Charmer's Death (Temptation in Florence Book 2) Read Free Page B

that twirled around her when she moved, and combined it with a soft sweater that had fake leopard fur at the end of the sleeves and at the collar. She smiled when she looked into the mirror. She looked like a cat, a purring, happy cat.
    She downed a cup of strong coffee, then ran downstairs, an hour earlier than usual. Her hand touched the smooth wood of the railing that curved from the top floor of the house, where she had her apartment, past her mother's apartment, where everything was quiet, thank God.
    Two floors down from her apartment, she stopped for an instant and laid a package with a pair of nylons in front of her cousin Emma's door. Emma would know it was a thank-you for the help she had given her during the pre-Christmas cleaning at Temptation.
    Still humming, she ran down the last flight of steps and reached the ground floor where her great-uncle Teo lived. He came out of his apartment just as she opened the heavy wooden front door.
    He was a head shorter than Carlina, and his white hair stood up in wisps, but he was dressed with care as always, his trousers sharply creased, his white shirt immaculate. "You're early today, Carlina."
    She gave him a kiss on his leathery cheek. He smelled of aftershave. "Yes, I have a special promotion today. It's very exciting."
    He nodded. "I know. The indestructible nylons, right?"
    Carlina laughed. "Yes. How well you remember everything I tell you." He looks so wistful. He must be lonely now. It seems so long ago that we had these awful murders, and yet, it's only a few months. I really have to find something to keep him occupied.
    "Of course I remember the unbreakable nylons." He smiled at her. "Have a good day, my dear, and tell me all about it tonight."
    "I won't be home tonight," Carlina said. I hope. "But I'll tell you later, all right?"
    His rheumy eyes sharpened. "So that's why you've been humming all the way down."
    She turned so quickly, her skirt swung out. "You're way too clever, Uncle Teo." She winked and waved at him. "Have a good day!" The door closed behind her with a bang, but it opened again immediately.
    Uncle Teo stuck out his head. "Are you going to tell me everything?" He put special emphasis on the last word.
    She grinned over her shoulder. "Of course not!" Then she hurried to her Vespa.
    As she still had time, she stopped at the bakery around the corner from the Basilica di Santa Trìnita and bought a cardboard box of flat Copate biscuits for her assistant Ricciarda and herself. The almonds and sugars would give them quick energy if the day should prove to be too hectic for lunch, and the wafers on the top and the bottom of the biscuits would protect their hands from becoming sticky. The perfect pick-me-up if she ever saw one . . . though she might not need them today; her high level of adrenaline could carry her through the whole day . . . or so it felt. Carlina still hummed while she opened the door of Temptation.
    With a smile, she hung up the sign she had prepared for the shop window. 'Mai più smagliature!' it said, 'No more runs!'.
    A minute later, Ricciarda arrived. She, too, wore a short skirt and a pair of the new nylons Carlina had given her. Carlina smiled. They had not discussed it, but Ricciarda knew the best way to show a new product was to wear it . . . which usually was out of the question.
    "You look great," she said.
    Ricciarda smiled back. "So do you." Her black ponytail shimmered in the winter morning light coming through the window. "Shall we bet how many nylons we'll sell today?"
    Carlina laughed. "God, I have no clue. I've never done this before. Twenty pairs? Twenty-five?"
    "Forty at least." Ricciarda stretched out her hand. "The one who wins will buy the other a box of Copate biscuits."
    Carlina shook her assistant's hand. "Deal. But guess what?" She grinned. "I already bought us a box."
    “ Perfect.” Ricciarda went behind the cash register and exclaimed in surprise. “What are these?” She pointed at four shiny bags, filled