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“You checked his car?” Andrea asks me. “You didn’t steal it from the police pound, did you?”
“No,” I answer. “Someone beat me to that. I found Bart’s Levante at a garage.”
“So you’re saying someone lured Bart out on purpose and then killed him, making it look like an accident?” my father asks.
“Yes. It was planned. Like I said, murder. They even made sure Bart was alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“Drugs were found in Mario’s system,” I explain. “Sleeping pills. Same as the ones Bart took. Whoever called Bart made him think he had to come alone and Bart believed it.”
“So Bart drugged Mario and then drove off to his death?” Andrea asks.
“Pretty much.”
“Were you able to trace the caller?” he asks next.
Now he’s back to being smart, but I’m already one step ahead.
“Burner phone,” I tell him.
“And the man who brought Bart’s car to the garage? There’s no surveillance footage of him?”
I shake my head. “The garage didn’t have any surveillance cameras.”
Pity, really.
Andrea looks at my father. “They’re professionals.”
Professional killers, just like Andrea and Cain. And Bart was their target. But why? Why did they want him dead?
“I can look into it,” Andrea adds.
The look on his face has suddenly changed. Earlier, he was a hound at his master’s side. Now he’s a wolf who’s picked up the scent of prey. He may have studied to be a priest once, but he’s far from a saint now.
“No,” my father says. He’s still calm. “I need you here, especially now that I’ve just gotten back on my feet.”
My eyes narrow. “Don’t tell me you’ll assign Cain to this. I was the one who found out about it.”
“I’m not assigning Cain,” he tells me with a look warning me to calm down. “He’s got enough on his hands.”
I snort. Just as I thought, he’s wormed his way back into my father’s good graces.
“But you’re not handling it, either,” my father adds. “I want you to focus on the family business.”
“I thought taking care of our own was our family business,” I say.
He raises a finger. “Don’t get smart with me, boy. You know what I mean. You keep doing what you’ve been doing at the company. That’s one way of taking care of us, too.”
“I can do that and handle this,” I tell him.
“You’ve done enough,” he tells me more sternly. Then he looks at Andrea. “Have someone else look into this as his sole task. Tell him it’s important to find Bart’s killer as soon as possible but that he should be discreet. No one else should know about this. He reports directly to you, and if he finds the killer, the killer should be brought to me.”
“Yes,” Andrea answers.
He’s back to being an obedient hound now.
“The same goes for you,” my father tells me. “No one outside this room must know about this. They don’t need to, anyway.”
My eyebrows furrow. “Not even Jodie?”
“Especially not her,” he answers. “She’s already coming to terms with her father’s death. There’s no need to unearth his grave. Besides, what do you think she’ll do if she finds out her father was murdered? Her passion for justice will drive her to find the murderer herself, of course. She’ll just put herself in danger. I won’t have that. I wasn’t able to prevent Bart’s death, but I will not let his daughter get dragged into a mess and hurt.”
I thought of that, too, of course. I just thought that it was more important that Jodie knew. Yes, I’d probably be more at peace right now if Antonio and my mother had both died natural deaths. It would still hurt, but I wouldn’t be this troubled. Still, I’d rather have trouble than false peace. What’s wrong with seeking justice and peace? Everyone deserves that. Everyone deserves a proper closure. Besides, unlike me, I know Jodie will go about it the right way. She’s a lawyer. She’ll use the law as her shield, and if that’s not enough, I was planning on keeping an eye on her, helping her even.
Of course, that was all before she told me what a thorn in her side I was. I bet the last thing she wants right now is to be working with me, so maybe my father’s decision is for the best.
I nod. “I understand.”
“Good,” my father says. “I don’t want to hear about you causing Jodie any trouble.”
He thinks I make her life miserable too. Does everyone except me think that way?
“I won’t,” I promise him.
In fact, I’m staying away from Jodie from now on. Not that it will stop her from hating me. I mean, I stayed away from her for thirteen years and she still hates me. But at least it will stop us from hurting each other.
Frankly, I don’t think I can handle much more of this pain.
