by Rick Polad
“That’s the deal,” Ralph said.
“Uh huh. Let’s see the evidence.”
“We make a deal first,” Ralph said.
“Well, here’s the deal. I don’t think you have any evidence. I think you’re just a cheap blackmailer who saw more dollar signs with whatever’s in that bin. Never did like blackmailers.”
At that point, Bast’s two thugs stepped out of aisles on either side of the space. They both had guns leveled at Ralph.
“And I have a good thing without cutting you and your pal in.”
“But you don’t have the connection.”
Bast shrugged. “If it’s that big, I’ll find out. And if I don’t find out, I don’t much care. Like I said, I don’t need you or your connection.”
Ralph started to talk, but Bast pulled his gun, and Ralph stopped. He was probably thinking the go-to-jail clause wasn’t much good if he was dead.
“We’ll take your bin. But first, both of you put your guns on the floor under the table.”
“We don’t have guns,” Ralph said.
“Then we’ll just shoot you to make sure.”
Ralph and the man next to him reached into their jackets and pulled out guns which they laid on the floor.
“Very good. Now, Manning, you join them. He turned his gun on me. But first, hand me your Magnum. And don’t try anything. This is a nice quiet place. Whoever picked it did a good job. Nobody is going to hear you die.”
I guessed I didn’t have to wonder anymore. I handed him my gun as I said, “You and your two thugs aren’t going to get away with this.” I wanted to let Stosh know that Bast only had two men with him.
He tucked my gun into his belt and said, “Seems to me you’re not exactly in a position to be cocky. Now move. All three of you behind the table. It’s going to look to your buddy Powolski like these two jumped us, and you tried to be the hero. This is perfect. I showed you the note, and you insisted on coming along. Nobody will question that what with your loose cannon approach to things. And your car is parked conveniently down the street. You’ll have a nice recognition ceremony. I’ll look real sad.”
I watched Ralph and the other man as I walked to the table. They were both looking around the room. I guessed they were wondering where Stosh was. So was I.
I joined Ralph, and Bast took a few steps toward the table. “Any last words?” he asked.
“Just wondering how someone who puts on a badge ends up with drugs and murder on his hands,” I said.
He shrugged like it was nothing. “Shit happens.” As he glanced at his two thugs, we all heard the sound of shotguns cocking. I couldn’t tell how many there were, but there were more than two. That got the attention of Bast and his thugs as Stosh stepped out of one of the aisles.
“The three of you point your guns at the floor, bend down slowly, and lay them down. Then step away ten feet and lie down on your stomachs with your hands behind your heads.”
They hesitated with shocked looks.
“Each of you has two shotguns aimed at your torso. Won’t matter where you get hit. You have no idea where my men are, but they sure as hell know where you are. You’ve got two seconds.”
The thugs responded before Bast, but Bast wasn’t far behind.
“Okay,” I said, “Now the Magnum, Bast.”
I started walking around the table toward Bast. As I did, I pulled the Taurus out of my belt and held it at my side. Bast started to lay the gun down and then suddenly turned the gun toward his head.
In a split second, I raised my gun and fired. I hit him in the wrist, and he dropped the gun.
I walked up to him and kicked the gun away. He was holding his right wrist, blood smeared between his fingers.
“You’re not getting off that easy, Bast. There’s three people dead, two of them kids, not to mention framing me and going after my family. You’re going to spend the rest of your life thinking about this from the wrong side of the bars.”
He looked up at me and managed to sneer. “You’re dreaming, Manning. You’ve got nothing. If you did, you wouldn’t have set up this sham. There’s nothing that would hold up in court.”
“Get up,” I said.
As he got to his feet, he turned to his left and threw a punch at my stomach. I turned quickly enough that it landed on my side. I snapped a straight right onto his nose, and it immediately started to bleed. He put his left hand to his face and looked at the blood on his fingers. Blood was streaming down his face… noses bleed a lot. I figured he was done, but he raised both hands in fists and threw a left at my face. I ducked left, and it missed as I turned to my left and kicked his left kneecap with my right foot. As he was falling, I hit him on the back of the head with my left forearm. He slid to the floor and didn’t try to get up. Now he was done.
As Bast gasped for breath, I turned from him to the two thugs lying on the floor and told them to sit up.
“How about you two? You want to keep him company? Or do you want a deal?”
The balding one started to talk.
“Shut up, you fool!” Bast yelled, still gasping for air. “He’s got nothing.”
The bald one did shut up. I walked over to him and told him to stand up… easier on the knees and a more compassionate bargaining position. I smiled at him. “I gotta admit, free room and board sounds appealing, but I hear the food’s not that good.”
“Don’t listen to his crap, Harry!” Bast yelled.
I slowly shook my head. “He’s not worth it, Harry.”
Harry looked from me to Bast. His eyes were open wide with a look of fear. But I couldn’t tell who he was more afraid of, me or Bast. The other thug was watching intently.
Stosh walked over to the other thug. “What about you?” he asked.
