by David Nees
Still, Vincent had kept going out with her. Sheila had guessed it might have been the challenge. She had made herself different from the others. While she was impressed with his money, his street stature and the respect he got, she didn’t fall all over him. She had more self respect and she had understood that it gave her more class. Things progressed and they finally had gotten married after he was “made” and formally joined the mob. The mob liked their members having wives; it created a sense of stability. They didn’t care about mistresses, sleeping around, but expected the men to keep the two worlds apart.
Sheila knew Vincent was a mob member but she had turned a blind eye to what that fully meant. She put up with the late hours, the dangerous men, the times away that might have been with another woman. She enjoyed the luxuries membership brought and had gotten used to shopping with cash. There was always cash and guns around the house. But when her first daughter, Tiffany, had been born, she had begun to change, grow more conservative. She didn’t party anymore and worried more about little things going wrong. After her second daughter, Amber, Sheila had become more introspective, focusing on her girls, and not being so much a part of Vincent’s mob life. The change didn’t seem to bother Vincent who spent a lot of time at the restaurant. He seemed to be more comfortable there than at home, Sheila thought sadly.
She said goodbye to the girls as they started down the driveway to wait for the school bus. When they got closer to the gate, they saw the skunk hanging there. It looked like a note was attached to the animal. The girls didn’t attempt to go closer, but turned and yelled to their mother as they ran back to the house.
“There’s a dead animal on our gate,” Tiffany said.
“It’s a skunk,” Amber added.
“Vincent!” Sheila shouted as she went in the front door. “There’s a dead animal on our gate. What’s going on?” There was a distinct tone of alarm in her voice.
Vincent came lumbering down the stairs in his bathrobe. “What the hell are you yelling about?”
“Someone’s hung a dead animal on our front gate. There’s a note or something stuck to it.” She pointed towards the street. “Go out and take that horrible thing down! And be careful,” she added as Vincent opened the front door.
He shuffled down the driveway in his robe and slippers. The skunk made a terrible smell, but Vincent got close enough to read the note. He looked around and quickly turned and hurried back in the house.
“Why didn’t you take it down? Is there a note? Vincent, what’s it say? What’s going on?”
“I didn’t take it down because it stinks. Now shut up for a moment.” Vincent picked up his phone to call the Garden.
“Don’t tell me to shut up.” Sheila put her hands on her hips. “I want to know what’s going on. You never tell me anything.”
“That’s because you don’t want to know. And right now I don’t know what’s going on so shut up and let me make a phone call.”
Just then the door bell rang. Sheila opened the door. “What do you want?” she said to the officer standing there.
“Ma’am, we received a call about that dead skunk hung on your gate,” the officer replied. “Do you want to make a complaint?”
“We don’t want to report nothing.” Vincent stepped forward. “It’s probably just some kids, so you can leave now.”
“Well, it is an act of vandalism. And someone already did report it, so I have to take some information down. And there was this note attached. Did you read it?”
“Yes, you don’t have to read it to me,” Vincent replied.
“What’s it say?” Sheila asked the cop.
Vincent shook his head at the cop. “I read it. I’ll deal with this.”
“It could be construed as a threat,” the cop said.
“A threat? What the hell does it say?” Sheila’s voice rose.
“I’ll tell you later. I don’t want to worry the girls,” Vincent replied.
“They’re already worried, not to mention grossed out. Vincent, maybe the cops should investigate this? Someone may be trying to harass us. Maybe this wasn’t just some kids.”
“Leave it alone. It’s nothing.”
“Don’t tell me it’s nothing.” Sheila was yelling now. “It’s a disgusting thing to do. It shouldn’t be happening here, in this neighborhood.”
“If it’s vandalism, ma’am, it can happen anywhere, even in the best of neighborhoods.”
“You see?” Vincent said. “We’ll just give him the info for the report, and then we can go have our breakfast and forget about this.”
Sheila shook her head and went to get her keys. “I’ll drive the girls to school. They’ve missed the bus. But I want you to tell me what’s going on when I get back.”
That same morning Joey opened his door. As it swung in the dead cat almost smacked him in the head. He jumped back. “What the…?” He read the note and slammed the door shut. He backed against the wall, his breath coming in ragged pants. Then he turned and ran down the hall to the rear of the townhouse. He stopped at the door, took a deep breath and slowly opened it. He glanced out at the alley in the back in both directions. No one in sight. He let himself out and ran down the alley to the side street. From there Joey ran two more blocks before flagging down a cab and heading to the Gardens.
When Joey arrived, most of Vincent’s lieutenants were there including Gino Seppe.
“Where’s Vincent?”
“He’s on his way,” someone said. “Someone hung a skunk on his front gate. He said something about a note as well.”
“Shit. Someone screwed a dead cat to my door along with a note.”
Now everyone turned to Joey.
“I wonder if they’re related,” one of the guys said.
“Dumbass, of course they’re related,” Joey responded. “And who the fuck do you think did this? Dan. That fucker’s everywhere. Don’t he ever sleep?”
