38. Chapter 38
thirty-eight
L istening to Marcus talk about the Murphys tickled a memory in the back of Curtis’ brain. He couldn’t quite grasp it, though.
“Tell us more about the Murphys. What is this feud you’re talking about?” Curtis asked. “Is that why Rocco killed Sean Murphy?”
“Rocco never said much when he was in custody before he got killed himself,” Marcus said. “So I can’t say why Rocco broke the truce between the families. Though the two families never became exactly friendly over the years, they mostly coexist okay.
“The feud started a couple of generations ago. Connor’s grandfather and Junior’s grandmother were engaged. Long story short, Junior’s grandfather stole grandma from Connor’s grandpa. The love triangle left the Murphys bitter, and they didn’t take the disrespect lightly. Hence the long-standing feud between the families, resulting in numerous turf wars and casualties. It cooled down during Tony Sr.’s time. I still don’t know what he did to manage it, but somehow a truce was formed between him and Connor’s father,” Marcus finished.
All the talk about family feuds, love triangles, and the Stilettos’ grandma nudged the memory out, and Curtis blurted, “There’s a girl involved.”
“It’s a love triangle, Curtis. Yes, there was a girl involved,” Marcus quipped.
Curtis shook his head. “No. The Rocco-Sean case. There’s a girl involved.”
Closing his eyes, Curtis brought himself back into that staircase, trying to remember every detail. “Ugh, it went so fucking fast. I think I told the police everything I remembered. It seemed insignificant.”
“Nothing in a murder case is insignificant,” Ken said.
“What about this girl you’re talking about?” Lina asked gently. She took his hand. “Do you need help to remember?”
“I remember.” Curtis looked at her and squeezed her hand, thankful for her strength. “Rocco was threatening Sean Murphy for touching a girl. Sean was swearing he didn’t do anything to the girl. That it wasn’t him.”
“Who is this girl and what happened to her?” Marcus questioned, not expecting an answer. “Do we know any girl associated with Rocco or Sean? We can start from there.”
“I’ll get on that. I’ll have my team scour surveillance around the Stilettos’ and the Murphys’ territories for a girl seen with Sean or Rocco in the weeks before the December incident.”
Ken took his phone out and speed-dialed Kate, his second-in-command.
“Go back months if you have to,” Marcus said to Ken as he took his call to the kitchen.
“Let me get this straight,” Dean said. “You’re now thinking a girl might’ve been the tipping point of this whole thing?”
“It’s a possibility. Men have fought bigger wars because of a woman.”
“Two people dead because of one girl?” Dean scoffed. “Unbelievable.”
“What? You’ve never seen Romeo and Juliet ?” Curtis questioned. “Or Troy ?”
“People become idiots in love,” Marcus said drily.
Curtis gave the big man the side-eye. He couldn’t help but feel it was a dig at him.
“I guess I can understand that.” Dean grimaced. “I know I made a lot of idiotic moves in that department.”
Curtis chuckled, remembering Dean and Rae’s tumultuous courtship, earning himself a glare from his friend. “Hey, you got your girl, man. You must’ve done something right.”
“I groveled.” Dean laughed. “But only after Brandon and Chris conspired and got Rae and me on neutral ground, where we couldn’t just walk away from each other.”
Before Curtis could respond to Dean, Ken rushed back into the sitting area. “We found her.”
“That fast?”
“What can I say? My people are good.” Ken grinned. “They checked the Morrigan’s security footage from the night of the incident first, since the police had unofficially shared it with us because of your involvement. They got a ping right away. They’re scanning through other surveillance videos to be sure. But my gut is saying this is her.”
“Who is it?” Curtis asked impatiently.
“Sofia Stiletto.”
“Who’s that?” Dean asked.
“Rocco’s sister,” Lina answered with a frown.
“What does this mean?” Curtis looked from Lina to Ken, and then to Marcus.
“More questions,” Marcus replied. “Why was Sofia Stiletto with Sean Murphy at Morrigan’s? What was she doing there? Dancing? Just having a night out with a boyfriend? Wasn’t Sean like twenty? Twenty-one?”
“God, is that how old he was?” Curtis’ chest tightened.
Ken nodded once, confirming the age.
“And how old is Sofia?”
“Twenty-nine,” Ken said.
“Why would a twenty-nine-year-old woman be seeing a twenty-year-old boy?” Marcus pondered. “Seems odd.”
“We wouldn’t be questioning that if the ages were reversed,” Lina said. “But it happens.”
Curtis agreed it seemed odd but knew age sometimes was just a number if both parties were consenting adults.
Ken’s phone pinged. He looked at what came in.
