Reed drove through the car wash before she went home. Once the garage door came down, she told Brinley she could sit up. The windows were tinted enough that Brinley could have sat up safely for the entire ride, but Reed didn’t want her to know where they were going. This was the only place she was willing to bring her that wouldn’t compromise her safe rooms.
“Is this your home?” Brinley asked as they entered through the kitchen.
“The house is where I live, but I’ve never considered it home. That place hasn’t existed for a long time.” She managed to keep from saying anything else. “Do you need anything for the kid?”
“We’re going to need some diapers and other things pretty soon, but I’ll make you a list.” Brinley followed her to the den and seemed to be trying to memorize the space.
She glanced around briefly and wondered what Brinley thought. The house had been the model, and she purchased it as it was. All the furniture and decorations had been professionally done to entice people to buy, and she really hadn’t added anything else.
“I’ll take care of it, but we need to talk.” She pointed to the sofa.
“I know you said you didn’t know, but what exactly do you plan to do with us?” Brinley asked as Finn wriggled in her arms. The little boy appeared ready to explore the new space, and considering he’d spent the day fairly confined, she couldn’t blame him.
“Let’s be honest with each other,” she said, taking Finn from Brinley and standing him next to the sofa. “He’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want him to break anything.”
She laughed. “What are you worried about? You think I’ll kill him?”
“That’s a weird thing to joke about considering the situation, but I’ll take your word for it.”
“I own everything in here, but none of it’s mine,” she said, smiling at the little boy when he slapped his hands on her knee. “Do you understand me?”
“I think I do, and if you didn’t understand me before, thank you for what you did.” Brinley raised her hands to her face as if the horror of the day pummeled her again.
“Don’t cry anymore,” she said as Finn rolled the marble balls on the coffee table toward the sliding glass doors that led to the pool. “I told you I won’t fulfill my contract.” This was the first time anyone had been here, besides Oscar. Having Brinley and a little kid here was as bizarre as winning the lottery twenty times in a row. She tried but there was no reference in her experience to define her feelings.
“Why would someone hire me to do a job, then order someone to kill me? I’m sure that might make sense to you, but believe me, that’s not something I can wrap my head around.”
“Alex Bell called me and placed the order.” She raised her hand when Brinley opened her mouth. “Alex Bell is Robert Wallace’s assistant and fixer. Wallace would never make that kind of call himself, but I’ve dealt with Bell before and recognized his voice.”
“Did he say why?”
“No one like Bell will give me that. If he did, I could use it against him, but he wants you and whatever you know to die with you. Whatever he—or I should say, Wallace is afraid of, it was something you and the other woman knew. They sure as hell wouldn’t tell anyone else.” She stood and got Brinley a paper towel from the kitchen. The last time she’d experienced this many tears, a new girl in the foster home she was in had watched her father kill her mother.
“I can go over it again from the beginning. I got hired in accounting, and on my first day, Dean asked Naomi and me to start an internal audit. Usually you do that when management suspects—”
“Embezzlement,” Reed finished for her. “But no one pays me a couple hundred grand as a reward for you finding evidence of someone stealing from them. What did you find?”
Brinley explained the daily take and payout ratios for the past couple of years. “At the beginning of this year that changed.” She explained the jump in the numbers and the payout percentages. “I don’t know enough about casinos to tell you more than that.”
“So for pretty much this whole year they paid out a consistent percentage?” The question was a way of connecting some very fuzzy pieces that were still out of focus.
“Yes, remember we talked about how it shouldn’t be consistent? Unless you have a steady business, like say a baker with a contract to a restaurant that always buys the same amount of bread every day for years, your numbers are never going to be the same. It’s not impossible, but it’s not normal.” Brinley glanced at Finn, who was still engrossed in the marble balls. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
“Do I look like someone who bought those?”
“Maybe I can add some toys to the list,” Brinley said softly.
“Sure, but can you think of anything else about all this? Anything bigger than consistent numbers? I’m sure you don’t want to be locked in here with me forever.” She got up and took a pad and pen from the kitchen drawer.
