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“Yeah, but I don’t know how. I know they set a bomb and watched you, but I don’t know who actually did the leg work for that.”
“Did they kill Cohenour?”
“Yes. They sent someone to give him a shot of adrenaline or something like that to give him a heart attack. To make it look like natural causes. They faked a break in to make it plausible. Like he died of fear or shock.”
That seems weak, but it worked for them. Motherfuckers.
I frown as I consider what I’m learning. I need to make sure I’m on the right track, so I use my next opportunity to speak to check.
“Their only involvement is because Cohenour made up a story that involved them.”
“Sorta.”
“What the fuck does sorta mean?”
“It means that none of their men were involved until after the fact. None of us knew anything about what was going on until we saw it on the news. I was there when Bartlomiej and Jacek supposedly found out about what Cohenour was doing. They didn’t seem shocked enough to me. You were already forcing me to spy. I didn’t want to. I figured I’d get back at them by hiding in the ladies’ room at their favorite restaurant and listening to them through the wall.”
Not a well-kept secret from anyone but the brothers, apparently.
“What’d you hear?”
“They hired those two kids who worked for you.”
“Hired?”
“Maybe not hired. Both guys had sisters. The Nowakowskis threatened to take the women and rape them.”
I don’t want to know whether they are capable of that, but I wouldn’t put it past at least Jacek.
“They had photos of the women. Those guys were barely more than kids. I know they’d already done time, but they were like twenty or something. They didn’t know shit. They obviously didn’t know to go to you. They’d be alive if they had.”
I’ve thought that dozens of times.
“Keep going. What else?”
“They don’t like you, but it wasn’t their idea to blow up the lumberyard and construction site. Someone else pressured them into it, but I don’t know who. As far as I know, that place doesn’t belong to anyone in our world.”
“They don’t. They belong to someone who buys lumber from for my stores. The buildings were full of wood. It’s why the fires swept through so fast.”
“Look, all I know is that they’re involved. I don’t know why, but I know they don’t like you and want to see you go down. Whoever hates you more knew they could get the brothers to do their dirty work. When they didn’t want to dirty their hands or risk one of us getting scooped up, they hired those two kids. I don’t know who started this. I don’t know why they did. And I don’t know how it will end. It definitely didn’t with Cohenour’s death since they tried to blow you up an hour later.”
I release the pliers from his nipple. I step back to think.
Someone hired Jacek and Bartlomiej to blow up a site I don’t own but do business with the owner. They— or whoever hired them —set it up to look like I somehow did it or ordered it. Having Cohenour come up with a story that slipped a little too close to the truth meant he had to go. They don't want Sinead to disclose any information about her client. They resent me for obeying Uncle Salvatore's orders to maintain control over them.
What I need to discover is who hired the Nowakowskis. I also need to know who helped those young ex-cons get into the lumberyard. They went away for possession charges. Unless they learned it from video games, they wouldn’t know how to set those explosives. In fact, they didn’t. They triggered the alarm before they failed to set the bomb. Their failure got them trapped inside. But who wanted them in there? My guess is Jacek rigged the explosives to go off while the guys were in there, so there were no co-conspirators to testify against him. He’s the one who probably did the car bomb that nearly killed Sinead, Pauly, and me. Jacek served in the U.S. military in Explosive Ordinance Disposal.
His parents came here from Poland before he was born. His uncle was their mob boss, and his cousin would have taken over. Both were killed in a skirmish with the Albanians. Bartlomiej was the next in line. He’s been the most reasonable leader they’ve had in a few decades, but he can’t control his brother. Apparently, Jacek came home a different man after too many war zone deployments. It would be sad if the fucker wasn’t trying to kill Sinead and me.
We need the dashcam to see who was there that night. I have an alibi since I was guarding Serafina. But the DA claims I organized it. If there’s anyone from another syndicate there, and the camera caught it, that’ll be the first step in poking holes in the prosecution’s arguments. We really need to discover who hired Jacek and Bartlomiej.
“Who’s been threatening the Nowakowskis lately?”
“No one that I know of.”
I believe him, which means he’s outlived his usefulness. I pull a knife from my pocket and flick open the blade. I position myself out of the spray zone and slit his throat. Nothing fancy or drawn out. I need to get cleaned up and meet Sinead. She should be done with the police department soon.
I signal a couple guys to dispose of him while I go into our office and strip. I put all my clothes in a metal barrel. When I’m done cleaning up, I’ll push it outside the back door. Luigi’s here today. He’ll burn the evidence I was here. I hop in one of three showers we installed. I lather up and scrub everything from head to toe. I’m quick, but I’m thorough. I’ve had plenty of practice.
