Quick Be Jack: A Jack Nolan Novel (The Cap's Place Series Book 3)

by Robert Tarrant

  What happened next surprised even me. I thrust my hand out and he grasped it. I put my other arm around his shoulders in an awkward seated hug saying, "I promise Enzo, I will give Elena and me every opportunity to see where our relationship goes without any reservation. I too believe she deserves to be happy."

  His eyes bore into me as if assessing my sincerity. He nodded subtly and we parted. I had either just been accepted into the mob or I had shared a meaningful moment with the father of the woman I was very possibly falling in love with.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Mancuso finished lunch and said he had to get going or he'd be late for his meeting with Elena in Boca Raton, adding that being late to meet Elena is never a good idea. I'll keep that in mind. He placed a fifty dollar bill on the table and said whatever was left, after paying for our lunches, was Renee's tip. I protested that he was being far too generous, but he rebuffed me saying he would likely be stopping in again and that way Renee would remember him. It was an investment in future service. With that, he was gone out the back door. I expected that Renee would remember him without the generous tip, we don't get that many Miami gangsters in here, but I kept that to myself.

  Renee came over to clear the table and looking at the fifty said, "What's that for?"

  I replied, "I'm buying today, you keep the change."

  Renee sighed, "Sure Jack, that'll be the day. You might get away with that kind of line with your South Beach bunnies, but don't try it around here with people who actually know you."

  "Okay, Mancuso bought, but he did say for you to keep the change."

  "Wow, I'll remember him the next time he comes in." Wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to figure that out.

  I was just getting up from the booth when Marge came in the back door. She smiled and waved as she saw me, but the smile seemed forced. I met her at the end of the bar and asked, "Hi Marge. You going back to the office?"

  "Yeah, something you need?"

  "No. I'll just follow you back. Maybe we can talk for a minute?"

  When we got settled in the office, Marge behind the desk and me on the couch, I said, "I took care of a few of the little things this morning, so you wouldn't come in to a total disaster."

  She looked at the desktop, that I had gone to pains to leave in her usual orderly fashion, and said, "Thanks Jack, I really appreciate it. Sorry I've been missing time lately. I've had some appointments."

  She didn't elaborate, so I just barged ahead, "That's what Moe said, he said you've had some doctor appointments." Figured I'd throw Moe under the bus in case Marge didn't appreciate my nosiness. I added, "Is everything all right?"

  Marge continued to look down at the desk, an obvious departure from her usual, look you in the eye, approach and said, "Oh, I'm sure everything's fine. Just having some tests. Been feeling a little run down lately and I've lost some weight, so my doctor wants to make certain everything's okay. I'm sure it is. Just being cautious. Nothing to worry about."

  Her tone of voice had a hollow ring. I wasn't confident that Marge believed what she was telling me, but I also didn't want to pry any harder. If she wanted to keep things to herself, that should be her prerogative. I simply added, "If you ever want to talk, please don't hesitate. I can be a pretty good listener when I really concentrate. And we are friends, you know."

  She looked up at me for the first time since we sat down, "I do know that Jack. Thank you." Her eyes looked as if she was struggling to hold tears back.

  I stood and said, "I'm going to run out later and pickup those new kitchen utensils that Juan keeps asking for, so if there's anything you need just let me know."

  "Sure Jack. Oh, by the way, tell Moe he's got a big mouth."

  "Look at the size of the guy, of course he's got a big mouth."

  Marge was chuckling as I left the office. Maybe I had accomplished something today after all.

  I went up the inside stairs to my apartment, grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator, and slumped into a chair on the balcony. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts for a few minutes. The two conversations, first Mancuso and then Marge, had left me very disquieted. It's obvious that Marge isn't telling me the whole story. It's also obvious that she's worried. Sissy's going to be around a little more this week, maybe she can find something out. Probably easier for Marge to talk to another woman about it than to talk to me, or Moe. Even though, no doubt, we're known around here as a couple of sensitive and caring guys.