“My mom came to visit me, and I talked to her about it since I was starting to have major second thoughts. She thinks the only logical explanation is they were laundering money and plenty of it.” Brinley started writing so Reed turned the television on to see if Brinley’s car made the news. “We talked about what kind of people launder money, and she convinced me to give notice before I attracted trouble. I guess I was too late for that.”
“Your mom’s probably right, but it still doesn’t explain your contract. Wallace wanted that audit for a reason, and something spooked him. That knowledge alone wouldn’t have gotten you killed.” Her phone rang and she stepped outside so whoever it was wouldn’t hear the baby. “Hello.”
“Bell was happy and made the transfer,” Oscar said.
“Good, did he say anything else?” She glanced at the golf course and back at Finn, who was slapping the glass doors to get her attention.
“He did ask a weird question about the vehicle. He wants assurances that it’ll never be found, and if there’s a chance it could be, then there’s some money in it for you to torch it.”
“Did anyone find her car?” She grinned at the little guy still slapping his hands on the glass. “I went far enough out of town that it should stay hidden, but I want to be sure.”
“Keep whatever car you used out of sight. Someone called it in and the sheriff’s office reported that they were responding to the scene. I heard it on the scanner, so they’ve found it.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, and no bonus for us since I already torched it. The desert is getting more crowded than we thought.” She almost laughed when Brinley sprinted across the room when Finn picked up one of the marble balls and was about to bang it on the glass door. “Anything new on the books?”
“You get the week off, but there’s all kind of shit happening around town, so keep your phone on.”
She turned toward the golf course at that statement and spoke softly. “What shit?”
“That woman you took out worked at Moroccan, but so did the other woman found barbecued in her car with her kid. I asked around, but discreetly, so don’t flip out. They were work partners so they must’ve known or found something Little Bobby wanted kept secret.”
Things she already knew, but she couldn’t share that with him. It irked. “That’s a dead issue now, and none of our business.”
“True, but shit like that has a way of boomeranging on you when the shit gets deep and people like Wallace and his pet Alex need a way out.”
“He knows better, and I’ll finish with Sofia and take some time off. This last job was enough for a while, which means don’t accept anything new without talking to me first.” If the investigation was starting to look at Brinley’s and the other woman’s work connection, there was a chance something would shake loose from Bell or Wallace. They ordered Brinley killed for a reason.
“No worries, buddy. I could use some days off myself.”
She went back in with the realization that Brinley and her kid would be with her for a while. “The sheriff’s office found your car.”
“My mom must be out of her mind.” Brinley’s lips trembled as if she was going to cry yet again. “I hate hurting her like this.”
“Brinley,” she said, and Brinley stared at her with an open expression that confused her even more. “Her grief and her reactions have to be real. You might not believe me, but I don’t want to kill either of you. If we tell her, or I let you go, you’ll be dead before you can enjoy your reunion.”
“What if I go back to Louisiana? Maybe they’ll forget about me.”
“Think about your kid and that other woman—the one you worked with. The chance they’ll forget about you, or that you don’t run into another me, is nil if they find out you’re still alive.” She sat back down and accepted all the things Finn brought her that he took from the surfaces he could reach. “Then there’s the fact that I’ve accepted payment for killing you.”
“Can you at least promise you’ll let me contact my mother when it’s safe?” Brinley seemed like a reasonable woman, but it could all be an act to get her to lower her guard. This was as far as she could go though. If Brinley ran, she fulfilled the contract, and learned a lesson from it.
“The police will push her hard for maybe a week, but hopefully after the bodies are never found, they’ll move on to what’s really important in this case.” Finn brought her the marble balls and handed her one before pounding the other one on the coffee table with enough force to make a divot in the wood. “He’s a strong little sucker.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for that. He’s fine,” she said. “Do you agree to wait until the pressure’s off your mom? Like you said, I could let you go, but then your mom will follow you home, and that’s going to alert the cops and Wallace something’s off.”
“This is so fucked up.” Brinley covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry, but it’s been the strangest day of my life.”
“I have to agree but for different reasons, I’m sure.” She tried her best to empathize and smiled. “If you make your list, I’ll go get the stuff you need.”
“For a hired killer, you’re really nice.” Brinley said it softly, as if not to make her angry. “What you’ve done—it doesn’t fit, you know.”
