Giovanni changes the angle. “How’d he find you?”
Ferro stares at the floor. “I did a job last winter,” he mutters. “Rented a meat locker in Jersey for a night. The guy who paid me got my number to these people. Said if I wanted bigger money, this is where I call. He was— he was Italian. He had a star tattoo by his ear.”
I file it. “Name.”
“He went by ‘Glass.’” Ferro swallows. “He didn’t give me a last.”
Nico flicks a look at Vito. There’s recognition there. Vito nods once. “He runs errands,” he says. “Rents vans, opens doors, takes a cut.”
“One of Russo’s?” Giovanni asks.
“Free agent,” Nico says. “You got money, that’s all he needs.”
I crouch so Ferro has no choice but to look at me. “When’s your next touchpoint?”
He blinks. “What?”
“With Rook. Or with anyone. When were you supposed to check in and say ‘job done’ and collect your bones?”
“I— there isn’t—” He stops. He realizes I already know. “Tomorrow,” he whispers. “I ping ‘OK’ and I get a time. There’s a drop. That’s all I know.”
“Where.” Not a question.
Hehesitates.
Vito’s shoe creaks. “Where.”
“Pier 11,” Ferro says fast. “Public side, not the dock. The old ferry kiosk, north end. There’s a bench. You sit, you send the second emoji string from a fresh number, and a guy in a gray jacket puts a paper cup next to you. That’s it.”
“What time?” Nico asks.
“Window opens at six,” he answers. “Closes at eight. They said if I miss it, I miss it. That’s it.”
I stand and smooth my shirt.
“I think that’s all we’re going to get,” Vito says.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ferro says. “That’s all I know. I swear to God I didn’t know they’d shoot first.”
“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Luca says softly.
“I didn’t pull the trigger,” Ferro says. It’s the last of his defiance, small and desperate. “I never touched a gun.”
“A bullet’s a bullet,” Nico says.
Ferro starts crying again. Not pretty tears. Wet, open fear.
I turn to Luca, and he gives a small nod.
A smirk crosses Vito’s face, and he cracks his knuckles, the crowbar leaning against his shoulder, held in the crook of his arm.
He and Nico take a step forward while Luca, Giovanni, and I turn and walk away.
The sobs get louder.
“No, please. I told you everything I know,” he pleads. “Please, I didn’t know.”
Luca catches my eye and gives the slightest nod. That’s all it takes. We don’t stay to hear him break.
