Sofia’s eyes search my face, and I have the distinct feeling she knows there’s more to my story.
“The bartender at O’Malley’s said Vincenzo was there from ten-thirty until about one in the morning,” Matteo says. He’s leaning against the counter, arms crossed. “Then he left. His car was still in the lot this morning, but no sign of him. The security camera in the parking lot was busted.”
“What was he doing at a bar when he risked his life and Adora’s to get those phones?” Sofia asks the room in general.
I can’t meet her eyes. “That’s my fault. I, um… Vincenzo and I… We talked about us, and I upset him. I didn’t mean to, but I panicked.”
That’s as much as I want to say before I talk to Vincenzo. If Sofia and Matteo knew about the poison, and that I intended to use it on Vincenzo, they’d both be horrified. They’d throw me out of this house and never speak to me again.
“All right,” Matteo says finally. “What matters is he’s disappeared, somewhere between leaving the bar and getting to his car. And I’ve got nothing. No leads, no witnesses, no idea where to even start looking.”
“Could he have collapsed from his injuries and been taken to a hospital? He seemed steady after I left him, but perhaps after a few drinks…”
Sofia shakes her head. “I already called all the hospitals, but no one of Vincenzo’s description was admitted last night. I called the police stations as well in case he was arrested.”
“You said you got information from the phones,” I say. “Did you find anything about the guns?”
“Yeah.” Matteo straightens, walks to the laptop sitting on the kitchen table. “I know where they are. A warehouse in the industrial district. But I’m not going after them without Vincenzo.” Matteo looks at me for a long moment, then adds, “There was something else on those phones. Something that I wanted to ask you about.”
“Me?” I say in surprise.
He turns the laptop toward me. Messages fill the screen, texts between what looks like the owner of the phone and Dashamir Dervishi. A woman’s name appears several times.
“Who’s Lira?” I ask, scanning the messages.
“Dashamir’s cousin,” Matteo says. “She died about a year ago. Found strangled in her apartment. Dashamir thinks your father killed her, but he has no proof.”
My stomach clenches. “Dad? Why?”
“Apparently he was courting her and trying to arrange a marriage. Her father could see the advantages of an alliance with the Montonis, but at the same time, he wasn’t convinced it was the best thing for his daughter, or the Dervishis. In the end, she turned Agnello down.” Matteo’s jaw tightens. “A few weeks later, she was dead.”
I read through the messages. Speculation. Suspicion. Anger. They’re certain Dad did it, but they don’t have proof.
A particular message from Dashamir catches my eye.
She had her whole life ahead of her. Now she’s gone because she dared say no to a monster. I should have protected her. This is on me.
I try to reconcile this heartbroken sentiment with the cold man I met last night. He loved his cousin, and now he’s filled with bitterness that she’s dead.
“My father tried to arrange a marriage with a Dervishi woman?”
“Looks like it.”
The pieces click together with sickening clarity. “He was setting a trap like he later did with your family. The engagement party that turned into a massacre. Lure them in with the promise of an alliance, and then slaughter them.”
Sofia makes a small sound of horror.
“But Lira refused him, and that made him angry. He doesn’t like being told no.”
I feel sick as I imagine the terror that Lira Dervishi must have felt at the end. Dad’s hands around her throat, squeezing the life out of her. I hate that I can picture it so clearly. Believe it so easily. He loves to use his hands to be violent with women, like he did with my mother, and like he’s done with me.
“Shit,” Matteo mutters.
“I’m sorry about Lira,” I say, closing the laptop. “But right now, we need to focus on Vincenzo. Do you think the Dervishis have him?”
“Unfortunately, I do,” Matteo says flatly.
“How long has he been gone?” Sofia asks, her voice tight.
