Sempre (Sempre 1)
“Sodium what?”
“Sodium thiopental. It’s a barbiturate. It suppresses the higher cortical functions of the brain, and since lying is such a complex process and it’s easier to—”
“English, please.”
“Truth serum,” Vincent said. “Hypothetically, anyway.”
Carmine nodded. “And Nicholas?”
Vincent stared at him, the look on his face the only answer Carmine needed. Even across the room, he could see the sorrow. “There wasn’t anything I could do.”
* * *
Dawn broke as Vincent stood in the safe room, once again interrogating a suffering Johnny. “Tell me where she is and this will end.”
“I can’t,” he said for what had to be the hundredth time, even proclaiming ignorance with the truth serum coursing through his veins.
Corrado approached, his dark eyes filled with rage. It wasn’t something Vincent saw often. It was a look that said someone was about to die.
Violently.
Vincent stepped out of the way as Corrado strode over to the cabinet along the wall. He rifled through it, pulling out knives and pliers, methodically laying the tools on the steel worktable in the safe room. “While you’re still alive, we’re going to play a game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe.”
Unable to stomach what was about to happen, Vincent walked away. A loud scream of agony echoed through the basement before he made it to the steps.
Johnny would be leaving the room soon . . . in pieces.
* * *
Corrado resurfaced an hour later, drenched from the rain outside and splattered with blood. His face was unreadable once more. “Russians.”
The lone word nearly stopped Vincent’s heart. “She’s with the Russians? Why?”
“Because she’s one of ours. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“They know?”
“They may have known before we did,” Corrado said. “This is spiraling out of control. Up until now, you’ve taken a backseat, but that can’t happen anymore. This isn’t going away.”
Vincent knew that, even if he didn’t want to admit it. “Where are the Russians keeping her?”
“Joey didn’t know.”
Vincent’s brow furrowed. “I thought his name was Johnny.”
“Joey, Johnny . . . what’s the difference?” Corrado started walking away. “I took care of the body. You can clean up the mess.”
Vincent headed back down to the basement, cautiously making his way to the safe room. The concrete floor was soaked in red, splatters of it on the ceiling. He wasn’t sure how Corrado managed to do that, but he didn’t plan to ask.
He’d learned long ago never to ask for details.
* * *
The rain outside was so heavy Carmine couldn’t see the tree line a few hundred yards away. He gazed out the family room window in such a trance that he didn’t hear footsteps approaching. He caught a glimpse of Corrado’s reflection in the glass and grabbed his chest, wincing as he turned around. “You scared me.”
Corrado unbuttoned his soiled shirt. “You aren’t very observant.”
“You’re just stealthy, like a fucking ninja.”