“Mmm.”
“The boss is back. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”
Oh?
“See me or have another tantrum?” I chuckled darkly.
“Oh, yeah, you got him all twisted up.” He grinned. “I’ve never heard about anyone speaking to the boss that way. I can’t believe I missed it.” He hit the steering wheel with a laugh.
“Something tells me we’ll be at it again soon.”
“I’ll bring the refreshments.” He chuckled, and we settled in for the drive home.
Once he parked, I shot out the door and caught Andrea in the study.
“Hi, have you seen Piero?”
“He’s in his office.”
“The door is closed.” I sighed.
“Just knock. He’ll tell you if it’s a good time or not.”
“Thanks.” I hurried down the hallway, took a deep breath, and gently knocked.
“Come in.”
I pushed the door open and found him reading something on the computer.
“Good afternoon, Piero. May I speak to you about something?”
“Now isn’t the best time.”
“Please.” I stopped myself, nervous I was overstepping. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
He nodded and pointed to the chair across from him. He lowered the top of his laptop so I would have his full attention.
“I know everyone has been very busy with everything that’s going on, and I understand that, but I still haven’t had anyone teach me the mafia ropes.” I took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. “So, when I hear or see things, I don’t know who I go to about it or what the protocol is.”
“That’s fair, and it’s something Elio and I have discussed a few times now.” He removed his glasses and studied my face. “I take it you have some information for me?” I nodded. “Okay, why don’t you tell me what it is, and we’ll go from there.”
“Noemi asked me to try to befriend Anja since she’s all alone here, and when I went over today, we spent some time in the garden. Her Italian isn’t great, but she could understand me, and I could her. She mentioned that she didn’t have any family and that was probably why she was chosen.”
“True, most girls who are picked up and trafficked are ones without any families to look out for them.”
“Right, but after we talked, I overheard her speaking to Mariano in perfect Italian, and now I’m thinking her being found at the dockyard was what Stefano might have wanted all along.”
His face twisted into a dark expression, and his jaw ticked exactly like Elio’s did as he leaned forward. “Tell me everything.”
He sat like stone as I told him everything I had heard, including the gardeners’ conversation. I tried to remember every detail I could so he could make sense of it.
“I don’t know if it counts for anything, but when I was speaking to Anja, she never once asked me anything about my life here or anything at all, for that matter. I was the one who asked all the questions. Maybe she’s stuck in this situation for whatever reason and has no way out.”
“You have a kind heart, Sienna.” He sighed. “It’s one of the main reasons we love you so much, but I do think it’s time you knew some rules, especially since it’s apparent you’re good at discovering information.” He gave me a half smile as he picked up his phone. “Francesco, I need to skip our meeting. Something’s come up.” He turned his phone off and brought his attention back to me. “All right, let’s start from the bottom and work our way up.”
I nodded and spent the next two hours learning how the Capri Syndicate operated.
* * *