“Wait,” she begins, frowning. “Jimmy’s crew found the truck?”
“Yeah.”
“But Jimmy’s crewlostthe truck.”
“Yeah.”
“And all the money was still inside?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And this happens on the night you’re giving Tommy the contract to kill Jimmy?”
“That’s right,” I whisper behind another exhausted exhale. “Nothing suspicious about that at all, right?”
Alannah doesn’t answer. She takes a second to think about all the information before speaking again.
“Wow, quite the story,” she says, looking me in the eye so I can see the shock in hers.
“Yeah, I’ll say.”
“So, what now?”
“I have them taking the truck back tonight, so that’s step one. Once that’s done, I’ll put all my effort into finding out who took it to begin with, and when I find out, it’s over for them, whether they’re made or not. I’m tired of playing games. I don’t even give a fuck if the Commission approves it. I won’t let shit like this slide.”
“Who do you think took it?” she asks, her eyes boring into mine.
“I think it was Jimmy,” I admit. “I just don’t know why he’d take it and then give it back.”
“Maybe he thought he could get away with it, then realized he’d end up dead if he didn’t back track. If I had to guess, I’d say he took it on impulse, then his brain kicked in and realized how dumb and dangerous it was, so he decided to give it back.”
“He’d have to be a complete idiot to think he could do that and get away with it. I’d like to think he knows me better than that.”
“I don’t know,” Alannah replies. “But you look stressed out, babe.”
“Nah, I ain’t stressed out, I just wanna show these motherfuckers you can’t get away with shit like this. I don’t know what the Commission is gonna wanna do after this, but I wanna make an example out of him.”
“Come here,” Alannah says as she places her hand on the back of my neck and pulls me forward, forcing me to lay on my back with my head in her lap. She looks down on me, rubbing the top of my head, staring into my eyes, and I feel like the tension in my body is instantly loosening. I let out a deep exhale and close my eyes, letting her touch relax my every muscle.
“Maybe there’s something else I need to be thinking about,” I say, as Alannah rubs her hand over my eyes, forcing me to close them and relax like I’m in a shrink’s office. “You trying to put me to sleep?” I ask, behind a chuckle.
“No, I just want you to relax, baby, that’s all. You want to talk, and I want to listen to you, that’s all.”
She rubs my face with the palms of her hands as I think out loud, letting her be my therapist—my priest in the confessional.
“I don’t know, but maybe this whole thing is a sign—a sign that says I need to start thinking about who I can and can’t trust. It’s been such a quiet year since I became the boss, but if history has proven anything, it’s that bosses are almost always being undermined by those closest to them. I need to think about who’s trustworthy. I don’t have any suspicion about Frankie or Tommy, but the rest of them, I don’t know. These guys were loyal to Leo, but are they loyal to me?”
I let Alannah’s hands caress my head as she sits in silence, doing nothing more than letting me talk. She knows that eventually I’ll figure it all out. I always do.
This little situation is tricky, though. Who the fuck steals an ice truck, finds over a million dollars in it, then just abandons it with the money still inside? No bummulignanwould ever do that. So it must be a wise guy, then. But why would a wise guy do it? I think back to when I was just a youngster trying to make a name for myself in this life, and I know for a fact I never would’ve left a truck with over a million dollars sitting in it. No fucking chance. So, I’m left with a big, fat question mark swirling around in my head.
“There isn’t a wise guy in the world who’d leave a truck with that much money in it,” I continue thinking aloud. “I’m getting a fucking headache thinking about this shit.”
“Maybe you should sleep on it. I’m sure it’ll come to you in the morning,” Alannah says, breaking her silence.
“Nah, I’m sorry, baby,” I reply, finally opening my eyes. “I think I may need a minute alone, actually. It’s been a long, fucked up day, and I need some time to think things through on my own.”
“I understand,” she answers as I sit up. “Well, I’m gonna go ahead and go lay down then. Not really feeling too well tonight.”
