Yeah, he was, and he didn’t exactly like it.
The house he’d rented had been outfitted with surveillance equipment because there had been some robberies in the area. He’d thought he didn’t need it, but now he was glad it had been installed. Turning on the monitor screens, he checked the cameras that gave various views of the property, then set the alarm that would alert him if anybody was sneaking up on the house.
He left it on and retrieved some raw steak from the fridge which he cut into several chunks. Turning on the TV, he found a local news outlet and ate while he watched a breathless account of the fire, complete with video of the firefighters’ futile efforts to put out the blaze, although their quick efforts were credited with saving the houses on either side of the property. Arson was suspected, and so far there was no evidence of any fatalities. According to property records, the owner of the house was Angelo Lucci. And Francesca had also given the uncle that first name. Was her last name the same? Or were they even related? She could even be his mistress.
No, that last thought was going too far. He hated doubting everything she’d told him, but her reluctance to give him any details made it impossible to trust her.
Neighbors were talking about Angelo Lucci. Apparently he’d kept to himself, and of course he’d taken the unusual step of literally walling himself off. Nobody knew him well, although he hadn’t caused any trouble as far as anyone could recall. It was like the amazed reaction when someone turned out to be a serial killer, and everyone was shocked to learn he had a secret life.
Zane sighed. With the alarm on, maybe he could afford to get a little sleep after he’d done some more investigation, but he’d better be ready for action at any time.
He broke off his search for local information and sent an e-mail to Frank Decorah explaining what was happening and what he knew. Maybe his best bet would be to take Francesca to Decorah headquarters while he investigated the case.
After the e-mail to Decorah, he went back to digging for anything he could find on Francesca. She had said she had come down here from the Boston area. If she was on the up and up, there might be an easy way to find some stuff out.
He got into the Facebook account he rarely used and put in the name Francesca Lucci—and got nothing. Same with Instagram and Twitter.
Either she didn’t use social media, or she was posting under some other name.