“You don’t think your investigators are going to have an advantage with two people versus one?” Valentino asked.
“Bernado really isn’t in the hot seat, Val,” Stefano said. “I wasn’t planning on making this into a betting opportunity. That was Giovanni’s idea, and you and Dario went along with it.”
“Pitting Brielle against two sets of investigators who will be able to work twice as fast together hardly seems a fair test,” Emmanuelle said.
“Yet you chose to put your money on Brielle,” Ricco pointed out.
Phones began to light up throughout the room. Stefano frowned down as he read the incoming report. There was silence as each of them read the report thoroughly, going over and over it several times. Elie couldn’t help the grin.
“Yeah,” Emmanuelle said. “This is why I put my money on Brielle.”
Their phones lit up again and right behind that alert came another. Rigina and Rosina and then Bernado checked in, sending their reports quickly followed by Romano and Renato. Again, silence descended on the room while everyone read the reports. This was the one on the books, finances Stefano’s family was looking into. Each wanted to see how detailed the reports were. The win wasn’t going to be based just on who was the fastest, but who had the most information and how accurate that information was.
Giovanni sighed as he stood and walked over to the white board. “Definitely a win for Brielle. Her report was accurate and had more details than the others. There were no red flags raised that our watchers could see.”
“She was lightning fast on the financials,” Val observed, with a quick look at Dario. “That’s Bernado’s forte. He does love to get into books.”
Dario shrugged. “He did say he spends too much time looking around when he should get in and get out. That may have cost him.”
Two hours later, their phones were lighting up again. This time, Rigina and Rosina sent in the first report on the criminal investigation, followed closely by Romano and Renato. The reports were concise and easy to read, both stating the crime had been committed. The one accused was indeed guilty, but the person bringing the plea for justice warranted deeper investigation. Bernado checked in next with exactly the same report. Brielle followed about ten minutes later. Her report was also concise. The crime had been committed. The accused was guilty. The person bringing the plea for justice not only was involved, but had plotted the murder and paid the guilty party for carrying out the murder. He had hired the defense attorney to get the guilty party off in order to ensure his silence, but he wanted him dead. She had evidence to back up her report.
Giovanni sighed. “The investigators would have gotten it right. Bernado would have as well. We can’t fault Brielle for taking the time to actually do the work thoroughly.”
“She came in dead last,” Taviano pointed out.
“True,” Stefano said, “but her report was thorough and complete. She has to be given the win.”
“I don’t know,” Ricco argued. “All the others agreed the one bringing us the case needed more investigation. We didn’t specify how much time was to be spent on each segment of the research.”
Elie didn’t weigh in. As far as he was concerned, his woman beat the others, hands down. He noticed Dario and Val weren’t saying anything, either. They didn’t care about the money being wagered; not that the Ferraros did, either. Dario and Val wanted to snatch Brielle up for her computer skills. Both men were looking at Stefano. He would recognize what an asset she would be. They would know it. They wanted to ensure they got to Brielle before Stefano had a chance to offer her a job. There was satisfaction in knowing they would come to her, not the other way around.
“You have to be fair,” Vittorio said. “She went the distance. She’s a rider. She knows how important it is to have all the information. She wouldn’t stop until she had it all.”
“Rigina and Rosina know. That’s their job. Same with Romano and Renato,” Ricco pointed out. “They plainly clarified that it warranted more investigation.”
Elie thought about what Vittorio had said. He was right, Brielle was a rider, but was that the reason she kept going when others stopped? He didn’t think so. She had a gift. Her gift would drive her to continue, to follow the lead until she had the answers. He remained silent, even when Dario shot him a look expecting him to stand up for Brielle.
Elie didn’t want to call attention to her gift. That was hers. He didn’t understand how it worked. He wanted to know, but then he wanted to know everything about her. She intrigued him. They’d had two weeks alone together and it hadn’t been nearly enough time. He didn’t want to go back to work and leave her by herself in their home, even with personal protectors watching over her, as they were now. He’d been reluctant to agree to meet the others at Dario’s home while she stayed behind to meet the challenge of who was fastest with a keyboard.