Page 28 of Nicco

“Look Carla. I know you went to the kitchen and made—”

“Yes, I made your father some ginseng tea. I always make it for him.”

“There are cameras in the kitchen.” I crotched down in order to see her face.

“He was alive when I left.”

I reached into my suit pocket and removed my gold plated switchblade, a gift from my father. Carla’s eyes grew big as she inched away from me. But where could she go? I opened the blade and stabbed it into her chest. Whatever breast implant she had was no good now. She screamed in pain as the blood soaked through the fabric of her dress. She keeled over on her side and her face was smashed into the plastic carpet.

Lord walked over and looked down at me. “She’s so loud. Can’t you shut her up?”

“The entire hotel room is soundproof.”

Cenzo stalked over to the screaming woman. He bent to grab her by her hair. “Look, bitch, who told you to put fentanyl in Dom’s tea?” Cenzo dropped Carla’s head back on the plastic. He stood and stomped on her face. We all heard the crack. Her nose was broken. Now she was bleeding from two places. Her screams turned into whimpers because I don’t think she has the energy to yell out into nothingness.

I flipped Carla, so she was lying toward me. “Hey Carla, I think you need to start talking. My brother has an extremely violent temper. I also have that other brother.” I pointed at Lord. “We save for last because he’s even worse than the other brother.”

Carla peered over at Lord. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked like a silent killer, a real menace to society. His resting face was not at all inviting.

“I took a date on my own.”

“What does that mean?” I needed her to tell the whole story before Cenzo killed her.

“I was sitting in the bar in the Venezia and this man came up to me. I was trying to make some money on the side. My son is going to college next year, and I had to save something.”

“I don’t care about your fucking son.”

“I’m bleeding. I’m losing blood. I need to go to the hospital.”

I slapped her with a closed fist on the side of her head. I made sure to dodge the bloody side.

“Talk!”

“Okay, okay. The guy, I thought he was going to be just a regular Joe. He booked a room in the hotel. When I went up to the room with him, he had a gun. I thought he was going to rob me. But he showed me pictures of my son and my parents. He told me I had put the powder in his drink. I didn’t know what it was. He said he was going to kill all my family members if I didn’t do what he said. He said he was going to start with my son.”

“Why? Why did he want Dom dead?”

“I don’t know. He, I, I didn’t think he was going to kill him.”

“Oh Carla, no, you killed Dom.”

“I didn’t know what that stuff was.”

“You’re not a new hoe. You’ve been around the block. You should no better.” I scoffed.

“I swear I didn’t know the powder stuff was deadly. I thought he was going to just go to sleep. I thought someone was just going to rob the house while Dom was asleep. Dom has been a loyal customer for fives years. I like him. I would never hurt your father.”

“But you did. That is precisely what you did.”

“Please Mr. Bregoli, let me go. I have a son. I’m all he has.”

“I, we had a father until you took him away from us.”

“I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t mean it.”

“Life is full of good intentions.” I taunted. “Okay, this man in the hotel room. What did he look like?”

“He was tall, and he had dark hair. It was long, and it was slicked back in a ponytail. I know he was Italian. He had a beard and I don’t know. He was tall.”

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