Chapter 7 - The Last Thing Julian Hid in the Garage
Mara wanted to come.
I said no.
She said worse things.
Judge Harlan threatened both of us with kitchen equipment until Rachel interrupted.
“Mara goes only if law enforcement approves.”
Mara folded her arms.
“Fine.”
I stared.
“That was easy.”
“She has a badge.”
Rachel smiled.
“Best investment I ever made.”
Federal agents entered the Reed property before dawn.
No sign of Vittorio.
No Nico.
The garage door had been forced.
Tool cabinets opened.
Floor panels removed.
Someone had searched.
Mara stood in the center of the garage.
Her eyes filled.
“This was Julian's.”
Sophie remained safely with Judge Harlan.
Mara touched the workbench.
“He built this himself.”
I looked around.
Old tools.
Oil stains.
Photographs.
A little handprint in blue paint on one wall.
Sophie.
Maybe four.
“You said Julian had original evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Where would he hide something?”
Mara shook her head.
“I searched after he died.”
“Think like him.”
“That would require stronger language than federal agents permit.”
One agent almost smiled.
We searched for two hours.
Nothing.
Then Mara stopped beside an old engine block.
A rebuilt V8 displayed near the office.
“What?”
She stared.
“Julian hated decorative engines.”
“I don't understand that sentence.”
“He believed engines belonged in cars.”
“Reasonable.”
“He put this here after Sophie was born.”
She crouched.
A brass plate was attached beneath the stand.
FOR THE LITTLE MECHANIC
Sophie.
Mara touched it.
Then froze.
“What?”
“Sophie used to drop things inside everything.”
She removed a panel beneath the engine stand.
There was a narrow compartment.
Inside:
A metal tube.
Waterproof.
Sealed.
Mara began crying before opening it.
Julian's handwriting covered the outside.
IF THEY COME BACK, GIVE THIS TO ADRIAN.
My chest tightened.
Inside were memory cards.
Bank records.
Photographs.
And one video.
We played it on Rachel’s laptop.
Julian appeared.
Forty-one.
Tired.
Grease on his shirt.
He sat exactly where we were standing.
“Adrian.”
I swallowed.
“If you're watching this, then either I've finally become brave or I'm dead.”
Mara covered her mouth.
Julian continued.
“I'm sorry we didn't meet.”
His eyes looked directly into the camera.
“I spent years angry that you got the name and I got the secret.”
He smiled sadly.
“Then Sophie was born.”
Pause.
“She made resentment feel embarrassing.”
Mara cried silently.
“I realized you didn't choose our father any more than I chose being hidden.”
My eyes burned.
“I don't need you to avenge me.”
My jaw tightened.
“Please don't.”
The words landed directly against every instinct I inherited.
“What I need is for Sophie to grow up knowing Moretti can mean something besides fear.”
He leaned closer.
“If Mara lets you into their lives, don't make the mistake our family always makes.”
Pause.
“Don't turn protection into ownership.”
I looked toward Mara.
She looked at me.
Julian continued.
“Let them choose you.”
The video ended.
Nobody spoke for a long time.
Then an engine sounded outside.
Rachel stood.
Agents moved.
A black SUV rolled into the yard.
Nico.
Alone.
He stepped out with both hands visible.
“Don't shoot.”
Agents surrounded him.
I walked outside.
“Where is Vittorio?”
Nico looked exhausted.
“Gone.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Wrong answer.”
“Adrian, I'm done.”
“Why?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Because he tried to kill me last night.”
That sounded like Vittorio.
Nico surrendered a phone.
Messages.
Locations.
Bank accounts.
“He thinks the evidence is here.”
“It was.”
Nico looked toward the garage.
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
“Then you need to leave.”
“Why?”
“He has two men still loyal.”
“Where?”
“Watching roads.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“You're under arrest.”
Nico nodded.
“I know.”
I stared at him.
“Twelve years.”
He looked down.
“I know.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid of Vittorio.”
“You were afraid of losing your place.”
His silence answered.
“You sabotaged my car.”
“Yes.”
“Which caused me to meet Sophie.”
For the first time, Nico almost smiled.
“Probably the only useful thing I did.”
I couldn't disagree.
Agents took him.
Then Mara’s phone rang.
Judge Harlan.
Mara answered immediately.
“Ruth?”
Her face changed.
“What?”
I stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Mara put the call on speaker.
Judge Harlan sounded breathless.
“Someone tried the rear gate.”
My heart stopped.
“Where is Sophie?”
“With me. Inside. Safe.”
I exhaled.
“Who?”
“Vehicle drove away when county officers arrived.”
Rachel was already calling units.
Then Sophie’s voice came through the phone.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby.”
“I’m okay.”
Mara began crying.
“I know.”
Sophie continued:
“The bad man dropped something.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
“A phone.”
Rachel looked at me.
“Do not touch it.”
Judge Harlan answered:
“We haven't.”
Within thirty minutes, officers recovered the device.
It belonged to one of Vittorio’s remaining men.
Location data showed where he had been earlier that night.
A private airfield south of Albany.
Vittorio planned to leave the country.
His aircraft departure window:
Three hours.
Rachel looked at me.
“Federal agents handle it.”
Old Adrian would have driven there.
Maybe taken twenty men.
Maybe ended everything personally.
Julian's voice remained in my head.
Don't avenge me.
I nodded.
“Handle it.”
Rachel stared.
“That's it?”
“Yes.”
“You're becoming inconveniently reasonable.”
“I dislike it too.”
Vittorio was arrested at the airfield forty-eight minutes later.
No shootout.
No dramatic escape.
An old man in an expensive coat being placed in handcuffs beside a private jet.
Power ended looking remarkably ordinary.
Mara and I returned to Judge Harlan’s house.
Sophie ran outside.
Mara caught her.
I waited.
Then Sophie looked at me.
“Bad man gone?”
“Yes.”
“For forever?”
“That's for courts.”
She frowned.
“Boring.”
“Very.”
Then she noticed my expression.
“Why sad?”
I looked at my niece.
“Your dad left me a message.”
Her eyes widened.
“For you?”
“Yes.”
“What he say?”
I crouched.
“That I should take care of you.”
Mara raised an eyebrow.
I corrected myself.
“No.”
Sophie waited.
“He said I should let you decide whether you want me around.”
Sophie considered this with the seriousness of a judge.
Then held out her wrench.
“Can you fix cars yet?”
“No.”
She sighed.
“Then you need lessons.”
I laughed.
“Is that a yes?”
She took my hand.
May you like
“Come on, Uncle Adrian.”
Apparently it was.
