Page 99 of Made of Steele
“Your future is up to you.” Drew took out his phone. “But before we talk about that, I wanted you to hear a conversation Rossi had with Tony and Nasim Jabal.”
Vito’s eyebrow raised. “Where did this conversation take place?”
“At Rossi’s warehouse over a crate of heroin and cocaine.” Drew set his phone on the table. “Listen to this.”
The audio started, and Rossi’s deep voice rumbled over the speaker. Vito sat back, the cocky look remaining on his face.
Rossi mentioned Vito’s name and Jabal said he must die.
Vito’s face lost color. He sat up straight, planting his hands on the table. “Why mention me? I’m no snitch. No more than either of my brothers are.”
“Apparently they don’t have any faith in you,” Teagan said.
Vito crossed his arms. “They’re wrong.”
“Are they?” Drew asked. “I know you would never want to turn against your family, but think about how Sal and Aldo treat you. About how they let you walk off and didn’t come looking for you. Sal told me if you didn’t go back to the office after your fight that he was going to write you off.”
“He really said that?”
“He did.”
“You’re lying to me.”
“I’m not.” Drew’s eyes narrowed and gone was the nice guy. “Think about it, Vito. If I wanted to lie to you, I’d make things sound even worse so you would really think badly of Sal. But I’m telling you the truth so you can tell us the truth. I can let the DA know that you cooperated. He can go easier on you.”
“I can’t.”
“They will, you know?” Drew asked.
“Will what?”
“Blame you for the drugs and antiquities exactly like they blame you when anything else goes wrong. And then there are the murder charges.”
“Murder?” Vito’s jaw dropped. “We didn’t kill anyone.”
“Then explain why we found Smiley and three other men buried on his property,” Teagan said. “A property that Rossi continued to pay the taxes on, likely so no one found the graves.”
Panic settled into Vito’s eyes, and his gaze flitted around the room. “The only thing I know about Smiley is that he died and that the Jamal guy took me to Smiley’s house to kill me with some stupid game.”
“You wouldn’t have been his first victim, but number five.”
“No. No.” Vito shot his gaze from Teagan to Drew and back again. “You have to believe me. Please. We had nothing to do with that.”
“Are you sure your brothers didn’t know about it?” Teagan pressed. “Think for a moment, and you’ll know we’re right. It’s in your best interest to tell us everything you know.”
“I don’t… I just…”
He was starting to cave, and Teagan would take full advantage of it. “I get how you feel. I have two sisters. We fought as you can imagine three girls would do. And it could result in two sisters ganging up on the third.” She didn’t go into any details as it honestly didn’t happen often. “They’ll leave you hanging out there to take the blame while they go free.”
He bit his lip and then sighed. “Sure, they’d bullied me. All the time actually. I don’t like that, but they won’t let me take the fall.”
“Okay.” Drew stood. “We just brought both of them in too, so we’ll see what Sal has to say. After he rolls over on you, remember that I offered you the first chance to reduce your sentence and keep you from going away for an accessory to murder.”
“Wait.” Vito lifted his hands. “Sit. I don’t know anything about the murders, but I’ll tell you what I know.”
Drew took his time taking his seat and shifted a few times on the chair. “Then start talking, beginning with the first time you sold stolen antiquities and illegal drugs.”
Drew parked in front of Teagan’s big Victorian home. Vito had confirmed the many suspicions Drew had of the family’s activities. Sal and Aldo remained tight-lipped. For now. And Oliver? They’d brought him in too, along with the antiquity for evaluation. He wouldn’t turn on anyone. Just clammed up and asked for a lawyer.
