Rendezvous in Rome (13 page)

H
OW LONG HAVE
you known?” Nancy asked.

Claudia wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. “I have suspected it since the night at the disco. Massimo was so offended when we suggested the necklace had come from him,” she said slowly. “We have been friends since we were children, and I knew he would not lie about something like that. Then there was the part about Sandro forgetting to bring the package to the store for over a week. That is not like him at all. Especially since when he dropped off the package, he said it was very important.”

So that was why Claudia had been so upset. She was afraid of finding out her boyfriend was a jewelry thief! “Why didn't you tell us that Sandro's story seemed strange to you?” Nancy asked.

“Well, I was uncertain. So when Massimo and I
were dancing, I asked him point-blank. ‘Did you give a package to Sandro?' I asked. ‘How many necklaces were in it?' ”

“How many?” Bess breathed.

“Two,” Claudia said.

“But Sandro gave you a package with
three
necklaces,” Nancy said. “I still don't understand why you didn't say something right away.”

Claudia fingered the seat of her Vespa as she answered. “It was Sandro against Massimo. I did not know who was lying. And they are both so dear to me, I could not risk making a mistake.”

“So when were you sure?” Bess prodded.

“Last night,” Claudia replied. “Sandro and I planned to go out after the party, but he canceled. He just said he had something else to do. He even left his mother at the opening. I took her home and waited at his house for a while, but he never showed up. When I finally left, I ran into him pulling into the parking lot. He was dressed all in black, and he was very tense and upset.”

There was no doubt in Nancy's mind. Sandro was their thief. But something else still bothered her. “Why would he do it?” she asked.

“Steal from his mother?” Claudia asked bitterly. “Attack my friends? We will have to ask him.”

Nancy's mind was working furiously as the foursome went upstairs. Thinking back, she was pretty sure she knew why Sandro had stolen the necklaces, but there were still a few blanks.

“Claudia, what are you doing here?” Sandro asked, bending to kiss her as he invited the four teens inside.

Stiffly, Claudia introduced Mick and Sandro, then looked around. “Is your mother here?” she asked.

“She's out shopping,” he said, following the group into the living room. “What's going on?”

“Why did you do it, Sandro?” Claudia stared him straight in the eyes. “Why did you steal your own mother's necklace? And her friends' jewelry?”

Sandro looked innocently from Claudia to Nancy, opening his palms in front of him. “Is this a joke?” he asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Those women trusted you!” Claudia continued. “You probably stole their jewelry from their homes when you were an invited guest!”

“Claudia”—Sandro gave an uneasy laugh— “you're acting crazy. I'm not a thief.”

“If you lie to me again, I will never speak to you as long as I live.” Claudia's voice shook. “I saw you last night, and so did Nancy!”

Sandro's face crumpled. He sat down heavily on the sofa.

“Let me see if I have the story right,” Nancy said, sitting down next to him. “You steal the jewelry and send it to Preziosi. Paola sells it.”

“But why?” Claudia asked, her lips tight. She sat down on Sandro's other side while Mick and Bess settled into two chairs.

“Because he wants to start his own computer company and his mother wouldn't lend him the money,” Nancy guessed. Sandro's astonished expression told her she was right. “But then why haven't you started the company?”

Bess grabbed Nancy's arm. “Wait, I'm completely lost!” she exclaimed. “Could you guys please back up and explain this to me?”

“Nancy's right,” Sandro said miserably, raking a hand through his hair. “I took my mother's necklace so I could start my own company. But I only wanted to borrow it,” he added earnestly. “I thought I could pawn it, but I needed to be sure I would be able to get it back as soon as the company made some money. I was hoping my mother wouldn't miss it. She almost never wears it.”

Sandro let out a sigh before continuing. “One day I was at Preziosi, waiting for Claudia to come back from an errand, and I asked Paola to recommend a pawnshop. She got the story out of me and offered to lend me the money herself—in exchange for the necklace.”

“How were you going to explain where you got the money to open your business?” Bess asked, leaning forward in her chair.

“I wasn't sure,” Sandro admitted. “As it turned out, it didn't matter because Paola didn't give me any money. She kept Mamma's necklace and blackmailed me into stealing again instead. She said if I didn't, she'd tell my mother I stole her necklace. She said that no one would believe I really intended to get it back for her.”

“But how did you manage to steal everyone's jewelry?” Bess asked.

“As Claudia said, I was invited into all those houses,” Sandro said. “You can't believe how careless some people are with their combinations.
And I have a listening device so I can hear the combination in the locks. It was pretty easy.”

Nancy picked up the story again. “So when you met Bess on the Spanish Steps, you must have recognized the necklace she was wearing right away. When the gypsy kids grabbed her knapsack, you saw your chance to grab her necklace.”

“But I managed to hold on to it,” Bess put in. “That's why we didn't suspect you then.”

Pointing an accusing finger at Sandro, Claudia said, “You drugged Nancy at the disco and broke into their room twice.”

Sandro nodded, looking ashamed. “I picked up Bess's room key when the kids took her knapsack, so I knew where to go.” He smiled sheepishly. “The second time I wore a wig that was kind of like Massimo's hair. I thought that would give you more reason to suspect him.”

“Where did you get that awful gargoyle's head?” Bess asked.

“At an art supply store,” said Sandro. “I hoped that would make you think of Massimo, too.”

Nancy shuddered as she remembered the attack in the catacombs and the musty bones crashing around her. “That was quite a daring move in the catacombs,” she told Sandro. “I don't know if I would have had the guts to attack someone with all my friends around.”

