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“Antonio found Vinny dead in the bathtub,” Demir told him in Italian, using their coded language.
“Was it a hit?” Vito asked in kind, then gestured for Demir to hand him his cell, which Demir did. “Tell me everything.”
Demir watched as Vito listened to the details and saw the serious expression on Vito's face. He wondered if Vinny had just been sick or in an accident because he hadn't shown up to work. That just wasn't like Vinny at all, but being dead would explain his absence.
“We're on our way,” Vito said, then hung up. “Fuck,” he hissed then handed Demir back his cell.
“Vinny's...” Zindel leaned over to whisper. “Dead?”
Vito nodded, then motioned for Demir to move, as the two guards had been sitting on the end of each booth. Both Demir and Giovanni stood up while their charges climbed out of the booth.
“Damn, and I was really enjoying this meal,” Zindel said.
“Take the plate with you,” Vito said as he fished several bills out of his wallet just as their waitress approached.
Zindel put his jacket on and took his man's advice. He placed everything he wanted to eat on the plate. Then he snatched up the glass of wine as well, draining it. He would have taken that too, but there was no place to put it in the car without it spilling. But the plate of food piled up, he was going to take that. He wasn't above pulling such a stunt.
“I can get you some containers,” the waitress said as she took the money from Vito.
“We're leaving now,” Vito snapped, as he slipped on his coat. “The tip is included.” He'd more than paid for the meal, dinnerware, and tip as far as he was concerned. He ushered Zindel toward the exit and Demir and Giovanni took their positions with Giovanni in front and Demir in the back.
Once inside the car, Zindel continued to eat his lunch, balancing the plate on his lap, while Vito watched him. “I didn't actually think you were going to take the whole plate of food.”
Zindel shrugged. “I'm hungry and why wouldn't I?”
Demir looked at Vito. “Do you think it was foul play?”
Vito gave Zindel one more incredulous look as he devoured his meal, then turned to Demir. “I need to see what he looks like. I mean, according to Antonio, he was electrocuted by a fucking cell phone.”
“Yeah, he said that it was plugged into the wall, though,” Demir said, because that was what Antonio had managed to tell him before he'd handed his phone over to Vito.
“Is Vinny that dumb?” Vito asked.
“No,” Demir replied. He didn't think the Made Man was stupid enough to be in the bathtub with his cell connected to a power source. “Do you think it was the Triad? Or the Mancinis getting back at us?”
“I think I'll reserve judgment until I can see the scene on my own.”
Demir nodded and turned back around. They reached Vinny's home in twenty minutes.
“Stay here,” Vito told Zindel.
“I don't want to see a dead body anyway, even if it is Vinny's,” Zindel said.
“One of my men is dead, show some respect,” Vito snapped.
“And he's the one who made me whore for two years. Forgive me if I'm not shedding any tears,” Zindel retorted.
Demir watched the two men exchange words, but kept his mouth shut. He could see both points of view and by the way Vito huffed, he could tell this round also went to Vito's Minx.
“We'll talk about this later,” Vito said, then closed the car door, leaving Zindel behind with Giovanni.
Chapter five
Demir
Demir followed Vito insideVinny's home where Antonio had been patiently waiting. After greeting the boss, Antonio led them to the bathroom where Vinny was naked in the water. His phone was submerged beside him, the cord still connected, but you could see the damage that was done during the electrocution. With a surface inspection, Vinny's skin looked slightly bloated and pale with discoloration. His eyes were open but empty. Both Vito and Demir looked around the bathroom, taking in the entire scene. Demir walked out of the area as he slipped on his leather gloves to begin inspecting the adjacent bedroom. He could hear Vito and Antonio talking in the background, but he focused his attention on looking for any kind of clue that could explain what had happened.
He also checked the rest of the house and the security system for foul play. He noted that the system hadn't been rebooted properly. It was still blinking, which meant it wasn't connected to the internet. It also meant that nothing was being monitored. One of the reasons Demir understood why Vito never relied on technology to protect himself and his properties. Nothing couldreplace human guards. Of course, that was something Vinny didn't want to shell out money for. He returned to the owner's suite.
