Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“He also ran with one of the Mafia families,” Raine said, leaning down to peer at her screen and the data flowing across it. “He was often seen going into their restaurants and even, occasionally, their homes.”
There was another silence while the six women considered what that could mean. Stella pressed her lips together and looked to Raine. Raine sighed and shook her head. Stella nodded.
Raine gave another sigh of reluctance. “Women in a family were often used to cement relationships or add to territories. They had little say in marriages. Their fathers often regarded them as nothing more than assets to benefit the business. If a daughter was promised to a man in another family for a reason, she was expected to remain a virgin, especially back then. If she got pregnant by an outsider, I can’t imagine what would be done to her.”
Zahra threw herself backward again, pillow to her face. “This is getting worse and worse. I’m beginning to really feel sorry for Daniel Wallin, and I had him pegged as a total villain.”
“Is there a way to find out for certain if Daniel’s mother was the daughter of a Mafia family member?” Vienna asked. “There must be records.”
“Not necessarily,” Raine said. “If they had promised her to someone, they wouldn’t want it known that she’d gotten pregnant. They might have had her deliver and promised to keep the baby alive if she cooperated and went through with the marriage they needed.”
“That would explain why Daniel was raised by his father and there was never a whisper about his mother. It might also explain which Mafia family backed him and why,” Vienna said.
“I’m looking for anything I can find in records of births. Also, names of Mafia families that were in Vegas at that time and then again when Daniel would have needed money from backers,” Raine said. “Those families have gone underground.”
“Add in when Liam was murdered and now,” Vienna suggested. “See if there’s a common name. Or at least one name that fits most of those times.”
Shabina went into the kitchen and began to slice up vegetables. “I’m going to make certain everything’s ready for tonight’s dinner. I can just put things in the Instant Pot.”
Zahra leapt up. “I’ll get things ready for a salad.” She began pulling more vegetables out of the refrigerator. Harlow joined them.
“Here’s something. It’s very brief. Dr. Lars Marten rushed to the home of Angelo Bottaro to answer the call to aid his daughter, Isabella, who had fallen down the stairs and was unconscious. Isabella was doing fine, but on the way home, Dr. Marten lost control of his car on the ice, hit the bridge, spun and went into the river. This timeline fits with the birth of Daniel. It wouldn’t surprise me if Bottaro ordered Marten to be killed. He wouldn’t want to leave any witnesses to his daughter’s betrayal of their family,” Raine said.
“Is the Bottaro family mentioned in Vegas?” Vienna asked.
“Yes,” Raine said. “They had a large foothold there. No mention of Isabella after her fall down the stairs. I looked for her marriage and didn’t find one. She could have been married to someone in Italy or Sicily. I haven’t searched there yet. I’m trying to keep to our timelines in Vegas.”
Vienna began to get that feeling in her gut that told her they were on the right track. She didn’t know anything about crime families or what they did or didn’t do, but if they were willing to take their daughter’s child from her and send her off to another man, pretending she was a virgin in order to gain some kind of political advantage, she thought they would do anything. Just how long would Isabella have been able to keep up the lie? Her husband would have discovered she wasn’t a virgin. Even if she could have come up with a plausible excuse, a doctor would have known she’d had a child. What would her husband have done to her when he found out? It was so clear that her father didn’t care what happened to her.
If Daniel was Angelo Bottaro’s grandson, Angelo very well could have decided to build a hotel and casino with him and allowed him to be the front man.
“There’s something about Daniel’s father’s death that struck me wrong,” Raine said.
Stella glanced at her sharply. Vienna caught the look that passed between them. Clearly, Stella knew things about Raine the rest of them didn’t. That was okay with Vienna. They all had things in their pasts that they would rather have stay there. Raine was very discerning when it came to murder. She had moved her screen back to the photographs in the alley where the body was discovered.
“These were taken outside the Bottaro family restaurant in Los Angeles. You can see the dumpsters here and all the boxes with the name printed on it. Look at his clothes. He used to dress really nice, in suits. Here he looks like he’s been living on the streets and eating out of dumpsters. Why would someone choose to rob him?” Raine seemed to be musing aloud rather than asking any of them.