Viper - Michael Morley [36]
‘Not like her namesake?’ asked Massimo.
Sylvia smiled at the suggestion. ‘Not at all. Her parents are about as law-abiding as you can get.’ She turned to Jack. ‘Di Lauro is an infamous name in Naples.’
‘Let me guess. Camorra, the dreaded System?’
‘You got it. Paolo Di Lauro bossed the Secondigliano sector throughout the nineties. He was a real wise wise guy. He established strong trading links with gangs and businesses in China, helped exponentially extend the System’s power base. He ducked out before the end of the last century but the Di Lauro dynasty lives on. Some years ago they were involved in an incredibly bloody battle with other clans. They won because they’re the bloodiest. They beat a sixty-year-old Camorrista to death with baseball bats, shot a woman Capo in the face in public.’
‘A woman Capo?’ queried Jack.
‘Certainly,’ said Sylvia. ‘Women have been getting top jobs in the System long before they got even lowly ones in the carabinieri.’
Massimo raised an eyebrow. ‘Like the Black Widow.’
‘He means Anna Mazza,’ explained Sylvia. ‘She bossed the Moccia clan for at least two decades.’
It was an eye-opener for Jack. The Camorra regularly made the headlines in newspapers around the world, but he hadn’t realized the full length and breadth of its activities. ‘To be clear, though, our girl, Francesca, she has no Camorra links at all?’
‘None whatsoever,’ said Sylvia. ‘It’s just pure coincidence that she shares the same surname. It’s also the name of a famous Italian fashion designer and a well-known photojournalist.’
Jack moved on. ‘And how have her parents taken the latest news?’
‘I’ve seen them recently. They’re devastated. They’d feared something bad but had always hoped the phone would ring and she’d breeze back into their lives. Her father’s a sales manager for some computer company. He and his wife split up some time before Francesca vanished.’
‘No record. No hint of abuse, or anything?’
She shook her head. ‘Not a thing. He’s a decent man. I’m sure of it.’
Massimo opened a second box of pizza and ripped off a small slice. ‘You said Creed knew Francesca personally. Did he give you details about their relationship?’
Jack shook his head. ‘No. It was right at the end of our meeting. To be honest, I was keen to get away from him and was losing interest until he mentioned that he knew her. I thought about that overnight and then when I returned to his hotel he’d already gone.’
Sylvia jumped in. ‘I don’t see them as a couple. She was gorgeous – truly beautiful. Creed, on the other hand – he looks like a sewer rat.’
‘Beautiful women have been dating ugly men since the dawn of time,’ said Massimo.
‘Thankfully,’ added Jack.
Both men laughed.
‘Sure, but the ugly men usually have more charm or cash than Creed,’ added Sylvia. ‘I could more easily imagine him stalking Francesca than dating her.’
‘My thoughts entirely,’ said Jack, ‘and that’s what worried me. If Newark hadn’t got a snowplough down their runway so quickly I might have had another meeting with him and been able to shed some serious light on this.’
Massimo’s willpower snapped. He went back for a bigger slice of the pizza. ‘This is my last piece; no one let me take any more.’
‘Me too,’ said Jack, ‘I’m stuffed. When I think of Creed I think of him as being inadequate. He seeks power and control and he has traits that indicate an inferiority complex…’
Massimo nodded as he chewed. ‘But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s an offender. If it did, then we’d be carrying out surveillance on at least half the male population.’
Sylvia poured Coke. ‘You say inadequacy. That worries me. Inadequacy is the kind of thing that can drive scrawny men like Creed to rape and murder.’
‘I’m not saying Creed is killer material,’ stressed Jack. ‘Inadequacy and inferiority are more stalker’s traits.’
‘But sometimes stalkers become killers,’ countered Sylvia.
‘Sometimes, but it’s rare,’ conceded