Almost Dead

Cassie looked at the two new job cards. One was another advertisement for a waitress, which again was no use to her. As she looked at the other, she felt a chill of nervousness.

“Au Pair Required. A divorced mother of two requires help for 3 months, starting asap, to care for two girls, aged 8 and 9. English speaker preferred. Luxury accommodation provided. Please call Ottavia Rossi.”

Cassie closed her eyes and felt her spine prickle with gooseflesh.

She didn’t think that she could handle another au pairing job. Not when the first two had gone so horribly wrong.

Her first assignment, in France, had been working for a wealthy landowner. It was only after arriving at the chateau that she realized how dysfunctional he and his fiancée were in parenting the three traumatized children. Each of them had rebelled against his brutal authority in their own way, and Cassie had borne the brunt of their behavior.

The job had become a nightmare, and when his fiancée had died under suspicious circumstances, Cassie had narrowly escaped being arrested as a murder suspect.

The landowner—Pierre Dubois—had ended up being charged for the crime, and his trial was ongoing. Whenever she saw reports in the news, Cassie scanned them anxiously. With the legal teams putting up a fierce fight, the most recent article had stated that the verdict would only be given in February.

She’d fled to England, desperate to lie low in case his legal team decided to subpoena her to testify—or, worse, managed to manufacture enough evidence to prove she was the guilty one.

In England, she had run straight into the arms of a charming and attractive man who’d presented himself as a divorced father, urgently needing help with his kids. Cassie had fallen hard for Ryan Ellis and believed every word he’d told her. Then her idyllic world had crumbled around her as lie after lie was exposed, and the situation had unraveled into horror.

Cassie still couldn’t think of that experience without feeling panic boil up inside her. Turning away, she almost bumped into Gretchen, who was busy updating the notice board and removing some of the older jobs.

“Sorry,” Cassie said.

“Have you seen anything to suit you?” Gretchen asked.

“I’m not sure. The au pairing job sounds interesting,” Cassie said, just to be polite.

“That’s on the outskirts of Milan. It’s a wealthy area. And live-in, I see, so your accommodations would be included.”

“Thank you,” Cassie said. She photographed the ad, even though she knew that she was going through the motions, without any intention of taking the job.

She glanced at the books for sale. They were an eclectic mix of fiction and nonfiction, and there were two on the shelf which she saw would be helpful to her. One was an Italian phrase book, and the other was a beginner’s guide to the language. The books were tattered and well-used, but they were also cheap. Glad that she could make a start at mastering Italian, Cassie headed to the office to pay for them.

After she’d bought the books and a mug of coffee, she set off to find her car. Although the city looked very different in daylight, she managed to find the way back to her car with only a couple of wrong turns along the route.

Along the way she couldn’t stop thinking about the au pairing job.

Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and she desperately needed to stay in the city for a while. After all, Tim the barman might remember the name of the town where Jacqui worked, at any time.

A live-in job meant she wouldn’t disturb her fellow travelers, and she wouldn’t risk having another frightening experience in the city, similar to what she’d had the previous night with Vadim.

Plus, she’d be working for a woman. A divorced woman. Cassie could make sure to confirm this was true before she made the final decision. She didn’t want to work for a man again. It didn’t sound like there was a man in the house at all, only a woman and her two girls.

She could ask. There was no harm in finding out more, was there?

Even so, remembering her previous experiences, Cassie felt sick as she dialed.

The call connected, and then it rang and rang, with Cassie’s nervousness growing as the seconds ticked by.

Finally, it was answered.

“Buongiorno,” a woman said, sounding breathless.

Wishing she’d had the chance to study her phrase book, Cassie replied nervously.

“Good morning.”

“This is Signora Rossi’s phone, and it’s Abigail speaking. How can I help?” the woman continued in English. In fact, Cassie thought she sounded English.

She tried to swallow down her nerves and speak confidently.

“I’m phoning about the job. Is Ottavia Rossi there?”

“The job? Please hold on. Ms. Rossi is in a meeting.”

Cassie heard the woman conferring with somebody else. A moment later, she was back.

“I am so sorry but that job has been taken.”

“Oh.” Cassie felt surprised and deflated. She was unsure what to say next but the woman made the decision for her.

“Goodbye,” she said, and cut off the call.

CHAPTER FIVE

Cassie couldn’t understand why the au pair job was no longer available if it had been advertised so recently. She felt disappointed that this opportunity had come and gone before she’d even been able to attend an interview.

Now she had no idea what she should do. She was tempted to get in her car and drive in a random direction for an hour or two, in the hope that she would end up closer to her sister, or even, miraculously, in the same town.

Cassie knew in this densely populated country, which was studded with towns and villages of all sizes, that was not just unlikely, but impossible.

She opened her trunk, rummaged in her suitcase, and took out the tablets she’d missed last night, plus her morning dose.

Then, seated in the car, she drank them down and called her friend Jess.

Cassie had spent a week’s holiday with Jess over Christmas and New Year. Jess’s employer had given her time off, with money to travel, and Jess had invited Cassie to come along to Edinburgh.

Jess had paid for the accommodations, and Cassie had done all the driving. They had rented an apartment on the outskirts of the city, and spent the days sightseeing and the nights partying. During that time, they’d had the chance to chat, so Jess knew exactly what Cassie had gone through, and the soul-shattering truth about her last two assignments.

“Hey, stranger!” Jess answered almost immediately. “Have you found your sister yet?”

“Not yet. I found someone who spoke to her recently. He said she was staying in a town an hour or two away from Milan, but he couldn’t remember the town’s name.”

“Oh, no.” Jess sounded horrified. “That’s like—so close but so far. What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to try and stay here for a few weeks because he said he’ll message me if he remembers. I phoned about an au pair job, but it had already been taken. Do you know of anyone in Milan, or in Italy, who might need a helper?”

Cassie had serious respect for Jess’s networking capabilities. The tall, friendly blonde seemed to have a natural talent for picking up strategically placed connections. That was how Cassie had gotten her last job, even though it hadn’t turned out well; and it was also how they’d been able to secure their holiday apartment at an affordable rate.

“In Milan?” Jess sounded thoughtful.