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Jimmy shifted in his seat. “And you know how grateful I am.”
“I don’t want your gratitude. I want the truth.”
“What truth is it you’re looking for?”
“The truth about Lina.” Joseph angled his head to face Jimmy. “I’ve just had a bomb dropped on me. I need to know if it’s for real. Angelo’s dead. Which means you’re the only one I can turn to for answers. Whatever you know, I need to know, too.”
“All right.” Jimmy was now visibly unnerved.
That reaction wasn’t lost on Joseph.
“Two investigators from Forensic Instincts just visited my home,” he stated flatly. “According to them, they have evidence that Lina has two identical sisters. Needless to say, I was stunned since this is the first I’m hearing about it. You were still around when Lina was born. And you were glued to Angelo’s side, so I doubt something went down without you knowing about it. Tell me what that something was. Is what they’re saying true? Is Lina one of three?”
A prolonged silence.
“Answer me,” Joseph commanded.
“Yes,” was the reluctant response.
“Dear God.” Joseph wiped a palm over his face, his hand shaking as he did. “Why wasn’t I told?”
More silence.
“I’m not going to ask again. This is my daughter we’re talking about.”
“Angelo was your best friend,” Jimmy replied, desperately trying to diffuse the situation. “You knew him. So you had to know that strings were pulled to make this adoption happen—and that some of those strings were illegal.”
“Stop sidestepping my question. Of course I realized that Angelo took illegal actions to make Lina ours—actions that he never divulged to me because, as always, he didn’t want to make me complicit. Plus, in this case, I was emotionally involved. So, yes, he kept me in the dark. But triplets? That’s a whole different level of deception. Specifics—now.”
Jimmy blew out a slow breath. “I don’t know a whole lot. I know that Angelo wanted to make things as easy for you as possible. No complications, no worries, no guilt—not when he knew he could make you and Donna so happy.”
“Go on.”
“Someone brought infant triplets to Angelo. I don’t know who or why. All he told me was that he knew how much you and Donna wanted a baby, so he was going to take care of things so that you got one of the babies and the other two were adopted out.”
Joseph’s eyes narrowed. “You’re right. Angelo knew that Donna and I were desperate for a child. We would have been thrilled to take all three babies. So why split them up? If Angelo didn’t want them to be a package deal, it means there’s a lot more to this story—like the whos and the whys you’re not providing.”
“I’m not providing them because I never knew them.” Jimmy was staring off into space. “You know how Angelo was. He kept things to himself. He always had his reasons and I never questioned them. So, yeah, I’m sure there was a reason he split up the kids and never told you the truth. But I have no idea what it was. You asked me if Lina was a triplet. The answer is yes. The rest died with Angelo.”
Joseph dropped his head into his hands. “God help me. What am I going to do? How can I possibly explain this to Lina?”
“Why does she have to know?”
Joseph’s head came up, his expression both pained and furious. “Because if Donna and I don’t tell her, Forensic Instincts will. This has something to do with an investigation they’re conducting. I have no clue what. What I do know is that they’re thorough. They’ll interview anyone even remotely connected to their case. Not to mention that Lina has become friendly with them. There’s no way they’d keep this from her.” Joseph came to his feet. “I’ve got to go.” He turned. “If you think of anything else—and I mean anything else—you’d better come to me with it, and fast.”
Jimmy stared after Joseph’s retreating figure, his heart thudding in his chest.
Then, he said a silent prayer to Angelo, stood up, and left before he could be spotted.
Brooklyn Bridge
11:50 a.m.
Patrick leaned on his horn again, his teeth clenched in frustration. Bumper-to-bumper traffic. Covering the full span of the bridge. And thanks to the fender bender that had caused the tie-up, there were few signs of a reprieve.
For the third time, he punched up Ryan’s number.
“I’m not going to make it,” he said as soon as Ryan answered the phone. “The tow truck just showed up. It’s going to take time to clear up this mess and get traffic moving again.”
