Tony
“Motherfucker!” I slam my fist against the wall that already has a half dozen holes in it from my fists. Six weeks. It’s been six fucking weeks since she’s been gone. It seems like a goddamned eternity. I’ve been searching day and night, and I’m not any closer to finding her than I was the day we raided her old apartment. It’s as though she’s disappeared. She could be anywhere. I’m not so convinced she’s in New York or even in this country. I don’t have the first clue as to where to look, and all I do is pace around this apartment that seems to be growing smaller by the day.
I’ve stopped eating and sleeping. I look like a fucking wreck. I’ve never seen bigger bags than the ones that are under my eyes. They’re sunken, and Jasper is perpetually riding my ass. It’s not like he has room to talk. He looks fucking worse than I do. His face is guilt-ridden and I think he’s up to three packs a day. I’ve lost count. I do know he’s chain smoking all the time, and now I smell like the bottom of his ashtray. Even Kendall has lost her desire to shop. I never thought in a million years that would happen. There’s very little conversation that takes place between us. When we do talk, we all go over the clues or lack thereof.
Charles finally decided to go public with the fact that Kate is missing. We’re doing a press conference in a couple hours to plead for people to help us. All the big news stations are going to be there, CNN, FOX, and, MSNBC. Hopefully, someone will have seen Matteo or Kate somewhere. I pray there will be some clue that will bring her back to me.
The FBI still has Agent Manchetti in custody. He’s set to be extradited back to Italy in a couple of weeks. He claims to know nothing about Kate’s whereabouts since he left her apartment and continues to say that his ‘relations’ with Kate were mutual. Because she’s not around to contradict his claims, the authorities have no choice but to believe him. I know the fucker is full of shit, and I’d love a few minutes alone with him to beat the truth out of his cocky ass. Instead the snake writhes in a jail cell coiled and ready to attack if anyone tries to question him. For some unknown reason, he thinks he has the right to plead the fifth. I’ve got news for the fucker; he’s not an American.
I walk into our bedroom and grab Kate’s down pillow off the bed and inhale her flowery scent. It’s diminished quite a bit, but there’s still some that lingers. I haven’t washed the sheets in fear that when I do, she’ll be washed away forever along with the scent that soothes me when I do fall asleep for a few minutes.
I think I’m going crazy with the mounds of information and lack of clues swirling around in my head like a tornado. If only the twister would stop and leave the one clue that leads to Kate in its wake. I need to hold and smell her hair as much as I need air to breathe and blood to keep my heart pumping. Without her here, I’m a fraction of the man I used to be. I refuse to lose her—especially not to that prick-ass cousin of mine.
My cell phone rings in the other room. I take one last deep breath of Kate’s intoxicating scent before I go to answer it. Jasper’s face is staring at me on the screen. A cigarette is hanging out of his mouth with a beer in his hand. I took this picture the night Kate first met Jasper and instantly took a liking to him.
“What?” I don’t mean for my response to be callous, but the hopelessness that’s taken over my soul has sliced through a large piece of my heart, leaving me cold and estranged to those I’m closest with.
“There’s activity on his bank account in the Caymans. He just had money wired to a bank here in the city under a different name. You’re never going to believe to whom.” Jasper pauses and waits for me to guess.
I don’t need to. I already know who will be picking it up. I exhale the breath I didn’t know I was holding. If Demetrio is picking up money his father wired, chances are he knows the Kate’s whereabouts. Now, we just need to be at the bank when he retrieves the money. The problem is, we don’t know how soon he’ll access it. It could be today or a week from now. That’s means we’ll have to let the authorities manage this lead.
“What are you thinking?” I rub the three-day-old stubble that’s formed along my now rough jaw as I wait for what seems like an eternity for Jasper to answer.
Finally, he sighs. “I’ve contacted the FBI. Obviously, they’ll work with the bank to halt any transactions and notify them when the money is requested. I’m going to have my men outside around the clock awaiting his arrival. When he does go to pick up the money, we’ll be there. Hopefully, we can nab him before he collects the funds and can coerce him into telling us where Kate is or we won’t let him in to get the money.” Jasper waits for my response.
It sounds like a good plan, but nothing else has worked thus far. We aren’t any closer to finding her than we were six weeks ago. Matteo is a lot smarter than I gave him credit for, and I’m not sure how he has alluded the authorities or Jasper for this long. He’s got to be holed up in some run-down piece of crap place where people don’t give a shit who he is or what illegal activities he’s participating in.
A light goes off in my head. “He’s not in Manhattan. He’s in the Bronx.”
“Umm, what are you talking about? What do you know?” Jasper is lost. I can’t blame him. I just added a piece to the puzzle of Kate’s disappearance.
