Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Let’s eat dinner,” Enzo said as he re-wrapped the statue in the towel and put it back under the vanity.
It was as good a place as any. He didn’t bother suggesting the in-room safe because he was damn sure it had been searched, and if it wasn’t, the thief would rectify that if they came back.
When they came back. He glanced at Kathleen as they walked back to the dining area. No need to share that thought just yet.
Kathleen took her seat once more and sipped her wine. The tremor in her hand was still there, which didn’t make Enzo happy, but there wasn’t much he could do about it at the moment. Enzo took Kathleen’s side plate, added olive oil, and then a bit of salt and pepper.
“I’m not hungry,” she said.
He studied her. Her face was pale, though the wine added a faint flush to her cheeks. Underneath it, though, she looked drained. “I think you need to eat something, Kathleen. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but now would be a good time to eat.”
He added a piece of bread to the side of the plate and set it before her.
“Aren’t you going to join me?” she asked.
“No. I’m going to go talk to the head of security again. There is footage from the hallway, and I want to take a look.”
“I’ll come with you.” She started to stand, but he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“I think it’s better if you just stay here. Eat something and try to relax.”
She glanced around the room, her expression painted with worry. The suite was big, and he could immediately tell she was thinking about being left alone here.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m going to have them post a security guard outside your door.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Kathleen said, snapping the napkin off her lap and dropping it onto the table.
“It’s not ridiculous, Kathleen. Your brother would kill me if anything happens to you. As it is, he’s not going to be pleased.”
“Well, some jerk breaking into my room sure as hell wasn’t your fault,” she said.
“No. But I never should have let you come upstairs by yourself.” He didn’t mention that she only accomplished that by sneaking past him.
“Look, it’s not up to you to ‘let’ me do anything. I’m not a small child. I can do what I want. How were we supposed to know someone was here breaking in?”
Enzo said nothing to that, because it hadn’t been random. If he’d known the full scoop, he would have known exactly what they were going to do.
Kathleen frowned. “Shit. I should have known… I just didn’t put it together.”
“I want you to stay here. Please. And eat something. And then I’ll come back with a full report on what exactly is going on.
It would be wise for you to call your brother, because God knows the hotel management is going to feel it’s necessary to call him as well.
They are going to want to cover their asses with him. ”
“Fuck,” Kathleen muttered, then blew out a breath as her shoulders slumped. “I’ll call him after I eat.”
“Great,” Enzo said with a low chuckle. “Anything to put that task off.”
She shook her head. “You know what my brother’s like.”
“Yes, I do. And he loves you very much. But yes, after you eat will be sufficient.” He walked across the room, picked up the phone, and dialed the front desk. He explained who he was, what he wanted, and told them he’d be down in two minutes. Then he hung up.
“Okay, Kathleen, we’re all set. There’s a guard already outside your door, apparently. I’m going to head down now and check everything out. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have a handle on what’s going on.”
She nodded, but he had to admit she looked sad and miserable sitting there.
And not just a little bit scared. It tugged at his chest, hard, and his protective instincts surged in massive waves.
He’d promised Drake he’d look after his sister, and instead, she’d been attacked again.
He wasn’t doing a very good job. Maybe retirement was catching up with him.
He nodded at her and then turned, heading out and into the elevator. As the doors closed, he made himself a promise; he’d be better at this. Better at looking after Kathleen. Because she deserved it. He knew her backstory, and it wasn’t a good one. Then he turned his mind to what was going on now.
The statue. That god-awful, ugly thing. He had no idea why anyone would think it was worth money, but clearly, it was worth something to someone.
The question was what to do about it now.
The elevator doors opened, and he crossed the lobby, heading straight to the desk where the head of security met him.
“Come. I will show you.”
They went behind the desk and down a hidden hallway. Cavalli opened the door and ushered him in.
The room was filled with a wall of monitors, each flicking through different camera shots around the hotel. Two men sat before the monitors, working and Cavalli told them to bring up the relevant footage.
Enzo watched as they pulled it up, and the glaring issue struck him immediately.
“You were hacked,” he said flatly.
Cavalli nodded grimly. “Yes. When we first glanced through it, we didn’t realize, but yes, we were hacked.”
“Drake’s not gonna like this.”
“No,” Cavalli agreed grimly. “Mr. Drake will not be pleased.”
“Do you know how it happened?”
“Uh… sort of.” Cavalli gave a small shrug. “We are currently upgrading some of the systems, and we think that somehow, they accessed the company that’s doing the upgrades and gained access that way.”
Enzo cocked an eyebrow. He knew Drake probably hired the best, and the chances of Cavalli’s story being true were slim.
The man was trying to limit his culpability, something Jameson Drake would not appreciate.
