Page 97 of Golden Touch
Benito’s eyes brighten. “Took an entire day, but we found footage of the perp buying gasoline in a small container the day before. I got a plate number and found he’s a Valkyries member. Arrested him this morning. Get this—he googled ‘how to make a Molotov cocktail’ on his phone. The tab was still open on the browser.”
I smile for one split second. But then I remember that it doesn’t matter if the perp goes to jail. The brewery is still gone. Decades of love and labor, literally up in smoke.
I brought that trouble to the Giltmakers’ door. It will never be okay.
Benito pushes the pizza box in my direction. “Come on now. I cooked this myself.”
“You did not,” I argue, and he smiles. “Want a slice?”
He eyes the pizza. “I shouldn’t. Gotta watch my diet. I’m just here to give you some good news.”
“What kind of news?” Unless the brewery magically healed itself overnight, I’m not sure how good it could be.
“Kicker—his real name is Chad?—”
Chad?
“—gave us even more dirt than I’d been hoping for. He corroborated some major drug deals from the past three years.”
“Wow.” That really is surprising. “I’m happy for you. Kicker always seemed gentler than the rest of them. Not like that’s setting the bar very high. But I wondered if you’d get any more traction.”
“We did. After Kicker started talking, it got easier to cut deals. We got more guys to flip.”
“What will happen to them?” I ask. Somehow my slice of pizza is disappearing quickly.
“Kicker will get the best deal—a new identity. He’ll be relocated somewhere out West, probably. He has a young family to think about and doesn’t mind starting over somewhere.”
“Starting over,” I sigh. “I’m pretty familiar with that myself.” But I’m so tired. I don’t even feel like trying.
Benito considers my sad face from the other side of the table. “Look, Livia. I know you’re hurting. The brewery didn’t have a sprinkler system, and that’s Lyle’s fault. But they did have insurance.”
Having nothing else to think about for the past thirty-six hours, I’ve already considered this. “Insurance isn’t going to get their business back on its feet anytime soon. I’m grateful to you that Razor and his crew are getting what they deserve. But the Giltmakers won’t be. They showed me kindness and protection, and I’m literally responsible for burning everything they have to the ground.”
Benito opens the pizza box and pulls out a slice. He takes a bite. “I know you feel terrible about the brewery. All of Vermont feels bad.”
“Right. Because we lost a treasure. And I’m the match that set the whole thing on fire.”
“If that’s how you want to look at it, I would like to point out that you’realsothe match that set a drug ring on fire. You’re the one who gave me enough to arrest Razor on assault and money-laundering. Which got me a broad judicial warrant and a new material witness or ten. After two years of working this case,youcracked the whole thing open. Tomorrow you can walk out of here. There’s no more target on your back.”
“That’s good news,” I say woodenly. “Thank you for that.”
He sighs. “Razor is already behind bars. Not only are you safe, but he can’t abuse any more women. That’s important, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s a start.”
He eats his pizza slice thoughtfully. “It’s been an incredibly productive couple of days. The most arrests I’ve ever made in a single week.”
“That’s extraordinary,” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can manage. “I hope they give you a huge promotion.”
“Straight to God’s ears,” he says. “Baby needs new shoes.”
I form my mouth into a smile, but it almost hurts to try.
Benito looks at his phone. “Sorry, I’m just waiting for confirmation of one more arrest in Brattleboro.”
Somehow my first piece of pizza has disappeared, so I pick up a second one.
He watches the screen for another moment, and I’m just about to offer him a soda when his phone chimes with a text. “All righty. Suspect in custody. Do you know what that means?”
