Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
“Another part of The Raven,” Matteo muses, glancing over my shoulder.
Salvatore walks over to the man and makes the sign of the cross before bending down. He removes the pawn from the young man’s mouth. “Madonna, another piece from Vicenzo’s set.”
“That exact piece was delivered to me today.” I stare at the lifeless form.
After failed attempts the killer had finally struck.
He had chosen someone who was part of the family but not valuable.
Someone that was disposable.
The lowest piece on the board.
But even pawns can change the game if they make it to the end.
“He was an orphan, he had no family,” Salvatore stands up.
Someone at the low end. A pawn. Important enough to send a message but unimportant enough not to cripple us.
“What was he doing here by himself?” I demand.
“He wasn’t. He was with two other guards. They did the perimeter check and locked up. Everyone got in their cars and left. The other men swore to me that this fellow left in his car along with the rest of them,” Matteo begins to pace.
“The security cameras went down about an hour ago. I phoned Salvatore and he met me here. All the inventory was there, then we found the body,” Lucia clicks her tongue.
“All these years and no one has ever been killed on our turf,” Matteo adds.
I flinch. His last comment feels like a dig.
Footsteps echo behind us. Enzo and Luca turn the corner, their expressions grim.
“We cased the entire perimeter and found no clue as to who could have done this,” Enzo announces.
Matteo shakes his head in disgust. “This is fucking insane.”
Enzo turns to me. “What do you want us to do with the body, boss?”
“Just wrap him up and throw him behind the old train yard where the rest of others went,” Matteo answers before I get a chance. He waves his hand in disgust.
I raise my eyebrows. Enzo ignores him and looks at me for directions. “He was part of the family, he wasn’t our enemy. That’s where our enemies go.” I turn to Salvatore. “You said he had no other family right?”
Salvatore shakes his head. “Nope. He was an orphan.”
“Then bury him in our private lot on Maple. He deserves dignity.”
Enzo nods his head. He and the other guards move around the body. Wrapping him carefully in a tarp, they carry him to their car leaving only a crimson pool that looks like spilled ink.
The scent of blood hangs in the air and when the door clangs shut behind them, the silence that follows is louder than anything.
Lucia kneels next to the blood stain. “Poor kid, he was so young too. Only twenty one. All those failed attempts and they finally struck.”
Rage burns in my chest. “He didn’t deserve that.”
“No one does,” Salvatore replies. “But pawns are always the first to fall.”
I turn toward him. “He wasn’t a pawn, Sal. He was a person.”
