Chapter 5 - THE SMALL GIRL
Dominic did not reply to Rafe until he had washed his hands and stood beside his daughter.
She had dark hair like Mara’s. A clear tube helped her breathe. One tiny hand rested against the blanket, fingers curled as though she were holding on to something.
The nurse beside him said, “You can put your finger near her hand.”
Dominic hesitated.
“Gently,” she added.
He offered a finger. His daughter closed her hand around it.
All the words he had used to command rooms, settle arguments, and frighten other men deserted him.
“Hi,” he whispered. “I’m your dad.”
She made a small sound and kept hold of his finger.
A detective arrived half an hour later. Her name was Elena Ruiz. She did not look impressed by Dominic’s surname.
“Mr. Vascari, I need to ask you about the crash.”
He followed her into a quiet family room.
She showed him traffic-camera footage. Mara’s car waited at a red light. A delivery truck accelerated behind her. Just before impact, it shifted lanes and struck the driver’s side.
“That looks intentional,” Dominic said.
“We’re investigating that. Do you know why someone would target your wife?”
“I have reasons to think so.”
He told Ruiz about June, the box, the payments, and Rafe’s call.
“You had your employee find the truck driver?”
“Yes.”
“I need his name.”
“Rafe has it.”
“Tell Rafe to bring what he has directly to us. No meetings with the driver. No warnings.”
Dominic called in front of her. Rafe agreed.
Ruiz studied him. “You know the person who made those payments may be close to you.”
“I know.”
“Close enough to know Mara’s route tonight?”
Dominic thought of Celeste arriving at the hospital within minutes.
“Yes.”
Ruiz slid another image across the table. It had been taken by a camera outside a parking garage near the crash. Celeste stood beside the delivery truck earlier that evening.
“Where did you get this?” Dominic asked.
“We’ve been following the truck since the collision.”
In the photograph, Celeste was looking toward the camera. Beside her stood an older man in a dark coat.
Vittorio Vascari.
Dominic’s father.
Then his phone rang. Vittorio’s name appeared.
Dominic answered and said nothing.
“I heard about Mara,” his father said. “Come home. We need to talk before the police get the wrong idea.”
Dominic looked at the photograph.
May you like
“The police already have an idea,” he said.
His father’s voice hardened. “Then you need to hear what your wife did before you decide whose side you’re on.”
