Tom slammed his hand on the table. “Just you try that, pal.” He straightened up after noticing sweat dripping on the table.
Antonio leaned forward and studied him. “Oh, man, are you okay?” A thin smile covered his face. “I can’t lie, my friend, you look bad. Your eyes are like a few junkies I know. You look like you need a fix and quick.” He laughed coarsely, and Dominic sniggered. “Say the word and I’ll hook you up with someone who’s into that kind of thing.”
Tom noticed Emma watching him closely. He leaned toward Antonio. “We ask the questions here and you’ll answer them. Have you got that?”
“Oh,” Antonio said, pulling away, “a serious man. Okay. I can play your game. Ask me whatever you like.”
Tom sat across from Antonio. They glared at each other for a few seconds before Emma started speaking. She explained that the cameras in the room would record the session, which would be copied to a DVD-ROM that would be made available to them on request. After ensuring that both Antonio and Dominic understood everything, she started the recording.
“The time is now 10:30 a.m., the twentieth of April 2010,” she said. “Interview commencing.”
Emma started the questioning. She asked Antonio about the relationship he’d had with Penélope, how often they’d argued, whether he had ever been violent with her and a series of other domestically oriented questions. After hearing Antonio describe himself as the perfect boyfriend, she moved on to the events of the night she died.
“So when were you aware that Penélope would be going out that night?”
“I knew since the day before,” Antonio said with a smile.
“Did she make it a regular thing, going to clubs like that?” Tom asked.
“And what do you know about doing anything, junkie?” Tom glared at him. “I can only see you staying in, feeling sorry for yourself and maybe jerking off.” He looked at Emma. “Do me a favor and fuck his brains out, please.” He laughed. “Maybe then he would learn what it’s like to be a real man.”
Tom coughed and clenched his right hand. How he wanted to reach over and plant his fists in Antonio’s face. “You can say whatever you like about me, but you won’t be leaving here until you give us what we want.” He rose and slammed both hands on the table. “Now answer the question.”
Antonio leaned back and started to answer, but just then a short stocky man walked into the room. “You’ve got a phone call, Agent Saddle. It’s urgent.”
Tom nodded. “Have you got this?” he whispered to Emma.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah,” Antonio said, “I’ll keep her warm for you.” He sniggered.
Tom gave him a long angry stare and walked out. He took a cell phone from the stocky man and heard the voice of his ex-wife at the other end of the line. “What’s wrong, Jenny? You sound weird.”
“It’s Robbie. He’s been suspended from school again.”
He sighed. “What’s he done this time?”
“He got in a fight. The other boy needed three stitches.”
Fuck. What’s wrong with that kid? “Fine, I’ll talk to him when I get there later.”
“You always say that and you never do. You keep encouraging him to watch all that nonsense on TV. All that mixed martial arts. Now he thinks he’s some kind of gladiator. When will you start being his father rather than his best friend?”
“I don’t have time for this, Jenny. I’m in the middle of something.”
“It’s always something with you. He’s your son, or have you forgotten that?”
Tom took a deep breath. “Why don’t you get Jacob to talk to him? He’s already replaced me in your bed.” He hung up and leaned against the wall, both hands on his head.
He walked back to the interrogation room ten minutes later to find Emma turning the camera off. He stopped in the corridor, and Antonio and his lawyer rose and walked out the door as Emma held it open for them. Antonio glared at Tom as he passed him.
Tom called out to him a moment later, and Antonio stopped and turned toward him.
“I read your file,” Tom said. “You’ve done so many filthy things and gotten away with them. Murder. Assault. You name it, you’ve done it. Why don’t you do the right thing now and tell us what really happened? Don’t you at least want a chance at redemption?”
Antonio smiled and walked toward Tom. The two security guards charged forward, but Emma motioned them back. The comisionado stopped a feet from Tom. “I’ll tell you something I’ve learned from my life: Redemption is for the weak, my friend. The strong keep sinning.” He smiled and walked back down the hall with his lawyer.
