by David Nees
“I figured you couldn’t resist the lure of bacon,” she said.
“It never fails with me.” He grinned.
Jane smiled back as her green eyes roamed over him.
“You checking me out?” His voice held a light tone.
“Just professionally.”
“Checking to see how quickly I can recover from a fire fight and injuries? Is this a requirement of the new job?”
“It doesn’t hurt. There’s fresh coffee in the pot. Pour yourself a cup and sit down. I’ll cook you some eggs.” She turned back to the stove.
“Not that I don’t like your company,” Dan poured himself a cup and sat at the kitchen table, “or you cooking me breakfast, but how long do we plan to stay here?”
“I’m glad you appreciate my culinary skills, however limited they are. You probably noticed that I’m better at breakfast than dinner. From the looks of you, I figure one more day should be enough.”
Jane’s phone on the counter rattled with an incoming call. “Jane, they’ve taken Doreen,” Tommy yelled as she picked up.
“Don’t shout,” Jane said, “just slow down and tell me what happened.”
“Doreen didn’t call last night when she got home from work. She was supposed to call me, we set it up.”
“Maybe she just forgot, maybe she got home too late—”
“No. She wouldn’t have forgotten. This is what we agreed to. She didn’t want any protection, so she promised to call every night. I called her this morning and she didn’t answer. She would have answered. Someone’s taken her. Joey probably, or someone else. Maybe that Frank guy, the scary one.”
“And no one has called you about this?”
“No. I’ve got to get in touch with Dan. He started this and he needs to take care of it. Christ, Doreen could get beat up or worse, just so Dan can have his revenge? How do I get in touch with him?”
Dan looked up from his breakfast. “What’s up?”
“It’s Tommy.” Jane covered the phone. “He thinks someone has kidnapped Doreen.”
“Shit!” Dan put down his fork and got up. “Let me talk to him.”
Jane handed him the phone.
“Tommy, tell me what happened.”
“I’ll tell you what’s happened, the shit’s hit the fan. Joey or somebody’s taken Doreen. You and your vendetta. It’s gotten Doreen kidnapped! You gotta do something about it.” Tommy was shouting again.
“Just tell me what happened—”
“I don’t know what happened, only that Doreen didn’t call last night like we arranged and she’s not answering her phone this morning.”
“Did you call her work number?”
“Yeah, she didn’t show up there.”
Dan stood there. His worst fear was coming true. “I’ll make this right. I’m heading into town now. See if you can ask around and find out where she might be then meet me at your shop at one.”
“Nothing better happen to her, that’s all I got to say.”
“Just see what you can find out and meet me. With your help, we’ll get her back.”
Dan hung up and turned to Jane. “I got to go.”
“You want some help?”
“You can’t help, remember, you’re already way out on a limb. Besides this is my fight. I’m going to finish this now and get Doreen back.”
Chapter 57
Early the next morning, Vincent went down to the end of the driveway to pick up the paper and walked over to Tony’s car. Tony had arrived with another crew member a half hour earlier. He seemed so helpful, but now Vincent knew he was there to watch him.
He leaned into the car window. “How you doing?”
“Doin’ all right. You sleep well last night?” Tony replied.
“Yeah.” Vincent paused. “Look, I’ll be going in to the restaurant this morning and Sheila is taking the girls to the art museum today. A mother-daughter field trip. Why don’t you head on downtown and I’ll meet you there later. Things seem to have calmed down. We haven’t had anything happen for a while.” Vincent smiled and patted the door of the car.
Tony looked at him for a moment. Vincent could tell he was evaluating what Vincent had said. Then he smiled. “Sounds like a good idea. Not that I don’t like being out at your place, but just sitting in the car ain’t much fun.”
With a final glance Tony started the car. “See you later at the restaurant. I’ll have a cup of Irish coffee for you when you get there.”
“I’m not Irish, you dumb fuck,” Vincent said smiling. As Tony drove off, he pulled out his cell phone and called Mike.
