Chapter 45
DIANGELO
Present
My first stop is to drop Bonny at the groomer. She usually comes to us, but I don’t want any unnecessary visitors close to Terina. I’ve already seen how desperate these assholes are to take her from me. I’m not making assumptions anyone is safe at this point.
Walking on my injured leg is against doctor’s orders and hurts like a bitch now that the good drugs have worn off.
I’d love to do as he said and plant myself on the sofa.
That would be great if we weren’t under siege.
Eliminating the threat to Terina is too important for me to sideline myself.
Someone needs to interrogate the assassin, and that someone is going to be me.
When I arrive at the isolated warehouse we use for this sort of thing, a group of three guys are playing cards while a small speaker plays metal music into the dusty air. Not far from them, the woman sits bound to a chair in her bra and underwear.
We’re not rapists, so I know they haven’t crossed that line, but that doesn’t mean our captive hasn’t had a shit night.
“How’s it going, fellas?”
My answer is a chorus of complaints—one’s blaming another for cheating at cards, someone hates the music choice, and the last one thinks his buddies are whiny bitches.
I chuckle. “Sounds like it’s all good, then. She have anything to say yet?”
“Nah,” says the oldest of the three. “We didn’t give her much of a chance, though.”
I glance at the duct tape over her mouth and nod. “Good, time to let her sing.” I walk toward her, careful not to limp. I don’t want her getting any satisfaction from knowing she hit her mark with that knife of hers.
I peel up a corner of the silver tape, then rip off the rest. She pulls against the pain with a growl, then glares at me.
“You know, as a rule of thumb, I don’t hurt women.” I grimace and shrug. “But … rules are made to be broken.”
“Fuck you,” she spits. “Why should I tell you anything when you’re just going to kill me?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t actually feel a need to hurt or kill you. You’re not the problem.” I close the distance between us and stare down at her. “What I want is the name of who sent you.”
“I start ratting out clients, and I won’t work again.”
“You don’t start talking, and you won’t breathe again.” Each lethal word is laced with malice. I need her to know I’m not bluffing. I turn to my guys. “Bring me the pillowcase and hose.”
Her chest starts to expand and contract with rapid breaths. She’s right to be worried. This isn’t going to be fun for her. I don’t enjoy this sort of thing, either, but it’s necessary.
Eat or be eaten.
“You two angle the chair back,” I instruct while placing the thin white pillowcase over her head. “Let’s get started.” I’m handed the garden hose, which is pouring a steady trickle of water. “What’s your name?”
“Fuck you,” she spits through gritted teeth.
“Alright, Fuck You. Who paid you to kill Terina?” I don’t actually give a flying fuck what her name is.
What I need is for her fear to hit override levels so that her Amygdala takes over.
The fight or flight part of the brain will easily deem answering a question a better option than letting herself drown.
Drawing out the dread amplifies her fear and gets me where I want to be that much faster.
I’ve studied these things not because I love torture, but for the opposite reason. I taught myself so that I could be effective at getting what I want with minimum damage because no sane human enjoys inflicting pain.
I do it because it’s necessary.
“I told you, I can’t give names.”
“Wrong,” I say matter-of-factly, then hold the hose over her face.
She tries to escape the water by turning her head from one side to the other as it soaks the fabric and trickles into her nose and mouth, but she’s fighting a losing battle.
She coughs and sputters, her arms and legs straining against the zip ties rendering her helpless.
I don’t leave the water over her for long. It doesn’t take long to feel like you’re drowning. After she has a second to catch her breath, I return to my questioning.
“Who paid you to kill Terina?” I ask again evenly.
Her answering scream is feral with rage.
“Wrong.” I return the water to her face, this time continuing for a few seconds longer than before. When she starts to gag, I allow her to breathe again.
“Protecting him isn’t worth it, trust me. Tell me who paid you to kill Terina, and we can all go home.”
“You won’t let me leave here alive.”
“Then you might as well end it quickly rather than prolong the inevitable.”
“Agree to let me go, and I’ll tell you.”
