Chapter 10 - The Last Load
Nobody spoke.
Rain hit the loading dock roof in hard, uneven bursts.
Vittoria turned toward Rosa.
“You’re tired.”
“I am,” Rosa said. “I’m very tired.”
“Be careful.”
Detective Reyes stepped between them.
“Mrs. Duca, come with me.”
“Miss Duca.”
“Then Miss Duca. Over here.”
An officer took Rosa aside.
Another led Emma and me to an ambulance so a medic could check us.
Emma refused to let go of my hand.
“Are we in trouble?”
“No, baby.”
“Did we steal Mr. Lorenzo?”
I laughed once.
It hurt.
“No.”
At the hospital, someone brought her dry pajamas printed with yellow ducks.
She fell asleep against my chest while I gave my statement.
Reyes listened without interrupting.
The shed.
The trapdoor.
The recording.
Daniel’s voice outside the linen-room door.
When I finished, she placed a paper cup of water beside me.
“Your husband’s crash was investigated as a single-vehicle accident.”
“I know.”
“We’re going to look again.”
“Did she kill him?”
“I don’t know yet.”
I appreciated that answer.
I hated it too.
Across the waiting room, a surgeon spoke quietly to two nurses.
I watched his face, trying to read it.
Reyes followed my eyes.
“He’s still in surgery.”
I looked down at Emma.
Her hand was closed around nothing.
She was used to holding Rabbit when she slept.
“Can we get her toy back?”
“We’ll ask.”
An hour later, Reyes returned with a printed photograph from the vault.
Daniel stood beside his truck at a loading dock.
Marco faced him.
The date was three days before the crash.
I pressed my hand over my mouth.
Reyes sat.
“The drive has copies of older recordings. We’ve located the conversation you heard tonight.”
“And the rest?”
“We’re working through it.”
She looked toward Emma before continuing.
“There’s also a message your husband left for the company’s internal reporting line.”
“Lorenzo’s?”
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“What did he say?”
Reyes turned her laptop toward me.
Daniel appeared on a grainy office camera, tired and angry.
“If anything happens to me,” he said, “ask Vittoria what was in the last load.”
May you like
Then he leaned closer.
“And ask her brother why nobody ever called me back.”
