Free temptation in florence 04 - expected in death by Beate Boeker Page A

apartment by next month, and it would be great if he could take Carlina's apartment. I know it's a bit small for a man like Ugo, but he has--”
    “I haven't moved out yet.” Carlina's voice was like ice. “And I'll thank you to wait for that to happen before you give my apartment away.”
    “Oh, my, now I've upset you.” The words sounded soft, but Olga's eyes were hard like quartz. “But I thought it's up to Teo to decide who stays where. It's his house, isn't it? Actually, I doubt that you are an official tenant. Probably your agreement is only based on some informal arrangement, isn't it?”
    Carlina gasped. She looked at Uncle Teo, waiting for him to jump in, to defend her, to say that she could stay as long as she wanted. But he was studying the tips of his elegant shoes as if he had never seen them before. What on earth was going on here? Had Olga insinuated that they were only using him, were sucking him dry, were all profiting from him without offering anything in return? “Uncle Teo? What do you say?”
    “You needn't appeal to your Uncle Teo. He knows very well that the family is only exploiting him and living at his expense.”
    Uncle Teo didn't look up from his shoes.
    Carlina choked. “Now listen, you scheming little witch.” She heard her voice full of hate and was taken aback by the sheer venom in it. Was that really her? She tempered it somewhat. “I advise you to rethink your strategy. Think of Uncle Teo. He won't be happy if you alienate him from everyone he holds dear.”
    Olga met Carlina's fiery gaze squarely. “I'll make him happy.”
    “Oh, no, you won't.” Carlina narrowed her eyes. “You can't make up for a whole family. You can't erase decades of emotions and caring. Nobody can.”
    Olga lifted an arrogant eyebrow. “Don't underestimate me.”
    “Don't underestimate us,” Carlina shot back. “Or you'll be dead before you know it.” She turned on her heels and stormed out of the apartment. She was upstairs before she knew how she'd gotten there and rushed into her apartment, almost falling over Garini's long legs. He had been sitting on her comfortable armchair with the leopard print cover, but jumped up when she charged through the door. “Carlina, what happened?”
    She balled both her fists and shook them. “I'm going to kill Olga with my bare hands.”
    “Whoa. Easy.” He looked behind her, closed the door, and turned around. “Now tell me.”
    The whole conversation poured out of Carlina. She walked in circles while beating her right fist into her left palm. Her heart beat so hard that she at first thought she could hear it outside, but then she realized that it had started to rain and that a fierce wind was throwing gusts of rain against the window.
    When she had told him everything, she dropped onto the sofa, exhausted. “I'm stumped,” she said. “I have to idea how to save us. Olga will destroy this family unless someone kills her first.”
    Garini looked at her with a bemused expression on his face and said, “I've never seen you like this.”
    The next days passed as if someone had taken a big bucket of black paint and had poured it over everything. The mood was black and nobody talked to Olga who made a point of joining them for dinner every night. Even the weather let them down – it started to rain in sheets during the weekend and continued until Monday morning, running in rivulets down the intricate marble patterns of Santa Croce's facade.
    Carlina unlocked the door to Temptation with a heavy heart. Something's gotta give , she thought again, just as she had thought so often in the past days. But what? And when? Where would this all end? She jumped when her cell phone started to ring and pulled it from her handbag before entering her store.
    “Carlina, it's me, Francesca!” From the tone of her voice, it sounded as if Francesca were bent on coloring all of Florence single-handedly in a golden halo.
    “Francesca! Are you still in Venice?”
    “No, I