Nowhere Else to Go

By Dani McDonnell

It all started with some dodgy paperwork at Crozzoli Constructions where Damian Roche works as a project manager. What is Rino – owner of the successful business – involved in exactly? Fraud … bribery … corruption …? Probably … he'd heard some rumours about the Crozzoli brothers' connection to organised crime. Could Damian turn a blind eye for the sake of his career?

 

But when he voices his concerns to others, what follows will change young Damian's life forever, with serious repercussions for those close to him.

As Damian's loved ones learn to live in the wake of disaster, dark secrets are revealed and the extent of the Crozzolis' evil is exposed. Will those who suffered the most exact their revenge?

 

Nowhere Else to Go is a gripping story about how crime affects the families and friends of both perpetrators and victims. It highlights the critical role that family and friends play in our wellbeing, and that there's no better place than home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dani McDonnell
• Release date: Mar 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645468212

Book preview

Prologue

Thursday, 28th September 2006 – Tremezzo, Italy

A knock at the door woke him. He must have dozed off while watching the football. Hauling his heavy frame from the armchair, he peered through the peephole. It was the concierge.

‘Si, cosa vuoi?’ he said with an exasperated sigh, opening the door.

‘Buon pomeriggio signore, ho una lettera per voi,’ the concierge said.

‘A letter? Ah, grazie.’

Making his way back to his chair, his palms started to sweat. He didn’t have to guess what would be inside. Withdrawing the sheet of paper from the envelope he read the now-familiar greeting typed neatly across the centre of the page –

Lo sappiamo, bastardo!

We know you bastard! Fuck! Another one. Perching on the edge of the armchair, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He glanced at the envelope and did a double take, heat rising up his neck as he did so. This one was different. There was no postmark; it had been hand delivered. Swiping away the bead of sweat that was running down his temple, he screwed the note and envelope into a tiny ball and threw it at the television.

Now he was frightened.

PART ONE

Chapter 1

Monday, 3rd March 2003 – Brisbane, Australia

They sat around the Crozzoli Constructions boardroom table, most with a well-earned second morning coffee in front of them. It was a pre-meeting for the new Aurora Project that was due to begin within the month.

Damian cleared his throat. He was a tad nervous, but also excited. At twenty-eight he’d worked hard to get where he was and he hoped that today would see him enter the next phase of his career. After sipping his coffee, he retied his loose ponytail of shoulder-length dark blond hair, inwardly admonishing himself for not getting it cut sooner. While the longish, scraggly hair had been reflective of his personality when he was a surf-loving tradie on the Sunshine Coast, it probably wasn’t ideal now that he was working his way up in the corporate world. Oh well, he thought, too late now. Hopefully I’ve proven myself enough for them to see through appearances.

He glanced across the table at his boss, Dennis Cleary, who’d been hinting for a while now that Damian would be pegged as the project manager for this gig. Catching his eye, Dennis gave him a sly wink, making him even more confident. The Aurora Project was one of the smaller projects they’d be working on this year, so it would be a good starting point for him.

‘Okay guys, let’s get started,’ Tony Crozzoli, the company business manager and Damian’s best friend, said. ‘I’ve got a meeting with Rino at eleven, so let’s make this quick. Over to you, Dennis.’

Dennis shuffled some papers in front of him, ‘Thanks Tony. So, as you may have heard, we’ve been given the verbal go-ahead from Ron Williams at SunCare. He liked what we did for them on the Bluegum Project, and while he tells me they’ve had some extremely competitive pricing submissions, they’re going to go with us again. Ian from legal tells me the contract is almost complete, so we hope to have final sign-off by the end of the week.’

At the end of the table, Rod Cameron smirked, sitting back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. ‘Hopefully Ian gets the dates right this time.’

‘Go on Dennis, you were saying?’ Tony said, glancing irritably at Rod.

‘To get ahead of schedule, we need to finalise a few things internally,’ Dennis said, ‘and the first point of business is to announce that we’re appointing Damian Roche as project manager on the project.’

There was a polite round of applause. Damian looked at Dennis and then Tony, his blue eyes sparkling as he grinned. ‘Thanks guys, I’m honoured. Really. I’m looking forward to it.’

