state of New Jersey,” Mark explained sarcastically.
“Lily and I moved here and assumed the identities of Mark and Allison Anderson. My daughter was barely five when we moved, and obviously knew her name, so I called her Allie, because it sounded similar to Lily.”
A sudden memory of a bright eyed, five year old Lily flashed into his head.
Refusing to succumb to his mental distraction, he continued. “I was given a job at Angelo’s restaurant as a dish washer, set up by the protection agency. Dom Angelo, being the generous man he is, quickly promoted me to waiting tables. Whenever there was an opportunity for a raise, he thought of me. So, I became the bartender for a while and then before I knew it, I was a shift supervisor, and about two years ago, he made me Restaurant Manager. Nick was the first friend I made here. He was bussing tables when I started, now he’s a shift supervisor in training.”
“We’ve been good friends thru it all. His wife, Julie, works in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Luke’s. They don’t have any children, and are quite close to us as well. Julie was always involved with Allie. Julie is more of a motherly figure to her, than a friend, or was anyway. Dom met Lucy a few years ago and they were just married last spring. They don’t have any children from previous marriages and they loved Lily as well. We’re pretty much all like one big happy family here,” Mark concluded.
Mark explained the daily routines they all had, and anything else that he could think of that might be helpful.
Williams sat and sipped his coffee, listening to everything Mark had to say. He occasionally wrote something down on his crisp and scratchy notepad. Williams adjusted his glasses and nodded his head diligently.
“Have you been in contact with your witness protection coordinator?” He asked.
“Yes. I called first thing this morning. Vanzetti is still in prison… for now anyway. He coincidentally, has a parole hearing on Monday morning. However, my coordinator has assured me that he is “well aware of the events that have transpired and feels this has been a terrible tragedy, a mere accident,” Mark said mockingly.
“You have got to be shitting me. He has a parole hearing… this Monday?” Williams was shocked. He definitely understood why Mark was so skeptical now.
“They seem to think that this has NOTHING to do with Vanzetti, at all. This is why I need you to help me all the more. This is going to be a tough pill for some people to swallow,” Mark continued to plead his case to Williams.
“What I would like you to do is quite reasonable. I have no unrealistic expectations from you, Williams. I simply need a fresh pair of eyes and ears, looking for facts and clues to help piece together this puzzle. I need solid evidence to prove his connection. You and I both know that I can’t go to the police and expose my identity with nothing but conjecture and theory,” Mark said sincerely.
“I do understand that,” Williams hesitated. “Alright, let me make sure I got this straight. I’m just going to think out loud for a moment, if that’s all right. “Williams took off his glasses and rubbed the sore indentation on the bridge of his nose. “May I speak frankly?”
“Of course,” Mark waited politely.
Williams concentrated on every word, trying to make sense of it all as he spoke. “You think, or feel strongly anyway, that Leo Vanzetti, or quite possibly someone connected to him, somehow discovered your new identity and found your location. He then had your daughter murdered and made it look like some sort of an accident. All of this being his retaliation, for your testimony against him at your sister’s murder trial, which in turn, put him away these past thirteen years?” Williams asked. “That‘s quite the reach,” Williams just wanted to