Chapter 6 - The Last Man at the Table
Carmine asked to see Beatrice alone.
Dominic refused.
Beatrice overruled him.
“You enjoy doing that.”
“More every day.”
Carmine sat behind a metal table in a secure interview room.
No restraints.
Two guards waited outside.
Beatrice entered and closed the door.
Carmine looked exhausted.
“You look different.”
“I got stitches.”
“Not what I meant.”
“I know.”
He studied her.
“No cheap loafers.”
Beatrice glanced down.
Grace had brought her a new pair after the accident.
“They were on sale.”
Carmine laughed weakly.
Then his face changed.
“I owe you an apology.”
“You owe Dominic thirty years.”
“I know.”
“You owe Daniel four.”
His eyes dropped.
“Yes.”
Beatrice sat across from him.
“Tell me everything.”
Carmine did.
Silvio had begun stealing almost a decade earlier.
Small amounts at first.
He used dormant businesses connected to Dominic's organization.
Then he discovered that influence was more valuable than money.
He paid city inspectors.
Police officers.
Union officials.
He created liabilities everywhere.
Carmine became one of them.
His younger brother had accumulated gambling debt.
Silvio paid it.
Then demanded favors.
Carmine moved envelopes.
Changed schedules.
Signed documents.
By the time he realized what Silvio intended, evidence connected him to everything.
“Daniel figured it out,” Carmine said.
“How?”
“One of Silvio's cops got greedy.”
“And Daniel followed the money.”
“Yes.”
“Did you warn Daniel?”
Carmine stared at his hands.
“No.”
“Did you know Silvio would kill him?”
“No.”
“Did you suspect?”
A long silence.
“Yes.”
Beatrice's throat tightened.
“Then you knew enough.”
Carmine nodded.
No excuses.
That mattered.
Not enough to forgive him.
But enough to keep listening.
“The night Daniel died,” Carmine continued, “he was supposed to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Beatrice stopped breathing.
“I was going to give him copies.”
“Why?”
“I wanted out.”
“What happened?”
“Silvio found out.”
“How?”
Carmine looked at her.
“Because I was afraid, and afraid men make mistakes.”
He had called Daniel from a phone Silvio monitored.
Silvio followed.
Daniel never reached the meeting.
Carmine spent four years pretending ignorance because confession would destroy him.
“Then why betray Dominic now?”
“Silvio told me Daniel's widow was asking questions.”
Beatrice stared.
“You knew who I was.”
“Second week.”
The humiliation hit strangely.
All those jokes.
All those donuts.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“Why keep mocking me?”
Carmine's face twisted.
“Because if Silvio thought I took you seriously, he'd know I was scared.”
Beatrice sat back.
The cruelty had been camouflage.
That did not make it harmless.
But it made it sadder.
“You could have warned me.”
“Yes.”
“You could have warned Dominic.”
“Yes.”
“Instead you raised a gun.”
“Yes.”
She stood.
Carmine looked up.
“Beatrice.”
“What?”
“Daniel wasn't afraid at the end.”
She froze.
“How would you know?”
“Silvio called me afterward. He was angry.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel had told him something.”
Beatrice's hands trembled.
“What?”
Carmine swallowed.
“He said, ‘My wife is better at finding things than I am.’”
For a moment Beatrice could not move.
Then she left.
Dominic waited in the hallway.
He took one look at her face.
“What did he say?”
Beatrice shook her head.
Not yet.
Dominic walked beside her without asking again.
That was another change.
Three weeks earlier, he would have demanded an answer.
Now he waited until she chose to speak.
They went to the garage.
The original Mercedes remained there, damaged and awaiting disposal.
Beatrice stopped beside it.
“You kept it.”
“Insurance investigator hasn't released it.”
“Of course.”
She touched the driver's door.
Deep scratches crossed the paint.
The missing mirror left wires exposed.
Dominic stood beside her.
“Carmine knew who I was.”
Dominic went still.
“Since when?”
“Second week.”
She told him the rest.
When she reached Daniel's final words, her voice failed.
Dominic looked away.
“I spent years thinking Daniel left me with nothing,” she whispered.
“He left you the truth.”
“He left me work.”
Dominic looked back.
“Yes.”
She laughed softly.
“That sounds like him.”
For a while they stood beside the ruined car.
Then Dominic said, “What happens tomorrow?”
Beatrice understood.
The investigation had begun.
Silvio was in custody.
Carmine would cooperate through attorneys.
Daniel's name was already being reviewed for formal exoneration.
The purpose that brought her here was ending.
“I go home.”
Dominic's expression did not change.
“You quit?”
“I don't know.”
“You said you came for Daniel.”
“I did.”
“And now?”
Beatrice looked at him.
“Now I don't know why I'm here.”
Something passed between them.
Dominic put his hands in his coat pockets.
“I could give you reasons.”
“That sounds suspiciously like an order.”
“No.”
He took a breath.
“I don't want to order you.”
Beatrice waited.
The next sentence seemed harder for him than facing the ambush.
“Stay because you want to.”
Her heart hurt.
“Dominic.”
“If you don't, I'll understand.”
“Will you?”
“No.”
That made her smile.
“But I'll accept it.”
She looked at the damaged Mercedes.
“I hated you.”
“I know.”
“I wanted proof you killed my husband.”
“I know.”
“I lied to you.”
“Yes.”
“You've made terrible choices.”
“Yes.”
“You have an irritating habit of answering things too quickly.”
“I can work on it.”
Beatrice laughed.
Dominic smiled.
Then the smile disappeared.
“I don't know what this is.”
“Neither do I.”
“I don't know if I'm good for you.”
“That is the first intelligent thing you've said all week.”
He stepped closer.
“But I know the thought of you walking away feels worse than anything that happened in that alley.”
Beatrice's breath caught.
Dominic did not touch her.
That mattered.
He waited.
She could close the distance.
Or leave it.
For once, no one decided for her.
Beatrice reached up and straightened the collar of his coat.
“That is not an answer,” he murmured.
“No.”
“Is it encouraging?”
“Moderately.”
He smiled.
She stepped back.
“I need time.”
“You have it.”
“And Grace gets a vote.”
Dominic blinked.
“Your daughter gets a vote?”
“In whether the terrifying crime boss becomes part of our family life?”
“When you phrase it that way—”
“She gets a vote.”
Dominic nodded.
“Fine.”
Beatrice turned toward the elevator.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
His face fell before he could hide it.
She enjoyed that more than she should have.
“I'm still coming to work Monday.”
Dominic stared.
“You are?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Beatrice pressed the elevator button.
“Because your driving department is a disaster.”
The doors opened.
She stepped inside.
Dominic stayed in the garage.
For the first time since she'd met him, he looked completely speechless.
May you like
Just before the doors closed, Beatrice added:
“And I'm negotiating a raise.”