The meeting continued for the next half hour or so before wrapping up. As they left, Tony caught up with Damian, slapping him on the back, ‘Good on you mate, you deserve it.’ After a slight pause, he added, ‘And not just cos you’re a friend of the family.’

‘Thanks Tone,’ Damian said, ‘and don’t worry, you won’t regret it.’

Settling himself back at his desk, Damian couldn’t help but feel chuffed. He wanted to share the good news but wasn’t sure who to tell. He glanced at his project assistant, Jade Larson, who sat at the desk that butted up against his. She was obviously on the phone to one of their suppliers.

‘No problem, Jackie, I’ll follow it up with accounts. I’m sure it’s just a keying error. Leave it with me and I’ll get back to you by the end of the day.’ She looked up at Damian and rolled her eyes as she listened to Jackie. Eventually Jade said, ‘I understand it’s frustrating. Yes. I know. I’m on it. Will call you ASAP, Jackie. Have a lovely day. Bye.’

Jade slammed the phone down. ‘Rude bitch,’ she said, looking at Damian again. ‘I don’t know what the hell is going on with accounts, but that’s the second call this morning.’ She sighed as she stood up, folding her arms across her chest.

‘Shit. Do you want me to have a chat to Dennis about it? There seems to be a never-ending round of issues. He needs to sort it with Rod,’ Damian said. ‘It’s just not good enough.’

Jade nodded, ‘I know, it’s a friggin’ pain in my arse. I’ll sort this one out, it’s not a huge deal. Anyway, how was the meeting?’

Damian grinned and took a chug of water from the bottle on his desk. ‘It went well; looks like it’s all coming together on the Aurora Project. And, on that, I’m sorry to say that you’re gonna have to find a new desk buddy.’

Confused for a moment, Jade looked at him with wide eyes as it dawned on her what he meant. She grinned. ‘Get out! You got the PM job?’ Damian nodded. ‘I’m really pleased for you Damo,’ she said as she leant across the desks and gave him a high five. ‘Just don’t forget the rest of us plebs when you move into your fancy schmancy office.’

‘You know that won’t happen Jade, I’ll be just across the hall. And besides, it’s not really an office. Just a room with a bit of glass in front. Anyway, I’m bloody stoked. And don’t worry, I’ll be sure you’re on the team. I want good people by my side on this one.’

Jade’s cheeks coloured. Oh shit, he thought. Does she have a thing for me? It made him a bit uncomfortable. Yeah, she was cute, in fact, she was pretty bloody attractive – shoulder-length honey blonde hair with a natural wave and big brown eyes that made her seem innocent and sweet but hid a feisty streak and a no-nonsense attitude. He liked Jade but he wasn’t interested in a relationship at this stage in his life. His career was taking off and he still enjoyed just being one of the guys when he had the chance. He certainly didn’t want to get involved with anyone at work; that could be disastrous.

‘Yeah, we do work well together, Damo. We’re a good team,’ she said.

Damian smiled, ‘Yep, we do. And I’ll sure as hell be keeping a close eye on those contracts. Don’t want my first project to turn into a shit-fight.’

‘Good for you, Damo; if only they were all as particular as you,’ she said with a grin. It was an ongoing joke between the two of them about his OCD tendencies.

‘Okay, well back to it. I’d better sort out this invoicing issue for Jackie.’ She picked up a file and headed toward the accounts department. As Damian watched her go, he sighed. Yes, she was bloody cute, but right now he had other things to think about. He was now officially a project manager, and as he went through to the kitchen to make himself another coffee, he cast his mind back to where his connection with Crozzoli Constructions all started.

Chapter 2

It was early 1997 and Damian was about to commence a construction management degree. Having undertaken a carpentry apprenticeship years earlier and working on the tools since, the degree was the next step on his career path.

The traditional welcome toga party of university O week was in full swing. Everyone had done their best to pull together their most realistic toga costume, which was difficult given that most had raided their parents’ linen cupboard to do so.

Damian was hanging out with Mick, a guy he knew from the Sunny Coast. The bar was becoming more crowded by the minute and they found themselves next to a group of about five others. Damian caught the eye of a guy he thought he recognised.

‘Hey, you were in the orientation session yesterday,’ the guy said.

