Chapter 13 - THE RECORDING THAT CHANGED THE FAMILY|
The tape continued.
Gideon's father, Carlo Ferraro, spoke in the same measured tone he had used at family dinners. He sounded neither angry nor frightened. He sounded disappointed, as though two younger men had failed to understand an obvious business decision.
“You've made this personal,” Carlo said.
Matteo answered, “People are dead.”
“People die every day.”
Camille looked at Gideon.
He did not move.
Her father's voice came through the speaker.
“You promised the documents would be returned.”
“They will be,” Carlo replied. “When the matter is settled.”
“Your men stole the cargo.”
“Our men recovered property that belonged to the family.”
“It belonged to the people who owned it.”
A chair scraped.
Then Matteo said, “Father, I'm going to the authorities.”
There was a long silence.
Carlo spoke again.
“If you walk out of this room, you will destroy everything I built.”
“Then perhaps it deserves to be destroyed.”
The recording ended with a sharp burst of static.
Camille stared at the machine.
“Your father was involved.”
Gideon looked as if someone had struck him.
“My father died before I knew any of this.”
“Did he leave you the business?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you why Matteo died?”
“He said my brother had been careless. He said he had involved himself in matters he didn't understand.”
Camille lowered her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
Gideon stepped away from the table.
For the first time since she had met him, he seemed uncertain where to put his hands.
Tobias examined the ledgers.
“These records connect Carlo to the Harbor Circle. But the transfers continue after his death.”
“Who took over?” Gideon asked.
Tobias turned a page.
“Salvatore. Then Adrian.”
Gideon looked at the documents.
“Adrian knew.”
“It appears so.”
Camille opened the second notebook. Her father had written dates, names, and references to shipping manifests. Some entries were in French, others in Italian or Latin. Several pages contained a repeated symbol: three stars around a black anchor.
At the bottom of one page, she found a note.
The final witness knows where the original cargo was sent.
“Isabella,” she said.
Gideon shook his head.
“She was a witness to Matteo's death, not the cargo transfer.”
Camille studied the line.
“Then who?”
A name had been written in the margin, almost hidden beneath a correction.
MARCEL DUVAL.
Tobias recognized it.
“Former port commissioner. He retired twenty years ago.”
“Where is he now?” Gideon asked.
“His obituary ran last year.”
Camille turned the page.
There was a second note.
The obituary is false.
Gideon read it twice.
“Your father believed Marcel was still alive.”
A sound came from above.
Footsteps.
Tobias raised one hand.
“Someone's here.”
Gideon switched off the flashlight.
They stood in darkness, listening.
A door slammed at the top of the stairs.
Then a voice called down.
“Gideon?”
It was Adrian Ferraro.
“Cousin, I know you're down there. We need to talk.”
Gideon stepped toward the stairs.
Camille caught his sleeve.
“Don't.”
He looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because your father lied to you. Your uncle lied to you. Your cousin may be lying to you now. Don't walk into another room just because someone you love calls your name.”
Gideon held her gaze.
Then he turned off the recorder and placed it in his coat.
“Adrian,” he called up the stairs. “Come down.”
Adrian appeared at the top step.
May you like
He was smiling.
But he was holding a gun.
