Chapter 4 - BOX 317
Dominic wanted me nowhere near Federal Street.
His mother wanted the exact opposite.
Guess who won.
At 11:45 A.M., I entered Boston Continental Vault between Dominic and Evelyn while three security men followed behind us.
I had never felt more conspicuous in my life.
The manager saw Dominic and nearly swallowed his tie.
We were led downstairs.
Box 317 required two keys.
The brass key from my grocery bag fit one lock.
Evelyn's fingerprint authorization opened the second.
Inside sat three objects.
A sealed envelope.
A flash drive.
And an old photograph.
Dominic picked up the picture first.
Four men stood outside a warehouse beside Boston Harbor.
One was a much younger Dominic.
One was his father, Anthony Vescari.
The third was Dominic's uncle, Victor.
The fourth man's face had been scratched away.
On the back, someone had written:
THE NIGHT BEFORE ANTHONY DIED.
Dominic stopped breathing for a moment.
“My father died in a car bombing eighteen years ago.”
Evelyn's hand shook.
“You were told the Moretti family ordered it.”
“They did.”
“No.”
One word.
That was all it took to change the room.
Dominic stared at his mother.
“What are you saying?”
Evelyn looked suddenly older.
“I spent eighteen years believing it too.”
She opened the envelope.
Inside were bank records.
Payments.
Offshore transfers.
Names.
Dates.
Dominic scanned the pages.
His expression became colder with every line.
I couldn't understand most of it, but I recognized one name appearing repeatedly.
Victor Vescari.
Dominic's uncle.
His father's younger brother.
Then Dominic connected the flash drive to a secure laptop one of his men carried.
One audio file appeared.
Eighteen years old.
Evelyn pressed play.
Static filled the vault.
Then a man's frightened voice spoke.
“If Anthony finds out Victor arranged the meeting, we're all dead.”
Another man responded.
“He won't find out.”
Dominic closed the laptop.
Hard.
No one spoke.
Evelyn began crying.
“I received this recording in London three weeks ago.”
“From whom?”
“I don't remember.”
Dominic turned away, furious.
I touched Evelyn's arm.
“Don't force it.”
He looked at me.
For once, he listened.
Then the vault manager knocked.
“Mr. Vescari?”
Dominic opened the door.
The man's face was white.
“There's a problem upstairs.”
“What problem?”
“Three vehicles just arrived.”
Dominic's guards reached beneath their jackets.
The manager swallowed.
“They're registered to your family's company.”
Dominic relaxed slightly.
I didn't.
Because through the basement security monitor, I saw the first man step from the elevator.
I had seen him before.
He had been across the street the night Evelyn was robbed.
May you like
And he wasn't looking for Dominic.
He was looking directly into the camera at me.
