The Mafia Trilogy

by Jonas Saul

  “Not funny,” Carson said.

  “Sorry.”

  “Where’s the couple they were protecting?”

  Rudy looked at him, frowning. “Do you mean Darwin and Rosina Kostas?”

  “Yes. Who else was in this safe house? I don’t want to say their names right now. Not after what happened here.”

  “We haven’t found them yet. Whoever attacked the safe house and killed our guys must’ve kidnapped them.”

  “We don’t know that. What we have is five men down and the couple on the run. We all know what that boy can do. Nobody, in decades, went up against Fuccini, and this kid did it on his own and walked away. That makes him dangerous. Very dangerous. Just look around the house where he was living and what do we see? Five dead Bureau men.”

  “We don’t know that. They could’ve been kidnapped.”

  Carson shook his head. “I guess we’ll see when we find them. Any leads?”

  “None, but we’re pulling the camera feeds as we speak and I’ll be watching them myself.”

  “What part of the house did the cameras catch?” Carson asked, wondering why he had forgotten that particular detail about the house.

  “There’s a camera on the front gate and two covering the perimeter but they don’t cover everything. Then we have three on the inside of the house. One of which we have in the kitchen covering the back door.”

  “Show me.”

  Carson followed Rudy back into the kitchen where he stepped around Nick’s body, crossed himself and said a quick prayer under his breath. The CSI team was in the act of cleaning up their tools, but blood remained on the floor and cupboards below the sink.

  I’m going to spill your blood before this is over, Darwin.

  Rudy pointed to the clock on the wall.

  “It’s in the clock?” Carson asked.

  “Yup. At the little dot where the six is. See here.” Rudy pointed.

  Carson nodded. “Where are the discs?”

  “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  Rudy led him outside to the police van. He opened the back door and stepped in, gesturing for Carson to follow. The van had a raised roof, but at six foot two, Carson had to duck.

  “I had my guys going over the discs here to give me a preview of whatever they found.” He smacked the back of one technician’s chair. “That’s your cue. What have you found?”

  The tech pushed a couple of buttons, and security camera footage from that morning began to play.

  “Cameras three and five had nothing for us. But the gate camera shows Nick and Lee coming inside the property. After that, we don’t see them again until the kitchen. The three men on duty were executed off camera, as was Lee out by the perimeter fence.”

  Rudy slapped the back of the tech’s chair again. “Show us what you do have then.”

  “This here is the kitchen.”

  The screen changed and on the little TV everyone saw Nick Johnson eating french toast and smiling as he talked to someone off camera.

  “Wait, here it comes. Three seconds.”

  Carson eased closer. He recognized Rosina Kostas as she appeared on the screen. The camera caught her knocking over the knife set on the counter. Then Carson watched as Darwin rose from the floor with a knife in his hand so fast that he was at the bottom of the screen one second and attacking Nick the next.

  No wonder Nick couldn’t get his weapon off safety fast enough.

  The camera picked up two fast jabs of the knife, although Darwin’s back obscured most of the detail. Then Darwin stepped away and Carson watched as Nick grabbed at his face, his mouth jammed with food, before he toppled off the chair, where he bled out and died on the kitchen floor.

  “Holy shit,” Rudy said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen that.”

  “Yeah,” the tech said. “I just watched it myself a minute before you came in.”

  “Seal everything up tight,” Carson said. “No mistakes. When I catch Darwin, I refuse to lose him on a technicality. That camera’s footage is absolute proof of what happened here. Come outside,” he said to Rudy.

  Both men stepped down the two stairs to the driveway.

  “Make sure no one else sees that. Lock it up. I want everyone looking for this Darwin kid, but I want to be the one who brings him in. He’s my collar. Got it?”

  He waited until the stunned Rudy nodded.

  “Good. Make sure when one of your men spots Darwin or his wife that they call me. Understood?”

  “Yeah …”

  “You okay?” Carson asked.

  Rudy wiped his face and ran a hand through his hair. “Nick and I played a round of golf last week. He took me to Vegas to play Shadow Creek. You know how Nick loved to gamble. He got these two passes for free rounds at Shadow Creek through the New York New York Hotel. They even had us taken to the course in limousines.” Rudy paused to collect himself. “I just watched a snuff film in that van. My friend was killed by the guy he was protecting. Stabbed in the face. I refused to believe it when I got here. I kept telling myself that Darwin and his wife needed our help. That they had been kidnapped or something. I would never have guessed that Darwin did all this.”

  “Well, now you know. Don’t worry, we’ll get the bastard. He’ll pay.” Carson grabbed Rudy’s shoulders and gripped them tight. “Hold it together. Do this right and we’ll get him, okay? Now, I have to go and issue a statement to the press. When I’m done, I’ll be heading back to the office to learn everything I can about Darwin. I’ll find out where his parents are and Rosina’s parents and I’ll talk to Greg Stinsen. We’ll nail him. He’ll make a mistake. We’ll get him. But I need you to keep it together.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m good.”