Tony’s car turned the corner at the end of the street. Halfway down the street, he stopped. Something was wrong. Something didn’t feel right to him. He sat there for a moment, thinking.
“Whaddaya you doing?” the other man asked.
“Shut up, I’m thinking.” Then it came to him. Could Vincent be leaving today? Was he going to disappear right now while he was supposed to be watching him?
“You drive down the street. Wait for me at the next corner. I gotta talk to Vincent before he leaves. I’ll walk back.”
The man looked at Vincent quizzically.
“Just do like I say. Don’t leave until I get back or call you.”
The man drove off, and Tony headed through the back yards towards Vincent’s house. He knew the house had video security, but he was betting no one was watching it. If he was right, they were busy packing. The Feds would arrive soon. What he had to do had to be done now.
Tony figured he could get in, do the job, and get out through the back yards. He’d get to the car and be gone before anyone found out. Whacking Vincent didn’t bother him at all, he had crossed the line, broken the code. And taking out that emotional wreck, Sheila wouldn’t bother him either. So many hours he had spent listening to her complain about the stupidest things. But the two girls—even though they were spoiled brats—he hoped he wouldn’t have to whack them as well. They had never bothered him.
He got to the back wall of the yard. It was still early. People were still mostly asleep. With the large, wooded back yards in the development, he was sure he hadn’t been seen by any neighbors. He took out his weapon, a .45 semi-automatic, and screwed a suppressor to the barrel. He just needed to get in, get off a couple of shots, and get out. The cops outside were down at the street. They would never hear the shots. Tony smiled as he imagined the agent, Mike, showing up and finding a couple of corpses instead of witnesses.
Tony pushed the pistol back into his coat and clambered over the wall. He dropped down on the other side and stepped behind a tree. From there he was shielded from the house cameras. Someone would have had to be looking right at the monitor for that brief moment when he was on the wall to see him. Now there was nothing to see. At the back of the house a sliding door led from the basement out to the patio. Farther along the back wall was a service door.
Tony sprinted across the yard and hugged the wall of the house as he moved down to the service door. He slipped a credit card into the latch, quietly opened the door, and stepped inside. He stood there listening.
The master bedroom was on the second floor on the east side of the house. The girls had rooms on the west side, at the end of a long hallway that looked over the entrance foyer. There was a good chance of not running into them. He hoped for their sake that he didn’t.
Tony tiptoed up the basement stairs. At the top he listened before opening the door. Someone was in the kitchen, probably Sheila. The living room and den were empty. Now he needed to get around the corner and up the stairs without whoever was in the kitchen seeing him.
Vincent’s probably up in the bedroom. The stairs were carpeted and would silence his steps. Slowly, carefully, he stepped along the hardwood floor until he came to the stairs. Once he got to the landing halfway up and around the corner, no one would see him from below. He started up the steps without a sound. He reached the landing and when he stepped on it, the floor gave out a sharp squeak. He
froze. Move! He sucked in his breath and hurried up the last steps to the second floor.
In the hallway he was shielded from the kitchen and foyer. He stood still and listened. There were no unusual sounds. He couldn’t hear anything from the kitchen any more. Someone was in the bedroom. It sounded like Vincent packing. There was no sign of the girls.
Tony slipped his .45 out of his jacket, flicked off the safety, and stepped forward. At the bedroom door he risked a peak. There, as he expected, was Vincent bent over the bed, putting clothes in a suitcase.
Tony stepped into the room with his .45 leveled at Vincent. “Going somewhere?”
Vincent spun around. “What are you doing here?”
“Something didn’t seem right, so I came back to see what you were up to. So where you going?”
“None of your fucking business. And put that gun away,” Vincent growled.
“I don’t think so. You’re going to turn witness on us, going to squeal to the Feds, aren’t you?”
“You’re crazy. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I saw you meeting with somebody yesterday. He looked like an FBI agent. Now I can’t let you do that.”
“Carmine send you?” Vincent asked. There was no use trying to bluff. As soon as he saw Tony with the gun, he knew it was over. He sat down on the bed.
