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“Don’t look at me like I’m a ghost,” he scolds me. “I’m not dead yet.”
Yet. But he’s already a ghost of his former self. I look away.
“I see you still haven’t learned to smile,” he says. “Let me guess. You haven’t found yourself a woman, either.”
I don’t answer.
“Andrea?” Orso turns to him.
“No woman,” he answers. “No man, either. No dog. No cat. Just an old cabin in the woods.”
Orso frowns. “And here I was hoping that by firing you, I had set you free to find your own family.”
“Please don’t pretend to be my father,” I tell him. “We both know you’re not. And while we’re at it, don’t pretend you fired me because you cared about me. You fired me because I failed you.”
Orso nods. “And you’re here because you still feel bad about it.”
Bull’s-eye. But I don’t give him the satisfaction of a verbal confirmation.
“Why don’t you tell me why I’m here, Orso?” I ask him instead. “You were the one who asked Andrea to find me and bring me here using any means necessary.”
Orso glances at Andrea, then at the other man in the room. “Leave us.”
They both go out of the room.
Orso gestures to the chair by the bed. “Come and sit.”
I approach the bed but remain standing.
“Fine.” Orso lets out a breath. “Just listen to what I’m going to say.”
“Not if it’s bullshit,” I tell him.
He looks into my eyes. “It’s a dying man’s last request.”
So he knows he’s dying?
He reaches for my arm. “I know you don’t work for me anymore, but there’s one last job I want you to do.”
A job? “What is it?”
Or maybe I should ask who it is, since I’m pretty sure he wants me to kill someone.
He glances at his bedside table. “There’s an envelope in the drawer. Take it.”
I open the drawer and pull out the brown envelope.
“Now, open it,” Orso orders.
Even weak, he’s still good at telling people what to do.
I open the envelope and take out its contents – a single sheet of paper and a photo of a young man in a dark grey suit. Red tie. Brown hair. Ugly mustache.
“Al Chandler,” Orso gives me the man’s name at the same time that I see it on top of the sheet of paper. “He’s an FBI agent.”
I lift an eyebrow at that. A Fed? Orso’s never asked me to get rid of one before. In fact, he gave specific orders to everyone in the family to steer clear of the Feds, even if it meant running away from them whenever they showed up. If there were FBI agents sniffing around, he usually just bribed them.
“What?” I ask him. “You couldn’t bribe this one?”
“We haven’t reached that stage yet,” Orso answers.
My eyebrows furrow. “Are you saying he hasn’t found anything about the family yet?”
Orso nods.
“But you want me to kill him?”
“I’ve heard things about him,” Orso tells me. “He’s good at what he does. And he doesn’t give up. Now that he’s started looking into us, he isn’t going to stop until he brings us down.”
Someone else who leaves no job unfinished, huh? I respect that. Doesn’t mean I can’t kill him.
“So you’re saying he’s already a threat?” I ask Orso.
Orso nods. “Besides, he’s a good man. Not one who can be bought.”
I give him a puzzled look. “I thought you said everyone can be bought. It’s just a matter of making the right offer.”
“Not this one. He’s already rich.”
I glance at the name on the paper. Al Chandler.
“Don’t tell me he’s related to the Chandler brothers?”
“He’s the fourth Chandler brother,” Orso says.
“But I thought there were only three of them.”
Orso shrugs. “Maybe he doesn’t want to be known as the youngest Chandler brother. Maybe he thinks it would get in the way of his work.”
I can see how that could happen.
“Maybe he’s out to make a name for himself,” Orso adds.
Which makes him more formidable.
“Surely you can offer him something,” I say.
“No. He’s bent on doing the right thing. Even if he initially accepts an offer, there’s a good chance he won’t keep his end of the bargain.”
And I’ll end up having to kill him anyway, except by then the damage will be done.
I fold the piece of paper. “You sound like you know him pretty well.”
“I only know what I’ve heard.”
And Orso has ears everywhere.
“Listen.” Orso touches my arm. “I’m dying, Cain. When I die, I want to be assured that this family is safe from any existing threats.”
I understand. He’s devoted his life to this family, and now that he’s dying, he’s worried it will fall apart. He’s worried that everything he’s built will be torn down when he’s not around to protect it. He’s panicking. He’s desperate.
Orso squeezes my arm. “Will you do this for me?”
I pull it away. “You don’t have to beg, Orso. I’ll do it. For old time’s sake.”