“I had to,” Sandro said. “Paola promised me if I could only get the necklace back, I could stop stealing for her.”

The group fell silent for a moment until Sandro spoke. “I guess I should be happy,” he said,
despair in his voice. “I've been trying to get out of this for months. I'm sorry I hurt you, Nancy. I was just so desperate. I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't give up!”

Tears sprang to Claudia's eyes, and Bess went over to hug her.

“I know you were scared,” Nancy told Sandro. “But you stole a lot of jewelry. Why didn't you simply go to the police and report Paola?”

“I don't have any proof,” Sandro said. “Paola made that very clear. She said she would put the blame on me and send me to jail!”

Claudia's dark eyes flashed with indignation. “There must be some way to catch her,” she said.

“Red-handed is always the best way,” Nancy said with a smile. “All we have to do is catch Paola with the goods.”

For the first time since they had confronted Sandro, Mick spoke up. “So you need a stolen necklace,” he said. “Do you have one?”

“I have the necklace I took from the hotel last night,” Sandro said. “And I still have the one I took from Nancy in the catacombs. You mean I can just give them to Paola and have her arrested?” he asked, his expression brightening.

Nancy's mind was racing. “Not quite,” she said. “We'd have to prove she knew they were stolen and kept them anyway. The best thing would be if we could catch her trying to sell them.”

“They are not sold in the store,” Claudia said, looking at Sandro. “Who does she sell them to?”

Sandro shrugged, “If she told me that, she would be a real fool.”

Nancy wasn't about to give up, though. She was sure they were on the right track. “But if she has them to sell, I'll bet we could find out who her contact is,” she pointed out.

“Let's track her!” Mick suggested.

Sandro looked at Nancy, his eyes wide. “You mean, you're letting me off the hook? You're not going to turn me over to the police?”

“Not at the moment,” Nancy said. “We need you to get to Paola. But you'll have to talk to the police once we've caught her.”

“Claudia, I'm so terribly sorry,” Sandro said, hugging her tightly. “If I get out of this, I promise I'll never be so stupid again.”

Nancy waited for the couple to separate, then said, “Claudia, maybe you should go to Preziosi to see if Paola is there. Sandro can take the necklaces over in a little while.”

Claudia grimaced and said, “I am already late for work, so I should go there, anyway.”

“Since she forced me to break into that hotel last night, she's probably expecting me,” Sandro put in. “I'm supposed to go to work, but I can tell them I'm not coming.”

“That won't be necessary,” Nancy said as an idea came to her. “You can tell Paola you're sending the necklaces over with a friend. Claudia, you watch her to see if she tries to arrange a meeting with anyone.”

“But who will bring the necklaces to the store?” Claudia asked Nancy. “Neither you nor Bess can do it. Paola would suspect something right away.”

Nancy had already thought of that. “Mick will
take them, and I'll follow him. That way, if she leaves the store, we can tail her.”

• • •

The plan went perfectly. Paola was at the store when Sandro called to let her know his “messenger” would deliver the necklaces. A few minutes later Mick was on his way. Nancy and Bess followed him, waiting for him at a café across the street from Preziosi.

“She barely glanced at me,” Mick said when he joined them. “She just took the package and slipped it directly into her shoulder bag.”

Nancy, Mick, and Bess hung around the café for an hour, waiting for Paola to make a move. Nancy was glad to hear about what Mick had been up to the last several weeks, but she deliberately steered the conversation away from herself. She didn't want to have to think about what his trip to Rome meant for them yet—at least not until they had Paola safely behind bars.

Finally, just before lunch, Paola left the store. Bess went back into Preziosi to see if Claudia had learned anything special, while Nancy and Mick followed Paola. They barely squeezed onto the bus she had boarded in time.

Luckily for Nancy, the bus was packed. She couldn't even get to the ticket punch to stamp her ticket. She hid her face in Mick's shoulder, praying Paola wouldn't see her.

Paola didn't even look around. She got off at Piazza Navona and strolled through the crowds of tourists. The piazza was packed with people, so it was easy for Nancy and Mick to avoid being seen.
The only trouble was, it could also be easy for Paola to lose them.

But Paola's attention was on the artists, not the crowd. She was making her way slowly toward Massimo's stand. Was she going to meet him after all? Nancy wondered as they followed several yards behind her.

Nancy didn't see Massimo near his stand. Apparently Paola didn't either. She slowed her pace but passed the stand without stopping. She seemed to be headed toward something else.

The gallery owner was looking at a chalk drawing. Nancy recognized the petite, dark-haired artist who was half lying on the ground, scratching intensely at the pavement with her chalk. It was Karine. Massimo was sitting cross-legged on the ground, watching her work.

Paola said something to Karine, and the girl looked up for a moment. Karine smiled briefly before returning to her work. Paola dropped a few coins in a cup near Karine and continued on, looking at a few of the craft stands.

“Parla Deutsch?”
Someone near Nancy was calling out in hopelessly mangled Italian. Nancy turned and saw a family looking lost and a little desperate.

“Ah, Nancy?” Mick called from behind her. The family had grabbed him, and a torrent of German swirled around him.

“They want directions, I think,” he said, an apologetic look on his face. “I think I can make out what they're saying, but I don't know my way around this place.”

Nancy looked through the crowd for Paola. “Mick, we have to go,” she said, trying for a polite smile. “Tell them you don't know.”

Mick tried to explain, but the father of the family wouldn't release his arm.

“Come on, Mick,” Nancy urged.

Mick pulled free and headed after Nancy, but it was too late. Paola had disappeared!