Page 85 of Out Of A Fix

Richard Conti gasped. “But that was⁠—”

“A long time ago,” Doyle said over him. “Yeah. And from what it says here, your grandfather moved your family from New York to California for the express purpose of distancing himself from two of his brothers, Jack and Charlie.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, it was noted in the file as the reason your family was not notified, Mr. Conti. I apologize on behalf of some dumbass in Los Angeles. It does appear that the office in San Francisco has put in several requests for a release of information for your family. The problem is, much like most governmental red tape, once something makes it into a report wrong, it will take twenty years to fix.”

True.

“I can tell you that your brother, Marcello Salvatore Conti, was placed in WITSEC with Caitlyn Marie Duchesne, born Caitlyn Marie Roarke, almost a year and a half ago now. They are both safe, and Caitlyn will begin testifying in front of a grand jury next week.”

“Grand jury?” I was surprised. “I thought it was trial.”

“Nope. Grand jury. If the guy takes a plea, you know the score, Miller. They want him to roll, and if he does, she’s done.”

“Right.”

“What does that mean, she’s done?” Richard asked.

“It means the guy she can ID becomes the witness, and the ex-Mrs. Duchesne and Mr. Conti are sent out to pasture to live their lives with new names far, far away.”

“And I’ll never see my brother again.”

“Correct,” Doyle replied, no sugarcoating, no sympathy. These were the facts.

“He left us to go with her.” Richard sounded sad. “Left his family.”

“They have a child together, sir, and they’re married now, so he has a family,” Doyle stated.

After a moment, Richard said, “Yes. You’re right.”

I suspected Ian Doyle did not need to be told he was right. He knew. He came off as arrogant, but most military guys Jared knew were cut from the same cloth. You couldn’t ask for better people to back you up, but the egos were a bit much.

“Is that all?”

“Yes,” I replied quickly. “We appreciate this. Mr. Conti was under the impression that Mr. Duchesne had hurt⁠—”

“Killed,” Luke amended.

“Killed,” I repeated, “both his ex-wife and Mr. Conti’s brother.”

“No, Mr. Conti. Your brother is safe and residing with his wife and child.”

“Thank you.”

“Miller,” Doyle said. “I will let the marshals in charge of Conti know that his family has been informed.”

“Thank you.”

“Give my best to the colonel.”

“I certainly will.”

He hung up then, and I looked at Richard. “So you have your answers now.”

Quick nod.

“I don’t want to see you again anywhere near the Duchesne property, and I shouldn’t, now that we have everything sorted.”