Page 87 of Twilight Tactics
“Right, so we know that you know that Ollie Callahan saw the whole thing. She’ll testify that Bellini told you both to make an example of Carletti.” Sully paused. “She heard the exact words: ‘This is your parting gift from the boss.’ Then your partner shot him and handed you the gun. You put the second bullet in Carletti’s head.”
A muscle twitched in Amato’s jaw.
“First-degree murder. No deals. Life without parole.” Sully closed the folder. “Unless you want to talk.” He stood. “Just so you know, you’re looking at first-degree murder under state law. But .. .” He paused.
“But what?”
“But ... this is also a part of our RICO case. You could make a deal with us in order to go to a federal prison under an alias. You know what happens if you get sent to the state prison.”
Amato swallowed. He knew. He’d be dead before he could digest his first meal.
“But ... if living doesn’t appeal to you, we’ll just see how everything plays out.”
“What kind of deal?”
Sully paused. “What about the lawyer?”
“Forget the lawyer, tell me about a deal.”
Sully hesitated. “I can’t do anything. You asked for a lawyer.”
“I take it back. What do you want?”
Sully pulled a piece of paper from his folder and slid it in front of the man. “Read it and sign it and then we can talk.”
Amato didn’t even hesitate. He signed. “Tell me about a deal.”
“Depends on what you give us.” Sully slipped the paper into the folder and took his seat again.
Amato shifted, the handcuffs rattling. “I want protection. Witness protection.”
“That’s a big ask for a man who tried to kill a fourteen-year-old girl.” Sully scraped the chair back as though to stand again. “Think I’ll just let you sit here until your lawyer arrives after all.”
“No. Wait!” Amato’s voice stopped him. “That wasn’t me. I never signed up to kill a kid.”
“But you did sign up to kidnap one.”
“To bring her in. That’s all.”
“You knew she’d be killed in the end. Unless you’re going to shoot straight, we’re done. And you’re looking at a lot of prison time.”
Amato’s composure cracked. “Look, this whole thing got out of hand. Bellini’s paranoid about this trial. He wants the girl gone, and he’s calling in every favor to make it happen.”
“Including working with mountain preppers?” Sully scooted back to the table and leaned in, keeping his body language calm and friendly. With no hint he’d like to slam the guy’s head on the table a few times for what he’d put Ollie through. “How’d that connection happen?”
Amato hesitated. Finally, he slumped in his chair. “LaVoy Hawthorne.”
“Is he the dead guy?”
“No. He’s with the prepper group right now. He’s Bellini’s second cousin or something. Grew up in those mountains, then left and joined up with Bellini about five years ago. The guy liked money and nice things and hated the prepper lifestyle. When we needed help out here, he reached out to his oldfamily. He’s the one who set everything up with the preppers. I just followed orders.”
Sully processed this information. “So when Agent Whitaker told you where we were headed, LaVoy called his family?”
“Yeah. Said they knew the area, knew the ranch. Could help us get to the girl. For a price, of course.”
“Of course.”
Amato shook his head. “But those people are crazy, man. They wanted more than money. Started talking about government conspiracies and their territory.”
