Open Wounds (Harbour Bay #2)(25)
Darryl stepped forward, drawing complete attention. “Do you know a man named Michael Lambert, Mr. Coleani?”
He frowned. Years of dealing with the police had made him quite the actor. “I don’t believe so. Should I?”
Kellie shrugged nonchalantly. “He lives in your neighbourhood, attended your youth centre, and was even employed at one of your businesses. Surely you’ve met him?”
“I employ many boys and unless they stand out from the crowd, I never meet them in person and I don’t visit the youth centre anymore.”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “No, now you just have your lackeys do the grunt work for you.”
“The pleasures of being a boss. I can delegate all those jobs that I find tedious to someone else. That’s why we strive so hard to climb the career ladder, is it not?”
Darryl crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a supporting wall. “We believe him to be the perpetrator. We’re in the process of getting a warrant. All we’re waiting on is some results from forensics. He will be arrested and charged for his crimes and anyone connected with him will go down with him.”
“And you should know him,” Kellie said. “After all, he did kill for you didn’t he? Do you always have other people fix your problems for you?”
Coleani lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling, allowing the smoke to fill the room and tickle Kellie’s nostrils.
“I’m just a businessman, Detectives. I pay my taxes, provide jobs for my people, and safe places for their children to play and learn. I am a pillar of the community. I don’t go round killing my people.”
His people. Christ, he really believed himself to be some kind of king who looked down on his serfs, working them until they were no longer useful. She doubted Coleani would be very tolerable to the mistakes of others. When Butler and Benedict had betrayed him, he’d immediately cast them aside. No room for apologies and forgiveness—once lost, it could never be recovered.
“Just because you colour outside the lines and use laws to cover your illegal activities doesn’t mean that one day you won’t get caught,” Kellie warned him, having made his life hell twelve years prior when she refused to bow down to his dictatorship. Back then, she’d felt invincible, foiling more than one of his drug deals. If she could put him behind bars, she’d find a way.
“But until then I will have to stay goodbye, Detectives,” he replied, unfazed. “I’m done being accommodating.”
Darryl gave him a sharp nod. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Coleani. I hope we haven’t taken up too much of your time.”
He turned and laid a hard hand on her waist as he faced her. The unbreakable hold he had on her forced her to turn with him as he moved past when she would’ve preferred to stay and continue their little chat. Had she not yielded, she would’ve been forcibly dragged out. Amelia followed.
Darryl didn’t release her until they were outside. She jerked away from him, flustered and oddly turned on from being in such close proximity to him and his alpha behaviour.
She let out a deep breath and rearranged her clothes, ironing away invisible creases with her hands in order to waste time while she reorganised her thoughts and calmed down.
She took several deep breaths and inhaled the salty air from the nearby harbour. Coleani’s restaurant was in a prime position down on the promenade. Around them, tourists shopped and walked along the wharf. An old couple sat on a metal bench and fed the seagulls. It was a perfect day, warm with a light breeze and many of the city’s residents and visitors were taking complete advantage of it. The harbour was filled with sailboats setting forth to an island destination for fishing or just a lazy day on the beach.
Kellie couldn’t enjoy it, not with an open double homicide to tend to. She glared back at the restaurant, not yet open for business. Wait-staff were setting up the outside tables with their frilly white umbrellas on the dock that extended over the water. Coleani would’ve spent a fortune for that luxury, and as always, when his name passed through her mind, anger reared its ugly head.
She fumed at his gall. Men like him infuriated her because they believed they could do whatever they wanted, and damn the consequences. Her hands curled into small fists with impotent rage. It was always the innocents who got hurt in the end. Those who had done nothing to deserve the cruel hand fate dealt.
“What was all that about?” she demanded as they walked to the car.
“Funny, that’s what I was going to ask you,” Darryl retorted. “What was with all the attacking in there? We’re lucky if he doesn’t call the boss to lodge a complaint.”
“IA investigating IA, that would be something,” Amelia joked.
Kellie glared at her, in no mood for her brand of humour. “Coleani is a scum bag.”
“What happened to the woman who said even scum have rights?” Darryl asked.
She glared at him for throwing her words back in her face, then gritted her teeth as she opened the car door. Coleani was a sore subject. Her mother’s face flashed before her. She ruthlessly pushed the image away.
“It’s just seeing him there on his lofty perch after all he put us through as kids. We had to grow up way too fast.”
Amelia’s light brown eyes were filled with understanding and equal frustration. “I know, Kel. Believe me, I’m right there with you. But he didn’t give us one thing we could use against him. That man is as cool as a cucumber. I guess you need a certain set of balls to get you to the top rung. It makes me think of all the things he did to get there.”