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

sipping from her water bottle.
    “Why don’t you give the key to the next person who comes looking for it?” she asked. “It can’t be important enough to risk being robbed and injured for.”
    Claire nodded. “You’re right.” She gave me her empty water bottle to throw away. “But I’m not sure I can let it go. My dad went to the trouble of keeping the
Della Pittura
and the key in a safety deposit box. They must have been very important to him.” She sniffed back tears, and Valeria handed her a tissue.
    “I wonder if the book is valuable in its own right, or does it only serve as a container for the key?” I asked, suffering another pang of guilt that I’d let the book be stolen.
    “Whether it is or not, I’m sure Claire’s father would never have wanted to put her in danger,” Valeria said. “I think you should hand it over, if not to one of these men, then to the police.”
    I didn’t say anything. I had no influence over what Claire decided to do, but I suspected that the problem wouldn’t be resolved by simply giving up the key. For one thing, Ethan was still missing. Was he hiding from the people who wanted the book and the key so much? Or had they kidnapped him and were holding him until we gave up the key? There was a third explanation for his absence, but it wasn’t one I wanted to think about.
    I turned my attention back to Claire.
    “What do you think, Kate?” she asked. “We should just do as Valeria suggests, don’t you think?” Her voice sounded lighter already, as if she believed she had some level of control over the situation.
    “I don’t know. We need to consider that these men are almost certainly looking for Ethan too— or they already have him. The key may be something we can use to negotiate. You know, we could offer it in return for information on his whereabouts.”
    Claire’s shoulders slumped and she looked down at her hands. Valeria threw a look at me that was hard to read. I wasn’t sure if she was angry with me for upsetting Claire or if she was simply mad that the situation existed at all. Either way, I liked her. I guessed that she would be a good friend to have in a crisis.
    Just then a nurse entered the cubicle with a young
poliziotto
in tow. Claire sat up straighter on her pillows. Even in the midst of all this, her hand went to her hair to smooth it into place.
    “Thank you for coming,” she said to him.
    “I trust you are not badly hurt?” The officer’s face creased with concern.
    “No. Only shaken up a bit.” She introduced Valeria and me, and the policeman asked a couple of routine questions about where and when the mugging had taken place. He wrote a quick note and then closed his notebook.
    “We’ll do what we can,” he said. “But, as he didn’t succeed in taking your handbag, it’s unlikely that this will be pursued aggressively.” He gave us a sheepish look. “We are overworked and have to concentrate our efforts on the serious crimes. I hope you understand.”
    “I don’t think it was a mugging,” I said. The policeman looked up at me, waiting for an explanation.
    “It’s something to do with her brother,” I continued, glancing at Claire, who nodded her agreement. “He’s missing and we think his disappearance is connected in some way to this robbery attempt.”
    I told him what I’d told Valeria. The officer made me repeat parts of my story so that he could keep up. When we’d finished, he re-read what he’d written, tapping his pencil against the paper.
    “You’ll start a search for Ethan, won’t you?” Claire asked.
    “From what you’ve told me, it’s not clear that your brother ever left England,” the officer said. “We have no reason to believe that he’s in Italy. But I will cooperate with the English police on the case.” He looked at me. “Do you have the contact information for the detective who’s handling your missing person report?”
    I wasn’t convinced that Detective Lake was actively handling