“For what purpose?”
“To find out which one set Luiz up.”
“What does Russo say about it?”
“I have not asked him.He told me to resolve the territory problem.Technically, I have resolved it, and our people can go back to their jobs, as we move soldiers into place.”
“But that still leaves the problem of the takeover to Russo.”
Massimo frowned.“It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Do you think anyone attacking the Russo Mafia is supposed to make sense?”
“Why use Luiz, only to kill him?”he asked.
His father sat behind his desk.“You know, that is curious.”
“I get that the man was a piece of shit, but he had his uses.”
“True, this is why Russo kept him alive.There were many times in the last twenty years that Luiz was a liability.”
“He was?”
“Yes.His penchant for ...playing with his staff.Torturing them.When your mother was alive, one of the bodies was discovered.Luiz liked to play cat-and-mouse, and he didn’t clean up his mess quite so well.It nearly brought the Russo Mafia down.That one tiny mistake.”
“How come I never heard of this?”Massimo asked.
“Only a select few people knew, who had a way of cleaning it up.”
“You did.”
“I had no choice.”
“What did you do?”
“Luiz had gone into Vigo Bratva territory at the time.It was easy to mark the body in a way that made it a Bratva kill.”
“How did you do that?”
“I had my ways.”
“You broke into the morgue and added markings?”
He shrugged.“Like I said.We have all done a lot for this family.After that, Luiz lost favor, and with it, power.”
“He was still a capo.”
“Yeah, but no longer close.You have seen the number of times Luiz was invited to social events or functions.You also saw where his house was.That is not where he lived originally.He got evicted from the house and the prestige Russo had lavished on him.He helped to forge the Russo Mafia, but he nearly ended it with his own cruelty.”
Massimo frowned.“Could it have been someone within the Russo family?”
“No,” his father said.
“How can you be sure?”
“Because they wouldn’t have made the mistake of Luiz not being there, and if they wanted the money, they wouldn’t have left it with him.Also, to get the message across, they would have used you, my son.We both know there is a reason you’re called a monster.You’re Russo’s monster.You’re the one they fear.”
“So, you don’t think it could have been an inside job?”he asked.
