Page 59 of The Taste of Deceit

I open the door and step inside.

I step into the office, closing the door quietly behind me.

Mikey sits behind his desk, his suit jacket draped neatly over the back of his chair while he works through a stack of papers spread across the polished wood. Marco is already there, occupying one of the leather chairs in front of the desk with one ankle resting on the opposite knee. He looks up as I walk in before giving me a small nod.

Mikey signs the page in front of him without looking up.

“Have a seat.”

I move to the empty chair beside Marco and wait.

Mikey sets the file in front of him aside.

“Any movement on Sal?”

Marco shakes his head.

“Not yet.”

“He’ll make a mistake.”

Neither of us disagrees.

“They always do.”

Silence settles over the office.

“When we find him,” Mikey says, “I don’t want him dead.”

Marco nods.

“No.”

“I want him alive.”

My jaw tightens.

“He deserves to understand exactly why he’s dying.”

Mikey reaches for another file.

“What else?”

Marco opens the folder in front of him.

“One of the collectors on the west side has been skimming.”

“How much?”

“Just under twenty thousand.”

Mikey doesn’t react.

“Did he think we wouldn’t notice?”

“No, Boss.”

A long silence fills the room. Then Mikey closes the file.