“Guessing he’s telling me he knows I talked to her.”
“She in danger?”
“If he can’t get me to keep out of it, he’ll probably think of going after her. This is his way of telling me to let it alone.”
“You going to listen to the warning?”
“Tell Diego to speak to Don Colombo, set up a meeting between the two of us.”
“Just the two of you?”
“I want to speak to him myself. See if he’ll give consent for me to whack Alessandro. Put this to bed before it all gets out of hand.”
“That’s his son you’re talking about. He’ll never approve.”
“I know who Alessandro is.”
“I’m just saying, you’re going to have your work cut out there. What if he won’t speak to you in person?”
“If anyone can get the meeting set up, it’ll be Diego. He can work miracles with the Colombos.”
“He scares the shit out of me when he offers me coffee. I’ve no doubt he terrifies them.”
“Whatever gets the job done. No point having an enforcer who can’t get the job done.”
“I could call Don Colombo, you know.”
“And he’d laugh at you.”
“You casting aspersions on my persuasion skills?”
“I’m saying no one would dare try and kill Diego. He’s taken five bullets over the years. That’s more than me. He’s impossible to kill. You on the other hand, are an easy hit.”
“You want the usual while I’m here?”
“Leave the scene to Diego this time. You call the families. They deserve to know about this before it gets on the news.”
“Will do.”
I hang up the phone and make a call of my own. Albert will transfer enough to pay for the funerals of my people but I want to make a gesture. They died on my watch. This is on me to resolve.
Richard answers at once. “Richard Jonas, Private Investigator. How can I help?”
“It’s Ricardo here.”
“Hey, how’s my favorite client?”
“Got a job for you.”
“You never ring for any other reason.”
“Kelly Fletcher.”
“The usual?”
“Full package this time. How long?”
“I’m one man, Don Bianchi. It’ll be a while.”