“You could say that. He wanted me to keep an eye on you. I think he would have sent Frank, but he’s out of town. You figured out we knew what you were up to didn’t you?” Tony said.
“Yeah. But they always send the ones they trust, and I didn’t trust Frank. I trusted you.”
“Well, you were going to rat everyone out, so I gotta do this.” Tony stepped forward.
“Tony,” Vincent said, “Don’t kill my family. They can’t do anything. There’s nothing they can testify about.”
“The girls’ll be all right, but I don’t know about Sheila. That fat fuck of a wife of yours really pisses me off. You always had me come out here. I was the one that had to sit and listen to her talk, talk, complain, complain. Frankly it’ll be a pleasure to whack her. She’s an irritating, fat bitch. No wonder you shoved that job off to me.”
As Vincent was digesting what Tony had just said, three things happened quickly. Sheila stepped into the doorway with a gun in her hand. “So I’m a fat bitch, am I? I thought you were my friend. You bastard.”
Tony spun around and Sheila pulled the trigger. The gun roared, the bullet hitting Tony in the shoulder. Vincent jumped up from the bed and crashed into Tony before he could bring his .45 to bear on Sheila. He pushed it up as it went off with its muffled pop. The two men wrested for control of the weapon. Though he was older, Vincent was the larger, stronger man. Tony was at a disadvantage. His left shoulder was wounded, making his arm useless. They strained against each other, struggling for the gun.
Vincent grunted with exertion. The two men fell back against the bed. Vincent leveraged his weight against Tony. He focused all his strength on the gun, slowly twisting it and pressing it against Tony. “You shouldn’t have insulted my wife. Don’t you know how emotional she is?” Tony’s eyes widened as he struggled to keep his weapon from being jammed into his chest. “And you don’t talk to the guy you’re going to whack. You just do it and leave. Now you gotta pay, dumbass.”
He pulled the trigger. Another muffled pop and blood flew back at Vincent. Tony slid to the floor, a wet stain seeping out from underneath him.
“Did I kill him? Oh, Christ! I’m going to hell. I killed someone.” Sheila’s voice rose to a shriek. She dropped the gun. Vincent stood up and went over to her. He put his arms around her. A moment later Tiffany and Amber came running to the bedroom door. Vincent backed all of them into the hallway and closed the door. An FBI agent stationed at the street came running up the stairs with his pistol drawn. Vincent nodded to the bedroom.
“Call Mike and tell him to hurry. We almost didn’t make it.” He turned to Sheila. “No, you didn’t kill him.”
She shook with sobs and the girls started crying; Vincent tried to calm his family down.
Her arms around Vincent, returning his hug, Sheila began to calm down. “I thought I heard something on the stairs. When I came out of the kitchen I saw someone disappear up the steps. I knew you were upstairs, and no one else was supposed to be in the house, so I went into the study and got your gun, the one you keep in the desk drawer. I heard him talking to you. He said I was fat. He called me a complaining bitch. Is that what he thinks of me? I thought he was my friend.” Her words tumbled out as Vincent held her.
He smiled for the first time in a long time. “He shouldn’t have insulted you like that.”
“Do you think I’m fat?” Sheila looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes.
“No, I don’t think you’re fat,” he said with the smile still on his face.
Chapter 58
Jane and Dan drove in silence, heading to Dan’s apartment. Dan went over his options. They were limited unless Tommy could get some idea of where they had taken Doreen. At this point, he didn’t worry whether Jane knew where he lived. Dan figured he would not be there much longer. In his apartment, he checked his rifle and loaded a magazine with sub-sonic .308 caliber rounds. Next he grabbed his .223 carbine, his 9mm, a .45, and the 12 gauge semi-auto shotgun along with extra magazines and ammunition. He broke down the weapons and loaded them into a large gym bag. Then he changed his clothes, putting on a pair of black jeans and black sweater. After completing these tasks he turned to Jane who had simply watched his preparations with interest.
