He read the captions easily. A series of explosions had rocked a fleet of freighters owned by the same company. Every freighter was completely destroyed. The entire crew of each freighter had been lost with the ships.
“Those are ours, Riccardo,” she whispered. “They’re saying the freighters were empty except for the crew. How can that be? Even the smallest freighters are lost along with the crews. The ships that weren’t at sea were destroyed in the harbor and every member of the crew was found dead.” She looked up at him, her eyes dazed with shock. “Every member of the crew was found dead. No one was alive. They all had broken necks.”
His cell phone continued to ring until he forced himself to answer it. Paulo again. No, there was no money to be found in any of the bank accounts. They weren’t frozen; they had been drained. Paulo was still trying to trace the money. And that wasn’t all. There was no insurance on the freighters. None. Paulo couldn’t explain what had happened with the insurance policies. It was as if they’d never been. There was no record of them in existence. Paulo had checked personally the moment he heard about the first explosion. Even the paper copies stored in the company safe had disappeared along with all cash.
“Find out what’s going on, Paulo,” Riccardo said. “Money doesn’t vanish overnight. Neither do insurance policies. We’re under attack by a very clever opponent.” He turned his attention back to his wife. “When was the last time you checked the safe, Eva?”
“This morning. You know how my brother likes to have his fun. I have to pay cash for his little playmates. They never last long, either. He likes those boys so young.” She rolled her eyes. “I had to pay nearly twenty thousand for some little street urchin to keep him happy until our shipment gets in. That horrible girl, Brielle, delayed everything with her meddling.”
Observing from the shadows, Elie felt his stomach drop. Eva had paid for a child just that morning. This was such a sick family, conscienceless, corrupt and depraved, living large off the backs of so many human beings, most young children. He knew Eva’s brother Ezra lived on the estate, just as their son Enrico did with his wife and children. Enrico worked for his father as well. Their second daughter, Debora, had married into another family in Houston. Houston was a big port. Elie was going to make a point of checking them out. That would have to come later.
He didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound. He was fast and could strike with blurring speed. He had only to wait until Riccardo checked the safe. The vile crime lord wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He’d lost too much already.
“Eva, call Enrico. Tell him to have security guards in the room with him at all times. Don’t let him argue the point. In fact, he should bring Cinder here. I know the children are visiting her parents. Why they’re allowed to go there, I don’t know.” He stalked across the room to a wood panel that looked as if it was seamless. “Her parents are idiots. That marriage didn’t do a thing to further our family. Enrico thought he was so in love. Now look at him. He runs the clubs and takes extra care that he’s the one ensuring any women we bring in know how to behave before we sell them.”
“Cinder suits him, Riccardo,” Eva replied, patience in her tone. “She doesn’t mind him instructing the women as long as she gets to watch. She enjoys it. They have a better sex life.”
“That’s sick,” he declared and slid the wooden panel back to reveal the thick wall of the safe. He immediately used an eye scan as well as his fingerprints to unlock it.
Mariko stepped out of the shadow behind Eva and dispatched her without making a sound. She stepped back into the shadow and was out the door. Elie waited to ensure Riccardo was aware of more of his losses.
When Riccardo yanked open the door of the safe to stare into the cavernous space, he did so almost blankly. There was silence in the room other than the ticking of a clock. “Eva. The money was in this safe this morning. You said you removed twenty thousand to pay for some kid for Ezra? Did your brother know how to get into the safe?”
When his question was met with silence, he spun around. The sight of his wife, slumped in her chair, neck broken, just like their son and daughter-in-law, made him stagger back, his hand over his heart.
Catching up his cell phone, he punched in a number. Elie heard Val’s voice come on telling his caller to leave a message. Riccardo snarled and nearly threw the phone.
Elie took the shadow out of the room and chose one that would take him to the rooms where Ezra Mendoza resided. The suite of rooms consisted of a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room. Ezra was lying back on his bed, completely nude. A boy of about eight sat huddled in the corner of the room, knees drawn up and head down, bruises and knots already forming on his body.