by Terra Kelly
She sat down next to him while still holding him tightly. “Yes, he’s being cared for now. I wanted to come out and see if you were here yet.”
Finley brushed strands of hair away from her face. “Zia, did Cris tell you anything?” He watched as her expression changed from sad to…was that confused? “What is it?”
She sighed. “Finley, I don’t get it. Cris said it was the guy from the Italian restaurant you took us to when we first arrived in Toronto. You know, the guy that said I reminded him of someone?”
Finley contemplated that, then his eyes went wide. “Wait, Johnny, the owner of the place?”
She nodded. “Yeah, him. Cris said Johnny gave him a warning. I haven’t been able to hear it yet though.”
Just then Miles walked in with Preslie. “Hey Fin, we need to go. Preslie can stay with you Letizia if that’s okay?”
Finley took Zia’s hand and lifted her chin up. “I’m going to go talk to Cris, let me handle this, okay?” He could see she wanted to protest. “Preslie won’t keep any secrets from you, we won’t either. But you’re safer here.” Apparently, that declaration was all she needed.
Letizia glanced at Miles and Preslie, then back at Finley. “Please promise me you all won’t keep anything from me? I deserve that. At this point, I’m so over it. I want Cris and I to be whisked away somewhere safe.”
Preslie sucked in a breath and all eyes went to her, she looked around. “Whisked away? Ummm…do I even need to say the words?”
Suddenly Miles and Finley both looked like they had light-bulb moments. Finley laughed. “Not even a little.” He stood up and grabbed the back of Preslie’s neck to pull her closer, then he kissed the top of her head. “You’re a genius.” They didn’t say another word on the subject, and Letizia seemed to read the importance of keeping it quiet. Finley squeezed Zia’s hand. “I’ll be back soon.”
The room was quiet. All you could hear was the beep, beep sounds from the monitors. Cristiano was lying in the center of the bed with his eyes closed. He seemed peaceful. His head was bandaged, and it looked like he had two black eyes appearing from the blunt force trauma to his skull. Miles had stayed outside to give Finley some space and hopefully to get a few answers. He carefully approached the side of the bed, hoping to not scare the kid in the process. That didn’t go as planned. Somehow his shoe squeaked on the linoleum which in turn made Cris lift each eyelid.
Finley gave a half-smile. “Hey kid.” The look on Cris’ face spoke volumes: The boy was scared and had every right to be. How the hell would any adult think it was okay to injure a child?
Cris never smiled. “Hi Fin.”
Finley turned and noticed a chair made from hard plastic sitting against the wall. It would be uncomfortable, but he didn’t care. He grabbed it and pulled it over toward the bed to sit down. “So…seen any good movies lately?” He always felt like being funny with the kid, it helped their relationship.
Cris rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but none you would enjoy. You like those boring movies.” Finley saw he wanted to laugh but instead winced and touched his head.
Finley cleared his throat. “They’re definitely not boring, but we’ll take that discussion up another time.” He sat back in his chair. “Zia told me you mentioned the intruder left you a message? Can you tell me what it was?”
Cristiano just sat there for what seemed like a minute, then he looked over at Finley. “The guy, was that the guy we met at the Italian restaurant?”
Finley shrugged his shoulders. “Letizia said you told her that. You sure?”
Cristiano sighed. “Well I think it was, but I don’t understand why he would hurt us. He seemed cool.” He looked down at his hands. “Right before he hit me he growled in my ear, your uncle left something behind that belongs to me and I want it back.”
Finley stood up and walked to the window. “Left something that was his? So, the money that Giano wants back, this guy thinks is his?” He turned back toward Cris, “Well, you don’t worry about it now. I will find the answers, okay?” He stepped closer to the bed and touched his shoulder. “Nothing will happen to you again, I promise.”
Cristiano smiled. “Fin, don’t make promises.” He rolled his eyes and sighed. “This whole situation is messed up. We both lost our family members, and I want to go somewhere with Letizia and ignore the rest of the world.”
