The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (117 page)

“Cat, my brother is right. You are remarkable. And I don’t know of another woman who would have survived all that. You won’t get pity from any of us. I think we are all proud to call you our friend.”

Cat looked up. She looked across the room and saw in all of these men’s eyes, blue like Andreas’, determination and pride. “Thank you. I am proud to be your friend as well.” The words she managed to get out were spoken thickly around the lump that was rising in her throat making it difficult for her to swallow.

“Would you like a drink, Cat?” Nikko asked. She nodded and he went to the sideboard and fixed her a cup of coffee. No one spoke until after she had taken her first sip.

“Cat, I know the police have questioned you a lot today, and you have told us a great deal. Would you mind if I asked you a few more questions?” It was Andreas who spoke from beside her, his arms still keeping her strong.

“Okay,” she whispered. Her mind worried over what those questions might be.

“If my brother Nikko is right, then it is your years in Maryland and here in America when you may have met this man, Salvatore Mazzelli. Does that name or a form of that name strike any memory within you?”

She shook her head in the negative. “No, none of the men were named Salvatore, or Sal. Most were Greek names. None Italian. The paying customers, most we never knew their names, and like I said, most we did not see again.”

“So you had some repeat . . . customers?” he knew it wasn’t the right word, but he also knew she would understand what he meant.

“On occasion, but we never fostered relationships with the men. They were only allowed one hour in the room, and rarely did any try to stay longer.”

Blaze piped in next. “Hmm, well I don’t see how it was one of the John’s then. To develop this kind of infatuation with someone, they would have had to have been around a lot. It had to be one of the employees.”

“No,” Cat said quickly shaking her head vehemently. “It could not be one of them. Demetrius was as cruel to his employees as he was to the girls, and they changed frequently. If anyone was found to be talking to us or attempting to try anything he was removed from employ. We usually did not see those men again.”

“No one, then, that sticks in your mind as hanging around. Anyone who may have tried to be your friend,” Andreas asked.

“The girls, we talked some times. But no, Demetrius’s son. But he was a simpleton. Disfigured. He rarely spoke.”

It was an explosion. “What?” Andreas stood abruptly. “Did you say disfigured? How? What did he look like?” Gio was up out of his seat. All of them stood before her like sentries.

“Spiro, um, he had a hair lip. A lazy eye. But he hardly spoke. He would bring us treats. Sneak us chocolates. We felt bad for him. His own father abused him.”

“Treats? Did you talk to him?” Andreas’ eyes looked frantic.

“Yes, sometimes. He was not always around, but sometimes. His father ignored him and made fun of him. Called him slow. Clown face because of his lip. Retarded because he spoke poorly because of his lip. We felt bad for him.”

“Why? What kinds of things would you talk about?” The questions came rapid fire and she was having difficulty following the train of thoughts.

“His own father treated him like dirt on his shoe. Disappointed him in all things. Said he would amount to nothing. He was brought in to do small repairs sometimes. The parents were divorced. We talked about our past sometimes. Not much really. He would listen. Smile sadly at us. Give us sweets.”

“My God do you think?” Gio gripped his brother’s arm in a vise.

“I most certainly do. We need to call Connor McGee with the FBI. Find out what happened to Demetrius’ son. Get some pictures of him. Do a comparison and age over time.”

“You don’t think it is him?” Cat asked shocked. “He was simple.”

“Cat,” Andreas turned to face her again gripped her shoulders. “Salvatore Mazzelli had a hair lip. He had an astigmatism and wore glasses. We thought he was Italian, dark complexion, black eyes. But he could have been Greek. Fuck, how did we miss this?” Finally, they knew something. A light had gone off. They most likely knew who he was, but now they needed to find out where he was.

*     *     *

Later that evening,
after Cat had retired for the evening, with the promise to join her soon Andreas pulled his brothers aside for a private word. He informed them he had called in a favor once more from his friend with the FBI to get access to more information on Demetrious and his son. He hoped the man could work miracles. Grand Juries were private affairs, conducted in private and the records sealed. He had also put out feelers to friends he knew at Child and Family Services in New York, to find out how Spiro had gotten the identity of Sal Mazzelli. Sal had come out of foster care, or so his earlier investigation a decade ago had revealed. But he was sure they were one and the same, and Connor McGee would help him to prove that.

“But we still need to find out his identity now. That is critical.” Gio got to the heart of the matter. “To find him we need to know the identity he is using now. Even his fingerprints can’t help with that.”

“I absolutely agree with you, Gio.” Andreas had thought of that; he had been consumed with making the link today and had focused his energies on that.

Once again it was Nikko who surprised him. “Well, I was thinking about that and I have a suggestion. It might not be a great one, but . . .”

“Go on,” Andreas encouraged.

“Well, Cat mentioned that Spiro Makas did repair work, odd jobs, right?” At his brother’s nod, he went on. “And, Sal worked for a company that did the same thing. Cleaned office complexes at night. His father, if the two are one and the same, did not trust Sal to do much more than that. As a kid his self-esteem had to be pretty low. Dad runs this big corrupt operation, has goons do the dirty work, and only trusts the son to change lightbulbs, and fix broken toilets.”

“Yeah, and,” Blaze looked pensive. He wasn’t sure what his brother as getting at.

Nikko pushed back a thick lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes. “Well, he is also disfigured. No girl will want some loser like him, his father tells him, and well, you see how Cat is despite all she has been through, accepts everyone, so he becomes fixated on her. Brings her treats and such. The only one nice to him.”

“Exactly,” Andreas murmured in appreciation. The kid was smart.

