Chapter 2 - I call Claire before my lawyer
The Bellucci instinct was to call counsel.
Mine included.
That afternoon I did something different.
I called Leo’s mother first.
Claire answered after two rings.
“Hey. Everything okay?”
“No.”
Silence.
“What happened?”
“I need you to come to the house.”
“With Leo?”
“He’s with me.”
“Is he hurt?”
“I don’t know yet.”
That sentence changed her breathing.
“Carmine.”
“Helena had him washing a car in the garage. He’s soaked. She threatened not to feed him.”
“What?”
“And she blamed him for damage she knew he didn’t cause.”
Claire went completely silent.
Then:
“I’m coming.”
I called Leo’s pediatrician next.
Then my lawyer.
In that order.
My attorney was Miriam DeSantis.
Forty-eight.
She had represented Bellucci operating companies for fifteen years and had made a career out of telling men with my surname that being angry did not create legal authority.
I told her what happened.
Including what I had done to Helena.
“You put her head in a bucket?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Seconds.”
“Was she attacking Leo at that moment?”
“No.”
“Was Leo already behind you?”
“Not yet. I moved her, then took him.”
She exhaled.
“Police.”
“I know.”
“No, Carmine. I’m saying we call them.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
I looked through the glass.
Daniel was preserving camera footage.
Helena sat on a bench with a towel around her shoulders.
A security employee stood nearby but did not restrain her.
Miriam continued:
“You also need child protective services involved because Helena was acting as a caregiver.”
“I know.”
“Do not have anyone erase footage.”
“Obviously.”
“Do not have your security people interview employees.”
“Why?”
“Because your household security department reports into the same family structure as Helena’s service division. Preserve. Do not investigate.”
I hated that instruction.
Which meant it was probably correct.
Then Miriam said:
“And Carmine?”
“What?”
“The Bentley stays exactly where it is.”
“I was going to have it removed.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s never getting the keys again.”
“That decision can wait until evidence is documented.”
There.
An expensive car temporarily became more important as evidence than as a symbol.
I left it.
May you like
That was my first good decision after the bucket.
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