Chapter 22
My phone keeps ringing. I answer and hear a voice with an accent I can’t place—the man is shouting, spewing curse words in another language.
“Please, calm down and speak clearly. I can’t understand you.”
I hear a shuffling sound like the phone is being passed to someone else, and then a calmer voice comes on.
“Don Lorenzo, it’s me, Jorge Takamura. A shipment of weapons was supposed to arrive about three days ago, and nothing’s shown up. The boss is furious.”
“What do you mean? That’s strange, but give me two days. I’ll find out what happened,” I respond, surprised.
“All right, let’s try to resolve this without any trouble,” Takamura grumbles.
“Relax. You’re not dealing with amateurs. Something must have happened, and I’m going to find out what. I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay. I’ll wait.”
I hang up and call Paolo, Marco, and Giovani. Soon, everyone arrives.
I sit in the armchair. Giovani watches me drum my fingers on the table.
“What is it, Lorenzo? Are you worried?”
“Gio, who’s Takamura’s supplier?”
“It’s Creta, isn’t it, Marco? Or did that change?” Giovani looks up at Marco.
“Still him. He’s been solid these last two months.” Marco sits down near me. “Something wrong?”
“Takamura called. Says the shipment was supposed to arrive three days ago, and still nothing.”
“What?” Paolo nearly jumps out of his seat. “It was logged here as on its way three days ago.”
“Could we have been robbed again?” I ask. “That shipment has those new weapons.”
“Lorenzo, if you want, I’ll talk to Creta,” Marco offers.
“No, Marco. I think we’d better find a way to investigate on our own. Creta handles the weapons—if he’s compromised, he needs to stay out of it.”
“Who’s the driver?” Giovani pours himself a shot of whisky.
“Same driver as always. We don’t rotate them,” Marco says.
I look at him and stand up.
“Marco, call the driver and find out what happened.”
“On it.” My consigliere steps out to another room.
A while later, he returns.
“Lorenzo, listen to this.” Marco sits down, pressing his temples. “He said Creta changed the delivery route.”
“What the fuck? On whose orders?” I slam my fist into the armrest.
“That’s what we need to find out,” Paolo says. “If you want, I’ll go to Takamura’s and check the shipments when they come in.”
“Go ahead. Take some trusted men with you. Marco, talk to the drivers and see what you can find out about these orders from Creta.”
“And I just sit here doing nothing?” Giovani puts the whisky back in the cabinet.
“You’re going to wait until we find out who’s behind this. Then we deal with it properly.”
“All right,” he agrees.
“Well, that’s it. Let’s get to work.”
Marco pauses beside me and whispers.
“I need to talk to you alone.”
The others leave. I stare at him.
“What is it, Marco?”
“Lorenzo, the old man—Lola’s father—is giving us a lot of trouble.”
“Trouble? Explain.” I sit back down.
“He asked me to raise Sofia’s rent. I did it without even checking with you. But he’s already come back twice, and get this—he says he’s going to take the girl and hand her off to someone else.”
“Son of a bitch. Tomorrow morning, grab him and take him to warehouse three. I’ll go there and deal with him myself.”
“All right. He’ll be there tomorrow.”
We leave the office and get to work on the investigation.
I get home late at night. I head to my room, take a shower, then go to Lola’s room.
I open the door slowly. She’s not in bed. I look around and spot her out on the balcony. I walk over quietly and stop at the doorway.
Lola is sitting in a reclining chair, gazing up at the sky without even blinking. I have to admit, it makes me a little jealous. What could she be thinking about?
“Hey, what are you doing out here?” I call out. She looks at me, startled.
“Oh my God, you scared me.” She puts her hand on her chest. “Are you trying to kill me, Lorenzo?”
“Scared?” I tease.
“No, I was just lost in thought. Sit here next to me.” She curls up in the chair and pats the spot beside her. I sit down.
“What were you thinking about? You seemed so far away.” I can’t help but ask.
“I was watching the sky, the stars, and thinking about how you can see the whole sky from this balcony.”
I smile, embarrassed.
“That’s what you were thinking about?”
“Yes. What else would it be?” She looks at me.
“I wasn’t thinking anything specific, but I felt uneasy,” I confess.
“You’re so silly, Lorenzo.”
I pull her close and hug her.
“Ready for bed?” I ask.
“Let’s go,” she agrees.
I pick her up in my arms to carry her to bed.