Finley hated hearing those words and from a kid no less. “We’ll figure this out.” What else could he say?
When he left the room, he halted outside the door and turned to face Miles. “I think Johnny is working with Giano, and I also think Johnny was the guy working with Letizia’s father way back when.” He shared what Cris had said while pacing up and down the hallway. “How is this even real? A guy we all have encountered hundreds of times could be a witness to the double homicide?”
Miles had his back resting up against the wall and was watching Finley pace. “Are you sure it’s him? He never seemed suspicious. The place has never had eyes watching them. This seems so out of the blue.”
Finley stopped in front of his friend. “Why would he lie?” He couldn’t get out of his head the look on the kid’s face. Seriously, why would he lie? Cristiano was a good kid. His mom raised a good Italian boy. “Nope, he didn’t lie, I know it.” He walked toward the doors that lead to the front entrance. “Letizia and Preslie will stay with Cris. You and I have a stop to make.”
Eighteen
“You better talk and fast asshole.” Finley was standing over a man of average height and he had gray hairs showing, but the guy had anger etched on every line of his face.
The man mumbled something incoherent, and Finley pulled him in closer to his face. Suddenly the guy spit in his face. “Fuck you, copper. You can’t just barge in here and demand info without a warrant. I know my rights.”
Miles was standing a few feet away and let out a low laugh. “Buddy, you lost your rights when your boss attacked a twelve-year-old boy.”
The look on the guy’s face told Finley almost everything he needed to know. “So, your boss disappeared, eh? Is he with Giano again? They must be having this wonderful reunion after all these years.” Finley was just trying to piss the asshole off, and by the look on his face, it was working.
“Giano? What are you talking about man?” Finley felt the guy shaking.
Cooper stepped into the room. “Yeah, your boss and the big boss. You seem surprised.”
Finley let up on his hold to build maybe a little trust in this mess. He rolled his eyes. “Come on, you tried to run when we entered the place, we know you’re hiding something. Talk. Unless you think a 9 x 9 will be more comfortable for the next twenty-four hours?”
The guy put his hands up in surrender, “Please, take me there. If I say anything, I’m toast.”
Finley and Miles both shot a look in Cooper’s direction. Fin pushed the guy down to the ground and pointed at him, “Stay.” He shook his head and headed over to Miles. In a low whisper he stated, “We could have eyes on us now. We need to take this downtown. The asshole may be right on one thing: If we leave him here, we could lose the one lead we need to find Giano and Johnny. They won’t let him live now.”
Cooper was standing just a few steps away and nodded. “Miles, Finley, you take him downtown and book ’em.”
Finley looked around. “We need to go through this place, and soon.” Cooper just nodded in agreement and headed out. Turning toward the guy, Fin reached to grabbed his collar and pull him up. “Looks like it’s your lucky day. Come on, asshole.” Miles stayed behind the guy, both cops playing human shield. They had run cold on their leads for Giano’s whereabouts for so long, they knew they needed to protect their one viable suspect. Especially after what happened to Cristiano.
After bringing the guy downtown, Finley and Miles agreed to let him wait it out for a while in the holding cell. When they felt he had waited long enough, Finley had an officer place him in the interrogation room for further questioning.
Finley w
as standing outside the interrogation room when his phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen and smiled. Earlier, they all silently sent a message to each other that was heard loud and clear. Well, between the four of them only. “Hey, Bella.”
“Superman.” Then he could hear her laugh. “I already miss you. How is that possible?”
Finley smiled. “Well, it has to be my charm and good looks, they keep you wanting more.” He could hear voices in the background. “How are Preslie and Vikki?”
“Good. Cris is sleeping, so we are grabbing a bite to eat. Fin? Anything?” Finley knew she wanted to say more, but they all agreed to keep conversations to a minimum on the phones.
