Page 44 of Code Name: Dante

“I assume there was a tactical reason for staying exposed on the dock during a thunderstorm?” he asked dryly.

I set Lark down but kept one arm around her waist. “Tactical reconnaissance of lake visibility during adverse weather conditions.”

“Right.” He didn’t bother hiding his grin. “Lark, your grandmother’s been asking for you.”

The mention of Barbara sobered us both, knowing we’d soon have to tell her about the DNA tests and results.

“I should change,” Lark said softly, squeezing my hand before heading toward her room. I watched her go, already missing her warmth against me.

“So,” Tank said once she was out of earshot. “Alice found a match to your DNA in the criminal database.”

“And?” I asked, running my hand through my wet hair.

He handed me a tablet.

“Joseph Rossetti,” I muttered the name of the man whose genetic profile was close enough to mine to suggest he was my biological father and whose surname—that of the Castellano family’s mortal enemy—told a chilling story on its own.

Studying his photo, I couldn’t say I looked any more like him than I did Vincent Castellano Sr. Both men were of Sicilian descent with dark hair and eyes. His height and weight, listed with other vital statistics below the mugshot, were close to mine, but both were average.

However, the words written on the next line sent chills up my spine. “Identifying marks: a crescent-moon-shape birthmark on the inside of left foot, close to heel.” I had one identical to it. The size stated was similar to mine as well.

Was that what had tipped Vincent Sr. off that I wasn’t his son? It seemed unlikely he would know that Joseph possessed a similar mark. But if the birthmark was what had clued him in, was that the reason the man had been shot execution-style, according to the statement beneath his description?

“Grit’s contact at the bureau flagged something interesting. The DNA evidence was collected during an investigation into organized crime activities around Great Sacandaga Lake. This wasn’t the only similar-style murder that took place in the summer of 1998. That timing work with anything else we know?”

“When my mother seemingly disappeared.” I thought about that period of my life and the sadness and fear I’d felt. Based on everything I’d discovered in the last few years about the crimes committed by my “father” and brother, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she’d also been murdered. I rubbed my chest at the thought. It wasn’t the first time in my life I’d suspected that was the case, but whenever I allowed myself to really consider the possibility, the pain I felt was the same.

“There’s one other thing about 1998.” Tank’s tone was hesitant, but insistent as well.

I thought it over for a minute, then what he was referring to hit me like a punch to my gut. “It’s when Lark was born.”

He nodded.

The ramifications of that raced through my head. Jesus, had her mother also been murdered? She’d said she received birthday cards from her, but had she, really? Or had her grandmother made her think she had?

Barbara Gregory’s strange behavior made more sense. Was this what she was hiding? But why would she?

As far as Lark was concerned, she was an adult, not a child. If her mother was dead, it was time she knew it. Yes, it would be soul-crushing, but it was wrong to continue to keep it from her.

“Get me everything you can on all murder investigations during that period. And, Tank? Be discreet. If my brother finds out we’re looking into this?—”

“He probably already knows.” Tank’s expression was grim. “This feels like a game of chess where he’s been setting up the board for years.”

“Then, it’s time we changed the rules. By the way, who else knows about my link to Rossetti?”

“Alice and Admiral. Otherwise, no one besides me and, now, you.”

“Let’s keep it that way for the time being.”

“Roger that,” Tank responded at the same time his phone vibrated. “Fuck,” he muttered after looking at a message on the screen.

“What?”

“You and Lark had company.” He turned the phone so I could see it. A photo of a boat like the ones spotted last night. While it was headed in the opposite direction, the damage was likely already done.

“When?” I asked.

“While the two of you were still on the dock.”

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