by Rumer Raines
I only had Sunday off and it was family dinner day. Sunday isn’t the same anymore without Pop. Ma still cooks a big meal. Alex, Alexis, and I still come over every Sunday. We are painfully aware that one person is missing. Ma has been a little quieter lately and I know she is a missing piece of her heart. We try to keep her busy so she doesn’t get depressed. I have to hand it to Alexis; she has really been spending a lot of time with Ma. She has even moved back in with her and Alex and I are so grateful to her for doing that.
Family dinner is a little quieter without Pop. I think it’s only because Alex and Alexis argue less because they don’t want to upset Ma. Once we are finished eating dinner, Alex and I go to the living room to watch football. Ma and Alexis clear the dining table and head to the kitchen. Alexis comes back with a couple of beers and hands one to me and Alex. “Ma needs you in the kitchen, Frank.” I watch the game for a few more seconds until a commercial, open my beer and head to the kitchen to help Ma.
“Hey, Ma, did you need me?” She is sitting at the table and I can tell she is deep in thought. “What’s wrong, Ma?” “Oh Frankie, I so miss your father. “ My parents were married for so many years; I can’t imagine how it feels for her to be without him. My longest relationship was six months with Gina and there are times when I would miss her. I didn’t even have the love for her that my parents had for each other. “I know you do Ma, we all miss him.”
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes and my heart breaks. “Frankie, I know how much you love your job. Your father and I have shielded you and Alexis from so many things. Things that the family was involved in. I know your father asked you to make a decision and you really need to make it soon.” Oh shit, is my mother talking to me about the mob? I assumed that she didn’t know about it, but I guess I was wrong.
“Frankie, your Uncle Vinnie is worried about things heating up. I won’t lie and say I know much about the business. Your father didn’t believe that women should get involved, but I did know the man that I was married to. If you decide that you don’t want this life, then you need to let your uncle or Alex know. The family needs a leader. Whatever you decide, you're my son and I will stand with you.”
“Ma, what do you want? What would you choose for me? I know if I don’t do this, Alex will take over. You know I want to help people. I want to help keep this city safe.” I need her viewpoint on this and I need to know that whatever decision I make will be the right one.
Ma gets up and peeks out the kitchen door. She obviously wants to make sure Alex and Alexis are still in the living room. “Frankie, I have no favorites between my children. However, if I have to choose who I want to protect the family I have to choose you. My Alex is a good boy, but power is dangerous for him. Frankie, I shouldn’t tell you this, but Alex has killed innocent people. Your father had others clean it up and bury bodies to protect Alex, but the family needs someone who has a level head. When you chose your career, you father started to prepare Alex to take over. What he saw in Alex scared him.”
Fuck, I can’t believe Alex has killed people. It doesn’t sound like this was just one innocent bystander either she said he killed people. My mother starts to say more, but Alexis comes into the kitchen questioning if Ma is giving me family secrets. If only she knew.
Monday morning is here before I know it and I am back at my desk researching cases. Once, there was a day when I loved coming in and looking at cases. Now I fear what I might find. I might find out that Alex is the prime suspect in some of these cases. I hear the chair across from my desk being scraped on the floor and can’t believe that Alex is sitting across from me. “Hey Frank, whatcha doing?”
“What am I doing? Alex, I am working. What are you doing here? You do realize this is a police station?” Alex lets out a chuckle and looks around. “Like I told you, Frank, the family business is bigger than you think. I may have more clout than you do around here.” This is why Pop didn’t want Alex in charge. He is such an arrogant bastard. He would proudly take too many fucking risks. “Alex, what the fuck are you doing here? I’m working,” I say. “Yes, you are working. You’re working your part-time job. You have a full-time job that you need to commit to or you need to tell us if you have other intentions.”
