[Lady Justice 37] - Lady Justice and the Living Trust

by Robert Thornhill

  My first call was to Kevin. “They have Maggie! Come quick!”

  Then I called my old partner, Ox. “I need you, buddy. Are you and Judy available?”

  “We’re off today. What’s up?”

  “Some creeps have taken Maggie. I need your help.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  When everyone was assembled in my office, I gave Ox and Judy a quick explanation of why Maggie had been taken. Neither of them had been involved in the living trust fiasco.

  “So, if I got this right,” Ox said, “they want you dead so they can contest the trust. You for Maggie.”

  I nodded. “But remember, they’ve already killed Lou and Crystal. There’s no way they’re letting Maggie go. Unless we figure something out, we’re both dead.”

  Ox looked at his watch. “One o’clock. We’ve got two hours. Plenty of time to get set up. We’ll go home and get Judy’s sniper rifle. The three of us will find a spot around the shelter house. If something goes sideways, Judy can drop the guy.”

  Before joining the Kansas City Police Department, Judy had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

  “Sounds good to me. Let’s go.”

  Ox, Judy, and Kevin planned to get to the shelter house an hour before the planned meet to get set up out of sight. I was to arrive just before three o’clock.

  At ten minutes before three, I pulled into the parking area at Shelter # 9.

  I looked around, but saw no one. My friends had concealed themselves very well.

  I waited, expecting a car to pull up any time, but by ten after three, no one had come. Then my cell phone rang.

  “Walt, surely you didn’t expect me to walk into your little trap. I figured you’d summon your posse. New plan. Come to Cosmo’s house on Benton Boulevard. Maggie and I will be waiting for you inside.”

  The line went dead.

  I waved my arms and called out, “They’re not coming.”

  A moment later, my friends joined me in the shelter house.

  “Mario called. He said they’re waiting for us at the Benton house. He said he knew I’d be bringing help.”

  “Then I don’t get it,” Ox said. “If he knew we would all be here, surely he knows we’d be going with you there.”

  “I’m just telling you what he said,” I replied. “I don’t get it either, but we’d better get going.”

  After arriving at the Benton house, we gathered on the sidewalk.

  “How do you want to play this?” Ox asked. “We can’t just go charging in.”

  “I have an idea,” Kevin said, handing me an odd shaped object.

  “What’s this thing?” I asked.

  “It’s a smoke grenade. You know they’ll be expecting you to be armed, but they won’t know you have this. Ox and Judy can cover the back of the house. You and I will go in the front. I’ll hang back out of sight until I hear you detonate the grenade, then I’ll come in for back up.”

  “Where did you get this thing?”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’ve had it for a while. You never know when you might need one of these little babies.”

  “Is it dangerous? Remember, Maggie is in there.”

  “Not at all. It just fills the room with smoke and gives you a chance to make a move.”

  I pocketed the grenade. “Okay, let’s do this.”

  Kevin and I entered the front door, weapons drawn, while Ox and Judy went around back.

  No one was in the foyer. Kevin hung back and signaled me to move forward.

  I opened the door to the room where we had encountered the skunk, only this time there was a much more dangerous varmint.

  Mario stood in the middle of the room with a gun pointed at Maggie’s head. I could see the fear in her eyes, but she appeared unhurt.

  “Drop the gun, Walt, or I drop your wife.”

  As I knelt down to place my revolver on the floor, I grasped the smoke grenade.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m here. Release Maggie.”

  Mario smiled. “Walt! Surely you know I can’t afford to leave any witnesses.”

  “There’s no way you can get out of this,” I replied. “My friends are covering the front and back of the house. You can kill us both, but you’re not getting out of here.”

  “We’ll, let’s just start by killing the two of you and see what happens.”

  I saw there was no chance of talking him down, so I tossed the grenade.

  FOOOSH! There was a flash followed by billowing purple smoke.

  As soon as it ignited, I made a dash, grabbed Maggie, and pulled her to the floor. I rolled on top of her just as I heard a shot and felt the floor splinter inches from my head.

