Deviant(86)

Sitting down, I motioned for them to take a seat. All the while, snot-nosed kid was watching my every move and, no doubt, sulking that I never offered him my hand.

“Can I offer you a drink? A coffee or tea, perhaps?”

Snot-nosed kid was about to speak, but the older cop beat him to it. “No, but thank you. I must say, Mr Scozzari, you look a little tired this morning. Did you have a late night?”

I chuckled. “You could say that. Sometimes women can be a handful, but I certainly am not complaining.” I winked towards the older cop, who laughed along with me. The snot-nosed kid didn’t find it so amusing. More than likely, he probably hadn’t even been laid himself yet.

“I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here,” older cop said, looking serious all of a sudden. I knew then that pleasantries were finished. “I’m Detective Sergeant Cartwright and this is Detective Constable Tomlinson. We are heading a murder investigation into a man whose body was found in the Thames River around the Kingston area on the early hours of yesterday morning.”

He paused and I nodded, looking perplexed. “That’s terrible. Do you know who it is?”

Cartwright cleared his throat a little. “He was a little unrecognisable when we found him. It seems he was tortured before his death. But initial reports suggest he was Antonio Pinzano.”

I clenched my teeth, but gave the officer a wry smile. It was deliberate, of course. This gesture, though, somehow confused him. “It looks as though you’re quite happy about this, Mr Scozzari.”

I nodded, leaning back in the chair, feeling completely at ease. “Let’s not beat around the bush, Detective Cartwright. I believe you’re here because you already know my history with the man. He was responsible for killing my parents. Who wouldn’t be happy that he was dead?”

Cartwright’s posture straightened “Allegedly responsible.”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. I knew exactly what his tactics were, as I was expecting them. He was hoping I would get angry at his comment and lose my cool a little. Maybe reveal something in the heat of the moment. I was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

“Quite,” was all I answered, showing him his comment didn’t mean a damn thing to me. Cartwright wasn’t happy with my calm demeanour—far from it. In a sense, he was the one starting to lose his cool.

“Are you admitting that you are responsible for his death in some way?”

Straightening a little, I put on my best “offended look”. “Was there any word in my last sentence that suggested I, in anyway, had anything to do with his death?”

“Well, you did admit that you were happy he was dead.”

“Yes, I did and yes, I am, but that in no way implicates me in the cause of his death. Let’s make no mistake, DS Cartwright. I hated the man. He allegedly killed my parents, and I would have loved to have been the man that drew the last breath from his body, but that doesn’t mean I did it.”

Cartwright smiled a little. “So, let’s get this straight. You had nothing to do with Mr Pinzano’s death?”

I shook my head. “No, of course not. I may be the son of a Scozzari, but that doesn’t mean I am one of them. If you look into me, which I know you must have by now, you will see I own many legitimate businesses which earn me a legitimate income.” I leaned back in my chair and smiled at them both. I didn’t need to act it because I felt it. They had nothing on me.

“Hmm,” Cartwright mused. “I understand that, but you must have thought about revenge, Mr Scozzari. Anyone would if they believed someone had killed their parents and gotten away with it.”

The word “revenge” swam around in my head. It was what I lived and breathed for my entire adult life. Of course I wanted revenge. I needed revenge, and I exacted my revenge. Who wouldn’t?

“There is a big difference between thinking of revenge and acting the revenge out, DS Cartwright. You, as a man of the law, know that above all else.”

He nodded and looked down at his notes, as snot-nosed Tomlinson just stared ahead. If this situation wasn’t so serious, I would be laughing by now.

Flicking through his notes, Cartwright suddenly looked up. “Mr Scozzari, can you tell me where you were between the hours of around eleven o’clock Saturday night until three o’clock in the early hours of Sunday morning?”

Looking up in the air, I appeared as if I was thinking. “Hmm, Saturday night. I was here at that time. I had a dinner party.” I smiled brightly as I knew what was coming.

“Okay. Would you be able to give the names of all your guests so that we can verify your story?”