by A. L Long
Walking over to him, I placed my small hand in his large one and replied, “Nice to meet you. My name is Emma. I’m a friend of Lou’s.”
“Cool. Can I interest you in a game of pool?”
“I’ve never played before,” I said, embarrassed.
“No problem. All you have to do is use the white ball to hit the other balls in the pockets. What goes in on the break will tell you which balls are yours, either solid or stripes. The eight ball is neutral and is the winning shot, so make sure you hit that ball last,” Sly instructed as he held up a solid-colored ball and then one with a stripe around the center.
“Okay, sounds simple enough. Who does the break thing?” I asked.
“I will, so you know what it is.”
After Sly broke the balls, which were lined up in a pyramid, I watched him dunk ball after ball into the pockets on the table. When it was my turn, I focused my shot on the blue striped ball, but managed to miss it completely. I was really beginning to hate this game.
Two games later, I was completely frustrated and was about to call it quits when Lou came walking down the hall holding a bucket. I think more than anything he was surprised to see Sly at the shop instead of with his wife. Placing my cue on the table, I followed Lou like a long-lost puppy. When we got to the kitchen, I stood by the doorway and watched as Lou filled the bucket full of water. I wasn’t sure why he was doing that, so I asked curiously, “What is the water for?”
“Mike is going to use it to persuade that dirtbag to talk,” he said.
“Can I go with you? I’ve had about enough of getting my ass kicked,” I mentioned.
“It isn’t something that you need to see, Emma. It could get pretty intense in there. It’s late, how about I have Sly drive you home and I’ll see you later?”
“NO! Absolutely not.” My tone may have been a little overboard based on Lou’s reaction as he backed up with one arm in held in a surrender position.
“Okay, baby. But not a word, and if it gets to be too much for you, promise you will leave.”
Doing the universal “cross my heart” gesture, I nodded and said, “I will. Cross my heart.”
I stayed behind Lou as we walked toward the back room where the guy who held all the answers was being kept. I should have been concentrating on what was about to take place, but the only thing that occupied my mind was the way Lou looked in his jeans. Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have thought twice about a guy’s ass, now it seemed like that was all I thought about, at least when it came to Lou.
Channeling my thoughts elsewhere, I tried to think about something else. It became easier the closer we got to the room, as the sound of someone in excruciating pain came from behind the door. When Lou opened the door and we stepped inside, it was now evident as to why the guy was making so much noise. By the looks of his face, if I had to guess, Mike wasn’t getting anywhere with the information that he needed.
Staying as far away as possible from what was taking place in the middle of the room, I propped my body against the wall and just observed what was happening without so much as a peep. Keeping my eyes focused on Lou and Mike, I watched as they tipped the metal chair back until it was lying flat on the floor with the guy facing up. Mike pulled a rag from his back pocket and placed it over the guy’s head. When Lou handed Mike the bucket full of water, I had a pretty good idea what was going to take place.
Tilting the bucket until the water was running out, Mike held it over the guy’s face, causing him to choke on the water. It was almost like they were trying to drown him. It wasn’t until Mike righted the bucket and the guy caught his breath that I knew he was trying to make him talk. I guess the rag over the guy’s head was to ensure that he wouldn’t know when to hold his breath before the water came. After several attempts, the guy finally said, “Stop, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
“Who do you work for?” Lou demanded.
“I don’t know for sure. I have never seen his face. He meets me in a black Cadillac and hands me instructions. The only thing I know for sure is that he is an older man and every time we’ve met, he’s been wearing a gold ring with a ruby the size of a small country on his ring finger,” the guy confessed.
I wasn’t sure if what the guy said meant anything, but Lou’s face turned as red as the blood dripping from the guy’s face. Lou looked over to Mike and said, “I need to talk to Peter. You good here?”
Taking me by the hand, we left the room and headed back down the hall. I was so confused that I didn’t know which way was up. Pulling against him, I got Lou’s attention enough to make him stop. “What is going on, Lou? You look like you’re about ready to whomp on somebody.”
“There is something I need to take care of. I am going to have Sly drive you home,” Lou said as he pulled me in for a hug.
“Wait. No, you don’t. You don’t get to do this, Lou. You can’t just look like that and shove me onto someone else. Tell me what is going on,” I demanded.
“I can’t. Not yet.”
~****~
When Sly pulled up to Lou’s apartment building, he turned off the engine and sat for a minute staring out of the windshield. Grabbing the handle to the door, I was ready to get out when he said, “Gainer wanted me to make sure you got in okay.”
“How thoughtful of him,” I said sarcastically.
“Emma, whatever the reason, Gainer had to have me take you home. You need to trust him,” Sly advised.
“Well, he needs to trust me and tell me what is going on.” Not only annoyed by Lou’s actions, I was beginning to get really pissed off.
Finished with this conversation, I opened the door and headed to the entrance to the apartment building. When I pulled on the door, I realized that I didn’t have the key to get in. My only option was to wait for Sly to open it for me. I guess I shouldn’t have flown off the handle. Now it was just embarrassing, and keeping my eyes to the sidewalk was the only way I was going to be able to get through this.
