Death Of A Sad Face (A Serafina Florio Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

motive? You’ve ruled out the baron? Any other enemies the butler might have had?”
    “Decidedly. No Sicilian baron murders, you ought to know that. And butlers have no enemies—they are loved by everyone. He will be mourned.”
    Ridiculous jackanapes, he won’t even try to solve this case. Already spending the reward the baron will pay. Or worse: she stared at him as the truth dawned. “You still have the pearls, the emerald necklace, the diamonds—a small price for your silence?”
    Colonna’s face reddened. He opened his mouth to say something when Serafina heard running feet.
    Carmela burst inside. “Teo’s missing!”

Golden Orb

    Serafina mulled over recent events in her study on the third floor, once her mother’s room. It stood opposite the nursery and the garret she’d made into a bedroom for Teo.
    They’d looked everywhere for Teo, in the cellar of the apothecary shop, in the schoolyard, the library, down by the harbor where he loved to watch the fishermen, even in his old home, now empty and waiting for new owners. No Teo. Everyone had joined in the search, Carmela, Vicenzu, even Rosa. Time, she knew, was running out, and soon she’d have to face the fact that perhaps he had gone for good.
    The children had returned from school. In a few hours, they’d be leaving for the circus.
    Earlier, when she’d asked Maria about her words with Teo in the parlor, the child mumbled something, then said, “He came into my parlor after supper last night—”
    “What do you mean ‘my parlor’?”
    “Where I practice. He’s not allowed in there.”
    “Whose rule is that?”
    Maria shoved her glasses up to the bridge of her nose and said no more, but her eyes were filling with water.
    Of all her children, Maria was the most puzzling, not at all like her siblings. She had adult responses to most situations and was concerned only with her piano. Seemingly unaware of her talent, she was kind, humble, gracious—or was Serafina blind? As her daughter stood before her, Serafina realized that she could cajole or insist, but in the end, if Maria didn’t want to do what her mother suggested, Serafina had little recourse. She could solve most murders and already knew who had killed Cecco and why and where to find him. But her children? They were difficult. She felt helpless.
    Maria broke the silence. “Teo’s weird. Everyone says so. Look at him—he’s not like us. Maybe the specter ate him.”
    “Nonsense! There is no specter, and I’m disappointed. I thought you were able to see what other children could not see. Teo might be different, but we’re all different. Each of us is an enigma. How do you expect to make music if you don’t celebrate the mystery of others?”
    Her reverie faded. Serafina stopped her pacing and sat in her mother’s favorite chair, wondering how she could have been a better example for her children. Was her little liaison with Dr. Loffredo somehow responsible for their willfulness? She pushed away the thought.
    Suddenly there was the smell of lavender and orange peel, a puff of smoke and Maddalena, the ghost of her mother, appeared, looking fresh and full of youth and life. She wore her green velvet gown and wrinkled her nose.
    “You’re sitting in my chair!”
    “Honestly, Mama, sit on the bed if you must. Unless you are prepared to help, I don’t have time for this, not this evening. We’re going to the circus, and I’ve got to catch a killer!” Serafina rose and sat on the bed as her mother maneuvered her way into her chair.
    “Send for Badali. You’ll need him,” her mother said.
    “Is that all you’ve got to say? You’re worse than Mother Concetta.”
    “Don’t speak ill of my friend! I’m loyal, which is more than I can say about Maria. I’ll see what I can do about her, but I can’t promise. Oh, and don’t forget to talk to the wet nurse.”
    With that, Maddalena vanished.
    “Impossible!” Serafina said, then sat back down in her mother’s chair. After