Chapter 6 - The Man Who Opened the Door
Vincent grabbed Luca by the front of his jacket.
“You told me he left.”
“Carlo told you.”
“And you let him.”
Luca didn’t resist.
Sarah stepped between them.
“If he knows where Daniel is, let him talk.”
Vincent released him.
Luca spoke to Sarah.
“We brought Daniel to Pier Nine. He had documents. Said Carlo was stripping money out of buildings, charities, your company.”
“My husband’s company.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Carlo arrived before Vincent. Told us Daniel had confessed. Said he’d handle the rest.”
“You left him?”
Luca’s face collapsed.
“Yes.”
Sarah slapped him.
The sound cut through the alley.
He took it.
“Eight years,” she said.
“I checked later. The warehouse was empty. Carlo said Daniel had gone overseas.”
“Did you ask me?”
“No.”
“Did you look for his wife?”
“No.”
Luca looked at the ground.
There was nothing he could say that would make the answers smaller.
Vincent turned toward Marco.
“Get a car. Take Sarah, Emily, and Mrs. Alvarez somewhere safe.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No house owned by your family.”
Marco nodded.
“My sister runs a small motel outside town. She won’t let strangers through the office.”
“Call her,” Vincent said.
As Marco walked away, Sarah crouched beside Emily.
“We’re going somewhere for tonight.”
“Are we getting Daddy?”
“We’re trying.”
Emily looked at Luca.
“Did he ask to come home?”
Luca swallowed.
“Yes.”
Emily pulled her mother’s hand closer.
The old bodyguard turned his face away.
Before they left, Sarah asked the fire captain whether the basement had been damaged.
“Smoke and water. Stay out until we clear it.”
“When?”
“Morning at the earliest.”
Vincent called an attorney named Nora Price.
He didn’t ask for a favor.
He told her about the gun, the fire, the transfer papers, and Daniel Reed.
Nora stayed silent until he finished.
Then she said, “You need investigators you haven’t bought.”
“I know.”
“And your own lawyer.”
“I know that too.”
At the motel, Sarah settled Emily into bed.
A phone lit up in her pocket.
The unknown caller had finally left a message.
A photograph.
Daniel at a metal desk.
Thin.
Gray at the temples.
Alive.
May you like
Beneath it were six words.
BRING THE KEY. COME WITHOUT ROMANO.