“You caught me on an off day.”
* * *
Hugo handed Mano the envelope he’d paid a thousand dollars for, then sat in one of the chairs across from his desk in his home office. “A little birdie told me we have some more visitors from the East Coast, and I’m talking a lot more to my contact in the LVMPD.”
“Does this have anything to do with that?” Mano held the envelope up and tapped it against the side of his head.
“According to our source in the department, those two detectives that came by the office the other day paid Diego Moretti a visit last night and showed Sofia a redacted version of that.” He nodded at the envelope. “The only thing marked out were the names, but none of the information.”
Mano opened the envelope and flipped through the pages, reading them twice. “Caterina really was trying to have Sofia killed. Does Diego have any idea that’s who’s in these text messages?”
“He’s pushing, but you need friends in the police department for that to work, and there’s only so much he can do to strong-arm the unredacted copies.” Hugo got his phone out and handed it to him. “I’m sure the police will concentrate on London Emerson next, along with Caterina.”
“How the hell did Caterina find this woman?” Mano asked as he studied the picture of the Emerson girl.
“That’s the next wrinkle,” Hugo said.
“Bigger than Diego Moretti trying to obliterate the entire Terzo family for trying to kill his beloved daughter? That must be some special wrinkle because there’s no way in hell old man Terzo didn’t know about this plan.”
“You probably don’t recognize the name of the girl in the photo—I sure as hell didn’t,” Hugo said and Mano glanced at the picture again. “Sorry, I don’t have a paper copy yet, but our guy couldn’t afford to take it out of the file.”
“If you’re talking about London Emerson, then I don’t recognize her.”
“How about Benito Lucassi?”
Mano put the phone down and slid it back to Hugo. “How is that bookie jackass involved in this? I’d have asked him, but he canceled on me the other night.”
“Benito’s only daughter married a guy and they had one daughter.”
Mano shook his head. “London Emerson is Benito Lucassi’s granddaughter? Are you kidding?”
“I wish I were, and I’m as shocked as you are. Lucassi is mostly unknown outside of his main job as a bookie, since he deals pretty strictly with the East and West Coast guys that have nothing to do with our business.” There was noise outside, and Hugo stopped to wave to Sylvia and the kids as they headed for the pool. “He met with Victor for some reason before he died.”
“You think it was about his granddaughter?”
Hugo shrugged. “I don’t think that was it. If Benito had known, I’m sure he would’ve gone with some backup to break Victor’s penis into three pieces.”
“Give me an hour and then we’re going out.” Mano stood and rolled his sleeves up. “I have a few calls to make, but I want to spend a few minutes outside.”
“I’ll be waiting, boss.”
Mano made two appointments before going and watching his kids swim. Tres was on the diving board and Sylvia was in the water waiting on him. “You guys don’t stay out too long. The sun is brutal today.”
“Do you have to go out?” Sylvia asked.
“I’ll be back and take you all out for dinner. Wherever you guys want to go is what we’ll do, so take a vote.” He crouched down and took Sylvia’s hand that she held up to him.
“Be careful, okay?” Sylvia said. “After watching the news this morning, I’m afraid for you. That poor woman and her son are still missing.”
“I’ll be okay, but I need to take us out of the war I have a feeling is coming, since it’s got nothing to do with us.”
She nodded, as usual leaving questions unasked. She trusted him to take care of their family, and he’d never let her down.
He left once Hugo told him the people he wanted to see were expecting him. “Who’s first?” Hugo asked. They’d had a heated discussion about bringing more people with them, but he didn’t want to escalate this by showing up surrounded by armed guards.
“Let’s go by Benito Lucassi’s first. We might get some idea of how to handle Diego if Benito’s in a talkative mood.”
Lucassi’s house was right outside of town, in a section that was mostly upper middle class, and Benito had considerably overbuilt for the area. The place reminded Mano of a style of house you’d find in New Orleans, which was a change from the ranch homes around it. There were so many cars lining the street that Hugo double-parked in front of the driveway, but no one said anything when Mano got out.