As we headed up to Lou’s apartment, I tried to think of something to say, but I was at a loss for words. I was thankful when the doors open to Lou’s floor. Sly signaled for me to go ahead while he fumbled to find the right key. When we got to the door, Sly opened the door and looked over to me. “Wait here for a minute while I check it out.”
I didn’t know what the big deal was. The guy they wanted was back at the shop and there would be no reason that I or Courtney would be in danger. Peeking my head in through the doorway, I wondered where Sly was and what he was doing. “Probably checking under the bed for the boogie man.” I thought to myself.
When he finally appeared, he handed me the keys and said in a strong voice, “All clear,” like I was one of the guys.
Exchanging spots, with me now on the inside of the apartment and him in the hallway, I turned and grabbed his arm, which was nothing but muscles, and said, “Thank you.”
With a wink to show his awesomeness, he replied, “Lock the door, Emma.”
Closing the door, I engaged the deadbolt and also the lock on the door knob. Pulling on the door to make sure it was indeed locked, I turned and headed to the bedroom. There was a king-sized bed calling my name. Thinking that I should let Lou know that I was home, I pulled my cell from my pocket and found his number. Sending him a quick text assuring him I was safe, I removed my clothing and got under the covers. I knew that Lou would be home soon, but that didn’t stop me from stealing his pillow and holding it to my chest. Taking in his scent, the comfort of his smell eased me into a deep, serene sleep.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Gainer
It was like a ton of bricks just came crashing down on my body. As soon as the dirtbag mentioned the ruby ring, I knew exactly who he was referring to. I knew what Father O’Malley was capable of, but I guess I never thought he would be capable of doing something so cold-blooded as to order that those innocent girls be killed in such a manner.
While Chavez was finishing up with our little stool pigeon, I n
eed to talk to Peter. It was time that I let him know everything about my past so that we could put this motherfucker behind bars. Making sure that Emma was safely on her way to my apartment, I walked directly to Peter’s office. Knocking on the door, I could see that he was just about ready to take off. Before he could leave, I asked, “Peter, got a minute? We need to talk.”
“Sure, make it quick, though. Lilly and the girls are on their way home from girl’s night out,” he answered.
“You may want to sit down for this,” I suggested, waiting for him to take a seat before I began. “I know you don’t know much about me and my past before we served together, but I think it’s time that I let you know about my childhood.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything, Gainer. I know enough about you to know you are a good man, and I consider you a brother,” Peter jumped in.
“I need to do this, Peter. It has to do with the dirtbag in the other room.” Telling him the truth about my past wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew that it would help find O’Malley. “When I was a baby, my mom left me on the steps of an orphanage in Chicago, a Catholic orphanage, to be exact. Father O’Malley was the head of the orphanage, and let’s just say he paid extra attention to the little boys that lived there.”
“Wait, are you saying what I think you are?” Peter asked, concerned.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t the only one. There had to be at least five of us that he put his hands on.”
“I’m so sorry, bro. No wonder you never told anyone,” Peter said sympathetically.
“I never thought that my past would come back to haunt me, but when our guest mentioned that the guy who ordered the hits on those girls was wearing a ruby ring, I knew exactly who he was talking about. I will never forget that damn ring. Every day that I was in that hellhole, he made us kiss that ring like he was some kind of savior.” Stopping for a moment to gather my thoughts, I took a deep breath, and continued. “He’s in New York and he is here for more than just an ordainment.”
“So, you’ve seen this O’Malley guy?”
“Yeah, in the park. He was getting too close to a little boy so I stopped him. The funny thing is, he had no clue who I was. I also did a little checking. I had to know what he was doing in Manhattan. That was when I found out about the ordainment at St. Peter’s. The priest I talked to said O’Malley had to leave on some sort of emergency in Chicago. I now know he’s still here. He wouldn’t leave knowing he had things to take care of.”
“Wait a minute,” Peter said, turning his attention to his computer. “I know that name.”
I sat and waited for Peter to find what he was looking for on his computer. When he angled the computer screen my way, I couldn’t believe what was before me. It was an article about Father O’Malley and McGowan. There was a picture of them together shaking hands. O’Malley in his dress clergy cloak, and McGowan in a designer suit.
“So, they knew each other. That explains a lot. We just need to find out what their connection was.” Taking a closer look at the pic, I realized that the building behind them was St. Peter’s. “Peter, I know that church. I think we need to find out what connection they have to St. Peter’s.”
“Not tonight, bro. It’s late and I need to get home to my beautiful wife.” Peter shut down the computer and headed out. Me, I just sat there for a minute to gather my thoughts and try to piece this shit together.
~****~
Everything was dark when I opened the door to my apartment. I knew exactly what I needed and headed in that direction. I was trying to be as quiet as possible, but trying to find my way in the dark made that impossible as I kept bumping into the furniture or a wall. When I finally made it to the bedroom, Emma was kind enough to have left the light on in the bathroom.
