078 The Phantom Of Venice Read Free Page A

later to the police, you understand? He said the noise startled him, and he looked to see where it came from, so at first he did not notice what was happening to your father. But then, from the corner of his eye, he saw his passenger toppling overboard. As he turned in horror, he saw your father fall with a splash into the water!”
    “B-but didn’t he try to rescue Daddy?!” Tara exclaimed.
    “Oh yes, of course, my dear! He rowed around and around, searching everywhere. But in the dark it was not easy to see, and although he spent much time looking, he says your father did not appear again above water.”
    Tara Egan burst into tears. Gianni, who had not taken a chair and was hovering about the room while the others conversed, rushed to comfort her.
    “Please! Do not weep, Signorina! It is most painful to Angela and me to see you grieving so! Believe me, we are ready to do whatever we can to help!”
    As he spoke, Gianni stroked Tara’s arm and hand. Until now, the smiling, handsome young man had seemed so vain and cocksure that Nancy was startled by his sudden change of manner and his tender concern for Tara Egan.
    Aloud, Nancy said cautiously. “May I too ask a question about Mr. Egan, Signora?”
    Angela Spinelli flung out her hands. “Ma naturalmente! Of course you may ask, cara! You are a friend of Rolf Egan’s daughter, and the two of you have come here together to learn what happened to him. What is it you wish to know?”
    “Are we to understand that he was—shot to death?”
    Angela shrugged her shoulders expressively. “As to that, who can say, my dear? The gondolier reported only that he heard a gun go off, or rather, what sounded like a gun going off. He cannot even be sure it was a shot.”
    “But if Daddy wasn’t hit, why else would he have fallen overboard?!” Tara hastened to protest.
    “Please do not be offended, cara, when I tell you that the gondolier said Rolf had been drinking vino that night, perhaps too much vino. The police say that he was probably tipsy and that is why he fell overboard. Or if there was, indeed, a shot, then the noise may have startled him and caused him to lose his balance—which, again, could explain why he fell into the water.”
    There was a sob in Signora Spinelli’s voice as she spoke, and she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. Despite her rather operatic manner and gestures, Nancy sensed that she had loved Rolf Egan very much and was as deeply grieved over losing him as Tara.
    “What did the gondolier see when he looked towardthe sound?” Nancy asked gently. “Could he make out anyone on the quay?”
    “He is unsure of that, also. He thinks he may have noticed something move—as if, for instance, someone had darted into a passageway between two buildings. It could have been a gunman, perhaps. But his attention was distracted almost at once by his passenger falling into the water, so he had no chance to see clearly. Besides, it was very dark along the canal at the place where the accident occurred, and the only light came from the gondolier’s own lantern.”
    “And Mr. Egan’s body was never recovered?”
    “Unfortunately not. The police assume that the current and tide carried it far out into the lagoon, perhaps even out to sea.”
    Tara was sobbing softly now, and Gianni continued to comfort her with pats on the shoulder. Angela Spinelli looked at them. Nancy could see that she was proud of her handsome young brother, and it was not hard to understand why. With his dark good looks and sleek athletic build, a good many Venetian girls and female tourists were no doubt attracted to him. Nancy realized her own gaze was continually straying in his direction, and she could feel a tingling warmth spreading through her whenever she let her eyes linger.
    It’s a good thing I won’t be seeing too much of this fellow, she thought, or I could easily wind up being Female Victim Number nine hundred forty-seven!
    Nevertheless, Nancy’s feelings toward