“Or, you can just tell me who the fuck paid you to kill Terina!” I roar the final words, dousing her head in water yet again. This time, I let it continue twice as long as before.
When I turn the hose away, she begins to vomit inside her waterlogged cocoon.
“Pasha … it was Pasha Mikhailov,” she sputters hoarsely.
“You part of his outfit?”
“No,” she snaps adamantly.
“And where is he hiding?”
“I don’t know, okay?”
I give her the hose again. Her body jerks away from the seat of the chair, her wrists beginning to bleed beneath the zip ties. When I remove the water, she shudders from head to toe as she coughs and sputters.
“Dead … animals. That’s all I know. There were dead animals … everywhere.”
I’m not sure what to make of this revelation. “You mean like a crematorium?”
She shakes her head. “Stuffed. I forget what they call it.”
I envision the Modern Museum of History with all its animal exhibits. “Taxidermy.”
“Yeah.” Her head lists forward in defeat. “That’s it. Don’t know where. We only talked on video conference, but there were dead animals all in the background.”
I can tell we’ve gotten all we’re going to get from her. I take out my gun from its holster in the back of my pants and release the safety. I don’t drag it out, nor can she see the gun with the pillowcase still over her head. My gift to her. One quick bullet to the head, and it’s over.
“Take care of that,” I instruct the guys before walking back to my car. I call Renzo on the way.
“That was quick,” he says in answer.
“The desire to keep breathing is a powerful motivator, even if only for a short time.”
“No shit. She confirm what we needed to hear?”
“Yeah, it was Pasha. We also got another bit of info that may fill in some missing pieces.”
“What’s that?”
“Sounds like he might be holed up at a taxidermist’s shop.”
“Huh, did not see that coming,” he muses.
“Me either, but it might explain how he’d get access to the snake without using any of the known dealers in the state.” We’d checked them all and got nowhere.
“I suppose a taxidermist might have connections for procuring live animals.”
I nod to myself. “Yeah, and to animal parts.”
“The heart in her apartment.” Now, he’s catching on.
“Exactly.”
“Great work. There can’t be that many taxidermists in the city.”
“If you’re good with it, I’d like to have a couple of guys stake them out.”
“Yeah, set that up. Let’s hope this gives us a lock on him.”
I pause before asking the next question, knowing I may not like the answer. “And if we do?”
Renzo sighs. “I’m not sure. Assassinating him could be a dangerous escalation. I don’t want to risk starting a war with Simeon.”
“You fucking kidding me? He’s made two attempts on your sister’s life.” I was worried that would be his response. I should be respectful of my boss’s opinions, but I can’t stay silent on this. Too much is at stake.
“Calm the fuck down,” he snaps at me. “I’m not saying we won’t deal with him eventually; I’m just asking you to hold off until I can work things out with Simeon.
I don’t want to cross off one threat just to create a new one.
And while I’m doing that, I’m also going to reach out to the Genoveses and see what we can learn about Michael’s disappearance. I don’t like the uncertainty there.”
Okay, that’s not so bad.
“The guys will probably need a few days before we get anything with surveillance,” I concede.
“This needs to end, though.” I need to watch it, or he’s going to wonder why my feelings are so strong about it.
He doesn’t know about things between Rina and me, and I don’t feel like I can tell him when I don’t even know where we stand.
Renzo’s silent for a handful of seconds.
“I get that, and I appreciate all you’ve done for my sister, which his why I’m not going to rip you a new one for thinking you can give me an ultimatum.
She’s my fucking sister. I want this guy finished as much as anyone, but I don’t want to rush into it and lose more good people in the process. Understood?”
“Yeah, I got it,” I murmur back.
Irritation chafes, but not because he’s wrong. He’s spot-on, and I’m glad he’s doing this right. My emotions are trying to cloud my judgment. He’s keeping me in check, and I’d do the same for him. It’s what Elio and I used to do for one another.
As much as I resist letting people in, I have to admit that having a team at your back is an advantage in life. One I probably should have been utilizing in my personal world, and not just professional.
It’s something to consider.
For now, all my focus goes to Terina. First, to keep her safe, then to make her mine.