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LILY
Neroand I remain frozen there for a minute. On the security feed, I can see it’s Agent Greggs, and his boss, Agent Lydia Compton. They’re waiting impatiently.
“Ignore them.” Nero instructs me. “The last thing we need is the feds sniffing around.”
But the buzzer sounds, insistent.
“They’re not going anywhere.” I tell him. “They probably heard about your untimely death,” I add. “And I don’t have anything to hide from them, remember?”
“Fuck.” Nero looks around. “Fine, talk to them. But don’t let them back here.”
I nod. He slips into the back den and closes the door behind him. Hiding out of sight.
Collecting myself, I walk through to the foyer, and take a deep breath, before opening the front door.
“Mrs. Barretti.” Agent Greggs greets me with a sympathetic look. “Sorry to interrupt your afternoon.”
“And yet, here you are.” I stare back, refusing to show my emotions. I know the two agents standing on the stoop far too well. Greggs has been trying to get me to turn on Nero since the moment I returned to New York. He was my father’s handler, back when he betrayed the Barrettis, and now Greggs is determined to make me follow in his footsteps.
But it’s not him I’m worried about.
It’s his boss, Lydia, who sends a shiver down my spine. She’s the one in charge, running this investigation into Nero with a ferocity that is intimidating, even though I’d never let her know that I thought of her that way.
No, calm and cool is the way to play it with these people.
“Can we come in and talk for a moment?” Greggs asks.
I consider saying no. It’s my right to do so. This is my home, after all.
But I know that refusing to let them in the house will just make them suspicious. I’m a grieving widow, I remind myself. I have nothing to hide anymore.
In fact, I should be relieved.
“Sure. Come in.”
I step aside, and they follow me into the house.
“We heard about what happened to Nero,” Lydia begins, and I brace myself. This woman didn’t come to offer her condolences. I’m not sure what she wants, but it’s not that.
“We’re sorry for your loss,” Greggs adds. He seems more sincere, but I’m not falling for it.
“I didn’t realize the FBI made home visits for this kind of thing,” I say, carefully choosing my words.
Lying to a federal agent is a criminal offense. If they think Nero is dead, then I’m not going to correct them, but I have to tread lightly.
“Well, this is a special case.” Greggs adds. “We wanted to check on you, see how you’re doing. Given how we left things.”
Things… I have to stifle a bitter laugh. That’s a funny way of referring to the last time we spoke, when I gave Nero an alibi, and they threatened to take me down with him.
“We know that Nero had some… interesting friends,” Lydia adds. “We just wanted to make sure that no one is giving you a hard time. Now that he’s gone.”
Then I realize, this is a fishing expedition. Nero dying would screw up their whole plan to bust the Barretti organization, so they’re still trying to get information out of me, to salvage their investigation.
Well, they won’t get a word from me.
“Thank you for your concern,” I reply icily. “But I can manage perfectly fine on my own. I’ve been doing it half my life.”
“And you’re coping okay with the loss?” Lydia presses, her analytical gaze running over me. “Because frankly, Mrs. Barretti, you don’t seem upset.”