Just then Vincent stormed into the back room. “I want that Dan guy found. I want him found right away,” he yelled. “Now he’s targeting my house and freaking my wife out. That’s the last thing I need.”
“He hung a dead cat on my door last night too,” Joey said.
Vincent turned to him. “The fucking guy gets around. Doesn’t he sleep?”
“Just what I was wondering.” Joey started to pace around the room. “Look boss, he said I’m next on a note stuck to the cat. I got to disappear for a while. Who knows where or when he’ll take a shot at me.” Joey was sweating. He wanted to hide out but needed to get Vincent’s permission.
“Frank, why don’t you put Joey up at your apartment, for a while?” Vincent suggested.
Frank shook his head. “You want me out tracking this guy down, not babysitting Joey.”
Joey was relieved. He didn’t like spending much time around Frank. “How about me staying with Gino? He’s not married and he’s got an extra bed.” Gino Seppe was the soldier who collected the drug payoffs for Vincent. They had to set up at a different location after Dan robbed him.
Vincent nodded. “All right. Both of you get out of here, before this guy starts shooting at the restaurant again. I’ll call you when you can come out.”
“How long should we stay inside?” Gino asked.
“Joey doesn’t go out for a week at least. You can go out and get food, but make sure you’re not followed. The last thing you want to do is to lead this guy to your apartment.”
Vincent didn’t know what he would do about his situation at home. Sheila was pissed. He had left for the restaurant before she got back from school. Now this problem had intruded on her personal life. She didn’t know and didn’t want to know about the seamy side of Vincent’s work. But that side was now showing up at his house. He was boiling inside about this punk guy who they couldn’t track down and who had the nerve to target his home.
The report of the skunk incident had found its way to Detective Marty Singleton’s desk, since it had Vincent’s name on it. Marty looked through i
t and then dutifully passed a copy to the FBI agent, Mike Warner. Mike smiled when he read the report. Dan was doing just what he’d hoped for. Now he just needed to let the pressure build.
The next week, at three a.m., Dan drove past Vincent’s home. He slowed down and stuck the Tec-9 out of the driver’s window and let it loose. Thirty 9mm rounds slammed into the front of house. The purpose was not to hit anyone, but to shoot up the front of the place. It was over in less than ten seconds and Dan quietly drove down the street and around the corner.
Sheila started screaming and turned on a light. Vincent grabbed his pants and jammed his legs into them, falling back on the bed in his haste.
“Vincent, what’s happening?” Sheila shrieked. “Was someone shooting at us?”
“Stay away from the windows. I’ll check things out.”
“Be careful.”
Tiffany and Amber came running into the bedroom, both yelling, asking what was happening.
“Everyone stay here!” Vincent yelled. “Stay away from the window and keep the lights off.” He grabbed a .45 from the drawer in his night table and pounded downstairs.
The front windows were shattered, and there were bullet holes in the front door. Going into the study, he turned on the monitor, flipped on the outside flood lights and checked all the screens. Nothing out there. No movement, no motion. He got on the phone and called one of his lieutenants.
“Get over here. I’ve got a problem at my house.” Vincent was careful about what he said on his cell phone. “Bring a couple of guys with you and call Tony. I need him to help calm things down.” Vincent often used Tony to calm Sheila down when she got worked up. He would patiently listen to her, letting her get all her anxiety out, not contradicting her, not telling her she was wrong. Then in calm, smooth tones, he would talk her down from her hysteria. Vincent didn’t have the patience and was glad he could send Tony around to do this job for him.
After hanging up, he looked out and saw a police cruiser drive up to the gate and stop. They shined their spotlight over the gate and up the driveway. When they lit up the front door and living room windows, Vincent realized they could see the damage. They would be coming up to the house and now he’d have to deal with them.
The officers got out and tried the gate. It remained locked. They went back to the cruiser, probably to call it into the precinct. Vincent went back upstairs.
“There’s no one out there now, but keep the lights off.”
Sheila was peeking through the window. “That’s the police out there. Are you going to let them in?”
“No. I’ve got some of the guys coming over to stay outside the rest of the night. I don’t want the fucking police in my house at three in the morning.”
“Well, they need to know. I can’t go back to sleep, I may as well get up—”
“Don’t turn on the light,” Vincent said sharply. “If you do, we won’t get them out of here for hours.”
“Someone’s trying to kill us. The police need to get to the bottom of this,” Sheila responded. The girls nodded, their eyes wide in fear.
“I told you. No cops! I’ve got some of the crew coming. They’ll watch the place for me. No one’s trying to kill us. Someone just wants to scare us, but I’ll find him…and when I do—”
“Well, he’s successful. I’m scared. This isn’t right. We live in a nice neighborhood, this shouldn’t happen here. You got to make this stop.”
“I’m trying. But you gotta stay calm.”
“Are you going to call Carmine? Maybe he can help.”
“No, I’m not going to call Carmine. He can’t do any more than I can. And don’t you go calling him.”