I am now officially sick of Alex and stand up from my desk and ask him to follow me outside. Once we reach the doors, I grab Alex by his shirt collar and shove him against the building. “Did you have anything to do with a triple murder yesterday?” Alex pushes me off and straightens his shirt. “Excuse me? Are you actually going to question my ass in front of a police station? You’ve got a lot of fucking balls, Frank. You haven’t even decided if you want to run things, but you want to ask questions?” I start to move towards Alex again, but I notice a couple of officers walking past to enter the station. I give them a nod letting them know all is well and they head into the building. “Alex, what the fuck do you want? I haven’t made my decision, but that didn’t stop me from getting rid of your fucking evidence did it? I don’t remember seeing you when I was blowing up a car. I told you I will decide. I have to go back to work and don’t come back here!”
I walk back into the building, not giving a second look at Alex. “Hey, Deluca, I was just at your desk looking for you. Can you come into my office please?” Shit, the minute I get back inside, Captain Hill summons me and I head to his office. What else can derail me today? The only thing I want to do is focus on this triple murder. “Frank Deluca, I want you to meet your new partner, Lola Covelli.”
I can’t believe my eyes. Not only am I getting a partner -- although I prefer to work alone -- but my partner is the girl from the gym. I believe the world is small, but this is Chicago and it’s not that small. Lola looks at me with a smile and puts her small hand out to shake my hand. “I believe we have already met, Captain.” Hill looks between the two of us, obviously wondering where the hell we have met each other. I grasp her hand to shake it and I feel something that I don’t quite understand. I notice Captain Hill is still eyeing me so I decide to end his misery. “Lola and I met at the gym. Of course, I assumed that would be the only place I would see her.” Lola slowly pulls back her hand and smiles. “I guess you’re not that lucky.”
Captain Hill has us both take a seat. Mob crimes have been increasing in Chicago. He wants all hands on deck and brought in another detective, Ms. Covelli who has experience in working the mob scene. Ms. Covelli will be the perfect addition to the department. Since I don’t currently have a partner, it makes sense for us to work together. Hill doesn’t want to split up any of the other teams. My primary focus will switch from homicide to the mob. Apparently, everyone wants me involved in the mob. My family, my captain, and now my new partner. I am either going to take them down or lead them. After twenty minutes of planning how Lola and I will take on the mob, Captain Hill dismisses us and tells me to show Lola to her new desk. Lola looks at me and smiles and I know I’m in trouble.
Walking back to my desk with Lola hot on my heels, I start to have flashbacks. If you ever wondered if it’s true that your life can flash before your eyes; I can assure you, it’s very true. I start thinking back over the past few months. I think back to Pop having his chemo treatments, telling me about the family business, asking me to take charge. Then with pop dying, and lying in his casket, how family dinners are missing something since Pop died. Then there was the car explosion and me having to investigate the mob, and now Lola as my partner. I have decisions to make and make fast.
“Here is your desk, right across from mine.” Lola evaluates the desk and looks up at me with a smile. “It will do. I’ll just need to bring flowers in or something to make it look more feminine.”
I asked, “Lola, why didn’t you tell me you are a police officer?” She takes a seat at her new desk and pulls her hair up into a ponytail. “I never tell guys I am a police officer. I don’t recall you mentioning being one either.” I am about to respond when Marcus Mancini waltzes over with a cocky smirk on his face. I can’t stan
d Marcus Mancini. He is a 28-year-old arrogant punk who thinks he is the gift to the world. I watch for ten long-ass minutes as he flirts with Lola and brags that he has basically solved every case in the department. The cases he didn’t solve, he offered valuable clues on. If I didn’t know any better, I would think Lola is falling for this shit. I am about to put an end to it and step between the two, indicating that Lola and I needed to get going. As I start to make my move, Captain Hill comes out shouting “Detective Deluca and Covelli my office, NOW!”
“What is it, Captain?” Hill sits at his desk and rubs his temples. “You two need to get to Lakeshore Hospital, one of our informants has been shot.”
