Death Under the Venice Moon Read Online Free Page A

paparazzo." He looked at me again. "Did you see him take photos?"
    "No, of course not. I didn't see any flash, did you?"
    He stared at me like I was a seagull who pooped on his boat. "Flash? Who needs a flash? What? Are you living in the sixties? This is 2008. Remember?" He headed for the direction of the kitchen, mumbling.
    I pouted. How rude of him to bring up the age issue. I rethought the matter of his cinematic charm.
    I hadn't dared to question him about dinner, but intruder or not, I could use some food. The clatter of dishes came from the kitchen. My mouth began to water. "Need some help?"
    "No, I'm getting our food from the dumbwaiter. I'll be right there." His tone very pleasant.
    Dumbwaiter? I'd never seen one and wanted to go have a peek, but the volatile Cruz finally sounded more composed, so I stayed where I was. Better not to poke the sleeping bear. He brought two covered dishes then turned back to the kitchen.
    "I don't mind helping," I offered.
    "You are my guest—besides, not much to do but open a bottle of wine and enjoy our meal. No sense worrying about what happened on the boat. We'll see. Let's eat." He sat across the table from me, picked up his napkin, and smiled. "Aren't you going to look at your food?"
    "Oh, yes, sure." I removed the stainless steel plate cover. My risotto looked perfect, and the appetizing smell of shellfish wiped away all thoughts of boats, paparazzi, and mercurial actors. "Mmm."
    Cruz slid a wine-filled stem glass toward me. "A toast to an exciting tomorrow," he said.
    I wasn't going to ask him to explain. I toasted, sipped some wine—excellent—then started to eat my risotto. Never checked to see what my host ate. By the third bite I realized I hadn't thought about Larry since I screamed at Cruz moonbathing on the rug. Maybe I had reached the turning point. I wished.
    We ate in silence. Cruz refilled my glass, always without talking. Awkward. The whole evening felt like a page from the diary of a cranky divo .
    My sense of gratitude for the hospitality waned according to Cruz's mood. When he stood and cleared his place from the table, I saw a chance to pack it in for the night without offending him. I picked up my plate, silverware, and glass and followed him to the kitchen. He set his tableware into a cabinet built into the wall. The dumbwaiter!
    "How clever." I drummed up as much improvised enthusiasm as I could muster.
    "Oh, you mean this?" Cruz pointed to the mini-elevator with so much pride you'd have thought he invented it. "Here, let me show you how it works."
    After adding my tableware, he closed the door and pushed a button on the wall, and a soft whir from the other side of the closed cabinet door let me know the dirty dishes were on their way down.
    "Wish I had one in my kitchen," I joked, "but my kitchen is on the bottom floor."
    "This is a small one. They come in all sizes." Dear God, what have I done? He is going to tell me the history of dumbwaiters. "As a matter of fact, we used a large dumbwaiter in my movie Zodiac . That's how we explained the disappearance…you've seen that movie? Haven't you?" The expression on my face must have told him I had never heard of the movie. And his expression told me he wasn't happy about it. "Well, Kyle's mamma, prepare yourself for a treat." We were back to "Kyle's mamma," not a good sign. He strode into the living room, pointed to the large couch. "You sit here while I get it ready."
    Damn, he was going to make me watch this movie of his. Mental images of me snoring on the couch while the film rolled gave me a hot flash. Another of my ob-gyn's predictions coming to life. How can I get out of watching the movie? Call Kyle? It must have been after ten. And say what? "Mommy doesn't want to watch Cruz's picture. Come save me." I sat on the couch, phony smile plastered on my face, fingers crossed it would be a short movie.
    Cruz seemed happy as could be. He opened a large, ornate armoire opposite the couch, and a screen appeared.