Dogs Among Withered Roses - Chapter 7

Berenice’s schedule for the day consisted only of working at the office and visiting the business site in Waterford. There was no mention of meeting Brian Lockwood. Michele and Andre hadn’t said a word about it either.

Wondering if there might be something on her schedule he didn’t know about, Erkin decided, since their eyes had met anyway, to use the chance to clear up a few questions. But before he could, Berenice’s red lips parted slowly.

“Michele, should I drive? Are you planning to just stand there?”

“Don’t even think about it. You, driving? Please.”

Startled when Berenice raised her voice slightly while keeping her gaze locked with Erkin, Michele hurried to the driver’s seat. At the same time, the line connecting Erkin and Berenice’s eyes snapped.

As if his gaze had fallen along with that invisible thread, Erkin’s eyes dropped briefly to Berenice’s shoes as she got into the car. They worried him. Michele’s concern seemed to have rubbed off on him, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He forced himself to look away.

If she tripped, someone would catch her.

***

Thanks to Michele’s skilled driving, they arrived before rush-hour traffic blocked the road. Berenice entered the accounting office she’d moved into at the start of the new year.

Scanning the slightly spacious office and the still-empty desks of those who hadn’t arrived yet, Berenice casually draped her coat over her chair and turned toward Erkin.

“You’ve heard how it goes when I’m working here or when there’s nothing specific, right? You, Michele, and Andre take turns on rotation. Decide among yourselves and rest in the meantime. Do whatever you want with your free time, handle personal business, I don’t care. Just be back before noon; we’re having lunch together and heading to Waterford.”

He’d already heard the same from Andre yesterday, but aside from travel time, the security detail was much more relaxed than he’d expected. As long as any uninvited guest who dropped by the office could be handled and sent off, she didn’t mind having only one person nearby.

Realizing Michele and Andre had basically been earning easy money, Erkin picked up the stack of newspapers that had been dropped by the door and handed them over. Berenice took the top one, the Belloc Tribune, and gave him a small glance.

“If you want to read the paper, take one.”

The sharp-tongued woman who had snapped at him yesterday—ordering him out of the car, telling him she didn’t care what he or Ricardo thought, calling him arrogant and talkative—was nowhere to be found.

At least for today, Erkin had decided to endure whatever temper she showed and let her have her way, yet he found it hard to hide his surprise.

He’d expected her to be difficult for a few more days. Unexpected.

He’d seen her often enough even before being assigned as her bodyguard, and he’d known about her long before she knew him. But setting that aside… after just yesterday and this morning, it was still too soon to fully understand what kind of person she was. One thing, however, was certain: she was unpredictable.

Despite her perfectly polished appearance, her atmosphere was calm and restrained. Her cold gaze contrasted with the gentle and lovely smile she gave everyone except Erkin. She acted impulsively, following her whims, yet once you peeled back the layers, there were always reasons that made sense, and thoughts she never revealed that left others restless….

Fascinating, really.

Watching her was interesting in more ways than one.

Not to mention her role within the Valentiera Family.

For the first time since infiltrating the Valentiera Family, Erkin felt something close to genuine curiosity. He picked up the paper lying right beneath the one Berenice had taken and sat down on the sofa meant for guests.

“I didn’t tell you to read it here.”

“And you didn’t tell me to go outside either.”

Whether his words irritated her or not, Berenice seemed determined to ignore him. He wondered briefly how she’d respond, but when she simply turned a page, pretending not to hear, even Erkin lost interest and dropped the matter, quietly opening his newspaper.

The front page of the Belloc Tribune was dominated by the news that the mayor of Rockbern had resigned with nearly two years left in his term. It was just the kind of sensational story to jolt people awake on a dull, lethargic Monday morning.

The mayor hadn’t admitted it, but the general consensus was that his resignation stemmed from the recent tabloid reports of his affairs, prostitution, and unreported illegal campaign funds.

After quickly reading through the articles about the Rockbern mayor’s resignation that continued onto page three, the loud ring of the telephone cut through the office.

“Yes, Valentiera….”

Glancing briefly at his wristwatch, Erkin looked over at Berenice. It was just past eight-thirty. Considering office hours officially started at nine, it was quite an early call. And none of the other employees who worked with Berenice had arrived yet.

