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“What… what do you mean?”
No. No. Not Cheryl.
Bruno lowered his gaze. “She’s dead.”
Friday, August 3, 2018
THE SENATOR’Shand shook as he raised the glass of water to his lips.
“I’m ashamed to say my first thought was that they would never let me off their hook after this. And then it hit me. She was gone, and it was all my fault.” His voice cracked.
“What happened next?” In that moment, Gary felt sorry for him.
“Bruno left, saying he’d take care of the… body.”
“Did you trust him?” Dan asked.
Senator Cain’s smile grew bitter. “I didn’t have much choice. I told him she’d be missed. Her father…. But Bruno said people disappeared all the time.” He ran his finger around the rim of the glass. “He told me to play my part, act like the worried friend, call the police, search for her. Basically, he told me to pull out all the stops. Once he’d gone, I did what he said, but in the hours, days, weeks that followed, I was a mess. Cheryl was dead, and not only could I not grieve for her, I had to keep up the pretense that she was just missing, that she’d reappear one day. And all the while I kept waiting for Bruno’s next call, the next demand.” He met Gary’s gaze. “But it never came. Then I understood. They were waiting until I had more political clout.”
“And eventually thereweredemands?” Gary surmised.
The senator nodded. “Bruno had an uncanny knack of being aware of everything that crossed my desk. I suspected one of my staff was his informant, although I could never work out who it was. Then the demands started. Not big, no overt pressure… and not at all what I’d expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“They wanted me to voteinfavorof stricter gun laws.” Gary stared at him, and Senator Cain nodded. “A man like him… wanting such a thing. Then another time, they wanted me to endorse someone who was running for governor. I’m sure you know what went through my mind. Only when I looked into it, the candidate was someone I would have supported anyway.” He shook his head. “None of it made sense. And then in 2006, Bruno called. The tunnel had collapsed, and he wanted me to deflect attention away from the investigation, but there’d been a death, and people wanted answers. As it turned out, the epoxy that caused the collapse had been supplied to a company run by Bruno’s son, Gianni.”
“Yes, we know about that.”
Senator Cain sagged in his chair. “I can’t tell you what a relief this is. It’s finally over. I’ve lived with this for so long, it feels as though it’s eaten away at my soul.” He frowned. “Not the favors I did for Bruno. I never lent my support to anything criminal, and the bills I tried to push through were for the good of the people. If they had been otherwise, I don’t think I could have lived with that.” His face tightened. “But Cheryl’s death has haunted me. It wasn’t intentional, but I killed her all the same.” He glanced at Gary. “Will I be tried for manslaughter, along with receiving stolen property?”
“That will be up to the DA,” Gary informed him. “In the meantime, you’ll be taken to a cell until bail can be arranged.”
“I guessed that would be the case.” Senator Cain stilled. “I suppose you’ll be interviewing Bruno too.”
“You suppose correctly.”
“Senator?” Dan looked him in the eye. “All the times we interviewed you, the lies you told, one thing was obvious. You loved her.”
The senator’s face crumpled. “I did. And then she saw that painting and she stopped loving me.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Friday, August 3, 2018
DAN WAITEDuntil the senator had been escorted from the interview room before expelling a long breath. “I didn’t expect that.”
Gary shook his head. “Christ. Bruno DiFanetti—and Senator Cain.”
Dan tapped the table with his index finger. “Yeah, I’m a little confused about that part.”
“You and me both. I thought I had a handle on that family. Now? I don’t have a clue.”
“We’ll have to bring him in, won’t we? If only to corroborate what the senator told us.” He stood. “I don’t know about you, but I need some coffee. And maybe a little information.”
“What do you want to know?”
“You told me about the DiFanetti family, and both you and Travers made them sound really dirty, but”—he frowned—“it doesn’t add up. Because the demands Bruno made of the senator….”