‘Yeah,’ Damian said, moving closer. ‘Sure was. Wasn’t wearing this though.’ Looking down at his toga they both laughed. It was already stained with beer.

‘Don’t worry, mate, I don’t imagine any of these sheets will be making it back on a bed.’ He laughed. ‘I’m Tony,’ he said, offering his hand to Damian.

‘Hi Tony, I’m Damian. Cheers.’ They clinked their bottles as Tony made the introductions around the group. They chatted about their respective courses, and Tony told Damian about his family’s history in construction. He explained that as the only son of the eldest son, his duty was to carry on the family business. His father was preparing for him to take over one day and his business degree was just the start of it.

Over the next few hours, the party got louder, and the crowd more boisterous. A local cover band had the new group of friends singing along to their favourites, and between songs and rounds of drinks, Tony and Damian discovered they shared a love of golf and agreed that they’d catch up for a round very soon. And they did, becoming fast friends over the ensuing years.

Graduating a few years later, both Tony and Damian started at Crozzoli Constructions. While Tony jumped straight into the duty of learning the family business, Damian was employed as a project co-ordinator. Spending the first year putting his practical and theory skills to good use, he quickly gained a reputation as a hard worker. He enjoyed his role and within nine months was promoted to assistant project manager and given a portfolio of clients to look after, mostly in the aged care and health sector. Overseeing a team of contract administrators, site managers, schedulers and logistics specialists, he thrived in his leadership position. Now, here he was, about to take on his new role as project manager on the Aurora Project.

As Damian stirred sugar into his coffee, he was once again thankful to have met Tony and to have built his career at Crozzoli Constructions. It seemed that the two friends were on the right path, and from here the sky was the limit. What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter 3

Friday, 21st March 2003 – Brisbane, Australia

Rino Crozzoli had woken up in a particularly bad mood. He’d lost his weekly poker game the night before and his current mistress was giving him grief about not spending enough time with her.

‘Fuck,’ he said, lowering himself into the leather office chair. ‘I’m getting too old for this crap.’

His wife Nilla had also been on his case at home this morning. She wanted to visit her sister in Melbourne for Easter, but he needed her at home. He wasn’t sure what for, but he’d come up with something. He couldn’t have his wife just coming and going as she pleased. Surely, she knew that by now? They’d been married long enough.

‘Kathy, get me a coffee will ya sweetheart?’ he called out. No answer. He cleared his throat, and said a little louder, ‘Kathy. Where’s my coffee?’ Still no answer. ‘For fuck’s sake Kathy, where the fuck are you?’

At that moment, his young secretary came rushing through the door with his coffee in one hand and the Financial Review in the other. Looking flushed, she said, ‘I’m here Rino. I was in the kitchen making your coffee.’

As she carefully placed his coffee and paper on the desk in front of him, he couldn’t help but peer down the cleavage in her blouse. God, he loved beautiful women. ‘Good girl. If only all my girls were so well trained. Now, shut the door on your way out; I gotta make an important call.’

A few moments later Luca, Rino’s younger brother, answered his call. ‘Rino, how are you?’

‘I’m not bad, little brother. Life is treating me pretty well, but it appears that you and our brother are not.’

There was a pause, ‘What do you mean? What haven’t we done this time?’

‘You know very well. Where’s my money?’ Rino said in a low voice.

‘It’s coming Rino, we just have a bit of a cash flow situation right now. You’ll get it.’ Luca’s voice was becoming shrill. He was getting to him.

‘Oh, but I do worry Luca. I don’t trust you or Joe one iota.’

Luca laughed. ‘Don’t worry, the feeling is mutual.’

‘Don’t fuck with me, Luca. You seem to forget that without me you two would be nothing. I made you and I can also break you,’ Rino said even more quietly.

His brother sighed. ‘Yes, so you keep saying. It’s getting very tired, you know?’

‘Know this, little brother: all it would take is one call and both of you would either be on your arse, or dead. Either way would suit me just fine.’

Luca responded quickly, ‘You’ll get your money. But just remember, we’re not the only ones with secrets.’

Rino hung up on his brother. ‘Stupid assholes,’ he said under his breath. ‘They have no fucking idea what I’m capable of.’

