Claire Gulliver #03 - Intrigue in Italics Read Free Page B

hotel.” She and Ruth nodded pleasantly when the couple waved to them across the room. “It’s really a very small town, isn’t it? We keep seeing people we know, and we don’t even know anyone in Italy.”
    That’s when Claire remembered.
    She looked at her mother. “Mom, the funniest thing happened when I went back to the hotel this afternoon. Well, not funny really, but very odd.” It must have been the tone of her voice, because Millie and Ruth both turned and gave her their full attention.
    “I was standing on a street waiting to cross and Kristen rode past me on a bicycle.”
    Her mother’s head jerked. “Kristen? Kristen Bonnibelli?”
    “I’m sure it was her. And she recognized me. I saw it in her eyes.”
    “That’s not possible, dear.” Her mother reached out putting her hand on Claire’s arm. “Maybe you were dreaming.”
    “I know, I know, but I swear it was Kristen. Right here! In Florence! Kristen was on a bicycle riding along the street in the midst of a bunch of other people.”
    “Claire, that’s crazy. It couldn’t have been Kristen. You were dreaming or in jet lag or something.” Her mother’s voice had sharpened with her effort to convince her daughter.
    “Wait a minute, Millie. It’s not impossible to see someone you know on the other side of the world. People do it all the time. Why couldn’t Claire have seen her friend?”
    “Because Kristen died, that’s why,” Millie muttered grimly. “It couldn’t have been Kristen.” It was as if she could make it not true. “Kristen died in an auto accident last year. Claire went to the funeral. It was very sad. I remember it well.”
    Ruth’s mouth dropped open and it was a moment before she recovered enough to swallow the last of her wine.
    “So it was just someone who reminded you of Kristen, Claire. That’s all. You didn’t speak to her, did you?” Then seeing Claire’s head shake, she said vehemently, “There, that’s it! You were tired and someone passed who reminded you of Kristen. If you had spoken to her, you would have realized it wasn’t her. But because she then vanished, you keep thinking it might have been her.” Millie was fully satisfied with her reasoning.
    But Claire wasn’t convinced.

 

     

CHAPTER  2
     
     
     
    The day was already hot when they rounded the corner, only to stop aghast at the long line snaking down the block.
    “Is this the line?”
    Ruth asked the lady at the end. “Are you waiting to get in the Accademia?”
    She nodded her head vigorously as she replied in some language they didn’t recognize any words but “Accademia?”
    A woman standing several people ahead of them turned around and assured them in English. “It looks worse than it is. It seems to be moving quickly.”
    Already there were several people lined up behind them asking the same question.
    “You two wait here and I’ll go up to the front and check it out,” Ruth told them and then marched ahead.
    Millie started a conversation with the lady behind her who was from Houston. The woman had been to Florence before, so she had several suggestions for them to try for dinner.
    Claire scanned the street, watching the natives going about their business, seemingly totally disinterested in the large group of tourists hungering for a look at Michelangelo’s David . The line did move steadily and soon Ruth was back.
    “It’s a good thing we decided to come this morning because a lady up in the front said she was here Sunday and the line was so long they couldn’t get in before closing. So they finally gave up. But because the museum only opened a bit ago, it will take a while for it to get so crowded they will have to stop allowing people to enter until some leave.” Ruth was pleased with herself as she was the one who insisted they visit David the first thing this morning.
    Claire hadn’t been eager as she had already seen two copies in various parts of town and she had been here less than one day. But Ruth was