‘Hal Cohen was like my father, and a lot of other men in this city. They made money from the suffering of others. I needed Hal to find the journal. I’d hidden it in Frank’s personal papers after the cops had searched the house. I wanted to Hal to find it, because he would try to exploit it. He was predictably corrupt. He gave the journal to the DA, then tried to make a buck. Depending on who was paying him the most, he would testify for them either saying the journal was real or a fake. I was never going to pay him. I wanted him to give the journal over, and for Alexandra to pay him to testify that it was real. Then, when you burned the journal in court, it would look like Hal and Alexandra had been in on the fraud the whole time. Especially when she was paying him. I couldn’t have Hal turn up in court and say I’d offered to bribe him. That wouldn’t do. He’d given the journal to the DA, and taken Alexandra’s money. After that he’d served his purpose.’
Flynn backed away, using his feet and elbows to move toward the hallway. Sofia followed, keeping the gun on him. Her knife was in her backpack in the living room. The smell of the blood, the feel of the weapon in her hand – it was intoxicating. She gestured with the gun that he should keep moving.
She wanted the knife for this.
She wanted to feel it in his flesh.
FIFTY-FIVE
EDDIE
She motioned with the gun that I should keep backing up, toward the lounge. This wasn’t the first time I’d had a gun pointed at me, but I got the impression she didn’t want to use it. She liked to work up close and personal. There was a look on her face that I couldn’t place. She wasn’t panicked, she wasn’t even breathing hard.
She was enjoying this. Every second. She had fooled me, but I wasn’t the only one. Sofia Avellino was a monster, and she’d worn a mask her whole life. Now, she had become who she had always wanted to be – a winner. She had all of her father’s money, and Alexandra ruined. She had her revenge on those she thought had wronged her, and she was almost pulsing with the power it gave her.
‘Keeping moving,’ she said. I was almost halfway across the hallway between the kitchen and lounge.
‘How does it feel? Knowing you’re going to die?’ she asked.
I said nothing, I kept moving.
‘Harper died too quickly. I wanted to cut her up, like I did with Daddy. But that would’ve looked too suspicious. You’ll die slow, Eddie.’
I should’ve been afraid. Fear could shut down a body just like a bullet. I wasn’t afraid. I was furious. I wanted to get up, grab that gun and put it under her chin. Keep it there, let the thought of death linger for Sofia and then pull the trigger.
The song playing through the house was kicking into gear, and Sofia was getting more excited with every passing note. ‘You want to kill me, don’t you?’ she said. ‘For what I did to Harper? Well, that’s not going to happen. You’re not going to kill me, Eddie.’
‘Had she still been alive, Harper would’ve caught you earlier,’ I said. ‘And you deserve to die for what you did to her, but you’re right. I’m not going to kill you.’ I stopped moving. ‘She is.’
Sofia’s eye’s blazed open, and then she wasn’t there anymore. A deafening boom filled the hallway. I cried out, but my voice was drowned by the sound. An explosion. One second Sofia was there, standing over me. The next, she was lying face down in the hallway, five feet away. She’d lost the gun, and there was a massive pool of blood coming from beneath her arm. I looked up and saw Bloch standing at the other end of the hallway, a huge silver revolver in her hand. Harry behind her.
I took out my phone and dialed 911.
FIFTY-SIX
EDDIE
One Month Later
‘Don’t I know you from someplace?’ said the hotdog vendor.
‘I’m a lawyer,’ I said.
‘Yeah, you represent that girl who killed Frankie Avellino.’
‘Not anymore.’
‘She fire you?’
‘No, I fired her.’
‘What do you want on your dog?’
‘Chili, cheese, jalapenos – the works,’ I said.
He handed me a huge hotdog on a plastic tray. I gave him a ten and told him to keep the change. He wasn’t the first person who’d recognized me in the past few weeks. It still burned that I hadn’t been able to spot Sofia. That she had managed to con me, Harry and … Harper. She’d made me feel sorry for her. And I hadn’t seen the monster behind that mask. If I had, maybe Harper would still be here.
That night, while the paramedics loaded Soames, Tyler and Sofia into separate ambulances, I called Kate. I told her everything. She had cried on the phone. The relief she felt hit me even harder. Kate had been right about Alexandra all along.
‘I should have listened to you. You called it right from the beginning.’
‘You were conned, Eddie. Not just you. Sofia convinced everyone. It’s not your fault.’
‘Don’t worry about me. Go get your client out of jail.’
Soames and Tyler survived the attack, and Alexandra Avellino became the first defendant in the state’s history to have her conviction overturned before she’d even been sentenced.
Sofia was facing multiple murder charges. She would plead not guilty by reason of insanity. It wouldn’t work. Her mental health problems were real, but none of them made her a killer, or explained the evil that came from within her. She’d survived the gunshot to the shoulder, but she’d lost the arm in the process. Maybe that was justice for Frank – because he would never have his killer put on trial – double jeopardy prevented it. Not that it mattered to Sofia – she would spend the rest of her life in pain, and in a cell. The pain would be made worse by the knowledge that Alexandra would inherit Frank’s estate.
I crossed the street and went through the glass doors of the building that was home to Levy, Bernard and Groff, attorneys at law. A receptionist gave me directions to the correct floor and I took the elevator. There were two guys in suits who were there to escort me. I recognized one of them as Scott. Levy’s blue-eyed boy. In the elevator, Scott wrinkled his nose and stared at my hotdog in disgust.
‘Sorry, you can’t have any,’ I said.
The doors opened and I was led to a glass-walled conference room. In the center of the room was a long table. The three managing partners of the firm sat at one side. John Bernard was in his seventies, well-groomed and wearing a tailor-made pin-stripe suit. Matthew Groff was a little younger, and paler, if that was possible. Levy was the youngest, and he sat in the center of the group. They were flanked by a group of security guards and associates. I’d heard about Bloch’s little incident with Levy. I liked Bloch.
Kate and Bloch sat facing the opposing army. Kate directly opposite Levy. Bloch on her left. I took the empty chair to the right of Kate. A view of the Manhattan skyline opened up behind Levy and his partners.
Kate had a laptop open in front of her. Bloch had a cardboard box at her feet. The associates that sat around the table all had iPads, legal pads or huge stacks of legal papers in front of them. Same with the partners.
I put my chili dog in front of me, and asked Bloch and Kate if they wanted a bite. Kate politely declined. Bloch just shook her head.