The Payback Game

by Nathan Gottlieb

  “Let’s go in and introduce ourselves,” he said as he put his lock pick away.

  In the living room, they saw a rap video playing on the TV, but nobody was watching it.

  “Let’s look around,” Boff said.

  Before he could move, Cullen grabbed his arm. “Do you think that’s wise? I mean, what if they’ve got a gun?”

  “If they do,” Boff replied, “and they’re serious junkies, like Rashid said, chances are they’re so stoned neither one could shoot straight.” He looked at the hallway. “But just in case they aren’t, let me check the place out alone. You two wait here.”

  Heading down the hallway, he stopped at a wide open door and peeked inside, then turned back to Cullen and Hannah and waved them over. “It’s okay now,” he said.

  When Cullen and the redhead reached the door, they saw Derrick and Daphne lying on a filthy, unmade bed. Neither of them would be answering any questions today. Both had needles sticking out of their arms and weren’t moving.

  “Looks like they OD’d,” Cullen said.

  Boff nodded. “And I’ve got a hunch they had some help doing it.”

  “What do you mean?” Hannah asked.

  Stepping into the room, Boff walked over to a nightstand next to the bed that had its top drawer pulled out. Cullen and the redhead came over to look. Inside the drawer lay a gun.

  “Here’s what went down,” Boff said. “Two, maybe three guys broke into the apartment. With the music playing loud on the TV, they could’ve easily slipped in without being heard. Then they came down the hallway. The snitch and his girlfriend were probably sitting in bed shooting up. When Derrick saw the intruders, he yanked open this drawer, but before he could grab the gun, the guys pounced on them, tied them up, and then shot them full of enough H to send them to heroin heaven.”

  “How do you know they were tied up?” Hannah asked.

  Boff pointed at Derrick’s wrist. “See these marks? Rope. Same marks on the girl’s wrists. It’s time for us to leave.”

  On the drive back to Crown Heights, Cullen said, “I guess Galvani’s eliminating loose ends.”

  Boff nodded. “It would seem that way,” he said. “Since we’re a bit stalled on the case at this point, I think it’s time for me to shake Galvani’s tree.”

  Hannah looked puzzled. “Shake his tree? What does that mean?”

  “It means I’m going to confront him with some facts he won’t like.”

  “Why?”

  “To rattle him. In a rattled state of mind, he’s more likely to make a mistake.”

  “Or try to kill you,” Cullen said.

  Boff nodded. “True. After I have a talk with him, I guess I’ll have to start wearing that infernal Kevlar again.”

  “Are you going to have Wallachi supply you with bodyguards? Like the last time?”

  “Not just yet, Danny. If things heat up, then, yeah, I will.”

  “You know, Boff,” the boxer said, “I seem to recall after we caught Julio’s murderers you told me risking your life was the stupidest thing you’d ever done and you would never do it again.”

  Boff said nothing.

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you said the same thing after our second case, when you were shot at.”

  Boff stayed silent.

  “And the third case?” Cullen said. “Where you were nearly killed three times? You said it again. So…I’m wondering. Do you have a death wish? Or are you just developing a heroic streak late in your morally-challenged life?”

  Instead of replying, Boff took a Little Richard disk out of his leather CD holder, inserted it, and turned up the volume. Cullen immediately turned it down. “If you’re going to confront that crooked cop Galvani,” he said, “why don’t you bring me along to protect you?”

  “You have to keep an eye on Hannah.”

  Hannah shot forward from the back seat. “I don’t need a damn babysitter!”

  “Yes you do,” Boff replied. “If it weren’t for Danny, who knows how badly those guys would’ve cut you. Stop complaining and do what your Uncle Mike said.”

  After Boff dropped them off, he drove to the 71st Precinct and waited in his car across the street. It was three-thirty.

  Forty minutes later, Galvani left the precinct with the same Hispanic detective he’d been with before. They talked for awhile on the top of the steps before walking down. That’s when Boff stepped out of his car and crossed the street.

