Page 3 of His

Classy.

“I need to speak with the inspector in charge of the Marco De Luca case,” I demanded. I wanted information and I wanted it now.

The man sighed heavily. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, but—” I replied quickly.

“If you don’t have an appointment, then?—”

“I don’t need an appointment,” I growled, cutting him off.

The man finally deemed me worthy enough to lift his head and he started, his eyes opening wide when he took in the sight of me. His mouth agape, he finally remembered to wipe the side of his face, which simply smeared the cherry filling across his cheek instead of cleaning it off.

“Mr. Sartori. I’m so sorry,” he said, his tone respectful now.

“I need to see whoever is in charge of this. Right now,” I said, my voice hardening.

“Of course. One moment, please.”

The officer behind the desk scrambled to his feet, clearly understanding what my presence here meant. As he disappeared down the hallway, I took a moment to survey the bustling police station but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary aside from a drunk man stumbling in the corner. Everything else seemed normal, from the smell of stale coffee in the air to the dozens of police officers working at their desks.

I didn’t have to wait long before a tall, graying man in a suit emerged, his face a mix of reluctant curiosity and abject caution. His expression was pulled tight though, like he was slightly nervous to be standing in front of me and didn’t quite know what to say or how to approach me.

Good.

He should be afraid.

“Mr. Sartori,” he said, extending his hand. “Inspector Gianni Rizzo. Please, follow me.”

I nodded curtly and followed him down a narrow corridor to a small office. He closed the door behind us and gestured for me to sit, but I remained standing, my impatience growing by the second.

“Inspector, Marco De Luca is an honest man,” I began without preamble. “These charges against him are baseless. I need to know who’s behind this and what evidence they think they have to work with.”

Rizzo sighed and leaned back in his chair, regarding me thoughtfully. For a moment, he was quiet, like he was trying tochoose his words carefully, and I stared back at him, not backing down.

“Mr. Sartori, I understand your concern. Marco De Luca has been a respected member of this community for many years. However, the investigation is ongoing. From what I understand, there is a mountain of evidence and we’re still piecing through it.”

I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing as I pressed my fingers to the surface of his desk. “And where exactly does this so-called evidence come from? Who’s feeding you this nonsense?”

He hesitated, then opened a file on his desk. “The initial report came from an anonymous tip. But the financial records we’ve reviewed suggest a pattern of discrepancies over the past several years.” The longer he went on, the more reluctant he sounded, and I gritted my teeth, quickly growing more and more annoyed.

“Anonymous tip. That’s bullshit and you know it,” I muttered, shaking my head, trying to keep my anger at bay. I was quiet a moment, clearing my throat before I began again, my voice level and calm. “What kind of discrepancies are we talking about?”

“Unreported income, falsified expenses,” he replied, flipping through the papers. “It’s a significant amount, Mr. Sartori. Enough to warrant an investigation.”

I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my temper in check. I had several officers on the payroll, but this man wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t sure if that was one of the reasons why he was in charge of Marco’s investigation in the first place, but I was going to have to tread carefully to get the information I wanted, at least until I could get proper bribes in place and my chief intelligence specialist on the case.

“Marco is a tailor, Inspector. He runs a small shop, not a multinational corporation. This smells like a setup to me and it would be wise for your people to consider that,” I explained, trying to get him to see that this was madness.

Rizzo’s gaze softened slightly.

“Believe me, Mr. Sartori, if there’s any foul play involved, we will uncover it. But for now, Marco will remain in custody until we can sort this out,” he replied.

I took a deep breath, trying to quell the anger boiling inside me. I could yell and scream at him, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. I needed to bide my time and get the whole story before I rushed to action, at least for now. I needed to know who was behind this before I made any sort of big moves.

“Very well, Inspector. But know this—I will not rest until Marco is cleared. And if I find out who’s behind this, they’ll regret ever targeting him,” I warned.

“Understood, Mr. Sartori. Do what you need to do,” the officer said curtly.

---