Page 143 of Married With Malice

“A couple of times. Years ago. I hear he’s retired now.”

“Cale keeps busy,” I reply, hearing my own wariness creep in. “But he stays out of New York.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Vittorio says. “I plan to stick around for a while and I could use a man like Cale Connelly.”

“That’s nice of you to say. It would be even nicer to hear that my brother doesn’t have any reason to look over his shoulder whenever he leaves his house.”

He waves an impatient hand. “Barone’s grudges are not mine. They won’t be continued from the grave. If your brother’s looking over his shoulder then it won’t be because of me.”

One of the men who went upstairs a moment ago returns and approaches Vittorio. They converse quietly for a few seconds. The man nods and pulls out his phone as he heads for the door.

“My condolences,” Vittorio says, addressing us all. “For the unlucky accident that made my sister a widow today. Apparently, Barone was cleaning a loaded pistol and mistakenly pulled the trigger. Do I have the story correct?”

“Yes,” Anni says. “That’s exactly what happened, Uncle Vittorio. And I was so startled by the noise that I fell down the stairs, bruising my face and dislocating my shoulder.” She lets out a theatrical sigh. “As you can imagine, we’re all shocked and in deep mourning.”

Vittorio gives his niece an amused smirk. “Your father’s body will be taken away shortly. And of course we’ll respect his wishes to be cremated immediately. I’m already taking care of the details to save my sister the trouble.”

“Thank you, Uncle Vittorio,” Anni replies smoothly. “We’re all very grateful that you’re here.”

Vittorio must be confident of his connections. After today, there will be no body. No evidence that would cast doubt on the official version to be shared with the public.

“Oh hey, I didn’t know we had more company.” Big Man Bowie strolls into view and slings an arm over Daisy’s shoulders. He grins at the newcomers. “How do you guys like your burgers? I’ll just whip up a few more.”

Vittorio gawks at this apparition of a smiling, aproned burger chef. He seems genuinely puzzled.

I’m not sure what Anni’s uncle says next because I’m distracted when Monte quickly approaches with a tense look on his face. He holds my phone out. “You should call your aunt.”

Vittorio’s glittering black eyes swing to me as I take the phone. With my arm around Anni, we walk down the hall together in search of a little privacy. We wind up in her father’s office, which feels strange.

“Are you sure you don’t want to be alone right now?” Anni asks.

I pull her closer. “Never,” I say and inhale her sweet warmth, taking the luxury of a kiss before dealing with the unpleasant chore ahead.

My aunt doesn’t answer her phone. Instead my cousin Bianca picks up and can hardly stop hyperventilating long enough to say, “You should come to the hospital, Luca, if you want to say goodbye.”

Though I have no special wish to see my uncle on his deathbed, I suppose some closure is in order. With Anni in obvious pain, I tell her she doesn’t need to go with me if she doesn’t want to. In response, her eyes shine with that familiar stubbornness I love so much.

“I’m going wherever you go,” she says.

No argument from me. I don’t want to be separated from her either, not even for an hour.

Vittorio authorizes three of his men to escort us to the hospital. I’m not expecting any trouble but it’s good to have the backup. We bring the Castelli brothers with us too and on the way Monte gets me up to speed on what he knows.

Richie is obviously in his last hours. The whole upper echelon of the family enterprise has been hollowed out so there’s already chaos in the ranks.

This doesn’t concern me at all.

The whole damn gang of them can fight over the scraps of Richie’s empire like wolves competing for a bloody carcass. Without my uncle’s threats hanging over my head, there’s no motivation for me to pretend I’m still one of them.

The waiting room at the hospital looks like a casting call for a mob film. Although I nod at the familiar faces, I sidestep all questions for now. Rumors have begun to spread that Albie Barone is no longer in the land of the living. I’ll leave it to the Castelli boys to explain about Barone’s fatal ‘mishap’.

Because we qualify as immediate family, we’re taken right up to Richie’s room. The surgery didn’t go well and he never woke up after hitting the pavement outside Greasy Vito’s. His brain activity is flat and he’s being temporarily kept alive with machines until Aunt Donna gives consent to pull the plug.

She’s inconsolable, clutching me and crying so hard she’s shaking. “You find whoever did this, Luca.”

“It’s taken care of,” I assure her.

Not exactly a lie.

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