Majoring in Murder

Chapter 32

My dad's brow furrowed as his brain registered what I'd said. "What do you mean they were looking for you? Is this the danger you were talking about?" My dad glanced at my mom who was biting her lower lip and then he looked back to me.

"Yeah," I said and nodded. "It's why I told her to get everyone out."

"You've got a helluva lot of explaining to do. How did you get involved with the mafia?"

"Well, that's what I need to tell you and that's the reason I asked you both to come outside. I didn't want Lisa or Emily to hear any of this."

"What were you doing for them?" my dad asked. "Running drugs or something?"

"No." I wish it were that tame. "Something more serious than that," I said. "I couldn't tell you before because they said they would hurt you guys if I didn't do what they said. They showed me pictures of you and mom and Lisa and Emily." My mother, graduated from biting her lower lip to biting her fingernails. The color had drained from her face.

"Is Emily's accident related to any of this?" my mom asked.

I didn't speak, but only nodded.

My dad became more animated, pounding a closed fist into his other hand. "Those sons-of-bitches!" he blurted. "I hope you shoot every last one of those..." He looked around, lowered his voice, and said, "assholes!"

I said, "I took care of them," and felt a desire to smile, but refrained, knowing it wouldn't have been an appropriate response under the circumstances.

"What did they make you do for them?" my mom asked.

"The guy in charge, Carlo, he..."

"Carlo?" my mom interrupted, "Isn't that Daniel's dad?"

"No. Daniel's uncle."

"Whatever. That's what I meant." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Yeah. Well, I didn't know he was in the mob at the time. He asked me to deliver a package to a professor after our trip to Florida. Since I knew the professor, I told him I'd do it. He was so nice to invite me on the trip that I felt obligated to help him out."

I explained to them how I had delivered the box and later learned about the explosion that killed Professor Ginley. They listened quietly as I continued.

"I heard that Carlo frequented a restaurant in Buckhead and went there to confront him about what'd happened. I was worried that the police would learn I delivered the box and come arrest me."

I told them about confronting Carlo. How he had convinced me that the police wouldn't believe my side of the story. I said, "I believed him."

"You should've come to us about it," my dad said. "We would've stood by you, son."

"I couldn't. Carlo said he had something for me to do. That's when he pulled photos of you guys out of an envelope." I stared at my dad. "There was a picture of you getting into your car for work." I looked at my mother. "Another picture showed you washing dishes through the kitchen window. There was a picture of Lisa and Emily, too. Emily was getting off the school bus with her backpack."

"Those sons-of-bitches," my dad repeated in a fit of anger.

"Carlo told me that he was impressed with my shooting skills..."

"When did he see you shoot anything?" my mom asked.

"Remember, I told you we shot skeet from the deck of his boat?"

"Oh, I forgot about that."

"Well, he said he had a job for me because he was impressed with my shooting. He said there was someone he wanted me to kill."