“You mind taking the rest of my clothes and gear with you in the truck? I don’t think I’ll be coming back here.”
“Of course. I’ll save them for you. Give me your phone number before we separate. You’ve got mine. Call me when this is over. I’ll pull you out.”
Dan nodded. “It’s a deal.”
When he was done, they got into the Suburban and drove down to Tommy’s garage.
Jane grabbed his arm as Dan opened the door. He turned to look at her. “Be careful. You made it this far, don’t be foolish at the end. You’re smarter than any of them, use that.”
“Is that professional or personal advice?”
Jane looked straight back at him. He had begun to have a surprising effect on her. Suddenly she didn’t want him to have to take this last risk, to enter into this last encounter which was in all likelihood an ambush. “Maybe a bit of both,” she finally said and turned away as Dan stepped out of the car.
Dan dropped his gear in the office as Tommy rushed in.
“You son of a bitch.” He charged Dan.
Dan ducked to one side as Tommy swung wildly at him. “Stop! This won’t help.”
“I was your friend when Rita was killed. I stood by you and now you bring this…this shit down on me. How could you?” Tommy stood with his fists clenched and tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t know Doreen would get involved, Tommy. Who knew she would show up? How was I to know you two would become a couple? Jesus, I’m sick about this, but we’ll get her back, I swear to you.”
“If we don’t, you’ll have to kill me, because that’s what I’ll be trying to do to you.”
“Okay, but truce.” He grabbed Tommy by the shoulders. “We need to work together. I’m gonna need your help. We can do this, but you have to work with me.” Tommy just glared at him. “Now what did you find out?”
Tommy took a deep breath. “Seems like everything’s hit the shit fan. Word is Frank’s missing, maybe dead, and Joey’s disappeared after giving Vincent a hard time. He thinks Vincent set him up. There’s no telling what he may be up to. Carmine is worried. He’s got someone watching Vincent, and now you’re back. The whole place is about to erupt. Vincent’s crew is worried. They could be caught in the middle if Carmine decides Vincent is turning. No one knows who to trust.”
“But no word on where Joey is?”
“No one’s saying. Or no one knows. If Joey thin
ks Vincent set him up, he’s not going to trust Vincent or Carmine. He’s on his own.”
“Why would he want Doreen? What does it get him? He should be bugging out at this point,” Dan said.
“Maybe he thinks he’ll lure you into a trap, finish you off and get back in with Carmine. If Vincent doesn’t turn, Joey fixes the last thorn in his side.” Tommy paused. “Or he could just want revenge on you or me. That’s how Joey would think.”
“Maybe. Self preservation is more his style. Paybacks are icing on the cake. If he wants to set a trap, we should be able to find out where he is. If we can’t find the trap, we can’t enter it. He has to get the word out.”
“You’re going to walk into his trap?”
“I’m going to go to where he is and kill him, if that’s what you mean.”
“And Doreen?”
“The best way to save Doreen’s life is to kill Joey, the sooner the better. If he kills me, do you think he’ll let Doreen go? She’ll just disappear, you too.”
Tommy looked down at the floor and through gritted teeth said, “All thanks to you.”
Dan started to respond, but just shook his head. “I deserve that. But help me make this right.”
Tommy looked hard at his one-time friend. Now he was not so sure how he felt. “I’ll help, but that doesn’t make it right…what you did.”
Tony’s stakeout partner waited at the end of the side street for Tony to return. After half an hour, he turned around and drove back to Vincent’s house. At the house were four black Suburbans and multiple armed men standing outside of Vincent’s home. They were not local cops. He drove past the house and when out of sight, called Carmine.
“Carmine, there’s a bunch of armed guys around Vincent’s house. They’re not cops.”
“Where’s Tony, put him on,” Carmine said.
“Tony went back to the house to talk to Vincent about something. Said he had some business to finish with him. I waited but he didn’t come back. Now I drive around to the house and it’s crawling with guys looking like FBI.”
