Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“You would be right.”
“Okay. Stay there.”
Light jazz came over the line. When I looked at Luke, his brows were furrowed, and he was glaring at me.
“The hell did I do?”
“I thought we put the whole you-leaving thing to bed.”
“Uh, no. The reasons for me leaving have not changed.”
“I think you—”
“Nash, g’head, you’ve got Deputy Director Ian Doyle on the line.”
“Thank you,” I said to Shaw, “and thank you, sir, for—”
“No,” Doyle said flatly. “We’re speaking because of Colonel Colter, and Mr. James says you served. Is that right?”
“Yeah. Master sergeant.”
“That’s good, no bullshit,” he said, and I liked his voice, which was deep, and his tone, which was to the point. “Now, who do we need to discuss?”
“Caitlyn Duchesne and Marcello Conti. And you’re on speaker with me, Nash Miller of Torus Intercession, Mr. Conti’s brother, Richard, and Mrs. Duchesne’s ex-husband, Luke Duchesne.”
“Oh-kay,” he said like it was weird, which I knew it was. “What’s the question?”
“Mr. Duchesne knows his wife—”
“Ex-wife,” Doyle corrected.
“Yes, sorry. Mr. Duchesne knows his ex-wife was placed in WITSEC, but Mr. Conti’s family was not informed.”
There was the sound of a keyboard, clicks of a mouse, and then a loud grunt. He asked for clarification of the spelling of Duchesne before a long silence.
“Lemme see what’s in this…oh. All right, I found the problem. It’s flagged. It looks like someone made a stupid call here, but at least it’s noted that they did. Back in 1972, one of Mr. Conti’s grandfather’s brothers was employed by the Gambino crime family in New York.”
Richard Conti gasped. “But that was—”
“A long time ago,” Doyle said over him. “Yeah. And from what it says here, your grandfather moved your family from New York to California for the express purpose of distancing himself from two of his brothers, Jack and Charlie.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, it was noted in the file as the reason your family was not notified, Mr. Conti. I apologize on behalf of some dumbass in Los Angeles. It does appear that the office in San Francisco has put in several requests for a release of information for your family. The problem is, much like most governmental red tape, once something makes it into a report wrong, it will take twenty years to fix.”
True.
“I can tell you that your brother, Marcello Salvatore Conti, was placed in WITSEC with Caitlyn Marie Duchesne, born Caitlyn Marie Roarke, almost a year and a half ago now. They are both safe, and Caitlyn will begin testifying in front of a grand jury next week.”
“Grand jury?” I was surprised. “I thought it was trial.”
“Nope. Grand jury. If the guy takes a plea, you know the score, Miller. They want him to roll, and if he does, she’s done.”
“Right.”
“What does that mean, she’s done?” Richard asked.
“It means the guy she can ID becomes the witness, and the ex-Mrs. Duchesne and Mr. Conti are sent out to pasture to live their lives with new names far, far away.”
“And I’ll never see my brother again.”
“Correct,” Doyle replied, no sugarcoating, no sympathy. These were the facts.
“He left us to go with her.” Richard sounded sad. “Left his family.”
“They have a child together, sir, and they’re married now, so he has a family,” Doyle stated.
After a moment, Richard said, “Yes. You’re right.”
I suspected Ian Doyle did not need to be told he was right. He knew. He came off as arrogant, but most military guys Jared knew were cut from the same cloth. You couldn’t ask for better people to back you up, but the egos were a bit much.
“Is that all?”
“Yes,” I replied quickly. “We appreciate this. Mr. Conti was under the impression that Mr. Duchesne had hurt—”
“Killed,” Luke amended.
“Killed,” I repeated, “both his ex-wife and Mr. Conti’s brother.”
“No, Mr. Conti. Your brother is safe and residing with his wife and child.”
“Thank you.”
“Miller,” Doyle said. “I will let the marshals in charge of Conti know that his family has been informed.”
“Thank you.”
“Give my best to the colonel.”
“I certainly will.”
He hung up then, and I looked at Richard. “So you have your answers now.”
Quick nod.
“I don’t want to see you again anywhere near the Duchesne property, and I shouldn’t, now that we have everything sorted.”
“Of course,” he said. “Thank you.” He then turned to Luke. “I’m so sorry for thinking you would have done something to my brother.”
He shrugged. “If I were you and knew my brother had slept with another man’s wife, and I didn’t know that man, I could see where your mind would come to the conclusion that something bad could’ve happened.”
“That’s very gracious of you.”
“It’s logical of me,” he acknowledged, standing up. “We can pay for the damage to the door. Just let us know what the motel—”
“Absolutely not,” Richard insisted. “You’ve given me my brother back. I can’t thank you enough.”
“But you won’t ever see him again,” Luke reminded him. “I know my kids were upset at never getting to know their new half brother or sister. I’m sure it will be the same for you and your parents.”