Rendezvous in Rome: Passport to Romance #2 by Keene Carolyn

Author:Keene, Carolyn [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens
ISBN: 9781481436779
Amazon: 1481436775
Goodreads: 27407858
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 1992-07-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Eight

DO YOU THINK THAT—” Bess began.

“That was a rendezvous to pass off stolen goods?” Nancy finished the question for her.

The three girls looked at one another. “Maybe it is the pin you were talking about,” Claudia suggested.

Bess grabbed Nancy’s arm. “We have to get it before he can dispose of it!” she cried.

“He’s paying the check now,” Nancy said as the art dealer rose. “Let’s follow him.”

Signor Andreotti strolled down the street, swinging the sack Paola had given him. The girls drove their Vespas slowly on the opposite side, keeping behind him. A few blocks later they realized he was going back to his office.

“Let’s get there first and just ‘happen’ to run into him in the lobby,” Nancy suggested. “Then he won’t have time to get rid of that bag.”

Speeding past Signor Andreotti, they parked their Vespas near his office. They made a dash for the lobby. A few minutes later the art dealer sauntered into the building.

“Claudia! And your charming friends,” he greeted them easily in his good English. “Have you brought your necklace to sell?”

“We’re actually here for some advice,” Nancy said, making up her story as she went along. “We wanted to talk to you over lunch.”

Signor Andreotti smiled. “It would have been a pleasure, but I’ve eaten. Why don’t you come up to my office instead?”

The girls exchanged silent glances as they got into the elevator with him. Once they were all seated in his office, the art dealer said, “Four pretty young women in one day is a treat for me.” He put the sack he was carrying into a desk drawer.

“Who is the fourth?” Claudia asked coyly. “There are only three of us here.”

“Paola Rinzini,” the art dealer replied. “Do you know her?”

Well, Nancy thought with surprise, he wasn’t trying to hide his association with Paola. “Claudia works at Paola’s store,” she put in.

“You two are friends?” Claudia asked.

Signor Andreotti smiled. “Just friends,” he said. “She comes to me for advice, too.”

“She has Etruscan necklaces to sell?” Nancy asked, trying to keep her tone light.

Signor Andreotti gave Nancy a look of mild surprise and shook his head. “No, but she is very interested in them. She wants to open a gallery, so I’m teaching her about antiquities.”

“Really,” Claudia said, leaning forward. “But she would be your competition then, wouldn’t she?”

Signor Andreotti gave a confident wave of his hand. “I have lifelong customers,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about Paola Rinzini at all.”

Nancy’s mind was going in another direction. If Preziosi was barely breaking even, she thought, Paola would have to have another source of income to open her gallery—such as selling stolen Etruscan jewelry, for example.

Of course, there was still the possibility that Andreotti was lying and was really helping Paola traffic her stolen goods. She still hadn’t seen what was in the sack Paola had given him.

“I noticed you came in with a Preziosi bag,” Nancy said casually. “Claudia, do you think it could be the pin?”

Claudia looked at Nancy in alarm, obviously not knowing how to respond.

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