“I see,” Enzo looked thoughtful. “And then he hid this treasure and put the map in Ernie, and you and your brothers…”
“Yes,” Carlotta agreed.
“…are supposed to find it and split it?”
“Yes.”
“So then why are these other people involved? Did one of your brothers hire people besides Leo?”
Carlotta sighed. “No. My brothers didn’t hire anyone. One brother is a doctor, and he works for Doctors Without Borders. He’s in Africa currently. My other brother is a writer. Neither one of them are the organized type. They couldn’t figure this out. They left it to me.”
“So… If that’s true,” Gage’s voice came down the line, “then how did other people know? And who was kidnapped and by whom?”
“I have no idea about the kidnapping,” Carlotta mumbled. “But I have my suspicions about how others got involved. My cousin, Brad, knew about this whole thing. My father left him some trinkets, so he was there for the reading of the will. Because of that, he found out about the map. My cousin is, for lack of a better word, greedy. He’s also a loser, and he’s made every mistake in the book. My father got tired of bailing him out.
“His father, my father’s brother, was the same way and committed suicide many years ago. I have no idea what happened to his mother; she dropped off the face of the earth.My father had helped him along the way, but then he got tired of helping because Brad refused to make any changes. I think Brad thought he was going to get some money when my father died, and all he got was a few tokens of a trip that he went on with my father as a reminder, and that’s it. So he’s bitter.”
“You think Brad hired someone who then kidnapped someone else so he could find the treasure?” Mitch asked.
“I have no idea about the kidnapping, but I am certain if there are others out there looking for the treasure, then Brad hired them.”
Enzo leaned forward. “OK, can we get some details? What is Brad’s name?”
“Bradley St. John.”
“And you think he has contacts that could be involved in this? Have you ever heard the name Alessandro Vitale?”
Logan’s voice quickly cut across the call. “Is that who kidnapped somebody?”
“Yes,” Enzo confirmed.
“Shit.”
“Who is Alessandro Vitale?” Gage asked.
Enzo responded. “Alessandro Vitale is… a businessman, really. He’s a connector. He connects people so they can do business together, and he takes a cut.”
“Why do I have a feeling there’s more to it than that?” Alex asked.
Interestingly, it was Lacey who responded. “Because Alessandro Vitale has connections all throughout the mob, organized crime, and terrorist organizations across the world. He doesn’t just connect people, he makes deals with the lowest of the low, and then he cuts other people out of them. But he keeps a private army, so no one can get to him, although since he’s a sort of keeper of secrets, many people would like to. Vitale is a mover and shaker, and he is deadly as hell. He’s also onInterpol’s watch list for Transnational Organized Crime, but he’s slippery. They’ve never been able to pin anything on him.”
“How do you know all this?” Alex asked Lacey.
“My father has had some dealings with him.”
“Right, that makes sense,” Gage responded.
Enzo frowned and caught her eye.
Kathleen leaned forward, hit mute, and said, “Her father is Armand Fontaine.”
Enzo’s eyebrows went up two notches. “That is a surprise.”
“Isn’t it just?” Kathleen unmuted the call and leaned back. “So where does this leave us?”
“I’m still trying to figure out,” Enzo started, “how this Brad would meet someone like Alessandro Vitale. It doesn’t seem like they move in the same circles.”
“No,” Carlotta agreed. “Organized crime or a fixer does seem out of Brad’s wheelhouse. But it wouldn’t surprise me to know that Brad owes money to people who are somewhat on the wrong side of the law, and maybe they know Vitale.”