Tom faced Emma and smacked the glass with his hand. As they entered the interrogation room again, Emma dismissed the guards.
“About what Antonio said to you back there,” Emma said.
Tom waved his hand. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he hissed.
“Relax. I was just going to say that you shouldn’t let him get under your skin. I know his type. They say and do anything to frustrate people coming after them.”
“I... Tom rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry for shouting.”
“Forget it. It’s nothing.”
He took a deep breath and stared through the glass door.
“What’re you thinking?”
“Why do you think Wheeler asked us to bring him in? I mean, what was the point of that? For him to continue gloating? That wasn’t a shakedown. He was in control of that interrogation the whole time.”
“Then we move on. We find viable evidence and use it. For all we know, he could be innocent.”
“And you believe that? That man’s a thug. Did we even read the same file?”
“I’m just saying that there’s more to this than we know.” She walked toward the door, but Tom stopped her.
“So what did he have to say for himself?”
“Exactly what he told the police. Penélope came home, they argued and she left. The eyewitnesses have all backed up his story.”
He frowned at the ceiling and folded his arms. “It’s still too convenient that every camera in that building happened to be down for three days, one of them being the day of the murder.”
“I agree. But we have nothing to suggest he had anything to do with that. And with no one able to confirm a body leaving his apartment that morning, it will be hard to build a case against him.”
Tom folded his arms and contemplated their situation for a moment before following Emma out of the room.
***
Rico held the car door open for Antonio, who shook Dominic’s hand before the lawyer drove off in a Mercedes stretch limousine. “Speak to our guys in the bureau and see what you can find out about an Agent Tom Saddle,” Antonio said quietly to Rico before getting in. He paused to check his phone before continuing. “I want to know everything.”
Rico nodded and shut the door behind his boss, and Fernando drove him away. Standing directly across from the FBI building, Rico folded his arms, deep in thought. Then he called his girlfriend, Marie.
“Hi, baby,” she said.
“What’re you doing?” he asked.
“Just doing my yoga.”
Rico smiled. “Pick out a dress. We’re going out tonight.”
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment. “What’s the occasion?”
“Do I need an occasion to treat the woman I love?” He could feel her smiling.
“Of course not, honey. I love you, too.”
“So pick out a dress. I have a few errands to run but should be back to pick you up around 7.”
“Can’t wait.”
He got into his Navigator, and the tires screeched as he pulled away.
12. Unwanted Guests
The beef melted in Rico’s mouth as he chewed and marveled at the restaurant’s décor. He had been to the Five Points Restaurant only once before with Marie, on their first date. As on that visit, he was captivated by the excellent service.
The dining area was
large and spacious, each table covered in a pearl-white cloth and a large set of silver cutlery. The lights were dimmed to a level where he could just about see every one of Marie’s beautiful features. The waterfall by the entrance—six feet from where they sat—didn’t irritate him in the slightest but rather relaxed and soothed him. The smooth jazz was the exquisite finishing touch.
He set his fork down with his plate half-full and watched his girlfriend delicately eat her chicken salad. He smiled when her eyes caught his.
“What?” Marie asked. She raised her hands to her mouth.
He continued looking, his smile broadening.
“Have I got something on my face?”
“You look so beautiful,” he said.
Her cheeks turned red. “But you’ve seen me in this dress before.”
He studied her. She wore a long white evening dress with straps and a plunging neckline. He loved the way it displayed her curves for all to see. His beautiful girlfriend was his life. “But I see something even more beautiful in you every day,” he said, “like I do right now.”
She put her fork down, too, and giggled, reaching out to hold his hand. “This is nice,” she said, “just you and me and no one else.”
He smiled until he caught sight of four people three tables away who were looking at him. He pulled his hand back and leaned back to get a closer look.
Marie stared at him. “What is it, honey?”
