Every muscle tensed in Frankie’s body. “Money Bobby had? I don’t think you’ll get that, Donna, remember what—”
“No, I got it, and he had more too—another fifty thousand in some locker. Detective Borelli already gave it to me. He was here so early he woke me. And he gave it to me in cash, for God’s sake. I swear, I’ve never seen so much cash. Mom and I are going to the bank today to deposit it.”
Alarms went off everywhere in Frankie’s head. “Hold on, Donna. Hold on. Let me think.” He paced a moment. “So you’re telling me Borelli gave you this money—in cash—and said it’s yours to keep?”
“I swear it. He said the money in the bank I’m going to have to explain to someone. Maybe the IRS. But the other money is ours. He said not to deposit it all at once or anything, but I don’t know why.”
“Okay, here’s what you do. Listen close because if you don’t, you’ll end up losing that money.”
“What? Oh my God, what do you mean?”
“Listen!” Frankie hated yelling at Donna, but sometimes she just didn’t listen. “Call a guy named Roscoe Jones. He’s got offices up on Delaware Avenue. Give him my name and tell him what happened. Everything that happened. He’ll tell you how to handle the money.”
“Okay, but—”
“Just do it, Donna. I gotta go. I have a dead body waiting for me. I’ll call later.”
Frankie hung up the phone and sat on the sofa. Fifty grand cash, and Borelli delivered it in person. Something was definitely wrong, but Frankie had to get to the motel and check out Lisa and he felt sure she didn’t look as good now as she did before.
As he drove over to the scene, he called Carol. “Do me a favor, Carol. I need to know anything unusual that happened in Wilmington, Delaware, over the past few days. The local paper is the News Journal.”
“That’s all I get—‘anything unusual’?”
“It’s a small town. Can’t be much, and if I’m right, it will be headlines or at least page two.”
“All right. I’ll get on it.”
“See you when I get in.”
CHAPTER 52
A Quiet Dinner
Brooklyn, New York
Frankie went and saw Lisa, and he was right; she didn’t look as good as she had before. He felt sorry for her, but had lingering doubts about her involvement in the murders. For some reason, he didn’t see her as the innocent babe-in-the-woods image she portrayed. There was a cat in the motel room with her. Frankie convinced one of the officers to take it home with him.
He got what he needed from the scene and stopped at the hospital on the way back. Lou was still there.
“Anything new, Mazzetti?”
“She’s a trooper,” Lou said, then, “Why don’t you come in and see for yourself?”
“She’s alive and kicking?”
Mazzetti laughed. “She might kick you when she sees you.”
Frankie and Lou walked into her room. A nurse was just leaving and Sherri was lying there with half a million tubes and gadgets hooked to her body.
“Miller, you ready to go back to work?” Frankie asked.
Her eyes opened, and she cracked a smile. “Almost got me killed, Donovan.”
Frankie leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you. I…”
“I’m just glad you got the son of a bitch.”
“He got him all right,” Lou said. “Shot him so many times, IA’s going to have a field day with it.”
“Screw IA,” Frankie said. “The guy was going for his gun.”
“I saw him,” Sherri said.
“Mazzetti looked at her. “You saw him? Shot up like you were, and with your head turned the other way?”
“You bet,” Sherri said. “I know how to play this game.”
Frankie squeezed her hand. “You’re all right, Miller. I can’t wait for this old shit to retire so you can be my partner. And by the way, Lisa’s dead. That sick bastard killed her too. Found her in a motel room across from the Monterrey.”
“Son of a bitch!” Lou said. “Maybe I had her pegged wrong.”
Lou and Frankie stayed for a half an hour more, and then Frankie said he had to get back to the station.
CAROL WAITED FOR HIM at the top of the steps, papers in her hand. “How did you know I was coming?” Frankie asked.
“Might have something to do with your big mouth. I can hear you the minute you enter the station.”