  Carson let him go and started for his car.

  “Wait, Carson,” Rudy called after him.

  “What is it?” Carson asked without turning around. He reached his car, opened the door and stood waiting.

  “Why were Nick and Lee here in the first place?”

  “What?” Carson shook his head. “What are you talking about? They’re FBI. They know about the safe house. It’s their job.”

  “Yeah, but why were they here? They weren’t relieving the guys on duty. They know about the safe house, but they don’t work it. Too much official traffic coming and going would raise questions with the neighbors. They know that, so I find it confusing that they would just show up for breakfast.”

  “Look, Rudy, just do your job. Don’t worry about that. They were here and now they’re dead. You saw for yourself how Darwin stabbed Nick. It doesn’t matter why they were here. They’re dead and we have a murderer to catch.”

  Carson got in his car and drove away to meet the reporters, wondering why everyone was so fucked up.

  “Why were they here?” he asked out loud. “It doesn’t fucking matter,” he shouted in anger.

  The rookie guarding the gate had done a fine job. Carson pulled up to the inside of the gate and was relieved that he didn’t have to shoot the guy’s thumb off.

  He got out of the car, put his jacket on and turned to the rookie.

  “Good job. I’ll put a word in for you.”

  The rookie’s face was pale as he forced a smile.

  Carson turned to the media assembled near the gate and said loud enough for the rookie to hear, “Fucking maggots.”

  Cameras flashed in multiple succession as the mass of at least a hundred reporters surged forward for a statement.

  Carson understood what it was all about. He hated it, but he understood it. They were itching to get the details of his friends’ deaths for the evening news. They all wanted to be the first to air the dirty laundry. This would be the story of the year. Five agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had been killed in the line of duty at the same location.

  Fuck, it’ll be the story of the decade.

  Questions shot out at him. Reporters talked over one another, hoping for him to answer them personally. He waved both arms in the air to signa
l quiet.

  “Okay, okay, we’ll get to the questions in time,” he said.

  “How many dead are there?” a pretty brunette from CNN shouted from four feet away.

  “We have five dead, all federal agents.”

  “Can you give us names?”

  “Not at this time. You know the drill. Not until the next of kin are notified will any of these men be named.”

  “Was this a crack house? Were they making a bust?” a man with three letters on his microphone Carson didn’t recognize asked.

  “Listen, I’ll tell you what I can but there’s still a lot of investigation to take place.”

  The throng jostled closer. Over twenty black microphones crowded Carson’s face. At that moment, all he felt like doing was smacking the microphones away. He didn’t want to talk to the media. It was Darwin he wanted to talk to. The public information had to be managed. The five men lying dead behind him deserved better. He would do it his way and he would find Darwin and his wife.

  “We have five FBI agents dead. The murderer was caught on camera.” He wondered why that spilled out so easily when he had just asked Rudy to keep it to himself. Maybe he was past caring. Maybe he wanted the world to know what Darwin had done. “The person of interest is known to us.” Carson felt his face tighten. “We are actively looking for suspects Darwin Kostas and his—”

  The reporters exploded in a fury of new questions.

  “Hold it!” Carson yelled to be heard by them. “Take it easy. All your questions will be answered in good time.”

  The CNN brunette asked, “Do you mean the Darwin Kostas who fought the Fuccini Family in Toronto a few months back?”

  “Yes, that is who I’m talking about.”

  “Isn’t he one of the good guys?” she asked. “I thought the FBI protected him.”

  “That’s what we thought.” Carson turned to look directly into the lens of the CNN camera. “Darwin Kostas, I know what you did to the Fuccinis. I don’t understand it, but that doesn’t matter. You’re very handy with a blade.” He knew he’d hear about this later. His superiors would be pissed. He cleared his throat and clenched his jaw. “Darwin, I’m coming for you. I will find you. There’s nowhere you can hide. These were men I worked with. They have families. They didn’t deserve to die. Whatever twisted logic made you take out so many Fuccinis doesn’t wash here. These were FBI men, not criminals. Turn yourself in, Darwin. That would be the safest bet for you and your wife. Turn yourself in and get a good lawyer. I give you twenty-four hours. That’s it. After that, you’re mine.”

  Carson rolled thick saliva on his tongue, spat onto the pavement at his feet and turned for his car.

  A barrage of questions assailed his back but he’d said all he was prepared to say to the reporters.

  He was done.

  All he wanted now was Darwin and he knew he’d catch him.

  It was just a matter of time.

  Chapter 3

  Three hours after leaving Rosina at the motel, Darwin had dumped the pickup behind an abandoned barn two side roads off the main highway and walked back to the motel. The clerk had asked for thirty bucks but said they could have a double room for the single price as most of the rooms were vacant. As far as Darwin could see, no other room key had been missing off the board behind the desk.