  Then I heard a volley of shots from a different gun. Kevin had entered the fray.

  I couldn’t see a thing, but I heard footsteps, then everything was quiet.

  Moments later. “Walt, are you and Maggie okay?”

  I rolled off of her. “Uhh --- I think so.”

  I pulled Maggie to her feet and we embraced.

  “I knew you would come,” she said, sobbing.

  We moved into the next room where there was less smoke.

  “Mario?” I asked. “Where is he?”

  “Beats me,” Kevin said. “He didn’t go out the front.”

  At that moment, Ox and Judy appeared. “Any sign of Mario?” I asked.

  “He didn’t go out the back door,” Ox replied.

  “Then he must still be hiding in the house,” I said, picking up my gun. “Let’s find the bastard.”

  Moments later, I heard Judy’s voice. “He’s gone. Come look.”

  Judy was standing by the pantry door. “Down there,” she said, pointing. “It was a secret passage.”

  A panel in the back of the pantry opened up into a stairway that led under the house.

  “We’ve been all over this house,” Maggie said. “How could we have missed this?”

  “Because it was a secret,” Kevin said, stating the obvious.

  “Remember,” I said, “this place was here during the prohibition years. Cosmo’s father was tight with the Pendergast mob. They brought in moonshine for the Kansas City clubs. Remember Leroy Donnegan. It’s not surprising that they had a secret escape route.”

  “That’s why Mario wasn’t worried about the rest of us being here,” Kevin said. “He knew he had a way out. After all, this was his grandfather’s house. He probably played in the tunnel as a kid.”

  We followed the tunnel to a storm sewer which opened into a ravine a block away.

  Mario had escaped, but more importantly, Maggie was safe.

  I made a silent vow that I would find him and make him pay.

  CHAPTER 20

  Mario parked his car in an alley and turned to his brother and sister. “We’ve got to get out of town. Williams won’t stop until we’re all behind bars.”

  “But what about the money?” Angelo whined. “I thought we were going to fight that trust.”

  “Sorry, bro. That ship has sailed. Like I said, we need to lay low until we can figure out a way for all of us to disappear.”

  “Where would we go and how would we get there?” Angelo asked, obviously upset. “If you could go around the world for five bucks, I don’t have enough money to get out of sight. I’m flat broke.”

  “I’ll get some money somehow,” Mario replied. “In the meantime, we need to split up. Williams will come after all of us. We don’t want to make it easy for him. When we communicate with each other, we’ll have to use a safe word.”

  “I don’t understand,” Lucia said. “Why do we need a safe word?”

  “Think about it. We just nabbed Williams’ wife to draw him out. If he gets to one of us, he’d probably do the same thing. He’d make one of us tell where to find the other two.”

  “I’d never tell,” Angelo replied, arrogantly.

  “You say that now, but Williams was really pissed. He’d find a way to make you talk.”

  “Okay,” Lucia said, “
what’s the safe word?”

  Mario thought for a moment. “Do you remember the name of Cosmo’s old cat?”

  “Boots!” they both said together.

  “That’s our safe word. Any time we talk to each other, we use the word Boots. If not, something’s wrong.”

  They both nodded.

  “Okay then. Let’s disappear.”

  After our narrow escape, I was determined to track down all three of Cosmo’s grandkids. They had nearly taken from me the most precious thing in my life.

  I figured that with the recent turn of events, they would probably scrap their plan to contest the trust and concentrate on not getting caught. They were most likely making plans to skip town. That’s what I would do. If I was going to catch them, I’d have to act quickly.

  Of the three, Angelo was the most devious, but Mario was the most dangerous. I had no doubt he was the one who pulled the trigger on Lou and Crystal, and he was the one who was holding a gun to Maggie’s head. I decided to go after him first.

  The next morning, Kevin was in my office.

  “I want Mario first, and I have an idea how to smoke him out. We need to pay another visit to Louie the Lip.”

  “Lead on,” Kevin replied.