“Guess I’ll have to work on that,” he said, then took the papers from her. “What’s this?”
“The information you so rudely requested early this morning about Wilmington.” As she walked with him to the coffee room, she asked, “How’s Sherri?”
“I just left her. Miller’s tough. She’ll get better.” He held up the papers she had given him. “Anything in here?”
Carol raised her brows. “For a little town, they got a lot going on.”
Frankie walked to his desk and sat down to read.
A fire burned a home to the ground in a fashionable neighborhood west of the city. Arson is suspected, say police, who are also investigating the deaths of eleven men found among the remains of the house. Five of the men were outside the house, and it has been confirmed that they were shot. The identities of the dead have not been released; however, speculation is that drugs were involved….
In a related story, Detective Jimmy Borelli, officer in charge of homicide investigations has resigned, saying he and his family are going to retire to a more peaceful community, tired of the gang violence brought on by drug trafficking.
Borelli stated he believes that the shootings last night are tied to a case he had been working, the murder of Robert ‘Bobby’ Campisi, found dead several weeks earlier.
Also last night, the body of Jack McDermott was found near the park by his house in Cleland Heights. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Frankie lowered his head, shaking it. He pounded his fist on the table and then buried his head in his hands. A few tears fell as he said a prayer, asking God to forgive his friend.
Jesus Christ, Nicky, you didn’t have to do this. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.
Frankie didn’t do much the rest of the day. Three times he picked up the phone to call Nicky, and three times he put it back down. No sense in it. There was nothing he could say that would make it right. People must have sensed he was in a pissy mood, because no one bothered him. At the end of the day, he packed up and left, driving home without even playing music.
On the way home, he thought about what Lou said to him the other day about Nicky. Lou’s words echoed in Frankie’s mind: ‘You better ask yourself what he’s ever done for you.’
What’s Nicky ever done for me? He killed for me. That’s what he did.
ALEX WAS ON THE stoop when Frankie pulled up. He beeped, but Alex barely waved and he didn’t come running like he normally did. Frankie lit a smoke then sat with him. “What’s up, Ace? Tough day?”
“They’re all tough, FD. You know that.”
Frankie laughed. “Damn cynical for such a young pup. You need to look at the bright side.”
Alex reached his hand over. “Gimme a drag. I haven’t had a smoke all day.”
Frankie was tired of arguing with him about smoking. He handed him the smoke. “This is my last one. You’re going to have to share it with me or follow me upstairs.”
“I don’t mind sharing, if you’d quit sucking the life out of them.” Alex was quiet for a moment. “So how’s that cop who got shot?”
“Not great, but doing better. I think she’ll be okay.”
“I knew something was wrong with that dude, just didn’t know what. I thought he was just a perv.”
Frankie nodded. “Me, too. Bad call on my part.”
Alex took one final drag and handed it back to Frankie. “Hey, FD, why you sitting here talking to me when you got your woman waiting for you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Y
our woman—Kate. She came in about half an hour ago, carrying groceries.”
Frankie jumped up, smacking Alex across the back of the head playfully. “You little shit. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Just stealing a little time with you, that’s all. Call me the Time Thief.”
Frankie laughed, but about halfway up the first flight of stairs, he realized Alex was more down than normal. He went back out and found him with tears in his eyes. Frankie sat next to him and put his arm around Alex’s shoulder. “Hey, Ace, why don’t you tell me what’s going on? You don’t seem right today.”
Alex quickly wiped the tears away. “Nothing. Go on upstairs with Kate.”
“Not until you tell me what’s up. Did somebody hurt you? Is your mom—”
He burst into tears and leaned against Frankie. “She’s gone, FD. Fuckin’ left me.”
Frankie hugged him. “What do you mean, gone?”
Between sobs, he managed to get out, “Left a note saying she went away with some dude. Left me fifty bucks and said I’d have to take care of myself.”
