‘No one knows.’
‘He hasn’t been found?’
‘Not yet. You may be able to help.’
‘I couldn’t even if I wanted to.’
‘Which you don’t.’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I’m not interested.’
But Rico was lying. He’d resumed his methodical stirring of the garlic but she could tell by the tension gripping his body and the muscle ticking in his jaw. He was interested and it gave her the encouragement to persist. ‘What did you think when you first saw Finn’s photo?’
‘I was surprised.’
‘That’s it?’ she said. ‘No lightning bolt of recognition? No sense of... I don’t know...everything suddenly falling into place or something?’
‘Absolutely not.’
‘Well, something drove you to seek him out in his own home,’ she said, beginning to feel a bit riled at the way he was deliberately blocking her at every possible point yet determined not to give up. ‘So I think you’re not only lying to me, but also to yourself.’
‘You don’t know me well enough to make that kind of judgement,’ he said, the even tone of his words not quite disguising the warning note she could hear, telling her to retreat this minute.
‘You’re generous with your time and your resources,’ she countered, ignoring it. ‘You like police stations as little as I do. You back off when conversation gets too close. You’re a risk-taker and a thrill-seeker and you have an unusual relationship with food. And lastly, you’re attracted to me yet you don’t want to be, which is odd when only yesterday lunchtime you were asking me out.’
‘A mistake.’
‘Evidently.’
‘And the only reason I’ve been helping you is to ensure you leave Venice just as soon as is humanly possible.’
Okay. Well. ‘What I do know,’ she said, absolutely refusing to take offence at those last two points of his, since she didn’t care what he thought of her, ‘is that no man is an island, not even you, Rico. Everyone needs someone and you have the very best of a someone. You have a brother. I can’t understand why you wouldn’t be moving heaven and earth to make up for lost time.’
‘And I can’t understand why you’re so desperate for me to meet Finn,’ he said bluntly. ‘You came to Venice, Carla. What is your interest in this?’
‘I told you,’ she said, refusing to be intimidated by the darkening of his expression. ‘Georgi
e is like family to me.’
‘Why?’
‘We’ve been through a lot together.’
‘Such as?’
She wasn’t ready to tell him. She’d never be ready to tell him. ‘We’re not talking about me.’
His eyes glittered. ‘I think we should start.’
‘There’s no point.’
‘There’s every point. Why don’t you see your parents, Carla?’
‘Why don’t you like police stations?’ she shot back.