Page 66 of Chasing Caine

“You were saying,” I said. “What brought you from Miami?”

“I met Umberto while I was in Paris three years ago on a plein air painting retreat.” Eva glanced over her shoulder, the blond hair swinging gracefully, green dress fluttering about her figure. She was like another piece of art. “I was in a café with some other students and, well, it was love at first sight.”

“Sounds familiar,” said Antonio, weaving his fingers around mine. “Samantha and I fell in love in college but were separated for a decade by other adventures.”

I frowned at him. Not even close to true. We’dmetin college, but I turned him down the one time he spoke to me.

Too serious, he mouthed to me.

“He spent four months in Miami with me, then we moved to Rome two years ago so he could finish his studies.” Eva slowed as we reached a space in the gallery where the paintings were much closer together. We were out of the natural light, under spotlights. These pieces were more akin to Dali surrealism, with elements melting off the canvas. Far more muted tones than Riccardo’s works near the front.

The card next to the painting listed the artist as ‘Eva Zabelle.’ Was that her surname?

“I like this.” Antonio leaned back to take it all in, then stepped closer, releasing my hand. “I need to thank Umberto for recommending the gallery. Is he still in town, given the delay with our project? I haven’t seen him since Wednesday.”

“He talked about heading up to Rome for the weekend but changed his mind last night.” She shrugged, staring at the painting, a gloom falling over her features. “And he was supposed to stop in this morning, but he didn’t show.”

Could he have been traveling to Rome to meet a buyer and that fell through? Maybe the recovery of the blue pigment pot scared him? Or were his questions about the delayed equipment on Wednesday a fact-finding mission? Maybe he discovered he had more time and opportunity, so he postponed his sale until he had more to sell?

I touched her arm. “You’re worried about him?”

She cleared her throat and moved to the next painting, which none of us really looked at. “I called him a half dozen times, but he hasn’t responded.”

“No history of disappearing? Taking off without telling you?”

“None.” She clasped a hand over the bracelet on her left wrist. “We’ve only been together a couple of years, so you never know. But we’ve been pretty much inseparable that whole time.”

I pointed at an element on the painting, a distraction in case her boss was still watching. “Is there anything we can do? Anywhere you two normally go or somewhere he’s talked about that he may have gone on his own?”

She furrowed her brows. “Why are you asking all these questions?”

“Maybe we can help?”

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t had this job long.” Her gaze went over my shoulder again. “It’s a huge opportunity for me to showcase my paintings here, so if you’re not actually interested in any of the pieces, I need to move on to someone else.”

None of the art would be under five figures, so buying one just to keep talking was out of the question. Antonio probably could have, but that was hardly a good use of his funds.

“No ideas at all?” I asked. “Maybe where you’re staying?”

She shook her head and ushered us toward the entrance. She kept step beside me, her voice low. “He was joking around last night about the project in Pompeii, like he’d be so absorbed in that once it got going that I might not see him again. I laughed it off, knowing the way he got focused about his work.”

Antonio said, “But the project has not started yet.”

“I know. There was just…” She slowed before we reached the door. “The way he was talking last night, it seemed like there was something else going on. But I don’t know what.”

Eva and Antonio exchanged contact information.

I said, “If you think of anything else, let us know. Antonio has contacts in town that may be able to help.”

“I will.” She shook my hand, then held Antonio’s. “It was an honor to meet you, Dr. Ferraro.”

We emerged from the gallery, back into the sunshine and jam-packed road.

“Did you get what you wanted, bella?”

“Yes and no. I’d say it satisfied my curiosity.” I pulled out my phone and texted Elliot. Eva’s worries about Umberto might be important.

“And the no?”

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