by Joe Corso
Mr. Christo added, “We’ll need three sport jackets, four pairs of shoes, seven of your finest Italian silk shirts, and whatever accessories you feel he needs to finish the ensemble. When the order is completed, have someone bring them to my office.” He handed Giorgio his card. “My office is on the top floor.” Giorgio looked at the card and was confused. “Sir, this card doesn’t say what room you are in.”
“I own the building and my office is the entire top floor. I’ll instruct my secretary to expect a delivery from you, and when it arrives she’ll have it taken to my office.”
Lee tried the sports jackets on and found they fit him perfectly. When they were ready to leave, he carried the shirts, ties, sport jackets, shoes, and socks with him but as they approached the exit, John stopped by the jewelry counter to look at Rolex watches.
“Giorgio, can you come here a moment, please?” Giorgio was worried something may have displeased Mr. Christo and quickly came to see what the problem was. “Is something wrong, sir?”
“What? Oh, no, nothing’s wrong. I want to see a few gold Rolex watches, that’s all.”
Lee placed his clothes on the chair, next to the jewelry counter and observed John W as he examined the watches that Giorgio placed on the counter.
“Which one do you like, Lee?”
Lee pointed to the gold Yacht Master with a black face and said, “This one. It’s a beauty.”
“Good. Try it on.”
The watch needed a link removed and Giorgio had his jeweler stop what he was doing to take it out.
“Do you have another one?”
Giorgio gulped, thinking of the commission he’d have with two Rolexes added to Christo’s bill. “I have another Yacht Master but that one has a gold face.”
“That will do. If my man prefers a black face, I’ll have him stop by and you can have your jeweler change the face.”
“Very good, sir,” Giorgio said, smiling outwardly. Inwardly, he was mentally calculating the enormous commission he’d make on this sale. “Have a good day, sir, and come again soon.” He watched the car as it drove away, then the usually very reserved Giorgio pumped his fist in the air in an up and down motion. “YES!”
The black pinstriped suit fit Lee like a glove and looked elegant on him. He felt like a celebrity when he walked out of the store. When they opened the doors to the car, both men looked as if they stepped off the cover of GQ magazine, getting admiring glances from passersby’s. The limousine didn’t take long to get to John’s building, but on the drive there, John studied the driver. The way he handled himself interested him. When John stepped out of the car, he asked the driver. “What’s your name?”
“Angelo, Mr. Christo.”
“Do you like working for this company, Angelo?”
“It’s a living, sir.”
John W liked the guy. He didn’t stretch the truth and only said enough to answer the question. John could tell by the scar tissue over his eyes that Angelo took a few punches in his time. “Angelo, I’m going to ask you a few questions if it’s all right with you. I have my reasons and it’s not because I’m nosy.”
“Go ahead, Mr. Christo. Ask your questions.”
“Are you honest?”
Angelo blanched as if insulted. “You’re goddamned right I am. I’m a lot of things but I’m not a thief.”
“How much do you make a year working for this outfit?”
Angelo shrugged his shoulders. “Forty-five thousand plus tips. I guess maybe fifty-five or sixty thousand, after tips, would be about right. Why do you want to know if I’m honest, and how much money I make, Mr. Christo?”
“Well, I’d like you to come to work for me. You see, I need a driver and the pay is good, and if you accept my job offer I’ll double your salary. Before you say anything, have you ever been arrested?”
“Twice,” Angelo answered. “Both times for disorderly conduct. I had a couple of bar fights and the cops arrested me.”
“Did you win the fights?”
The bored look left Angelo’s face and he smiled for the first time since being asked questions. He said sheepishly, but with a hint of pride, “Yeah, I won both fights.”
John nodded. “Good. Next question. Are you a drinker, and do you use drugs?”
“Yeah, I have a few drinks once in a while, but drugs, no way. Look, where I come from, it was survival of the fittest and if you took that shit, pardon the expression, but if you take that shit, you ain’t gonna be the fittest. So no. I don’t take drugs, never have, but I do enjoy a drink once in a while.”