Sipping his coffee, he glanced at the front page of the Financial Review, smiling to himself about yet another article on the future of the Australian dollar. He wasn’t worried. He’d made sure that fluctuations in the stock market would never have a serious effect on him. He was Rino Crozzoli. Nothing, and no-one, could touch him.

Chapter 4

The Crozzoli brothers descended from a long line of builders. Their great-grandfather Matteo joined the family business in northern Italy at a young age, and after serving for a few years in World War I, he married his sweetheart and continued in the family tradition.

Immigrating to America in 1924, Matteo and his young family settled in Boston where he joined an offshoot of the family business, with his son Elio eventually joining him.

In 1940, World War II was declared and Elio, then seventeen, enlisted in the United States Army. In early 1942, Elio and a large contingent of American troops arrived in Australia to fight the war in the Pacific. When the war ended three years later, Elio stayed in Australia. He’d fallen in love with Melbourne, and there was a drastic need for new housing. Little building work had been undertaken during the depression years and none at all during the war, and people needed places to live. This and the expected influx of post-war immigrants found Elio back on the tools and continuing on in the family tradition.

In the spring of 1946, Elio met Sophia De Luca. She was also Italian and had immigrated with her family from southern Italy. The two quickly fell in love, and just prior to Elio’s twenty-third birthday they married. In quick succession Sophia gave birth to their four children: Rino in 1950, Maria in 1952, and finally twins, Giuseppe and Luca, in 1954. Elio continued to build his reputation in the Italian community and in 1956 started his own business, Crozzoli & Sons.

The early sixties saw Elio’s business boom. Across Australia, families were spending more time at home as the working week had shortened, children were staying in school longer, and women were about to enter the workforce in large numbers. All this led to a need for larger homes, with more bedrooms and additional extensions for recreational activities becoming the norm. In 1965, at the age of fifteen, Rino, Elio’s eldest son, began working with his father and Crozzoli & Sons continued to flourish. By October 1973 business was booming and, by then, all three of his boys were a part of it. Crozzoli & Sons had become one of the most highly regarded residential building and restoration companies in the inner-northern suburbs of Melbourne.

While new builds were still a large part of the business, the majority of work came from restoration. Rino wasn’t happy about that. He pushed his father to move the business into the commercial space, insisting that the money the big boys were raking in with high-rise construction meant it was the way of the future. But Elio stuck to his guns. This was his sweet spot; this is what he knew and loved and what he was known for. Besides, he was fifty years old and wasn’t about to take on something entirely new.

The twins, Joe and Luca, agreed with their father. They were happy to focus on what had been highly successful all these years. Rino became more and more insistent that the company needed to move into ‘big’ construction and, for quite some time, this caused much tension between him and his father.

As it turned out, the decision of which direction the company would take was made for them. Just after Christmas in 1973, to the dismay of his family and many, many friends, Elio Crozzoli took a fall down the stairs of his office building and died. Within weeks Rino was at the helm of Crozzoli & Sons where he made it very clear that he was in charge and that Crozzoli & Sons would absolutely be expanding into high-rise construction.

Chapter 5

Saturday, 22nd March 2003 – Brisbane, Australia

Marg Mackenzie got off the bus on Reginald Street and looked left then right to get her bearings. This was the street, she just needed to find number sixteen. It had been a while since she’d had to look for a new place to live. Until six weeks ago she’d been living an apparently idyllic life in Townsville: great job, good friends, and what seemed to be an ideal man. But no longer; the relationship ended suddenly, and she’d made the decision to pack up and move south.

As she wandered along the footpath, she took in her surroundings. A nice leafy street on the outskirts of the city with old Queenslanders. The nearby bus route was an added bonus. Once she found somewhere to live, she would focus on getting a job. Number sixteen was small, but it had character and was set back from the road. A large jacaranda tree shaded the front porch. The pathway from the front gate was cracked and the lawn a bit overgrown, but the house itself was in good condition. As she knocked on the door, she hoped the woman – Jade – was friendly but not too nosy. She needed her space but, as a newcomer to Brisbane, she was also hoping to make some new friends.

‘Hi there,’ said the young woman who opened the door. ‘You must be Marg. I’m Jade.’

Extending her hand, Marg smiled. ‘Yes, hi Jade, we spoke on