“I’m hoping it will be his deputy, Dante Fiore. He’s a good guy, too, and tough. What do you think about the two mafiosi who got it this morning?”

“What do you think?”

“I think Casselli has headed us off at the pass: he’s knocked off his chief government pursuer, the guy that you threatened him with, and he’s identified a couple of his cohorts that he thought might go for your reward, while sending a message to his other minions that defections will not be tolerated. The guy is some tactician.”

Stone’s phone rang. “Hello?”

“It’s Holly. I suppose you’ve heard the news about Signor Bertelli’s assassination?”

“Yes, I have. Dino and I just watched the explosion on the BBC. And did you hear that two top mafiosi were knocked off this morning?”

“Yeah. What does that mean?”

“We think it’s a reaction by Casselli to my threat to post a reward on his head. Now he’s eliminated the people he thought might be vulnerable to the reward and sent all his other people a message. He’s smarter than I thought.”

“Yeah, he must be. I just talked to President Kate, and she told me about your conversation last night. She did that on her own, not at my suggestion. She also called Lance and lit a fire under him, so you’ll find the Italian station helpful, I expect.”

“Could you get her a message from me before she makes the call to Italy?”

“Sure.”

“Tell her that Dino, who knows the setup at the DIA, thinks Bertelli’s deputy, Dante Fiore, is the man to replace him. He has a very high opinion of the guy.”

“That’s a good call,” Holly said, “and she’ll appreciate Dino’s recommendation. She met both men when we were in Italy last year. I’m sure she’ll be glad to mention Fiore to the PM.”

“Thank her for me, will you?”

“Sure. Talk to you later.” Holly hung up.

“Dino,” Stone said, “why don’t you see if you can get through to Dante Fiore and give him our condolences? Maybe we can get some fresh intel from him.”

Dino sat down next to him, looked up a number in his iPhone, pressed the speaker button, and waited. “This is his direct line,” he said.

“Pronto,” a vigorous voice said.

“Dante, it’s Dino Bacchetti.”

“Hello, Dino! Good to hear from you.”

“I’m with my friend Stone Barrington, who Massimo may have told you about. We’ve just heard the news about Massimo, and we wanted to express our condolences.”