Free Blood Money by Laura M Rizio

pride and joy. “I adore horses.” She pressed the photo to her breast. “You must let me ride one,” she said turning toward Rosa.
    Nick wanted to say, “Earth to Rosa , ” but instead he said, “This is Maria Elena Maglio, Joe’s cousin.”
    The trance was instantly broken. “A great pleasure. Please sit.” Rosa motioned to the sofa across from him and watched her carefully as she slid into the seat.
    “Maria is a bank examiner for the Italian government,” Nick explained. “She’s on an assignment at the Banco di Roma in Philadelphia. She’ll be working out of the main branch on Broad Street.”
    Rosa seemed delighted with the introduction, but it was clear from the expression on his face that he didn’t quite see the connection between Nick’s plea for help and this delightful creature who was thirty years his junior.
    Maria sensed the confusion and broke the silence. “You see, Mr. Rosa…”
    Rosa loved her accent. The slight upward lilt at the end of each sentence and the fullness of the vowels was music to his ears. It didn’t matter what she said as long as she just kept talking.
    “…I know my cousin didn’t kill himself and his family. I know he did have a spending habit—perhaps out of control—but he wouldn’t kill because of it. And I also know that his partners are thieving, conniving—what do you call them?—ah yes, crooks, as you say in America.”
    “How do you know this?” Rosa asked.
    “My cousin told me. And he wanted me to help him. To expose them.” Her eyes shone with the passion of her conviction.
    “Could you prove this?” Rosa sat back into his chair and rested his head on the cracked brown leather.
    “Yes. Remember I have access to all bank records—legitimately. I can look into all private accounts and see the transactions.”
    “So can the attorney general.”
    “But I can do traces of secret, foreign accounts—information even your own CIA would have trouble getting.” She stood and walked confidently over to Rosa’s desk, taking a Marlboro from the pack as if it were her own. She didn’t ask him if she could smoke. She simply put a cigarette into her mouth and lit it with the silver art deco lighter Rosa kept on his desk. She took a long drag and blew the smoke out almost instantaneously, not quite inhaling it. She obviously smoked for effect, like many European women.
    “What makes you think his partners had foreign bank accounts?” Rosa asked, struggling to concentrate.
    “All wealthy thieves have secret accounts—especially Americans.”
    Rosa couldn’t help admiring her brashness. “And what would the existence of such accounts prove?”
    She shook her head, causing her dark hair to waft its scent toward him. “I can’t tell you now. Not until I have the information. Then I will know why he was murdered. But I will need your help. Keep my cousin’s case open. Va bene? ”
    Rosa smiled. “Why don’t you go to the Philadelphia district attorney with your plan?”
    Maria gave a crooked smile. “Because she’s a woman. I have heard that she is a bitch…and she protects her political contributors.” She let the smoke stream from her pursed lips again. “Also because my cousin was murdered in your provence .” She obviously meant county, but Rosa thought the mistake was charming.
    He offered Maria a cup of coffee, which she refused. Pouring himself another cup, he asked, “You want me to help you link Marty Silvio and Harry Levin to Joe’s murder? This is absurd. They depended on Joe for their financial success. He was the litigator who won the complex cases, who brought in the money, whose reputation brought in nothing but more money. So why would they want to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs?”
    She dropped her eyes, drew on the cigarette, and blew smoke over Rosa’s head. “I don’t know yet. All I know is that Joe was worried about his partners activities. He didn’t tell me everything, just that he might need my help