“The reason we haven’t found him is because he’s hanging out around people who don’t give a shit who he is or what he does. Where’s the easiest place to get someone to be unnoticed? He’s in the fucking Bronx. There are trains and a lot of dilapidated areas. Check recent leases. I bet he’s found some place to stay on short notice. Start looking for places that have an easy escape like a train or subway.” My mind is in overdrive drifting through the winding streets looking for the checkered flag indicating I’m almost home; that I’ve scored the prize and found Kate.
“Have I ever told you that you’re a bloody genius? I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. I’ll get on it. You get your arse to that press conference. When you get back, hopefully we’ll have that bugger found and hanging by his bloody balls!”
The image Jasper has just put in my mind is gross, but makes me smile. I kind of like the idea of Matteo having to take a bit of his own medicine. He deserves to be slowly tortured limb by limb and hung out for the animals to eat away his flesh. I’ve never hated anyone more in my life than him at this moment. I can only hope I’m there the day he takes his last breath to spit on the piece of shit he’s become. I don’t know when my heart started beating out of my chest like a fricking ticking time bomb, but it is. My hands have formed into fists and my shoulders have just tensed up so much I could shoot rubber bands off them to anyone who tries to pass by. “Call and let me know if you’ve found anything. I want to be there when you locate him.”
“I gotcha, mate.” Jasper hangs up, leaving the line eerily silent. I put my phone down on the table and lean against it with both arms supporting the weight of me and the world I’ve been carrying on my shoulders.
I finally pull myself erect and grab the keys off the table. The press conference isn’t going to wait for me, and the rush hour traffic may cause a delay in my arrival. There’s no time like the present to beg for someone to bring my Kate back home. I head through the lobby and hail a cab to Anderson Industries.
Once I arrive, I crawl out and stare up at the tall metal building. I throw my shoulders back, and take a deep breath before entering. It’s time to man up. I need to let the world see how weak I am and plead for some mercy.
Once I enter Charles’s office, I’m greeted by his secretary. I don’t wait for her to show me back. There’s no one here. Charles cancelled all of his meetings, and I’m sure he’s sitting behind his mahogany desk sipping bourbon. I don’t know when the last time he’s been home, but I know it’s been a while. Since he saw the picture of Kate and Demetrio, he hasn’t been the same. Much like me, the life has drained out of him. I think he’s aged ten years in just a few weeks. The toll Kate’s disappearance has taken on all of us has been exponential.
I take a deep breath and count to twenty before opening the door to Charles’s office. I walk in and meet his dark and hazed over gaze. It doesn’t take a breathalyzer to show he’s three sheets to the wind. He tries to stand, but falls back into his chair.
“You’re early. I was just getting ready. The press should be here any minute.” Charles lifts up his glass. The ice cubes clink around as he takes a sip. The heavy exhales alert me to the fact that this man is in no shape to hold a press conference.
I walk over to the desk to shake his hand. Charles leans over and spills the half full beverage. I jump back to avoid the oaky liquid from dripping on my clothes. The last thing we need is the press smelling alcohol on both of us. That may take the focus away from Kate.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to the press. Since it’s my cousin who’s taken her, I think it’s important for the public to see I’ll do whatever it takes to find her.” There’s no way I can let Charles go in front of the world, slurring his speech and stumbling over his words. He’d look like an absolute fool and no one would remember what the conference was about.
Charles drags his head from the wooden desk and it falls back against the chair. “I…d—don’t…know. I sthink we sthould shtick togeder as a famly.”
Well, that answers my questions. He’s not going to say a word today. “I couldn’t agree more. You and the family can stand next to me while I do all the talking. We’ll look like a united front. I really think this is the best way.”
Charles nods and holds up his glass. “I like your sthinking.” It’s like he’s a bobblehead, the way it rolls around on his shoulders.
“All right. I’ll go wait for them out in the lobby and escort the press to the conference room. I’ll get them settled in and come get you when everyone’s ready. Is the rest of the family coming?”
Charles nods and doesn’t say another word as his head hits the back of the chair and his eyes roll back into the unknown part of his head. Great. He’s out. At least I don’t have to worry about Charles coming out to visit the reporters anytime soon. I can work without fear of this turning into a complete disaster. I leave the office and walk down the plush hall to the reception area. The first of the reporters has arrived. I inform the receptionist to direct the rest of the press to the conference room when they arrive, and I lead the early birds to where they can set up the cameras and sound equipment. I then head to the bathroom and splash some cold water on my face and prepare for what will hopefully bring my beautiful Kate home. Even if it doesn’t, I’m heading to the Bronx as soon as it’s over and I’ll walk every damn street until I feel her in me like the day I stood in front of her old apartment building. I will find Kate if it’s the last thing I ever do.