When we arrive at Lakeshore, Lola and I aren’t prepared for what we see. Jonas Knight is a mob informant. He obviously didn’t do his job that well because he got caught snooping which proved to be painful. Knight was not only shot, but he was blinded in both eyes from having acid thrown in his face. The doctors had him drugged up because he was obviously in a lot of pain. Lola looks at him and shakes her head obviously shaken and leaves the room.
I walk out shortly after her and she is leaning against the wall, with her hand over her mouth. “I can never get used to any of this.” I can totally understand where she is coming from. It’s hard to see what people can do to each other, without any regard. “How long have you been a cop, Lola?” She looks to me and chuckles. “One year. My parents were devastated. They would have preferred me become a nurse or a teacher if I wanted to help humanity. They believe there are criminals in the streets and the police department.” I am now chuckling because she is too close to the truth.
We decide to hang out at the hospital since the doctors indicate that Knight should awaken shortly. At least, he’ll be awake enough to answer our questions and we need to find out who did this to him. I am praying that I am not related to any of the suspects. I am sitting outside his room waiting for Knight to regain consciousness, so Lola decides to get coffee from the cafeteria.
I close my eyes and tilt my head back to the wall. I keep thinking about Knight being shot and having his eyes burned out. How he had to have suffered. He wasn’t only shot, but as he laid there in pain, acid was thrown in his face. Are these the monsters that I will have to deal with? If I was in charge, could something like this be prevented? I did just blow up a car, but that was to get rid of evidence. There was no one in the car, so I didn’t commit a murder or hurt anyone. Did I prevent justice from being done? Yeah, but no one was hurt.
I am praying that Alex isn’t involved in this. I know that my family isn’t the only mob family in Chicago, so why am I worried about Alex being involved? I know why I am worried. Because this sounds like something Alex would do. He would be the type to shoot someone and for extra measures blind them with acid.
LOLA
I hate buying coffee from a machine. I don’t even know why they even refer to it as coffee. Why not call it what it is, brown water? However, I volunteered to get myself and Frank a cup so here I am buying brown water. I had to get away from him. It was bad enough being near him at the gym. He could not have been any sexier than when he was all sweaty on the treadmill. My new partner is going to cause me a major issue and I have a job to do. I wasn’t sent here from New York to fall for the guy, I was sent here to help take him down. I only wish he was different. Why can’t Frank Deluca be an arrogant, obnoxious jerk who is overweight and ugly? That would be too easy, I suppose. This guy has a body that looks like it’s made of stone, stands over six feet tall, with dark hair and the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes I have ever looked into. If that isn’t bad enough, he always seems to have forgotten to shave this morning. The scruff on his jaw makes me think about how it would feel it in places I shouldn’t even be thinking about now.
I pick up our coffee and take a sip of the brown water and it’s as bad as I expected. I will definitely need to stop by a real coffee shop before going back to the station. This coffee is so weak, that I don’t think I will need any cream or sugar, but I pick up a few packets for Frank. I doubt he’ll need any; he seems more of the strong black coffee type. He’ll have to deal with strong black water. I am headed back to the room when the theme song from Jaws starts to play in my purse. Shit, that only means one caller and I am not in the mood for him. I don’t have any information to give him so I’ll ignore the call. He will be pissed, but so far I have nothing on Frank Deluca.
FRANK
This is the worst shit I have ever tasted. I force it down and look over to Lola. She is looking at me with a smirk and holds up her cup taking a sip. “What is this shit?” I ask her as I am choking down another sip. Lola makes the cutest little chuckle and looks over at me. “That would be the complimentary coffee that I picked up in the waiting room. Isn’t it tasty?” I catch myself staring at Lola’s plump bottom lip.
After spending too much time wondering how Lola’s lips would feel, the doctor finally comes out and tells us that we can talk to Knight. He’s in bad shape, but it is okay for us to speak to him. Lola and I walk into his room and look at each other as we see the bandages on his eyes. Someone really did a job on him. It’s one thing to shoot someone, but to try to blind them is personal. Lola walks over to the bed and introduces us and advises him that we have a few questions for him.
