“What happened next?” I ask Stefano.
“The police came, so Giovanni collected the dog and left,” Stefano tells me.
I study him uncertainly. “And how did you find out about all this? Not in a way that puts our operation at risk, I hope.”
“Of course not,” Stefano says. “I bought the information from Modesto.” That was the alias of a spy another family had in the Rizzo villa. “He announced that he had video of the fight on WhatsApp, so I’m not the only one who bought it. Everyone wants to stay informed on the affairs of the two most powerful mafia families in Palermo. If it makes you feel better, I used a burner account.”
“It does,” I tell him.
“The Amatos are still looking for her of course,” Stefano continues. “My informers tell me her brothers have been out on the streets, asking questions. I even personally received a call from an Amato associate asking if I knew anything. I denied everything, of course.”
Luciano glances at me. “We were expecting that.”
“I’m tempted to make an offer directly to the Amatos right now,” I say. “Have Giovanni meet us in a park. Alone. I take the ransom money, then kill him. Not necessarily in that order.”
Roberto crosses his arms, making his already big biceps bulge. “We’ve waited this long for revenge, we can wait a little longer. Just because the end is almost near doesn’t mean we have to start getting messy.”
Even though I was the one nearly killed eight years ago, all of my brothers want revenge. An attack against one of us is an attack against all of us.
“Roberto is right,” Stefano says. “We stick to the plan.Yourplan, Massimo. We send notice to all the major Palermo families, inviting them to bid in our upcoming online auction. LetSignorAmato drive up the price of his daughter. Regardless of whether he actually wins or not, we tell him he’s the successful bidder. He meets us at our chosen location to drop off the ransom, and we take the money, giving him nothing in return. Then we sell oursignorinato the runner-up, who will inform the Amatos they now have to buy her from them. So the Amatos lose twice over. And if she goes to the Rizzos, then Giovanni either has to swallow his pride and let her marry, or go to war. After that, he’s all yours.”
I nod. If the Rizzos go to war with the Amatos, I probably won’t have to kill Giovanni as the Rizzos will do it for me. But if another family wins the auction, part of the deal will be that if Giovanni arranges to buy her back from them, the winning family will let us know the time and date. Then I’ll watch the exchange from afar and gun down Giovanni after he’s given up his money.
I originally preferred the latter scenario, because I’d get to do the killing myself. But now I’m not so sure, because it means Angela will have to watch her father die.
I don’t know why I care, though. Her father’s a monster.
And so am I.
“Are you still planning on framing her brothers?” Enrico asks.
The question is directed at me. “Haven’t decided yet. It’s either that, or kill them.”
“I call dibs on her sister,” Roberto says.
Enrico grins. “You have a thing for fiery redheads, don’t you?”
Roberto’s eyes glint maliciously. “She won’t be so fiery when I’m done with her…”
“Let’s not go dividing up the spoils just yet,” I say. “We haven’t even sent out the invites to the online auction yet. One step at a time. I don’t need to remind you that there are a hell of a lot of things that can go wrong with our plan.”
“It’s why we’ve tried to keep it as simple as possible,” Stefano agrees.
Beside me, Luciano arches an eyebrow. “Simple? I’m not sure how ‘simple’ a gunfight in the streets is.”
“We didn’t have a choice,” I tell him. “She never leaves home without her guards.”
That wasn’t entirely true. She did, once, but we botched the opportunity because we were in another city. We knew because of the hidden cameras we have placed near the Amato residence. Yes, we’ve been watching her for a very long time.
“By the way, she’s broken off her ankle bracelet,” Luciano announces.
I saw her do it on the video feed from her room’s hidden camera earlier, and showed Luciano. She tried to hide what she was doing, but it was fairly obvious.
I nod. “Yes, but it doesn’t matter.” The battery would be dead by now anyway. We left it in place mostly as a deterrent so she’d believe we’d easily track her down if she escaped. “Still, I’ll have to come up with a suitable punishment I suppose.”
“I’m sure you’ll invent something imaginative,” Stefano comments. “So tell me, am I good to send out the auction invitations?”
Enrico’s image leans closer to the camera. “Maybe we should wait a bit. Give it a week. Let the Rizzos and Amatos come to blows. They’re already on the verge of war, let them tip over the edge. Let them kill each other. Someone will need to assist the clients they’re no longer able to service, and that someone will be us. It’ll level the playing field for our businesses.”
