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IN THE MORNING, GIA woke early and in pain—her arm throbbed. She hadn’t closed the curtains when she went to bed the night before, so sunlight filled her bedroom just as she’d hoped it would. She was eager to learn who had died the night before, so she slipped into a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt, and then took the stairs to the main level, where she could already hear the television. Surprised, she turned a corner and saw that Carlo was awake and making espresso for each of them. Usually, she was up before him.
“Good morning,” she said.
“How are you?” he asked when he glanced at her. He was wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, which was typical of him. When it came to his body, Carlo had no issues with baring it all, though thankfully he always had worn his boxers around her.
Otherwise, they’d need to have a talk.
“I’m fine.”
He nodded at the granite island. “I doubt that. There are two Tylenol there for you with a glass of water. Take them. And don’t tell me that you don’t need them, because I won’t believe you.”
She took them.
“Thank you,” she said after she swallowed the pills.
“My pleasure.” He handed her the first espresso, and then started to make his own.
“What do we know?” she asked as she added sugar to her espresso.
“Diana Crane and Mike Fine are dead. The Wenns are not.”
“Fuck—the Wenns made it?”
“They did.”
“What else have you learned?”
“I’ve only been up for fifteen minutes, Gia. The Times is on the bar—read their report, but don’t expect much from it, other than that this is being considered a terrorist attack.”
“And thank God for that,” she said as she went to the bar and took a seat in front of the Times. As she sipped her espresso, she quickly read the story while the espresso machine gurgled and spat as it finished filling Carlo’s cup.
“I’m going to need three of these,” he said when he came around and stood next to her.
“You and me both. What is CNN saying?”
“Same thing, but the story is developing. We should go into the living room and listen to what’s being said.”
“Let’s go.”
They sat down on the sofa, Carlo turned up the television’s volume, and for the next thirty minutes, they sat and listened to CNN’s Jake Tapper as he interviewed a whole host of people—the governor, the mayor, the city’s chief of police, senators, and congressional representatives. Over and over again, Tapper asked each person whether this event could have ties to ISIS—and over and over again, each individual deflected, saying that while this clearly was a terrorist event, ISIS had yet to take responsibility for it.
“There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack on jihadi forums,” the mayor said. “But ISIS sympathizers have nevertheless reacted by praising the attack on pro-Islamic State forums. Given the number of victims and the sheer scope of the violence, we expect a lengthy investigation, which will be aided by the FBI’s New York Field Office. If you go to their website, the FBI have set up a hotline for tips. Viewers with any knowledge of who the killers might be are encouraged to call.”
The mayor continued. “I’ve also spoken with Sadyia Khalique, Director of Operations for the New York branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and she released a statement I’d like to read to your viewers,” he said. “She writes: ‘We condemn this monstrous attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed or injured. The Muslim community joins our fellow Americans in repudiating anyone or any group that would claim to justify or excuse such an appalling act of violence.’”
Next up was William Bratton, the city’s chief of police, who was asked by Tapper to describe the scene when he had first arrived on site.
“Just to look into the eyes of our officers told my everything I needed to know before I even saw the carnage,” he said. “The men and women who serve on our force have seen it all, but this incident still shook them to their cores. What I want to say to your viewers is this—in the coming hours and days, we will learn more about the victims of this tragedy. Their names, their faces, who they were, the joy they brought to their families and friends, and the difference they made in this world. I urge your viewers to say a prayer for them and their families. Let God give them the strength to bear the unbearable.”
Tapper paused for a moment before he said, “Can you tell us more about what this event was? Was it just a party? Or could it have been fundraising for a cause that some group might have objected to?”
“I’ve spoken to Maxine and Bill Witherhouse, who hosted the event, and they assured me that this was nothing more than a party for their friends.”
“Do you have the guest list?”
“I do,” the chief said.
“Are there any names on that list that stood out to you?”
“This was a social event, and by that, I mean most of New York society was there. Some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in our country were there last night. We plan to interview each guest going forward. That will take time. There were four hundred people there last night—and we need to speak to everyone who was there to see if we can make a connection to what happened. Because of that, I’ll echo what the mayor said earlier—expect a lengthy investigation. We know that people are impatient for answers, but when we deliver those answers—and bring the two murderers in question to justice—please know that we will have answered correctly and definitively. We will find out who did this, and we will make them accountable for what they did.”
“The Witherhouses live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Manhattan,” Tapper said. “Certainly there must be security cameras in that area.”
“There are,” the chief said.
“Have you viewed any video yet?”