“Keep your eyes open,” he said as they walked to the door. “I’m curious who’s going to do their best to make this go away. It’s the fastest way to make this mistake a memory, but Lucassi isn’t about to let that happen. He’s never going to see his granddaughter as anything but an innocent in all this.”
“Caterina will probably try to cover it up,” Hugo said as he rang the doorbell.
“She does that, and it’ll be like admitting guilt. If she tries anything, it’ll be through a surrogate.”
“Mano,” Benito said, answering the door himself. “Thank you for coming.”
“Benito, you have my condolences, my friend.” He embraced Benito and followed him to the back of the house. His daughter was crying and was surrounded by women who appeared uncertain how to help. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said to the distraught woman.
“Thank you.” London’s mother clung to him and started sobbing until Benito helped her sit back down.
“Let’s have an espresso,” Benito said once his daughter was calm again.
He sat in Benito’s sunroom and stared at the pool as his host ordered their coffee. There were more people lingering out there than in the house, but Mano didn’t recognize anyone. They appeared to be the spouses of the women comforting their friend. He couldn’t tell for sure because he really didn’t know Benito’s family well, but none of these guys seemed too upset, which meant London’s father wasn’t here.
“I came to offer my support,” he said when Benito handed him a demitasse cup.
“The only person I want to kill slowly is already dead.” Benito gulped the hot coffee down like it was a shot of whiskey. “That goddamn Victor killed my grandbaby, and dying the way he did was too good for him.” Benito sounded angry, but also broken.
“Did you have any idea London was involved with Victor?”
Benito stared at him as if he was trying to decide if he was going to hit him for asking the question. “That fucker must’ve seduced her, and she got in over her head.”
“Is your son-in-law here?”
“That loser hasn’t been around since London was six, and he realized my money wasn’t going to fund his lazy ass. I’ve taken care of London and my daughter ever since. London was always a headstrong kid, but she was a good girl,” Benito said like he truly meant it.
“Have the police come by and told you anything else?” The tiptoeing to get information wasn’t working, so a more direct route was needed.
“Mano, I know we’re not great friends, but we are friends,” Benito said, his hands in fists. “You got something to say—spit it out.”
“I’m not hiding anything from you, Benito, but the two detectives assigned to London’s case came by my office.”
“What the fuck for?” Benito’s voice and temper rose predictably. “They think you had something to do with this?”
“Like you said—we’re friends. There’s no reason for me to go against your family, and my father would never allow anyone to harm, much less kill, someone so young who has nothing to do with our business,” he said placing his hand on Benito’s forearm. “My family has too much honor for that.”
“I know your father—known him a long time. You and Remi are a lot like him, which means I believe you.” The sad calm returned and Benito seemed to deflate. “Why’d the cops hassle you?”
“When things like this happen, they come and ask inappropriate questions because they think it’s their right. It’s like one dead fish is bait to catch as many live ones as they can put in their net.” He got up and poured a bit of brandy for Benito. “I’ll admit I didn’t realize it was your granddaughter with Victor then, but then I got curious once I found out.”
“She was in college but got reprimanded a few times recently,” Benito said, almost absently. The facade of the young innocent schoolgirl was starting to fall away from London like feathers off a tattered boa. Mano wondered how the whole truth would sit with him. “It was like she was in trouble and she didn’t know how to tell us.”
“You can’t take the blame for this.” Death and its permanence was something he wasn’t familiar with. His family had taken some losses, but they were in Cuba, and for him and Remi the death of unknown relatives wasn’t something they’d suffered through since they’d left so young. You couldn’t really mourn someone you didn’t know at all. They’d watched their parents grieve the loss of their own parents, though, which gave him the idea of what Benito was going through. “Perhaps there is blame here, but you and your daughter share no part of it.”
“I met with that son of a bitch right before he killed my angel,” Benito said. “That was something I didn’t tell the cops because I’d have to explain why.”
Mano poured him more brandy since it seemed to soothe him. “Was he asking you to handle some action?” It was football season, but Benito didn’t make house calls at any of the casinos. He had flunkies for that. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Can I trust you, Mano?” Benito seem dazed, which meant he’d indulged in more than two small brandies.
“I’m here because I believe your granddaughter deserves justice. Our families may have to live with what we do, Benito, but honorable people never touch an innocent. When that happens, the penalty is blood, and enough of it that no one ever dares to do it again.”
