“I hear that we have some new faces around here.”
“Yeah, hold on.” He turns to the young kid handing me the bag and introduces him, “This is Massimo.”
The kid, who I was expecting to be a rough, troubled young adult, is not at all. Instead, he’s clean cut and around my age. His hair is very dark so I’m guessing he’s Italian, maybe mixed.
I’m told he’s smart and fit in with the crew immediately. Supposedly he’s been cleaning the large building and assisting Tommaso.
When he shakes my hand, I feel no calluses.
I notice his shoes and for warehouse work he’s wearing an expensive pair of sneakers. That’s not so smart. A kid that works that hard for them shouldn’t be wearing them to work.
“Nice Nikes.”
“Thanks,” he says, letting go of my hand. “Everyone needs a reason to work, this is mine.” He gives me a cocky grin like he doesn’t know who I am, and I hope his familiarity of treating me like one of the guys is genuine.
Even if the guys know me, they don’t use my name around the newbies. That way, they can all say I wasn’t here if anything goes down, without having to lie. Lie detector tests are accurate but I don’t rely on everyone being able to beat them.
There’s something about this kid. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ll have to keep an eye on him. The number of people I have to keep tabs on is growing by the minute and I’m going to need to take notes soon, which tells me we’re either growing and need the guys, or we’re top heavy and have too many guys for the job. I hate adding new guys, never knowing who I can trust.
I’ve seen enough for today and head to my car when Juliet calls.
“This florist is divine. I dropped in to meet her on the way home. She’s so sweet and really knows her stuff. Thanks.”
“Glad it worked out. She’s sweet, huh?”
“Yes, I’ve got her booked and she’ll meet up with the event planner at the hotel next week.”
“How’s the new event planner?”
“She’s nice but a bit uppity. She transferred in from Switzerland recently, so she knows German, Italian and English. Very smart and comes highly recommended.”
Juliet’s come a long way. Her life story is like anAladdinremake. She’s from a nice quiet town and finds out she’s adopted and her real father is a notorious mobster and in the end falls in love with her kidnapper turned rescuer.
What a time that was, with that scumbag Conti.
Poor girl, with all that she’s been through, I’m glad she’s not in need of psych meds or hours of therapy.
From humble beginnings she’s got some good talents up her sleeve. For one, we know she can shoot because she shot and killed an intruder. Two, she was on the rooftop with Dante when Gio disappeared, so we don’t have to worry about her selling us out if she’s gonna be locked up with us. It’s a good thing Dante’s marrying her, keeps it all in the family. Can’t testify against your spouse and all that.
6
Prende
Uncle Besnik called this morning, informing me he had things arranged for a Sunday funeral and that people would be calling my shop for floral arrangements. I thank him politely, especially knowing a Catholic service costs a lot of money.
I leave work early because I need to get to the coroner’s office and find out what I can. It doesn’t take long to walk there, and I wait on a wooden bench in the hall until I see a man that looks like my guy.
“Mr. Rizzo?” I ask, jumping up.
“Who wants to know?”
“Prende Rama, I called you yesterday, concerning my father, Argon Rama. I have reason to believe his death was not from natural causes.”
“Oh, yes,” he says, remembering the phone call. He slides on a pair of wire framed readers and looks at his clipboard.
“I’ve read the file and the autopsy showed nothing suspicious, therefore, there is no reason to redo it. Sorry, I cannot help you.”
My impulse is to jerk the clipboard out of his hands and read it for myself. Instead, I swallow my rage. “I don’t know what you consider suspicious, but there was nothing wrong with my father’s heart and I want the matter investigated.”