Chapter 15

"Ok, so I think I have it all down now. My client didn't do anything, other than fake his death that is," his defense attorney said as Fin and Elliot took seats across from them at the interrogation room table.

"Explain how his fingerprints got at a murder scene then," Fin didn't pull any punches.

"And while you're at it, explain who Derek Davidson is to you. Seems like you put yourself out there for this scumbag. I mean seventeen years of being under the radar, shot to hell because this moron decides that he has to murder his ex-girlfriend," Elliot chimed in.

"This is not my client's first rodeo. You had him pulled in for shopping at a bodega. He has no outstanding warrants," Taglietti pointed out.

"Prints at a murder scene, former mob hitman, don't need a warrant to pull his ass in. Why'd he fake his death?" Fin wanted to know. Bartoli gave him a look.

"It wasn't safe," the former hitman finally spoke up.

"Why? The Masuccis were either dead or locked up. Who was coming for you? You got the deal of a lifetime since a dirty cop tried to kill you," Elliot pointed out.

"You really think that just because the Masuccis were dismantled, there weren't people who wanted me dead? Some of your own people didn't want to hear that Kirkoff and Virgini were dirty. I wasn't exactly convinced I wouldn't be a target, especially after someone started dropping letters off at my daughter's place," Bartoli explained.

"Letters?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, someone started sending letters to my daughter. At first, they were creepy like I know your schedule. Then it was they knew her kids' names. The last straw was when they left the cat's head in a box on the stoop," the mobster shook his head.

"So, what did they want?" Fin asked.

"I turn myself in and they leave my family alone. Whoever was writing it didn't understand that the cops couldn't arrest me and I was afraid to go to the cops, because I didn't know who was writing the letters or killed the cat," Bartoli said.

"You did the next best thing, you whacked yourself," Elliot said.

"Made it look like an accident. My daughter got the insurance money and the letters and pet body parts stopped," the former hitman admitted.

"You didn't come out of hiding because the insurance money would have to be paid back and whoever was sending the letters would start up again," Fin figured.

"Yeah. My daughter knew I wasn't dead and I still got to visit them by parking around the block and going in the back door via the alley," Bartoli explained.

"After all these years, why did you come out of hiding? Who is Derek Davidson to you?" The question was posed again by Elliot.

"I could see the path he was going down. I tried to stop him. I really did," both detectives could see that the former hitman was struggling. They had expected him to be more composed but after years of not being able to be himself, something had flipped.

"My daughter died about five years ago and he started leaning really hard on poor Christine. I think something inside of him snapped. It wasn't going to take much but I'd been keeping an eye on him, making sure that he wasn't doing something he shouldn't. Of course, I couldn't stop him from sleeping around on Christine. Finally, I'd had enough and sent a text from his phone to her, breaking them up. He was pissed at me, but I never thought…" Bartoli heaved a sigh.

"You didn't think what?" Fin pressed.

"I never thought he'd actually kill her. Then I hear she was raped on the news and I knew I should kill him myself. I was about to break the promise I made to my daughter when you guys picked him up in Boston. It seems my fingerprints got you moving faster than I thought they would," he heaved another sigh.

"Derek is your grandson," Elliot said.

"I got him the job in Boston. I told him that it was for the best. New city, new life…" Bartoli ignored the supposition.

"Derek is your grandson," Elliot repeated.

"Yes, and if I'd only known he was in town…" Bartoli slammed his fist on the table. Out in the hallway, where Olivia and George were watching the interview, the Captain picked up her phone.

"Who are you calling?" He asked.

"Boston PD. They need to start looking for rapes in their jurisdiction. We thought this guy had practice and now we know why he didn't pop on our radar before. The breakup was the push over the edge," Olivia said.

To Be Continued…