“They found more footages of Sofia in Morrigan’s security footage.” He winked at Dean and Curtis. “You didn’t hear that.”
That meant his team probably had to hack into the club’s system to get the footage.
“She came to Morrigan’s every Thursday night, escorted by Sean Murphy through the back door. She mostly stayed off the public floor and went to the office area. No surveillance in that part of the club.”
“What day did you see Rocco and Sean?” Dean asked.
“It was a Thursday,” Curtis confirmed. “Sean said he didn’t touch her. It wasn’t him. He was just the errand boy who delivered Sofia to someone else.”
“So Sofia Stiletto has had rendezvous with a Murphy every Thursday night. How does this help us?” Dean demanded.
“It’s information,” Lina said calmly. “It could be the piece of information we need when we appeal to Tony Jr.”
“You’re gonna appeal to a crime boss?” Dean questioned sharply.
“Well, he’s not the boss yet. And from all the information we have, he doesn’t want to be a crime boss,” Lina said. “The thing is, we have all these pieces, but we don’t exactly know how they all fit.”
“How are we going to find out?” Dean asked.
“Why don’t we ask the people involved directly?” Curtis suggested. “They’re the only ones who can answer these questions. The answers could fire up the feud between the families again, which might make Serafina forget about me.”
“Unlikely,” Marcus muttered.
“Or it could push Tony Jr. to grab the reins from his mother and make her stop using me as a target practice,” Curtis finished.
“It’s reaching,” Marcus commented. “But what other options do we have?”
“Curtis stays in hiding,” Dean said.
“No. I’m taking my life back,” Curtis insisted. “I’ll march straight to Tony Jr. myself right now and—”
“And what?” Marcus looked at him sternly. “These people are not your fans, Curtis. They’re not gonna listen to you just because you’re a rock star.”
“Will they listen to me?” Dean suggested. “Another businessman?”
Lina’s gaze zoomed straight at Dean Rowland. Everyone’s did at his suggestion.
“No way in hell!” Curtis vehemently refused. “Rae will have my head if I involve you in this. This is not your fight, Dean. It’s mine.”
“Curtis, they might listen to someone like me,” Dean said.
“And get your good name smeared for a connection with dubious people because of me? You are not getting roped into this any further. You shouldn’t even be here. I appreciate you, brother, but you need to go back home to your pregnant wife and daughter.”
“I agree with Curtis on this, sir,” Marcus said to Dean.
Marcus was right. It would be bad for business if they got the CEO of their biggest client into this debacle.
Dean looked like he was ready to argue.
“We could imply Mr. Rowland’s interest in one of the Stilettos’ legitimate business,” Lina quickly intervened. “We, of course, don’t actually use his name. But it might get us a meeting we need.
“What Mr. Rowland said earlier got me thinking,” Lina added. “You said your friends got you and your wife onto neutral ground?”
“Yes, after we broke up and Rae wouldn’t give me the time of day,” Dean said. “My best friend Chris, and Rae’s best friend, Brandon, got us to Bali—separately, unaware of the other’s arrival. It took some negotiations, maneuvering, and old-fashioned groveling to get her to forgive me. Did that story spark something for you?”
“The sneakiness of your friends, yes.” Lina smiled. “We can do the same with Tony Jr., Connor Murphy, and Sophia Stiletto. I have a feeling the current generation of these two families need to have a conversation. If they won’t do it themselves, then let’s set it up for them.”
“How is this going to help me?” Curtis asked.
“Sometimes you need to help someone else first before they can help you,” Lina said. “But we still need to do some recon before we set this up. Confirm a hunch I have.”
Curtis studied her with a deep frown, wanting to know more. But Lina had nothing else yet to give him. Not until her questions were answered.
“Do you trust me?” Lina asked him.
He nodded with a solemn smile. “Always.”
“Then give me a day or two, and let me do what I do best,” she asked.
“You’re not doing this without me,” Curtis insisted.
“Curtis,” Lina warned. “You’re not leaving this apartment until we know—”
“Whatever you’re gonna do, I’m doing it with you.” He didn’t budge.
“I thought you trusted me.”
“I do. You don’t trust me. I promised your family I’d watch your back.”
Lina could see Dean’s speculating eyes as he listened to the conversation. Ken and Marcus were exchanging looks.
“I’m supposed to be protecting you, Curtis,” Lina said.
“Is that all I am to you? A client?” he demanded.
Lina pursed her lips, peeved. “We’ll discuss this later.”
“I don’t think discussing it later will change his mind, Lina,” Dean said with a small smile. Then he looked at Marcus and said, “You’re right. Love renders us idiots.”
“Let’s hope these two prove us wrong,” Marcus said.