Cream Teas and Crystal Balls by G. Clatworthy

Author:G. Clatworthy [Clatworthy, G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

They were silent while a waiter in a black shirt brought their food to the table. Adriana tasted her risotto and smiled slightly before asking for more pepper but refusing the parmesan cheese. Fi toyed with cutting her pepperoni pizza before picking up a slice and taking a bite. She kept her eyes on the elegant younger woman as she ate.

Adriana took another elegant forkful before starting to talk. “Ophelia and I spoke. Then I left.”

“You left?”

Adriana nodded and wiped her mouth daintily with a linen napkin. “I left. It was clear she wasn’t exactly pleased to see me, and after I’d spent so long trying to find her.” She sighed. “Anyway, I knew I wasn’t wanted, so I went out to clear my head. I walked back past the shop and saw flames. I thought I saw Ophelia inside, so I went back in.”

“You went back in?”

“Are you going to repeat everything I say? Yes. I went back in to try to rescue my great aunt. But the fire caught quickly and there was nothing I could do. I ran back outside, and I feel so guilty. I’ll never get to talk to her again, and we’ll never have a chance to patch things up.” Adriana’s voice choked on her words, and Fi had the awful thought that it was exactly how an actor would behave. She took another bite of her pizza, chiding herself for her uncharitable thoughts, it wasn’t like she was an expert in human emotions.

“What did you have to patch up?”

Adriana took a sip of her mineral water. “I believe that Ophelia and her sister, my…grandmother, had a falling out. That’s why she wasn’t thrilled to see me.”

“Do you know what it was about?”

“Ophelia stole something from her sister, but that’s all I know.”

Fi munched on her pizza as she thought. “Any idea what it was?”

“Some sort of family heirloom, but whatever it was is gone now.”

Something nudged the back of Fi’s mind, but it disappeared as she tried to concentrate on it.

“Is your pizza good?”

“Yes thanks, lovely,” Fi replied automatically. “So, you believe it was an accident?”

“What else could it have been? The woman was getting on a bit, she was distracted and I’m sorry if our conversation had a part in that, but the fire started through the crystal ball.”

“There wasn’t anything else you noticed,” a note of desperation crept into Fi’s voice, “anything at all.”

“I’ve told the police everything, except…” Adriana’s eyes widened. “There was a noise from the back of the shop before I left. I’d completely forgotten. Ophelia thought it was mice, but you don’t think…I mean it could have been someone waiting for me to go. Poor Aunt Ophelia.”

“You think there was someone else in the shop?”

“Maybe. I should tell the police, though. Just in case. I’ll call that detective straight away.” She got up from the table and walked outside to make the call.

Fi chewed distractedly as she thought. So, Adriana hadn’t even been in the café when the fire had started, but someone else had been.

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