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Chapter 61

"I've missed you, Leonardo," Teodora said as she sat them down. "Antonio visits so rarely these days."

"I've been so busy," the master thief explained. "There is hardly a moment to rest. You know what this city demands of people like us."

"Indeed I do," agreed the courtesan. "It's good to see you again as well, Ezio. The man who hunted down poor Lucia's killer is always welcome here."

"Grazie," Ezio bowed, recalling the vile incident.

"So, what brings all of you here? Do you seek my services or just my wine?"

"A bit of both, Sister," Leonardo replied.

"Leonardo has been hearing about some strange activity near his workshop. One of his assistants has gone missing," Rosa said.

Teodora's face suddenly turned serious. "Do you mean Ludovico?" she asked. "We have not seen him in a month. He is a regular here. He used to visit every Tuesday evening."

"That would have made him easy to follow," Antonio observed.

Teodora nodded and turned to Leonardo. "I sent one of my girls to your workshop last week to ask about him but your assistants refused to say anything. They were probably too frightened. Aside from that, we know nothing."

There was a collective sigh of disappointment. It was a start, but not a great one. The best they could do with this information was to advise Leonardo's remaining assistants to randomize their schedules a bit.

After a few days of scouting near the workshop, Ezio and Rosa did so. Leonardo's assistants were a bit more accommodating to them than they were to the courtesan, as Ezio and Rosa had been frequent visitors to the workshop.

For the next few months, they sat on a bench overlooking the workshop during a few nights each week in the hope of seeing the suspicious man. They were beginning to lose that hope until a night in late September.

"Wait!" Rosa suddenly smacked Ezio's arm as he was beginning to fall asleep.

"What is it?"

"That man," she indicated carefully with her head. "I've seen him before."

"Don't stare!" he reminded her. They both knew that even a subtle action like that could give them away. Even so, she stuck out her tongue at him.

Ezio looked at the man that had caught Rosa's eye. He was dressed as a merchant, but his body attested to a life of heavy physical activity. Nothing else about him seemed strange to Ezio. The man seemed to be enjoying the night air like everybody else.

"You're imagining things," he said as he turned to his companion.

"I'm a thief," she reminded him. "It's my job to stay anonymous. I know what it looks like when others do it."

"As do I. I also know how it feels to search for a target for a long time. Sometimes we start to see patterns that aren't really there."

"Are you saying I'm losing my mind?" she asked indignantly.

"It's alright," he said, putting an arm around her. "You only need some sleep, mia cara."

"Look again, culo," she kicked him.

Sure enough, when the man thought nobody was looking, he went up and pressed his ear against the door of Leonardo's workshop, attempting to catch some of the sounds within.

"Am I imagining that?" she demanded. He rolled his eyes.

After a minute of fruitless eavesdropping, the man walked in their direction. Luckily, they had devised a simple enough plan to throw off any suspicion. By the time they were visible to the man under the dim light of the street lamps, they were lying on the bench wrapped in each other's arms, lips pressed together. After muttering something about public decency, he left through a nearby alley.

When they were certain he was far enough away, they turned to observe which way he went.

"He turned right," Ezio said as he stood up. "Let's find him again before he gets too far."

"What's the hurry?" Rosa teased as she held out her hand. "Come back. I was enjoying myself."

Ezio took the hand and dragged her to her feet.

"Such a gentleman," she remarked as she stroked his chin. In the next few moments, they were both on the rooftops.