  When we entered the smoky bar, DeRon was on his feet just like the last time. When he saw it was me, he stepped aside. “He’s in the back.”

  When he saw me, his huge lips spread into a grin. “Hey, Mr. Walt. How’s it hangin’?”

  I never know for sure how to answer that question.

  “Hey, Louie. You remember my partner, Kevin.”

  He nodded. “What can I do for you boys?”

  I told him about our narrow escape from Mario Sabatini.

  “I need to see Nick the bookie again. I think he might be able to help us reel Mario in, but he might need some persuasion.”

  Louie had been visibly upset when I told him about Maggie’s abduction.

  “Whatever you need. I’ll bring DeRon along. He’s real good at persuadin’.”

  When we walked into the barbershop, Nick rolled his eyes. “What now?”

  Louie walked up to Nick. “Mr. Walt needs you to do somethin’ an’ you’re gonna do it. Understand?”

  Nick looked at DeRon. “Yeah, I get it. What do you want?”

  “Mario Sabatini,” I said. “Has he placed any bets with you recently?”

  Nick thought for a moment. “Yeah, he dropped a grand on the Kentucky Derby. He bet on Maximum Security and woudda won, but the dumb horse got disqualified.”

  “I remember that,” Kevin said. “Country House, the horse that finally won was a 65 to 1 longshot.”

  I’m not much on betting. “Are you telling me that if Mario had bet the thousand on Country House, he would have won sixty-five thousand?”

  Nick shrugged and nodded.

  “Then that’s exactly what he did.”

  “What?” Nick shrieked. “You gotta be kidding me.”

  “Relax,” I replied. “You don’t actually have to pay out. You just have to convince Mario that you placed his bet on the wrong horse and he won. Get him down here and we’ll do the rest.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  I handed him the phone. “You’d better be convincing. Put it on speaker so we can hear him.”

  Nick took another look at DeRon. “Okay.”

  He dialed the number. “Mario, this is Nick.”

  “Sorry, man,” Mario replied. “No more bets. I’m tapped out.”

  “No, no! This is good news. You won the Derby.”

  A long pause. “That’s bullshit. I bet on Maximum Security. He won and then he lost.”

  “Uhhh, no you didn’t. You bet on Country House. I have it written down right here.”

  “That’s crazy,” Mario replied. “That nag was a 65 to 1 longshot. I never wouldda bet on him.”

  “That’s what I thought at the time, but when someone places a bet, I don’t argue.”

  “Naw, that can’t be. I’d remember.”

  “Suit yourself,” Nick replied. “I’ve got sixty-five thousand here for you, but if you don’t want it ---.”

  “Hold on! I’m coming right down, but if you’re shittin’ me, you’re gonna be sorry.”

  He hung up and Nick looked squeamish.

  “Nice job,” I said, patting him on the back.

  “We’ll just wait in your back room until Mario gets here. Don’t try to tip him off or DeRon will be very upset.

  DeRon grinned, his gold tooth glistening.

  Fifteen minutes later, Mario entered the barbershop. “Okay, Nick. Where’s my dough?”

  Kevin and I stepped out of the back room, our guns drawn. “Surprise!”

  Mario glowered at Nick.

  “Sorry, man. I had no choice.”

  Mario turned to me. “Okay, now what. You taking me in?”

  “Not yet,” I replied. “I want all three of you. You’re going to lead us to Angelo and Lucia.”

  “The hell I am.”

  I motioned, and DeRon stepped out of the back room. “My friend here, begs to differ.”

  Nick tugged on Mario’s arm. “I’d do what they ask. I’ve seen DeRon’s work and it’s not pretty.”

  Mario took one look at DeRon and had a sudden reversal. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

  “Set up a meet with both of them. We’ll do the rest.”

  I handed him the phone, and pressed speaker.

  “Angelo, this is Mario. I got the money like I said I would.”

  “Cool, man. What did you do, hold up a liquor store?”

  “Naw, nothin’ like that. I won the Kentucky Derby. I’m at Nick’s now, picking up my winnings. I got enough for all three of us to get out of town.”

