Chapter 3 - THE BLOOD BENEATH THE STUDY DOOR
Nico returned forty minutes later.
I was sitting on the sofa wearing a borrowed sweater and loose pants.
He stopped in the doorway.
“Are you all right?”
I looked up.
“Is my father gone?”
“He's in police custody.”
I exhaled.
Nico approached slowly.
“Can I sit?”
I nodded.
He sat across from me.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he said, “You told me you witnessed something when you were twelve.”
My hands tightened around the blanket.
I stared at the floor.
“My father had a business partner.”
Nico waited.
“His name was Daniel Mercer.”
Nico went still.
I looked up.
“You know him?”
His expression changed.
“Daniel Mercer was my father's accountant.”
My heart stopped.
I swallowed.
“He came to our house one night.”
Nico didn't move.
“He was shouting at my father.”
I closed my eyes.
“He said Edmund had stolen money from the Ferrara family.”
Nico's jaw tightened.
I continued.
“I was standing outside the study.”
My voice trembled.
“I heard Daniel say he had proof.”
Then I remembered the sound.
The gunshot.
The silence.
The blood.
I looked at Nico.
“My father opened the door afterward.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“He was holding a gun.”
Nico stared.
“And Daniel?”
May you like
I swallowed.
“He was on the floor.”