“Well, I’m supposed to have lunch with Gina this week. What do I say when she asks how things are? Do I just tell her, ‘Oh fine, we’re doing great, someone’s just leaving dead animals on our gate and shooting up our house.’ Tell me, what do I say? Because I don’t know what to say or what to think.”
Vincent sat down and rubbed his head. “Look, Sheila, I’ll get this under control. Just don’t start mouthing off to Gina. You know she’ll just take all that back to Carmine and get him upset. Please, let me handle this.”
The girls were crying now, both holding on to their mom. “All right, I’ll keep this quiet, but how long do think it will be before Carmine hears about this? This harassment has got to stop. We can’t live like this. How does someone just go around doing things like this and no one can stop him? That’s why I think the cops should get involved—”
“Jesus, no. I told you, no cops!”
Now Sheila started crying along with the girls.
Chapter 34
When the report of the shooting came across Marty’s desk he showed it to Mike.
“You going out to the house?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, this is more serious than a dead skunk. I’ll have to get a full statement from everyone in the house.”
“I want to talk to Vincent, alone,” Mike said.
“Pick your time, but I’ve got to go to the house first.”
Mike nodded. “I’ll leave the house visit to you for now.” After Marty left Mike drove down to the Sicilian Gardens. Vincent had arrived after dropping the girls off at school with strict instructions to not talk about the shooting. He didn’t expect them to obey which did nothing to improve his mood.
“What the hell do you want?” Vincent said after Mike introduced himself. “I got nothing to say to you. I’m sure I’ll be giving Detective Singleton a statement later today. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
“I’m not interested in a statement about the shooting. I want to talk to you about your safety.”
“I can take care of myself. Since when is the FBI worried about someone like me?”
“Since you might become a target of your boss.” Mike glanced around the room. “Look, we’re alone so I’ll speak freely. This trouble you’re having is getting noticed. We know that Carmine is worried about it and so is his boss, Silvio. Now you don’t want Silvio worried about you. That ain’t healthy.”
“What the fuck do you know about things? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen it happen, you’ve seen it happen. The boss loses confidence in you and you know too much. You become a liability. And you know the easiest way to eliminate a liability.”
Vincent just glared at Mike but didn’t say anything.
Mike continued, “I want to let you know, if things get hot, I’m authorized to provide protection for you and your family. A complete, new identity.”
“The protection program? And all I have to do is rat everyone out. Get the fuck out of here. I don’t need your help and nothing’s going to happen to me or my family.”
Mike got up to go. “Just keep the offer in mind. You owe it to your wife and daughters. If something happened to you, they would be in a difficult place with no one to help them.” He handed Vincent his card.
“Get out,” growled Vincent.
Later that same day Mike went out to Vincent’s home. He introduced himself to Sheila and left his card with her after telling her that the FBI was interested in protecting the family if they were threatened by anyone. Sheila knew enough to not respond and told Mike they didn’t need his help and she didn’t appreciate his coming around when Vincent was not at home. Still, she kept his card when he left.
That evening Mike flew to Atlanta. He had arranged to talk with Tommy and Doreen the next morning. He met them at a Caribou Coffee shop near the Perimeter Shopping Mall.
After arriving in Atlanta, Tommy and Doreen had rented a car and drove to a Super 8 motel north of town where Doreen had rented a room under a fake name. It was not very super but they had wanted to stay anonymous. Tommy spent most of his time in the room, only going out occasionally to a movie or to eat nearby. Doreen went into her firm’s Atlanta office to spend her days sitting at a desk, combing through records in file cabinets to assemble the backgroun
d documents her boss needed.
Neither knew how far the mob could reach but they didn’t want to underestimate its abilities. Doreen figured men were looking for them and would find out they went to Atlanta. That fact would trigger enlisting local hoods to try to find them. She took a variety of routes on her return trips to the motel. She had work to do, but they had to remain in hiding.
“How’d you find us?” Tommy asked after they sat down. A local agent had visited them to tell them Mike was coming down.”
“Airline tickets. Then combing through the cabbies with pictures of the two of you. That took some time, but we finally found one driver who remembered you.” Mike smiled at Doreen. “Seems like being a good looking woman makes it harder to hide out. People take note, especially men.”
She scowled back at him. “So why’d you track us down?”
“I need your help. I’m trying to get in touch with Dan Stone and both of you know him. I understand you’re his best friend.” He turned to Tommy.
“First of all, we should be clear that we don’t have to talk to you,” Doreen declared. “We’re doing this only as a courtesy.”
“And I appreciate that,” Mike replied.
Tommy jumped in. “You want me to help you contact Dan, the mob wants me to help them contact Dan, but I can’t contact him.” He and Doreen had already decided that the cell phone was to remain a secret. “We left New York because we figured we’d become targets if Dan came back and started something.”
“So you think he’s back?” Mike asked.
Tommy shook his head. “I didn’t say that.”
“We left as a protective measure. If Dan came back, and I emphasize the word ‘if’, we didn’t want to be caught in the middle.” Doreen frowned and took a sip of her coffee.
