Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Alarm ran through me. “No, no. Stay away from the Cupids, Nonna. Remember, one of them shot Nick with an arrow.”
“It’s my job, dear. Anyway, one case at a time. Have a good day.” She clicked off.
Oh, man. We really needed to identify the Cupids. I hoped Pierce found Lenny soon. My knee throbbed, and I had the urge to move it to get some blood going, so I slipped my snow boots back on, grabbed my coat, and headed out.
“Where are you going?” Oliver asked, watching me limp.
“I’m going to fetch coffee. You want anything?”
He nodded. “I’d love a hot chocolate with the hazelnut syrup they have at Smiley’s.”
“That’s where I’m headed,” I said. “Do you want anything to eat?”
“I’ll take a doughnut.”
Ah, to be young and have the metabolism of an eighteen-year-old boy.
“You’ve got it.” I walked out into the hallway and paused at Cousin Wanda Versaccio’s office. A thought occurred to me, and I opened the door to see the receptionist.
“Hey there, Anna,” she said, glancing at her computer screen. “You don’t have an appointment, do you?”
It had been a while since I’d sought counselling. “Hi, Bess. No, I was just wondering if Wanda was in. I knew it was a long shot.”
“She is, and she’s free. Hey, Wanda,” Bess called back. “Anna’s here.”
Wanda poked her head out of her room. “Hey, Anna. Come on in.”
“Thanks.” I limped my way past the reception area and back to Wanda’s wide office. As my distant cousin, she looked Italian with her dark eyes and salt-and-pepper hair.
“What’s up? You okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. I just had a question for you.”
She nodded toward the spacious seating area. “Anything.” She sat on one of the guest chairs near a sofa, and I took the matching seat. I’d never seen her actually sit at her desk near the window.
“Do you know about the Cupids?” I asked.
“I heard you were involved with that.”
I rubbed my knee. “Not purposely. I just happened to be in two of the places they robbed.”
“That’s an odd coincidence.”
“Sometimes that happens to me.”
She chuckled, her eyes lighting. “You know, that’s true. That does happen to you. What’s your question?”
I described the three Cupids, spending extra time on the tall one. “There’s something sexy about him,” I said.
“You do like danger.”
I blinked. Was that true? Aiden seemed dangerous but wasn’t. Probably. “Not to me. I meant more like…he thinks he’s sexy.”
“How interesting,” she said.
“Why would somebody be dressing up like Cupid, robbing places, and then giving two-thirds of the bounty away? What kind of psychological makeup would that person have?”
She sat back, her eyebrows rising. “That’s an interesting question. Well, it’s obvious he sees himself as some sort of modern-day Robin Hood. He takes from the rich and gives to the poor. He likes that about himself. He likes the attention of the form-fitting dark clothes, and he knows he’s hot. Even the mask you described sounds beautiful and handsome, as well as the golden hair. He could wear any old wig, but he likes to look striking. Obviously, I’ve never met the person, but I would go with narcissistic personality disorder.”
I couldn’t quite pin down why they kept robbing places and giving the money away. “When he gives the money away, everybody knows where it’s from. So, it usually goes back to the original owners.”
“Yeah,” she said, leaning forward, “but that’s not the point. The point is he sacrifices the money. He doesn’t really care what happens to it next.”
“This is all a huge ego trip for him?”
“Part of it is,” she said. “Obviously, again, I don’t know him, so can’t say for sure. But he might be a little unhinged. He did shoot Basanelli with an arrow. He’s dangerous, Anna. If anything messes with this charade or the identity he has in his head, he’ll strike out like he did with Nick. You need to be careful. Let the police handle it.”
No way did I want to mess with the guy. He was more than a foot taller than me, muscular, and appeared strong. “I will. I promise. I was just curious.”
“Anything else?” she asked.
I stood, needing a latte. “No, but I appreciate the time.”
“Wait a minute. What about Basanelli and Tessa? Isn’t there supposed to be a proposal soon?”
I blinked. “How did you know?”
“I talked to Nana O’Shea at the grocery store. It wasn’t in a session or anything, so it’s not privileged.”
“She needs to stop telling people. It hasn’t happened yet.” We had to keep it a secret from Tess.
Wanda held up a hand. “I promise I won’t say a word.”
“Thanks,” I said, chuckling. “Anyway, have a good day. Oh, and I’m hoping Violet gets to see you soon. She needs to see somebody out of the family for a while, but...”
“Oh, yes. Your Aunt Yara called me. I’ll see Violet whenever she wants.”