“I don’t know. Trust me, I tried to find out and I didn’t believe them at first. But when I told them no, she had a warning on both jobs. Just to prove they could do anything. And my daughter. They were going to remove the doctor she’s been working with. I found out that was true as well. You don’t know the strides he’s made. He got my baby girl into a drug trial. But that was going away.”
While he rambled, I could tell he was providing me with the truth. The theft of one hundred k wasn’t a dent in my operation, which meant the theft hadn’t really been about money. The responsible party had simply bullied him, finding a weak enough link in my organization and determined if the man would comply using a threat that any good family man would take to heart. Whoever it was must have ordered him to come clean about the betrayal. They were telling me I was being watched. Have the man steal my money, then what? “How did they make contact with you?”
“A phone call. My cellphone. A blocked number. They knew everything about me. It started small. A hundred dollars. They matched the money. It was easy. Too easy.”
“So they required you to do it again with a larger increment.”
“Yes.”
“This unknown party told you to skim money off the top.” I was confirming what I’d already been told. The situation had been going on for almost a month. That wasn’t a coincidence. The timing was significant, but an informant like Jimmy would have no clue. “What else did they require you to do?”
“Nothing. They said to take the money for myself and there would be additional instructions.”
“Vitelli Russo?” I threw it out for the hell of it.
His look of confusion was a clear indication he had no idea. “I really don’t know.”
Yet I sensed he was holding back. Fury from deep within had already built to an uncontrollable point. With a brutal backhand,I pitched him against the tree. Jarvis was right about my unfathomable level of anger.
What Jimmy had just told me wasn’t the mark of the Russo Cosa Nostra or any crime syndicate I’d come against in my life. If my father were here, he could share some sage advice, but I had no doubt in all his years he’d ever encountered such a childish game. But his words and his betrayal reminded me someone wanted to destroy my family’s world. Jimmy was shaking so badly I knew he was about to piss in his pants.
Jarvis tugged on my arm, pulling me aside. “That doesn’t sound like some lie.”
“That’s because it isn’t. Someone is fucking with us and we need to turn the tables.”
“What do these people want?”
I thought about his question. “To discover just how powerful we are and our weaknesses. They want to use him as a plant.”
“Fascinating choice. If you’re thinking about the unknown person dropping off the package, remember that whoever it was had innate knowledge of the security system. No one in the financial office does.”
He was right. It was a protocol established by my grandfather. Almost like a separation of church and state. A precaution to prevent any possibility of an overthrow. “Then perhaps our unknown game-playing enemy is developing themselves a group of traitors.”
“Then I guess we need to do a clean sweep.”
Very slowly, I turned my head. “You have your next assignment. Find out who else is betraying me.”
“Why, yes, sir,” he snarked. “Then what do you want to do with Jimmy?”
Not punishing him would send a message. I scrubbed my jaw. There was never a time I could remember being hesitant about doing anything. While his circumstances were horrific, I wasn’t in a generous mood. “What’s necessary.” I returned to where I’d been standing before, allowing the moment to linger, Jimmy’s fear increasing.
Often the anticipation and uncertainty of the fate I’d decide for a prisoner assisted in providing me with needed answers. He was hiding something from me.
“When was the last time you were contacted by this unknown party?”
“The day you were arrested.”
“And?”
“They just told me that I’d done a good job. I’m sorry,” he said again, as if repeating himself would matter in the least.
One more sorry and I would lose my shit.
“What you’ve told me isn’t good enough, Jimmy. And I’m not in the business of providing second chances.”
“What can I do? I’ll do anything. I swear to God. Let me prove my loyalty.”
“Did they tell you to confess?”
