“All right. John, show her the pictures,” Detective Peterson instructed the younger man.
Nodding, the man opened the manila folder and placed a sequence of photographs in front of Melina.
“I think you might want to reconsider,” he said to her.
Rolling her eyes at the detectives, Melina reluctantly looked at the pictures in front of her. She recognized the man immediately.
Or rather, what was left of him.
Matthew Corvi, consigliere to Luca Pivetti.
The man’s face looked as if it had nearly been blown to pieces.
Melina shook her head as she quickly glanced at the rest of the pictures. When she was done, she leaned back in her chair.
“Can I go now?” she asked.
Detective Peterson’s face turned a mottled red. “A man has been murdered and you’re going to sit here like you don’t give a damn?”
“See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.”
Melina smiled at the men and both of them looked at each other, seemingly at a loss as to what strategy to try next.
“I’m taking my wife home. Now.”
Melina rose from her seat when she saw her husband standing in the doorway. His eyes were cold and she could see the familiar tic moving in his jaw.
He was pissed, and royally.
“We’re not done,” Detective Peterson said.
“Yes, you are and if you attempt to keep my wife here any longer under false pretenses, this department will be hit with the biggest harassment suit you’ve ever seen and both you pricks will be lucky if you can find jobs picking up trash on the streets,” Mac said.
Melina smirked. “Gentlemen.”
She walked over to her husband and took his arm and together they left the interrogation room. Mac was quiet as she walked with him through the police station.
“I didn’t say anything,” she whispered.
Mac gave her a look. “Trust me, that was not one of my worries. You know how to handle yourself.”
“I just wanted to be sure you knew that. Where are your mom and Victoria?”
“They were released a half hour ago. They’ve already been taken home.”
“Mac, what the hell is going on?”
“I wish I knew.”
Together they exited the police station and Mac ushered her toward a black Bentley. Mac opened the back passenger side door and helped Melina inside. Once she was settled, she slid over to make room for him. When he didn’t join her, she frowned.
“Mac?”
“Stefan is going to make sure you get home safely. I’ll be along as soon as I can.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get home.”
Melina smiled but she knew it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I’m sorry, doll. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
She nodded and then Mac closed the door. A few seconds later, the car was moving away from the police station and her husband. Melina sighed. She knew that being married to a made man wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, but she never expected to be spending their wedding night being chauffeured home … alone.
Melina sat in the middle of the king-sized bed, eating a bowl of cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream drenched in chocolate syrup. It was nearing midnight and Mac still hadn’t arrived home. She still couldn’t believe that someone had actually been bold enough to murder Luca Pivetti’s right-hand man at her wedding reception.
What had started out as the happiest day of her life had turned into an evening of bloodshed and chaos. Melina wished she could get her hands on the son of a bitch who was responsible for murdering Matthew Corvi and putting her honeymoon plans with Mac on an indefinite hold. And what about Matthew’s family? Melina was sure the man had a wife and children. Their lives would never be the same and her heart ached for them.
Finishing up the bowl of ice cream a few minutes later, Melina left the bedroom and headed toward the kitchen to wash the bowl and put it away. When she was done, she headed down the hallway that lead to the small office Mac kept. Turning on the lights, she looked in the room and noticed that it was impeccably organized, except for the array of papers scattered across the small desk. Curious, Melina walked into the room and picked up the papers. Her eyes scanned over the contents.
“Interesting.”
Apparently, Mac’s new position hadn’t just come with a new title, it had come with some properties as well. A few warehouses, and a dry cleaner’s, among other things. But it was the last paper she held that caught her attention. It was a deed from Luca Pivetti to Mac for a place called The Playpen.
It was a whorehouse.
Melina didn’t need it spelled out for her. Some things you just knew.
A whorehouse previously owned by Mac’s former Capo, Guido, that was apparently hemorrhaging money.
Interested now, Melina took a seat at the desk and poured over all the details relating to The Playpen. It wasn’t long before ideas started to quickly form in her head. Reaching for a blank sheet of paper, she furiously wrote, lost in her thoughts.