Page 106 of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies

Lunch turns out to be a pleasant surprise. The pizza is delicious, with gooey fresh mozzarella that bubbles around bright green basil. When I bite into a piece, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, that perfect mix of tomato and cheese, and my God, I’d eat nothing but this crust if I wouldn’t end up needing a new wardrobe.

The BookFace Ladies are happy. Now that they’re up close, I can see that their T-shirt today has their Death on the Thames BookFaces. I avoid Cathy but say hi to some of the others after I polish off an entire pizza by myself and sign a few books. I’m distracted, though, searching out Shek in the crowd, wondering if he’s truly dangerous or just another one of Connor’s victims.

He’s sitting at a table with Harper and Emily. He’s holding court about something, and they keep making faces at each other that he doesn’t notice. I feel a tug of jealousy. What can Harper and Emily have in common? And how did they get so close so quickly?

But that’s a stupid way to think. Harper needs friends and a life outside of me. I should be encouraging that. Even if the source of their bonding is their current unhappiness with yours truly.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Oliver asks, tapping me on the shoulder.

“Yeah, of course.”

I follow him out onto the veranda that juts out over the cliff, but not to the railing. “Careful, Oli. Don’t get so close.”

Oliver smiles. “Still afraid of heights?”

“Definitely. Plus, someone is trying to kill me, so…”

“That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

“Did you learn something?”

“I’m not sure… Do you think what happened to Allison today was an accident?”

“I thought that at first, but now I’m not so sure.”

“Maybe someone was in on it with Captain Marco? If that area is prone to jellyfish…”

“I…” I think back to this morning. How I felt like Shek and Allison had goaded me into the cave. Or was that just Shek? “Did you notice Shek acting oddly?”

“More than usual?”

“Yeah, listen to this.” I fill him in on what Connor’s told me. The dead pedestrian, Davide. His investment in crypto, and Shek’s potential involvement, and how he stole Shek’s idea to cover it up.

“Yikes,” Oliver says.

“Yeah.”

“How would Shek know that he stole his plot?”

“Good point. Connor didn’t say.”

“That man and his secrets.”

I stare out at the water. I think I can see our boat down at the dock. Is Allison in danger as she sleeps below deck?

No. Everyone loves Allison. Even Connor, though I doubt he’d admit it.

“Does it all fit together?” Oliver asks. “When did Shek arrive in Rome?”

“He wasn’t on my flight. I think he came from New York.”

“So he could’ve been at the Vatican?”

“We’d have to check. But he wouldn’t need to have been there… if he’s working with someone else…”

I think about Davide, the innocent bystander. Killing Connor I can understand, but a stranger? Could Shek do that?

Then again, he’s a man who’s spent his life writing about clever murders. That does something to a person. Reveals something about them, too.130