“Wait, there is more. So then the bust happens, and the one person he loves, the only one who is nice to him, does not see him as a freak, disappears. He becomes obsessed with finding her. Dad gets arrested, thrown in jail, and he is on his own. Changes his name, somehow, to Sal. Steals that identity from a foster kid on the street. Heads to New York. We don’t know why. But he is triggered and starts to hate what he once loved. ‘Beautiful no more.’”

“We need to run another analysis on the guy. I’m going to check this with a profiler. But, I think you are onto something.”

“Definitely,” Gio added. “It would make sense that in New York Sal worked at night. He gets a job where he does not interact with a lot of people. One of the first girls killed was last seen in that area of Baldwin. Maybe he tried to pick her up, and she turned him down, walked away. She was a pretty brunette. Seventeen.”

“All his vics had the dark hair. All prostitutes, homeless, or street people, accept the girl in the park in Rosedale.” Andreas recited this from memory. Each of those girls faces were burned into his mind’s eye from the photographs he stared at for the year he had hunted him down.

“I think it fits,” Gio stated. “But how do we proceed?”

“Career. Repair, janitorial, cleaning,” Nikko interjected. “And something recent. Last six months to a year. If he came to town earlier, he would have heard our names all over the press and not stayed in town.”

“That is fucking brilliant, Nikko, but still a lot of places to look on the off chance that he is still employed.” Blaze shook his head.

Nikko smiled. “Not if you narrow it down to places where he could have spotted Cat. She has admitted she doesn’t go out much. He had to have spotted her somewhere, right.”

Andreas clapped his brother on the back. “Genius, Nikko. You would have done great as a detective. That narrows it down considerably. I want to call someone in on this. His name is Tony Alvarez. He runs a security team up in Virginia. I met him couple years back. But he has some serious tech people who are fantastic, the best hackers, and computer guys in the business. I’ve used them before when we need some info. He’s always been able to get it.” His eyes brightened. “In fact, he will be in town this weekend. His guys have been hired by General Melendez for the big fundraiser charity event at MacDill.”

“Hey, speaking of security,” Blaze added. “With Bella pregnant, Andy, I’ve been thinking we should beef up security around here. The cameras are good. But, I’d love some guys watching them, and I’ve already talked to her about this. I want her to take a leave of absence at work. If Sal knows we are on to him again, then there is the chance he can get to the island. I want more.”

“Okay, agreed. What about Ronnie? Lisa and Johnny?” he asked looking at the others.

“Hell if Ronnie will stop working. She loves that damn job too much. But, I am thinking she needs an escort to and from at the very least.”

Andreas nodded. “Done.” Then, to Gio he quirked an eyebrow.

“Lisa is volunteering at the school until this is done until Christmas Break. They have two weeks to go, but I think we can get another ‘volunteer’ inside to keep an eye on them until that happens. They have an SRO on campus and we can inform him, should inform him.”

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll go make some calls, and get the ball rolling on this.” He paused before he went to his desk. He looked at his brothers before they began to file out of the door. “Thanks,” he called out. They all just smiled and gave him a thumbs up on the way out. He was so proud to have them on his side.

Outing

B
y the end
of the first week in December, they had battened down the hatches. They hired five local men, people Andreas trusted implicitly to conduct round the clock surveillance on the Marino home.

Tension was high, but they all wanted things to be as normal for Johnny as possible. Keeping up a festive mood, the women began to decorate for the holidays and do some shopping, but always accompanied by one of the new hired hands or one of the Marinos themselves.

Andreas had taken Cat out yesterday to do her own personal shopping, and had taken her to lunch. She’d been cooped up all week and he knew the strain was taking its toll. He slept in her bed every night, but he knew for her, not used to people around constantly, it was becoming too much. He also wanted to fill her in on the details of the investigation thus far, and discuss the Christmas party they all planned to attend the next evening.

They had gone to International Mall and Bay Street on the corner of West Shore and Boy Scout Blvd. Cat had made several purchases at Gucci, Nordstrom’s, and Tory Burch, before they settled on the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch.

He waited patiently outside each outlet keeping a watch on the entrances as she did her shopping in private and undisturbed. She had four bags which he carried, much to her delight. She teased him that he was quite handy to have around. “More than for just carrying bags, I hope?” he teased in return, enjoying her bright mood. She sparkled when she told him about her purchases for Bella, Lisa, and Ronnie. She also hinted she had gotten some things for him and his brothers as well. He laughed heartily, but also knew he would have to go out on his own. He had a few ideas of things he would like to purchase for her.

“Oh, I am sorry. I don’t mean to be presumptuous and expect to be included in your family’s festivities once more,” she stated when he became quiet.

“No Cat, of course you will be invited. I want you more than just for holidays. I hope you feel the same way. Our timing sucks, but I am really enjoying your company.”

“I was hoping you would like to continue . . . this.” She used her fingers to indicate the two of them.

“I do.” He replied with a twinkle in his eye while ushering her towards the restaurant renowned for its decadent deserts.

They were greeted by the hostess, and then shown to a table right away. Once seated, and their drink orders taken with menus left to peruse, Andreas began to tell her what he had been doing during the week.

“Tomorrow, the man heading Alvarez Security will take a moment to meet with us. He has been working on the employment angle I told you about. I gave him the list you gave me, all the places you can recall going to in the past six months, and he has been using his computer engineers to cross check that with employment records of recent hires in the fields of work we think Sal/Spiro might be employed.”

“That it is quite a feat, and a long shot, I must say.” She sipped her water.

He knew it was a long shot, but if anyone could pull a rabbit out of a hat, it was Tony’s people. “I know. But it is an approach. All the names of the places we gave him have employer identifications, and when they hire, that number gets attached to the employee by way of the IRS.”