the United States.
They had barely driven away before Sal’s phone rang. He answered and spoke briefly to someone and then ended his call.
“I think your man in the States must be a magician,” Sal told them. “He has some kind of special power!”
Shelly glanced at Grant and shrugged. He was smiling.
“They’re going to get protection?” he asked.
“A car with officers will be passing us soon,” Sal told them.
“A magician or something,” Alfredo said, shaking his head as he stared at the road ahead.
It was dark, but the city remained beautiful, with the lights that shone over all that was wonderfully historic and equally filled with the life of the twenty-first century.
As Sal had said, a car beeped as it passed them.
“That’s them—unmarked car. Police will be watching over Valeria. And they’ve been notified in Venice as well. Thankfully, Valeria and Dante both have tremendous public images; our law enforcement does not resent watching over them in the least.”
“We’ll get you to your Krewe quarters now,” Alfredo told them. “Tomorrow … tomorrow we’ll get you to see Antonio Martinelli’s widow and family. I’m not sure how they’ll help more than before, but …”
“I don’t know. I just have a feeling, you know?
” Grant said. “Here’s the thing, too. If we have people watching over Valeria and Dante, they may see something.
But … well, more than that, I want to find out if there’s information our tech whizzes—not better than yours, but people who believe we’re right—can look at, about other things going on that may have made Antonio vulnerable to threats.
Anyway”—he turned to Shelly—“we’re staying at a great place within the old Roman walls, yeolde central area!
Near the Spanish Steps and so much more. ”
“Oh. Nice,” Shelly murmured. She winced. “Oh, of course, you’ve already stayed here and been—”
“It’s a little house, ancient, but all revamped. With the Blackbird division working in Europe and around now, it’s all set up for everything we may need,” Grant told her.
“It’s got a great work area. I think it’s a Krewe kind of a plan,” Alfredo said lightly. “Nice big table with ports right by the kitchen, decent parlor, and a hallway to four rooms for whatever agents are working a case. You’ll like it!”
They arrived shortly after the three men had pointed out several points of interest to her, north, south, east, and west, in their area and beyond, the Spanish Steps, the rise of the Vatican, and more.
They parked, and while neither Grant nor Shelly needed help with their luggage, the two accompanied them in.
Everything was as they had said, and Shelly found herself realizing they were right—the house was something of a Krewe design, set up for comfort, convenience, and safety.
The house was fixed with a secure alarm system, cameras, and a few buttons that could be pressed, if necessary—two that silently called the police, and two that created a loud blaring sound that would let an intruder know they were about to be accosted.
When they were safely in, with bedrooms chosen and all safety and comfort measures shown to Shelly, Alfredo and Sal bid them good night, promising they’d be back bright and early.
When they were gone, Shelly and Grant stood in silence for several seconds.
“You were great,” he said softly after a minute.
She turned and looked at him and smiled. “Thank you, and …”
“And?”
“You’re pretty great yourself,” she told him. And then, of course, she felt awkward, afraid she’d shown a little bit too much emotion.
She was coming to feel as if he was a second part of her. She had come to respect his talent. And she was coming to like the feel of being near him. Liking a lot about him, especially what she could only think of as heart and soul.
Go to bed! she snapped in silence to herself.
And she was shocked to hear the words that echoed in her own mind.
Alone!
“Okay, then, good night!” she said. And to her horror, she almost ran down the hall. Despite the sleep on the plane, she wasn’t in great shape. In the morning …
They’d be dealing with the living and the dead.
And she was afraid …
That maybe she didn’t have to be afraid.
It was all too confusing. Emotions were something she was definitely going to need to deal with after a night’s real sleep!