He slid his cheesecake closer to her, along with the extra fork he’d requested. “Let’s start with his businesses. You did several follow-up stories on the fallout after Stephen and Stevie Jr. went missing. Did anyone seem angrier than others? Someone who suffered significant financial loss?”

“Hundreds of people had financial losses.” She eyed the cheesecake then shrugged and picked up the fork. “Half of the restaurants went under when the estate attorneys couldn’t find buyers. All of the construction crews had to find new jobs, and his casino interests have been on shaky ground for months. I think the only people who didn’t lose money were the lawyers.”

“No one that stood out?”

“A few.” She set her fork aside. While her attention was zeroed in on the table, her gaze was distant. Thoughtful. She frowned a second before she trained her eyes on him. “Probably the worst were the two guys running Alfonsi’s real estate and construction company. Bob Townsend and Mack Reynolds.”

“How so?”

Cassie crossed her forearms on the table and leaned in. “Not many people deal well with losing money, and both of them were making a lot of it with Alfonsi’s schemes. The Feds found out how many homeowners had been duped into buying shoddy homes or had paid for closing services they never received and locked down both of their bank accounts. Lots of reporters tried to get interviews with them after the fact and none of them went well.”

“They lost their cool?”

“That’s an understatement. Townsend took a swing at a female reporter, and Reynolds thought it’d be a good idea to tackle three cameramen. Kind of reminded me of a Jerry Springer episode.”

Loss of money. Damage to reputations. Add volatile tempers to the equation and either of the men could be accountable for Kevin’s death. “Anyone else? Anyone who might have flown under the radar?”

She pursed her mouth and cocked her head. “You know, the people I always wondered about were Alfonsi’s wife and daughter. Three days after she reported him missing, the wife cleaned out the bank accounts and disappeared with the daughter. No one ever called it out in a story—my guess, because they couldn’t blame her for getting out of Dodge—but it always felt like a loose end to me. Rumor has it, she’s at a house they own in Belize.”

Actually, it was exactly what he’d expect of Alfonsi’s wife. No doubt, a plan he’d arranged for his family in the event anything happened to him. One of the first things Sergei had done after moving Evette and Emerson into his home was ensure they’d always be cared for and protected in his absence.

For another thirty minutes, Cassie shared her insights. Nuances of the conversations she’d had with prosecutors. Details on which businesses were still fully functional and those who’d closed their doors for good. Not surprisingly, most of her stories highlighted the individuals most negatively impacted in the aftermath.

Kir made note of every one of them to share with Sergei later. If the outcome of the class action lawsuit and the insurance payouts didn’t take care of them, he had every confidence another, more silent benefactor would.