Chapter 13 To Keep a Promise #2
Raul Campo was silent for several seconds.
He never took his eyes from her. “I comply with all properly written and presented warrants in the event the law gets involved,” he said.
“I don’t testify in court unless I’m formally subpoenaed.
” He propped one ankle over a knee and made an absent gesture with his hand.
“If I agree to take on a job, my clients sign a very specific contract, which gives them room to tell me when and with whom I can or cannot share information. For example, you could specify that I am only to talk to you, or authorize me to talk to your friend there in your place if you are unavailable. You could specify face-to-face only, or merely indicate that your emails are monitored so that option is no good.” He paused, seemingly studying her expression.
“There is also a clause to cover how information is handled in the event of either mine or the client’s death, as a precaution. ”
Evelina nodded as she processed his words. “So, if say a relative of mine contacted you and insisted that I had asked them to reach out on my behalf for an update, you wouldn’t just take their word for it?”
Campo scoffed. “Only an amateur falls for a setup like that. Half the job is digging up dirt on family, you know.” His lips tipped up in a flash of a smirk like he’d said something funny.
What he had said, though, was music to her ears.
She couldn’t quite stop her smile when she spoke again.
“Please forgive me for blundering around with this. I very recently learned about an extended familial connection I’m trying to make contact with, but all I have is a name and general idea of area of residence.
And some old pictures, if that helps. Is that the kind of work you can take on? ”
He tipped his head to the side. “You wanna make contact with this person? So basically, you want contact information—addresses, emails, phone numbers, media accounts?”
She wanted those things, and so much more, but Evelina recognized it might be bad form to cyberstalk her estranged relatives and then forcefully introduce herself. Particularly if they were still mafia.
Is that what Otets would do? The thought crossed her mind, and she immediately shoved it down. She was not going to become her father.
Evelina tapped her nails briefly over the strap of her purse before finally replying, “At the bare minimum, please.”
Campo rolled forward and reached for a drawer on his desk.
“Simple enough. I do charge travel, which means international fees are higher by design.” He dug into a hanging file and pulled out a pre-stabled set of papers.
“All that’s explained in the contract. Of course, I’ll make ya copies before you leave. ”
Evelina accepted her fate and adjusted to drop into the chair, schooling her features not to show her displeasure at the feel of the firm, uncushioned seat and support poles encompassing her.
“I did bring cash,” she said as she set the purse into the seat beside her, “so I can also pay your down-payment today.”
His lips lifted visibly and the toothpick wobbled. “I like a woman who comes prepared.”
Evelina pulled the paperwork closer, knowing it would be important to read the content before signed.
She’d never done this sort of thing before, she didn’t know what was common practice or what precisely to expect.
That meant all she could do was make sure she understood what was presented and decide for herself if it was acceptable. Or negotiable.
She read everything diligently, taking time to ask questions when she wasn’t certain, and finally made her notations in the promised areas before signing her name at the bottom.
She motioned Otto forward, as there was a place for the secondary contact’s signature, and had him sign, too.
With all of that done, she slid the papers and borrowed pen back across the desk. “Here you go.”
Campo flipped to the notations page and skimmed over it, making no bones about verifying that she’d filled out something satisfactory in the required areas.
He nodded to himself, clicked the pen, and scrawled his name on the other line.
“I’ll get these copied before you head out,” he said as he let the papers fall flat once more.
“Now, if you’ve got that payment, I’ve got the time to hear what you need. ”
Evelina smiled and wasted no time peeling the necessary amount of cash free from her gawdy money clip. She slid that across next and let her arms fall to her lap. “The woman I need you to find for me should be in the Newark, New Jersey area. Her name is Eleonora De Salvo. The sooner—”
“De Salvo?” Campo had gone still, but Evelina didn’t realize it until his wary question cut through her words.
She blinked, taking in the subtle changes about the man across from her.
His expression had entirely locked down, giving away only the caution she’d heard in his voice and a firmness that made it hard to probe deeper.
His sudden guarded edge sent alarm bells ringing in her mind and she tightened her grip of her purse.
She didn’t understand what was going on, so she chose to answer cautiously, with eyes wide-open.
“Yes, that’s what I said. She’s in her—”
“No.” Campo shoved to his feet and tossed her money back at her. “Get out. I can’t work with you.”
Evelina balked, feeling as if she’d been slapped in the face. “Excuse me?” She stood as well and planted her fists on the desktop, anger sparking through her. “What the hell do you mean, you suddenly can’t work with me? What did I say that was so terribly appalling?”
Campo ripped the toothpick from his mouth and tipped forward at the shoulders. “Are you taking me for a fool, or is it you who’s the idiot here, Ms. Nikolaev?”
She felt Otto’s energy shift like a tangible thing and snapped her arm up to hold him off.
She never removed her glare from the bizarrely angry PI in front of her.
“What the hell is your problem? We were getting along just fine.” She heaved a breath and gathered up her money.
“You have a hell of a way of treating your clients, Raul. But whatever. Someone else will take my money.”
“Then it’s you.”
She shoved the cash haphazardly into her purse and took a step from the desk. “What is me?”
His lips curled in a sneer. “The idiot.”
Her eyes narrowed. If they were in Chicago, she could let Otto pummel him for that.
But they didn’t have resources this far east to depend on.
She sure as hell wasn’t sticking around to clean up all that blood.
And she wasn’t quite inclined to outright kill the asshole for his attitude.
Still… “I would advise you to stop being so rudely disrespectful to me. Otto doesn’t like that language. ”
Campo scoffed abrasively, scrubbed a hand across his head, and scooped up the papers she had just signed.
“You don’t get it. Fuck, this is a nightmare.
” He shook his head and stepped toward what looked like a trash bin with a slotted bar across the top.
“Listen, I’ll get rid of this for you. But do yourself a favor, Ms. Nikolaev, and never poke your nose into the De Salvo family again.
” He pressed a button, powering the shredder on.
“The only thing that gets any of us is dead.”
Evelina stared at him, shocked briefly speechless at his response.
That was what had set him off? Her aunt’s name?
She glanced down at her purse, where a couple of forty-year-old pictures and one never-delivered letter were safely tucked inside.
She’d brought them in case even an outdated image was useful, and in case the address proved to be at least a rough starting point.
Or maybe she’d brought them so her mother could be part of this moment, she wasn’t entirely sure.
Regardless, she’d never expected a hole-in-the-wall PI in Indiana to have any kind of reaction to the name De Salvo.
Gathering herself, Evelina looked up at Raul Campo again. “Why shouldn’t I?”
He scowled at her. “Take my advice or don’t. It’s your life.” He jerked his chin sharply to the side. “But do whatever you’re gonna do somewhere else.”
She had half a mind to smack him. But on the off-chance he decided to really be a dickwad and press assault charges after she left, since he would have glimpsed her information on that contract, Evelina shouldered her purse properly and spun away from him instead. She was so angry.
And she wanted to cry.
How was she ever going to keep her promise if she kept slamming into these walls?