"Why don't you put the glass down," I say gently. "It sounds like there's a lot to talk about."
"My dad's been in bed with Will Grand for at least five years," Adam blurts out. "The trafficking ring? Putting the prison apartments for the stolen girls in different buildings? It's all Will Grand. Dad's been laundering money for him. I guess he got Ilya a little something special as a Christmas bonus or… something."
"Fuck, Adam. I'm so-"
"Don't you say it!" He hisses. "Don't. I can't hear, 'I'm sorry' again. Everything I've worked for is bullshit. My father and brother are sick fucks who profited from girls like Jeannie and Ava. If Rachel knew about this, she would leave me and I wouldn't blame her."
"Butyoudidn't do these things, did you?" I ask.
His bloodshot eyes meet mine. "It doesn't matter though, does it? It's my company. It's my family."
"Where's your dad?"
He runs the back of his hand across his runny nose. "He's in his office," he says, staring at his empty glass. "It seemed appropriate."
"I'll go check on him."
"Yeah," he chuckles mirthlessly. "You do that."
Kir and I meet in the hall at the same time and his expression tells me everything. "Efrem's slumped over his desk. He was shot three times in the chest."
"Get rid of this," I sigh, handing him the pistol, heading back to Adam's office.
He hasn't moved, still slumped in his chair. "I had to do it," he says. "As the new acting CEO, it was my responsibility." He shakes his head. "I couldn't report it to the police. We both know that."
"I know," I agree. "But I would've taken this task from you. You didn't have to do it."
"Yeah, well, I did. I should've seen it sooner. When Yevgeny requested so many records and sent the courier over withoutwarning to pick everything up, I knew something was wrong. And they were all Dad's accounts. I didn't tell Dad that Yevgeny had requested the information. I went through the numbers myself. I didn't know about Will Grand, I swear. I'll have to audit every one of our accounts. If Dad stole from other crime families, too…" He shudders. "I keep thinking I should ask for that gun back."
Rounding the corner of the desk, I take his bottle of vodka and the glass. "No," I say. "I think you should sober up, take a shower and call your wife. I know she's not aware of anything regarding the firm's clients. But you can tell her that you've discovered discrepancies. That your father had a heart attack in his office and you found him. You'll hold the funeral. We'll take care of the coroner's report."
Adam meets my gaze for the first time. "You should kill me."
"There's been enough of that for a while," I say. "Call your wife. I'll leave Kir here to help you." We don't shake hands. There's no manly hug or comforting slap on the back. I leave.
My night isn't over.
Kolya is waiting for me in the backseat of my car, holding his laptop. "I figured I'd find you here." His fingers are dancing over the keyboard. "Yevgeny and I have been collaborating a bit. You know how it is, pull on one loose thread and it unravels for all of us."
Eyeing the bar in the backseat, I consider if a drink would hurt anything at this point. I leave it closed.
"I'm sure Adam told you about Efrem and Will Grand's little money laundering adventure?"
"Yes," I rub my eyes. "And the embezzlement. It looks like Efrem was putting together an exit strategy."
"I got the information about the subcontractors that you'd asked your architect to compile." He turns the screen to me. It's a long line of construction companies cross referenced with buildings. "Here's how that rat fuck is doing it. There's got to be prison apartments all over the city in buildings owned or built by at least fifteen different companies. I'm sure ninety percent don't know shit about it. But…" He taps a key and the columns change. "It's the subcontractors. All his favorites spread out, subcontracting on other builds, putting the prison apartments in those apartment buildings. So much high-density housing in New York. They had plenty of room to play."
"Thatchertov ublyudok."I shake my head. "I thought he was too stupid to be a threat."
"There's more," Kolya says apologetically.
"Let's hear it," I say wearily.
"The electrical subcontractor who built out those apartments in The McManus are on your Newtown Creek build. I have the foreman checking the apartments now." Kolya hesitates, cringing a little. "He found twenty wired in the same way."
There's no part of my life that isn't dirty. The Morozov Bratva was never going to become legitimate. My demon chuckles gleefully, writhing in my chest.Burn it all down.
"So let's burn it down."
