by Deanna King
“Celeste, are you going to talk or do I just shoot? What’s it gonna be?”
“So, Harvey, you bartended at the Blue Marble, I don’t remember you, guess you don’t make much of an impression, do you?”
“That’s how you expect to get out of this, insult me? Jesus, Daphne was right, you are a nasty bitch, and your past says a lot about you, and none of it’s impressive. The girls made you tons of money, but they were expendable, I can name one who was.”
“You married a whore, what does that say about you? You too hard-up to get a decent woman, is that it?”
“Jesus H. Christ, my trigger finger is beginning to itch.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure what’s stopping you then, scratch it.” Her voice eluded strength, but she was putting up a front.
“Why kill him, for what reason? Hell, Scottie had a thing for you, you knew that, didn’t you, and you used that to lure him. He never wanted you dead.”
“It wasn’t personal, it was business, and of all people, you being a Buccella you should know that. This wasn’t personal, this was business. Shit, Harvey,” she spat out, “didn’t you ever see The Godfather?”
“Yeah, but that’s not how the Buccella’s play, an eye for an eye, that’s our motto, and this is personal. I’m here to demand my pound of flesh, a hundred and ten pounds of flesh. Stand up, now.”
Xi motioned to Jack that he had eyes on Harvey, and his back was to the doorway. Jack gave the go-ahead. Xi and Lucky moved in, and Jack hung back, out of Harvey’s sight.
“Drop the gun, Buccella, now,” Xi called out. Harvey took a step toward Celeste, and with his left hand grabbed her by her right arm, swinging around behind her.
“You shoot, I shoot, I don’t give a donkey’s dick whether I live or die, but she needs to die.” His words strained as he tried hard to contain his anger. If he let his anger get the best of him, he would lose his edge.
“It doesn’t have to end this way.” Xi raised his gun and aimed it straight at Buccella. One thing he did not know was that Xi Chang could hit the freckle off a gnat on a fly, he was more than just damn good; his marksmanship was superb.
Lucky inched to the left, Xi stood to the right, and Jack leaned in and had a visual on everyone from his position at the door opening. Jace had stepped in further and was standing inside the front door, ready to move in if needed.
“You two stop,” Harvey warned as he put the gun to her head. They were right, he did not want to die today, he wanted to get back to Chicago and let the family know he had vindicated Scottie’s death then let the chips fall where they may, he no longer cared.
Jack stepped into the doorframe. “Daphne would want you alive, Harve.”
“Detective West, nice to see you, or maybe not, in the spot I’m in.”
“Drop your gun, it’s over.”
“No, Jack, it’s not. People hafta pay up for the past. She’s the last one who owes, and I expect my payment in her blood. Hell, I’m not even going to kill the old cop who shot him, heard he’s about dead anyway.”
Harvey pushed the gun harder to her head, causing her to wince in pain.
“What if I tell you that she’s gonna get hers and live to be sorry about it sitting in prison?”
“Oh yeah, and how will that make me feel any better?”
“We have it all. It was taped. Her part of JoAnn’s death, Scotty’s execution, the hit on Richmond, even the so-called accident that Randy Simpson had, we have that and more.”
Her eyes narrowed as she trained them on Jack. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Max was wired, we not only heard everything, but have it recorded as well. You’re going down for all of it.” He took another step into the room.
Sarge had set her up, that motherfucking rat. The dam of hate she had built up over the past thirty years burst, and the cold-hearted, evil bitch that she really was, snapped.
“Sarge, you bastard, Sarge!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, “get your motherfucking ass down here now!” She had enough power in her heated state to pull away from Harvey, who hadn’t anticipated this and lost his firm grip on her arm as she wrenched away.
That gave Xi Chang just enough space to get a shot off, hitting Harvey Buccella in the right shoulder. Harvey’s body took the full hit, and his right arm flung out, gun still in hand. Dawson Luck moved in a flash, lunging toward the man, pushing the chair Buccella had been standing behind, and he knocked Buccella off balance.
Celeste dashed toward the door; Jack grabbed her by the arm, subduing her, as Sarge hit the last step on the staircase.
“Stay there, Max, don’t move until I say you can,” he instructed.
Jack was holding a gun; Sarge wasn’t going to move, let alone breathe. With one quick movement, he grabbed his cuffs and cuffed her hands behind her back. Then he pushed her toward the room she had darted out of so he could assess the situation.
Harvey Walden Buccella laid face to the floor with Dawson Luck’s knee at his back. The injured man was bucking like a wild bronco while blood pooled under his right shoulder.
“It can’t end this way, motherfucker, let me up, I swear I’ll kill all of you, but her first.” Spit was flying out of his mouth, as he screamed and thrashed about. Lucky had to put one knee at the base of his neck and his full body weight with his other knee on the man’s back. Jace had come into the room, him and Xi each had an arm, trying to bend them behind him to cuff him. They had him cuffed, but his legs and feet were thrashing about, so Jace took his cuffs and Lucky’s cuffs and cuffed the man’s ankles. It was a tight fit, but Jace made it work. Harvey eventually stopped bucking and thrashing, because the cuffs on his ankles were biting into his flesh.
