Page 18 of Retribution
Unfortunately, even with my warning, Tessa didn’t get a happy ending. She and two other unidentified people were killed in a fiery car crash in Wisconsin. My heart broke at the news when Jessica and Stacy, my assistants, informed me of it.
Pushing away the depressing thoughts, I bring myself back to the present, and Jess’s question. “Sure. Let her know I’ll be up in ten minutes.”
“Okay boss,” she replies with a wink, hauling herself out of the chair and heading back to her own desk.
***
My parents are from a small Illinois town and were high school sweethearts. At just sixteen, my mom, Angela, got pregnant with my sister. Luckily, both she and my dad’s parents were supportive, and they kept the baby, moving into the guest rooms above my grandparent’s garage while they finished school.
My dad, Westley, was a hardworking man and received a full scholarship to the local college. My mom went with him, my stay-at-home grandmother providing care for Elizabeth, allowing my parents to finish their education. Dad went on to become an electrician, my mom a school secretary.
And me? Well, I was a bit of a surprise. I was born two days after my sister’s tenth birthday. She was like a mom to me sometimes, always wanting to baby me, look after me, dress me up. I adored her.
She started dating Kai Rossi when she was fifteen, and my parents used to joke that the high school sweetheart curse had struck our family once more. Kai and Liz were so in love, even as a kindergartner I could see it. They later married and moved into a small duplex just a few blocks from our house.
But at seventeen, my life came to a screeching halt when the bodies of my sister and brother-in-law were found.
Their little two-bedroom duplex was straight out of a scene from a horror movie, blood drenching nearly every surface of the open plan living and dining room.
They had to use DNA to establish the identity of the bodies, as there weren’t enough facial features left for my parents to identify.
Their killer has never been caught. It’s partly why I became an FBI agent. I’m smart, good at my job, plus I wanted to make a difference.
And I wanted to be the one to find the fucker that murdered my sister. Our family has never been the same, my parents destroyed, both hanging onto each other with a hopeless desperation that often includes them forgetting that they have another, living daughter that needs them too.
My determination is fierce, and one day, I will walk into my parents’ home and deliver the news they have been waiting over a decade for; that the man that killed my sister has been brought to justice, and will be punished for what they did to her.
***
Ten minutes later sees me sitting across from Agent Manning as she thumbs through some files on her desk. Her office is done in cool greens and soothing yellows, but my body doesn’t get the message as my foot taps impatiently and mouth dries with nervousness.
An older woman in her fifties, she’s gracefully let her hair go grey, and it's currently tied in a sleek ponytail at the nape of her neck. Warm blue eyes regard me over her 1950s style glasses, giving her a decidedly old-fashioned librarian look.
She’s utterly terrifying.
“Agent Gerhardt, thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice,” she says, laying a file out on the desk before her.
Swallowing down my apprehension, I clear my throat before replying, “Of course, Agent Manning.”
Sitting back in her chair, she lifts her glasses up with a finger, taking a moment to regard me.
“I think you’ve been doing excellent work with the trafficking case.”
My eyebrow ticks up slightly at that, relief rushing through me. “Thank you. I wish we were further along, but I’ve enjoyed working with the other organizations. I’m hopeful that we’ll start seeing results soon.”
“That’s what I wish to discuss with you,” she says, a small smile playing at her lips. “Although your work has been exemplary, Interpol and Scotland Yard are taking the investigation in another direction. I’ll be removing you from the case, effective tomorrow.”
Disappointment runs through me. Dammit. I’ve been working that case for years, and for what?
Agent Manning leans forward, clasping her hands on her desk. “Have you heard of Vincenzo Gianelli?”
Eyes narrowing in thought, I try to recall why that name sounds familiar. Unfortunately, I’m drawing a blank.
“I’m sorry, I don’t recall.”
“He’s the head of the Gianelli crime family, based in New York City. Besides guns and drugs, they also deal in the skin market, which is where they make a good portion of their money. Although he’s been under investigation numerous times, we’ve never been able to make any of the charges stick. He always manages to stay one step ahead of us.”
This is interesting. Now that Agent Manning has refreshed my memory, I do recall hearing some chatter about him. “And you want me to investigate him?”