John looked at the scar tissue above his eyes. “Did you ever box professionally?”
“Yeah, how’d ya know? I was a middleweight fighter. Had thirty-five professional fights. Won twenty-nine of them.”
“You’re hired. Here’s a hundred dollars. Take the car back. Quit that job, take a cab back here, and come to my office. Here’s my card. If security stops you on the way in, tell them to call me.” John reached into his inside suit pocket and pulled out his check book. He scratched something on it and handed it to Angelo.
Angelo looked at the check, then he looked at John. “What this for?”
“For your bills, get rid of them. Consider the rest of the money a starting bonus.”
Angelo didn’t seem impressed; his face showed no emotion. “Thanks, Mr. Christo. I’ll hand in my notice effective immediately. I should be back here in a couple of hours.”
“Good, that’s settled then. I’ll see you in my office later.”
John and Lee had lunch in John’s office. John ordered enough food for a third man, figuring Angelo might be hungry. An hour later, the elevator door opened and Angelo came sauntering in. “I’m a free man now, Mr. Christo, and ready for work.”
“Good . . . sit down and have a bite to eat, then we’ll talk about your duties.” John turned to Lee. “Lee, after we finish lunch, I want you to find out everything you can about the men on this list. These are the men who put that poor bastard in jail for fifty years so they could steal his property. The Hardin boy was framed for a crime he didn’t commit and that demands justice. And didn’t they fire you when you asked about his mother?”
Lee nodded. “They sure did.”
“I want revenge,” John said. “If either of you don’t agree with me, or if you don’t want to participate with what I have in mind, which by the way will be perfectly legal, then you’re free to go, and I will compensate you for your time.” He looked at both men and waited. Angelo looked bored and Lee looked interested. “I take it that you both are with me on this?” The two men looked at each other and they both nodded in agreement. “Good. Here’s the list, Lee. Spend as much money as you need to, but find their weaknesses. Find out if they ever did time, summonses, traffic tickets, fights with their wives or girlfriends they’re going out with. I need to know everything about them, including the flaws in their character, and the weaknesses they have.”
Lee looked at the names on the list. “Geez, the Governor himself, eh?”
“That’s right, the Governor. Read the names back, Lee. I want Angelo to hear them. Lee looked at the list then he read off the names. “Well, we know about the Governor. Next is Jack McCormack, the President of McCormack Industries, then Rutgar Kleinst, and last, but not least, Tom Jenkins. These are the only four men you want me to check out?”
“That’s right. Those four are dirty and they have to pay.” John reached into his desk drawer and pulled out two bank cards with each man’s name on it.
“Take these bank cards, gentlemen. They have a one hundred thousand dollar limit on them. Whatever you do from now on, you will use this card. It’s a company write-off. I don’t want you to use your own money for anything. Consider the card as another bonus, a perk for working for me. But there’s one thing I insist on, and that is loyalty. I’ll back you till my dying breath, and I expect you to do the same for me. Loyalty. Remember that word, because that, and trust, are the only words I believe in. Keep in mind
that what we say here, stays here. In the words of Barnum, ‘Never smarten up a chump.’ I don’t want these four men to know I’m coming after them.”
Lee spoke. “Mr. Christo, McCormack is a very wealthy man. It’s going to be tough getting to him.”
“That’s right, but his wealth is mostly corporate. His company is worth billions, not him. It’s true that he’s personally worth millions, but understand this gentlemen, you’re working for the third richest man in the world and the way things are going, I may be Number One soon, and for your information, that’s the best kept secret in the world.”
Lee and Angelo gave each other a look of disbelief. They hadn’t realized the extent of Mr. Christo’s wealth.
