Chương 11
“Because Dario planned it,” Daniel said.
“If he planned to kill us, the greenhouse exit would have been blocked. Evan would not have had the keys.”
“You think Dario helped him?”
“I think Evan and Dario were working together.”
Melissa remembered the stuffed bear Dario had brought to the nursery.
“Where is the bear?” she asked.
Adrian looked at her.
“In Leo’s room.”
“What kind?”
“A gray one. It played music.”
Dario had insisted they keep it near the crib. He had joked that his wife would be offended if it disappeared into a closet.
“The camera outage began the same day,” Melissa said.
Adrian understood.
“The bear was listening.”
Daniel swore.
“Dario heard us argue about the pediatric appointment,” Melissa continued. “He knew I took the baby downstairs during storms because the nursery windows shook. He knew Adrian followed me.”
“He knew Salvatore’s men were attacking,” Adrian said. “He put Evan near the greenhouse and left the van ready.”
“Then why didn’t he warn us directly?”
“Because Salvatore was watching him.”
Daniel shook his head. “You’re building a loyal man out of scraps.”
Adrian looked down at Leo. “Dario’s father died at Pier Four. He has spent thirty years believing Gabriel Romano killed him. If he learned the truth, he would not trust anyone enough to explain it.”
“Except Evan,” Melissa said.
“Except another man who had been living inside the wrong family.”
They needed proof.
The storage unit might contain Gabriel’s fallback message, but they could no longer enter through the gate. Daniel knew the adjacent car wash shared a drainage wall with the facility. At four fifteen, they parked the van behind an abandoned restaurant and approached on foot.
Melissa carried Leo beneath a borrowed rain jacket. Daniel pushed Adrian’s wheelchair across cracked pavement while Adrian objected to every uneven patch.
“You can push yourself through mud or arrive with functioning hands,” Daniel said.
“I prefer choices offered without commentary.”
“You married the wrong woman for that.”
The drainage channel ran beneath a chain-link fence. Daniel cut the wire and widened the opening. Melissa crawled through first, keeping Leo secure against her chest. Adrian transferred from the chair onto a plastic mechanic’s creeper they found near the car wash and pulled himself beneath the fence using his arms.
For once, no one made a joke.
The storage unit was on the ground level, third row from the back. Daniel opened it with a physical key.
Inside stood several metal shelves filled with ordinary household boxes: tax records, winter coats, kitchenware, and old toys. Rosa had disguised the emergency cache as the remains of a middle-aged woman’s life.
Melissa found her own childhood bicycle leaning against the rear wall. It was purple, with one white handlebar grip and one black replacement. The sight of it hurt more than any weapon.
She had learned to ride in a church parking lot while Rosa jogged beside her in work shoes. Gabriel had watched from a parked car across the street because he believed being seen with his daughter would endanger her.
At the time, Melissa thought he was a stranger eating sunflower seeds.
“Here,” Daniel said.
Beneath a box of Christmas decorations was a locked steel case.
Melissa pressed the Romano ring into a circular recess on the lid.
The mechanism clicked.
Adrian looked at her. “You said the ring did nothing.”
“I said it did nothing when you asked what it did.”
“That is generally when people answer.”
Inside the case were two phones, a stack of documents, a digital recorder, and a handwritten note.
The wolf on the note wore its crown upright.
Melissa read aloud.
Dario knows enough to be dangerous to Salvatore and not enough to be safe from him. Pier Four is a trap for all of us, but it is also the only place Salvatore will speak plainly because he believes the river belongs to him. Rosa has the original ledger. If she reaches you, protect her before the paper. Paper can be copied. People cannot.
Beneath the note, Gabriel had written a phone number.
Melissa dialed it from one of the secured phones.
Someone answered without speaking.
“Dad?”
For several seconds there was only static.
Then a man coughed.
Melissa gripped the phone with both hands.
“Little wolf,” Gabriel said.
Her knees weakened.
Adrian reached for her elbow, but she stepped away.
“Where are you?”
“Not far from Pier Four.”
“Are you hurt?”
“I have been more comfortable.”
“What happened?”
“Salvatore changed the terms.”
“What terms?”
“He took Rosa.”
Melissa closed her eyes.
Daniel turned away and pressed one fist against his mouth.
Gabriel continued. “He wants the ring and Adrian’s access codes. He thinks the ledger is with me.”
“Where are you?”
“In Dario’s trunk.”
Adrian leaned toward the phone. “Dario took you?”
“Dario prevented Salvatore from shooting me. I am reserving judgment on the rest.”
“Can he hear you?” Melissa asked.
“He gave me the phone.”
A man’s voice spoke faintly in the background.
Dario.
“Salvatore has Rosa in the old customs office,” Gabriel said. “He expects you by dawn. If you do not come, he kills her and announces Adrian’s death. If you do come, he tries to kill everyone after he gets what he wants.”
“What does Dario want?”
“To correct a mistake thirty-two years late.”
Adrian took the phone.
“Dario’s father.”
“Yes,” Gabriel said.
“Did you kill him?”
“No. Salvatore did.”
The words remained in the storage unit like a physical thing.
“Why?” Adrian asked.
“Bellini discovered Salvatore had arranged the shooters. He tried to get you and your father out through the east entrance. Salvatore shot him and blamed my men.”
Dario’s breathing was audible near the phone.
Adrian lowered his voice. “Dario, listen to me.”
A pause.
“I’m listening.”
“Where is Salvatore’s security?”
“Six men inside the customs office. Four on the pier. Two at the river gate. County officers will remain away until six.”
May you like
“Paid?”
“Two paid. One threatened. The rest were told there is a federal operation.”