  “What the hell do you want?” Galvani asked.

  “Well, detective, I thought it was time you and I had a heart-to-heart talk.”

  The Hispanic tapped his partner’s arm. “Eddie, who’s this guy?”

  “Just a nuisance, Jorge. Nothing I can’t handle. You can take off.”

  “You sure, partner?”

  “Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

  As he passed Boff, Jorge purposely bumped him hard in the shoulder, then walked over to his car, leaned against the passenger door, and watched his partner and the nuisance.

  “Boff, I got nothing to say to you.” Galvani headed for his car.

  Boff followed. As the cop opened his door, Boff said, “I have reason to believe you had a role in the deaths of Maloney and Doyle.”

  At this, the detective slammed the door shut. “Say what?”

  “You’re dirty, Galvani, and I’m going to prove it.”

  The cop shoved Boff in the chest. “Listen to me, pal, and listen good,” he hissed. “You’re barking up the wrong tree. I’m clean. The guys who murdered Patrick and Doyle are still out there somewhere. Do you understand?”

  “Not really. But if it makes you feel better saying it, knock yourself out.”

  Galvani looked like he was close to losing it. He stepped closer. “If I see your ugly fucking face again, pal, I’m going to arrest you.”

  At this, Boff grinned. “Really, detective? On what charge?”

  “Stalking a police officer.”

  Still smiling, Boff said, “Well, pal, you’d have to get a restraining order first, and explain to the judge why you need it. Something I doubt you’d want to do.”

  Galvani looked angry enough to slug him, but instead he took a cigarette pack out of his pocket, lit one up, then said in the calmest voice he could dredge up. “Mr. Boff, I sincerely wish you the best of luck in finding these killers.” He took a deep drag and blew the smoke Boff’s way. “But while you’re at it, my friend, you should be aware that Brooklyn can be a very dangerous place. The kind of place where a guy poking around in other people’s business might get himself hurt.”

  Boff looked amused. “Are you threatening me, detective?”

  Galvani shook his head. “Not at all. I’m just doing my duty as a police officer to warn you of potential danger. And now?” He flicked his cigarette away. “Now you have yourself a really nice day, Mr. Boff.”

  Getting into his car, Galvani started the engine. As he reached for the gear shift, Boff tapped his fist on the window. The detective rolled the glass down. “What now, Boff?”

  “I just wanted to tell you to have nice day, too. And make sure you enjoy these kinds of days while you can.”

  Chapter 28

  Having leaned on Galvani hard, Boff decided it was time to buy spare batteries for his bomb detector. Then he stopped at his lawyer’s office to make sure his will was up to date and asked him to tack double indemnity onto his life insurance. When he got home, he was taking his Kevlar vest out of a suitcase in the bedroom closet when Jenny walked into the room.

  “Kevlar? Oh, Frank. No. Not again.”

  “Just a precaution, honey.”

  She got up in his face. “You’re never cautious! If you’re going to wear Kevlar, your life must be in danger.”

  Before replying, he hung his vest on a strong wooden hanger in the closet. Then he turned to face the music. “If my life’s in danger,” he began, “just remember you’re the one who started urging me to take righteous cases.”

  “Well, maybe I ma
de a mistake. It never occurred to me that you’d keep getting death threats.”

  Boff walked over to his wife and tried to hug her, but she pushed him away.

  “A threat,” he said, “doesn’t mean I’m actually going to get shot at. Other than sweating a lot wearing the vest during summer, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  But Jenny wasn’t about to be appeased. She put her hands on her hips and issued an order: “Call Pete Wallachi right now and ask him for a bodyguard!”

  Shaking his head, Boff held up one hand. “If, and I mean if, the time comes when I feel I really need a bodyguard, yes, I promise you I’ll call Pete.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re going to wait until somebody tries to shoot you first?” She yanked the bedroom phone off its charger and held it out to him. “Call him! Right now!”

  “Jenny…”

  “I said, call!”

