Mary Lou nodded.
“You reckon they’re after us?”
“You can bet on it.”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone who's breathing. Yes.”
Mary Lou imagined the Feds and Uncle Frankie sending out their hordes to capture them.
“But we’ll be okay?”
“We’re ahead of them now. All we have to do is keep going and once we clean up our act, we will be home and dry.”
Frank emphasized the word ‘clean’ to ensure she understood what he meant. Mary Lou felt better hearing his reassurance but she could not tell if he was only boosting both of them up before the first of a long series of car hops.
“Home and dry.”
She mulled the phrase over her tongue to hear how it sounded out loud. Mary Lou didn’t remember a time in her life when she’d felt home and dry. So the idea this state was around the corner from her seemed alien.
“Will we have a home one day?”
“Sooner than you think. Once this is behind us, we can settle down and start a whole new life for ourselves.”
She took Frank’s hand in hers and stroked her thumb over the back of his fingers. They leaned forward over the table and kissed.
“You love birds good or you want the check?”
The waitress waded into their moment and dissolved it to nothingness.
“Check’ll do.”
13
ANTHONY FACED TWO major problems with following Frankie’s orders. First, he had no guys to bring with because Luigi and Paul had been incinerated earlier in the day. Second, he had no idea which way Frank and Mary Lou were heading.
The first problem was resolved with a quick call or two. Mickey agreed to help as there was money attached to the deal and he had nothing else on the cards the next day or so. Bobby was harder to track down because he was in greater demand. While he was a paid goon like Mickey, rumor had it that Bobby was a mob hitman. So he was tough, tenacious and took no quarter. Precisely the kind of dude you want on your side when you’re chasing across the country to kill two people and get your hands on their pile of cash.
Anthony waited three hours for Bobby to finish a job he was on. If you wanted Bobby on your team, you needed patience and not to ask too many questions on his whereabouts. If he wanted an alibi you gave him one. By late afternoon Bobby was free and Anthony gained his attention. The promise of a large amount of money as a finder’s fee proved sufficient to motivate Bobby onto Anthony’s crew.
The two new recruits met Anthony on the outskirts of town at the Kitkatt Club because nobody asked any questions in a strip joint. The lights were low and Anthony could get a discount by having a boss who owned the flophouse. There had to be some advantages to living in a crap heap like Baltimore.
Anthony positioned himself at the back of the auditorium so there were no tables behind them: no-one to notice them arrive or leave. He ordered a bottle of scotch from the big-tittied girl who wandered by holding a tray and only wearing a pair of purple panties.
Once she’d delivered the hooch he told her to scram but pushed a Jackson into the front of her only item of clothing so she didn't feel too bad or remember too much of what he looked like. Then he waited for his guests to make their way to the club.
Within fifteen minutes they sat, drank and made plans.
“Do we have any idea where the bums are heading Anthony?”
“Mickey, Frank said he was doing the job to go to California. Told Frankie several times.”
“You think he’s clever enough for a double bluff?”
“No Bobby. Besides when he mentioned it he thought Frankie was on his side and had no reason to lie.”
“So you think they went straight out west?”
“That’s not Frank’s way. His plan was to head east a while and then double back westwards.”
“Worth trying to follow his tracks?”
“Might be, Bobby. Worth spending a morning on it. If we get a sniff then all well and good. If not then we just turn tail and think like a fugitive who’s aiming to end up on the other side of the country without getting caught along the way.”
“I can do one better than that.”
“How Bobby?”
“I know a guy who might know a guy.”
“And?”
Mickey sounded impatient but he was smart enough not to let his annoyance at Bobby show through too much.
“And this guy has a connection in the FBI. They’ll have been pounding the pavement today asking the same questions as we just did only they’ve got a shiny badge and a lot of men on the ground to do the searching. I’ll put a call through and see if he can give us a nod.”
Although Frankie told him he was only really interested in retrieving his money, Anthony knew the best result would be to walk back into the auto repairs with the bags of cash, the two of them tied up and still alive. But if only one of those three things happened, Anthony had better have the take.