“McCormack covets money and that is how we’ll get him. Lee, I want you to concentrate on finding out where he keeps his money. I need to know that. Governor Wilson, we’ll get with his greed. He wanted a gold mine. Well, I’m going to give him a gold mine. One that he’s going to love, and that will be his downfall. He owns a chain of hardware stores, which may be on the stock exchange. If it is on any of the exchanges, find out what the stock is selling for, then let’s see if we can cause it to crash. I’d like to see that bastard ruined and disgraced.
“As for you, Angelo, I want you to go and buy a couple of cars today. I need a stretch limo and a Lincoln town car or maybe a Navigator. Yeah, I think we’ll go with the Navigator, a loaded black Lincoln Navigator with dark tinted windows. Don’t use your card to buy the cars. Have the dealership call me on my cell phone. It’s on my business card.” He handed both men his private card with his numbers on them. Then he remembered the business card Mr. Hayes gave him. He took it out of his pocket and read the name on it. Jason Sweeney, Private Detective. “Lee, I’m going to have you work with another man. He’ll make your job easier. Don’t do anything until we meet with him later today.
John called Sweeney, and told him Mr. William Hayes referred him, and John wanted to meet with Sweeney at his earliest convenience to discuss a job opportunity. “This afternoon, if possible.” Sweeney agreed to meet with him at his office between two and three. Then, John Christo addressed Angelo and Lee. “Look guys. Give me your trust and be loyal to me and I’ll be the best friend you ever had. If you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask and you’ll have it. If you have problems, I’ll make them go away. I’ll always be there for you. But don’t ever fuck me. Because if you do, you’ll wish you were never born because I’ll bury you alive. I hate a rat, any kind of rat, but especially a rat who works for me.” He gave his two men a look that could fry eggs. “I needed to get that off of my chest, so remember what I just told you.”
John W had a problem. He was a man who had been dirt poor and never had a dime, and now, he was one of the richest men in the world. He couldn’t spend all the money he had, and so he lavished it on anyone who needed his help. He didn’t have to spend money on Lee or Angelo, but he did it because he could. The money he spent wouldn’t put a dent in his bank account, but he knew he had to control his urges, especially his spending urges. On the other hand, he had an image to maintain and anyone associated with him had to be part of that image, so he justified his generosity with his need to maintain a proper image. He watched as Angelo stood to leave, but stopped him.
“Wait a minute, Angelo. Come over here. When you accepted my job offer, I had the card I gave you made while you were out. Now try this on.”
Angelo stared at the Rolex in disbelief. He always wanted a Rolex but could never afford one. “You want me to try this watch on?”
“Yes. Put it on. Let’s see if you need any links taken off.” He found that with his thick wrists that he needed a link added to it. “Do you like the watch, Angelo?”
“Are you kidding, Mr. Christo. What’s not to like about it?”
“Good, that’s settled, then. While you’re out buying my cars, stop by Valentino Maximus and have their jeweler add a link to the watch. You might as well buy a few suits while you’re there. I’ll call Giorgio after you leave and tell him to duplicate Lee’s order and to charge it to my account. I told Lee, and now I’m telling you. I’m building a core group of men who will be working closely with me, and since you’ll be representing me, I insist you wear the finest clothes money can buy. That’s why I wanted you to have the Rolex. I want anyone who meets you, to envy you, but in order to do that, you have to dress the part. Just remember this, when we’re in the car I don’t want you looking like my chauffeur, I want you to look like my banker. Do you understand where I’m coming from? And don’t think for a minute that I’m a Pollyanna throwing my money away foolishly, because I’m not. I’m investing it in my men and right now, everything I gave you is a business write off. But, I expect a return on my investment and I will get it, and don’t ever doubt it. Now get out of here and buy me a couple of cars.”
While riding down the elevator, Angelo thought to himself as he admired his brand new solid gold Rolex. Christ, what’s not to like about this job? This guy spends money like it was water.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
McCormack put down the report. “It blew up?”
