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“What can I do for you, Sinacore?” I ask.
“First, I wanted to give you my condolences. I heard about your father.” He sounds genuine enough. I’ve met Tony on two occasions. The first time was after Francesco died and he’d come to New Jersey to pay his respects. The second was when he returned to Jersey, attempting a truce after the incident with Luca, something I highly admired him for. Took fucking balls.
“Thank you,” I say politely. I don’t ask him how he got my number. We all have our ways. Instead, I urge him to get to the point of the call. “What can I do for you, Sinacore?”
“Call me Tony.”
“All right, Tony. I’d expect anything you might need would be asked of Joaquin. Not me.”
He sighs. “I’ve tried. Unfortunately, your cousin has no interest in a conversation with me, no matter that what I have to say affects him.”
I sit up, my brows pinched tightly together. “You have my attention.”
“I thought I would.” He exhales again, louder this time, as if he has something heavy on his chest and can’t breathe right. “Did you hear about Tadesco and McKenzie?”
“Yes.” The Chicago kingpin and the Boston mobster were killed recently. Anyone in the underworld would have heard about their deaths. At least, anyone who understands the importance of keeping up with everything that happens around us.
“I believe the deaths are related,” he says.
“How so?”
Again, he breathes out and groans. There’s a sound of a pill bottle, and I imagine he’s popping antacids. “I don’t know everything yet. I’m trying to gather information. But this isn’t the first time murders like this have happened. Have you heard of the Ferryman?”
“The Ferryman?” I feel stupid even repeating it. Like some rhyme. “I haven’t.”
“No one has. It’s…Noah, I need you to talk to your cousin. I believe every family on the east coast is in danger. We must all meet to prevent more deaths.”
I blink into the firelight, unsure of how to reply. On one hand, Tony is known for being smart and level-headed. He may not be as ruthless as most Dons, but he’s well-liked.
On the other hand, he’s sounding a bit crazy even to me, and I wonder if it’s not some other type of medication he just took.
“What makes you think I can get Joaquin to do anything?” I ask him.
“I knew Francesco well,” he tells me. “He spoke highly of you.”
His words take me aback. He knew my uncle? It could be. There was a truce back then, between the families, when Tony’s father was boss.
“If anyone can get through to Joaquin,” he continues, “it’s you. Noah, I know this seems insane. That I’m rambling. That’s only because every alarm in my system is blaring and, still, I can’t put the puzzle together. We must have a truce and unite in this.”
My mind strains to understand him. But he’s talking about my helping him solve puzzles when I have one of my own.
I wipe my palm down my face and, as if he can see me, I nod. “I’ll talk to him about it.”
Tony remains quiet for a moment, then says, “Thank you. And, Noah,” he adds before we hang up.
“Sir.”
“Whatever you do, keep strange women out of your bed.” The tone of his voice makes the warning all the more ominous. “They can be deadly.”
3
NOAH
It’s not H.W. on the ring. I was looking at it upside down the entire time. It’s M.H.
Maxton Pierce Auction House. That’s what the symbol on the ring stands for.
“Have you heard of it?” Justin asked me when he called to give me the information he found buried deep in the dark net.