“So we hit the road to Philly in the morning.”
The other two nodded back to Anthony and all three settled in to watch the show. As their conversation ended, two girls - one black, one white - were slowly removing bikini tops on stage while a third sprayed oil over her torso and walked near enough to the edge of the stage so that patrons could seize the opportunity to stuff greenbacks into her hot pants.
An hour later, Anthony spotted Frankie walking across the room and a table set for him next to the stage. Anthony nudged Mickey with his elbow.
“My boss has just sat down. Time for us to split. He’ll want to think we're spending every waking minute searching for his nephew.”
Mickey nodded and Bobby shrugged. The hit man didn't really see the point of watching girls not quite take all their clothes off for tips. If he was going to buy a whore, he just paid for a whore and didn't bother pretending otherwise. A man after Frankie’s heart.
Under different circumstances, Mickey would have spent a hundred or two on the girls just to see them wrap themselves in circles on stage. He never paid for ass but he was a sucker for a floor show. On the other hand, Anthony spent so much time waiting for Frankie at the Kitkatt, he forgot there was so much tit on show. He thought of the place as a glorious liquor bar and not much more - unless he felt like an afternoon fuck.
With the bottle empty, Anthony threw down sufficient notes to cover the cost of another round of scotch and called it a night. He knew they had some long days ahead of them.
“See you outside this joint at seven. We’ve got a lot of driving to do.”
Mickey and Bobby nodded while staring at a bouncing nipple on stage. Anthony shrugged and headed home for a good night’s rest.
ANGELO BIANCHI PUT the phone down after Charlie Pentangelo hung up and remained sat down for three minutes. This gave him enough time to conjure up a plan. He considered what he would pack in his overnight case and who he would call to join him on the hunt for a bag of money and two heads on a plate.
He stood up, walked into his bedroom and squatted by his open wardrobe to pull out a soft leather holdall he used on these occasions. Angelo threw in shorts, socks, a spare pair of pants, a couple of shirts and some toiletries. Then he grabbed a box from under the bed to remove a pump action shotgun and a revolver, along with enough ammo to last a week on a firing range. The shotgun went into the holdall and Angelo placed the revolver in a holster he wore under his jacket. He always left the apartment wearing a black three piece suit and a brown fedora. Today was no exception.
Mulberry Street was a shabby place to live but Angelo called it home. Along the street, left two blocks and right one brought him to a small restaurant where men in suits sat at tables and talked in hush tones. He melted into this tableau and waited.
Soon a sallow complexion of a man appeared opposite and ordered a double espresso. Angelo nodded at him and leaned in, elbows on the white tablecloth. The new arrival mirrored his position.
“Thanks for coming at short notice, Rico.�
��
This nickname hung around his neck since his childhood. Before he’d been a gangster, he had loved gangster movies and Rico was his favorite character. Now he lived the dream.
“Happy to help a friend, Angelo. What seems to be the problem?”
“We have two fugitives carrying money that is not theirs. Our job is to retrieve the cash.”
“And the fugitives?”
“My associates don't care about them one way or the other. Alive or dead. It doesn’t matter: it's the money. Their bodies breathing or otherwise is of secondary importance.”
“But there’s benefit to them being conscious?”
“I am sure if we succeeded in hauling their asses back with us, some appreciation would be shown.”
Rico sat in his chair for a minute, pondered and sipped his coffee. After two mouthfuls, he added a small amount of sugar.
“Where's the cash now?”
“Location unknown. The ultimate destination is California according to the Shylock whose problem has been dumped on our laps.”
“Where did the money start its journey?”
“Baltimore. The good news is that the FBI is on their tail and my associates have connections there who can give us the inside track.”
“Although I have no desire to pry, Angelo, by any chance did the green reside within a bank until recently?”
“That is my understanding.”
“Holy Mary. That’s a lot of cash to chase down.”
“Indeed. We should assume we are not the only ones with an interest in the recovery of the money. I expect the Shylock has sent after it and if he succeeds then my associates will be happy but you and I won't receive a dime for our time.”