He frowned when he realized who they were. Directly in his line of sight was Reynaldo, who wore a tight black vest. Opposite him was a slender dark-haired girl with big eyes and thin lips. She was pretty in a demure kind of way. Beside him was Jorge’s other ejecutor, Rodrigo Espino, a tall man with dark hair that hung below his shoulders. His American wife, Susan, sat opposite him. Her red hair went perfectly with the red dress she wore.
Marie cocked her head and looked over. At the same time, Reynaldo held up his Champagne glass as if offering a toast. Rico reluctantly nodded and raised his glass, too, before returning his gaze to his own table, a scowl across his face.
“What’s wrong?” Marie asked.
“Just one time. Just one time I wanted to get away from all of them, and they have to spoil it.”
She held his hands again. “Then let’s not allow them. It’s our night, me and you. To hell with them.”
He glanced to his right again and saw a grin on Reynaldo’s face, which angered him. Then he noticed that they all appeared to wear the same grin, making his blood boil even more. He breathed in heavily, his fists clenched, as he tried to direct his thoughts elsewhere.
He and Marie ate in silence for the next five minutes before he felt a cold draft slap him on the back of the head. He turned to see Antonio and Fernando walking through the door.
Fernando’s black cardigan fit tightly around his well-sculpted upper body. Antonio wore a neatly pressed white shirt and fitted black trousers. Rico waited till they reached the table before wiping his mouth with a napkin and standing up. He noticed a scowl on Marie’s face and tried to attract her attention by snapping his fingers, but she ignored him. Antonio reached the table and embraced Rico, kissing him on both cheeks, and Fernando followed suit.
“Look at you,” Antonio said to Marie. He held both hands out, and Marie reluctantly stood to embrace her boyfriend’s superior. “That dress is something else.” He looked at Rico. “How did I let you snap this one up? You’re lucky I never saw her first.”
“In your dreams,” Marie muttered.
Antonio scowled at her. “What was that?”
Marie sipped on her drink without acknowledging him. Antonio leaned closer to her. “What the fuck did you say?”
Marie slammed her fork on the table and glared at him before Rico grabbed his hand. “She didn’t mean nothing by that,” he said.
Antonio continued to glare at Marie. “I’m only playing,” he said, smiling, and took a step back. He turned around to look for a waiter and noticed Reynaldo and Rodrigo staring at him. A frown covered his face. Reynaldo lifted his glass, smiling at the same time. Antonio charged toward him, knocking a bottle of wine on an adjacent table to the floor, but Fernando and Rico held him back.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” he growled at Reynaldo.
Reynaldo stood and put his palms together as if pleading for calm. “Let’s not do this here. Not in front of our families.”
“He’s right,” Rico whispered in his ear. “You don’t need to do this. What we’re doing is much more important than this stupid thing you two have going on.”
“It’s not stupid to me,” Antonio hissed. “That punk disrespected me.”
“And when you’re in charge of the family, he’ll pay and you know it.”
Antonio raised his hands in a manner that suggested that he wouldn’t cause any more trouble. Staring intently into the eyes of the diners looking at him, he yanked two chairs from an unoccupied table, smashing a wine glass in the process. Marie winced as he placed the chairs at their table. She gave Rico a disapproving look.
Seated between Fernando and Rico, Antonio sighed and motioned for the waiter. “Get me a ’65 Dom Perignon.”
The waiter swallowed and looked at his manager, who stood a few feet away. Upon seeing no movement from the waiter, he raised his voice. “Are you deaf?” He rose to his feet, and Rico quickly did the same.
“I’m afraid we don’t have that bottle in, sir,” the manager said. “We only do them by special order. We have the 1985 if that’ll be okay.”
Antonio nodded. “Yeah, that’ll do.” He sniffed and sat down again. “So what have you found out about this Saddle guy?” he asked Rico.
Rico gestured toward Marie, who was still glaring at him. “Perhaps we should talk about this privately.”
Antonio looked at Marie and laughed. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Marie won’t say anything. She loves you too much to do that, doesn’t she?”
