Chasing Caine: An International Romantic Suspense Mystery (Caine & Ferraro Book 2) by Janet Oppedisano

Author:Janet Oppedisano [Oppedisano, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-04-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Samantha

Carabiniere De Rosa and a female officer dashed in as Antonio vanished through the eastern door.

When I tripped on the case, the pain had exploded through my ankle, up my calf, overwhelming every sense, and I didn’t see which way Umberto went. If he’d gone north, up through the fields, it would be hard to catch him. But Antonio was in peak physical condition and was a runner. Hopefully that put the odds further into our favor.

The officers came to a halt in front of me and I waved them after Antonio. “Dr. Ferraro went after the thief. That way!”

De Rosa sped off, but his partner stayed put.

I got up slowly on my knees, planted my good foot, and began to rise. But pain ricocheted from the side of my head, through my entire body, and I bit back a cry.

“Stay down.” The officer’s voice was calm, but firm.

I was now a suspect until I proved otherwise.

More shouting voices and hurried feet came from some direction. We were surrounded by full walls, crumbling half walls, the metal roof over part of the Casa—sound bounced around, stabbing into my brain.

Please, let it be Antonio with Umberto in hand.

I gestured at the black case, the cutting tool discarded next to it. “I don’t know if he had more tools in there or if it was for transport. But I suspect—”

Elliot burst through the atrium door, Carabinieri TPC officer Bruno Gallo hot on his heels. “Did you catch them?”

“Antonio and an officer ran after him.” I pointed at the door they’d left through. “It was Umberto, one of the men on the conservation team.”

The two men shared a look, but didn’t pursue.

“And yet…” Elliot offered me a hand while Gallo spoke in Italian with the female officer who was watching me. “You’re still here, sitting on the ground?”

I waved the hand off and clenched my jaw, letting out a long exhale. The damn case. How did Umberto, mile a minute talking, Antonio-worshipping little weasel who could barely keep up with us, get the jump on me?

No, it wasn’t the jump. It was my shitty luck.

“Don’t ask.” The walking shoes Chiara bought for me weren’t designed for hand-to-hand combat. I ran fingers over my hair, prodding the lump forming above my ear. “Listen, there should be a black backpack over by the garden door by the main road. There’s a camera in there that’ll have photos of him cutting into the wall. The camera belongs to Mario De Luca. He loaned it to Antonio and me. I also have pictures on my phone.”

Elliot knelt next to me. “Cutting into the wall in broad daylight?”

I shrugged and pulled my phone out of my pocket, a thin crack running through the screen. “It’s an active conservation site. Who’d question it except someone on the team?”

He accepted the phone and scrolled through the photos I’d taken of Umberto. “We interviewed him, so I know who he is. Background check was clear.”

The female officer walked out of the Mars room, through the atrium and garden area.

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