“Everyone on the throne—Romeo, Dima, Lei, and Marcelo. Of course Chanel hit the top when her brother dies.”
Rose tapped her notepad. “Is there anyone higher?”
Viktor glanced at me.
I nodded. “Tell her. She’s helping.”
“The only people that are higher are Dima’s mother, Mrs. Ivanov and Lei’s father, Leo. I wouldn’t count Romeo and Chanel’s mother. She was never truly apart of the Syndicate. When Barry Jones died, the throne shifted to their son. And she took a back seat.”
She scribbled. “Alright. So, I have seven people that you’ve mentioned as truly apart of the Syndicate.”
“These are his next possible targets.” I looked at Viktor. “Get in touch with Marcelo and tell him to have triple the people around him. Put more people on my mother too.”
“Maybe, if you all are in one place together, then it would be more difficult for him to come at you all.”
I rubbed my chin. “All those personalities under one roof. We may kill each other before he does.”
“He’s going to kill the remaining four—wrath, envy, sloth, and pride.” Rose began to pace. “If we have Dimitri for pride—”
“I’m not pride.” I held out my hand. “I could be wrath.”
She waved me away. “Lei looks good for wrath.”
“You don’t even know Lei—”
“The love of his life died. Lei is wrath.” She paused. “In fact, he may be next.”
“No.” My heart ached. “Viktor, find out where Lei is right now. I want him close.”
“Now we have sloth and envy. That leaves Marcelo, your mother, and Lei’s father.”
“While I still think pride should be left open, I’ll follow this logic.” I went over to one bloody picture in the alley, picked it up, and put the image on top of the bible verses. “What do you think about the message Chanel left?”
“That’s the most mind-boggling of all. I have no idea how 037 would relate. But, it is interesting that she wrote a seven also. I wonder why she chose to write numbers instead of letters.” She stared at the picture. “It’s so sad.”
I looked away from the image.
She did too. “Who do you think falls for sloth or envy?”
“My mother or Marcelo could fall in sloth. I see Marcelo for it more. When my mother was involved, she worked hard.”
“And for envy?”
“That could be Leo—Lei’s father. He lost his wife, left the Syndicate, and walked the path of God. However, I’ve seen him glance at us with envy at times. As if. . .he wishes he could start over, return to his youth.”
“Have you gone to him about these bible verses?”
“No, but that’s a good idea.” I headed off. “Let’s go.”
She touched her chest. “Me?”
“It appears you’re useful after all.” I gestured at Viktor. “Bring my books.”
15
037
Rose
S
peeding down Caviar Lime Highway, Dimitri’s chauffer drove us toward the East.
A gloomy gray sky hovered above us. Lightning struck the sky.
Thunder crackled and boomed. People without umbrellas rushed away. Those that had them hurried too. Even though the streets were beginning to flood, taxis and trucks sped by, barely checking if anyone was in front of them.
“But what is pride truly?” Dimitri spoke on my side. “At the core of the definition it is a smart and successful person.”
“The exact definition of pride is a person getting deep pleasure from their own achievements.”
“How is this a bad thing?”
“The biblical sin of pride refers to an exalted attitude.”
“Again, this sounds like a compliment.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s the opposite of the virtue of humility which is how we’re supposed to be with God.”
“Well, God loves me more than most so I can afford to die from pride.”
I stared at him. “I would rather you not die from anything.”
A wicked smile spread across his face. “I’m growing on you.”
“You’re not.” I looked away and gazed out of the window. “I don’t like death.”
“Especially, my death.”
Keeping my back to him, I frowned.
“Whoever this killer is, they’ve been around me a lot.”
I smirked. “They sure have, if they have you at pride.”
“People never take the time to truly learn about others. They judge us on surface level and then tape labels on our faces.”
I looked at him with skepticism. “And you’re deeper than that?”
“I am.” He hit me with an intense gaze. “There’s things that most don’t know about me. Things I keep close to my chest.”
I wondered what those things could be. Dimitri would be an interesting puzzle to put together.
We left the highway and passed through massive gates with an arch of two large blue dragons shooting out orange sculpted flames at each other. Instantly, I felt like I’d been transported to another continent.
On each side of the street food stands sold exotic foods. I spotted live eels and square watermelons and hairy rambutans, raw ducks hanging upside down with their beaks still on and signs promoting $5 skewered grasshoppers.
Further down the street, the food stands shifted to high-end restaurants. Most represented Chinese and Hong Kong cuisine. However, other Asian cultural eateries dotted the path—Indonesian and Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese. There were also fancy tea houses, art galleries, and a couple stores boasted imported ancient goods.