Shadow Warrior (Shadow Riders 4)

Stefano inclined his head and continued. “John Balboni, as you know, owns the local hardware store. He and Suzette have been struggling a little to keep the business afloat and it didn’t help that he was shot during the attack on our family, although we paid all the bills. The exact nature of just how bad they were struggling wasn’t brought to my attention until recently. We considered options for them, but in the end, hadn’t found the right answer to the problem short of loaning them more money. They’re already into the family for three hundred thousand.”

“John and Suzette’s store has been in the community for over thirty years,” Ricco said. “As long as I’ve been alive.”

“Which is why we tried to keep them going,” Stefano said. “John’s body was found in the dumpster behind Fior A Bizzeffe this morning.”

“No,” Eloisa whispered. “Not John. Poor Suzette.” She half stood as if she might go to the woman immediately.

“Sasha is with her. She’s certainly getting a baptism of fire,” Giovanni said, shaking his head. “I left two bodyguards with her, but all this makes me very uncomfortable. Something bad is coming our way.”

“This is insane,” Ricco said. “John? Why John?”

“The Balbonis have very poor business practices,” Taviano said. “I went over the books twice with John and he just kept ordering double the amount of merchandise needed. His reasoning was he didn’t want to run out of anything, but in the end, he literally rents another storage facility in order to put everything into it and then he forgets he has it. In my opinion, he has a problem. He can’t stop ordering items he doesn’t need. It’s almost a hoarding situation. Nothing I said deterred him. Suzette got it, but John seemed oblivious to the fact that he was the one bringing the store down.”

“That is exactly what made John the perfect target for the Saldis,” Stefano said. “Clearly they’re studying our people for weaknesses.”

“Unless someone’s telling them,” Eloisa said. “Giving them details in casual conversation.” Her gaze flicked to her daughter’s set face.

“If that’s happening,” Vittorio said smoothly, as if he didn’t see the look his mother shot Emmanuelle, “more than likely, the information would be given at the butcher shop when Val Saldi or his men are delivering to Giordano’s. Berardo loves to gossip. He would definitely talk to the deliverymen, but it would be an innocent conversation. He would never give information away deliberately, especially if it was something that might get a friend killed, and he was very good friends with John.”

“I agree. The information was most likely gotten at the butcher shop,” Stefano said. “The point is, John was found wrapped in a carpet, his body tortured in the same way the others’ were. Sending a message to anyone working for the Saldis to keep their mouths shut. He wasn’t taken until after the others were. They took the carpet, but he wasn’t missing. He and Suzette were there on the street when the dumpsters were being searched.”

“Did you speak to anyone who might have seen them?” Vittorio asked.

Stefano shook his head. “I turned the investigation over to Renato and Romano.”

Vittorio was well aware his two cousins had voices considered the most powerful in the family when it came to persuading others to remember details, tell the truth and want to give any information to the brothers.

“What about the cameras?” Giovanni asked.

“Rigina is looking at all of them now,” Taviano said. “We make certain all cameras on the streets are working at all times. We might get lucky. There didn’t appear to be any tampering done to the ones under the eaves of the businesses.”

The placement of more cameras under the eaves of businesses along the street had been Taviano’s idea. He was very good with electronics.

“Which implies . . .” Vittorio urged a response.

“The cameras each store owner was required to put in and maintain outside their buildings’ fronts and backs were tampered with on the buildings up and down the alley. Someone knew those cameras were there, but didn’t know about ours,” Taviano explained.

“I can’t believe Suzette wouldn’t know what John was up to,” Eloisa said. “She and John have always told each other everything. I can talk to her. We’ve been friends for many years.”

Vittorio couldn’t imagine his mother being friends with anyone, let alone for years. He didn’t look at his sister, who had remained silent the entire time. John had been the one to help Emmanuelle learn to use a hammer and nails when she wanted to put up shelves in her bedroom herself. Of course, she’d gotten in trouble. Her parents hadn’t praised her for the good job she’d done, that had been Stefano and the rest of her brothers.

Vittorio wished he was sitting closer to Emmanuelle, but he’d entered the room late and the only chair open was across from Stefano. That left Emmanuelle sitting between Taviano and Giovanni but across from Eloisa. Eloisa always targeted her daughter when she was upset.