Page 7 of Third Crime's A Charm
“The other people I stole from didn’t. It wasn’t personal to them because they care more about their reputations and honoring the code than some pretty jewels or a watch. That’s why I stole from them.” Matteo pointed and gasped because he knew he was right. “Everythingis personal with the mafia and they will kill someone over a jewel, especially a priceless one.”
“Fine. This client is…connected to the mafia but my connections are better,” Truman said simply and shrugged. “I couldmakehim give it to me, but then everyone would know I have it,” he explained and Matteo’s brows jumped.
“I see… What are your plans for the star? I have no affection for Austria’s royalty, beyond my family, but Sisi is…significant.Specifically to my family.”
“Her ‘favorite’ daughter, Valerie, was your…great-great grandmother? The only one of Sisi’s children who was allowed to marry for love,” Truman recalled. “They blame Valerie for your family’s famously rebellious and romantic natures.”
“That’s creepy, Truman. Really creepy,” Matteo said as he shook his head. “What are your plans for it and how can you be so sure that your friend isn’t going to come after me if he finds out?”
“You’ll receive the reward money and the star will go back to Austria, but in a manner that benefits my interests instead of his. That’s all you need to know about that.” It was going to a far better cause but Truman wouldn’t risk exposing the intended recipient. “I’m going to fall head over heels for you, so everyone expects you to be with me, wherever I go. You’ll play the same part you’ve played for years, except you’ll pretend that you’ve got a Daddy now,” he suggested with a smirk, daring Matteo. “You might think you got away with murder before, but this client would bite off his own tongue before he accused me or my lover of taking the star. In fact, you probably could get away with murder because no one would say shit if you were mine.”
There was a long pause and Matteo’s lips pursed thoughtfully. “That’s never been my style but I think I can find a way to make this work.Ifwe can get this past my brothers,” he said, pointing at his face again and making Truman roll his eyes.
“Now, who’s taking it personally? That was definitely business but we can make this work to our advantage. We’ll go to my place out in Southampton. There’s plenty of privacy there and it’s where I’d go if I wanted to impress a man and spoil him in peace.”
“Peace and privacy?” Matteo made a hesitant sound. “Private enough to hide a body? I’m not digging my own grave, if that’s what you have in mind.”
This time, Truman didn’t hold back, cackling as he imagined an extremely belligerent and indignant Matteo standing in a hole with a shovel. “And deprive myself of this much entertainment? Don’t worry, Matteo, I’ve got better plans for you. We’re going to Southampton to plan a heist.”
Three
The following morning, Matteo sat obediently in the passenger seat of Truman’s Bentley but neither said a word during the two-hour drive to Southampton. Thankfully, Truman wasn’t the type to make idle chit chat and Matteo had a lot to think through. He was too stubborn to accept that he was in over his head and Matteo had to know more about who had the star and if there was a way to outsmart Truman.
The Empress Elisabeth of Austria, affectionately known as Sisi, and her star were both iconic and beloved national treasures. Popular for her rebellious and charitable nature, Sisi was also renowned for her beauty, style, andlong,elaborately-styled hair. Sisi ordered twenty-seven ten-pointed stars to adorn her heel-length tresses but eventually gave them away to family and ladies-in-waiting. Only one of the diamond and pearl stars remained until it was stolen from an exhibit in 1998.
Sisi had great significance to Matteo’s family and his existence, but he simply wanted to return the star to the people of Austria. As an Austrian, Matteo was proud of his country’s romantic history—minus the Nazis—and its fairytale scenery. And while he might not respect or admire the peoplewho built Austria’s famous castles, he appreciated the magical architecture and his people’s love for their history.
An outcast in the Austrian court, Sisi had taken refuge in Hungary and developed an affectionate bond with its people. Like Sisi, Matteo and his brothers shared a complicated relationship with Austria and its monarchy. The von Hessens had fled Austria in the lead-up to WWII, settling in London and Manhattan. After the wars, the Foundation of the House of Hessen was created to reestablish the ceremonial aspects of the Margraviate and manage its holdings. While the country had done away with its monarchy before the wars, the House of Hessen consisted of several estates with property all over Austria and Germany, and sprinkled across Europe and the United Kingdom.
