If Luca killed someone, the body would not turn up behind his fiancée’s pizza shop. There would be no shallow grave. No one would stumble into evidence.

No. This wasn’t his handiwork. But Voss’s job was not to admire criminal craftsmanship. His job was to investigate. And right now, everything pointed to the Scalese sisters.

Cassidy was Veronica’s ex. Ricardo was Valentina’s ex. Both men had disappeared under suspicious circumstances on the same day.

And now both their bodies had been found together in a shallow grave behind the pizza parlour.

Luca might not know it yet, but this was a mess. A real fucking mess. Voss had seen the scene with his own eyes. By the time the workers called the police and he got to Scalese Pizza, the street was already swollen with people. Neighbours, passers-by, curious idiots with phones out. Reporters would not be far behind.

He could barely make it through the crowd. Yellow tape had gone up around the back of the shop. Officers pushed people away. The workers stood pale and shaken near the side entrance, one of them still retching into a drain.

The whispers had started immediately.

Wasn’t she accused before?

Didn’t someone die in that shop already?

That’s the devil’s girlfriend, right?

This just fed the suspicion people already had about Veronica being a murderer. Someone had it out for Veronica Scalese.

He was sure of that much. And he wondered if Luca was doing anything about it. Knowing Luciano Genovese, he probably was. With that infuriating calm that made Voss want to punch a wall. Luca always knew something before everyone else did, and Voss had spent far too long trying to catch up to him.

He might have been an asshole about the arrest at the wedding, but who said he was here to make Luca’s life easier? He looked through the glass at Veronica sitting in the interrogation room.

The navy satin dress looked absurd against the dull grey walls, too elegant for a police station. Her makeup had held though her eyes looked cold, angry.

Voss sighed. Would she have had a better life if she had just stayed with Cassidy? Would Cassidy still be alive?

Maybe. Maybe not. Still, Veronica’s life had gone straight to hell the moment Luca Genovese stepped into it and decided she was his.

Voss rubbed a hand over his face. This whole case stank. He didn’t like it. The bodies behind the pizza parlour were too convenient. But setups still had evidence. Evidence still needed answering. And suspects still cracked when pressure was applied in the right place.

If Veronica or Valentina spilled their guts against Luca, he would take whatever chance he could get.

Even if it stank. Even if every instinct told him this wasn’t the clean road. Luca had to go down for his crimes.

One way or another and Voss would use whatever path opened in front of him. He inhaled, pushed away from the glass, and exited the viewing room. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Voss stood in the narrow hallway, gathering himself. The precinct hummed around him in its usual ugly rhythm.

He opened the interrogation-room door and stepped inside. Veronica sat at the metal table, elegant and out of place beneath the harsh fluorescent light. The dress belonged in a church, beside flowers and music and laughter. Voss closed the door behind him. "Miss Scalese?"

She lifted her eyes to him. "I still do not understand why I am your suspect, Detective."

Voss pulled out the chair across from her and sat. "Because..." He paused, watching her face closely. "We found you and your sister’s ex-boyfriends."

"So?"

He leaned forward. "We found them dead and buried behind the pizza parlour."

For all her composure, she could not stop the reaction. Her breath caught sharply. One hand lifted to her mouth, then both hands covered her face as if she could block out the image before it formed.

"Oh, don’t pretend to get some grief over their deaths," Voss said, his voice sharpening. "You wanted both men gone."

Vee’s hands dropped slowly. Her eyes were glassy, but the look she gave him was pure steel. "You really are a miserable man," she said quietly.

Voss’s jaw tightened. "Cassidy was your ex. Ricardo was Valentina’s ex. Both of them disappeared. Both of them ended up buried behind property you own. You expect me to call that coincidence?"

"I expect you to use the brain God gave you, but maybe I’m being ambitious."

"You had motive."

Vee laughed once. "Then I killed them and buried them behind a shop under renovation? Really? That’s your theory?"

His eyes narrowed. Luca was rubbing off on her. God help them all.

"Detective," she said, "I believe I have a right to a phone call. I’d like a lawyer here with me before you ask your questions."

Voss exhaled. "Yes, yes, yes." He waved a hand, irritation flashing across his face. "Your boyfriend already called the boss of my boss’s boss."

Vee’s lips curved faintly. "Fiancé," she corrected.

Voss ignored it. "He’s on his way with your lawyer, and I am not asking you any questions without your lawyer in the room."

"So what the fuck are you doing here with me?" Vee asked. "I was enjoying the silence."

"I just wanted to talk, that’s all. Offer you an opportunity to get ahead of this."

Vee gave a bitter little laugh. "Let me guess. You want me to give you all of Luca’s dirty little secrets you have conjured up in your head."

"Conjured?" Voss asked. "No. Giving me? Yes."

She stared at him, disgust curling through her face. "At least you’re honest about being pathetic."

Voss’s eyes hardened. "This is not going to go away, Miss Scalese. You have pissed off a lot of people on your block," he continued. "People who already thought you got away with murder once. People who watched Scalese Pizza become police tape and body bags. They want you to go down."

Her jaw tightened.

"Now?" he said. "Inferi’s people are quite certain you had something to do with his disappearance. Everyone wants your head."

(Brought to you by Missy Dionne 1/2)