around the Castello. He may be acting out a bit in rebellion.”
I studied him. It occurred to me that Roman and I had never sat like this before—just the two of us talking. Thinking about it, I realized that we’d always been with my family or his—except for those two times in his hospital room. It was at that moment that I caught a glimpse of that white bird again spiraling upward in the blue sky above the sea. The same feelings I’d experienced on the cliff path moved through me. And I knew—the same way that I often sensed things with animals—that this was where I was meant to be and that Roman was meant to be here with me. Whatever adventure lay ahead of me on this island, Roman was fated to be a part of it.
“There’s another problem.” Roman paused, then said, “Philly?”
“Sorry.” I gathered my thoughts and met his eyes. “You were saying there’s a problem.”
“Inspector Ionescu may have some trouble investigating a murder with no body. The only evidence we have to show him is that shell casing. The cell phone will help with identification, but it doesn’t prove a homicide.”
“I know what I saw.”
“And I believe you.” Roman topped off the coffee in our cups. “But I’m trying to look at the situation from your brother Nik’s point of view.”
I saw where he was going. Nik would see everything through a cop’s skeptical eyes.
“There’s very little for the police to work with. If you wanted to tell them that you think it might have been your cousin arguing with the man just before he was shot, Alexi could at least corroborate your story about seeing them on the beach.”
“I don’t want to say that yet. I can’t be positive that it was Alexi. I’ve never even met him.”
“Are you worried that Alexi could be the shooter?” Roman asked.
“No.” I shook my head vehemently. “The man arguing with the victim wouldn’t have had time to get all the way up the cliff to where I think the shooter was.”
“Good point.” Roman sipped more coffee, studying me over the rim of his cup.
“It’s too bad that Inspector Ionescu can’t question Ariel.”
Roman’s brows shot up. “The cat?”
I nodded. “She may have witnessed the murder.”
“Could you question her?”
I glanced around. “I’d like to. I’m worried about her. The sniper shot twice at her.”
“Do you think she can tell you who he is?”
I studied him for a moment. It occurred to me that he’d not once questioned anything I’d told him about my communication with Ariel. He seemed to accept my ability to connect with animals with the same ease that my family did. “I don’t know if she saw who it was. If the killing shot came from where the other shots came from, the shooter was too far up the cliff side.”
“But he may have been closer to the beach when he fired that shot.”
I frowned. Neither of us said anything, but that possibility meant that the man we were beginning to believe was Alexi could have shot the older man.
“I’ll ask her the next time I see her.”
“Just how do you do it—communicate with animals, I mean?”
“You’re very accepting of my ability.”
“I’ve listened to Kit brag about you for years. But he’s never shared the specifics of how it works. Do they talk to you?”
“Sometimes I hear actual words in my head. But other times it’s all images and sometimes colors. With Ariel, I saw red.” I clasped my hands tightly in front of me. “It was all that blood on the white sand.” When I’d described what had happened to Roman, I’d summarized my communication with Ariel, but I’d left out most of the specifics. “When I first saw her through my camera lens, I sensed emotions—fear, frustration and a huge sense of urgency. She wanted something and she wasn’t about to be soothed. After the younger man leaned over to pet her, she backed away.”
“Isn’t it odd that she would back away if the younger man was Alexi?”
I thought about it for a moment. Once again talking to Roman was helping me to clarify everything. “She wanted something—help, I think. That was the first thing she said to me when she appeared around the rocks. When I found the body, I assumed she wanted help for him. But I think she was looking for help even before the man in the hat was shot. That’s why she wouldn’t let the younger man pet her for long. She was on a mission.”
“Any ideas about why she ran toward you for help after the man in the hat was killed?”
I hadn’t considered that. “When I first felt a connection with her, the feelings were so intense. Perhaps she sensed me, too. She also sent me an image. I didn’t mention it earlier because it didn’t seem to be connected to the murder. I saw a white cat lying motionless in a dark place.”
“Her brother?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. I have a lot of questions that I think she could answer. And I have a few for Alexi, too.”
“You’re not going to keep out of this, are you?”
I leaned toward him. “How can I? I found that body on the beach. And Ariel asked for help. When she comes back I want to try and find a way to help her.”
Roman was about to say something else, but I held up a hand to stop him. “Look, if you’re going to try to persuade me to leave, you’re wasting your time. From the moment I stepped out of the taxi, I’ve been certain that I’m meant to be here.”
“Fate?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you so sure of that?”
It wasn’t skepticism I heard in his voice. If it had been, I probably would have kept my mouth shut. But the thing I was discovering about Roman was that he was a patient listener, down on the beach and again right now. He was an easy man to talk to. And sometimes truth was the most effective weapon.
Aunt Cass was always saying that the Fates only offered a choice. It was always up to the person to grab on to what was offered.
“I’m sure that Kit has told you that my family has a history of finding their soul mates here in Greece—first my mother and Aunt Cass and most recently my dad. So after you turned down my proposition at the hospital, I decided that I’d try my luck over here. Not that I’m looking for my true love—exactly. I’d settle for a really hot fling. But life is nothing if not ironic. Instead of finding a lover on the beach, I found a dead man.”
When Roman said nothing, I hurried on. “I’m convinced he’s just the beginning of the adventure. I know that the Fates have brought me here, and I’m not going to leave until I find out all that they have in store for me.”
There was a sort of nonplussed expression on Roman’s face that
