I’ve got nothing except the memory of my past life and a burning need for revenge for what happened to me.
Nico Casella is a lying sack of shit. I know that now. When he left me at his house, he went back to my place to finish what he started.
I went there the first morning after I escaped his place. I hid out for the night just in case. I still remember how cold I felt, outside all night, almost falling over as I walked, I was so exhausted.
I had to keep moving. The city late at night is no place for someone like me. Whenever I sat down, I could feel dangerous eyes on me, stalking me, waiting for a chance to pounce.
I ended up in a church down a back street. I’m not saying I had a spiritual moment in there but I found some kind of peace. Maybe marrying Nico Casella wouldn’t be all bad. As long as I could bring my dogs with me, I thought I could cope. I could cope with anything if I had the two hairy mutts at my side.
Mario with his lopsided right ear and shit eating grin. Luigi with his curled up tail and ability to run up trees and get stuck on the highest branches that could take his weight. Two lovable morons.
Both dead.
Killed by Nico Casella.
I found out when the sun came up. I got to the estate. I expected cops to be swarming the place. There was just one patrol car by the front gate. Inside, a cop with a huge ginger mustache was chewing on a sandwich, reading a newspaper with no apparent interest in the still smoldering ruins of the mansion behind him.
No sign of any fire trucks or ambulances. The Casella influence on the emergency services, I guessed.
I managed to climb over the wall out of sight of the cop car. That’s when I found out the truth.
I walked over to the stables. The door was open, the bullet holes still visible. I headed inside and the smell of death was strong. It was an iron rich stink mixed with the sweetness of the hay hanging from the racks above the stalls.
The horses were dead. I could tell that at once. All four of them shot in the heads. That hurt but the sensation was dulled by the gnawing dread I felt as I walked over to the empty stall, the one where I’d shut Mario and Luigi inside.
I leaned over and looked down.
Their blood had stained the straw red. I stepped back and vomited, scrambling away until I was out in the fresh air. Both of them shot while trying to get out. They had no chance. Riddled with bullets like it was a machine gun firing at them. Why? What had they ever done to anyone?
I didn’t cry. I was too numb. Instead, I walked over to the house, not caring if anyone saw me. I sat on the grass and that’s when the tears started to fall.
I vowed that I would get justice.
I didn’t manage it.
Six months I’ve spent trying to get the police to give a shit. The letter I’ve collected from my PO box this morning sums it up.
They’ve looked into the fire at the property in great detail but the case is now officially closed. No suspects have been identified. No further action will be taken unless new evidence comes to light in the future. Please do keep in touch, blah, blah.
Closing the case. Not one suspect. No one interviewed Nico Casella. I gave them his name, his address, his description. Everything they needed. They shut me down. They shut the case down.
I know why.
The Casella family have the cops in their pocket. Deep pockets too. Deeper now they’ve taken over the Moretti turf. Our name has been erased from history. I’m all that’s left and I’m about to vanish.
I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I knew this letter was coming. I could tell from that first meeting with the bored looking rookie detective who laughed at me when I gave him Nico’s name. Swore to me he’d look into it. Of course he didn’t. No one did.
Nico got away with killing my family. Not only got away with it. He’s out there right now, happy, not caring about what happened. What happened when I tried to push the cops? I got taken into an interrogation room, told the Casella famiglia was too powerful. Keep pushing and I’d get killed, they told me.
The cops were scared of them.
I’m not scared of Nico. I’ve got a plan. I know what I’m going to do. I was just waiting for the letter to confirm I’ve got no other choice.
I’m going to take a job at one of his businesses. I’m going to bide my time until he walks in. I know he likes nightclubs. That’s where he first met me. I know which one. I went there before. On my one night of freedom. The Red Room.
I get a job there. I look different. He won’t recognize me. I get hold of a gun. I get it inside. I walk up to him. I shoot him in the face.
Sure, there’s a chance his guards will kill me but by the time they do, it will be over. I’ll have my revenge. What happens after that is up to fate.