  “That’s great, man. Where shall we meet?”

  Mario thought for a moment. “Remember that old warehouse in the West Bottoms that Granddad used to take us to? The one where his daddy stored the moonshine? It’s vacant. No one would spot us there. Give Lucia a call and tell her to meet us in an hour.”

  “Got it, brother. Wait. What about the cat?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Just be there.”

  “How was that?” Mario asked, hanging up.

  “What was the thing with the cat?” Kevin asked.

  “Damned if I know,” Mario replied. “Angelo might say anything.”

  I thanked Nick, Louie, and DeRon, grabbed Mario by the arm and we headed to the car.

  After cuffing Mario and tucking him in the back seat, Kevin pulled me aside.

  “Something’s off. That was way too easy. DeRon’s a scary dude, but Mario folded like a cheap suit.”

  “I agree,” I replied, “and that thing with the cat. That had to be something --- maybe a signal of some kind.”

  Kevin nodded. “We might be walking into a trap. A little backup might be a good idea.”

  “Agreed.”

  I called Ox and we headed to the West Bottoms.

  CHAPTER 21

  The old warehouse was on Mulberry Street. Like many of the old structures in the area, it had sat empty for decades.

  We pulled into the parking lot and found a door standing partway open. Weapons drawn, we entered pushing Mario in front of us.

  The first thing I noticed was the white line drawn high on the wall, and under it the inscription which read, “High water mark, Friday the 13th, 1951.”

  For many of these old buildings, the ’51 flood was their death knell. The Missouri and Kansas Rivers had flooded the West Bottoms so many times, owners decided it was a losing battle.

  At that moment my cell phone buzzed. It was Ox texting me that he and Judy were outside. I didn’t know if we had arrived before Angelo and Lucia, so I texted him to stay out of sight.

  We pushed into the next room, but all we saw were empty crates. We moved farther in and two figures stepped from behind the crates. It was Angelo and Lucia, and they both had guns pointed at us.

/>   “Okay, drop ‘em!” Angelo ordered.

  Kevin and I both stood our ground.

  “I said put those guns on the ground!” Angelo ordered again.

  “Not going to happen,” I said, pressing my revolver against Mario’s temple. Kevin’s gun was pointed at Angelo.

  I knew that both Angelo and Mario were capable of murder, but not Lucia. She was a drunk, but not a killer.

  “I want you all to think very carefully,” I said. “Here’s what’s going to happen. If anyone pulls a trigger, Mario will be the first to go. A slug through his head. Angelo will be the second to go when Kevin pulls his trigger. That leaves you, Lucia. Do you think you can hit both of us before one of us gets off a second shot?”

  Silence. Something told me neither Mario or Angelo wanted to bet their lives on their sister’s sharpshooting skills.

  “Well, do you,” I pressed.

  “Hold on a minute,” Angelo said. “You may get us, but I’ll get at least one of you. I don’t particularly want to die today, and I hope you feel the same way. How about this? Let’s call it a stalemate --- like in chess. We’ll both walk away and live to play again another day.”

  Angelo didn’t know that Ox and Judy were waiting for them outside.

  I looked at Kevin and he nodded.

  I shoved Mario in their direction. I figured they would make a break for the front door where we had entered, but they headed deeper into the old building.

  I pulled out my cell and dialed Ox. “Looks like they’re heading out the back. Cover it. We’ve got the front.”

  Ten minutes later, Ox called back. “No sign of them back here.”

  Cautiously, Kevin and I followed the path of their retreat. The next room was empty, so we moved on. When we came to the last room in the building, it was empty as well.

  “Over here!” Kevin called.

  In the corner of that last room was a trap door, standing open. We peered inside.

  “Son of a bitch!” Kevin muttered. “Another tunnel!”

  “Mario said his great-grandfather had used this place to store bootleg whisky. Kansas City may have been an open town, but there was always the chance that the FBI could come calling. If they did, this tunnel was their ticket to freedom.”