“I do,” I said. “I’d love to know more about that skull.”
She nodded. “What a wonderful story they told. It makes me see them as young men.”
“That was enjoyable,” I said, warming to the subject. “Did you notice how Bennett seemed taken aback at one point?”
She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“When he held the skull. Remember?”
Blinking, she stared down at the tablecloth. “Yes . . .” she said slowly. “Now that you mention it, he did seem to hesitate a moment.” She looked up expectantly. “Why? Do you know what troubled him?”
“No,” I said, disappointed. “It seemed as though his reaction was off but I haven’t had the opportunity to ask him about it. Something was odd. I thought maybe you’d have an idea of what that could be.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “My father’s been having difficulty remembering things lately, too. I didn’t give that incident a second thought.”
Chapter 6
WE LEFT TROPPO IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE morning. It wasn’t until the dancers below began to disperse that Irena and I realized we’d talked the entire night away. Our waiter had kept our glasses filled—I’d switched to water a few hours into our visit, thank goodness—and the snacks plentiful.
Angelo escorted us out into the damp morning air. He held the sedan’s back doors open for us and took his position behind the wheel. Neither Irena nor I had been over-served, but we were relaxed from all the wine. The evening had turned out to be much nicer than I’d anticipated, and although it was far too late to confer with Bennett tonight—he’d have been asleep for hours by now—I knew we’d have the entire flight home to discuss the skull, my discoveries about Gerard, and whatever Bennett had learned from Nico.
I sank into the leather seats, which were so soft they practically wrapped around my tired body. “I need to be up and out the door in less than five hours,” I said with a mock groan. “But this evening was worth it.”
“I’m so glad you think so,” Irena said with a happy pat on the seat between us. “But, five hours? What time is your flight?”
As we left the city proper and headed back to the villa, I could barely make out anything in the profound darkness. “Fortunately, we’ve chartered a plane and it won’t leave without us.” For Irena, chartered air travel was probably a regular occurrence. For me, it had been a singularly incredible experience. “We’re supposed to be there no later than nine. Thank goodness we don’t have to go through commercial flight security. We’d have to leave at least three hours earlier if we did.”
“My father used to keep a jet at the airport,” Irena said, dropping her head against the soft seat back and closing her eyes. “Unfortunately, he stopped traveling and gave it up.” She raised her voice. “Remember, Angelo?”
The big man glanced up at the sound of his name, but didn’t answer. Irena shrugged, turned to me, and opened one eye. “He understands,” she whispered with a wry grin. Both eyes closed, she gave a sigh of pleasure then spoke again, a little louder this time. “Always the mystery man, aren’t you? Someday I’ll find the chink in your armor.”
I caught Angelo’s glance in the rearview mirror. He looked away immediately. I had no doubt that Irena was right and he’d understood every word we’d said. Maybe he’d hoped to overhear some juicy, private details. Poor boy. He would be disappointed tonight.
I dozed on the ride back, waking when the big sedan slowed to a stop. Angelo was out almost immediately, coming around to open our doors. “Thank you for driving us tonight,” I said as he handed me out of the car.