Luca glanced toward the house. "I'll get someone to get her." He lifted one hand, beginning to signal to one of the men posted nearby.
But before he could, Carol came hurrying out through the mansion entrance.
"I'm here! I'm here!" She was moving quickly. Her hair was mostly in place, her expression composed enough, though perhaps a little brighter than before. There was color in her cheeks that had not been there earlier.
Luca narrowed his eyes immediately. While near-death experiences had weakened his body, they had not dimmed his suspicion.
Carol came down the steps energetically.
"What took you so long?" Luca demanded.
"I… uh… I…" Carol stammered.
That alone was enough to make Luca suspicious. His mother did not stammer. Carol Genovese could verbally dismantle a room full of armed men without losing her train of thought. She did not "uh" and "I" unless something had gone catastrophically wrong—or catastrophically right.
