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“Your father?” I asked, thinking that was a justifiable reason to want to run from your family.
She shook her head. “He loved her. In his way, he loved all of us. But my dad works for the Leone crime family. You’ve probably never heard of them—they’re based in Florida. There’s a long history about when and how they left New York before my grandfather was even born—my mom’s maiden name was Leone.” She stopped suddenly, and I didn’t know if she was thinking about the past or wondering if she should stop talking.
“I don’t care who your family is,” Logan said. “We are not our parents.”
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “Maybe not, but the sins of our fathers and all that.”
I was about to interject, then Logan said firmly, “I don’t believe that.”
A moment later, Jennifer said, “I had a wonderful life growing up, until I learned the truth. My mom was murdered by a rival of the Leone family. Killed because of her family business. My dad and grandfather retaliated. For years, I lived in a fortress. Jenny and I talked about it, about being scared about losing each other, losing our families. But I was also angry and sad because my mom was gone—I didn’t understand why then—and my dad kept going, just kept getting deeper and deeper into a pit he couldn’t get out of. Jenny and I figured out what our fathers did and we talked about changing our names and going to college in Europe where we could be new people. Sometimes, we even talked about running away...and then Jenny and her whole family were killed.”
Her voice cracked, but she didn’t cry.
“The fire?” I asked, considering the information I’d found in her lockbox.
She nodded. “Just like my mom, enemies of my father and the Leones killed my best friend and her family. I hated my father for it. He didn’t protect them, didn’t protect my mother, just continued down this path of violence and rage. He retaliated—you can read about it. The nightclub bombing? That was my dad. He paid them back, but he didn’t care if innocent people died. I snapped. I was fourteen, and I couldn’t handle it anymore. I told my father that I was going to the feds, that I would tell them everything, that I had proof, which I didn’t, other than things I heard and saw. My dad said if I spoke a word, we’d all be dead because the Leones had someone in the FBI. He didn’t yell, didn’t cry. He was so damn matter-of-fact about it. Virginia, he said in this too-calm voice, we will all be killed if you talk to anyone. Then he apologized, said that he was sorry, but this was his life and I had to accept it.”
Every family was different. I’d like to say I didn’t understand, couldn’t understand, but though I hadn’t lived in her shoes, I knew that family was complicated. Criminal families? More so.
“I don’t remember exactly when I came up with the idea to fake my death... I just wanted to disappear. Thought about running away, but I was smart and knew I needed money and a plan. In high school, I learned that I was really good with computers, and I started thinking about what I would need to do, how to prepare. Then I realized I was good with money. I hacked—” She stopped talking.
“Jennifer, I’m not a cop,” I said, “and I’m not going to rat you out for any crimes, unless you killed someone. So tell me the truth.”
“I’ve never killed anyone,” she said.
“Good. You hacked what?”
“I couldn’t steal money from my dad—he might find out—but his country club? They had so much money—I suspect they were laundering it, but I don’t know for sure. Anyway, I stole a hundred thousand from them over two years. Put it in a secure account, and then hired someone to create a Jennifer White identity for me. It was easier because she was real, had never worked but had a social security number. I had a driver’s license and bank account in her name.”
Definitely a smart girl, I thought.
“The hard part was messing with the electronics on the boat, so the only real answer was to build a bomb,” Jennifer said. “I hoped the police would investigate, so that maybe they’d figure out exactly who my dad was and what he did for a living. The only way I could be free was if everyone thought I was dead, but I didn’t want anyone to die—so I had to create a perfect plan. Not just the bomb, but create a leak in the boat so that we had to leave it. I didn’t want my dad or brother on the boat when it exploded. I wasn’t trying to kill him. I hated what he did, but I loved him.”
“How did you get to college? What about records? Tuition?” Logan asked.
“That was easy. I hacked into the Texas system, created my application, my transcripts, and gave myself a scholarship. I was sure I’d forgotten something or would trigger security but nothing happened. I showed up, had a single dorm room—I didn’t want a roommate, didn’t want to make friends—and I had my nest egg in case I needed to run. I guess I need to disappear now.” She sounded weary. I would be, too.
I was pretty certain that Vincent Bonetti found her because of Angelhart’s background check on Jennifer White, but I didn’t know exactly how.
“We’ll figure it out,” I said. “First you need to go back and talk to your boss and the police.”
“But if my dad is coming—I don’t know what he’ll do.”
“Is he a threat to you?” I asked.
“I don’t know. He’s probably furious at me. I hurt him. I’m scared even if my dad doesn’t come for me, that people will find out who I am and then I’ll be in danger from his enemies.” She closed her eyes. “My dad loved me, I know that, but I was miserable and scared for years, especially after Jenny died. I can’t live like that again.”
I didn’t blame her. “Okay. We’ll figure it out.”
Logan leaned forward, took one of her hands, and said, “Jennifer, I am your friend. I’m here to help. Do you believe me?”
She nodded.
“I hired Margo to not only find you, but to help you, and the only way we can help is if you tell us everything.”
“Why did you leave the job in California?” I asked. “It was sudden and you told them you had a family emergency.”
“It was a great company—I loved working there—but they were moving the entire business to Florida. That was just too close to my family, I couldn’t risk it. My boss wanted me to go out with a small group early to set up the IT department because there would be a few months where we’d have offices on both coasts. I kind of panicked, told him I had a family emergency and quit. I didn’t handle it well. Then I reached out to Logan once I got my head on straight, and he helped me get the job in Phoenix.”
