Page 46 of Capuleto

I saw he was hesitant, I insisted, pulled out all my stops, and after a hard conversation, I managed to get him to hand over control. I was aware that I had succeeded because Romeo couldn't handle it and he was too busy planning the attack on Cheng.

"Alright, but you will pass me a report of all your progress every day, and I want you to rely on Romeo's men, not just your own. Are we clear?"

"Count on it."

We sealed the deal.

A couple of hours later, I headed to the police station. If anyone could give me information, it was Segarra. I wanted to see him and get him to talk, to find out what the police knew before I started poking around.

On the way, I called Yuri, needing to make sure he wasn't behind the marketing of Mentium to teenagers. I no longer trusted anything or anyone. My brain was like a damn Agatha Christie novel, where everyone seemed guilty until the last line.

As soon as I mentioned the reason for my call, he called me crazy. According to him, he had nothing to do with it. It could be a worker who had kept some of the product, or even a kid who had seen an opportunity and had gotten hold of boxes of pills at some point.

He offered to help me as much as he could and try to find the culprit. I didn't need him for that; I preferred to handle it myself, so I thanked him and told him it wasn't necessary, I would manage.

When I arrived at the station and asked to speak with Inspector Ramos, they asked who I was, made a call, and I was taken to a desk. At least they didn't send me to an interrogation room. I glanced around. I saw Segarra's silhouette by the coffee machine, so I got up and went over to him.

"Mind if I join you?" He almost dropped the one he had just picked up. He surely didn't expect me to show up at the station, though he wouldn't tell me that.

"It's pretty bad," he admitted.

"That's okay, I need caffeine." He offered me his steaming cup in a plastic glass.

"Sugar?"

"Sweet stuff makes me gag. We need to talk," I got straight to the point. He looked nervously around, everyone else was minding their own business.

"Not safe here," he commented, dropping another euro into the machine.

"Fine, then come to my house, no one will see us there, and the coffee is much better." I saw him hesitate, but he nodded.

"Alright. I finish at nine."

"Then, we'll have dinner together. Don't bring wine, a full report will suffice." We both knew what I meant. Segarra squinted his eyes.

"I'll see what I can do."

I took a sip of that dark brown concoction and decided not to keep drinking. I threw it in the trash.

"Thanks for the coffee, you were right, it's terrible."

I returned to the table and waited for Inspector Ramos and his inconvenient round of questions. Segarra disappeared, and I passed with flying colors, though I didn't miss the suspicious and desirous looks the inspector threw my way.

"May I go?" I asked an hour later.

"For now, but make sure to be reachable, with these things you never know when I'm going to need you." I stood up and leaned on the table to give him a little peek at my cleavage.

"If it's for you..." His gaze moved from my breasts to my face. "It will be a pleasure, I love collaborating with the police," I said flirtatiously. "Good afternoon, Inspector. See you soon."

At least, I had gathered some information and hoped Segarra would bring me the rest.

Just as I set foot on the staircase to go up to my room and change, Adriano peeked out to ask,

"What happened to my father?"

20

Attack dog

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