  Marge has always seemed healthy to me. She seems to watch what she eats. I know that because she seldom eats here. While the changing composition of our patrons has necessitated changes to the menu, we are still primarily a bar, so our choices aren't replete with health food. I had noticed Marge's recent weight loss, her clothes have started looking a couple of sizes too large, but figured it was intentional. What woman isn't trying to lose weight. I swear it's a genetic thing, no matter what they weigh they want to weigh less. If they could talk, I'm sure girl babies would be bitching about their birth weight as soon as it's announced.

  Marge is only in her mid to late fifties, I can never remember exactly how old she is, and I know she belongs to a health club because I've heard her talking about it to Dana. So she must get some level of exercise. Of course, exercise and good eating improve the statistics for health, but they're no guarantee that fate won't strike you down. Damn Jack, don't put all of those negative vibes out into the atmosphere. I'm worried, damn worried, about Marge, but I need to think positive. If it's bad news I'll have plenty of time to worry later.

  I took a couple of long pulls on my beer and my thoughts turned to Mancuso. I replayed the conversation in my mind. Bottom line was that he's a father who doesn't want his reputation, whether accurate or not, to be held against his daughter. I appreciate the sentiment and applaud his sincerity. I just don't know if it's that simple. My heart says he's exactly right. The analytical side of my brain, slipping into a legal analysis, says his sins, even if true, don't prove anything about her. Yet, the portion of my brain allocated to applying past experience to present situations reminds me that there is an old adage about "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" that often proves true. Yet, maybe that doesn't apply, because Mancuso seems very focused on preventing Elena from following family history. Maybe he's kicked the fruit from under the tree.

  Still, any level of relationship with Elena is going to necessitate some level of relationship with Mancuso. After all, he is her father. I just don't know if I'm ready to admit to myself that I could have any type of personal association with an organized crime figure. It just seems contrary to everything I thought I stood for. But Jack, isn't the impact of that visiting the sins of the father on the daughter?

  Now I'm going around in circles. Knowing this is not something I can solve with one beer I went back to the kitchen for reinforcements.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  It was almost 5:00 p.m. Tuesday by the time everyone was assembled in the conference room. Even though it had already been a full day there was an undeniable energy in the room. The hunters knew they were inching ever closer toward their quarry and that helped lessen the bone weary fatigue they all felt. Even PJ found herself more focused on the case at hand and less distracted by her concerns about Tim.

  Tim closed the door to the room and sat down at the head of the table. PJ was in her usual position just to his right. She passed out a stack of packets containing multi-sheet reports. Tim said, "Sorry to pull everyone into one more meeting, especially at this time of day, but we are picking up momentum and we wanted to make certain we were all on the same page. Let's walk through what we have now."

  Nodding toward Beans who was seated near the far end of the table, "As you all know Beans identified the MO the perps are using to spot targets." Beans looked down at the table and shuffled the stack of papers in front of him. Tim continued, "We believe from the video footage that the perps are using cameras mounted on rental cars to case the night deposits. The theory i
s that they use the information captured to identify the pattern of deposits. You know, day of the week and the time a potential victim is making a deposit. They use stolen cars to pull the job and ditch them shortly after.

  "We know they remove the rental cars sometime before the heist. We don't know if they need to remove the rental to retrieve the video footage or if it's transmitted wirelessly to a receiver in the area. They evidently use the video footage to predict the day and time the deposits are made. We have verified with the two living vics that they were creatures of habit. One was every night and the other was always Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Always approximately the same time for both.

  "We finally got a security camera shot of the plate on one of the rentals as it left the lot used to stake out the bank. Rented by a woman who fits the description of perp number two. She payed cash for the rental. Was prepared, knew she would need some type of proof of residence in addition to her driver's license to be allowed to pay cash. Had a rent receipt from an address in Tampa. Driver's license listed same address. Tampa PD tracked down the address and found a long-abandoned empty building. Driver's license is bogus, too. She'd rented from the same agency before. The rental agency says her story is that she flies into town from Tampa to meet a friend. The car rental clerk presumed she was a high-dollar prostitute. We've asked them to contact us if she comes back in.

