Chapter 20 #3
“Allora, andiamo.” I replied, pulling her out of the room and taking her with me downstairs.
I dragged her through the hall, entering the living room that led directly to the kitchen. I never let go of her arm, and she had no suicidal idea of trying to escape.
“Sit down,” I ordered as soon as we entered the kitchen, pushing her toward the round table where I had been sitting a few moments earlier.
I watched as she obeyed, her hands clutching her pants, which were clearly too big for her height and build, as was her T-shirt.
She sat down on one of the cushioned chairs and I took another one opposite her, noticing how her damp hair made the cotton of the T-shirt transparent in all the wrong places.
I cleared my throat and focused on that abandoned-animal look on her face.
“What happened to the senator can leave no traces, let alone witnesses.” I began, folding my hands on the table and focusing on what really mattered. “You should have died last night.”
“I noticed.” She retorted with her eyes half-closed and her lips twisting with every word as if she wanted to spit on me.
I lifted my chin, not liking the insubordination I was perceiving in her.
“If I had executed you, it would have raised suspicion for multiple reasons.” I continued reluctantly.
My irritation grew as her expression intensified and a disdainful smile spread across her face.
"The senator created the perfect moment for me to take her down.
It will look like the suicide of a mother who couldn't live with the memory of her son's death.
The chances of it being linked to murder are low, however, the scenario would change if your body had been found next to hers. "
“So, let me guess, you brought me to this house to kill me? Is that it?” She asked, not giving me even the time to answer. “Because if that's the case, your creativity is deplorable for a murderer.”
I gritted my teeth. “Oh, really?” I purred, wanting to wring her little neck.
Cazzo.
She really looked like a ferret at that moment. The way she was sticking up her nose, her mouth pouting in a silent challenge, eyes glistening with a fire that confessed she wouldn’t go down without fighting me first.
“Obviously,” she snapped. “For starters, it's a cheap movie cliché.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Patience, Camillo. Be patient. “Then, if your intention is to keep me from being connected to the senator, it's still a bit strange me disappearing on the night of her death and then turning up dead a few days later, far from Silver River.
Don't you think?” She may look like a ferret, but chattered like a magpie.
An annoying, noisy magpie. “My aunt must have called the police by now, Oli must be searching the city for me, and I'm sure my best friend has already thought of hundreds of different ways to activate the federal kidnapping alert in less than forty-eight hours. So, sugar, your plan sucks.”
Very slowly, I leaned back in my chair and raised my hands, applauding my hostage's conclusions.
“I didn't know the American education system allowed people to develop such complex reasoning. Last time I checked, you guys thought chocolate milk came from brown cows.” I couldn't resist teasing her and almost smiled when I saw her cross her arms over her chest and snort.
Before continuing, I reached into my pocket and took out her phone, placing it between us in the middle of the table.
"Everything you said was right, Signorina Parker.
That's why you're going to put your best smile, make a video call to your famiglia and friends so they can see you're okay, and tell them you've received an irresistible job offer and are leaving for Italy today. "
Her mouth fell open. “Italy?”
“Italy.” I confirmed with a nod.
Her astonishment was short-lived, giving way to a frown and a sidelong glance. “Why would I do that?!”
“For obvious reasons. Obey and you won't die yet. Disobey and I guarantee you'll end up in a ditch in some other state.”
“Go ahead.”
My eyebrows rose. “What?”
“Go ahead. Kill me.” She spat with the utmost petulance, shrugging her shoulders. “I know the people I love wanted me to live, but do you really think I care?”
“Is that why you ran to me last night when you thought I had saved your life?”
She flinched a little when I said that, but she didn't give in.
Stubborn little thing...
“A lapse in judgment, it happens to the best of us,” she replied. “The point is, you can kill me, because I'm not going to do what you want.”
I gritted my teeth, starting to draw circles with my fingertips on the table.
“Your death is inconvenient for me, not inevitable.” I grunted. “Disobey and you'll die as soon as you arrive in Italy.”
“Okay, so I'll die in Italy.”
I took a deep breath. "And your Aunt Elizabeth will die soon after, along with her boyfriend.
It will be a passion crime, followed by suicide.
No one will doubt that Oliver Fitzgerald killed his girlfriend and then took his own life.
He has a very interesting criminal record, you know?
“ Daisy sat up straight at each of my words, the skin on her face turning pale. ”Then District Attorney Olivia Goodwin.
Her predecessor had a tragic car accident, but with her we can be more creative.
She could be robbed and killed. These things happen all the time. "
“You're bluffing.”
“Am I?” I leaned across the table, breaking the space between us, and placed a hand on the phone, pushing it toward her. “Do you really want to find out if it's a bluff, or would you rather obey and prevent innocent people from losing their lives because of you?”
I don't think punching her in the stomach would have gotten that reaction out of her. She flinched and jumped back, turning her face away from me, trying to hide her teary eyes.
“They won't believe it,” she said in a trembling voice. “No normal person gets a job out of nowhere and leaves without telling their family. It doesn't make sense. They'll be suspicious.”
“For their sake, and yours, they'd better believe.”
She looked at me. The insubordination of a moment ago was gone from her expression, replaced by fear that reduced her features to a rag and left her on the verge of tears.
I leaned back in my chair, a sudden pang of guilt that I very much disliked crossing my stomach.
“Can't we wait a few days? I'd go back and convince them and—”
I laughed. “I'm not an idiot, Signorina Parker.” I retorted. “I'm not going to create opportunities for you to warn your little friend.”
She shrank in that chair as if I were stoning her. “But they won't believe me.”
"Then be creative. Make them."