Page 20 of Third Crime's A Charm
“There she is! I haven’t seen her since I bought her.”
“What is it?” Truman took it from Marty and held it up to the light. The star-shaped brooch was a little bigger than a quarter and had a large pearl at its center. The star’s ten pointscontained diamonds of various sizes and they appeared to be high quality, but it wasn’t a particularly interesting piece. It reminded Truman of something his mother would wear.
“Some empress’s star. I can’t remember her name but this was stolen from a museum in Austria and there’s a big reward.”
Truman whistled and nodded. “This would work, if it’s real and worth what you say it is.”
“Go ahead and look it up. Blanchard took it and everyone thinks he’s waiting for the reward to get higher before he makes a deal.”
“What did you pay for it?”
“A million,” Marty said with a pointed look. “A million fifteen years ago. I knew it would come in handy.
“This would be huge for the Justice Department and relations with Europe. They’ll give you immunity and buy whatever you tell them about Peter,” Truman confirmed, his mind racing as he weighed the odds and consequences of this new development. Because it was agame changer.
“Knew that dipshit nephew of mine would come in handy,” Marty said with a sneer.
That was when Truman decided hehad tosteal the star before Marty could use it. Truman got home and found out the story behind the stealing of Sisi’s star and understood why Marty was paranoid. Stolen treasures had set off strings of mafia assassinations in the past because they were worth significantly more than their estimated value. You couldn’t buy your way out of the kind of trouble Marty was in with a million dollars but the US government would bend over backwards to recover something like Sisi’s star and return it to Austria.
But Truman didn’t care about Marty or the star as much as he wanted a second chance with Matteo. Truman had plenty of money and he was famous enough. He was more of a watchguy than an heirloom brooch guy and Truman had never seen anything as beautiful as Matteo.
There was just the unfortunate matter of Peter Lonsdale. Truman couldn’t let him take the fall for an old shit stain like Marty. Peter was only in his forties and had his whole life ahead of him and Truman was confident he’d make something good out of himself once he was free. The star was Truman’s chance to get Peter out from under his uncle’s thumb and blow Marty’s deal. Without a bargaining chip, it was Marty’s word against Peter’s and Truman would make his own deal with the feds.
He would hand over the star “anonymously” in exchange for immunity for Peter and the reward, which would be passed to Matteo under the table. No one would know how the Justice Department had acquired the star or who claimed the reward. If it did get out that Truman was involved, he would say he brokered the deal on behalf of another party and could say no more due to client confidentiality.
That was the plan and it was brilliant but the stakes were rapidly changing for Truman. They had known each other for less than a week and Matteo would probably have left if it weren’t for the star and Donna. But Truman didn’t waste time when he saw something he wanted and he knew that Matteo was worth more than money or screwing over Marty.
He had until the heist to win over Matteo, without giving him Peter’s name. That was Matteo’s price at the moment, unfortunately. Truman would have to find another way that didn’t involve sex because that had already backfired. And Truman could tell by the way that Matteo’s body stiffened in his arms and slowly eased away that he was regaining consciousness.
Truman sighed and kissed Matteo’s hair, making him jump. “You’re awake,” Matteo said and Truman could tell by his tone and his posture that their truce was over.
“About last night, I—” Truman attempted but Matteo sat up and bounded out of bed.
“Nothing happened last night,” he said simply as he headed for the bathroom, barely glancing at Truman. “Time to get back to work.”
“Wait!” he begged as he followed and caught Matteo’s elbow, halting him. “I was an idiot and everything came out wrong after our clothes came off,” he said quickly. Matteo bit down on a smile and scratched the end of his nose with a knuckle.
“I wouldn’t say everything. And the parts between the talking were hot.”
“It was hot,” Truman agreed, hooking his finger under Matteo’s chin and tipping it back. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you what you want to know. I would tell you—I’d do anything—to have a second chance with you. But I’d be putting someone else’s life in danger. I’m already worried enough about you being connected to this.”
Matteo’s eyes hardened and he sniffed as he pulled his face away. “They must be very important to you.”
“No, they’re not!” Truman laughed in disgust. “I wish it was for someone like you or Marie or Donna, but it’s about…doing what’s right and the principle of the matter.”
“The principle? What principle?” Matteo asked, sounding wary.
“Marty isn’t getting that sweetheart deal. Not for all the things he’s done.”
Matteo drew back, shaking his head. “That’s…your job. You’re his attorney… He’s your client and you’re supposed to—” he started angrily but Truman held up a hand.
“My clients don’t choose me. I choose them—Icontrolthem—and I decide who gets a deal and who gets punished.”
“That’s unethical! It’s illegal!” Matteo said loudly and Truman hushed him.
“We all know there are two different justice systems in this country. An attorney with half a brain can keep a rich man out of jail because it’s rigged to work like that. What most people don’t understand is that there is another darker justice system, like the dark web, where criminals judge their peers and maintain their own order. When you see a rat trying to cut a deal with the Justice Department, it’s because he’s running from something worse.”
“Like you?” Matteo muttered, making Truman smile despite the accusation. He pushed out a hard breath as he nodded.