“Yep.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that,” the Governor said, smiling. “These things happen sometimes. The consensus is that there must have been a lot of dynamite left over after the prison was built. They think that it was buried with the dirt used to fill the spaces between the cells, rather than turning it back in and filling out a lot of forms.”
“You’re probably right. But what did they need the dynamite for?” McCormack asked.
“Crews were sent to the mountains and they used dynamite to blast for the rocks and those rocks were used to build the prison.”
McCormack was confused. “So if the dynamite was buried. Why would it be a problem?”
“You don’t understand. I think the dynamite was safe while it was buried in the desert but when the prison was dug out and sunlight hit the prison, well when dynamite is left in the heat it becomes unstable and starts to sweat and it releases nitro glycerin, which could cause it to explode. The temperature at the prison site is over 120 degrees in the summer. It’s a wonder that it didn’t blow long before this.” The Governor smiled. “The explosion did me a big favor because it got rid of my two biggest problems. I was afraid that someday someone would ask me why those men were put in that prison.”
“But won’t you still have to explain why they were there when the prison was supposed to be closed?”
“Nah. I officially opened that prison so that argument won’t hold water. But I feel a lot better now that those two pains in the ass are dead. Now if anyone asks why I opened the prison, I can tell them that we started a pilot program with two prisoners, to see if it paid for the state to keep the old prison open. Besides, as Governor I have the power to open or close any prison I want.”
“Makes it easier for me too,” McCormack chimed in. “With the kid gone, I don’t have to worry about him hiring a lawyer or maybe some fancy ass high-priced detective coming around and asking me a lot of questions about why I bought his mother’s property. If the kid were alive, he would’ve had to conclude that I knew there was still gold in that old mine or I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of getting rid of him and finagling the property from the old lady. Now I don’t have to worry about anyone asking questions about how I acquired that property. Besides, even if the kid didn’t die in the explosion, I don’t see how he could hurt me. He was an uneducated, ignorant kid that couldn’t rub two nickels together, so tell me, how the hell could he ever hurt me? But knowing he’s dead makes that question moot, and I feel a lot better about it. I’d like to drink to our good fortune. This is great news for both of us, don’t you agree?”
“You bet I do. Now pour the drinks and let’s toast to the dead.”
Sweeney showed up at two thirty.
“Glad you could make it, Mr. Sweeney.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Christo. Call m
e Jason, please. Now what can I do for you?”
“I’d like you to bring me up to date on the work you did for Mr. Hayes. He said many good things about you and that makes me feel comfortable about telling you what I have in mind. He explained what you did for him, but I’d like to hear it from you, and please don’t leave anything out. I want to hear all of it.”
For the next hour, Jason explained everything he did for Mr. Hayes, including how his agent protected Virginia from Tom Jenkins, when he barged into her aunt’s home.
“Whew, that’s some story. It seems Hayes chose the right man for the job, and that’s why I want to hire you. Jason, I want to introduce you to Lee Flowers. Lee handles security for me. I gave him an assignment that may be better suited for you, so let me get right to the point. I’d like to hire you to work in a partnership with Lee to look into the backgrounds of four men. All four are enemies of mine.”
Jason put his hands up. “I’ll research the four men for you, but I’m not a gunman and I don’t go after anyone’s enemies.”
“I’m not asking you to do that, Jason. I don’t break laws. I work within them. Lee, show Jason the list I gave you.”
Jason half-heartedly read the names and then his eyes opened wide in surprise.
“I thought these names would interest you. Do you recognize them?”
“Governor Wilson. He’s the one who put that nice kid who worked for Hayes in prison, then McCormack stole their property from his mother. Jenkins destroyed Hayes’s business, and Rutgar Kleinst is the strong-armed bastard who does all of McCormack’s dirty work for him. I hadn’t realized these men were your enemies, Mr. Christo. You can count me in. I never liked those bastards, but I was powerless to take them on by myself. Mr. Hayes just about ran out of money trying to pay me to find out what happened to that poor Hardin kid.”
