Free Deadly to the Sight by Edward Sklepowich Page A

doing at Santa Maria Formosa?”
    â€œHe said it was one of the churches he hadn’t yet been in. He had some time on his hands and decided to see it.”
    â€œI suppose it sounds plausible.”
    â€œAre you suggesting he had another reason for being there?”
    Actually Urbino wasn’t sure what he meant.
    â€œIt’s just that Crivelli seemed to get nervous when she saw who he was.”
    â€œYou’re ridiculous, Urbino. Giorgio didn’t even know Alvise. He—”
    â€œYou’re assuming that Crivelli has something to tell you about Alvise,” he interrupted. “I believe you’re wrong, as I said. If everything happened exactly the way you described it, Crivelli gave you some details about her information—if you can call them details—only when Giorgio was a few feet away, and in a voice that was louder than usual.”
    â€œI don’t see how that involves Giorgio. She was determined to let me know that she had information of value to me. She practically named Alvise, as far as I am concerned.”
    â€œPerhaps.” Urbino said it without any enthusiasm. He went over the sequence of events in his mind from the time Crivelli had accosted the Contessa until she had left the church right after Giorgio had come up.
    The Contessa was giving him a sad, skeptical look.
    â€œI can’t help it, Urbino. I’m waiting for the next shoe to drop. I’ve been at my wit’s end. I’ve wanted to tell you about it from the moment you returned but I couldn’t. You were so caught up in being back and—and in other things, and I guess I kept hoping that I’d wake up one day to find that I’d been worrying about nothing. But the fear has only gotten stronger.”
    He took a sip of sherry. It was time to tell her about his meeting with Crivelli.
    â€œI had a talk with her yesterday,” he said abruptly.
    â€œA talk with her? You knew about this all the while I’ve been going on?”
    â€œWhat you’ve told me is completely new to me, but I met her on Burano. Habib and I went to Il Piccolo Nettuno. This is what happened.”
    As Urbino gave his account, without any embellishment or commentary, the Contessa was just as silent as he had been during hers.
    When he finished, the Contessa was pale.
    â€œI’m convinced now more than ever! She means me harm!”
    â€œBut she said she only wanted to help you—and to be helped,” he added lamely.
    â€œTake some clues from your Habib! You’re always singing his praises until I’m deaf to anything else! He knows that she’s to be feared.”
    Urbino poured himself another generous portion of sherry. He wasn’t as sure about what he felt about Crivelli now as he had been a few moments ago.
    â€œAll that business about mothers,” the Contessa went on, “and—and how much you like San Michele and cemeteries, even though you are such a young man,” she emphasized. “Can’t you see how crafty she is? How she was manipulating you? Did you ask yourself how she knew those things? She’s the kind of person who makes a point of getting information, I tell you, of using information! I can only guess what she might know about you that’s a deep dark secret even to me.”
    â€œHabib—”
    â€œYes, let’s talk about Habib. Why is he so frightened of her?”
    â€œHe says she has the evil eye. You know he’s superstitious.”
    â€œYes, but why about Nina Crivelli?”
    â€œJust look at her! She’s frightening looking, as frightening as an evil fairy-tale character can be to a child. And Habib is in some ways a child, at least in his susceptibilities.”
    â€œYes, yes, I realize all that. I’m not trying to cast any doubts on your young friend, believe me,” she said with an air of innocence that didn’t convince him, “but there may be more here than meets the eye.