“Me too,” she said. “I thought I was getting over it. But it seems like just the mention of his name is enough to set me off.” She looked up at him. “So, now that you found out what we know about him, will you be leaving town?”
He gave her a look.
“Well, I can see that you’re not here for anything else but that family, so let’s figure out what you need to know, and then, at least, you can get on with your life. Unlike the rest of us.”
“What if I told you that he was dead? Chico, I mean.”
“I’d probably laugh and cry and maybe shout with joy,” she said bluntly. She stopped and looked up at him, searching his gaze.
He shouldn’t have mentioned anything about that either.
“Well? Is he?”
“Possibly,” he said. “We think so, but we’re still waiting for a positive ID.”
She fell into step once more, and they moved forward again.
Cain glanced at Eton, who just shrugged. There was no real way to understand or to know the best way forward at this point.
“It’ll break his father’s heart, if he’s dead,” she said.
“Because of the loss of the other one?”
“No. Because Morgan would probably want to kill Chico himself,” she said, with a bitter laugh. “The father used to be a mercenary in the military,” she said. “So, if you’re planning on going up there, be prepared. He’s also crazy with grief and anger. Plus drunk.”
“You think he figures this one, Chico, killed the other boy, Barlow, like you said?”
“Absolutely. I told him flat-out what happened. But then he bought off the police, so that Chico at least had a clean record. That’s kind of Morgan’s thing. He said he didn’t want anybody else to know about it, and I’d better shut up or else.”
“Or else?” Cain asked softly.
She looked up at him, smiled, and said, “Welcome to the backwoods of Sicily.”
Cain nodded, his gaze distant. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I’d love to ask him some questions though.”
“Like?”
“When did you see your son last?”
“I told you, not for a long time,” Petra said.
He looked at her sideways.
She frowned. “Okay, fine, I think he’s been back-and-forth. I just don’t know when. He and his father get along sometimes. Last I heard, his father was upset that he stole some weapons.”
“And are weapons such an open topic around town?”
“No.” She groaned. “Chico has a sister, and she’s a friend of mine. But her father keeps her on a short chain.”
“Sounds like that might not be a bad thing, considering the brothers,” he said.
“Well, she’s about to bust out,” Petra said. “She wants to go to Rome. Her father will lose another child.”
“Maybe it’s because of the way he is.”
“And those loser brothers,” she said. “So we’d have a better chance of talking to her than Morgan.”
“Lead the way,” Cain said. “I need answers.”
“To what kind of questions?”
“Who was paying the Chico kid to do his latest job?” he said bluntly.
“Why?” she asked, stopping and standing in the middle of the street, her gaze going from one man to the other.
“Because we think he killed a friend of ours and badly hurt two others,” he said.
She wrinkled up her face at that. “Are you planning on killing him when you find him? The father, I mean?” she asked in exasperation.
“No, not unless he gives us a reason.”
“You should know that this town will close ranks,” she said. “If there’s any ugliness, you can’t expect any help from the law or the locals.”
“No,” he said. “I can’t say I particularly expected otherwise.”
“It’s always been that way here,” she said quietly. “Even if they do something wrong. It’s like the town protecting bad pennies, especially the wealthy and dangerous ones, and the rest of the world can stay out.”
“Understood,” he said. “What I would really like to do is get access to Chico’s apartment and take a look inside.”
“Well, he does keep an apartment in town here, but he’s never there,” she said. “What? Did you not know that already?”
“Yeah, but we also know he went to his father’s place all the time,” Eton said.
She turned and slowly started walking down the street again. “That’s right. He did. And it would be just like him to have an apartment, then not use it.”
“Why is that?” Cain asked.
“Because he’s a sneaky son of a bitch,” she said with a frown.
“Listen. Don’t tell anybody that Chico’s dead, okay?” Eton said.
“Hell no,” she said, “that would just get me in trouble. Better off if you guys deal with that yourselves.”
“Exactly,” Cain said with a smile.
They turned several more corners, and, although it was late summer, a gloominess hung in the evening. She looked up and said, “You must have brought this weather with you,” she said, “because it was a beautiful sunny day earlier.”
“Clouds are good,” Cain said. “Too much sunshine’s not good for the soul.”
Petra burst out laughing. “Then I wonder if there’ll ever be sunshine in my life again,” she said.
This time when he glanced at her, he saw a look of sadness that broke his heart. He grabbed her arm again, not exactly sure why he felt the need to touch her, and said, “Come on. Let’s go take a look.”
As they got close to the property, he noted the massive wall surrounding it all.
“Stone walls?” Eton said.
“Very Italian,” Cain stated.
Pulling out her phone, she made a call.
“Who you calling?” Cain asked.
“Patina,” she said. “Checking to see if she’s inside.”
Just then a vehicle pulled out the driveway. It stopped just at the street’s edge, and a woman, sitting behind the wheel, answered her phone. When she realized Petra was calling her and that her friend stood right there, Patina rolled down the window. “What’s up?”
“Where are you going?” Petra asked, looking down at her friend.
“I’m leaving,” she said. “My dad is in a real temper, and I’ve had enough. I’m out of here for good. I’ll call you later.”
“Do you want to tell me about it now?”
The young woman shook her head sadly. “Nothing to tell. He’s just really losing it, and he’s dangerous as hell. I’m done.” With that, she rolled up the window and pulled away.
Surprised at the turn of events, Cain turned to look at Petra and asked, “Now what?”
Chapter 4
“I’m not exactly sure,” Petra said, “because, if Morgan’s in a temper, the firearms will be close at hand.”
Just then a shot rang out, and it hit the stone wall at the gate. A man yelled, “You get the hell off my property.”