I shift uncomfortably. "We found Santa.”
For a moment she looks confused, but then she nods. “Right. He lured Rocco out to the kidnapper.”
“Yes. He said he was paid $5,000 dollars to bring Rocco to the kidnapper. Apparently the kidnapper said he was saving Rocco.”
“Saving?”
“From Luca, I guess. Maybe me. I don’t know. Santa was a little nervous to discover Rocco was in a special family.”
“Special. Is that code for mafia?”
“Could be.”
Her brow furrows. “Where is Santa? If we’re going to do this legally, I’ll need to interview him. Arrest him for assisting in the kidnapping.”
I shift. “He suffered a heart attack.” It’s the truth. Of course, it’s possible the fear we put in him led to it.
“Is that code for?—”
I hold up my right hand. “I swear to God, he dropped dead of a heart attack. The guy drank like a fish and admittedly was nervous. We’re not stupid Olivia. We knew he was the key to finding Rocco and who was behind his kidnapping.”
She watches me for a moment, and I begin to regret my honesty. Every confession brings me closer to a cell.
“You need to look at how Blackwood has his fingers in all of this,” I say, hoping she’ll let the issue of Santa go.
“He is the supervisor of organized crime.”
Jesus. I thought she was seeing what I saw, and now she’s backpedaling again. "No," I tap the files spread between us. "It's more than that. He's not just supervising, he's directly involved. And I’m convinced he doesn’t just want to put us in jail. He wants to ruin us. This is personal somehow."
I slide Ernie Abruzzo's file toward her, deciding to walk her through it all again. "Blackwood was Ernie's handler. The official report says Ernie died of an overdose, but that's bullshit. And Leo didn't kill him either, though I'm sure that's what Blackwood wanted everyone to believe."
"You think Blackwood killed him?" Her voice is quiet but tense.
"I do think he killed him. The question is why. What did Ernie know? Or was he just getting rid of loose ends after Leo’s wife’s murder?"
Olivia's eyes narrow. "That's a serious accusation. Are you going to say we did the same to his brother?"
I shake my head, knowing that Roman dispatched Sal Abruzzo, though I don't have the details. Knowing Roman, it wasn’t pretty.
I pull out another file. "Mrs. Ferraza was killed right after she discovered that Ernie’s goal was to bring down La Corona so his brother could take over. She was planning to tell La Corona everything."
Olivia's brow furrows. "Blackwood's deal was to get her daughter out of the life. Why would she then tell La Corona?"
“She probably figured out she was being duped. Blackwood hasn’t once provided what he agreed to. And while she wanted Isabella free, it doesn’t mean she was against her husband or La Corona.”
I watch Olivia's face as she processes this.
"Speaking of Isabella Ferraza," I continue. "Blackwood became her handler when she sought answers to her mother's death. He manipulated her with doctored evidence suggesting Marco's family killed her mother?—"
"How do you know it's doctored?"
"Because I know it's not true. We all knew it wasn’t true. Leo was desperate for Isabella to drop her crusade. She was put under protective custody of Roman?—"
She arches a brow. "Forced marriage is protective custody?"
I shrug. "Your boss didn't care. She asked for Blackwood to pull her and he didn't. He ordered her to stay with Roman and continue gathering information, even believing it could be dangerous for her."
"Was it?"
