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“Considering I hadn’t called you yet after the recent development, I hoped this was a friendly visit. Not business.”
Soren sat in the chair across from me, staring me dead in the eye. “What developments?”
I unlocked the drawer and brought out both bags Benny handed me earlier. “It appears there is more to Collins than we both know or have figured out.” The cut line could be from anything, but coupled with the trackers... No, something nefarious was in play. If I was the same murderous, cynical bastard I’d been years ago, before I married Rosalina, I’d have done the same. Then waited for my target to be stuck on the side of the road with a broken down vehicle. However, the only downside to my assessment, from everything Soren had already found, Collins didn’t have any enemies.
“Miceli...” Soren peered into the bag with the trackers. “You have a problem on your hands.”
No shit. “Indeed. Without the cut line, I’d say she owned a vehicle from perhaps a used car lot where people could pay by the week or whatever.” The devious practice of selling vehicles past their prime, while also monitoring where they went, made it easier to repo and do God knows what, enraged me. I’d bet my company, if that was the scenario, Collins knew nothing about it. “Add in the oil line...”
Soren blew out a breath and nodded. “I agree.” He pulled a new file from his jacket pocket. “This is the informal part of my investigation. Something about the Hollis murders isn’t sitting right with me, either. I’ve started digging.”
I sat back with a grunt. “Tragic what happened to them—Theo and Sylvia. Rumor has it he was stealing money from the families.” Or, at least, that’s what police were saying.
“I don’t buy it,” Soren spat. “It’s something else.”
“Oh?”
“I also don’t think the kids are dead.” He shook his head. “The scene... A friend gave me the murder file and autopsy reports. I think Stephanie and Kyle are alive.”
I turned the information over in my mind. I wasn’t particularly friendly with the Hollis family. Sure, I’d met Theo a handful of times. Sylvia at parties. All the families at the table knew about each other’s families, and I knew he had a daughter and a son from the pictures in his office. That was years ago. Over ten, I was sure. “Why are you telling me this?”
“My sources are getting jumpy.” He glanced over at my liquor cabinet. “They’re saying the Hollis murder was a strategic hit, confirming the information police detectives willingly gave out in the beginning. When I pressed one of my sources if it had to do with Theo Hollis stealing money, they stopped talking.”
“Well, that makes sense.” I went to the cellarette to grab the half empty bottle of single malt scotch. “Do we know exactlywhohe’d been stealing from, if that’s the case?”
“Several of the Syndicate of Families it would appear. The Valentino family for sure, Torino, and the Tumino families.” Soren accepted the drink from me. “If the information is correct, it appears to be at least five million dollars over the last ten years, if not more.”
“This is why I enjoy keeping everything in house.” I made the statement more for myself than Soren. My money—my place at the table—all came from the blood, sweat, and tears I’d readily shed for said families. Allowing anyone into my business came at a price to me and my company. “Do they know who signed the contract?”
Soren shook his head. “I believe you need to prepare yourself for the real possibility that Collins and her brother are actually Stephanie Hollis and Kyle Hollis.”
I frowned. Wouldn’t I have recognized her? Yes, several years had passed since I’d last had any type of interaction with Theo. We worked in the same circles. Went to the same events. Didn’t mean we were friendly in any capacity of the term. Two innocent children who had nothing to do with their father’s business. “The police reported they too were murdered, even though they can’t find their remains.”
Soren frowned. “Look.” He pulled a single photo from the investigation file and placed it in front of me. “What do you see?”
It was a bedroom. The closet door had smeared in crimson where someone had either opened or closed it. On the floor in said space was a pool of blood already drying but no body. I glowered. The father and mother being left on display was a warning. Perhaps they took the kids and disposed of them somewhere else so their family would have no closure? No. I wasn’t thinking like a killer. I’d been thinking like a businessman. I needed to beIl Malocchino—The Cursed. I had to think like the man I used to be, who was feared by many.
Regaled by others.
If I’d been there, I wouldn’t have done the job in broad daylight. I’d have waited until everyone was at home and night had fallen. The new moon afforded me an extra bit of cover, so I’d plan the hit around the lunar cycle. Pitch black alleys were even better on those nights where not even a single beam of light could penetrate the area. However, that was neither here nor there. Staring at the photo, I put myself in the killer’s point of view. What made them decide to commit the murders in this manner? Yes, stealing money from the Syndicate of Families was bad, especially if the person got caught, but this... No, this assassination was personal for them, especially for whoever to do so in such a manner anyone could have, and most likely had, walked in on them.
“You think Stephanie came home after the killing happened, grabbed her brother, then ran away?” Sloppy. Shoddy work by whoever was hired to take out the Hollis family. They left strings. “Do you have anything to support your theory as of right now?”
“No.” Soren frowned. “I’m still reading through the file.”
“You’re leaning in this direction?” I pressed. Though I wasn’t convinced of such, I also wouldn’t disregard Soren’s concern. I knew Collins wasn’t who she said she was. Bone deep, the woman was hiding something important. What? I couldn’t say. This though... No, I’d never believe the woman who came apart in my arms only minutes ago was the one and only Stephanie Hollis.
It was impossible.
“Yes.” He pointed to the bags laying on my desk. “These make it even more plausible to me.”
“Why come to me, if it’s really her?” If the Syndicate of Families was after her or what remained of her family, why would she readily put herself in harm’s way? “I sit at the table, for fuck’s sake.” I was her enemy. The thought twisted my gut. The sins of the parent weren’t the sins of the child. “Do you think she knew about the money?”
“All accounts point toward no,” Soren answered. “Stephanie has been away at college for the last three years. Her brother attends—attended a private school. They mingle within your... Community, never fully entering it. I’d say the only one who knew was the father, maybe the mother.”
“So, if they popped up one day, they should be protected,” I quipped. “The information about the Valentino family is appreciated. Kira Tumino is a tough as nails bitch. I’d never want to cross her. I’ve heard she is doing well after her father’s untimely death. Knowing everything I do about her; I doubt she had any hand in this situation.”
“Which leaves Valentino, Torino, and nine others.” The pinched expression on Soren’s face didn’t help to unfurl the knotted mass weighing heavily in my gut.