Rico leaned closer to Antonio and lowered his voice. “Even still, let’s just do this privately.”
Marie threw her napkin onto the table and rose to her feet. All three men stood as well. “Don’t mind me,” she said, straightening her dress. “I’ve got to use the ladies room anyway.” She stormed off, cutting Rico with her eyes.
“You need to watch that one,” Antonio said as he relaxed into his chair. “You know how—”
“She’s fine,” said Rico, a hint of anger in his eyes. “Anyway, do you want to know or not?”
Antonio gestured for Rico to speak.
“Well, it seems—” He stopped as the waiter brought the bottle of Champagne. He poured four glasses before leaving.
“As I was saying, it seems that Monroe is completely off the case,” Rico said. “The deputy director is pulling all the strings now and it seems like him and this Tom Saddle have history.”
“What kind?” Fernando said.
“Saddle’s ex-wife is Wheeler’s sister.”
Antonio’s eyes widened. “So he’s quite protected. But is he any good? Could he cause problems for the family?”
“I doubt that. He’s only recently come off a nine-month sabbatical after being shot in the line of duty. Our guy also says he had a drug problem.”
Antonio took a sip of Champagne. “I know, I noticed that. Let’s not worry about them then.”
“But what about Tobias? The trail’s gone cold. No one knows where they are, and I’m hearing that your uncle has put Jorge’s people on it.”
“No way. There’s no way he’d go over my head like that. That guy is mine.”
“And Monroe? He knows a lot.”
“Monroe’s fine. He’ll never squeal. He must not be touched.”
Fernando stood upon seeing Marie return, and Antonio and Rico did the same. Just then the waiter arrived with the dessert menu.
“Do you want something?” Rico asked Antonio and Fernando. They shook their heads.
Marie looked through the menu, making approving and disapproving noises, while the
waiter stood by.
“Excuse me, waiter,” a woman’s voice said, and he turned toward Reynaldo’s date, who beckoned him with her hand. The waiter nodded but returned his attention to Marie, who was still looking at the menu.
“Excuse me,” the woman repeated in a raised voice. “Can I get some service, please?”
Antonio stood quickly and turned toward Reynaldo. “Do you think you can keep your fucking bitch in check?”
Gasps filled the room.
Reynaldo threw down his napkin and rose. “I’ve had enough of your shit. Just because of who your uncle is, don’t—”
“Oh, don’t you dare mention his name.” He moved in Reynaldo’s direction, Rico and Fernando staying close to him. “You’re only alive because my uncle respects Jorge. I would have—”
Rico squeezed his arm and gave him a disapproving look. “Be careful what you say,” he whispered. “Everyone’s watching you right now. Everything you say could be quoted.”
Antonio straightened his jacket and glared at Reynaldo. Then he reached out, picked up the bottle of Dom Perignon and smashed it on the floor.
“I’ve fucking had enough of this,” Marie said. She picked up her purse and charged out of the restaurant.
Antonio burst into a fit of laughter. Rico shook his head angrily, picked up his blazer, and ran after her.
Thunder and lightning accompanied heavy rain as he stepped outside. He glanced in both directions, seeing people with umbrellas walking on both sides of the street. After spending ten minutes looking for Marie, he walked toward the back of the restaurant, where he saw her sitting on the pavement, her dress drenched and makeup running across her face.
Rico quickly took off his equally wet jacket and rushed toward her. “What’re you doing out here? You’ll catch a cold.” He tried to put the jacket over her shoulders, but she pushed him away and stood up.
“Why are we still living this life? How can you take orders from that man? That mindless thug?”
Rico held her shoulders. “Antonio means well, but you have to understand he’s a passionate man.”
Marie pushed her wet hair aside, smudging more of her makeup. The rain was falling even harder now. “You need to open your eyes where he’s concerned. You’re such a good person. This loyalty you’ve had for him since you were kids will kill you.”
The Kiss after Midnight (The Midnight Trilogy) Page 10
