“What?”
“You heard me. I spoke perfect English. I am not sitting around here while you go traipsing off to Florida. This concerns me and I have a right to know what is going on. It’s my family. Not yours. I can’t make you do anything but I am going to Florida, with or without you.”
“You can’t go on your own. I promised Gio you wouldn’t leave my sight.”
“Then I guess we're both going then.”
“We can’t go. Gio said no.”
“Lorenzo, I will not sit on my ass and do nothing. I know you want your life back. I do too. Think of it this way. The faster we get to the bottom of this the quicker we both can return to our lives.”
At that moment, I knew Donatella Stevens was absolutely nothing like her sister.
She was better!
Ten
Donatella
It was like taking candy from a baby.
The man was so gullible, I would have laughed if it weren’t for the seriousness of the situation. The playboy failed to understand that I never planned to stay put like a good dutiful little woman. I was truthful when I said I had a right to know. I failed to let him know that I too had been looking into my parents’ deaths for some time and from what I had already learned, I knew who was to blame.
I had plenty of time to kill since I’ve been here in Chicago. So, I used my time wisely. Biomedical engineering may be my intended major but it wasn’t my only one. In fact, I had eight of them and a keen interest in computer technology. There wasn’t a single program I couldn’t break into. Getting into the Georgia Police database took me all of three seconds. Those idiots really needed to update their firewalls. As for Chicago, it too didn’t take me long.
Both murders, my sister’s and Carrie’s, were extremely similar. In fact, they were damn near identical, right down to the caliber of the bullet. As for my parents, it took me all of one second to know they were dead before the accident. Whoever staged the accident did a decent job. Enough that the local authorities didn’t question it. However, the coroner should have. When he didn’t, I looked into this background and found out that he was paid under the table to corroborate the police report. In the end, according to the state of Georgia, my parents died in a head-on collision and the case was closed.
Only I was about to re-open it. If this Costa family had anything to do with my parents’, sister and best friend’s death, I would make their lives a living hell.
I may be a child prodigy with a brilliant mind but I was also single-minded with a penchant for revenge. I believed in retribution. An eye for an eye. I was a southern girl…we did things differently down south. I was not ashamed of that fact.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew the dangers. I knew it was likely that what I was suggesting could get myself and Lorenzo killed but I had to try. No one messed with my family and got away with it.
“We’ve got one problem. Well, two actually.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nico and Eduardo.”
“Oh, I forgot about them.”
“The second we leave this house they will know and tell Gio.”
“You leave them to me. I will take care of them.”
“How?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “The less you know the better. Go pack. It shouldn’t take me long.”
Lorenzo looked at me for a few seconds before he got up and headed upstairs. Turning off the burner, I headed for the pantry. I knew what I was looking for and smiled when I saw it. Grabbing the small jar, I ran into the nearest bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Taking what I needed, I headed back to the kitchen and got to work. Ten minutes later, I searched for Nico and Eduardo carrying a tray of hot tea.
Seeing both of them in front of a television watching some action movie, I greeted them. “Hiya boys. I made you some tea. I hope you like it.”
“Thanks, Donnie,” Nico smiled taking a cup. Eduardo looked at the cup but didn’t move.
“Something wrong, Eduardo?”
“I’m not really a tea drinker.”