"We need to find a dead man," Mara said.
Nico didn't look up from the scattered personnel files covering the mahogany desk. His fingers moved through the stack, pausing only to adjust the green-shaded banker's lamp. "We need to find a ghost."
"The accountant had a name."
"Gianni," Nico said. He dropped a thick, blue folder onto the stack with a muted thump. "His name was Gianni. And Gianni has been gone for twenty-four months."
"Gone," she repeated, letting the word hang in the air between them. "Not buried."
Nico leaned back in the heavy leather chair. "In this life, those are usually the exact same thing. People who steal from the Ferrante family don't retire to the countryside with a pension. They vanish into the concrete."
"But if he's the handler," Mara pushed, refusing to let the logic drop. "If he's the one running Sal from the outside and building the relay infrastructure, then he's breathing."