  Knowing she wasn’t going to let this go until he obeyed, Boff said, “Okay. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll do it.” He dialed Wallachi’s cell. “Pete, meet me at Nathan’s in an hour.”

  What’s up?

  “Tell you when I get there.” He hung up and turned to his wife. “Satisfied?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll only be satisfied, Frank Boff, when you drop this damn case. Which of course you won’t. What’d you do this time to put yourself in danger?”

  “What I did was take on another ‘righteous’ case, a case where I’m working against the scumbags instead of for them. Same as the last three times my life was in danger.”

  “That may be true, but knowing you, I’m sure you did something to provoke the threat.”

  When her husband said nothing to that, Jenny stormed out of their bedroom and into the kitchen.

  He followed her in. Trying to lighten the air, he said, “So what’s for dinner tonight, honey?”

  She took her time before answering, and when she did, her voice was frosty. “I was going to cook sausage and peppers. But now I’m too upset to do that much work. I’ll just order Chinese takeout.”

  “Well, if you do, don’t get it from that joint down the street. The last time you did, the food tasted so funky I was worried about getting salmonella. I’m lucky the food didn’t kill me.”

  Jenny spat out a bitter laugh. “Bullet? Chinese food? What’s the difference? And for your information, I happen to like the Sun Garden. If you don’t want to eat their food, then order from somewhere else. For yourself!”

  When Boff arrived at Nathan’s, Wallachi and Manny were already there. Both were eating hot dogs and fries.

  “You’re late,” Wallachi said. “We were too hungry to wait for you.”

  Boff sat down at their table. “Sorry. I had to smooth some things over with my wife.”

  Wallachi used a french fry to point at Boff’s stomach. “Either you gained weight from all the junk food you eat, or you’re wearing a vest.”

  Without answering, Boff stood up, went to the counter, and ordered a couple of dogs with sauerkraut and a container of onion rings. When he came back with his food, Wallachi lightly punched his chest.

  “Who’s the threat?” he asked.

  “Galvani.”

  Manny looked up. “Maybe he thinks you’re getting too close.”

  His boss shook his head. “More likely, Frank did what he does best and provoked the guy. Isn’t that right, Frank?”

  Boff said nothing.

  “So why’d you call me?”

  “I had to. As soon as my wife saw me airing out the Kevlar, she ordered me to ask you for a bodyguard.”

  “No problem.”

  “But I don’t want one just yet.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’d like to resume surveillance on Galvani. The fact that Laterza owns a white SUV doesn’t necessarily mean they’re using it for phony raids, but added to what else we’ve dug up, it’s hard to completely ignore it. I believe there’s a possibility that, sooner or later, Galvani’s going to take the longshoremen on a raid. I’m assuming you put trackers on those guys’ vehicles?”

  “Yup. My crack op did.”

  “Good,” Boff said. “We probably only needed the one we have on Galvani’s car. But just in case one of the longshoremen picks the cop up in his own vehicle, we need to play it safe. Can you assign an op to keep an eye on each of the dock workers? Meanwhile, you and—”

  “—and me,” Manny said.

  “Okay,” Boff said. “The three of us will track Galvani when he gets off work today.”

  Wallachi grabbed a couple of onion rings from Boff’s basket.

  After checking his watch, Boff said, “Its two o’clock now. As soon as we finish eating, we’ll head over to the 71st. Meanwhile, have your ops tail the longshoremen when they knock off work today.”

  “What time do they quit?”

  “Let me find out.” Boff took out his cell, looked up the union official’s number, and called him. “Jan, Frank Boff.”

  Hey, Frank. Anything to report on these two guys of mine?

  “I have my suspicions, but I’m going to wait until I have something more concrete.”

  So what can I do for you?

  “I’d like to know what time these jokers get off work today.”

  Let me look it up on my computer. In a few moments, Roszak came back on line. They’re scheduled until four. But we had a lot of cargo come in, so they’ll probably put in a couple hours of OT.

  “Thanks, Jan.”