  He walked up to their room as the sun started its descent. He guessed it was just after dinner and they hadn’t eaten since the sandwiches and Cokes. They had no money yet and now no vehicle.

  At least we have a place to sleep for the night.

  He used his key and entered the room.

  Rosina sat in the room’s one chair rubbing cream onto her legs, a towel on her head and one wrapped around her body. “I had a shower while I waited. It was so hot today. It helped me to cool down and think.”

  Darwin looked outside to make sure he wasn’t being watched and closed the door. He locked the deadbolt and then sprawled out on the bed.

  Rosina moved off the chair and lay beside him. Her towel loosened and fell open.

  “Oops,” she said and put her hand in front of her mouth in a gesture of innocence.

  Darwin didn’t respond right away. She wrapped an arm across him and they lay there, holding each other.

  After a few minutes, Rosina said, “Do you think we’ll ever be out from under this? Can we ever be a married couple, doing laundry, buying groceries and having friends over for a barbecue on the weekends?”

  Darwin turned slowly to face her. He moved a lock of hair that had fallen out of the towel away from her face and stared into her eyes. “I swear to you, one day this will all be over. When that day comes, it’ll be just you and me, together. We’ll live our lives any way you want. Sometimes I feel like I can’t face the day. I don’t know where the courage comes from. But then I see you smile and I hear your voice and I’m reminded where the strength comes from.” He brushed at her hair again and rested his hand over her shoulder. “I love you, Rosina. I don’t say it enough, but I’m so very happy you’re my wife.” He kissed her and held it a moment. “I promise that I will figure this out and resolve it. The people responsible will be held accountable. We’ll leave everything behind and move on. You’ll have your dream house. We’ll go shopping in a grocery store and maybe one day we’ll even play bingo at some flea market.”

  She shoved him playfully. “No, I don’t wanna play bingo.”

  “Okay, baby, whatever you want.”

  A tear escaped his eye. He let it fall to the pillow. Rosina dabbed her thumb at his cheek, tracing the line of his tear. “I love you too, Darwin. I’m the one who is lucky. Not many men would have come for me like you did in Rome. I’d be dead without you and if I lost you, I’d be dead anyway. I’ll support you and do whatever is necessary to end this. But when it’s all over, no more violence, no more fighting and no more killing people. We have to stop murdering everyone.” She giggled. “Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? When we decided to get married, if anyone had walked up to us and said that we’d be fighting the Mafia, killing made men,” she used air quotes with her fingers to illustrate the last two words, “and on the run, I would’ve never believed it.”

  “Me either.”

  They snuggled closer and held each other, almost falling asleep.

  Darwin started and got up. “It’s six o’clock. We should check the news to see if there’s anything on the car theft at the gas station or on the safe house.”

  Rosina nodded. He could tell she didn’t want to know, but moving forward without knowing anything would be more dangerous.

  He sat on the end of the bed and started flipping channels while Rosina adjusted the pillows to lean against the headboard.

  “Here,” Darwin said and sat back.

  A news anchor sat behind his desk, waiting for the intro to finish.

  “Breaking news this evening coming out of Florida near Jacksonville. Five FBI agents tasked to a safe house in that area have been brutally murdered. Our own Kate Frankson has the story.”

  As the camera panned onto the street in front of their house where they had lived peacefully for the last two months, Darwin turned to Rosina. “This is it. Shit, my stomach just dropped.”

  “Hi, Michael? Yes.” The woman on the screen tapped her earphone. “There, I have you now.” Her head lifted and stared into the camera. “It has been confirmed that we have five dead FBI agents on site. They aren’t releasing many details yet as there’s an investigation still underway, but it does look like the people they were supposed to be protecting are being looked at as suspects in the murders.”

  “Hey!” Darwin shouted. “I didn’t kill the three other guys. That’s not fair. The two idiots who broke in killed the other three.” He looked back at Rosina. She had started to cry. “Fuck!”

  “We received a statement from Special Agent Carson Dodge with the FBI.”

  The camera changed and Darwin watched as a man with veins sticking out on either side of his neck, his face red, talked di
rectly to the camera.

  “That’s what we thought.” The man turned to look directly into the lens of the camera. “Darwin Kostas, I know what you did to the Fuccinis. I don’t understand it, but that doesn’t matter. You’re very handy with a blade.” The guy cleared his throat, clenched his jaw and paused for a brief second. “Darwin, I’m coming for you. I will find you. There’s nowhere you can hide. These were men I worked with. They have families. They didn’t deserve to die. Whatever twisted logic made you take out so many Fuccinis doesn’t wash here. These were FBI men, not criminals. Turn yourself in, Darwin. That would be the safest bet for you and your wife. Turn yourself in and get a good lawyer. I give you twenty-four hours. That’s it. After that, you’re mine.”