Luca
"How many times do I have to fucking tell you? I've never seen this girl." I hissed. We had been at this for hours since they dragged me in here, and neither side was making any progress.
"You mean aside from the evening you discovered her body on the side of a river bank in New Orleans?" The detective arched his eyebrow at me condescendingly.
"Right. I've never seen this girl alive. Better?" I grabbed the picture off of the table and ripped it to shreds. I couldn't stand to look at it any longer. It had been hard to swallow back then, but even more so now that Layla was about the same age.
"Why don't we start from the top again? Why were you down in New Orleans?"
12 years ago
"I really appreciate the help you guys," Axel said slugging back his beer. "These drugs are showing up all over the place and they're starting to tie several bodies to them. I'm worried about the implications."
As usual, Axel was down here, playing both sides of the fence. He was running a small hallucinogenic ring down here, and there bad drugs were bad for his business. He was acting as an informant so the police would take them off the streets and keep attention away from the illegal shit he had going. I seriously had no clue how he kept up with all the double crossing he did.
"No problem, man. We've been looking for anything and everything to do to keep us busy." I chuckled.
"I'll be honest. I was surprised Charlotte agreed to let you come."
Angelo scoffed. "Agreed? He didn't tell her."
There was still some pretty heavy animosity between Axel and Angelo that I didn't totally understand. I knew there had been an altercation between the two of them while I was captive, but Angelo never really elaborated. All I knew was that he didn't trust Axel as far as he could throw him, and he was only here because he didn't want me involved with him on my own. I didn't blame him, considering the last time we worked with Axel, Niko nearly killed me.
Axel's eyes got big. "Where does she think you are?"
"Anyone else having déjà vu of Axel getting Luca involved in something that's going to be an issue with Charlotte?" Angelo quipped.
"She knows we're down here." I glared at Angelo. "She just doesn't know we're here on a case."
"Well, I'll try to get you back home as soon as possible." Axel ignored Angelo's antagonizing. "There's a specific spill way underneath the highway that we think they're dealing from. Everything comes with the same logo and every package I've managed to scrounge up has been laced with fentanyl."
"You think it's local bangers?" Angelo asked.
"I honestly don't know. That's why you're here. I tried to call Carlo since he's the new Don but he wasn't able to come out. I wanted to see if it matched anything he's seen lately."
"Well, why don't we go check out the bridge and see what we can find?" I suggested, finishing my beer. We paid our tab and headed out."
Present Day
"Like I said the last five times, I was down there on a guy's trip..."
"With Axel Dominguez."
"Axel is my cousin."
"Right, the mafia Don is cousins with the gang member turned police informant." He chuckled.
"I have no clue what you're talking about. I know nothing about the mafia, let alone run one."
"Continue." He waved me on, not believing a single thing I was saying.
"We went to the casino, won some money, got drunk and were walking along the river, got to a spillway and saw the girl. She was naked, halfway covered up with a tarp and her teeth had been knocked out."
"You certainly have a callous way of talking about a young girl who was murdered..." He smirked, grasping at any straw he could.
I rubbed my forehead, so exhausted I was nearly brain dead. "I'm sorry that she was murdered. I think the men that did this to her are the scum of the earth and, to be honest, I'd like some time alone with them when you do find them. But I can promise you, you've got the wrong guy. I have two daughters, I have nieces, my wife literally works with victims of abuse, just like this girl. You honestly think I could look at any of them after torturing this poor girl?"
"It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what I can prove. And at this point, your story is just the icing on the cake."
"All you can prove is that I was in New Orleans and found the body. I'm not disputing any of that."
"I can prove that you followed Ms. Fields down there and were there last one to see her alive, that drugs belonging to your organization were found on her body, and that there was gun found in your house that matches the gun used in the murder. It's with ballistics right not and I'm betting I'll get a positive report here any second."
I clenched my jaw, wondering how exactly he was going to prove all of that. Someone was doing me up, that was for sure. It wasn't like I could tell him the full story without implicating both Axel and Carlo in this as well. Carlo was Don at that time, and probably was at least aware of what was going on. This has gone on long enough. I wasn't getting anywhere with them, and I knew better than to say too much.
"I'm not saying another word without my lawyer."
Charlotte
"We're here about Luca Catalano." Marco told the desk sergeant when we walked into the station.
She pressed her lips together and stood up. "Let me get someone who can help you." She disappeared down a hallway as we waited in the lobby.
The police station was a cold and sterile place. I had been in so many of them the last several years to meet with victims, but it was a completely different experience to be on this side of it. A few officers nearby had heard Marco say we were here for Luca and I could feel their judgmental stares on us. Luca was an enemy of the police, and once they knew we were associated with him, we were, too. I hated every bit of this.
Marco led me over to a bench and we sat down. I was so anxious to see Luca, knowing the hell he'd probably been through today. He'd be exhausted, and probably completely irate. Luca wasn't a patient person, and I knew he probably wasn't doing himself any favors.