“But Victor’s dead,” Benito said, appearing confused. “Sofia and her sons bear no blame here.”
“Before you become too forgiving, make sure your family can live in peace.” It was too much of a cryptic comment to say to a drunk grieving man, but slow-burning fuses were sometimes best. “Why did Victor want to see you? That is, if you can tell me.”
“Francesco Terzo wanted me to deliver a message.”
A message and business opportunity coming from Francesco Terzo probably meant Victor and Robert Wallace would’ve been forced to work together. The only way to make that partnership work was the scheme that would eventually lead back to Caterina. Once Benito sobered up and figured all this out, he was going to blow Vegas to shit with a few phone calls. Benito wasn’t just a bookie, he was New York connected, and the main guy loved him.
“I understand completely. Your discretion is why you’ve been as successful as you have through the years.” That part was totally true. Benito wasn’t a man who spoke about anyone’s business, which was why Mano allowed him to work out of the Gemini, within certain parameters, when Benito had a need. “As your friend though, I should tell you my contacts have told me they’re reopening the investigation.”
“What?” Benito seemed to sober instantly. “Why?”
“That I don’t know.” He almost laughed at the suspicion on Benito’s face. “You’ve been here a lifetime, Benito, and I know the long list of friendships you’ve made. Some of those have to be cops.”
“Why are you here, really?” Benito asked after he stayed quiet for a few minutes.
“My little girl will be nineteen one day,” he said, and Benito nodded. “Perhaps if she falls for someone I’d never approve of, but it’s for love, I’ll rage but eventually understand.” Benito nodded again. “But if she’s lured to do someone’s bidding like an unpaid prostitute, then whoever sent her will roll snake eyes. Do you understand?”
He and Remi were twins, Remi the older by less than thirty minutes. And they’d been born with unique eyes. They each had one green eye from their mother and one blue from their father, but they were mirror images. When he stood at Remi’s right, and their eyes were level, the two middle were the ice blue of their father, Ramon.
A tattoo of their company logo was inked on their shoulders, each bearing half the hooded king cobra with dice for eyes. Only when they stood together did the whole picture appear, cementing the nickname they were known by on the streets. Snake eyes.
Benito said, “Snake eyes is something everyone understands, Mano. It’s been a while since anyone has had that unique experience, from my understanding, but everyone remembers.”
It was true that to see that tattoo in its entirety meant it was probably the last thing you saw, since he and Remi took care of their bigger problems with very permanent solutions. “Anyone who threatens our families will find that we can still teach important lessons.”
“Are you saying your family’s in danger?”
“I’m telling you to make those calls not only to the police, but to your friends back east, and give London the peaceful rest she deserves.”
“Something tells me you could give me those answers right now if you really wanted to.”
“There are battles we look for, Benito, and some that have nothing to do with my family’s business.”
“Those are the ones I imagine you don’t want to be dragged into,” Benito said.
“Exactly.” He stood and buttoned his suit jacket.
“That only happens if I do something stupid with what you say. I haven’t lived this long by being stupid.” Benito stood as well and took his hand. “If you know something, I’ll be in your debt. Thank you for letting me know I should look a little deeper.”
“Promise me you’ll call before you do anything.”
“You have my word.”
He handed Benito an envelope with the text messages in it and shook his hand with both of his. “Your granddaughter bears no blame in this either, my friend. I may have never met her, but she’s the good girl you’ll always remember.”
“Thank you, Mano.” Benito placed the envelope in his pocket. “Is Remi coming to town soon?”
“She’ll be here for the service.” A small white lie never killed anyone.
“That’s generous,” Benito said, his eyes becoming glassy. “Your friendship is appreciated, and I might need it going forward.”
“It’s why I’m here. Snake eyes isn’t something you have to fear.” Mano left knowing he’d planted the seed. The Terzo family had grown fat and powerful with the money they were making off drugs, and it would be suicide to hit them directly. Giving Benito the information about Caterina was like loading a cannon and aiming it right at the Terzos.
His father always said that sometimes the smart play was letting someone not only take out your trash but having them be grateful once the cleanup was done.