Xi called for an ambulance, and for patrol backup, which he knew were close.
“Sarge, you can move now,” Jack said as he walked a cuffed Celeste Mason out toward the front door.
Her eyes held a cauldron of hatred. “You…you bastard rat, you’re in just as deep as I am, you were there, and you covered it up.”
“I might sit in a cell for a while, but that one incident is all I had a part in. You’re on your own for all the other shit. I didn’t plan anything, I was a patsy too, just like JoAnn and Skip. The one difference is I’m alive.” Sarge turned and looked at Jack.
“Detective West, is it okay if I go back upstairs? Jed’s up there alone, and until you get someone out here, I’ll keep an eye on him. I’d like to do that for him.”
“Sure, Sarge, I’ll have to get someone from Social Services out here, but until I do, you can keep an eye on him.” He was no longer worried about Sarge; in the end, the man had done the right thing.
“Thanks, I appreciate you trusting me, even though I don’t deserve it.” He turned back to Celeste. “Don’t thank me, I ain’t doing it for you, I’m doing it for Jed. He might have bent the law some back in the day, but was a decent man before you hooked your claws into him.” With that, Sarge took his leave and headed upstairs to take care of an old friend.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Buccella was in the ambulance, cuffed and pissed. Jace decided it was in the best interest of everyone that he rode with him to the hospital and had one of the patrol cars follow for support once the transfer from the ambulance to hospital occurred. The medical staff would have to knock his ass out before the doctors could even think about beginning to work on his injuries.
Celeste Mason was in the second patrol car, verbally cursing out Sarge as loud as she could, and Jack wished like hell she would shut up.
“Take her to central booking, Jeffers, we’re going to be right behind when we’re done here. Get her printed, take her pretty
picture, and then put her in a holding cell. I’ll finish it up when I get back to the station.”
“Will do, Jack, see ya in a few.” Patrol Officer Jeffers climbed into in his car and drove off and headed to the station, with a screaming bitch in his back seat.
“Jack, I’m gonna head over to the hospital, give Jace a ride back to the station. The shot to Buccella was a through and through, they ought to have him patched up so we can transport him to Booking, maybe tonight, we’ll see what the doc says.”
“Sounds like a plan. Xi and I will stay here, cordon the area off until the OIS team gets here. I’ll call the captain, get him out here, they can get yours and Jace’s statements later about the details of the shooting.”
“Geeze, Jack, too bad I had to shoot. I hate OIS investigations and relinquishing my friggin’ gun, this sucks. You know, I haven’t been involved in full-out shooting in five years, crap.”
“Xi, it was a clean shoot, we all saw it, and I wouldn’t worry.”
. . .
Jack dropped onto his bed at 3:00 a.m.; he was not just mentally beat, he was physically beat. For the last eight hours, he had booked Celeste Mason, had Art Walsworth get the tape copied for the DA’s office, and called in a favor to his contact at Social Services. Someone from Social Services picked up Jed Logan and transported him to a local nursing home. He let Max Renner and Jenna Berrie know that the ADA, Jonell Simone, would be contacting them and not to leave town or all bets were off, and he’d find them and lock both away so long they’d never see each other again.
The doctors had patched Buccella’s wound up, and then he was booked and jailed once the hospital released him. They had to sedate him to be able to treat him. His sedation wore off, and he became a wild man. They had to shackle him, hands and feet. Hell, at one point Jace was ready to get the white coat with buckles.
Captain Yao and the OIS team came out, assessed the crime scene in an officer-involved shooting, and had CSU out to process the scene. Xi gave his statement, relinquished his firearm to Captain Yao, who had clapped him on the back and told him not to worry. Jack, in turn, gave his account of the shooting, and then explained where Jace and Luck were. The OIS team went to the station a little later, took their statements, and left.
It had been a damn busy night and with this much going on, Jack knew that the lid had popped open, and the worms were spilling every which way…and these worms were talking worms. The news would hit, and Judge Wolff would hear. If he hadn’t been so dead tired and had everything he needed, he would have gone to the judge’s house and hauled his ass in. He had to be patient, he needed to rest... and he needed to be fresh.
. . .
Coffee in hand, Jack made his way into the squad room and was surprised to see Lucky, Jace, and Xi already there.
“You guys spend the night here?” Jack asked as he took his chair, set his coffee on the desk, and booted up his computer.
“I’ve been here since five-thirty, figured I had paperwork to get started on, and I have the warrant for Wolff ready to go, waiting for a signature,” Lucky replied.
“Yeah, I told Lucky I’d help with the paperwork since our cases are connected. Besides, I’m going to be desk-bound until the OIS team clears me to have my firearm again.”
Xi’s gun was like another arm on him, and he felt unbalanced.
“Hey, partner, you’ll be packing again soon, it shouldn’t take that long to get it all sorted out.” Jace tried to encourage him.
“You helping Lucky with the paperwork would be better than him ending up with me or Jace, cuz we aren’t close to being as proficient or anal as you too birds are.”
“Thanks, Jack, I guess that’ll have to do for now, but not forever.” Xi picked up a stack of blank reports, sifted to the one he needed, and dug in to keep his mind off the shooting investigation.