Kicking off my shoes and clothing, I headed in the direction of the light. Hearing a ruffle of the sheets, I turned towards the bed and found Emma sitting straight up. Walking over to her, I sat on the bed and said, “Sorry to wake you, baby.”
“You didn’t. I’ve been waiting for you,” she paused as she scooted closer to me. “Lou, what happened to you in that room?”
Taking her by the hands, I looked down at them as I held them in mine. “Remember when I told you about the orphanage that I was raised in, and the priest who headed it?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“His name is Father O’Malley and he is the one that had a stake in the deaths of your friends. I think he has something to do with the fake money found in the hotel. Peter and I found an article about him and the dead guy. They knew each other, and he sent that dirtbag that pulled the gun on us to get the plates. The plates used to make that counterfeit money.”
“Counterfeit,” Emma replied in a shaky breath.
“Yeah. It’s beginning to make sense,” I said as I began putting things together. “I think the reason your friends were killed was because of those plates. Who more than anyone had access to that room?”
“I don’t know, Lou,” Emma stated, standing and walking away from me.
“Think about it, Emma. They were all maids that worked at the hotel. They had access to the room. You and Courtney had access too.”
When Emma turned to face me, her face was as white as the sheet on the bed. I knew she was scared for her life, but now that we were getting closer to putting O’Malley away for good, it was even more evident. Moving closer to her, I placed my hands on her arms and asked, “Emma, what is it? We are going to get him.”
“I know, I’m just tired,” she replied.
“Let’s get some rest. It’s late, and tomorrow we are going after O’Malley,” I assured her.
As we climbed into bed, I pulled the covers over us and pulled Emma close to me. Holding her in my arms, I knew then that I was going to do whatever it took to protect her. With her head tucked beneath my chin, I was able to take in her scent, which soothed the tensions of the day and allowed my body to relax as my eyes slowly fell closed.
~****~
I must have been more tired than I thought because when I opened my eyes and felt beside me, Emma was no longer there. Her side of the bed was cold, like she had been gone for some time. Rolling over, I looked at the alarm clock and saw that it was only 7:00 a.m., which meant I had only been asleep for four hours. Swinging my legs to the side of the bed, I picked up my jeans and pulled my cell out from my back pocket. Finding Emma’s number, I counted the rings, hoping that she would answer. When the call went to voicemail, I knew I was wasting my time.
Slipping on jeans and grabbing a clean shirt from my drawer, I picked up my boots and headed out of the apartment. I had a pretty good idea where I would find her. Something happened to her last night, and her explanation of being tired was a way of keeping me from finding out exactly what that was.
As soon as I got in the elevator, I put my boots on while I waited for the elevator to stop. Getting to my truck as fast as I could, I got in and headed to the Park Lane Hotel. I probably could have gotten there faster if I had walked, but I didn’t want to take the chance of having to come back to the apartment if she wasn’t there and losing precious time.
Pulling up to the hotel, I had a funny feeling in my gut that I would find something terrible inside the hotel. When I walked up to the door, nothing was out of the ordinary as I pushed the glass door of the hotel and entered. Everything was pretty much normal. People were moving about the lobby, and the guest services desk was stacked up with guests, either wanting to check in or check out. Walking to the back of the building, I decided the best place to start my search for Emma was in the employee lounge.
When I opened the door, the only person there was Emma’s friend Courtney, whom I remembered seeing at Surge the night the first girl got murdered. Walking over to her, I cleared my throat to get her attention. “Excuse me,” I said, and waited until she turned around.
“Hi, you’re Emma’s friend,” she stated.
“Yah. You haven’t by chance seen her?” I asked.
“Not today. She called in about an hour ago. She said she had something to do and would be in tomorrow,” Courtney replied.
Heading for the door, I turned towards her and said, “Hey.” She looked up at me and I continued. “Thanks for the info.”
Heading out of the hotel, I tried to think where the hell she would have gone. I knew she wouldn’t be at the motel, since she no longer had a room there. The only other place would be at the bridge where she dumped her mom’s ashes. Crossing the street, I headed into the park and down the walking path towards Balcony Bridge. There were so many things going through my head, but mostly all I could think about was Emma. If she wasn’t at the bridge, I wasn’t sure where she would be.
Even though there were a lot of people on the bridge, none of them were Emma, “Damn woman!” I cursed to myself. I thought for sure that she would have been here. After waiting half an hour hoping that she would show up, I finally gave up and headed to my truck. Once again, I began thinking about everything that had to do with Emma. I thought back to last night when she turned so pale. I thought back even further to the interrogation, and further yet to my run-in with her friend TJ. Nothing made sense until I came upon a woman scolding her little boy for throwing a fit about something. When she said, “Tommy, do you want a spanking?” that was when I realized how I knew Emma’s friend. I could have kicked myself in the ass for not picking up on it earlier when I had my first run-in with him.
