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“A car accident?” My brother is not known as the sculptor of La Santa for his subtlety. The hint of a smile curves Cesare's lips.
“This is the official version. The unofficial news is that the bodies were found dismembered inside the family car, at the bottom of Lake Michigan. The FBI suspects it was the work of a new serial killer.”
“And what does Adam Scott suspect?”
“He knows it was us.”
“Good.”
“I heard that you also had your share of action in Brazil.”
“I would hardly call ruining the lives of some sewer rats who sell drugs to children action.”
“And Esteban Spanic?”
“We will probably spend some time without any interesting auctions taking place, a shame.” I turn the low glass in my hand.
The amber liquid inside spreads across the glass walls and before the drink can settle, I pour it into my mouth. I look at the dark sky outside, there are no stars visible, just dense clouds that seem to want to swallow the aircraft.
“Someone will take over the business soon, I have no doubt.”
“I hope someone more competent.”
“I'm sure that whoever it is will remember not to change your flight's landing location at short notice,fratello.”
“It would be a sensible choice.”
My eyes slip to Gabriella once again, she remains as asleep now as she has been for the past few hours. The girl obeyedeach of the orders I gave her from the moment she understood that I was taking control of her life. She didn't fight to get out, she didn't ask to say goodbye to the sister she defended so desperately, she didn't ask about clothes or documents, she didn't even look back when the child screamed her name, terrified, as I watched her follow me obediently, like a pet, indeed.
Gabriella got into the car, huddled silently against the window until, with a look, I ordered her to get out as the door opened onto the landing strip. She got on the plane, escorted by Dario, sat in the seat he indicated, grabbed the cushioned arms tightly as the plane took off and, minutes later, fell asleep. She simply fell asleep.
“Did you drug her?”
“No.”
Cesare stands up and walks over to the small figure huddled against the seat, he extends two fingers and touches the woman's neck as she moves, but she remains as asleep as she has been for the last few hours.
“Are you sure? Even I wouldn't feel comfortable enough to sleep so close to you,” he says, before making his way back.
My brother sits in the armchair opposite mine, stretches his legs, takes a cigar from inside his jacket and lights it, then offers it to me. I refuse, and he brings the cigar to his mouth, inhaling deeply before releasing the smoke.
“And that's the whole reason she's here.”
“Is this supposed to make any sense?”
“I didn't intend to bring her with me, the girl was only supposed to be a quick stop before I could finally return home, the last outstanding debt, but she seemed too interested in dyingfor that to seem like adequate payment.” A cold smile appears on Cesare's face.
“You always liked broken toys better. How exactly did she end up in your debt?”
“She stole from me,” I say, and Cesare's eyebrows rise. The gossip was half done; it seems. “A bag exchange scheme at the airport. Gabriella had no idea who I was, the suitcase she was supposed to steal was identical to mine. Another consequence of Esteban's incompetence.”
“And the people responsible for the exchange didn't realize it was the wrong suitcase?”
“They noticed, but it's likely that, as valuable as the items in the original target's suitcase were, they weren't worth the fifty thousand dollars in cash that was in mine.” My eyes run to the girl again, because that was the first time Gabriella Matos escaped certain death this week.
The people behind the robbery would never have accepted my luggage if it hadn't been full of something else that interested them. The girl left the filthy room where she was greeted feeling grateful to still be alive despite her mistake, having no idea that she had just handed enough life-changing money into the hands of men who hadn't expected to receive it.
If Gabriella had been curious enough, she would have discovered that she had on her hands much more than she was sent to steal, but the girl did just as she was told, not one step further. She didn't care what she was doing.