Finley rested his back against the door frame that led into the break room. “Bella, baby, you know I can’t.” He paused for a moment. “I will call you later, okay?” He could hear in her voice she was apprehensive but agreed. He stood there for a second and shook his head. They had an opportunity to get the fuckers that decided to play God with Letizia and Cristiano’s life. Why did he have to wait and play nice? He pushed off the doorframe and headed back to the two-way mirror that separated the asshole from him.
Cooper appeared by his side. “I see those wheels turning. What’re you thinking?”
Finley stepped back and laughed. “He knows something. Did you see him shake at the mention of Giano’s name?” He paced back and forth. “This is our one major break after all these weeks of leads that went cold.”
Cooper nodded. “Agreed. What is the plan, officer?”
Miles placed his hand on Finley’s shoulder, “Good cop, bad cop?”
Finley laughed. “Right.”
It was a ploy; a way to get the suspect to talk or at least slip up. Nine out of ten times the plan was successful. This guy had shown fear earlier, so it might be their best shot. Finley and Miles both glanced at each other and then headed into the interrogation room. Finley usually played good cop. He seemed to have a way with getting suspects to talk. Someone once told him it was because of his good looks—no one would ever think he could have that mean side. Whereas with Miles, he had that bald head and intense stare—most suspects were terrified of him.
As Finley walked into the room, the guy, Ted, had his head resting on his hands. “Hey man, sorry to keep you waiting so long.”
Miles leaned up against the wall next to the door. “Oh please, cut the crap and let’s get to it already.”
Ted just looked between them both and then his eyes settled on Finley. “I will talk but only if you ensure my safety.”
Finley stood up and turned toward Miles, but never said a word. It was Miles’ cue to start doing his routine. They all had played the game of good cop bad cop for so long, it was ingrained in them.
Miles shoved off from the wall and was standing next to Ted in just two strides. Finley wanted to laugh at how serious Miles could appear if he wanted to.
Miles put his face mere inches from the suspect. “It must be nice to work in a place owned by Giano. You never have to worry about money or your safety. Hell, Johnny has his team taken care of there, right Fin?” Finley never answered.
Ted seemed confused. “Giano don’t own the joint. What are you talking about, man?”
Miles raised his voice. “Stop fucking around Ted, we have a little boy in the hospital and your boss is the reason for that.” As Miles fisted his hand into the guy’s shirt and pulled him up from his seat, Finley pushed off from the wall and headed over to calm his partner.
Finley put his hand on Miles’ shoulder, “Hey, give him a chance to talk, okay?”
Miles shoved the guy back down into his seat and moved away, looking pissed off. “We need answers,” he grumbled.
Finley laughed. “We’ll get them, right Ted? You plan to help us out, right?”
Ted nodded, visibly shaken. “Yeah, of course.”
Finley glanced at Miles. “See?” Then he looked at Ted. “Tell me something, did you know Johnny was working for Giano? It’s okay, we just need to know.” He gave a half-smile and sat back down opposite him.
Ted shook his head. “No. Johnny don’t talk to us much.”
Finley leaned back in his chair and sighed. “How long have you worked at the place?”
Ted sat there silent for a moment. “About eight months,” he answered in a shaky voice
Finley could tell the guy would not offer too much, they would have to pull it out of him. “Come on Ted, you know we need more than that. What all did you do there? Just cook the food or were you also filling special requests for Johnny?” He glanced at Miles, giving the nod to step in again.
Ted shook his head. “Special stuff? No, I was the line-cook, worked about thirty-forty hours a week.” Miles stepped into his personal space and the guy looked terrified.
Miles rolled his eyes. “Thirty-forty hours a week you were at the place, and you want us to believe you saw nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary?” Finley watched as Miles leaned on the table next to Ted. “You were there at night, right?”
Ted nodded. “Yeah, why?”