Frankie took a deep breath, then clamped his lips so he didn’t say anything he’d regret. He picked Alex up in his arms. “Come on, we’ll get Kate and go to dinner somewhere nice.”
“No way. I’m not interrupting your night.”
“That’s right, you won’t interrupt my night. We’ll share it.”
About halfway up, Frankie set Alex down. He didn’t say a word as they walked upstairs, but he stuck close to Frankie. “Smell that?” Frankie asked as they neared his door. “Kate’s cooking bacon. Guess we’ll be eating here.”
“Bacon at night?”
“I love breakfast dinners. Eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, toast.” Frankie sighed. “Doesn’t get much better.”
When he opened the door he was greeted with Walk Like a Man by the Four Seasons, and the sight of Kate swaying to the music as she cooked. The table was set with his best china, which meant Walmart, but she had his best candles lit too. Frankie hated to break the mood, but…
“Hey, Irish, what are you doing here?”
Her back was to him, but she turned, startled when she saw Alex. Her surprise turned immediately to a warm smile. “Guess I better get one more plate.”
She brought the plate and silverware then hugged Alex. “What is my most handsome friend doing? Hanging out with us tonight?”
Alex shrugged.
Frankie pulled him close. “Kate, Alex’s mom left him. From now on, he’ll be hanging out here permanently.”
Alex looked up at him, his expression confused. “What do you mean, FD?”
“I mean you can live here with me.”
“What about CPS?” Kate asked, concern showing on her face and in her voice.
“No reason they have to know. I’ll work that behind the scenes.”
“That might be tough, Frankie.”
“Yeah, tough, but I’ll get it done. He’s not going to CPS.”
“Are you shitting me, FD? For real? You’d really take me?”
Frankie leaned down, wiped Alex’s eyes, and kissed him on the forehead. “This isn’t some charity thing. I’d be proud to take you.”
Alex burst into tears and wrapped his arms around Frankie’s neck. “FD, I love you, man.”
Frankie hugged him and let Alex’s head rest on his shoulder. “I love you too. And you got a home you can count on now.”
“I’m going to finish cooking,” Kate said. “Who’s up for a movie after dinner?”
“Me!” Alex yelled, and before she could ask what he wanted to watch, he yelled that out too. “Maltese Falcon.”
“Oh God. I see Frankie has you trained.”
After dinner they put in The Maltese Falcon, Alex and Frankie reciting half the lines before the actors did.
“How many times have you two watched this?”
“Not enough,” Alex said, then turned to Kate. “‘Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,’” he said in his best Bogart imitation. “That’s from Casablanca.”
Kate laughed and hugged him. “I know where it’s from, little rascal. I’ve watched a few movies with Frankie too.” She tickled him and he laughed hard, right from the belly, like little kids are supposed to.
During the second movie, Alex fell asleep leaning against Frankie’s shoulder. After a few minutes Frankie carried him to the bedroom and laid him on the bed.
“So where are we sleeping?” Kate asked, then held up a skimpy see-through nightgown.
Frankie kissed her softly. “Thanks for being so understanding.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done. I brought this with me but didn’t know whether I’d use it.” She kissed him, and put a lot of invitation into it. “What you did with Alex convinced me. I think you finally found your heart, Frankie Donovan.”
As she spoke Frankie realized he was excited. Very excited, and he thought back to what he hadn’t felt when he thought of Shawna. He kissed Kate, just a little peck. “I think so, too, Kate Burns.”
“So where are we sleeping, Mr. Donovan?”
“We’ve got that other room.”
“There’s no bed in it.”
Frankie smiled and took her hand, leading her toward the empty room. “Guess we’ll have to improvise.”
Acknowledgements
The tough part of writing a book is not the writing, it’s all the stuff that comes after that. I’ll take credit for the writing. For the tough parts I am honor bound to thank the following:
My great copyeditor, Annette Lyon, from Precision Editing Group.
A fantastic graphic designer, Rank Fowler, for the book cover.
