A hood was roughly placed over his head and a drawstring was used to pull it tight. Then he felt a handcuff snap shut on his left wrist. Carvelli then heard it being attached to the metal grilling on the coffee table.
“Relax, Tony. It’s okay if I call you Tony, isn’t it?”
Carvelli was still unable to reply, so the voice continued.
“To quote the immortal Virgil Sollozzo from the Godfather: ‘What are you worried about? If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already.’”
The room went silent for two minutes while Carvelli recovered from the 10,000-volt Taser shot.
When he was able to speak, he said, “Do I have the pleasure of meeting Charles Dudek?”
“Yes, you do. I must admit, Tony, I’m impressed you guys figured it out. Am I getting careless or are you that smart?”
“I know smart people. In fact, it was Marc who figured it out. You should have given him the pleasure of meeting you like this.”
Charlie laughed, then said, “I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe next time. I’m not sure I’d want to run into his new girlfriend, though.”
“Yeah,” Carvelli replied. “She can be a problem.”
“Listen, I only have a few minutes and I don’t want to make a big deal out of this. This is the only warning you’ll get.
“Stay away from me. Don’t come looking for me. Don’t even try to find out who or where I am. There are people in the government who think I should clean this up and I think you’re smart enough to know what that means. Relax, I made it clear to them you are not to be bothered. They won’t bother you because they will get my wrath.”
“I guess I’m supposed to thank you for that,” Carvelli said.
“No need. My pleasure. You don’t know it, but our paths have crossed before. I like you guys. Especially Maddy. I have a bit of a thing for her. In fact, I’m her guardian angel. I must admit, she and Marc make a nice couple.”
“They’ll be thrilled to hear that.”
Charlie had another good laugh, then said, “Please, heed my warning. I mean none of you any harm.”
“No one ever had any intention of coming after you, Charlie, trust me. You scare the hell out of a lot of people, especially me.”
“Good. Just so we agree.”
Charlie stood up and said, “I have to go. The key for the handcuffs is laying in the middle of your dining room floor. Your rather empty dining room. You need more furniture.”
“Thanks for the interior decorating tip,” Carvelli said.
Charlie laughed again, then continued. “You’ll have to drag or carry the table with you to get the key. Give it a couple minutes and I’ll be gone. Take care, Tony, and say hello to everyone. Wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Thank you for your patronage. I hope you enjoyed Exquisite Justice.
Dennis Carstens
Email me at: [email protected]
Also Available on Amazon
Previous Marc Kadella Legal Mystery Courtroom Dramas
The Key to Justice
Desperate Justice
Media Justice
Certain Justice
Personal Justice
Delayed Justice
Political Justice
Insider Justice
Exquisite Justice Page 42
