“But why would the local mob have anything to do with the Russians?” Kennedy asked.
“I think you may have underestimated the local mob,” Donahue said. “They may be nowhere near as powerful as they once were, but they still exist. My guess is they have some hooks into Bartoletti and used him to get them close to Dmitriev.”
“That explains how,” Kennedy said, “but not why.”
Josh shook his head, “Believe it or not, I think they were doing us a favor. At least in their eyes,” he said. “I know Hawk Bennett represented some of Bellofatto’s crew. He told me so at Grey’s memorial. I think he reached out to Bellofatto. I suspected the bodyguard was the one in Virginia, but I wasn’t sure. It didn’t click until I talked to Bellofatto after we had closed the Grey case. Bennett said I should just let it go.”
“You know what?” Tommy said. “Who gives a fuck? They did do us a favor.”
“There’s the voice of reason,” Donahue chuckled, tapping Tommy’s glass with his own.
Kennedy was quiet for a moment, trying to make sense of things. “So the local mob has the reach to take out a Russian organized crime guy and does it because of some odd sense of what, justice? Retribution? Greed?”
“Family,” Josh answered. “They protect their own and those they care for. Hawk must have convinced them that going after his wife, and mine, crossed a line. They handled it their way. Bellofatto once said to me, ‘you have your ways and we have ours.’ ”
The four sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts.
“Should we go have a chat with this bodyguard and Bellofatto?” Kennedy asked.
“Waste of time,” Donahue said. “They wouldn’t talk even if you had high quality video of them shooting the guy and planting the device on the plane. Gino did nine years in the can and never gave up anybody, that whole code of silence thing.”
“What about Hawk? Can we talk to him?” Kennedy asked.
“You met him,” Josh said. “What do you think?”
“Oh yeah, good point.” Kennedy said.
Donahue ordered another round. “You know, something is still bothering me.”
“What’s that?” Josh asked.
“Why kill Dmitriev? The others I can understand, but not him. Doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I suppose we may never know,” Kennedy said. “So now what?”
Josh looked at each of them and smiled. “We let it go,” he said, “we just let it go.”
Then lifting his glass, his voice rising above the crowd, he said, “Here’s to us and those like us, the hell with everybody else.”
Kennedy’s cell rang. He spoke on the line for a few moments then hung up.
“Bad news?” Josh asked.
“No, just another one of those coincidences,” Kennedy answered.
“How’s that?” Tommy asked.
“They just pulled the body of the Fairfax County assistant state medical examiner out of the Potomac. He’s been missing for a month. Two bullets in his head…”
* * *
Acknowledgments
Writing a novel is a solitary process, turning the novel into a book that people want to read takes the efforts of many.
I want to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of the following people. Without their dedication, creativity, and help this book would not be possible.
Lifetime friends, Dolores (dos Santos) Cohen, Jane Auger, Susan Pincince Hyman, and Walter Barlow offered their time and effort in reading, reviewing, correcting, and making suggestions for molding the story into what it is today. Mike Campbell, for his reading the manuscript and offering his helpful perspective. Special thanks to Jim Taricani, who graciously offered his vast experience in Journalism helping me understand the inner workings. Geri Anderson, Owen Parr, and Todd Anderson (and his wife Debbie Grenier for volunteering him) for reading the pre-release version and giving their insight and feedback.
There is no more valuable thing to offer a fellow human than time out of your life. For their kind assistance, I am forever grateful.
To my daughter Kelsey Broadmeadow, Esq., for her assistance (and tolerance) in answering my unending questions on the law and for my brother-in-law, Dr. Edwin Pont, for his diligent and thorough help in finding answers to the medical questions I posed. I cannot adequately express my gratitude and thanks.
If there are errors in the book, they are mine and mine alone.
To my long-suffering wife, Susan, for tolerating my obsession with writing I am forever thankful and fortunate.
Thanks for reading, Silenced Justice, please take the time to write a review. It is very much appreciated.
About the Author
Joe Broadmeadow was born in Pawtucket and grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island.
He retired with the rank of Captain from the East Providence, Rhode Island Police Department after twenty years. He served in the various divisions within the department, including Commander of Investigative Services. He also worked in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and on special assignment to the FBI Drug Task Force.
Silenced Justice is his second novel in the Josh Williams series. His first novel, Collision Course, continues to garner rave reviews and is available on Amazon.com
When Joe is not writing, he is hiking or fishing (and thinking about writing). Joe completed a 2,185-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in September 2014. After completing the trail, Joe published a short story, Spirit of the Trail, available on Amazon.com in print and Kindle versions.
In the fall of 2015, Joe will release Saving the Last Dragon, a young adult novel also set in the backdrop of Rhode Island.
Joe lives in Lincoln, RI with his wife Susan.
Contact the author at [email protected]
I encourage my readers to send me their thoughts and reactions to my writing. Thanks for reading!
Amazon Author page
http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Broadmeadow/e/B00OWPE9GU
Twitter: @JBroadmeadow
Author Blogs:
www.joebroadmeadowblog.wordpress.com
www.jebroadmeadow.wordpress.com
Books by Joe Broadmeadow
Collision Course (A Josh Williams Novel)
Spirit of the Trail (An Appalachian Trail Short Story)
Saving the Last Dragon (coming Fall 2015)
Silenced Justice: A Josh Williams Novel Page 35
