Free Casanova Killer by Tallulah Grace Page B

gown as soon as she’d seen it hanging in her closet. Secretly, she was nervous about tonight and hoped that she’d at least chosen the right dress.
“Thank you, Ethan. You look nice too.” It was an understatement if there had ever been one. The man looked like sin on a stick. She was suddenly grateful for Dylan’s presence, otherwise she may have given in to the urge to reach up and taste him. “What did you find?”
“An image, possibly, of Oscar. It’s grainy, looks like it was taken at night from a distance. See the red Mas in the background?” Dylan pointed to the screen.
“Yes, can you enhance it?”
“I’m trying, but Jimmy’s got the good toys; I sent it off to him. It’s time stamped four days ago, taken with a Canon, but we didn’t find one in the apartment.”
“She would have taken it with her, in anticipation of the adventure he promised.” Jerry’s voice was sour. “Son of a bitch couldn’t know about this picture. No way would he let her keep it.”
“That’s probably why it’s such a bad shot. Maybe by tomorrow, we’ll have his face.”
“From your lips.” Jerry added.
“We should go.” Ethan took Jerry’s arm; she hoped he didn’t feel the goose bumps that suddenly appeared.
“Text us if you find anything else.” Jerry told Dylan. “And lock up when you leave.”
“Yes ma’am. Have fun.” He told her with a wicked grin.
“We will.” Ethan assured him and guided Jerry through the door.
 
“But why would Alfredo humiliate Violetta in front of everyone, even if it were true that she loved the Baron? He was an idiot to believe that, by the way.” Jerry spoke in hushed tones, even though the curtain had fallen on the second Act.
“He was so devastated by her betrayal that he couldn’t see past his ego. His need to crush her in front of their peers is not an uncommon knee-jerk reaction, I suppose, even in the eighteen hundreds.” Ethan was pleased that Jerry had honored her word to give the performance a fair shake and secretly thrilled that she was getting into the story.
“But how could he not see that she was lying? The love between them was palpable, how could he believe that she was in love with anyone else, especially such a pompous ass. Alfredo had to know that his father was behind Violetta’s sudden change of heart. If nothing else, the timing made it obvious.” Jerry’s anger at the storyline amused Ethan in that it echoed his own whenever he managed to catch a performance.
“Obvious to us, but not so much to a love-sick Alfredo. I believe that he’d never really gotten over the Baron’s influence in Violetta’s former lifestyle as a courtesan.”
“Maybe so. At least the guests at the party turned on him for treating a woman so poorly. Another thing I don’t understand is why Violetta begged him to see the love in her heart after he’d treated her like crap.”
“I take it you’ve never been in love?” Ethan asked quietly.
The question surprised Jerry, but not as much as the way Ethan’s eyes suddenly narrowed and seemed to reach right into her soul to find the answer.
“No, I haven’t,” she said softly. “I’ve had crushes and mini-relationships, but I’ve never experienced the all-consuming power of the kind of love that Violetta and Alfredo share.”
“Neither have I; I’m not sure how many people have been lucky enough to find the real thing. I’ve seen enough operas and read enough Browning and the like to know that pride goes out the window when true love is involved. Even though Violetta used Alfredo’s insecurities to try and do what his father insisted was right for the family, she really wanted him to see past the ruse and rely on her love for him. But he failed.”
“Men can be such idiots.” Jerry’s expression caused Ethan to laugh out loud, eliciting raised eyebrows from the patrons still seated in the surrounding boxes.
“I suppose you’re right, but can you really fault Alfredo for believing Violetta’s