Chapter 34: A Neat Hit

Special Agent Maxwell Delaney read the report on his computer screen. He, like many other Supervisory Special Agents had received it this morning with a delay of only four days. When the entire Di Rosa clan had jumped on a chartered business jet on Friday afternoon with a flight plan filed for Las Vegas, NV, the Las Vegas field office was put on orange alert and all the agents had to cancel their planned weekend activities. Everybody expected an important gathering of Cosa Nostra bosses and surveillance of the other crime families was stepped up.

The next section of the report, however, described what had really happened. Three limousines had conveyed the passengers plus some bodyguards from Di Rosa Security to the Alexandria. Two hours later they came down from their rooms to party in a separate ball room and on the next afternoon they dressed to the nines to attend a wedding. A freaking, impromptu Las Vegas wedding. The language of the report conveyed a lot of the disgust felt by the watchers who had to sacrifice their weekend to watch old Vincent Di Rosa dance with the bride. Delaney grinned.

The grin froze when he read the particulars. The couple in question was none other than Joseph Giovanni Di Rosa and Miss Deirdre Virginia Darling. The mother was former Assistant District Attorney Maureen Darling who was accompanied by a Sgt. Numi N'gomo (female) of the Philadelphia PD. Other notable guests were Mr. Felix Di Rosa, President of Di Rosa Security Inc. and best man, Ms. Theresa Carla Di Rosa, sister of the groom, and a Miss Claire Ingram, maid of honor and so far unknown to the FBI. Also present were two female software programmers from California, also without a history of mob connections.

Delaney leaned back in his chair. The two kids had obviously made up. He calculated. Yes, they must have finished college by now. The ransom had finally paid off for young Di Rosa.

There was picture of the couple inserted just for fun as Delaney suspected. He had only seen the girl once as she emerged from her ordeal, a beat-up, mangled wreck, whose eyes were still showing the horror she had survived. In the wedding picture he saw a rather stunning woman who melted against a 1980s throwback with black beard and longish hair. That was the young Di Rosa?

The report went on for another two pages, noting with painstaking accuracy who attended the wedding and who waited on the guests. It also noted that the Di Rosa family members flew back to Philadelphia late Sunday and that they had not met with any known power figures in Las Vegas. The happy couple it seemed left town in a camping van for their honeymoon. It had been a rather cheap wedding for the Di Rosa and rather expensive for Uncle Sam, what with weekend overtime for over thirty agents.

Delany smirked and closed the file. He was genuinely happy that the poor girl had at last found back to young Di Rosa. The young man had struck Delaney as loyal and honest. Perhaps, the find of the Montalbans' mummies must have given the girl closure. The thought made Delaney pause.

Wasn't that convenient? The Montalban brothers had vanished into thin air four years ago and then, this spring, the Sheriff of Val Verde County had received a tip and found two desiccated bodies which matched the dental records and the DNA of the two rapists. This was almost too much of a coincidence. Delaney opened the file "Darling, Deirdre, Federal Kidnapping Case 2005/084" to jog his memory.

Two days later he was standing in front of the four story office building that housed "Di Rosa Security Inc.", as stated on a modest stainless steel plate to the left of the entrance. Kira Duncan, his erstwhile partner, was with him. She had transferred to the Racketeering Unit but Delaney had borrowed her for this interview.

Riding the lift to the fourth floor offices this felt no different from any other corporate headquarters, yet both agents were acutely aware that they had entered a lion's den. Nevertheless the secretary who received them was professional and friendly, ushering them into a large office.

There, behind a cluttered desk, stood Felix Di Rosa, President of DRS, who offered his hand in greeting.

"Have a seat, Agents! Can I offer you refreshment? Soda, coffee, tea?"

"No thank you, Mr. Di Rosa. It is kind of you to receive us on such short notice."

"Say nothing! I take it, this is about my sister in law's kidnapping?"

"Yes, indeed. As you may be aware, the remains of the Montalban brothers were found close to the Mexican border, in Val Verde County, Texas."

Di Rosa nodded politely. "I have seen the newspaper reports," he answered. "It has come as a great relief to Deirdre and her mother."

"Have you, in the past four years, heard anything of either man?"

"Frankly, no. Of course we had hoped to recover the ransom money."

"Ah yes, the ransom money. It was, how much?"

"Two hundred thousand dollars."

"Paid in cash?"

Di Rosa tilted his head and raised his eyebrow.

"PayPal has not yet extended its services to the kidnapping industry," he deadpanned.

Delaney blushed a little. He had meant to win some time with his question but it had been a dumb one.