“Shoot,” the tracker responded on the other end of the phone.
“The two FBI agents you ran that check on for me?”
“What about them, boss? I’m glad you called about them.”
“What unit did those two guys work out of? Were they just field agents?”
“No, sir. That’s the thing. We just confirmed it. They aren’t agents at all. We got that wrong. They’re contract employees for the FBI, they’re operatives, but they don’t work for the FBI.”
Reno stopped pacing. He knew it. “Which contract?” he asked. “Notifications?”
The tracker was impressed. “Yes, sir, that’s it exactly. How did you know? We just found out ourselves. They work out of the Notifications unit. But the thing is, boss, they weren’t headquartered here in Vegas. They were out of the Mississippi Notifications Unit. But for some reason, they found out something or whatever the reason, they came here. We tracked their movements from Mississippi here to Vegas. To the Notifications Unit here in Vegas.”
Reno’s heart pounded. He had a feeling. Now it was confirmed. “Thanks,” he said, and ended the call.
“What is it, Reno?” Sal asked. Trina was staring at him too.
“What I couldn’t understand,” Reno said, “was why would that video suddenly surface? Years ago the FBI decided to bury it. Why would they bring it up now?”
“Because somebody found out Tree was married to you.”
“I figured that too. But I figured it was more than that. Then it hit me.”
“What?” Trina asked him.
“Iceman Nelson was getting out of prison,” Reno said. “Whenever an FBI operative is killed, and an FBI informant like Stokey could be in that category, all the family members and especially the witnesses in the case has to be notified whenever the perpetrator is soon to be released.”
“Because, once he gets out of prison, he might want revenge on those witnesses?” Trina asked.
“Right,” Reno said with a nod. “Iceman Nelson was being released and the FBI needed to let the witnesses know. But the thing is, the FBI often contracts-out that work to various notification units around the country. We have one here in Vegas.”
As soon as Reno made that statement, Sal got it too. He rose to his feet. “Motherfucker!” he said.
Trina, however, didn’t have the history to be floored yet. But she stood up too. “What is it?” she asked, looking at Sal’s reaction. Then she looked at her husband. “What is it, Reno?”
“Anytime somebody associated with the FBI is killed, and their killer is about to be released from prison, the Notification Units have a couple of their agents pull the evidence file on that particular case and notify any witnesses or people who might be at risk before the guy is released.”
“You told me that part,” Trina said.
“They pulled the file,” Sal said, “and that’s when they found that tape. It was probably buried deep down in what was undoubtedly tons of evidence to ensure Ice wasn’t released any time soon. The two guys blackmailing you are the two guys who discovered that tape.”
Reno nodded. “According to my tracker, they worked out of the Mississippi Notifications unit. But then suddenly they hopped a plane for Vegas.”
“But why,” Trina asked, “if the crime occurred in Mississippi?” Then she answered her own question. “Because they realized who was on the tape.”
“Right,” Sal said, nodding his head. “They ran a background and discovered that the person who hit Stokey wasn’t Iceman Nelson after all, but was a young lady who later became Reno Gabrini’s wife.”
But Trina sensed more was at play here, just as Reno had. “What are you not telling me?” she asked.
“Those two blackmailing scum-agents weren’t going to discover that kind of evidence and go rogue,” Sal said. “They weren’t going to attempt to blackmail a man like Reno on their own. They took that evidence to a person they already knew was going rogue, and would have no problem whatsoever blackmailing Ree.”
“Who?” Trina asked.
“Kim Galecki,” Sal said. And then he looked at Reno. “Am I right?”
Reno nodded. “That’s what it’s smelling like to me.”
But Trina still didn’t understand. “Who’s Kim Galecki?”
“The head of the Notifications unit,” Reno said. “She’s the head of the Vegas division.”
“And she’s a woman scorned,” Sal added.
When Sal made that pronouncement, Trina looked at her husband. “What’s going on, Reno? You know this woman personally?”
