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J ulia’s phone rang as soon as she and Piero pulled into the driveway, and she glanced at the screen, happy to see Courtney was calling. She pressed Accept and got out of the car. “Hey, lady!”

“How’s my girl?” Courtney asked sweetly, and Julia cheered at the sound of her voice. She thanked Piero and walked to the side of the driveway to talk, overlooking the hill that led to the carriage house, the equipment shed, and the scorched clearing.

“I’m hanging in.”

“Good for you! I’m so proud of you, going over there on your own. It’s a big deal. So you’re really okay?”

“Kind of.” Julia launched into a recap, telling her about Rossi and the decrepit villa, the burned belongings, and even the nightmare. She finished, asking Courtney for her thoughts.

“My thoughts ? Jules, sell the villa! It’s worth two million euros!”

Arg. “But it’s her home.”

“So? You’ll make bank!”

“But it’s not only about the money, is it?”

“Yes, well said! Exactly!” Courtney laughed. “It’s only about the money!”

“But I’m already inheriting so much.”

“Who turns down more money? Wait, somebody wants less money?” Courtney laughed. “Besides, I know it sounds like a lot, but it’s not like you’re set for life. Get as much as you can and invest it. Paul will help. You know he loves that.”

Julia’s gaze went to the blackened circle, where she’d found the pearl. “What if Rossi’s related to me?”

“So what? What’s that have to do with the villa, now that you can’t get her DNA?

If you sell, you can still figure out if she’s related to you.

You have an appointment with the family investigator tomorrow, right?

Hire him like you planned. Then see Florence.

Eat pasta, drink wine. Shop ’til you drop. ”

Julia’s chest wrenched. “But if I sell, it breaks the connection.”

“What connection?”

“Between me and Rossi.”

“Jules. You didn’t know her. You don’t even know if she’s related to you.” Courtney chuckled. “If feeling connected to somebody was the same thing as being connected to them, I’d be connected to Taylor Swift. Are you in a para-social relationship with a ghost?”

“No, it’s not like that.” Julia felt a twinge. “What if Rossi sent me a sign? The pearl? The electric shock?”

“Honey, you got a shock because you were standing in water. You found a pearl because Rossi was crazy enough to burn Mikimoto.”

Julia winced reflexively. “Don’t call her crazy.”

“But it’s true, isn’t it? From what I hear, she was nuts.”

Julia let it go. “She left the villa to me. She wanted me to have it.”

“She left you the money, too. You’re gonna spend it, right?”

Julia had no reply. She knew her argument didn’t stand to reason.

“Are we really talking about what Rossi wants you to do?” Courtney sounded bewildered. “Jules, I thought the astrology stuff was bad, but signs from beyond? Are you getting weird on me?”

“No,” Julia said, though she’d wondered the same thing. “Anna Mattia thinks Rossi’s soul is in the villa.”

“Do you agree?”

“Maybe,” Julia had to admit.

“So you think the place is haunted ?” Courtney sounded disappointed, and Julia felt embarrassed.

“No, not really.”

“If you think Rossi’s soul is there, that’s the definition of a haunted house. Sorry, haunted villa .”

“I don’t think of it that way,” Julia tried to explain. “Things are different here. It’s not like home, where everything is cut and dried. It’s more spiritual, more mystical. Things that make sense here might not make sense at home.”

“Like what? It’s Tuscany, not Transylvania.”

Julia tried to think of an example. “Do you know they plant cypress trees around cemeteries to keep away the evil spirits?”

“My boss is an evil spirit.”

Julia smiled. “You want a cypress tree?”

“Julia, listen.” Courtney softened her tone. “The dead don’t live with the living. That would make every house a haunted house. You don’t believe that, do you?”

“No.”

“Don’t you think this is happening because of Mike?” Courtney asked, sympathetic. “I think you’re grieving him. Are you wishing he were with you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think the pearl was a sign from him?”

“No,” Julia answered, because she’d thought about it. “Mike had nothing to do with pearls. Rossi liked pearls, and I think it came from her.” Or even Caterina Sforza , she almost added, but thought better of it.

“Honey, not gonna lie, you don’t sound like yourself.”

“I’m just tired. I haven’t slept well.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine.”

“Should you call Susanna? I’m sure you could have a session on FaceTime.”

“I don’t need one.” Julia wished she’d kept the nightmare to herself. She should’ve known it would worry Courtney.

“Maybe you’re jet-lagged. Hydrate and get on their schedule.”

