Free The Florentine Cypher: Kate Benedict Paranormal Mystery #3 (The Kate Benedict Series) by Carrie Bedford Page A

form before telling me where to find Claire. Everyone in the line glared at me when I left the counter with my permission slip in hand.
    “
Inglese
,” whispered one of them, as though my nationality explained my rude behavior. I hurried away towards the emergency wing, which was filled with grey curtained cubicles and solemn staff. A nurse sat a desk, filling out paperwork. When I handed her the form, she read through it slowly, as though absorbing every piece of information.
    “Signorina Hamilton is in the cubicle at the end,” she said finally, pointing to the far end of the long room. It was surprisingly quiet. No sign of doctors dashing to bedsides, no buzz of machines. I walked to the cubicle, conscious of my boots squeaking loudly on the grey tiled floor, and pushed through the curtain to find a dark-haired woman in heels and an elegant blue suit standing next to the bed.
    “You must be Kate. I’m Valeria,” she said in fast Italian. “Pleased to meet you. Claire is fine. Only a few bruises. The doctors want her to stay for an hour or so.”
    Claire was sitting up, propped against stark white pillows. She had a bandage on her forehead and a bruise on her cheek. Her aura still moved slowly. That was a good sign, if there was any good to be found with auras.
    She opened her eyes. “Kate! I’m so glad to see you.”
    I pulled up a grey plastic chair that reminded me of the one in Detective Lake’s office, parked it close to the bed, and sat down.
    “Are you okay?”
    “Yes, I’m fine. Someone attacked me outside the office.” Tears flowed down her cheeks. “Fortunately, Valeria rescued me.”
    I looked at Valeria. “What happened?”
    “I’d just arrived and was in the hall on the way to my office when I heard a scream from outside,” she said. “When I ran out to see a mugger trying to take Claire’s bag, I yelled at him and warned him the police were coming. He ran away.”
    “What did he look like?”
    Valeria shrugged. “I’m not sure. Tall, black hair, leather jacket.”
    Not my pockmarked-face man then. I wondered how many of them there were. If the man in the blue anorak had indeed been following me to the hospital, there were at least three here in Florence.
    “He hit you?” The bruise on Claire’s cheek was purple and black.
    “No,” Claire said. “I fell to the ground when he first grabbed my bag. I hit the pavement hard.”
    “She’s got bruises on her hip and elbow too,” said Valeria. “But it could have been worse. The doctor prescribed some painkillers for a headache and told her to rest for a day or two.”
    “I really need to get to work.” Claire said, pushing the blanket away. “The art historians are coming first thing tomorrow.”
    Valeria shook her head, reminding me of a stern French teacher I’d once had. “I can manage the preparations for that with no problem,” she said. “In fact, I’ve already called for reinforcements. Donna and Guiseppe are heading to the office now. What you must do is rest, Claire, just as the doctor ordered.”
    I flicked an admiring grin at Valeria. She smiled. “And I have called the police to report the incident,” she said. “An officer will be here shortly.” She looked around the sparsely furnished cubicle. “No water. I’ll go find some.”
    Claire leaned back on the pillows.
    “This was no random event,” I told her. “I’d bet your mugger wanted the key.”
    Her eyes opened wide. “What?”
    “A man tried to take my bag at the cathedral. He demanded I hand over the key. Which I didn’t.”
    “Oh my God. What do we do now?”
    “We tell the police.”
    “Tell the police what?” Valeria came back into the cubicle, carrying three bottles of water. She handed us one each and perched on the edge of the bed.
    “Kate can explain it all,” Claire whispered. “It’s not good.”
    I told Valeria everything that had happened so far, about Ethan’s disappearance and the stolen book. Valeria listened quietly,