Page 13 of Tender Entrapment
When Luigi finally went into the house and up to his study, he met grim-faced men.
“I’ve sent an associate to the precinct,” Donald told him.
Luigi shook his head. “Call him back. I’ve sent someone else.”
Donald frowned in puzzlement and cocked his head. When Luigi said nothing in explanation, the frown evaporated, leaving behind an unreadable blankness.
“I have absolutely no idea how this happened,” Manzano said.
“We have a traitor in our midst,” Luigi said. “That’s why it happened.”
“What?” Paulo’s eyes were wide. “That’s impossible!”
“Be quiet,” Luigi snapped. “You’ll each submit your cellphones to me and answer any questions I ask. Until I find out who betrayed us, nobody is leaving this property.”
A hush fell over the room.
* * *
All through the night, Luigi questioned his son, his consigliere, and his caporegimes. While they bristled at the indignity ofcoming under suspicion for a crime as low as ratting, none of them dared to challenge him.
They submitted their cellphones meekly and answered all his questions.
There was nothing incriminating in the phones, and their arguments for their innocence all checked out. Determined to get to the root of his inquest, Luigi widened the net to the other guests in his house. Under his direct supervision, he had Dante gather them all from the poolside and lead them to the ballroom, where he collected their cellphones.
Predictably, they offered no resistance. Rather, they were terrified. Brooke burst into tears, and while her parents comforted her, Camille protested what she described as their humiliation. Luigi only gave them superficial apologies and had Lucia usher them into the guest rooms around the central area of the house.
The rest of the night was spent poring over call logs, texts, and sent emails and email inboxes. Still, the truth remained hidden.
CHAPTER 7
Luigiwas awakened by the golden rays of the morning sun streaming in through his study window. He had spent the entire night digging for the truth and had only given in to his exhaustion at dawn.
Now it was almost 7 a.m.
The study was empty. His lieutenants had been allowed to spend the night with their wives in the guest rooms. It was doubtful if they had slept a wink. They had only their wives and their right-hand men here with them. Against the small army of security guards Luigi had posted around the house prior to the dinner party, they were outnumbered.
Their lives depended on their innocence. And their wives would serve as hostages to ensure that they went down without a fight if Luigi wished for it.
So while he dozed in his study, they waited in dread. Now that he was awake, he went into his bedroom for a quick shower and dressed in a black suit. After he threw on the jacket, a knock on the door intruded on his privacy.
The knocking was hard, loud, and impatient. It was definitely not Lucia or any of his men. They knew better than to rile him up that way.
Camille.
He opened the door to find her standing arms akimbo with a scowl on her pretty face.
“Why are you keeping my family locked up here?”
“Locked up?” Luigi raised an eyebrow. “You’re my guests. I meant to spend a few days together, to get to know you people.”
Camille’s eyes flashed. “That’s why you had your… yourthugseize our phones?”
Luigi backed away from the door and went back to the floor-length mirror in his room to be certain his tie was well knotted.
Camille walked in after him.
“Shut the door,” he told her.