“I haven’t. Right now, we’re working with all neighborhood residents who employ surveillance equipment to keep themselves safe and are asking for their assistance in solving this case. We expect zero resistance when it comes to people sharing their surveillance feeds with us. We should have video of the shooting by this afternoon.”
“Well, that’s reassuring,” Gia said.
“We knew this was coming and we prepared for it,” Carlo said. “We stole that car just two days ago in Jersey, not Manhattan. Whenever we drove it or laid a hand on it, we wore gloves. And last night, even though we both knew that we’d left no prints on the car, we still wiped it down—just in case. They’ll find the car and the guns, Gia, but there’s no way they’re going to be able to link them to us.”
She finished her espresso and leaned back against the sofa while Carlo turned the television’s volume down. “How are we going to handle Rowe?” he said.
“We’ll call him in a few minutes. And when we do call? Let me handle him, especially if he’s angry that we didn’t get the Wenns. I don’t know how or why, but somehow we missed them. When they came through the door with the rest of those people, they were standing right in front of us, and we opened fire—yet we missed them. I don’t get it.”
“When we started shooting, they could have ducked from sight.”
“They wouldn’t have had time to.”
“Then explain how they’re alive today.”
“I can’t.”
“Gia, Rowe is going to expect an explanation from us.”
“And we’ve got nothing to give him other than that Diana Crane and Mike Fine are dead, Carlo. At least we got them—both of them dead from an apparent terrorist attack.”
She looked at him when she said that.
“That’s going to be my spin,” she said. “And it’s true—while we didn’t nail the Wenns, at least we got Crane and Fine. And because this is being considered a terrorist event with many wounded and dead, the Wenns have no reason to believe that they were being targeted last night. Because of that, it won’t be long before the Wenns go to another party with their guards down. We’ll tell Rowe that whenever that happens, we’ll make every effort to take them then.”
“He’s already paid us for Meredith, you know?” Carlo said. “I’ve checked.”
“So have I. He came through with his promise, which bodes well for him. He agreed to pay us a million each for Diana Crane and Mike Fine—and we’ll see if he does. As for Jones and the Wenns? That’s another six million. Before we go forward with the rest of them, we need to be certain that we’ve been paid for Crane and Fine. I don’t think it will be an issue, if only because Jones and the Wenns are the people he really wants dead. He feels betrayed by them the most.”
“The other day, you said that we’re going to have to kill Jones and the Wenns on the same day. I didn’t challenge you on that then, but I’m going to now. Why is that important?”
“Because the Wenns must continue to believe that they aren’t a target. We need to make certain that their guard is down. Jones is the defining link between Meredith, Crane, and Fine. If she’s discovered dead a few days before we take the Wenns, no one will overlook the obvious, because it’s still too soon. People know that Jones’ relationship with Rowe led to Meredith divorcing him. People know that it was because of her news conference that Crane and Fine decided to oust Rowe from Wenn. If news of her death reaches the Wenns before they go out in public again, I can almost guarantee you that they’ll make the connections, and that getting anywhere near the Wenns will be next to impossible. The Wenns aren’t stupid, and neither is their security detail. We need to kill Jones just hours before we kill the Wenns. If we don’t and if her death is reported? Everyone will see the pattern we’ve tried to keep hidden from them, and the Wenns will go on lockdown.”
Carlo lifted his head. “I get it,” he said. “Right now, there’s no reason for anyone to connect Meredith’s death to Crane’s or Fine’s. But toss in Janice Jones, and everything explodes.”
“Exactly,” Gia said. “It’s like pulling back a curtain and revealing the truth behind what’s driving us, which we can’t have.”
“Agreed.”
“Right now we need two things—we need to find out from Rowe where and when the Wenns will be out in public again, and we need to learn how Jones spends her day. If there’s a rhythm to it, we’ll study it, learn from it, and figure out exactly how to kill her as swiftly as possible before we move on to the Wenns.”
“None of this is going to be easy, Gia.”
“Who said that it was? In fact, it’s probably going to be the most challenging job we’ve ever pulled off.”
“Provided we even can.”
“We’re good, Carlo—among the best. We’ll do it. They’ll die. And we’ll get our money. But we won’t be stupid about it. If there ever is a moment that we feel we’re in too deep, we bail. That’s something we’ve always agreed upon, because neither of us is going to prison for anyone—regardless of the money at stake.”
She stood and walked over to put her empty cup onto the island.
“Let’s go upstairs and talk with Rowe,” she said. “Let’s get this shit over with. I’ll tell him what happened last night. We’ll answer his questions, and take his flogging if he chooses to give us one for not killing the Wenns. And when that’s over with, we’ll see if he knows where the Wenns will be next so we can finish this job and get the hell on with our lives.”
