Corina came to a screeching halt outside the West Precinct police station as Landon put the car in park. Rushing from the car with Letty, Landon kept a protective hand on her back as he kept a watchful eye of their surroundings. Walking to the back door of the station, Landon took a key card out of his wallet and swiped it against the security reader by the door. The back door buzzed loudly and they walked through. Letty followed Landon closely as they entered what looked like an officer’s break room. Captain Wesley Harris stood at the counter dressed in his service whites as a coffee pot percolated loudly. Turning his body around nonchalantly, the captain did an about face to see who had come through the back door. When his eyes fell upon Landon’s face, he nearly choked. Glaring at Landon, the captain crossed the room with a grave look upon his face.
In a muffled voice, the captain barked, “What the fuck are you doing here? Did anybody see you?”
“Nobody’s seen me. They have bigger fish to fry.”
“What’s the problem? Who is this?” the captain asked as he motioned to Letty.
“Two things. Number one, we need to report a crime. Number two, the guy you got in a holding cell is innocent. He’s being set up.”
“Okay, wait. Slow down. What crime are you reporting?”
“There was a break-in at my father’s house. My son and my father are missing. I haven’t been able to reach them since last night and when I showed up today, the front door was open and the house is in shambles,” Letty shakily explained.
Grabbing a notepad and a pen off of the counter, the captain told Letty to write down the description of her father and son, the address of the break-in, and the times of her calls. As she did so, he continued to talk to Landon.
“Okay, Capadonno. What about the guy in holding?”
“He’s my brother.”
“Yeah, he’s got quite the record.”
“He has an alibi,” Landon explained. “Vinnie ‘The Fish’ Moretta was murdered at approximately 11:45 p.m. At that time, Miles Capadonno was with Letty, her father Juan and her son at his house. The only time that Miles has been alone since getting out of prison was when he went clothes shopping Saturday morning, and earlier in the evening Friday night.”
“When he opened fire in the middle of Center Square on Moretta…” the captain said.
“Fish and Dante were attacking me. Miles was trying to protect me!” Letty spat.
Landon dug his hands in his pants pockets as he fished for something. Pulling his hands back out, he tossed a small camcorder cassette tape on the table. The label on the tape was marked “Evidence.”
“What’s this?” the captain asked.
“Surveillance tapes. You’ll find what’s on them very interesting,” Landon said.
The captain quickly grabbed the tape and gave Landon a dark gaze.
“I’ll review it. Keep your cell phone on.”
“Will do,” Landon said.
The sound of rustling feet echoed from the hall as several approaching officers laughed loudly.
“You better go,” the captain said urgently. “Go on, get out of here. I’ll keep you posted.”
“What about my son and my father? What about Miles?” Letty begged.
“It’s all being worked on. Keep your phone on you and charged. I’ll be in touch.”
Not a moment later, Landon grabbed Letty’s hand and yanked her out the back door as a group of officers entered the break room.
“Let’s go back to your house. I need time to think,” Landon insisted.
Letty nodded somberly as she got into the car.
As Landon got into the car, he clutched the steering wheel tightly. Glancing over at Letty he spilled the words on his tongue.
“This has my father’s name all over it.”
The dinner party went on as if nothing had gone wrong at all. Michael laughed joyously at a joke Ruin told. Knox meanwhile told stories of how he was taking down the Rigattis and their network of associates in New York City. Michael laughed loudly, beaming as he looked in the face of his second-eldest son.
“Sometimes, to take out your enemies, you have to just play it smart. It’s not like the old days where things were so violent. Sometimes you just need an inside man with a lot of power.”
Dustin rolled his eyes at his father. As the conversation changed from Knox to the miserable scowl on Raine’s face, Dustin leaned in to talk to his brother.
“Are you done fucking schmoozing? We need to figure out what the fuck is going on!”
“Be cool,” Knox spat.
Adjusting his suit, Knox stood up with a warm smile on his face.
“Dustin, my brother, you look like you could use another drink. Let me do the honors.”