Foreign Deceit

beating Rosenwald’s head in.

“Maybe Vlad injects some calm, scientific reasoning in the situation. They know getting rid of the two bodies is going to be hard, so they leverage a little deception. They decide to frame my brother for the murder. My brother is hit on the head with the same pipe, and then strangled with one of their belts. It wouldn’t have been Cezar’s belt, he’s too skinny. Ferka Vlad,” he said pointing towards the dome with a steeled expression. “Ferka Vlad is a man with an ample belly.”

“Okay. Then they take your brother back to his apartment and string him up?” Rossi asked with a tilted head. “How do they bring the dead body in the apartment building?”

“On a Friday night? They carry him in,” Wolf shrugged. “Anyone who sees thinks he’s drunk and his buddies are bringing him in. They could have pulled right up to the gate in a car, brought him in, and strung him up. Then they make sure Rosenwald’s body can be found in due time, and the weapon is left here in plain sight, flush with my brother’s fingerprints. They probably figured my brother would be out of the country in a box before too long anyway, making the case even more complicated to figure out for you guys.”

“How did they get your brother back to his apartment?” asked Lia. “That would have been a tough situation. How do they know where he lives?”

Wolf continued walking in front of them. “Maybe Vlad knew my brother better than we thought. Maybe he’d been there before.” Wolf thought of Cristina, John’s girl friend. A Romanian too. Was there a connection?

“It seems to fit pretty well, but there really is no evidence at all against these guys,” Rossi said. “We have to have something solid.”

“Well, then let’s go talk to Vlad and get something.”

Chapter 32

Vlad sagged at his desk, sipping at a Coke Lite can when he saw them approach the office doorway. A puzzled, horrified expression contorted his face for a split second and he coughed out a mist of Coke into the air.

“Vlad, how are you doing today?” Wolf entered fast.

“David, please. Let me handle this.” Rossi put a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him aside, a wild look on his face. “Let’s keep this official.”

Rossi reached out, gently and took the Coke Lite can from Vlad’s shaking hand, placed it on the desk, swiveled the chair to face him, then placed his palm on his chest.

Vlad looked into Rossi’s eyes with horrid fascination, then shot a glance to Wolf and Lia.

Rossi twisted his shirt, pulled him up with the sound of ripping fabric, and pushed him against the window. The aluminum blinds clanged, letting in bright rays of morning sun.

“You were here on Friday night. And yet you told these two that you did not see anything at all.”

Vlad looked confused, then nodded his head quickly. “Y-y-yes sir. I didn’t see anything! I was working all night Friday in my office — ”

“I don’t believe you!” He wadded the shirt underneath Vlad’s chin, exposing his jiggling belly.

“You didn’t hear them come into the building? They didn’t simply come down the hall and see you working here with the light on? They didn’t say hi to you? What is that, twenty feet away?” He jerked his head towards the observatory room down the hall.

“No, they didn’t. I–I-I-…I heard them down the hall, and I shut my door to block out the sound. I had a lot of work to do. I was talking on the phone and had important conversations. They didn’t speak to me. Th-th-th-then they just left. I didn’t see them at all. It was only a couple minutes!”

“Why did you lie to us?” Wolf asked. “You said you didn’t see them Friday night.”

“You asked if I went out to have beers with them! I did not.”

Wolf said nothing.

“I did not ever see them. When they showed up here on Friday night, I heard them from here. I was on the phone, and I could hear…someone. But I never saw them,” Vlad’s expression steeled. “I’m sorry. I was in here working.”

Rossi let him go and stepped back, still looking at him hard. Vlad pulled his shirt down and breathed hard.

“What were you doing last night, Vlad?” Wolf asked.

Vlad paused. “I was home last night. Why do you ask?”

Rossi held up an index finger. “I’d like to see a list of shipments you have been overseeing for the last 24 hours.”

Vlad looked at Rossi. “Why would you want to see that?”

“Let me see them. Now. Pull them up on your computer screen there.”

Vlad pushed a few buttons. A jumbled mass of numbers filled the screen in different colored columns.

Vlad held his hands towards the screen and pushed his chair back.

Rossi gripped the back of the chair and slammed him into the desk with a crash. Papers dropped to the floor and the can of Coke Lite tipped on its side, spilling its remaining ounce onto the desk. “Show us the shipments for the last 24 hours. Now.”

Vlad pulled his hand from below the desk and grabbed the mouse. Lia and Wolf approached to look close.

Wolf pointed at the screen. “Click on that shipment there.”

The shipment had an address from Merate, Italy to Cluj Napoca, Romania. There were blue links lined up underneath the shipment title and description.

“Click on the Commercial Invoice and Bill of Lading.”

Vlad clicked and an official looking invoice sheet displayed on the screen. The list of contents included official sounding components with numbers, dashes, and letters.

“And the Bill of Lading?”

The document took a while to build from top to bottom on the screen, a scanned copy of an original document. As it appeared slowly in front of them, Wolf tried to read the pertinent information, written in Italian. Two words materialized on the screen.

“Albastru Shipping,” Wolf said. “The same name as the Albastru Pub.”

“Yes,” Vlad looked at Wolf. “The owner of the shipping company also owns that pub.”

“You guys have some serious ties to the Albastru brand it looks like,” Wolf said. “Beers after work and now the shipping company?”

“Well, that is how I learned about the pub. I was approached by the Romanian shipping company, and the owner told me about his pub as well. We were both Romanian…” Vlad finished his sentence with a shrug.

“You Romanians all stick together, huh?” Rossi glared.

Vlad was silent.

“All right. I’m going to need the truck information for this shipment here.” Rossi tapped the screen.

Vlad looked at him with wide eyes.

“Now!”

“All right, all right.” Vlad pressed some buttons and a printer whirred in the corner.

A piece of paper shot out of the laser printer into a collection tray. Rossi picked it up and studied the page, pulling it close to his face with a squint.

“Ah,” he said, pointing to the page. “Thank you, Mr. Vlad. We will find this truck en route and search its contents. We have come across some anonymous information that you may be helping with the smuggling of stolen electronics. And drugs. Obviously if we find anything suspicious in any truck you are involved with, you’ll be spending some hard time in San Vittore.”

Vlad sat still without any expression.

Rossi turned. “Have a nice day.” He looked to Wolf. “Are you good?”

Wolf looked at Vlad and narrowed his eyes. “I guess.”