He looked like he wanted to answer, but after glancing at Bast he didn’t. Bast looked smug.
I rested the Taurus in the palm of my left hand.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” Stosh said. “The first of you to talk gets the deal, probably no jail time, depending on what you have to say. We’re not after you… we’re after the upper end of the food chain.”
“Don’t say anything,” Bast said. “He’s all talk. And he can’t offer you a deal. He’s just a cop, like me.”
Stosh started to say something but was interrupted as Thward stepped out from one of the aisles.
“He can’t, but I can.” He walked over to each of the thugs and introduced himself, showing his ID. Both of them started talking at once. He stopped them.
“Okay, hands behind your backs. We’ll continue this at the station.”
Bast had lost the smug look.
As one of Thward’s agents walked toward Bast, he said, “I’m not the top of the food chain. Same offer apply to me?”
“Always willing to listen,” Thward said. “But a cop involved anywhere in the chain stinks bad.”
Bast finally looked defeated. “I’ve got nothing to lose.”
“And not much to gain,” Thward said.
***
While the agents were reading rights and snapping on cuffs, I walked over to Stosh.
“That went pretty well, don’t you think?” I said.
“Coulda been a lot worse,” he said.
“And it coulda been better.”
“How so?”
I shook my head. “I was hoping he’d get up again.”
He took in a deep breath. “So was I, kid. So was I.”
“And I still got it!” I said.
He laughed. “Got it, my ass. I could beat up a guy, too, if I shot him first.”
“You’re just jealous,” I said.
He was still laughing. When he calmed down, he said, “One thing that didn’t go so well… you used Rafael and his sister.”
“I know. It was the only plan I had.”
He just shook his head sadly.
“What are you doing in the morning at a quarter to nine?” I asked.
“Working… like every other day. Why?”
“Meet me at St. Agatha’s.”
“Why?”
“There’s a nun I’d like you to meet.”
“I’ve met nuns.”
“Not this one. Humor me. And debrief tomorrow night at McGoons at seven. Steaks on me.”
He agreed. Ralph and I left Thward and Stosh to clean up the mess. When I got home, I called McGoons and reserved the private room.
I then called Iverson and filled him in. I asked that he keep his man on for one more day just in case somebody didn’t get the message. I told him Stosh would call him about the prisoners. I didn’t ask about the guy with the dent on his head. I didn’t care. I then called the inn. Aunt Rose answered, and Maxine got on the extension. They were thrilled and said they had no doubt I would take care of everything. I talked to Carol and told her it was all over, and they could head back. She said Billy would be disappointed.
After two more calls I took a hot shower and called it a night.
Chapter 48
Friday morning was bright and sunny and held every promise of spring. I got to the church and parked in the lot at a quarter to nine. Stosh pulled in five minutes later and got in the passenger’s seat.
“This better be one special nun,” he said.
“I guarantee it.”
We got out and sat on the front steps of the church and watched the neighborhood come alive. At five after, the front door opened and Sister Katherine and Benny joined us. After introductions and small talk Stosh looked at me like he was ready to go and wondering why he had made the trip. I didn’t bother explaining.
At twenty after, a black Mercedes pulled up in front of the steps. Stosh’s brow furrowed. After ten seconds, the driver’s door opened, and Renald Williams got out and looked at us over the top of the car.
Stosh looked very confused, and I was enjoying every second if it.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Stosh asked.
No one answered.
“Renald walked around to the passenger side and opened the rear door. He offered his hand and helped out Maria Melendez. He did the same for her brother Rafael, and Maria and Rafael walked over to where we were now standing. She hugged Sister and Benny and me, and I introduced them to Stosh.
Renald walked back to the driver’s side and gave me a two-finger salute. I returned it with a nod.
Stosh was watching it all, shaking his head. He turned to me and said, “What the hell?”
Sister Katherine turned to him with a smile and said, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
I smiled. “McGoons at seven. Don’t be late.”
“Oh, I won’t. And I’ll be real hungry.”
I laughed.
Maria gave me another hug and a kiss on the cheek. From Sister Katherine I just got a hug, but it was one of the best hugs I ever got.
“You want a ride home?” I asked.
“I’ll see them home,” Sister said.
“Okay, but hang on a minute. I’ve got something for Rafael.”
I walked to the car and came back with a box and handed it to Rafael. He opened it, looking like a kid at Christmas, and pulled out a new pair of binoculars. He immediately started looking around the neighborhood. I got another kiss from Maria.
I gave her my card and said, “If you ever need anything, you call me.”
She nodded with tears in her eyes.
Chapter 49
The front page of the Tribune covered the story but left a lot of questions that would probably never be officially answered. Some of them had to do with deals that were yet to be made. Thward had shared the confessions with me.
McGoons was crowded. I stopped at the bar and wasted two dollars throwing darts. Jack thanked me for the contribution. Stosh and Ben were already at the table. Ralph arrived ten minutes later, followed by Benny and Sister Katherine.