Miles laughed. “Because we know you saw something, and whatever it is has you shaking like a leaf.” He sighed and stood to face Finley. “What we can’t figure out: Why would you want to cover for the asshole?” He suddenly bent down and was just inches from Ted’s face. “What we do know though is your fucking lying.” Finley wanted to laugh, but instead remained stoic. Miles poked his index finger into the guy’s chest. “Here’s the thing, Ted, you have already given yourself away by your actions. So, continuing to lie is just giving us the run around.” He raised his voice. “Which means we all have to be here with you.” He bent down next to him. “And honestly…” He placed his hands on the guy’s shoulder and whispered in his ears. “Spending time with you is the last thing on my list. I have fucking better things to do with my time.”
Finley cleared his throat. “Hey, hey, Miles.” He watched as his partner straightened and stepped away from the asshole. “Ted, what Miles is trying to say is, we need your help. Can you do that?” He opened the file sitting in front of him and pulled out two photos. One was of Letizia after she was beaten by Giano and the other one was of Cristiano left for dead by Johnny. “See these two photos? Johnny and Giano did this.” He grabbed two more photos of Letizia’s parents’ dead in their house. “Johnny helped kill that girl’s parents and now he’s the prime suspect in this case. He left that boy for dead, Ted. A twelve-year-old boy. Who does that?” He felt like he was potentially getting somewhere by the reactions to each photo.
Ted made a noise and struggled with getting each word out. “H…how can I be sure…how can I be sure you’ll protect me?”
Miles groaned. “Ted, a fucking twelve-year-old boy is in the hospital fighting for his life and you’re worried about your useless life? Come the fuck on!” He slammed his fist on the table; Finley stood up and stepped next to his partner. Miles took the cue to back off.
Finley patted Miles on the back and rested against the table next to Ted. “We’ll make sure you’re safe; you have my word.” He would sell his soul to the devil to get the fucker to talk.
Ted sighed. “There is something.” Finley sat back down to listen. “Every night around 10:00 p.m. we have to stop what we were doing and make four specific orders to-go. They’re the same orders and we make them every single night. I figured it was a regular who loved Johnny’s lasagna, but then last night Johnny changed something.”
Finley looked up at Miles and then back at Ted. “Changed something? What was different last night?” He felt anxious, knowing they may be getting closer to the answers they needed.
Ted looked around the room. Fear was etched into every line of his face. “The orders weren’t to-go this time. We closed the place early.” He seemed hesitant to continue, but then took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I was confused on why we closed early, so I looked through the small window and noticed several people at one table. The weird part—they were all in suits a
nd seemed too dressed up for the place. You could see four men sitting at the table and the rest of the guys were just standing around them. They were eating the orders we had just sent out with Johnny.” Finley was taking a few notes as Ted continued to talk. “When I noticed Johnny start to head back into the kitchen, I walked back to my station and continued working.”
Finley knew this had to have been Giano and his men at the restaurant last night. What he couldn’t figure out was how they missed him. “Did Johnny seem off when he came back into the kitchen? Did he seem nervous or even frightened?”
Ted nodded. “Yeah, now that you mention it, he did. He seemed scared. Told me to hold the fort down and he would be back in less than thirty minutes.”
Finley knew they had what they needed to put Johnny at Letizia’s place last night. “Did he come back in less than thirty minutes like he said?” He watched as Miles left the room.
Ted watched as the door closed behind Miles. “Did I say something wrong?”
Finley smiled. “Not at all, Ted, you’re really helping us. Think you’re up for telling us how the rest of the night played out?”
Ted nodded. “Yeah, sure. You’ll keep me safe, right?”
Finley nodded his head. “Yes, we will keep you safe. We need your help, okay?”
Ted sighed. “Honestly, I had no idea the four meals were for him.”
Finley had a look of surprise on his face. “Him? Him who?” Of course, he knew who him was, he needed Ted to say his name. They needed confirmation without coaxing the guy.
Ted shrugged his shoulders. “Giano and his men.” He laughed. “Who knew they liked Johnny’s lasagna that much?”
Finley got what he needed. They had confirmation that Giano had been at the restaurant last night, and that Johnny was involved with the mob. They also knew Johnny left around the time that Cristiano was attacked. The timeline was coming together. Finley stood up. “Ted, you did great.”