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He takes a deep breath. “I shot him in the head, then I went to try and find you. Only you’ve disappeared from your hiding hole and you’ve vanished. I’d picked somewhere your footprints wouldn’t be visible in the fallen leaves but that meant I couldn’t find you either.”
He pauses again, looking like he’s about to cry but then he swallows another shot of whiskey instead. “I looked for you and looked for you but I never found you. I kept looking until I burst out of the woods and saw Maisie’s dad loading you into his truck.
“I had nothing I could say that would help you so I went back and gathered up the bodies and I loaded them into my truck, got the hell out of there, and never thought I’d come back. Told the Don the job was done but that Vito died in the process. I’m made because as far as he’s concerned, I killed your mom and dad.
“I told him you got away and added you were far too young to identify anyone. He didn’t seem to give a shit about it. The important thing for him was that the box was back where they’d dug it up from. The necklace was secure too. His blackmail material was safe again, ready for when he needed to use it.
“I’m guessing he planned for me to go back and move the boxes but it slipped his mind when Blizzard didn’t get elected. No use to anyone if he’s not in power so there they lay, forgotten about by everyone.
I thought I was done with you. That you were at least safe. Checked how you were doing every now and then but never came back to Shallow Falls.”
“Until you did.”
“You got to live your life and the boxes stayed hidden. Jacob retired and Walter took over as sheriff. Keeps the necklace in his evidence room locked away all safe and sound until the Don sends for it like his pop tells him to.”
“What happened after that?”
“Not much. Blizzard’s campaign fizzled out, so for years so the Don didn’t give a shit about him or the photos. Until Blizzard tries again to get elected and this time, he does it so the Don’s got a useful bit of leverage to use against him. Waits until he’s bedded into the Senate. Then gives him a call. Scares the shit out of him with that memory of times long gone. So Blizzard comes to make a deal. Give him the photos still sealed in the box along with the necklace. In return, he’ll guarantee the Don the votes to get a help up into politics. Wants to be in government does Umberto, always been his dream. Hell, might even run for president one day. Get the feeling he was planning it from all those years back.
“So I get sent back to Shallow Falls to get your file and take a look at the old photos Vito took of you. Work out exactly where the stuff’s buried. Back then, I just went where I was sent and I didn’t know the area well enough to recall the burial site but as soon as I get to Chippewa Falls, it all comes flooding back to me.
I’m supposed to get the sealed box of photos and the necklace and take them to him. Supposed to destroy your file too so there are no links to the past. Only he gets paranoid and decides there’s one last link to all this that needs removing as well so I’m glad I have an insurance policy of my own. I’ve only given him the photos, not the negatives. They’re my bargaining chip so I can save your life.”
“Save my life?”
A heavy rock suddenly grows in the pit of my stomach as I start to understand, properly, why he came back to Shallow Falls. I’m already reeling from everything he’s said but this is an extra layer of pain that I never thought I could feel.
“You,” he says, looking straight at me. “You’re the center of all of this. You’re the last link to it all apart from me. I’m supposed to kill you to get the Don’s job when he goes into politics. That’s what I was sent here to do.” He sighs. “I warned you not to ask me what the truth was. Now you know.”
31
ENZO
* * *
She takes a deep breath and I’m certain she’s going to slap me, yell at me, something. She doesn’t do anything. She just sits there, looking at me with eyes that are impossible to read.
Then she nods like she’s come to some kind of conclusion in her head. “What happens now?” she asks. “You said you were going to sort all this out. What’s your plan?”
“You’re not angry?”
“Oh, I’m plenty angry with you but I don’t have the luxury of wasting time on that right now. I want to be able to go home without getting killed. How do we make that happen?”
“With the negatives and the necklace, we can stop Blizzard from getting reelected. I get this right and I can finally get him done for murder. I’ve waited a lot of years to see him sent down for what he did.”
“You make it sound personal. I thought this was just a job to you.”
“It never was. That’s the truth. I’ve wanted to see Blizzard go down for a long time but he’s a slippery bastard.”
“Ever thought about just killing him? Your nickname’s death, isn’t it? Why not just go Travis Bickle on his ass. Full Lee Harvey Oswald.” She mimics firing a sniper rifle. “Pew, pew, done.”
“Death would be too good for him. I want him to spend the rest of his life in a Supermax for what he did to…” I manage to stop myself before I tell her the thing I’ve never told anyone. I never will tell anyone. “I don’t understand why you’re not angrier with me.”
“Because I can control my emotions when I need to, same as you. Right now, my focus is on getting your sister free and getting rid of the danger to my life. Everything else comes second to that. So, tell me, Enzo. How are we going to sort all of this out? I’m guessing the Don’s got to die, right?”
“You’ve reached the same conclusion as me. You can think fast.”
“When I have to.” She manages a half-smile and my heart almost snaps. I can’t believe the Don wants her dead. I’ll see the world burn before I let anyone harm a single hair on her head.