Matteo and his brothers had been raised modestly in the Austrian countryside and with his mother’s family in Umbria, Italy. His parents' marriage had been a true love match but had made them outcasts. Matteo’s mother was a commoner and Italian and his father had chosen her over his duty to the family and the Foundation. The title had gone to his cousin but Matteo’s father and mother didn’t want their children raised as royals or under the thumb of the Foundation.
All of Matteo’s childhood memories were happy and filled with love and warmth. But tragedy struck when he was six and his parents were killed. They were in Italy for a small family wedding and the boys had stayed in Austria so they wouldn’t miss school. The family home in Umbria had been struck by lightning during a storm and Matteo’s mother and father had been lost in the fire.
Despite their devastation, Leo and Theo did all they could to keep Matteo’s and Elio’s lives as stable and happy as possible. Leo had just started university so they all moved to a cramped apartment in London. His brother already had two otherflatmates so the four of them had squeezed into Leo’s room. For Matteo, it had been a comfort to always have his brothers close by but their situation changed dramatically when Maximilian von Hessen guilted his aging father and the Foundation into action.
The von Hessen brothers wereimmediatelyprovided with generous allowances and Max insisted that Leo and his brothers received whatever properties their father would have inherited when the previous Margrave passed away. Their fortunes had reversed practically overnight and the von Hessen brothers were thriving in London when their lives took another dramatic turn. Maximilian announced that he was getting a divorce and abdicating his title, naming Leopold von Hessen as his successor.
To the media and the public, it seemed like a fairy tale. In reality, Max and Leo had spent months secretly plotting together. Max wanted the next margrave to have more autonomy in his personal affairs and had promised a slow transition so Leo could finish school and fulfill his military obligations. It wasn’t an easy sell for Leo or his brothers. They loved Max and his daughters but loathed the rest of the von Hessens and the Foundation for obvious reasons.
In the end, Leo accepted and the brothers all made a pact that they would make the best of it butalwayslook out for each other first. Mostly out of spite because the old Margrave and the Foundation never wanted Leo or his brothers anywhere near the title. They were supposed to suffer as paupers but Leo, a rabid environmentalist, rewilded most of the Margraviate’s lands and ensured that they were protected for decades.
Leo had also protected his brothers and provided them with generous allowances and educations. His work and duties as margrave meant that Leo was often busy and away from home but Theo had stepped up and acted as their other parent. Bothof his brothers had a lot on their plates so Matteo was only a smartass at home. He never wanted to let them down or for them to worry so he was good in school and behaved in public.
Some children became bullies or rebelled for attention. Not Matteo. As a beautiful child and an even more beautiful adult, Matteo had all the attention he could ever want. He also developed a reputation he didn’t deserve for being conceited and shallow. Everyone assumed that Matteo must be obsessed with his looks and being wealthy. Instead of denying the allegations and defying them, Matteo leaned into his pretty boy reputation and put it to good use.
His life of crime began when he was eight over a sore cheek.
“Look at this face! And these dimples!”
That was all the warning Matteo had before his cheek was pinched after Mass.
The older woman had been wearing gloves so it hadn’t hurtas muchbut Matteo would never forget the fog of Chanel No. 5 or how tired he was of being pinched and prodded. She had opened her handbag to give him a sweet, then left it open as she bragged about her schnauzers to another older woman. Matteo deftly plucked out the pinchy woman’s pocketbook and tucked it into his coat before offering them an adorable bow and leaving.
He tossed the pocketbook in the river and cracked his first honest smile in weeks as he handed all the cash to a young woman at the train station. She had two toddlers, one in a stroller and one on her hip. Her frazzled loneliness had reminded Matteo of his older brothers.
“I think you dropped this, miss,” he had said, but she had frowned and shook her head.
“No, I didn’t have no—” she started and her eyes widened at the thick stack of cash he had pressed into her hand. “That isn’t mine!”