We questioned Knight for almost thirty minutes before the nurses kicked us out. We didn’t get a ton of information from him, but the information we did get was unsettling. He mentioned bad mob guys and talking to the wrong person. Knight also made one comment that had me sweating bullets. He mentioned witnessing a man blow up a car.
LOLA
We didn’t get much from Knight, which I expected. He was drugged, but conscious as the doctor described. He was so afraid, that no amount of drugs would calm him. This was obviously a mob hit. He pissed off someone who wanted him to pay. Who could be so fucking evil as to throw acid in someone’s face? One thing is for certain, he won’t be able to pick anyone out of a lineup. When Knight mentions the car bomb, I can’t help but notice Frank stiffen. He starts to grill Knight more about witnessing someone blowing up a car, but the nurse comes in and halts our questions. Frank can’t get out of the room fast enough.
“Are you okay, Frank? You look like you’re going to be sick.” Frank looks at me and snaps that he is fine. “We need to get back to the station, “he advises and stomps off. I have a feeling that Frank is not even close to being fine.
FRANK
We finally get back to the station and I should get away from Lola. She is asking question after question trying to figure out what Knight could have seen. Who could he have pissed off? She heads back to her desk and I head to the restroom. I need to splash water on my face and think. I haven’t heard of any explosions in Chicago. The only explosion was the one that I caused. I had no choice, but to get rid of evidence for Alex. I haven’t decided if I will run the family business or not, but I had to protect Alex. He is my brother, my blood and I couldn’t let him go down. Now I have to wonder if he is responsible for Knight and it’s his way of making sure I don’t go down for the explosion. I need to talk to Alex.
When I get back to my desk, Lola is leaning back in her chair and ready to continue with the mob conversation she started in the car. “Do you know the mob families in Chicago, Frank?” She is going to charge ahead with this. “I don’t think they are in the phonebook under Mob if that’s what you’re asking,” I reply sarcastically.
Lola rolls her eyes and straightens up in her chair, so I know this conversation is just getting started.
“Yes, I realize that, smart ass. I know they don’t advertise, but I think we need to dig into the families. We need to find out who is in charge and what they have been up to.”
“I don’t think we know for sure that the mob is even involved. For all we know, this could be the work of a jealous ex-girlfriend or wife. You know women can get evil when they are crossed.”
Lola tilts her head and looks at me like I am an idiot
. “Women don’t throw acid in someone’s eyes. We may shoot you, but never acid.”
After the shift is over, I can’t wait to get out of here. I need to talk to Alex. I have to know if he had anything to do with Knight being shot and burned. Alex isn’t in charge, but I know he is handling the business. I head to Deluca’s to find out what exactly he knows.
Deluca’s is packed as I expected. It doesn’t matter if it’s Tuesday or Saturday. It’s the place to be. I have to admit that Alex knows how to keep the place packed and successful. I don’t see him anywhere on the floor, so I head upstairs to his office. Alex has a guard standing by the stairs to keep anyone from going up, but luckily the guard is my cousin, Thomas. He tilts his chin and lets me pass to go up to the office.
As a courtesy, I knock once and then open the door to Alex’s office. He has stacks of money on his desk and he is counting a wad of cash. There is also has a leather couch and a small coffee table. I turn to go sit on the couch but notice there is a girl sitting on the floor between the two and she is snorting cocaine. I shake my head and look back over to Alex who smirks at me and yells for the girl to get out of his office. She mumbles that he is a jack-ass and stalks out of the office.
“Really, Alex?”
“Hey, I am in my damn office and if I recall, Thomas was supposed to keep anyone from coming upstairs.” Alex finishes counting his money and comes around the desk, sitting on the edge.
“What do you want, Frank? Do you have any major announcements that you want to share? You know that this is really all yours. The money, the women, and even the drugs if that floats your boat.”
