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BUTCH: Did you ever see her again?
CINDY: Not alive, but Dante is a sadistic bastard. He sent me an envelope that had a map of the city with a red X marking the spot. On it, he wrote ‘Buried Treasure’. I had to know for sure so I went out there to where he put it and found a fresh grave. When I dug it up I found her lying there, her face the only piece of her I could recognize. After that, I left. I had nothing to stay for and I knew that he would be after me too, because I knew about the whole thing and didn’t say anything.
BUTCH: Do you still have the map?
CINDY: I do, hold on a second. *There is rustling and the sound of a door opening. A few minutes later, she continues* Here you go. Please ask Raniero to give her a proper burial. I keep meaning to go back there and at least put up a marker, but I… I just can’t.
BUTCH: I’m sure Olivia and Raniero understand. Now, one last question… who was the man she was having an affair with? Do you know?
CINDY: Of course I know. It was Lorenzo Asdrubale, the head of Dante’s security. That’s why he killed Olivia. Lorenzo was too valuable and was in every aspect of his business. He couldn’t lose him, but he couldn’t let Olivia get away either. Losing Olivia was less of a hit to his business.
BUTCH: And you’re sure Dante killed Olivia?
CINDY: Positive. Olivia was buried with both wedding rings around her neck.
Butch reached forward and shut off the recorder. I stared at it, shocked at what I had just heard. I looked at Raniero, but he was staring at the table, purposefully not looking anywhere else. I couldn’t tell how he was doing, but I could tell that his brain was working on overdrive. The muscle in the side of his neck kept twitching.
“So… My father had an affair with your mother?” I asked, still in shock. “My father cheated on my mother? And your mother is the thing he stole from him?”
“It seems so.” Butch answered. “I looked into that angle too and yes, it holds up.”
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe any of this.” I said.
Raniero’s head snapped up.
“I can. Thanks, Butch, I will pay your final check by the end of the week. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it. I must go, please see yourself out.” He said and headed for the front door. Ifollowed him out the door and to his car. He got in and before he could leave, I got in and sat in the passenger seat. He blinked at me and shook his head. “No.”
“Excuse me, but you aren't going anywhere alone right now. If you need to go somewhere, I’m going with you.”
He looked at me for a moment then shifted the car into gear.
“Fine.”
“Where are we going?” I asked as he pulled out of the driveway.
“To pay my father a visit.”
Raniero
So many thoughts ran through my head as I drove to my father’s place. I hadn’t wanted Anita with me, but there was clearly no stopping her. I could have forced her out of the car, but that wouldn’t have done either of us any good. I loved her and in my tight mind I would always want her with me, but I knew that as soon as I saw my father something bad was going to happen.
He had been lying to me for years. A decade.
Every time I had asked him what happened, every night I went to sleep as a kid crying because I missed my mom, every birthday missed, every Christmas wishing she would come back home and we could be a happy family again, all of it was a lie. She was never coming back and he knew it, but he never told me.
He could have simply told me it was an accident. He could have told me she was dead, but instead, he let hope live and drove me crazy until I was desperate enough to hire a PI to find out the truth. Because my father murdered my mother and then lied to me about it. What a fucking asshole.
I must have driven way over the speed limit, but Anita didn’t say anything. She just sat quietly in the passenger seat, watching me, patiently waiting for us to get to where we were going. I appreciated it, both her silence and her presence. Knowing she was there for me no matter the outcome made me feel a little better.
My mother was dead. She was never coming home.
I think part of me knew that, but I needed to know for sure. Eventually, I wanted to go to where she was buried and give her a proper burial, but a few things had to happen first. One of which was getting to confront my father.
I pulled into the parking garage of the building where my father’s office was. I could have gone to his house, but I doubted he would be there. As far as I was concerned, this was my father’s place and I was pretty sure he thought it was his place too.
I got out of the car and headed for the elevator, Anita following close behind me. I knew she wouldn’t stay in the car if I asked her to so I saved my breath. I was no longer scared that she would leave if she saw the darker side of me. She had seen me kill three men with less of a cause than I had right now and she had told me that she loved me. She would be there for me in the end no matter what so if she wanted to come along for the ride, be it.
I hit the button for the floor and waited, looking up at the lights, anxiously.
