Page 37 of The Venice Murders

‘He’d come to the Minerva to deliver a personal letter,’ Sally said, ‘to the hotel manager from the manager of the Cipriani, and he bumped into Bianca – literally – in the foyer. She was carrying a pile of linen at the time, she said, and tea towels and pillowcases flew all over the place. When Franco helped pick them up and apologised, she answered him in English?—’

‘Really?’

‘Perhaps trying to impress,’ Jack put in.

‘Perhaps,’ Sally agreed. ‘But it led them to realise they’d both been in England and they talked about it a little. He asked her out for a drink when she came off duty that day – and the rest followed. Bianca’s a pretty girl and there seems to have been plenty of men interested, but Franco was the one who impressed her. And I guesshewas flattered by her attention.’

‘I can see she’d be impressed,’ Flora mused. ‘He was a good deal older than her and like you say, good-looking and confident.’

Sally rubbed her chin. ‘She did confess to me that she’d thought him a boyfriend to make other girls jealous. And I’ve a feeling she was thinking of her future, too. After all, Franco worked in the most expensive hotel in Venice and Bianca might have hoped he would help her up the ladder. She has her eye on becoming a receptionist herself – she doesn’t want to clean toilets for the rest of her life. But, having said that, I’m quite sure she was genuinely heartbroken when he walked out on her.’

Jack lifted his glass. ‘Great wine, Sally. Great choice. I suppose it might have worked between them,’ he said quietly. ‘Franco was a man on the up and she was evidently keen to join him.’

‘Not in Mestre, from what I’ve seen of it,’ Sally said. ‘Living there wouldn’t have helped them move up.’

There was a moment’s silence, before Jack said, ‘Even Mestre prices are relatively high, I believe. How were they going to afford the flat you saw?’

The money that Benetti mentioned, was Flora’s immediate thought. Had that been for a flat for his daughter?

‘Her father lent it to them,’ Sally said, confirming the hunch. ‘That’s what Bianca told me. It was money Signor Benetti had saved for years and earmarked for the new boat he’d ordered. Quite a sacrifice.’

‘We met Piero Benetti yesterday,’ Flora confessed. ‘Bianca gave us his card and we asked him to take us to Burano. He has the new boat – we travelled in it and it’s beautiful – so he must have had his money returned. We thought it a wonderful trip, although Benetti didn’t appear too happy. He seems to blame Bianca’s time in England for most of her troubles.’

‘It’s because when she went to England, she wasn’t supposed to stay. Her father expected her back in Venice and was very upset when she told him she’d found a job in Sussex. Even more upset when he learned she was working as a chambermaid. He wanted more for her, I think, but he loves her hugely and eventually went along with it.’

‘How did she fetch up at the Priory?’ Jack asked.

‘She saw one of my advertisements in theWorthing Echo. The usual thing, I needed more staff, and on the spur of the moment Bianca decided to apply. Of course it was Dominic who interviewed her and gave her the job, even though she had no experience. But that was Dominic.’

There was a pause while they all silently agreed that that was indeed Dominic.

‘She lasted six months in Abbeymead but found the village too isolated, too lonely, particularly in winter, even though by then the pair of us had become friends. But I was always busy and couldn’t see a lot of her, and I wasn’t surprised when she decamped to Brighton, which is a great deal livelier.’

‘Do you know why she left Brighton to go back to Italy?’

‘Not really. She called one morning to say she was going – it seemed very sudden – but she left me her Venice address and telephone number. We’ve kept in touch on and off, but I’ve never asked her why she decided to go home. I’ve always assumed that maybe she was homesick.’

Sally took a last sip of the second glass. ‘Another round?’ she asked gaily. ‘I’ll do the honours this time.’

When their friend was out of earshot, Flora said very quietly, ‘It might be that Inspector Ridley will know.’

‘Know why Bianca left suddenly? No complications, Flora – it will be homesickness, as Sally said.’

But Flora wasn’t satisfied. There was something more to it, she was certain – something that had caused Bianca to up sticks and whisk herself back to her homeland. And she had every intention of discovering what that might be.

14

Jack might not want complications but he wasn’t entirely convinced either by the notion of homesickness. It seemed a little too pat. Bianca had left Brighton abruptly and, if she was as happy to confide in Sally as she appeared to be, why hadn’t she talked of her feelings? The longing for home was understandable, an emotion familiar to anyone living abroad, but she’d said nothing of her reasons for leaving and it was Sally’s assumption only that homesickness had sent the girl back to Venice. Though Jack didn’t want to, he had to admit that Flora was right in questioning the girl’s sudden departure. Hopefully, Alan Ridley’s call might throw some light on the matter.

‘While you’re sunbathing in the garden, I’ll read on the balcony,’ he told Flora the next day, as she was busy gathering her belongings together for the lazy morning they’d planned. ‘Alan’s call might come through and I don’t want to miss it.’

‘No complications, Jack, remember!’

‘It’s as well to dot the i’s,’ he said defensively. ‘Or I’ll never hear the last of it.’

She gave him a kiss on the cheek. ‘Let me know what happens. I’ll be by the duck pond.’

He didn’t have long to wait, having barely managed one page of his holiday read before the shrill of the telephone had him hurry from the balcony. Lifting the receiver, it was to hear the banging of doors and the sounds of a scuffle thrumming down the line.

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