Page 17 of Blood & Heartache

“What the hell is going on, Carbo?” I demanded as we shook hands. “Why did I get a message from my men that this was going down and not you?”

“We got called in after the fact,” Carbo explained. “The fire department got here, and they called homicide because of the body in the car. Turns out it was a goddamn mannequin dressed up to look real, and when they saw whose face was on the papers, I got the call. Right now, we have a mix of people and homicides.”

“Who’s the lead for their team?” I asked, feeling this wasn’t good if they hadn’t joined Carbo in speaking with me.

“That would be the White Knight himself,” Carbo muttered. “He’s been called off this case and ordered to let us take over, but you know him when he gets his teeth in something. Bastard doesn’t know what’s good for him when it comes to the Caprioni.”

Kody White was a detective who had been brought in from Eryford, the second-largest town near the center of Mansara. He was around my age, smart, ambitious, and way too fucking cocky when it came to dealing with the Caprioni Family. More than once, he’d tried to pin murders on our organization, going after the boss himself. The only reason we hadn’t taken him out was we didn’t know who brought him to Springmont. Thankfully, his boss was on our payroll and made sure nothing White dug up would ever stick. We’ve yet to figure out who the hell brought him on since it was an order from higher up the food chain, but it had been something Ryker was working on in his spare time. I had a feeling that would need to be moved up the list.

“What can you tell me about your findings so far?” I asked, setting the White Knight problem aside.

“The fire department said the car was doused in an accelerant, causing it to burn really hot real fast. It’s only because of the rain that there are many things left as there are. The mannequin was dressed up as a woman, but there’s no way to know who. Maybe the person who owned the car? We haven’t been able to track it down since the VIN was scratched off, and there was no license plate. I have no idea what to make of the funeral pictures or service bulletins it was stuffed with. Clearly, someone is pissed off about something, but without much of it surviving the fire or the water to put it out, it will take some time,” Carbo shared. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“I have a few ideas,” I commented off-handedly as I looked down at the picture in my hand and back to the car. “I’ll help you out with one thing, though. That car was custom-made and owned by the new boss of the Caprioni Family. Whoever had the balls to pull this off knew exactly what they were doing and left it on our doorstep so we wouldn’t miss it.”

Carbo shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels as he whistled. “That’s definitely a bold move, one that’s going to end with bodies littering the streets if the rumors about her are true.”

Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I didn’t see anything in his expression but how tired he was. He’d hit his max pension last year, and we knew he’d be looking at retiring soon. Which meant we needed to find his replacement sooner rather than later.

“Most of the time, I’d say don’t believe everything you hear, but when it comes to her…” I smiled, shaking my head. “Assume it’s right or underselling her abilities. No one likes a strong woman in power, and Astin’s favorite thing is to ruffle people’s feathers for the hell of it. I feel like I should apologize for what’s about to hit this city but fuck if it doesn’t need a shakedown.”

Carbo shifted to face me. “Are you telling me I need to retire now if I don’t want to get sucked into a power struggle?”

“Oh, there won’t be a struggle,” Ryker cut in. “She’s going to hold her place on the throne just fine. It’s everyone who’s going to try and unseat her you need to be worried about.”

“I see, so she’s cleaning house.” Carbo sighed, running a hand over his head, then looked between us. “She as good at being loyal to those who are loyal in return like her old man?”

“Better,” Ryker and I said simultaneously.

“You prove yourself to her, and that woman will never forget it. On the other hand, you cross her, and you’ll find out just how true those rumors about her are,” Ryker explained. “She’s pretty simple to figure out. The energy, respect, and attitude you give to her she gives back tenfold. It’s up to you if that goes well or not.”

Carbo chuckled. “Sounds like this is a woman I should meet face to face before I make my choice. Let me know when the official meeting is, and Anabel and I will be there.”

Reaching out a hand, we shook on it, and I clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good man, Scott Carbo. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

“Ha, can I record you saying that for Anabel? If I end up staying on for another year or so, she’s going to have quite the opposite to say about me,” Carbo teased with a grin.

“I’ll tell her in person the next time I see her. Now, are your men done? Are we free to look around before it gets hauled off to the station?” I asked, knowing that Astin would want us to check in with her soon.

“Go ahead, holler if any of the Knight’s men hassle you,” Carbo said, waving us off.

Nodding my thanks, we headed over to the car. Thanks to the police and their tech team collecting all the evidence they could, there were giant floodlights surrounding the husk of the vehicle, making it easy to see. When we passed a tech, I grabbed two sets of gloves from him. The last thing we needed to do was fuck up anything and have it pointed back at us or have the evidence thrown out due to tampering.

“You know more about this car than I do. When did Boss give it to her?” I asked, ducking under the tape.

“The Aston was a birthday gift on her twenty-first. She went to the dealer, picked it out personally, and had the custom paint job done before it was delivered to her. Astin is gonna be fucking pissed when she finds out her baby was torched,” Ryker shared as he shone a flashlight inside the car. “Why the hell put a mannequin in here if they were going to fucking roast it? Same with the papers. If we were supposed to know what was written on them, it does no good as a threat if it’s ash.”

The man was voicing my thoughts as I walked around the car. The Aston Martin Vanquish Volante was a piece of expert craftsmanship, and it was tragic to see it brought to this end. While I was sad to see the charred shell, I was thankful no one had really been in it when it went up in flames. As I passed behind, I noticed the trunk was popped, so I lifted it open and found smoking remnants of the papers that had littered the car. It was packed so dense in here it made me wonder if I dug down if there might be some intact.

Looking around, I found a tech tool kit lying open, so I wandered over and grabbed the screwdriver I found lying in the bottom. Holding the trunk open with my shoulder, I poked around the ash and found there were indeed some untouched papers. Setting aside the screwdriver, I grabbed a handful and pulled, but when I did, I also happened to unearth something else. Frowning, I pulled more away and revealed a wooden box that had been nailed shut.

Calmly, I shut the trunk and walked over to Ryker. “Hey, I need you to help me move something out of the car.”

Ryker frowned at me from where he’d been kneeling, looking around the driver’s side of the car. “You mean they missed something?”

“That or they knew it was there and wanted to make sure no one else knew until it was too late and someone got arrested,” I offered.

“Fuck.”