Death Under the Venice Moon Read Online Free

such pleasure, this middle-aged man must have missed a lot more than a good meal in his life.
    "See?" He pointed to the skylight above. "Soon the moon will be directly over us, and on nights like this I lie on the bow. Come on, I'll show you."
    "Show me what?" I really, really didn't want to be there and had no intention of waiting for the moon to reach its pinnacle. This was getting too strange. Cruz lifted me up and sat me on the bow of the boat. He seemed very comfortable, while I was just the opposite.
    "Relax, relax." He settled himself beside me and leaned back, looking straight up past the skylight to the moon just coming into view.
    He tapped his palm against the bow. The chill and humidity must have messed up my brain functions, because I lay back next to him, looking at the same moon, thinking of the easiest way to get the hell out of there.
    "Nights like these make it all worth it." His voice dreamy.
    I had no idea what he meant, and I didn't care. Lunatic . It dawned on me the moon in Italian was luna . How appropriate.
    "So, Cruz, you're Spanish?" I figured talking might keep him from enjoying his moonlight, and maybe we'd go back to the condo.
    "Spanish? No. Why do you think I'm Spanish?
    "Your name?"
    "Oh, that. I adopted the name."
    "Adopted? You mean you legally changed your name? Or is it your screen name?"
    "When my friend died I adopted his name to honor him."
    We are not having this conversation. He's rehearsing some movie part and wants to see my reaction. "And you didn't have to go to court for that?"
    "Only three people know, now four. I doubt you'll go out and tell the world about it. Besides, no one will believe you."
    Dear God, the man is crazy. "What about your family, don't they care?"
    "I don't know. I grew up in an orphanage. My friend and I ran away when we were about twelve. I always liked his name." He became very quiet, then I heard muffled sounds. Was he crying?
    "He died of meningitis when he turned fourteen. I gave the priest my name for the burial. Manuel approved. I know it. Now Manuel De La Cruz is a household name—not bad for a runaway orphan." His voice faded.
    He really is a great actor. Maybe I should clap. I wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be okay, but I choked on my emotions and didn't move.
    The boat rocked a little harder. I was getting motion sickness.
    My imagination played tricks on me. I could have sworn someone else was on the boat. I felt a presence then—no—I caught a moving shadow. Too frightened to scream, I elbowed Cruz.
    "You hungry?" He got halfway up. I don't know if he saw the fear on my face, but something must have alerted him. He turned his head, and his body stiffened. "Hey! Delinquente ," he yelled.
    When Cruz moved, I could see the dark silhouette of a man perched on the side of the boat. The stranger jumped off. The sound of his pounding feet receded as he ran away.
    I lay still, paralyzed by fear.
    Cruz jumped down and went after the intruder.
    The roar of a motorized boat zipped by the open canal before Cruz even reached the end of the slip.
    Show over.
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Cruz paced with the frenzy of a caged feral cat.
    "Shouldn't you call the police?" I sat at the dining room table, not knowing what to do. Can this day get any weirder?
    "Call the police and say what? A stranger touched my boat?"
    "The stranger was clearly trespassing, and I'm sure he was going to rob you or something."
    "How do you know he was trespassing?" He stopped at the opposite side of the table, the intensity of his stare totally disturbing. "Is he a friend of yours? No one has ever come close to my boat at night, ever. Until tonight, that is."
    I didn't like the way this was going, and above all I didn't like his accusing attitude.
    "Friend? What friend? I know no one in this town. All I saw was a dark shadow, then he was gone." Those eyes of his—reminding me of other eyes, stirring memories, painful memories I didn't want to revisit.
    "Maybe he was a