  "The Ford Expedition that picked her up after she parked one of the rentals in the lot adjacent to a bank was located on a traffic camera. We got a plate. It's registered to a bogus company at the same address in Tampa. We've put out a bulletin with the description and plate of the Expedition. Directions are to observe and report and not make contact with the vehicle. If we can find the Expedition, Hassinger has promised a surveillance team.

  "Jimmie Moore left for Tampa a couple of hours ago. Since they are using a bogus address from there we think they may have some tie to the area. Would make sense that if you were based in Tampa you'd pull your jobs in places farther away, like Jacksonville and here. Jimmie is going to hook up with one of Tampa's detectives and see if they can come up with anything. We'll never know if we don't look. Any questions so far?"

  Dick Kahn asked, "What are the maps in the packet?"

  Tim turned to PJ and said, "Johnson will go over those."

  PJ said, "These maps are another contribution by Beans." Beans couldn't look down at the table fast enough to hide the blush that bloomed on his face. Several of the detectives nodded approval in his direction and the blush brightened. PJ continued, "Beans plotted the three venues we have to date and drew increasing size circles until they touched. He then utilized the same size circles to cover the remainder of the city for a total of six identified zones. He's plotted every financial institution with a night deposit and an adjacent parking area with a view of the night deposit. Those are the numbered dots you see on the maps. The name and address of each is listed on the back of the map next to its corresponding number."

  Kahn said, "Damn, Beans, do you ever sleep?"

  Beans squirmed in his seat and started to answer, but Tim interrupted him, "Go on PJ."

  PJ said, "We believe that the three zones that have not experienced heists are the highest priority. What we are going to do tomorrow is split up the locations and have one of us," she gestured around the table, "check out each location to see if we can spot a car with the trunk mounted camera. Your packet contains blown up shots of what the trunk mounted cameras look like. If we find one, we can call in a surveillance team and hope to track them when they pick it up."

  One of the uniform officers assigned to the task force asked, "Any chance of tracking backwards through the camera? Can't be too many places that sell that kind of equipment."

  Beans spoke up for the first time, "Well, actually with the internet today, just about anyone can buy anything from any location. Just Google magnetic spy camera and see what you find."

  Tim said, "I'm afraid Beans is right. If we had the actual device the make and model might narrow the field a little, but as it is we've only got a grainy photo to go on. Jimmie is going to talk to Tampa about your theory though, Officer. There is a possibility that these perps have done things the old fashioned way and there are probably not too many shops selling this stuff in the Tampa area."

  Dick Kahn again spoke up, "Why wait until tomorrow, why don't we all hit the streets for a couple of more hours tonight? With the maps Beans has created it shouldn't take too long to knock quite a few of these out. Who knows maybe we get lucky."

  Tim said, "We talked about that, but thought we've been riding you guys pretty hard the last few days. Didn't want a mutiny on our hands. It is a bit of a long shot."

  Kahn asked, "Do we know if the woman has a rental out at this time?"

  PJ answered, "Not under the name she used the other couple of times, but since we've already had three heists it's reasonable to presume she must have access to other bogus identification. The name we have didn't come up at any of the other rental agencies in the area. Only the two previous occasions."

  Kahn again, "I still think it's worth a shot. Hell, my wife already thinks I'm having an affair, I'm gone so much."

  Someone at the far end of the table, "Who'd have an affair with an ugly old cuss like you?" Kahn scowled and several around the table chimed in with similar assessments.

  Tim said, "Okay folks, let's get back on point. Who's willing to put in a couple more hours tonight?"

  Someone called out, "The sooner we catch these assholes the sooner we get back to the crap piling up on our desks. I say, let's go for it." A combined chorus of "Yeah, why not, and nothing else to do, but go home and fight with my wife," rang out.

