"No, you're not wrong." Malcolm cleared his throat "However, you certainly don't fit the description of the usual investor."
"Perhaps, as you say. But I do not know what a 'usual investor' might be. Right now, I have some money available and an interest in Mr. Matwin's new laboratory."
Malcolm cleared his throat again and looked casually around the room. "You've probably read the newspapers. They carried the news of Ms. Tanya Howard's death."
Only Luigi Amedeo's lips moved to utter the sound, "Yes." No other muscles did.
Malcolm watched him intently as he said, "She really isn't dead."
"Yes." Luigi Amedeo nodded, his face impenetrable.
"She's really alive," Malcolm said. "Someone has been making attempts on her life."
Luigi Amedeo tilted his head and raised one eyebrow.
"You met her on the Italian Riviera. Do you have any suspicions, any suggestions that would help point us in the right direction?"
"No," Luigi Amedeo replied, shaking his head. "I was very happy to hear Ms. Tanya Howard was alive and well."
"Ah, then you knew before I told you? Knew she was alive?" Malcolm shaded his eyes with his hand as the light coming from the floor lamp hit him face on.
"Oh, yes. Mr. Matwin told me. When I read the news, I called Kevin, and he informed me of the truth."
"What is your interest in Ms. Howard?"
Luigi Amedeo shrugged. He waited while his butler served coffee and a few cookies on a silver tray, then left as inconspicuously as he entered. "Please. Help yourself to coffee," he said. "Or would you prefer something stronger?" Luigi Amedeo poured coffee from a tall silver pot into an exquisitely decorated cup.
"No, thank you. But please-do you have any interest in Ms. Tanya Howard?" Malcolm asked.
"Yes, as my business partner's beloved friend and artistic advisor, I certainly do." Luigi Amedeo sipped the thick, dark brew from his cup.
Malcolm would have paid a vast sum if he were able to read Luigi Amedeo's expressions, but he sat against the light, Luigi Amedeo beside it. "So you really aren't able to help me with any information…"
Again, Luigi Amedeo shrugged. "I'm afraid not. I know little about the life of Ms. Tanya Howard."
Malcolm stood. "Thank you for your hospitality. But if you think of anything, anything at all-a suspect, a suspicion-would you contact me?"