Page 56 of Lord of Vice
“You name it. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter or whatever the fuck it’s called these days. Tiktok. I checked all the brand spanking new platforms and even dating sites. Nothing. She’s twenty-something years old. Who doesn’t have a social media footprint with thousands of selfies?”
“Someone who’s trying to hide something. See if she had a boyfriend or if she was robbed or stalked.” My thoughts drifted once again to the scars on her arms. Her mother’s death? Maybe but my guess was there was much more to the situation.
“Alright. I’ll do that. I do have some news you’re not going to be happy with.”
“Jesus Christ. What now?” Every time I took even an afternoon off, shit seemed to hit the fan.
When Penny’s Frisbee throw went wild, heading straight for me, I had to react quickly, or it would have sliced into my forehead. I snatched it in midair, laughing from the sight of her shock.
Seconds later, Remington bounded toward me, jumping on top of me to try to snatch the plastic. After a few seconds of playing tug with him, I allowed him to have it. He bounded away, growling and barking.
“What is the bad news?”
Konstantin was laughing so hard I wasn’t certain he could hear me. “Should I ask what you’re doing?”
“Not if you want to live. What is the fucking bad news?” The sun was already setting, which surprised the hell out of me. The time we’d shared had gone by far too quickly.
“We found David and his girlfriend.”
“Excellent. Then what’s wrong?”
“They were both murdered execution style.”
I closed my eyes, cursing silently. “Let me guess. There’s no indication of a forced entry, no sign of who was behind the fucking attack.”
“No, and the bullets are lodged in their brains so I couldn’t even tell you if it’s the same caliber as the asshole who attacked you.”
Shit.
This was getting out of hand.
“Why kill the guy responsible for the theft?”
I was surprised Konstantin asked the question. He’d been around the block more than once. He knew the score. When a patsy was used, they were typically eliminated. It was in some unwritten rule book. “Because my reputation as a master interrogator is intact and well known.”
“Okay, then why aggravate you with something so stupid?”
“Possibly to test our systems. We fucking failed.”
“Only because there was an insider.”
“Maybe.” I’d already thought of the possibility, which annoyed the hell out of me. If another man or woman in my employ had betrayed me, I might clean house. I had a sudden uncannyfeeling we were being watched. I motioned to one of the men and he immediately headed in my direction. “We’re heading back now. We need to take a few minutes to regroup and plan a list of possible responsible parties. Including the fucking Morellis.”
“They haven’t made any slick moves from what I understand and the word on the street doesn’t suggest they sucked down some stupid syrup all of a sudden. They know how powerful you are and what you’re capable of.” My counselor laughed. “You have me curious. Do you have a hot date tonight?”
“Perhaps that’s none of your business.”
He chuckled again. “Understood. Glad to see you enjoying a day off. I’ll talk to you when you get back.”
I slipped the phone into my pocket as Ivan approached.
“Yes, sir?”
“Any unusual activity in the park?”
“Nothing. But I’ll walk the area again.”
“Do. We’ll be leaving here in a few.”