  Assignments were made and everyone filed out of the conference room. PJ and Tim were gathering up their files when Beans got to the door. Tim said, "Beans, you've really done some great work on this case. We can't thank you enough. We would still be going around in circles if it wasn't for you."

  Beans turned back and said, "Thanks Detective, that means a lot coming from you. I like my work around here. I know it's not as exciting as what you guys do, but I do like to think I contribute."

  PJ said, "You more than contribute. In this case, you're a rock star."

  His face red again, Beans said, "Jeez, thanks PJ." With that he turned and left the conference room.

  Tim chuckled, "You know, if you keep saying things like that to Beans, he's going to ask you out."

  PJ rolled her eyes, "Perish the thought. And don't you put him up to anything."

  As they walked back toward their office Tim said, "Make you a deal. You stay here and handle all the paper to keep us up to date. We need to have everything in order. You know Hassinger, if we call for a surveillance team he's going to want to know that the paperwork is up to the minute, so if he gets any pushback he can lay his hands on the latest info. I'll take your car and hit the streets for a couple of hours and then come back and drop it off so you have it to go home. You can drop me off at the garage to pick mine up when you leave for home."

  PJ asked, "They finally going to fix the air conditioner so it blows something cooler than the outside air?"

  "Doubt it. This is only the fourth time I've told them about it, but at least the oil will be clean."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Tuesday evening was busier than I would have expected. Marge and Moe have some kind of promotion called Twofer Tuesday going and it seems to be impacting business on what is usually a relatively slow night. I guess you get two beers for the price of one during happy hour. I don't pay for my beer, so I don't pay very close attention to the promotions.

  Sissy was tending bar. I hadn't been able to talk to her much due to the constant interruption of paying customers. Success does have its price. Finally, caught up for a few minutes, she came to my end of the bar. She said, "You look forlorn Jack. Did Elena dump you?"

  "What is this with my love life? Anybody around here ever talk about anything else? And no Elena didn
't dump me. In fact her dad came in to have lunch with me today."

  "Yeah, that's what Renee told me when I came in. Sounds like he's a real good tipper, too. Maybe all mobsters are, I don't know. I've only known the one, the Russian who tried to have me killed. I don't recall him being that great a tipper, even before our little falling out."

  The exasperation was evident in my voice, "We don't really know he's a mobster, but let's just drop the subject for now. There's something else I want to talk to you about, something important."

  Sissy leaned closer, "Sure Jack, what do you want to talk about?"

  I said, "I'm worried about Marge. About her health. Do you know anything about her health?"

  Sissy frowned and said, "She's fine as far as I know. I noticed she lost some weight, but that's intentional. At least I thought it was. What makes you worry?"

  "Moe told me she's been losing weight and doesn't have any energy. He's the one that alerted me. She's had several tests and doctor's appointments lately."

  "Why don't you ask her?"

  I replied, "I did, sort of. She said everything is fine. Just her doctor being overly cautious, but I don't think she's giving me the whole story. I thought she might be more likely to talk to you. I was hoping you could see what you can find out. I want to help her if she is sick. I don't know how, but I want to help her."

  Sissy looked at me with those beautiful eyes and said, "Of course you do Jack, of course you do. She's gone for the day, but I'll see her tomorrow when I come in and I'll see what I can find out. Maybe it's something simple. Let's hope so."

  Sissy walked back to center bar to fill a drink order and I was left with my thoughts. Thinking about Marge, I realized how little I actually knew about her personally. I think she was married, but divorced years ago. It seems like she has two grown kids somewhere, but she never talks about them. The little I know I picked up in casual conversation with Mickey when I first arrived. Just the casual background on new people you meet. Unfortunately, at the time, I wasn't at all focused on getting to know the people around Cap's, so I didn't pay very close attention to what limited information Mickey did share with me.