The Grotto's Secret: A Historical Conspiracy Mystery Thriller Read Free

a split second she squeezed her eyes tight, unwilling to see another threat.
    The phone beeped again. She sagged over her office chair like Annie’s rag doll.
    Kelby dropped her glasses onto her nose. A shiver clawed its way up her spine and her stomach tied itself in knots.
    God help me. Not him again .

5
    Serramonacesca, Italy
    Barker enjoyed this killing malarkey. Although he’d never done it before, he had a gift for it. Thankfully his task in the Abruzzi Mountains was almost over; he only needed to do a few tweaks to ensure the cogs fell into place.
    Job done.
    He pressed send on his phone and tucked the device into his pocket.
    Yes, he enjoyed playing with the she-devils. And neither of them had the foggiest that he was their cyber stalker.
    Planning Teresina’s death had been easy. As one of the show’s producers the craziest ideas were pitched at him. Using them for his own means, he loved.
    Both she-devils knew everyone on the show was testing this new device from one of the entrepreneurs.
    As he touched the sun-warmed metal hood of the gleaming French-navy Maserati, he ran through his plans one more time. Some things he hated about this job, including sticking his hands up the wheel shaft. On the other hand, touching this graceful racer he loved.
    He stood back to enjoy the sun glinting on the bonnet. The Maserati thrilled every petrol-head as it tore through the Italian countryside. Now it rested in silence on the paved drive. Beside the gleaming bonnet, twinned sculptured cypress trees guarded the Palazzo’s baroque entrance.
    Today was special.
    Today Teresina would die.
    A voice bellowed from the window, disturbing the countryside’s peace. ‘Majella! Did you hear me?’
    Her yell bounced around inside the Italian palazzo before emerging from the ornate-stone arched windows on the mountain’s breeze.
    Rude or moody most days, Teresina Piccoli, heiress of the Piccoli Palazzo and one of the Devil’s Grotto game show mentors, had something extra gnawing away at her today. A package had arrived that morning,
gift wrapped in blood-red twine. The she-devil had received his anonymous threat.
    Barker chuckled. She had no idea she would soon be pushing up daisies. He knelt and peered inside the wheel chassis. Then he pulled a device out of his pocket, dropped it into his palm and pressed a yellow button. The screen lit up. Next, he pressed the red and yellow buttons simultaneously, held them for a few seconds and waited for the zero to stop blinking.
    His fingers slid along the inside of the alloy rim, found the best spot and snapped on the gadget. Tighter. And tighter still. He wriggled it one last time. Tight enough to do the job. He grinned and tapped the device, whispering, ‘Do your thing, buddy, and do it at the right moment.’
    During tests the device had failed high speed cornering when the load was greatest on the tyre. Teresina loved speed. The countryside was renowned for its winding mountainous roads so the device would do the trick.
    The engine oil’s sharp odour stuck in the back of Barker’s throat, making him gag. Stretching back up, he filled his lungs with fresh air.
    The tyre tread monitor settled to a steady blue haze at 0.0.
    Primed. Ready to explode.

6
    Kelby didn’t bother to read her latest phone message and ignored the insistent beep. There were too many idiots using social media nowadays.
    Jimmy took her phone and read the message, then dumped it on her desk in disgust.
    Without looking up she said, ‘That bad?’
    ‘It’s not only you. Teresina has been taken to the cleaners. I’ve learnt a whole bevy of new words from this fella. Horse-teeth. Dentist-done smile. Devil’s breath. Viper. But mostly Teresina’s called a man-eater.’
    She muttered, ‘I’d give anything for her ironing board tummy!’
    ‘Nah, yer grand, you don’t wanna be that skinny.’
    ‘I do!’ She looked at Jimmy askance. She envied the way Teresina attracted people to her like butterflies to a new