“That’s probably it,” Julia said, hoping to convince her. “I’m super tired and hungry. It’s lunchtime here.”

“Is your cook making it for you?”

“Yes. Her name’s Anna Mattia.”

“Just remember your bestie. I knew you when you didn’t live in a haunted villa.”

“Very funny.”

“Boo!”

“This looks great!” Julia grinned down at a beautiful bowl of a tomato-and-bread stew with a sprig of fresh basil on the top. She welcomed eating her feelings after the conversation with Courtney.

“We call pappa al pomodoro .” Anna Mattia smiled, standing beside her. “Tomat’, garlic, bread, basil, salt. Piero’s mother make, now me. Buon appetito .”

“Thanks.” Julia scooped some into her mouth, and it was absolutely delicious. The tomato was fresh and tart, with the perfect amount of garlic, and the rough bread made it chewy. “This is so good.”

“Grazie.”

“Please, stay. I want to talk to you.” Julia pulled out a chair, and Anna Mattia sat down, turning to her. “I was in town this morning, and Franco told me Signora didn’t treat people well.”

“Eh?” Anna Mattia lifted a disapproving eyebrow.

“He says they didn’t like her, so they don’t like me. I saw it from the baker, the pharmacist, and the lady in the dress shop.”

“Leonora? A bitch !”

Julia chuckled. “Still, did Rossi slap the grocer’s daughter?”

“No! A lie! They are jealous ’er money. They are jealous ’er .

” Anna Mattia frowned. “They are jealous me and Piero, we ’ave money, apartment, car.

When Signora come ’ome from town, she cry.

They make fun.” Anna Mattia leaned closer.

“Signora, think they watch, they follow. She think they want to kill .”

“Rossi thought they wanted to kill her? Like the doctors?”

“ Sì. She say they ’ave knife. At night, she see.” Anna Mattia gestured to the vineyard. “Piero, me, we go, we look. Nobody.”

Julia tried to understand. “She imagined they came to kill her? Here?”

“ Sì , yes. Signora mind is wrong. They tease, so I go to town.” Anna Mattia’s face fell, and Julia remembered that Anna Mattia had cried at Rossi’s funeral.

“You took good care of her.”

“ Sì , yes.” Anna Mattia nodded. “I love.”

“I know.” Julia felt touched. “I told him I wasn’t ready to sell the villa. My friend Courtney thinks I should sell. What do you think?”

Anna Mattia shrugged. “You decide.”

“But tell me what you think.”

Anna Mattia hesitated. “The villa is… a lot for a woman, alone.”

“Signora Rossi was a woman alone.”

Anna Mattia frowned slightly. “You are young, you wan’ to ’ave family.”

Julia couldn’t imagine that without Mike.

“ Mi scusi, aspete .” Anna Mattia popped out of the chair and left the dining room. Julia took a few more scoops of pappa al pomodoro and finished the meal just as Anna Mattia returned with a ceramic bowl and a bottle of olive oil, which she set down.

“They jealous your villa, your money. They give malocchio , evil eye. You ’ave.”

Whoa. “The evil eye? You think I have it?” Julia didn’t know if she believed in the evil eye. She could only imagine what Courtney would say.

“I know , I see. I come from Abruzzo. We know malocchio . I fix.” Anna Mattia poured some olive oil into the bowl of water.

“Do I have to drink that?” Julia recoiled, and Anna Mattia motioned her into silence.

“No. Close eyes.” Anna Mattia started whispering in Italian, and Julia closed her eyes, then snuck a peek.

Anna Mattia’s eyes were closed, too, but she was swaying and stirring the water with her knobby index finger.

Her lined face had fallen into deep fissures, and she seemed to be putting herself into a trance.

Julia closed her eyes, giving herself over to whatever was going on.

She listened to Anna Mattia’s words and began to sense their rhythms. They took on the cadence of a prayer, the intonations familiar from years of Masses.

She put herself in Anna Mattia’s hands, even in her spell, and opened her mind to a different world, a place out of time and space.

Anna Mattia kept praying, and Julia felt herself enter a deep state of calm that allowed her breathing to slow, ending only when she felt a gentle touch on her forehead. She realized Anna Mattia was blessing her with the Sign of the Cross.

“Signora,” Anna Mattia whispered. “Open eyes.”

Julia opened her eyes, and Anna Mattia was beaming down at her.

“Better now.”

“Thank you,” Julia said, meaning it.