| |
ALEXIS DECIDED TO TAKE a walk in the moonlight while Dominic conducted business affairs inside. She wasn’t in the mood tonight to listen to their incessant laughter and smell the foul cigar smoke. A gentle breeze blew off of the river and carried with it the sweet scent of star jasmine which was heavy in bloom. Fall would be here soon and they would finally have some relief from the oppressive heat that plagued the summer months.
As she returned to the house, she swatted at a mosquito that had been pestering her for the last few minutes. She knew better than to come walking out here at night, but she needed a break away from the house to clear her mind. What the private investigator talked to her about the other day on the Riverfront still weighed heavy on her mind.
She thought about asking Dominic if he had seen the young girl, but something kept stopping her. She wasn’t sure why, but something told her this might not be the time to bring up the missing girl or the private investigator.
As Alexis neared the house, she saw headlights pierce through the darkness. A sleek black limousine pulled up to the house. She wondered who was arriving now. Alexis stiffened when she recognized who was stepping out of the limo. It was Frank and Alfonso Scarcelli.
Alexis moved closer to the house, not wanting anyone to see her outside. Why would Dominic lower himself to do business with that... that man?
Then Alexis began to panic. What if Frank Scarcelli wasn’t here to discuss business with Dominic but had come to hurt him? She watched in fear as Frank and two of his henchmen walked up to the front door. Alexis waited in anxious anticipation as two of Dominic’s workers who flanked the front door announced that the Scarcellis had arrived. Alexis stared at the scene in complete disbelief. They actually allowed Frank and Alfonso Scarcelli into their house. Alexis nervously waited for the gunfire to erupt, but instead all she heard was silence. Apprehension took over her body as she began to suspect that Dominic may, in fact, be working with the Scarcelli Family.
What if this private investigator’s hunches were right? What if Dominic did have something to hide? Could Dominic be joining forces with the Scarcelli Family? Why would he want to go into business with a man like that? Alexis shook her head, trying to put the doubt she felt towards her husband out of her mind. Dominic wouldn’t get mixed up in prostitution, or even worse, human trafficking, with the Scarcelli Family. Mais, his dad raised him better than that.
Yet, she was watching Frank and Alfonso Scarcelli walk into her house. Could this be why Dominic moved his meeting here rather than at the hotel? At the hotel, when Frank walked in, over seventy-five percent of the town would know in a matter of minutes that the St. Germaine Family and Scarcelli Family were meeting. It was a known fact around New Orleans, that the Scarcelli Family was nothing but trouble. They were with the Sicilian Mafia and did a lot of business with strip clubs, selling drugs and there were rumors of human trafficking.
As she stood frozen to the spot she was in, the pungent smell of Dominic’s cigar tickled her nose. She looked around to notice that he had come to greet Frank with a warm handshake and a pat on the back. Alexis dropped down low, not wanting Dominic to see her outside. He thought she was up in her room relaxing and wanted to avoid the meeting. She didn’t want him to know that she’d witnessed Frank and Alfonso Scarcelli walk right into her house as if the two men were best of friends.
She heard Frank tell Dominic, “Our plans have changed. We need to move up the next auction earlier than we would like. Will you have enough of the merchandise at that time?”
Dominic looked at the man and said, “I have a few now and can have my men acquire more merchandise pronto.”
“Good, good.”
Dread clawed at Alexis. It felt as if she was being consumed by it.