I lean forward, lowering my voice even though there’s no one in this room but us. “What if Raymond isn’t the head of the Syndicate?”
He signals for me to go on.
“What if Raymond is the face?” I press on. “Can’t you see it? The legitimate-looking American man in a Brioni suit, with a corner office in Midtown and a Park Slope penthouse and a beautiful wife on his arm at the country club? What if the Vainakh Syndicate is using him the exact same way Raymond used Bill? Think about it: He can get so much done that these shady Eastern European f***s can’t yet manage to do themselves. He walks money through customs. He files the paperwork. But he doesn’t call the big shots; someone else does. So what if Raymond didn’t like that… and Bill knew that Raymond didn’t like that… and Bill decided he’d
