Page 96 of The Pretender

“Kill Mike off. Balt is alive and well.” Deo kisses me again, lingering as he tickles the nape of my neck. “I like that name. Mike is so pedestrian.”

“I like it too. It feels like me.”

“What do you say we get the stuff together for Nonna and get this monkey off our backs?”

“Excellent plan.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

amadeo

Just when Ithink life can’t get any stranger, Nonna proves me wrong. Sitting in the tiny living room of the cottage, listening to her explain the situation to her cousin I’ve never heard of before is surreal. It’s like I don’t even know the woman I grew up with, but in a good way. She led an interesting life before settling down with a family in the Midwest, and I want to know more.

“Uh-huh. What do you need from us?” Nonna asks. “Hold on. I’m gonna put you on speaker.” She hits the button on the phone. “Okay, Lou, go on.”

“Alright,” Lou says. “I can be there in about two hours. I’ll get the watch and the papers.”

Lou has a sharp New York accent that makes him sound like he’s an actor right out of a popular Mafia movie.

“Then I’ll get the plan rolling. Tony can handle the delivery.”

“Uh, Lou? Hi, this is… the man of the hour,” Balt says. “I’d like to hear how you plan to get this news to Vin. He’s not easily fooled.”

“I got you, man,” Lou says. “Here’s the plan. My contact in New York will source the body to match your looks. You’re going to send Vin a message that you’re returning to the city to givehim all the information he needs. That way he’ll be expecting you.”

“Okay.”

I squeeze Balt’s shoulder to remind him he’s not alone. I can see the concern all over his face.

“Mike is going to book a hotel room and a man matching your description will check in. Unfortunately, Mike will be found floating in the bathtub, dead from an apparent overdose. The identification, the gold watch, and the paperwork will be there. The water will help bloat the features and there won’t be any reason to do a deeper dive on the investigation.”

“Suicide.” Balt nods solemnly. “Vin will buy that. Especially if there’s a note. He wouldn’t expect me to be clever enough to pull this off without his help.”

“I was gonna ask for the note next,” Lou says. “Go with the ‘no way out’ angle.”

Balt clenches his jaw. “Are there any other choices?”

“Sure. The other option is a fluke shooting. Poor Mike got caught in the crossfire. It’s harder to pull off but not impossible. We put you in a shitty hotel, stage a shooting, and the body is found outside the building.”

Balt looks at me, but I shrug. I’ve never had to plan the perfect death before.

“If I can offer a suggestion,” Brogan says. “Go with the shooting. It keeps you looking innocent. Suicide has an air of guilt to it.”

“It won’t matter what he thinks after this,” Balt says. “I’ll never go back.” He rubs his forehead. “I am leaning in that direction though, simply because it avoids involving hotel staff, and if there aren’t any witnesses around, no one is traumatized by this.”

“We can do that,” Lou says. “I can even make sure one of my guys ‘finds’ the body, if you will. With no witnesses, other than people hearing gunshots, we’ll avoid involving others.”

“How closely will this… body resemble me?”

“Unfortunately the bullet obscured some of the facial features, so the body will be identified using the obvious methods—identification documents and personal effects.”

Balt nods, glancing at Nonna. “And how will Vin find out?”

“He’ll be the last used number on your phone. He’ll be contacted to see if he’s next of kin and all that. He’ll probably come down to identify the body or send one of his guys. Then he’ll know. He’ll be given the watch, your identification, and the folder with the information you had for him. He’ll see it with his own eyes.”

Balt sits back on the sofa, staring straight ahead. “Any other options?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t know if it works in this situation though.”