Reno nodded. “I know her.”
“But if you know her like that, why would she want to blackmail you?”
“Because I left her.” Then he added: “After I met you.”
Trina stared at him. “She was your girlfriend when you met me? When you slept with me?”
“She wasn’t my girlfriend. She was a married lady, and still is a married lady. She was somebody I screwed, Tree.”
“She, however, had a different take on it,” Sal said.
Trina stared at Reno for an explanation.
“She was somebody I screwed,” he said, “who called herself falling in love with me.”
“And who called herself stalking him for many months after he broke it off,” Sal added. “He had to literally threaten to kill her ass before she finally let it go. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the two notification agents knew about that connection Kim had with Reno. Word spreads in bureaucracies. They also probably figured she would be more than willing to exploit that connection. If the price was right.”
“And twenty-five million dollars,” Reno said, “is the right price.”
But Trina still had so many questions. “But why would you sleep with a female associated with the FBI?” she asked. “I don’t get that. I thought the Feds were always the enemy.”
“They are,” Reno said. “But I was keeping my enemy close. She gave up intel when I needed it. I knew what I was doing.”
Just as Reno was surprised by Trina’s lack of innocence in her youth, she was always surprised by the calculating way he handled women of his past. He didn’t seem like that kind of person. But he was. When he felt he had to be, Reno was the most ruthless man she’d ever met. “So because I was your wife, they didn’t jump at the chance to arrest me, but to blackmail me?”
Reno nodded. The idea that she was that close to jeopardy was still unsettling to him. “If you had been Sally Sue from around the block, they would have hauled you in and became heroes for uncovering what those other crooked agents tried to suppress.”
“But when they discovered that you were the wife of Reno Gabrini,” Sal said, “the game changed. Fuck being heroes. They saw pay dirt. They saw early retirement.”
“But they needed somebody with the heft, with the balls, to pull it off,” Reno said. “I’m not bragging, but I have a reputation. They knew they couldn’t just fuck with me. They went to Kim. Like Sal said, they probably heard that she not only would fuck with me, but had fucked me. It was all about the money for them, and the fact that they figured Kim’s connection to me could garner ten times more money than they could. It was all about the money for them.”
“Money was probably a big part of it for Kim too,” Sal said. “But knowing her ass, she saw sweet revenge even more than that.”
Reno and Sal stared at each other. They knew what had to be done. “Call Debrosiac,” he said to Sal. “Tell him to track down those two notification agents and bring them in.”
“Same safe house?”
“Same one,” Reno responded. “But tell Debrosiac to get himself and another crew over to Jimmy’s.”
Trina’s heart began to hammer. “You don’t think they would target the children?”
“No,” Reno said. “Hell no. They’re greedy. They’re gangster wannabes. But they aren’t stupid.”
“I take it I’m staying here with Tree,” Sal said.
Reno nodded. “She
’s the one they want. I won’t worry if she’s here with you.” Then Reno ran the back of his hand across his tired eyes. He kept feeling as if he was missing something. “I can only pray I’m covering all the bases.”
Sal could see his distress. Sal was no touchy feely man, but he patted him on the back. “Stop worrying,” he said, pulling out his cell phone to call Debrosiac. “We’ll get those bastards.”
As Sal moved off to make his phone call, Reno went over to Trina. He placed his arms on either side of her face.
“None of this is your fault,” he said to her. “They’re a bunch of opportunists. That’s all. They weren’t interested in warning you, or even arresting you considering the tape. They’re interested in a shake down. They told you Jimmy was their test case, to see how I would react to a small sum. Then they sent you that newspaper clipping and that video, figuring you would run straight to me. They figured wrong.”
“They told me I would do Life for that murder, plus the years Ice served that should have been my time.” Tears dropped from Trina’s eyes. “They said I wouldn’t see our children grow up, Reno. They said I wouldn’t hold Maddie again, or Jimmy or Val. Or you,” Trina said and broke down in tears. Reno pulled her into his big arms.