His old friend hated anyone passing the buck.
Still, Cavalli had done all the right things so far, so Enzo decided to throw him a bone.
“My best advice? Find out the truth of what happened and be honest with Drake. Try to fudge anything, and he’ll know. And he will not be pleased.”
Cavalli met his gaze and gave a single, sharp nod. He’d gotten the message.
“The other option,” Enzo added, “is someone here either gave them access to the system remotely or let them in physically.”
Cavalli nodded. “I don’t think it was remote.
The systems we have in place here would make that exceedingly difficult.
It would take some planning. Signora Drake only just arrived, and her visit was a last-minute thing.
There was no way they could have known she would be here.
She explained that she changed her destination once she was already on the tarmac. There simply wasn’t enough time.”
The two guards at the table shared a look. Were they worried? Something to check into. Cavalli must trust them to discuss this in front of them.
The door opened, and another man in a security uniform entered. He nodded to Enzo, then turned to Cavalli.
Cavalli waved his hand. “You may speak freely.”
The man nodded. “I found this.”
He held up a bundle of wires.
“What is it?” Enzo asked.
The newcomer’s fist tightened around the lump of wires. “Somebody hardwired an access point into the system. They piggybacked our security feeds, captured an empty hallway, and then just played it on a loop.”
Cavalli closed his eyes briefly, and Enzo could only imagine the cursing going on in his head.
“Okay,” Cavalli said, his voice clipped. “We need to run all of the footage and find out exactly when this happened. Look for anomalies. I want you in here with Marco and Dante, the three of you go through everything. And I suggest you find it.”
“Understood, sir.”
Cavalli gestured to Enzo, and they stepped out of the security room.
“Do you trust those three?” Enzo asked.
Cavalli nodded. “Those two have been on vacation for the last two weeks, so it wasn’t them.
The third man, Alessio? He’s not stupid.
Doing something like this—he knows it would be the end of his career.
He’s too ambitious to be bought. There are others, however, who are not so smart. I will have to look into all of them.”
Enzo didn’t comment. He had his own thoughts on what had happened.
Cavalli was right about one thing; it would have taken time to hack in from the outside.
And the wires… well, there was proof that someone had physically come in and hacked the system.
To organize something like this in the twenty-four hours that Kathleen had been here was a lot.
Not many people had that level of skill.
“I think I will have to have a talk with the company we’ve been using for the work. They sent a couple of people over yesterday. It must have been one of them who planted the wires.”
“That makes sense,” Enzo agreed. It wouldn’t, however, make Jamie any happier.
Cavalli broke into his thoughts. “Is there anything you might suggest to smooth this over with Signora Drake?”
Enzo stared at the other man. “To be frank, I don’t know Signora Drake all that well.
I do, however, know her brother. I recommend keeping security on her twenty-four-seven when she’s in the hotel.
I will look after her security when she’s outside the hotel.
I also suggest having someone available to her around the clock for anything she needs. ”
“Of course,” Cavalli agreed with a nod. “And please, let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
Enzo gave a curt nod and then turned, walking out the door, around the desk, and back toward the elevator. He started to step inside, but thought better of it. Instead, he went out to the sidewalk, pulled his phone from his pocket, and dialed.
“Enzo! Come stai, amico?” the voice on the other end greeted him.
“It’s been a long time, Giuseppe.”
“It has been a while.”
Enzo tried to keep his voice light. The thing about Giuseppe Dalla Santa was that you never really knew where you stood with him, and you couldn’t truly trust him, but he had his uses.
“I heard you retired,” Giuseppe said, then gave a short grunt. “Not that any man in your line of work retires, at least not until they are on their last legs. Are you dying?”
“No.” Enzo worked to keep his irritation from his voice.
“Then I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re calling.”
“I would imagine nothing surprises you, Giuseppe.”
“What is it you want?” Giuseppe’s tone had shifted, the niceties over, not that Enzo would call their conversation pleasant so far. More like combative.
“Someone penetrated the security of the Jasmine Door Hotel in Lake Lugano. I need to know who it was.”
Giuseppe let out a low whistle. “Someone’s incredibly bold… or incredibly stupid. Jameson Drake holds grudges.”
“Yes, he does,” Enzo agreed. “Can you find out for me?”
Giuseppe made a noncommittal sound. “It’s possible. What do I get out of it?”
“Your usual fee,” Enzo said, keeping his voice casual when, in reality, he wanted to throttle the man.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Giuseppe said, then hung up.
Enzo slid his phone back into his pocket and returned to the lobby, making his way to the elevator. He hit the button for Kathleen’s floor and leaned against the back wall as the doors slid shut.
Now, the question was what to do with the damn statue.