“…What? Who did what?”

Startled, Berenice nearly dropped the receiver she was holding to her ear. She stared at it like it had just spoken something ridiculous, then raised it back again.

“Could you repeat that? Ah… no, I didn’t mishear. Yes. Yes, I see. My apologies. I’m also quite shocked right now. I’ll… stop by this afternoon. Yes.”

Slowly setting the receiver down, Berenice blinked once, twice, in a daze before letting out a long, heavy sigh. Her chest rose sharply, and she dragged a frustrated hand down her face. Finally, the newspaper in her hand crumpled in her tightening grip.

At this point, even Erkin couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“What was that call about?”

“Russo Gucci collected this month’s tribute money in my district.”

“…Excuse me? Who did what?”

He reflexively repeated her words before realizing he’d just asked the exact same thing she had. On any other day, she might have snapped, asking if he’d gone deaf, but this time, Berenice only waved her hand, understanding his reaction all too well.

Taking a deep breath, Berenice muttered through clenched teeth, “That bastard Russo used my name to collect the monthly payments and ran off. He must’ve known that when I’m too busy, I have Andre or another soldato collect it for me instead.”

“….”

“God, that son of a bitch. Unbelievable….”

Even hearing it again was baffling.

Before he could process it all, the first thought that came to Erkin’s mind was, ‘Russo Gucci must have lost his mind.’ There was no other explanation. No sane man would dare touch the tribute money belonging to the Valentiera Family, one of the four major families of Belloc.

“This is insane. Guess he’s been sweating over this for a while.”

Whether he’d gone completely mad or was on the verge of it, Berenice ran a rough hand through the hair she’d spent the entire morning styling and pointed at the crumpled newspaper article.

It was a report announcing that the redevelopment of Belloc’s Georgetown District 2 had been officially approved. Erkin already knew there’d been plenty of talk for months about which of Belloc’s districts would be selected for redevelopment.

But why this one?

Berenice glanced at him and sighed again, as if to say she hadn’t seen this coming. She rubbed her forehead and neck repeatedly, biting her lip with a look of genuine frustration. Then, as if giving in, a confession she hadn’t been asked for spilled out of her, her face tangled with unprocessed confusion like a mess of tangled threads.

“I told Russo that District 5, not District 2, would be selected for redevelopment. Russo then passed that to the Marino Family. I knew the results were coming out around the weekend, but I guess Russo found out it was actually District 2. He’s always quick when it comes to things like that.”

“Did Don Marino buy up the land in District 5?”

“…Probably? I’d assume so. A lot of it.”

If the rumors I heard are true, quite a lot. The area scheduled for redevelopment, District 2, is what I bought.

Muttering under her breath, Berenice bit her lip and glanced up at the ceiling for no reason. Estimating roughly when she must have started seeing Brian, Erkin lowered his voice unconsciously, even though there was no one around to overhear.

“Don’t tell me. You got the redevelopment information from your new boyfriend?”

“Oh, how’d you guess?”

“….”

“Look at those eyes. You’re practically stabbing me with them.”

When Erkin’s piercing gaze didn’t waver, Berenice scoffed softly and replied with a sigh.

“I once left my bag at Brian’s office by mistake. His brother happened to come by that day. Inside my bag was a leftover wiretapping device from when I bugged Russo’s house. It just… happened. A complete coincidence.”

“Oh, by mistake, by chance, a coincidence….”

Even to the listener, it sounded far too convenient.

She had openly confessed to eavesdropping on the brothers’ conversation. Even without a change in expression, Erkin’s disbelief was clear, prompting Berenice to quickly add an explanation.

“For the record, Brian was the one who asked me out first.”

“Am I supposed to thank you for saving me one question?”

“Spoken like a good Catholic. But no need to thank me. What you don’t know is that Brian only started dating me because his brother told him to. We were both using each other from the start, so bugging him was cute in comparison. Did he get my permission before approaching me?”

Whether it was the idiot who obeyed his brother’s command to approach her, or the woman who accepted him and bugged him knowing it, the disgust was mutual.

Barely holding back a scoff, Erkin asked, “Yesterday you said you knew who Brian’s brother was.”

“Steven J. Lockwood. Former prosecutor, now a senator. Should I say more?”