As he held her, he and Sal looked at each other. Sal was across the room, still on the telephone, but he knew the deal. It was real to them now. They understood the implications. And Reno was especially thrown.
Trina pulled back and looked at him. He wiped her tears away. “They want twenty-five million dollars, Reno,” she said.
Reno nodded. “You told me. They’re being ridiculous.”
“That’s why I met with the first guy twice, and then his partner,” Trina said. “To get them to lower that price. I wanted to pay them off without involving you. But they wouldn’t budge. Your husband can raise it, they said. They just knew you’d find a way. But I didn’t want you to know anything about this.”
But Reno was staring at her, his intense eyes staring into her big, soft eyes. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner, Tree? Why didn’t you tell me as soon as you got that shit in the mail?”
“I couldn’t just go to you, Reno. That tape showed me killing a man in cold blood! I never dreamed that blow would kill him. But it did. When I saw that tape, I nearly died. You were upset that I didn’t make it to dinner that night with Sal and Gemma. But you just don’t know. I saw that tape that day and ran. I wanted to run out of my own skin. And you were right. I didn’t go to any bar with some long lost girlfriends. I just drove around. I couldn’t face you or the children or anyone. And I couldn’t confide in anyone. I was so ashamed. First I caused Vern to kill herself, and then I killed Stokey. I couldn’t go to anyone!”
But Reno sensed she had more on her chest. “Why couldn’t you come to me?” he asked her. “Why wouldn’t you think I could handle this for you?”
“It wasn’t a question of that.”
“Then what was it a question of, Tree? You’ve got to tell me what were you thinking?”
Trina felt the distress. “You’re always so hard on me,” she said. “I stay out late, or I’m not where you thought I was supposed to be, and you get all on my case. You act as if I committed some crime. I just knew how hard you were going to come down on me when you found out that I actually did commit a crime!”
“Oh, Tree,” Reno said heartfelt, pulling her into his arms again. Then he pulled back, and placed his hands on either side of her face. “I’m hard on you because of my failings, and my past sins, not because of you! I know I have enemies out there. You didn’t want to be tailed, so I gave in. But I still had to know your whereabouts for your own safety. How did you think I would judge you for looking out for yourself as a scared kid when you never judge me for all the shit I do? I’ll never judge you. Not ever. Especially not for a crime you didn’t even know you had committed.”
Trina felt a swell of relief. But it didn’t stop her pain. “I never even checked to see what happened to that guy,” she said. “I left Mississippi and I didn’t want to look back. When I saw that tape, when I read that press clipping, I felt dirty and selfish and horrible, Reno. I didn’t want to drag you into it. You’ve got enough to deal with.”
Reno’s look turned angry. “You’re all I’m concerned about,” he said, “and don’t you forget it. You can’t drag me into shit when it concerns you, because I’m already in it! We’re one, Tree. You go down, I go down. I go down, you’re going to keep your ass afloat and take care of our children. And if I ever hear about you going to motel rooms to negotiate with crooks and thieves I’ll kick your ass, you hear me? I’ve done it before, you know I’ll do it again.”
Sal stopped his phone conversation and looked at them. “Oh yeah?” he asked. “When was this ass kicking, and is there any video of that?”
Trina managed to smile lightheartedly, but it was hardly a lighthearted matter.
“When did they say they needed the twenty-five mil?” Reno asked her. He couldn’t even manage a lighthearted smile.
“They gave me a week,” Trina responded.
Sal ended his call. “A fucking week to get up twenty-five million dollars. Yeah, right. Crazy pricks!”
“What I don’t get,” Reno said, “is why did you decide to tell me today? My men said one minute you were in the grocery store doing your thing, then the next minute they see you running out of the mall, jumping into your car, and taking off like a bat out of hell. They saw a black guy come out afterwards, and looking toward your fleeing car, but they knew they had to follow you. Was that guy a part of this?”
