All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(85)
“Yes, ma’am,” he said again. He seemed relieved when Nana and her entourage left the room. I loved the fact that the alt rockers, made up bodyguards, little old ladies, Jessie, Ollie, and the two middle-aged gay men were all chatting and laughing like they were all one big tribe.
Dante, Vincent, Andreo and I pulled chairs over to where Luca was still tucked in on the couch. The long flight to San Francisco seemed to have taken its toll on him. I handed him a bottle of water, and he sipped it slowly. Meanwhile, Andreo put a briefcase on his knees and said, “I may have come up with a solution to the Jerry problem. I already set some wheels in motion, so I hope you’re all okay with it.”
He opened the briefcase and pulled out a thick file. “The Natori family has an extensive network. There are people we’ve been working with for generations, your family used to be among them. I know you’ve mostly gone legit, but my family hasn’t. I’m not all that involved in the illegal end of things, but I know plenty of people who are, in all kinds of capacities. Over these last few days, I went to some of them and started to build a story. I have friends who excel at photo manipulation, and I had them doctor up a few images for me.” Andreo took out a stack of very authentic-looking black and white images that could have been surveillance photos and passed them around. Jerry was the subject of each of the pictures.
“I have another contact at one of the major airlines,” he said. “It was easy enough to call in a favor and forge travel documents and airline tickets showing your cousin in the vicinity of a couple very high-profile crimes. Those photos pin him to the exact locations. I was able to hack the calendar on Jerry’s phone and chose events that coincided with holes in his schedule, so he’s less likely to have an alibi.”
“Well, damn,” Luca murmured.
Andreo continued, “Since the Natoris were actually responsible for those crimes, I was able to get my hands on some of the stolen contraband. A couple colleagues are planting it in Jerry’s office as we speak, while he’s at some gala fundraiser. I even paid off a dozen witnesses who’ll swear he was at the scene of these crimes.”
His brother raised an eyebrow at him. “And you run an antique export business.”
Andreo shrugged. “Among other things.” He turned to Dante and said, “The goal here is to get Jerry out of the picture and you back in control of your family. Now, the way I see it, there are three ways we can go about that. One, we turn him over to the police and let him cool his jets for ten-to-fifteen. Two, we turn him over to a notorious third party who the Natoris just might have ripped off, and make them think he’s guilty. That’s more of a, shall we say, permanent solution, but one where none of us actually have to get our hands dirty. Three, we present him with all the information I just told you about and let him decide between choice one, choice two, or stepping down quietly and calling off the hit against my brother and me.”
“I can’t imagine him stepping down quietly,” Dante said.
“But it does beat the alternatives,” Vincent chimed in.
Dante thought about it for a moment, then leaned forward in his chair and told Andreo, “Show me everything. I need to know Jerry can’t slip this noose. The evidence you’ve constructed needs to be bulletproof if we expect to blackmail him.”
Andreo handed him the file and said, “There’s one more thing. Your cousin has a lot of resources at his disposal. I know a guy who’s awfully good at moving money around, and Jerry won’t even have enough for a cup of coffee when this guy finishes the job tonight. Your family fortune is more problematic. You have it stashed in offshore accounts, stuff my people can’t possibly hack into. To cut Jerry down at the knees, we need to deny him access to that money. Please tell me you didn’t relinquish all control of those funds when you retired, Dante.”
“No, I kept control of the accounts and just added him as a secondary so I could keep an eye on how he was investing our money. I’m going to remove him from the family accounts right now. He’ll go straight for that money when he realizes his is gone.” Dante found a number in his phone, then got up and paced near the windows as he made a call.
While he did that, I moved over and sat beside Luca on the couch, and he put his head on my chest. “How are you holding up?” I asked him.
“I’m alright. I just need this to be over and done with, and I wish I’d done something to solve it. Instead, my big brother took care of everything like I’m a kid with a playground bully.” The corner of Luca’s lips turned up in a half-smile and he said, “Andreo actually did that for me once, when I was going to boarding school in England and he came for a visit. I was a scrawny kid, a late bloomer. Well, you know that, Nicky, you remember. Andreo came to my school and put the fear of God into a couple huge kids who’d been tormenting the hell out of me for the better part of a year. Did I ever thank you for that, Andreo?”
His brother said, “No, but I didn’t do it for the thanks. And what do you mean, Nico would remember you as a kid?”
“We met in Viladembursa when I was sixteen and he was fourteen. He was my first kiss,” Luca told him.
“You’re shitting me. Nicolo Dombruso was your boy by the fountain?” Andreo looked stunned.
“He was.”
“That’s incredible,” Vincent said. “We heard about this boy for years from Nico. And now you’re telling me you actually found each other again? How?”