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Gary nodded. “And when he killed Cheryl—well, when he was responsible for her death—that was another lever.”
Bruno straightened in his chair. “And there you go again, proving you don’t know everything. The senator didn’t kill Cheryl.”
Gary stilled. “Then who did?”
Bruno’s eyes locked on his. “Gianni.”
Chapter Thirty
THE MOREGary tried to get his head around Bruno’s revelation, the less sense it made.
“But why? What reason would he have to kill her, unless it was to silence her because she knew about the Rembrandt.” And even that made no sense. “Youtoldhim to get her to a doctor.”
Bruno’s face was grave. “Yes, I did. What I didn’t know at the time was that Gianni had his own agenda. That night when I got the call from Senator Cain, I didn’t ask Gianni to come with me. He offered, which surprised the hell out of me.” He sighed. “And as forwhyhe killed her, I only found that out later.Thenit all made sense. By the time I discovered what had led to her death, Gianni had already disposed of the body.”
“Did he tell you what he’d done with her?” Dan asked.
Bruno shook his head. “He kept telling me I didn’t need to know. Then in 2006 when the tunnel collapsed…thenI knew.” He snorted. “Talk about irony. Gianni was the reason for its collapse. At least, the company that supplied the epoxy was, and he contracted them to do the job.” He peered at Gary. “I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know, am I?”
“Yeah, we knew that part.” That was public record. Gary leaned forward, his hands clasped. “You give every indication that you’re trying to steer your family onto the path of legality. How do you square that ambition with doing nothing about Cheryl’s murder?”
For a moment Bruno said nothing, his face dark. Finally he expelled a long breath. “I can’t, and that’s going to haunt me for the rest of my days. My only excuse was that I was protecting my son.” He huffed. “At least, I thought he was my son at the time.”
Gary said nothing but arched his eyebrows.
Bruno met his gaze. “You look surprised. No more than I was, I assure you.” He glanced around the room. “Do you think I might have a glass of water?”
Before Gary could apologize, Dan got up, walked to the door, and spoke quietly with the officer outside, then returned to the table. “On its way,” he murmured.
“Thank you.” Bruno cleared his throat. “I married my wife, Talia, when I was twenty.” He gave a shrug. “It was a good marriage. We celebrated our fifty-sixth anniversary last year.” His face contorted. “Last year she was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and not long after that, she was on her way out. So there I was, sitting with her in the hospital, holding her hand while she was dying right in front of me, and she told me Gianni wasn’t mine. She said she’d known she was pregnant when she married me.”
“Did you believe her?”
Bruno’s face tightened. “What man wants to believe such a thing? Fifty-six years of marriage? I thought I knew her. But a deathbed confession? She said it had been eating away at her for years. And once she’d said it, once the idea was there in my mind… well, it answered a lot of questions.” He grimaced. “All the questions I’d dismissed over the years because I didn’t want to think about them.”
“Do you have a photo of Gianni?” Dan asked.
Bruno took out his phone and scrolled. “That was him the last Christmas before I lost Talia.” He handed Dan the phone.
Dan studied the image, and Gary’s skin tingled.
He’s doing more than just looking.
After a minute or so, Dan handed the phone back to Bruno. He took a deep breath. “Your brother Paul is Gianni’s father.”
Bruno froze, his mouth open. “How did you…? There is nowayyou could have known that.”
Dan gave him a sympathetic glance. “I know because you do.”
His breathing hitched. “Stupid of me. I’d forgotten about your… abilities.” Bruno gave Dan an appraising glance. “I guess all the news reports weren’t hype after all.” He gazed at the photo. “I asked her why she hadn’t married Paul. She said she knew I’d be the head of the family one day—Nico was gone—and that I’d have more to offer.” He swallowed as he stared at the photo. “They even look alike. I don’t know how I didn’t see it long before. Me and Gianni, we’re not alike in looks or temperament.” He pocketed his phone. “Funny thing is, Gianni always felt to me like he was a cuckoo in the nest, something not quite right about him.”
“But why are you telling us all this now?” Gary’s head was reeling. “He’s still your nephew after all. Still a blood relation.”
Bruno nodded, his eyes suddenly cool. “And I’ve been cleaning up his messes for far too long.”
Dan tilted his head. “Like James Sebring’s murder?”
Bruno blinked. “You know about that too?” Another heavy sigh rolled out of him. “That one was partially my fault. After the tunnel fiasco, I moved Gianni, gave him control of the housing construction company.” His face tightened. “Except he messed that up too. When James put the bite on him, I told Gianni to pay up and then retrofit the radon barriers. He assured me he’d put it right.”
