“Vincent, I need you to meet me tonight. Bring the paperwork on the Thompson account.”
“Tonight? Boss, it’s almost midnight.”
“Tonight.”
His tone left no room for argument.
“My office. 1 hour.”
He ended the call.
The next hour gave Rocco time to prepare.
He called Tony to pull every file they had on Marcus Thompson. He called his accountant for records of any loans issued during the past 2 years. He asked his security chief to gather surveillance footage of Vincent’s recent activities.
Then he made one more call.
Detective Maria Santos.
One of the few honest cops left in the city.
“Rocco,” she answered. “This better be important.”
“It is. I need you to document something. Seven families in the Riverside neighborhood have been extorted by someone claiming to work for me.”
“You’re calling the police on your own operation?”
“This wasn’t my operation,” Rocco said. “This was someone stealing my name to hurt families with children. I need records showing they were victims.”
There was a long pause.
“Send me the addresses,” Maria said. “I’ll have social services check on them tomorrow.”
“Already arranged food, medical care, and repairs,” Rocco replied. “But they’ll need protection from retaliation.”