“Glad you’re here, Spencer,” Ben said. Stosh has been grilling me for the last fifteen minutes. I told him I gave up trying to keep track of what you do a long time ago.”
“I bet.” I was enjoying keeping him in suspense.
Jane took drink orders, and we ordered appetizers. When the drinks arrived, I took questions. Stosh wasn’t about to let anyone else get in first.
“I’m sittin’ in front of a church and Williams pulls up in a Mercedes and drops off two people who were supposed to have been kidnapped. Let’s start with that.”
“Remember that chat we had about who I could trust? Well, I figured if I couldn’t trust a nun the world was in big trouble. And in order for my plan to work I needed help from someone else. That someone else just happened to turn out to be Williams.”
“And what made you decide you could trust him?”
“He told me I could.”
“Where’s that waitress? Maybe more alcohol will help.”
That brought a laugh.
He continued. “How do you even find yourself having a conversation with the head of the Prophets?”
I knew this answer wasn’t going to make any more sense than the last one, but it was the only answer I had. I took a deep breath and said, “Larry Maggio set up a meeting.”
He just stared at me, picked up his glass, and emptied it. Then he went back to staring at me.
“Sister, remember when we were having breakfast and I said I never know where ideas come from?”
“I do.”
“Well, the idea that rolled around was to make whoever the culprit was think there was evidence that had been found at the scene by Rafael. But I knew that would put Rafael at risk, so I had to make sure he and Maria were safe. Someone had to keep them safe. Then Maggio called and wanted a meeting. Turned out the meeting was with Williams, who said he was getting some heat over the murder and wanted to assure me that he had nothing to do with that or Reynolds.”
“And of course, why not believe the head of the biggest gang in the city,” Stosh said. “How does that happen?”
“Because Sister told me I could.”
She started to say something, but I cut her off.
“I know, not in so many words. But you did say he did a lot of good things for the neighborhood. I had to make a gut decision, and that was it.”
“But the note stuck in your mailbox said they had Rafael, and they could get your family too,” Stosh said. “What about that?”
“That was just serendipity, and it was actually pretty smart of them. Bast read the article in the paper about Rafael and Maria being missing. He knew he didn’t do it, but obviously someone had. So why not use that to threaten me?”
“So how did the Trib get the story about them being missing?” asked Benny.
“My secretary, Carol, and a friend I have on the paper who didn’t need more than my asking him to do it in exchange for the story.”
Stosh caught Jane’s eye and asked for another round. When she brought the drinks we all ordered.
“Where did Williams keep them?” Stosh asked.
“No clue. But I had Sister Katherine work everything out with Maria. I wanted the apartment to look like they had been taken. So their clothes were still there, and the place looked like they had left suddenly. I gave Sister money to buy them clothes and anything else they’d need. There was only one thing that might have caused a problem.”
“What was that?” Benny asked.
“Rafael took his binoculars with him. But luckily Bast didn’t know about those.”
“What about the gun that killed Nadem?” she asked.
Stosh answered. “Bast and his two cronies haven’t stopped talking. Bast ordered the killing of Reynolds and Mark Nadem. He gave us the killer’s name, but s
o far he hasn’t been found. Reynolds was shot with his own gun, and the killer used that gun to kill Mark and then left it next to the body. As you know, Mrs, Margot’s prints were on the gun, and she was questioned.”
I took a drink. “This all went back to the drug arrest,” I said. “Seemed odd that Reynolds wouldn’t agree to a deal. But the deal would have been to turn in a cop, and he was afraid of doing that.”
“So if he wasn’t going to make a deal, why kill him?” Sister Katherine asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “The only answer I have is that Bast couldn’t be sure the kid wouldn’t talk. Only one way to be sure.”
“And how was Mark Nadem involved?” she asked.
Stosh answered. “Bast knew the Margot family through the fraternity connection and was having an affair with the Mrs. He had a small drug operation on the west side and wanted to expand into the suburbs where all the money was. He needed someone to work the sales. He had met both Margot boys and knew Reynolds liked danger and wanted to be a big shot. He was an easy target. Reynolds and Mark played a dare game where they kept raising the ante. One of the raises evidently was to sell drugs on the west side.”
Jane brought the appetizers, and we passed the plates.
“Doesn’t make sense,” said Benny.
“What doesn’t?” I asked.
“Bast isn’t going to get a drug business going with one kid.”
“No, Reynolds was just the hired help.”
“So who else?”
Stosh started to answer, but I wanted this one. With a smile, I said, “Our servant of the people, Senator Nadem. Seems he and Bast met somewhere along the way, and one thing led to another and they went into business. Things were evidently shaky on the home front for our wonderful senator. His wife found out about an affair and wasn’t too happy. All the money in the family was hers, and the senator perhaps saw that money drying up. He needed some extra income.”
“But his son couldn’t have been part of the deal,” Sister said.
I looked at Ben and Ralph, who were sitting next to each other. I didn’t expect to hear any questions from them as long as there was food on the table.
“No, certainly not,” I said. “He had no way of knowing the trail would lead to Mark.”