  Boff put his phone away and repeated what Roszak had told him.

  Wallachi nodded. “Good. That’ll give me more time to get my people in place.”

  When the investigator reached for another onion ring, Boff pushed his hand away. “You want onion rings, order some.”

  Wallachi pointed at Manny. “Go up and get me an order. Frank was never taught that lesson about sharing with others.”

  “Why don’t you get ’em yourself?” Manny protested.

  “Because I don’t feel like it. Get moving.”

  As the crack op stood up, he said, “When are you going to start treating me like an equal?”

  “When you start acting like one.”

  Manny left the table in a huff.

  “As for these alleged raids,” Wallachi said, “what exactly do you want to do if we actually observe them going on one?”

  “Take pictures. Then follow them back to the garage where they keep the SUV. Whoever leaves the garage with the drugs, we tail him. Either he’s going to sell them to a local dealer for a profit or he’ll—”

  “—go visit the Hells Angels.”

  “Sounds about right.”

  When Manny returned with Wallachi’s order of onion rings, the crack op swiped two of them before setting the basket on the table.

  “Hey,” said his boss. “Don’t steal mine. If you wanted some friggin’ onion rings, why didn’t you get some when you were up there?”

  “I’m not hungry enough to eat a whole order. Besides, didn’t anyone ever teach you about sharing with others?”

  Wallachi shot Manny a sour look, then turned to Boff. “Answer me this, Frank. Let’s say Galvani and his crew is actually pulling phony raids. Why would they sell the stash to the Angels when they can unload it here in Brooklyn? With a lot less hassle.”

  “Good question. I’m not sure yet. The only thing I can think of is maybe Galvani isn’t actually selling the drugs to the bikers. Maybe he’s just handing them over.”

  Wallachi looked surprised. “Why would he do that?”

  “Off the top of my head?” Boff shrugged. “It’s possible Galvani might be using the drugs as currency to buy in on some bigger scheme the Angels are hatching.”

  “Like what?”

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  Chapter 29

  The day proved to be another wash. After work, Galvani went to a deli, picked up a six-pack of beer, and drove home. Around seven o’clock, a pizza delivery truck pulled up in front of his buildin
g. The driver walked up the front steps and rang the buzzer. In a few moments, Galvani opened the door, paid the delivery boy, and took the pizza box inside with him. At ten o’clock he was still inside. They called it a night.

  The next day, Cullen and Hannah joined the surveillance team. As Wallachi pulled away from the gym, the redhead tapped Boff’s shoulder.

  “This is getting out of hand,” she said.

  “What is?”

  “Having Cullen along everywhere I go. A couple of my girlfriends already think he’s my boyfriend. Why can’t I just buy some pepper spray?”

  “Why? Because that wouldn’t stop a determined killer. And Mike wants Danny along. That’s why.”

  “Well at least make him stop asking me out. It’s really annoying.”

  Boff turned around to Cullen in the backseat. “Danny, stop asking Hannah out.”

  The boxer smiled. “Okay.”

  Hannah made a sour face. “Yeah. Like he’s really going to listen to you.”

  Wallachi parked down the street from the 71st Precinct again. An hour later, Galvani left the building, drove to Carl’s Auto Body Shop on Nostrand Avenue in East Flatbush, parked, and walked inside. Barely five minutes later, he came back out, walked three doors down to a bar, and went in.

  Cullen leaned forward to Boff. “What was that about?” he said.

  Manny answered. “He’s probably scheduling a tune-up or something.”

  “Not at that place,” Boff said. “An auto body shop only does what the name implies. Fixes the body of a vehicle. Galvani’s Mustang is spotless.”

  “Manny,” Wallachi said, “go into the shop and tell the mechanic you had an accident, and you’re wondering if you could have your car towed there to be fixed. When the mechanic looks at his schedule book, make a mental note of everything you see.”

  “What if Galvani comes out of the bar?” Manny said.

  “I’ll call you on your cell. Go.”