We had only been sitting there a few minutes when Stone appeared.
"Charlotte, Marco." He gave us a tight smile.
"Stone, hey. What's going on?" Marco stood up quickly.
"Well, I wish I had better news." He sighed. "Luca isn't coming home tonight. And neither is Angelo."
"What? Why not?" My voice cracked. I knew it was a possibility, but hearing it out loud caught me off guard.
"They're charging Luca with capital murder, Angelo with aiding and abetting. They'll spend the night here in jail and then tomorrow morning be arraigned. Hopefully, at that point, we will post bail and get them out of here."
"Hopefully?" Marco was skeptical.
Stone cringed. "Look, I don't know what they have on them yet, but those are pretty serious charges. It's got to be more than the gun. I wouldn't be surprised if the judge granted remand."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Remand meant Luca and Angelo would have to stay in jail until their trials, which could be months or even years from now.
"Did they let you see them?"
"Yes, they both seem to be doing okay. They're strong, Char. Both Luca and Angelo have been through worse than this. And I'm confident we'll get it all straightened out. First step is arraignment tomorrow. We can't do anything until we see how that goes."
"That doesn't sound promising. How serious is this?" Marco asked.
"It's the best I can do right now, Marco. My hands are kind of tied. Neither Luca nor Angelo is going to talk to the police anymore tonight. I'll know more about the seriousness of it tomorrow. They'll have to disclose their evidence and I can see what we're dealing with. They won't let you see him tonight, Char. The best thing we can all do is go home and get some rest."
"I'm not leaving here without seeing him." I said, fighting back tears.
"That's not possible, Charlotte."
"I want to see him. This is bullshit. Capitol murder? There is no way in hell he would..."
"I know that, and I'm going to do everything I can to make this right. I'll see you both at court in the morning." Stone headed out.
"He's right, Char. He'll fight like hell for them in the morning."
"But what if that's not good enough?" We were drawing the attention of a few more officers now.
"Look, we all need some rest and you and I aren't any help here right now."
"No!" I yelled. "I'm not leaving here until I see Luca."
"Ma'am, we're going to need you to leave." One of the officers said.
"Excuse me? You can't make me leave without seeing him. You can't deny him..."
"Charlotte..."
I whipped my head around at the sound of a voice I recognized.
"Carson." It stopped me in my tracks to see my friend and coworker standing there. He and I worked together countless times on trafficking cases. He was the assistant DA I worked most often with. "What are you doing here?"
He hesitated. "Why don't we go somewhere where we can talk? Would that be okay?"
"Absolutely not." Marco interrupted.
"It's okay." I said. "I trust him. He's my friend."
"Then I'm coming with you." He insisted.
I glanced towards Carson, hoping that was okay. I couldn't be too careful right now, even with someone I knew and trusted. He was here, after all. That meant he was probably on the prosecution team.
"We can meet down here." He gestured toward a room at the end of the hall.
We all sat down, and Marco checked underneath the table for wires.
"Cameras off?" He clarified.
"Absolutely. Look, all of this is off the record. I shouldn't even be taking to you." Carson said, sitting down at the table.
"Are you prosecuting Luca?" I asked, my voice shallow.
He shook his head. "Not exactly. I'm on the team, but Whittaker is insisting on handling this himself."
"How bad is it?" I gulped.
"Bad." Carson frowned. "Charlotte, the gun was just the beginning. They have surveillance footage, they have DNA, they have witnesses. He's made a lot of enemies in this city and they want to bury him."
"But she wasn't even found dead here. The murder, which he didn't commit, was in New Orleans." I said, squeezing my hands together.
"Right." He nodded. "But it's a federal crime because of his ties to organized crime."
"What do they want?" I asked, biting my lip.
"Life, at the least." He said.
"The least?" Marco asked.
"New Orleans has the death penalty. It's possible that.." Carson trained off.
"You can't be serious." I felt like throwing up.
"Everything I'm hearing is just rumors right now. Nothing is for sure, but I have to be honest with you, Char. This isn't good."
"And this evidence they have...it's solid?" Marco asked.
"As far as I can tell, but it is such a highly publicized case that it will be triple checked."
"Carson, you know he wouldn't do this. You have to know..."
"Charlotte, I'm so sorry for you. And for your family. I want to help as much as I can, but I shouldn't even be here right now. All I can say is that I would find a good lawyer." He stood up. "Good luck. I'm praying for you."
Carson left Marco and I sitting in the room alone.
I was paralyzed with fear. This couldn't be happening. How could they possibly have all of that evidence if Luca's story was true? Doubt started to creep into my mind, but I did my best to squash it down. I hated myself for feeling that way. I knew he would never do they were accusing him of, but there had to be more to the story. More he wasn't telling me.
Marco wrapped his arms around me tightly. "It's going to be okay. We're going to figure this out."
He tried to reassure me, but I was starting to think that wasn't possible. I couldn't see a way out of this.