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“Yes,” I say. “I’m going home to change. I have some errands to do. I’ll send you a picture of what I put on before I leave.”
“Good. Call me the moment you get home.”
“I will.”
The man across the desk keeps talking, showing me and Damian images of houses and condos on his tablet, and listing the benefits and downsides of each. With a load of money from arms deals waiting to be laundered, we need to increase the number and size of the properties that pass through our company. Fast.
“We need bigger properties, Adam. And more.” I throw the paper with the prices onto the desk.
My phone rings, showing Lorenzo’s name. I look up at Adam and nod my head toward the door. “Leave. I’ll call you later.”
When the door closes after him, I take the call and put it on speakerphone so Damian can hear as well. “Lorenzo.”
“One of Octavio’s bookkeepers has been taking money on the side,” he says. “That needs to be taken care of, Boss.”
“All right.”
“Do you want me to handle that?” asks Lorenzo.
I look at Damian who shakes his head, then I reply, “No. I’ll take care of it.”
“We’re keeping him in the back room in Octavio’s casino.”
“I’ll be there in forty minutes.” I cut the call and look up at Damian. “How do we take care of thieves?”
“Kill them,” he says. “You can assign someone else to pull the trigger, but Giuseppe handled thieves personally. It was a statement.”
I lean back in the chair and think it over. Even though I don’t remember killing anyone, the idea of taking someone’s life doesn’t seem to trouble me. “I’ll do it. Do you want to come?”
Damian cringes. “I’d rather not. But I’ll draw you a floor plan. You’ll have to go inside Magna through the back entrance since they have metal detectors at the front door.”
“I know.”
His head snaps up. “You remembered something?”
“No. I don’t have any recollection of going there or meeting people, but I do know how the inside looks.”
“That’s bizarre,” he says and starts chewing on the pen he’s holding. “What are we going to do if your memory doesn’t come back?”
“We’ll just keep going as we’ve been doing so far. I don’t think anyone suspects anything.”
“You don’t find that possibility disconcerting?”
“It frustrates me, yes, and I hate that I don’t remember my daughter or my wife. But the doctor said I can’t do anything about it. And I can’t waste my energy dwelling on things I can’t change.” I stand up and head toward the door. “Instruct Adam to search for more real estate. I’m going home after I dispose of that bookkeeper.”
* * *
Getting to Magna doesn’t pose a problem. I spent two days driving across Chicago with Damian, who pointed out all our businesses, as well as other locations where I may need to go at some point. I remembered everything about the city but couldn’t connect the names of the casinos with any particular location until I saw it.
My phone pings as I’m parking the car in the back alley. It’s a selfie from Isabella, showing her standing in front of the big mirror in our bedroom. She’s wearing a flowing brown dress with white flowers, and there is a mischievous smile on her face. Smirking, I type a quick reply.Approved, tesoro.
I send the message, put my gun in the holster under my jacket, and leave the car. Emilio parks his car behind mine, but I raise my hand, signaling him to wait for me here, and head to the metal door on the right. A man in a dark suit is standing by the entrance with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Boss.” He nods and opens the door for me.
I walk down the long corridor and turn left, heading into the back room. It’s strange how everything around me seems familiar but I have no recollection of ever being here. It was the same with my house the first day I came home from the hospital. I remembered the layout but not who had which room. It was as if someone had erased random parts of my memory and left only crumbs for me to follow.
Two men are flanking the double doors at the end of the corridor. They open it when I approach, letting me inside a medium-sized room which smells of stale booze and sweat. Lorenzo is sitting behind the desk at the far corner, but he quickly stands up when I enter. A man I don’t recognize is leaning on the furthest wall, probably one of the Family’s foot soldiers. I’ll have to tell Isabella and Damian to dig up some photos of the soldiers for me. Until now, I haven’t had time to go over the lower-ranking men in the Family hierarchy.
