Page 158 of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies

“And we will speak to the BookFace Ladies, but it is likely not someone from the outside. The gun, the handkerchief—this was, how you say, an inside job.”

I shiver. “Yes.”

“Your sister?”

“No, it can’t be her.”

“Why are you so certain?”

“Besides the fact that I’d know if she wanted to kill me?”

His mouth presses together. “No, Ms. Dash. It is precisely this kind of arrogance that leads to people losing their lives. You do not know what someone else might harbor in their heart. The resentments that build up over time. The injuries from the past that can come back to haunt you.”

Why does it sound like he’s describing me and Oliver?

No, no, no. This is just another form of self-sabotage.

Yes, he knows about cars, and yes, he hates Connor. And okay, yes, he was standing close enough to me on the veranda to save me, which means he could’ve pushed me, and he knows about poisons because he does the research, but he didn’t come on this tour to kill me.

He came for me.

He came for us.

“Ms. Dash?”

“You were saying about Harper… But we live together. I see her all the time. I would know if she wanted to harm me. She’s not an actress. She can’t hide her emotions like that. And she was there with me outside the Vatican. We’re each other’s alibis for that attempt. And when that man was killed. Harper and I were together all day that day until after dinner.”

“Hmmm.”

But I have no idea where Oliver was on the day we went to the Vatican, or during the time between the Forum and dinner. I’ve never even asked him.

I shake my suspicions away. “You don’t believe me?”

“I think there’s something at work here that neither of us are seeing at the moment.”

He lets that sit there, maybe trying to provoke a reaction, but I won’t let him see the doubts in my mind.

I can’t.

“One thing is clear, though, Inspector Tucci,” Lorenzo says. “You will not be arresting my client.”

“Yes, yes, you have made that point very clear.”

“Are we finished, then?” I ask.

“For the moment. But you must stay in Sorrento.”

“What about the rest of the tour?”

“When are you supposed to depart?”

That damn itinerary. I’ve never been able to keep the details fixed in my mind.

“What’s the date?”

“July sixth.”

“I’m not sure. I think we’re here today.”

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