48. Dante

Chapter 48

Dante

I had a plan. It would be no small feat and the risk it carried was that Zola could lose me. If that happened, she was free game for Ugo, and he was sure to shred her to pieces. I was ready to die rather than remain with Ugo and now I was ready to kill to protect Zola.

Larry, my operations manager, walked into my office. I nodded towards one of the chairs in front of my desk and he parked himself in it.

“Seven employees quit today,” he said. “And another eighteen applied for a sudden leave of absence.”

I shrugged. “I’m surprised it’s not more.”

“If another murder happens, our operations will be in serious jeopardy, and I can imagine that it will be very difficult to recruit employees for their replacements.”

“Another death will happen,” I said. “It’s only a matter of time. Ugo will be sure to make it happen to disorganize and humiliate me.”

He seemed taken aback by what I said, but quickly recovered and gave a suggestion. “Do you want to speak to them? I could arrange a conference meeting now.”

“No,” I shook my head. “The video is sure to leak out and then it’ll be all over the news. I’ll send a memo. What I need more than anything else at this time is very limited visibility. Remember that Zola is still technically missing. Detective Hudgens has been trying to get a hold of me all day and has threatened me with an arrest.”

Larry’s eyes widened. “Will he actually do that?”

“He can, but he won’t. He’s just playing the waiting game. He has nothing to lose and I have everything to lose. But if the next death happens, I will be immediately called in for questioning. They will have no proof, and anyway, they know it’s not me so they won’t hold me for too long.”

He nodded in response.

It made me realize I needed to prepare Zola for this. I had to tell her about all the dangers we were facing so nothing would come as a surprise and she wouldn’t be frightened or lose hope.

My secretary called to say, my lawyer, Foster, was outside. Larry left and she showed Foster in. I nodded at him as I picked up the phone and called Hudgens.

“Moretti!” he greeted with feigned chirpiness. “Ready to turn yourself in?”

“Yes,” I replied. “You’re going to arrest me soon anyway if anything else should go wrong so let’s just get it over with now. I have a crisis to deal with in the company.”

“Let me guess, people are quitting.”

Of course, he already had that information and I was certain sooner or later it would get to the news as well after being sold to the highest bidder.

“You’re silent,” he said. “That can’t be good. For you at least.”

I ignored his immature taunts. “When do you want me there?”

“When do I want you here? Wow! You seem quite eager to get me off your back. How are you so sure I don’t have what I need to keep you here for as long as I want?”

“If you have a valid reason to keep me there then I'm even more eager to come to see what it's all about.”

“Well, does kidnapping a witness sound feasible to you?” he asked aggressively.

“Kidnapping? A witness? Does this mean that Miss Leone is still missing? There's no mention of this in the press.”

At my very blatant threat, it was his turn to go quiet. Then he chuckled. “You have a sharp tongue, Moretti.”

“How long do you think you can keep this away from the public?”

“Until I retrieve her. Here’s what I propose, no matter how bad things get for your camp you don't have to get arrested. All you have to do is offer me an invitation to your office and we can discuss how we can get Zola back into witness protection.”

My response was calm. “I don’t know where she is.”

“The guy your men left alive at the ambush scene. Remember him? Oh yes, he’s already sung like a canary. He has sworn that a black SUV took her. With all this stacked against you, do you still want to hold on to her? You already have enough charges against you, Moretti. Even if you get cleared of this, kidnapping carries at least twenty years. I swear, if you don’t help make my job easier, I will find a way to double that fucking sentence.”

Talking to him was exhausting. “Do whatever you want, Hudgens. I don’t know where she is.”

And with that, I ended the call.

“What’s the update?” Foster asked.

I smiled grimly. “Never let a good deed go unpunished. One of Ugo’s guys that we left alive at the ambush site seems to have switched sides, and is now collaborating with the cops.”

Foster scowled. “That’s not good, but then again, he is one of Ugo’s guys. His words aren’t worth shit.”

“Exactly,” I replied.

“The girl …” Larry started and I waited for this question. “You do have her, right?”

I nodded.

“That’s not good,” he said nervously.

“I’m not giving her back to them. That’ll be the same as serving her up to Ugo on a silver platter. Hudgens’s team is made up of incompetent fools.”

“It could severely affect your case.”

“I don’t care,” I said and I damn well didn’t. Playing by the books never works. Not when you’re dealing with monsters like Ugo.