Page 18 of Secrets of Riverside

‘Mi dispiace, but it’s the best I can do. You know that your father’s runners usually have no information on what’s in the drop, so Tommy was likely none the wiser as to who it was that he was dispensing it to.’ Vincenzo sucked in a quick breath. ‘That apartment block has over one hundred tenants, and from my hiding spot outside, I didn’t see which letterbox he put it into.’ The big man’s voice was low, as if he was worried about being overheard. ‘I’ve gone out on a limb calling you, Luca, I can’t go sniffing around any more than I already have.’ The spark of a lighter sounded, followed by a sharp inhale of a cigarette. ‘And be real careful bringing any of this up with Tommy, because you know what your father will do to me if he finds out I’m snitching, especially on his grandson, and to you of all people.’

‘Yeah, I know all too well what that son of a bitch is capable of,’ Jarrah huffed. ‘I’ll make sure not to say anything, unless there’s a sure way to leave you out of this.’

‘Grazie, this has to stay between you and me, unless, like you said, there’s another way around it.’

‘Agreed,’ Jarrah nodded affirmatively, ‘and understood.’

There was a short silence. ‘I just thought you should know to keep an eye on Tommy, that’s all.’ A car horn sounded. The phone muffled. ‘Aspetta.’ Vincenzo’s booming voice echoed. ‘Mi dispiace, I’m back.’

‘All good, and sorry if I’m being short, I just can’t believe Tommy would go and do this after I’ve drummed into him how important it is to stay the hell away from his grandfather. God only knows what information Carlo leeched from him or what bullshit he fed him.’ Sighing, Jarrah shook his head. ‘What in the hell was he doing, going there in the first place, let alone delivering an envelope to someone.’ He was on a rant now, but couldn’t stop himself – this was his worst nightmare. ‘Jesus, it’s like father like son in Tommy’s case, hey, Vinnie.’

‘Si, maybe more like grandfather, like grandson, so be careful and watch your back.’

‘That’s a scary thought, my old friend.’ Pacing the office, Jarrah paused and dropped his head into his hand. ‘I appreciate you doing this for me, I really do.’

‘Va bene, prego, Luca, after you saving my daughter’s life, I owe you.’

Recalling the day that he’d saved Rosa Lombardo from being run over by her school bus, just in the nick of time, Jarrah shook away the memory of the broken ankle and twenty stitches he’d needed afterwards. ‘After all the favours you’ve done for me over the years, you owe me nothing, Vinnie.’ Besides, he didn’t need to be paid back for doing what most would, but he knew people like Vincent Lombardo took such matters seriously.

‘You’re like family to me, Luca, so I’ll always have your back.’ Vincenzo cursed in Sicilian just beneath his breath. ‘Your father hasn’t been a good man to me, but it’s not like I can leave his employment; that’d be like me asking for a knife in the back.’

Jarrah dropped his gaze to the floor. ‘Yeah, I know.’ He grabbed a pen and notebook. ‘Can you at least give me the address of the apartment block?’

‘Si, it’s one hundred and seventy-six Johnson Road, Parramatta.’

Jarrah scribbled it down and then tossed his pen across the desk. He wasn’t sure what he’d do with the address, but at least it was something to work with.

The car horn sounded again, and this time Vincenzo released an entire sentence of Sicilian expletives. ‘I have to go. You take care, Luca, and I’ll be sure to let you know if I happen to find out anything else.’

‘I’d appreciate it, thanks, Vinnie, and you take care too.’

‘Si, arrivederci.’

Hanging up, Jarrah dropped into his leather chair, spun it away from his desk, and looked out the window with views to die for. And die for them, he most certainly would. This place was all he had left of his grandfather’s inheritance money, and he’d do everything in his power to keep it. That included asking Tommy to leave Riverside Acres if it became that dire. God, he hoped and prayed it didn’t, because he loved that boy like he was his own. But he couldn’t have Tommy dragging a past here that he’d done his utmost to leave behind. Was it just a case of his nephew wanting to meet the grandfather he’d left behind as a little kid, or was there more to it? Had his nephew succumbed to the same insatiable appetite his own brother had, for the power and money that only Carlo Martino could afford him? Was Tommy going to end up with the same path, and inevitably the same fate, as his own father?

Please, God, don’t let it be so …

Placing his shaking hands on the armrests, Jarrah steadied the tremor in his fingers and his breath. It would do him no good, jumping to conclusions. Neither was it wise to dismiss the problem by coming up with convincing reasons and motives. But it wasn’t like he could ask Tommy outright either. That would put Vincenzo’s life in danger, and the lives of his wife and daughter. And Jarrah wasn’t about to risk having their blood on his hands. No, this would be something he’d have to do on the quiet, carefully and meticulously. How he was going to find out the truth, he had no idea. All he could hope and pray for was the truth finding its own way to him. Until it did, in one way or another, he had to carry the knowledge and unanswered questions around in his already heavy heart. He had to put one boot in front of the other and carry on as best he could, as though nothing was amiss.

Tommy’s lying to me …

Jarrah didn’t want to believe it.

And just when he thought the past was all behind him, behind them.

Damn it all …

Jarrah’s mind went into overdrive. Was everything as it appeared? Was Tommy here for the right reasons? Was his nephew now his father’s puppet? Did he really have to watch his own back, in his very own backyard? He gritted his teeth against the notion that he was being played for a fool. Maybe he was right to not trust Tommy as much as he had. Just because he was his nephew wasn’t reason to believe Tommy had his best interests at heart, or those of Riverside Acres for that matter. The information Vincenzo had just given him was proof that his instincts had been right about something feeling off about Tommy since he’d returned home from his apparent fishing trip.

Tommy’s lying to me!

Jarrah shook his head, discharging the anger that rose hot and poisonous with the painfully confronting thoughts. There had to be a rational reason, or at the very least an explanation, that would dismiss his gravest concerns. All he needed was reassuring clarification, something feasible, believable, understandable, that would allow him to mentally put Tommy back on the pedestal he’d placed him upon when he’d become his guardian seven years earlier. Tommy was his brother’s child, his very own nephew. After all the love and care he’d shown Tommy over the years, surely his nephew wasn’t turning his back on him for the evil ways of the Martino family?

Damn it!

Who was he bloody well trying to kid? He knew how persuasive Carlo could be – he’d witnessed his callous father’s manipulative ways firsthand with Joey. And now he was doing it all over again with Tommy.

Red-hot rage fired shots of adrenaline through Jarrah as he spun back to his desk, flicked his laptop on, and then rested back in his office chair with his fingers clasped tightly behind his head. Although his hands were tied if he wanted to keep Vincenzo and his family safe, he had to do something, anything other than sit passively. The internet could tell a man almost anything he wanted to know, if he knew what to ask and where to look. Leaning forwards, he typed the address Vinnie had just given him into Google Maps. In seconds a blue dot pinpointed the high-rise apartment block. He honed in and brought the area up in finer detail. Nothing rang any bells or jumped out at him. He hit ‘street view’ and swirled in circles, looking up and down the long straight road and at building frontages. Taking a few virtual steps forwards, he reached the front gates that Tommy had apparently walked through a few days earlier. There was a security box near the front doors, with an intercom to let visitors in. Tommy must have waited around until someone had walked out, to sneak in there. Or maybe he knew the person he’d delivered the envelope to?

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