Trina nodded. “It was Ice. Iceman Nelson. I walked around a corner in the store, and there he was. I don’t think he even saw me at first. It’s been so many years, but I’ll never forget his face. And that’s when I knew these people weren’t playing. I guess I already knew it, but I thought I had more time. They told me Ice wasn’t going to be released for another month. I had no idea he was already out.”
“And probably working with them,” Sal said.
“That’s what I think,” Trina said. “I don’t see how there could be any other answer for it.”
“They’re working together, alright,” Reno said. “They couldn’t afford for Ice to get out of prison and try tracking you down himself. If he took you out before the money was paid out, they’d be out in the cold. They needed him on their side. A promise to split the money with him got him on their side.” Then Reno looked at Sal. “You know what else I’m thinking?” he asked.
Sal thought about it, and then nodded. “Yeah. I’m thinking that way too.”
“What?” Trina asked. “What way?”
Reno looked at her. “They also probably promised the Iceman that he could get his revenge on you after the money issue was settled.”
Trina was surprised. “You mean they would release that tape anyway?”
“Hell no,” Reno said. “They aren’t going to release that tape. They can’t afford for you to get arrested and implicate them. No. They aren’t looking to arrest you, honey.” Reno’s face turned into a mask of pain. “After they get that big pay day, they’re looking to kill you. With the Iceman doing the honors.” Reno dreaded to think how Iceman got that nickname.
Trina knew, it was because of his viciousness, and her heart felt faint. Reno saw that change in her, and squeezed both of her arms. “That’s why you never try to make a deal with crooks and thieves. Because they’re still crooks and thieves after they get your money. And their reign of terror will never end. You come to me. Always. And if I’m not where you can find me, you go to Sal or Tommy or Mick. We speak their language. You don’t even know what they’re saying.”
Trina nodded. “I’m sorry, Reno. I was so caught up in the shame of it, and the fact that I had actually killed that man, and what happened with Vern.”
Reno pulled Trina in his arms again, but his mind was far away from that day in Dale, Mississippi. He was looking ahead. At how he was going to protect her. He a
lready knew how he was going to take care of those two crooked notification agents who had dreams of big paydays, and Trina’s murder to silence her, on their minds.
When Reno and Trina stopped embracing, Sal exhaled. “You’re going to handle it?” he asked Reno.
Reno nodded, as a pained expression appeared on his face. And he pulled out his cell phone.
Trina wanted to ask what it was that he had to handle specifically, but she held her tongue. When Reno took over, he took over. She could have been murdered if she had kept him out of the loop. She was turning it over to Reno, and leaving it alone. Whatever he told her to do, she was doing. It was in his hands now.
Reno searched deep into his phone until he found a particular number. And he paused even then. But then he pressed the Call button. He was staring at Trina as the phone rang. He pressed it on Speaker. No more secrets.
It took several rings before a voice came on the line. A female’s voice. Kim Galecki’s voice. “Hello?”
Reno hesitated. Trina was thrown by the pain on his face. “It’s me, Kim. Reno.”
There was a long pause on the other end. “What do you want?” the female voice finally asked.
“A favor,” Reno said. “What else?”
“Yeah,” Kim responded. “What else.” Then she exhaled. “What do you need, Reno?”
“A couple guys are trying to blackmail my wife. I think they’re two notification agents from the east coast. I need their names and I need to know where I can find them.”
Trina stared at him. He already had their names and locations. He had already told Sal to have them picked up. But Trina also knew what Reno was up to. The less this woman knew he knew, the more likely she would be willing to talk.
“Why would two agents want to blackmail your wife?” Kim asked over the phone.
“I don’t know yet,” Reno responded. “She’s not talking, but I know something’s up. My men caught her meeting two guys at a local motel. We checked them out.” He had to tell the truth, but only parts of the truth. “Can you help me?”
Reno Gabrini: A Family Affair Page 15
