Page 66 of The Fighter
“I know.”
“Play the next one.”
I pressed play and again Dina came through with a brittle voice. “I’m begging you, Dad. Pay Henry the money you owe him. I don’t understand why you would steal it from him. He fought for me and he needs the money to get us out of this tiny apartment. It’s his money, Dad. Please, I’m begging you. Call me.”
Tears welled up in Raven’s eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about Dina non-stop since I found her file and to hear her voice…” She brushed her hair back. “I don’t know, it’s just very powerful.”
“Yeah, but you can’t get emotionally attached, Raven. We’re only working on this case for you to learn.”
“I know that.”
“Good, because no matter how well you do your job, Dina is still going to be dead.”
She nodded and gestured for me to play the next ones. There were nine sound files, with Dina growing more and more desperate – from her initial sad and begging tone to the seventh, where she was speaking in a harsh tone.
“Dad, I know what you did and why you took that money. You are bankrupt! Mom told me, and I would help you, except you already stole my husband’s fortune so I can’t feel bad for you. You’re a thief and a liar. But here’s the thing. I also know that Khan isn’t your son. That’s right, I heard you and Mom talk about it years ago. Since you won’t answer my calls or do the right thing, I guess you leave me no choice than to play dirty too. If you don’t make sure to pay Henry his money, I’ll share that piece of information with anyone who will listen. Just pay what you owe us and I’ll never mention it again.”
There were two more sound files of Dina making threats and in the last one she made a comment that had Raven and me exchanging a long look.
“Khan has been trying to get in touch with me. Did you know that? Does he know that you’re not his father? So far, I haven’t picked up, but next time he calls I’m telling him everything unless we have the money.”
“How old was Dina again?” I asked.
“Fifteen.”
“Wow, she is threatening the biggest psychopath in the country like she’s some kind of immortal warrior. What was she thinking?”
Raven frowned. “Don’t call him that. Everyone has a back story, and you don’t know his.”
“And you do?”
Raven gave a sharp inhalation and nodded. “I spoke to Erika, who told me about Marcus and the things that made him a bloodthirsty cynic.”
“Care to share?”
Raven told what she had learned from Erika and it made me sit back with my mouth open. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Marcus to see his woman raped like that. If anyone touched yo…” I stopped before I finished that sentence and tried to cover up my slip. “…touched young women without consent, I would kill them.”
Raven studied me. She had to know I had meant her, but she didn’t say anything. “But not if they touched an older woman?”
“Yes. Of course. Any man who raped a woman would be dead if I came across him.”
“Right.” She broke eye contact. “Anyway, all I’m saying is just that Marcus wasn’t always evil.”
“Fair enough, but apparently he was broke and willing to rob his daughter and son-in-law for a fortune.”
“According to Michael, who was Henry’s roommate, Marcus only paid one hundred thousand out of the million.”
I whistled. “Poor Henry shouldn’t have signed up for that tournament. If he had just stayed home, he wouldn’t have had to go through hellish fights in a tournament, only to be cheated out of nine hundred thousand dollars, and shortly after, become a widower, before he was killed himself. Shit, that is a lot of bad luck for one man.”
“At least, Dina was nice to him. She went against her father on Henry’s behalf.”
“Yes, she was like a female version of Magni. Fearless.”
“Do you think Dina and Henry consummated their marriage?”
