Chapter 2 - The Dead Man Who Knew Too Much
By sunrise, Dominic had learned three things about Evan Miller.
The first was that he had not been robbed.
The second was that he had worked for a freight contractor indirectly owned by Moretti Capital.
The third was that someone had spent four years making sure Dominic never discovered either fact.
The information came from Anthony Russo, a former investigator who had worked security for Dominic's father.
Anthony was seventy-one, semi-retired, and one of the few men Dominic trusted precisely because Raymond disliked him.
"Police report says robbery," Anthony said over the phone.
"I know."
"It doesn't read like one."
"Why?"
"Wallet was recovered."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"Money?"
"Still inside."
"Watch?"
"Still on him."
"Phone?"
"Missing."
Dominic stared at the rain beyond his study windows.
"What was he hauling?"
"Officially? Restaurant equipment."
"And unofficially?"
"I'm working on it."
"Work faster."
Dominic ended the call.
Behind him, a tiny voice said:
"Are you mad?"
Dominic turned.
Lily stood in the doorway.
Again.
Captain was under her arm.
"Does your mother know you're here?"
"No."
"Then yes. I'm mad."
Lily walked inside anyway.
Dominic almost told her to leave.
Instead he watched her climb onto the leather chair beside his desk.
"You shouldn't trust strangers," he said.
"You're not a stranger."
"You've known me three days."
"That's lots."
Dominic almost laughed.
Lily pointed toward the chessboard.
"What's that?"
"Chess."
"Is it fun?"
"No."
"Then why do you play it?"
Dominic considered the question.
"Because sometimes you need to understand what someone will do before they do it."
Lily frowned at the pieces.
"That's weird."
"You're probably right."
Sarah appeared moments later.
"Lily!"
The child looked guilty.
Sarah hurried inside.
"I'm sorry."
Dominic waved it away.
"She's less annoying than most people who come in here."
Sarah wasn't sure whether that was a compliment.
Then she noticed the key on his desk.
Her expression changed.
"Where did that come from?"
"The rabbit."
Sarah looked at Captain.
"That's impossible."
"Apparently not."
Dominic turned his wheelchair toward her.
"Tell me about your husband."
Sarah became guarded.
"Why?"
"Because that key is connected to a building my company owned when your husband died."
Her face lost color.
"Evan never talked about your family."
"Maybe he had reasons."
Sarah sat down slowly.
"He drove freight."
"For whom?"
"Different contractors."
"Did he ever mention Warehouse B-17?"
"No."
Dominic watched her carefully.
"Did he ever seem frightened?"
Sarah hesitated.
That hesitation answered the question.
"When?"
"The last month."
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
"Think."
Sarah looked toward Lily.
Then back at Dominic.
"He started checking the windows at night."
Dominic leaned forward.
"He changed our locks twice. He told me if anything happened, I should take Lily and leave New York."
"Did he say why?"
"No."
"Did he give you anything?"
Sarah shook her head.
Then stopped.
"The rabbit."
Dominic looked at Captain.
"He bought it for Lily two weeks before he died."
The room went silent.
"He sewed the ear himself," Sarah whispered. "It wasn't damaged when he bought it."
Dominic felt something cold move through him.
"He intentionally opened it."
Sarah understood.
"He hid the key."
Before Dominic could respond, someone knocked.
Raymond entered.
His gaze immediately went to Sarah.
Then Captain.
Then Dominic.
"Family meeting?"
Dominic smiled without warmth.
"Something like that."
Raymond approached.
"We have a call with Chicago at ten."
"Cancel it."
"Dominic—"
"Cancel it."
Raymond looked at Sarah.
She took Lily's hand.
"We'll leave."
"No," Dominic said.
Raymond's eyes narrowed.
Dominic held up the key.
"I want Sarah here."
The old man remained calm.
"Why?"
"Because we're discussing her husband."
Sarah watched Raymond.
There.
Again.
A tiny change.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Dominic saw it too.
"What about him?" Raymond asked.
"He worked for one of our freight companies."
"We employ thousands of people."
"He died four years ago."
"Tragic."
"He was murdered."
Raymond's expression remained composed.
"According to whom?"
"According to common sense."
Dominic rolled closer.
"His wallet wasn't taken."
Raymond shrugged.
"Robberies go wrong."