Morgana Gallaway from The Editorial Department, for the amazing layout and formatting.
And most importantly the army of beta readers who worked overtime to help me get this book into shape:
Missy, Rose, Aliza, Nick, Anthony Colline, Joe Michalcewicz, Danette Ondi, Carrie Shepherd, Shari Declet, Margaret Cyran, Marina Stevkovska, Stephanie, Kathy, Chris, Pat, and my good friend, Free Falconer.
Special thanks to my grandsons, Joey and Dante. And grazie mille to my niece, Emiliana, who kept me company and shared coffee with me on many late nights.
Lastly, to my wife, Mikki, the one who has put up with all of my nonsense for so many years. Without her, these books wouldn’t be worth writing.
Ti amo con tutto il mio cuore.
About the Author
Giacomo grew up in a large Italian family in the Northeast. No one had money, so for entertainment he and his family played board games and told stories. He loved the city—the noise, the people—but it was the storytelling most of all that stuck with him.
Now Giacomo and his wife live in Texas, where they run an animal sanctuary with 41 loving “friends.” One of them is a crazy wild boar named Dennis, who is Giacomo’s best buddy. Sometimes Giacomo misses the early days, but not much. Now he enjoys the solitude and the noise of the animals.
Thanks for taking the time to read the book. I hope you enjoyed it.
Authors live and die on recommendations and reviews, so if you liked the book, please tell someone about it. And if you have a spare moment, I’d love for you to put a review wherever you can: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Goodreads, Linked-in, Twitter or Facebook.
If you’re looking for more of Frankie Donovan and Nicky Fusco, they’ll be back in Murder Takes Patience, the third book in the Friendship & Honor Series, scheduled for a March, 2014 release. Connie and Tip will be back in A Bullet From Dominic late this year.
In the meantime, have a peek at Old Wounds, the first book in the Redemption Series, scheduled for early summer release.
* * *
Gino Cataldi loved three things: his wife, his son, and his job as a cop. Cancer took his wife. Drugs have his son. And Gino is pulling desk duty, suspected of killing a drug dealer.
Every night he dreams of a chance to make things right. That chance comes when a high-society woman is bruta
lly murdered, her body parts spread all over town. The investigation quickly hits a dead-end…until a late-night caller with too much information contacts Gino. Between the mystery surrounding what she knows, and his penchant for helping women in trouble, more than Gino's curiosity is aroused. He only hopes she's not the killer.
* * *
You can read the first chapter on the website:
giacomogiammatteo.com
Thanks again for your time,
Giacomo
If you want to email me about this book, please use:
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Restraint
Chapter 2: Homecoming
Chapter 3: A Beautiful Morning
Chapter 4: A Long Ride
Chapter 5: Reunion
Chapter 6: Lou Gets a Partner
Chapter 7: A Long Wake
Chapter 8: Drinks at the Bar
Chapter 9: Another Funeral
Chapter 10: Dig the Holes Deep
Chapter 11: Questions
Chapter 12: The Next Name
Chapter 13: The Next Victim
Chapter 14: Where is Marty Ferris?
Chapter 15: Sister Thomas’s Rules
Chapter 16: Borelli Digs Deeper
Chapter 17: Second Thoughts
Chapter 18: Call From New York
Chapter 19: Follow the Leads
Chapter 20: Back to New York
Chapter 21: Finding Kitty
Chapter 22: Barstools and Secrets
Chapter 23: Three’s Company
Chapter 24: Bugs Returns
Chapter 25: Trouble With Kids
Chapter 26: Favors and Old Friends
Chapter 27: Someone’s Watching
Chapter 28: Special Delivery
Chapter 29: Nothing Lasts Forever
Chapter 30: The Irishman Returns
Chapter 31: Interrogation
Chapter 32: Puzzles and Prayers
Chapter 33: Trapping the Trappers
Chapter 34: Setting Traps
Murder Has Consequences Page 31