“Jack, who ya asking to sign the warrant for Wolff? Any ideas yet on who you’ll try to get?”
“Gave that some thought this morning, Jace, and I think Judge Carlson is who I’m going to approach.”
“Yeah, I don’t think she’ll waver on it. Jack, I’ve heard that her and Wolff don’t always see eye to eye. Didn’t she blast him in the paper once about a case he had presided over?” Xi Chang looked up from his paperwork.
“She did, it was right before you and Luck moved to Houston. Some trial about a weapons charge and the judge overruled the sentencing when he shouldn’t have. It was the man’s fourth offense, he’d beat a possession with intent to sell to a minor, aggravated assault, and one burglary charge. Wolff happened to be the presiding judge for every case. On every damn case all the perp got was a slap on the wrist, and Wolff was taking heat about it.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” Jace spoke up. “Guess maybe he was pulling in favors, ya know, maybe it was even for the Mason gal, who knows?”
“Well, one thing I do know, Judge Nora Yorke-Carlson will be thrilled to sign the warrant, get him disbarred, and jailed. I have no doubt about that.”
Jack knew she wasn’t in any way corrupt, he’d bet his last dime on that, happy that some people stayed honest.
“Okay, Jack, what’s the plan? I have a gut feeling myself that it ain’t gonna go well with Wolff.” Lucky wheeled his chair between his and Xi’s desk. “So?”
Jack tipped his head back and stretched it from side to side, popping out the stress kinks.
“I say we get him at home, not at the courts building, too much can go haywire there. You and me, we go in and try to reason with him. He’s gonna fight it, say he can’t go to jail, ain’t safe, he’ll get shanked day one. We tell him we’ll keep him segregated.”
“What if—and I’m just saying what if here, Jack—he fights it, he ain’t going, he’ll die first?” Lucky looked hard at Jack.
“Like he shoots himself in the head?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”
“Lucky has a point, Jack, man’s been a respected official figure in Houston for years now, he ain’t gonna want to be in one of Houston’s jails.” Jace looked over at Xi. “Don’t you agree, 11?”
“Yeah, Jack, they’re right, hell, he might’ve already put a bullet in his brain.”
“I’m telling you he doesn’t have the guts. He likes to dominate, in the courtroom and evidently in the bedroom or motel room or whatever, but he’s a coward, or that’s how I see him.”
“Well, coward or not, we have to go get him and bring him in, and I’m sure it ain’t gonna be a party.” Lucky scooted his chair over and went back to the report he was working.
“Jack.” Captain Yao stuck his head in the squad room. “A word, please.”
“Captain, what’s up, everything okay?”
“Have a seat, Jack. First, great job last night, I know it was a long night, but all in all, it went rather smoothly.”
“That’s not why you called me in here, Davis, what’s up. It’s something cuz I see it in your face.”
The captain nodded absently. “Courthouse called this morning, told me that Wolff didn’t make it into his chambers. He had an eight o’clock hearing, and he never showed, and no one can reach him. Our media relations phones have been ringing insanely, and there are a few gawking reporters in the lobby, not from The Chronicle, but from some cheap rag magazines. Word is out and shit’s rolling downhill fast. Chief Pratt already sent me word to get this tied up and quieted as much as we can. So, what’s your idea, you going in after him, send the warrant squad, what?”
“I’m going in, Lucky and me. We were disusing it when you stuck your head in. I sort of figured he was going to lay low, not leave his house.”
“Yeah, he’s there, so I already knew he di
dn’t go to the courthouse.”
“How do ya know that?”
“Hell, after last night I knew the word was going to get out, so I put a detail on his house, just for, well, you know why. His kids are grown, so it’s him and the wife at home. A taxi picked her up, so my detail called in a unit to follow her. She went to the airport, Jack, guess he’s sending her away. I don’t know if she knows, they’ve been married for over thirty-five years, women are smart, but who knows?”
“You think he’s barricaded himself in, waiting for the National Guard to come busting in?”
The captain inhaled deeply, leaned his head back, blew out air, and looked at Jack.
“No, I think he’ll off himself, that’s what I think, so he can die as a haunted man.”
“He’s a coward, I don’t think he has the guts. He’s been hiding behind his law degree and his black robe, he’s a narcissist, and to be honest, Lucky and I think he’s still in the sex game—S&M shit and the works.”
“Jack, I suggest you get over to his place, find him, and bring him in. I want him alive so we can legally prosecute, I don’t want a dead man who the town might make a martyr out of. Is the warrant signed and ready?”
Jack looked at his watch, it was 8:45. “Judge Carlson should be at the courthouse now, Mava said she has a case at ten, and she expected her at eight-thirty.”
Captain Yao looked like he had aged ten years, and Jack took stock of the worry on his face.
“Hey, Davis, we’ll get him, and then we can call The Chronicle, have them send Tessa Coy over. She will do a great job spinning this vulgar, bizarre story, and main thing is she will downplay it, keep the crappy stuff out, and focus on the real facts. I’ve never known her to write like the shitty tabloids do. She’ll do the force and the city proud.”