"His phone disappeared."
"Phones have value."
"And he hid a key connected to one of our warehouses inside his daughter's toy."
Silence.
Raymond looked at Sarah.
"You've brought trouble into this house."
Dominic's voice immediately hardened.
"Don't speak to her like that."
Raymond turned.
"I'm protecting you."
"From a maid and a three-year-old?"
"From whatever followed them here."
That sentence landed differently.
Dominic studied him.
"What followed them?"
Raymond realized his mistake.
"Nothing. I'm saying hypothetically."
Dominic moved closer.
"You told Sarah she'd be safe here."
"She is."
"How did you know she needed to be?"
Raymond didn't answer.
Sarah's breathing changed.
Dominic saw fear spreading across her face.
"Take Lily downstairs," he said.
Sarah obeyed.
The moment the door closed, Dominic looked at Raymond.
"What happened at B-17?"
"Nothing."
"Wrong answer."
"Dominic—"
"What happened?"
Raymond sighed.
"You are exhausted. You're angry. You're searching for enemies because you cannot accept what happened."
Dominic stared at him.
"You think this is about my legs?"
"I think you're hurting."
"Everyone keeps telling me what I feel."
"I'm your family."
"Then tell me the truth."
Raymond stepped closer.
"I have protected you since you were ten."
"I know."
"I buried your father."
"I know."
"I held your mother while she died."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"And I promised both of them I would keep you alive."
Raymond put a hand on his shoulder.
"Stop digging."
Dominic looked at the hand.
Then at his uncle.
"That's the first honest thing you've said."
Raymond slowly removed it.
That afternoon Anthony called again.
"I found B-17."
"Talk."
"Warehouse near Red Hook. Your family transferred ownership four years ago."
"To whom?"
"Shell corporation."
"Who controlled it?"
"I'm tracing it."
"What was stored there?"
"That's interesting."
Dominic waited.
"Medical supplies, officially."
"And unofficially?"
"Records."
"What records?"
"Financial ledgers. Shipment manifests. Cash transfers. Enough information to expose half the people who worked with your organization."
Dominic looked at the key.
"Evan found them."
"Possibly."
"And someone killed him."
"Possibly."
Dominic hated that word.
"There's more," Anthony said.
"Go."
"Security footage from the night of your ambush was deleted."
"I knew that."
"Not all of it."
Dominic's hand tightened around the phone.
"What survived?"
"A traffic camera caught a sedan leaving the garage."
"Plate?"
"Fake."
"Driver?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Passenger."
Dominic waited.
Anthony continued.
"Raymond Moretti."
For several seconds Dominic couldn't speak.
"You're sure?"
"I've known Raymond forty years."
Dominic closed his eyes.
"Send it."
The photograph arrived seconds later.
Blurry.
Rain-streaked.
But unmistakable.
Raymond.
Sitting inside a car leaving the garage less than four minutes after Dominic had been shot.
Dominic stared at the image.
His uncle.
The man who raised him.
The man who sat beside his hospital bed.
The man who told him he still had family.
Dominic suddenly heard Lily laughing downstairs.
A sound of innocence inside a house built on secrets.
He wheeled toward the door.
Then stopped.
Something lay on the floor.
A chess piece.
A black king.
Dominic picked it up.
A piece of paper was wrapped around its base.
Four words were written on it.
STOP BEFORE SHE DIES.
Dominic's blood turned cold.
He immediately called Sarah.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Dominic wheeled into the hallway.
"Sarah!"
Silence.
Then he heard Lily scream.
Dominic drove the wheelchair toward the staircase.
"LILY!"
Sarah appeared below.
Her face was white.
"Lily's gone."
Dominic stared at her.
"What?"
"I was in the laundry room for two minutes."
Raymond appeared behind Sarah.
"What's happening?"
Dominic looked at him.
For the first time in his life, he didn't see his uncle.
He saw a suspect.
Sarah began crying.
"Someone took my daughter."
Dominic's phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He opened the message.
A photograph appeared.
Lily sat inside a dark vehicle clutching Captain.
Below it were seven words.
BRING THE KEY TO B-17. COME ALONE.
Dominic looked up.
Raymond was watching him.
And Dominic suddenly understood something terrifying.
May you like
Whoever had taken Lily knew exactly where the key was.
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