“So we need to be the first to the greens.”
Rico nodded again, mulling over the conversation.
“Where to then?”
“If you were running for your life to the Pacific, how would you get there without drawing attention?”
“Car or bus.”
“Yep. And if you wanted to clean the dirty money along the way?”
Rico thought for ten seconds.
“Vegas.”
“Why?”
“Casinos and enough Shylocks to cut a deal fast.”
“I agree. I think they’ll be sufficiently desperate to head straight for the biggest concentration of mobsters outside the Big Apple and the Windy City.”
“When shall we leave?”
“We fly tonight and hole up until they catch up with us.”
“And if we’re wrong about Vegas?”
“I’ll check in with our associates so we keep abreast of the Feds. Those G-Men know how to track a fella down to the ends of the world.”
Rico smiled. He liked working with Angelo. The man had a good head on him: looked for the angles but was a stand up guy when times were tough and bullets were flying. They finished their drinks and headed for LaGuardia.
THURSDAY JUNE 19
14
MARY LOU SNORED in the passenger seat: her head flopped backward to open her windpipe and maximize the airflow to her brain. Frank gripped the wheel and tapped fingers along to the rock ‘n’ roll beat. The Falcon went straight through a pothole and bounced violently causing her head to bob around.
She awoke with a start and glanced into the darkness.
“Where are we?”
“Outskirts of Pittsburgh.”
“Did I fall asleep?”
“Judging by the snoring...”
“I don't snore.”
“Okay. Judging by the heavy breathing, I'd say you were snoozing.”
“Do you think they’re still after us?”
“Better believe it.”
Mary Lou rubbed the sleep out of the corner of her eyes and glanced at her watch: midnight.
“Are you tired?”
“On the way.”
“Wake me next time and I'll take over.”
“I wanted you to get some rest. You deserved it. But we'll pull over as soon as we see a motel.”
Ten minutes driving landed them outside the reception of the Pittsburg Plaaza, which was nothing more than a string of prefab cabins and a hut with a desk where you wrote any false name you chose and signed next to it. Customer privacy was a priority at the Plaaza.
Frank asked for a quiet cabin away from the main road implying they were a young couple up to you-never-your-mind and didn't want to embarrass any of the other guests. The clerk sneered a lecherous glance at Mary Lou in the car and Frank gave him the space to conjure up pornographic images in his head.
With the key in his hand, he took the Falcon to the far end of the parking lot. Bags in tow, they shut the door on the world and sat on the edge of the bed.
Frank stood up and switched the TV on, loud enough to mask any conversation.
“We've made it to Pittsburgh but what should we do now?”
“I reckon we need to assume that everyone has seen the Falcon, change of plates or not. So we should ditch it first thing tomorrow. Then our next stop should be Cincinnati. If anyone has followed us they’ll be searching for a couple. So the obvious move is to split up. We can both slip by any Fed because we will not be what they are looking for.”
“I dunno, Frank.”
“We’ll be fine. One drives and the other goes by train. It'll mean a day apart but make it so much safer by nightfall tomorrow.”
“We’re a team though?”
“Yes we are, but a team strong enough to be separated from each other. For one day only. That’s all.”
“I don't like it. Remember, when I get stressed I forget to do things. The explosives: I didn't set them. What happens if I screw up when you’re not there?”
“Mary Lou: I've complete faith in you. You'll do well. I know it. We take one bag each from the heist just in case anything goes wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“If I get caught then you still hold half the money and can carry on.”
“Get caught?”
“I'm covering all bases. Nothing more. We shall meet up at Cincinnati and everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
“Now you're scaring me, Frank.”
He put his arms around her and she let his body engulf her. Mary Lou felt safer than she ever had before in her life surrounded by the smell of that man and the comfort of his breathing near her ear.
She hugged him back and they sat holding each other until the stress of their conversation left her shoulders and they both relaxed.
“One day, right?”
“That’s all. We’ll have put a load of distance between us and the Feds by then and changed our MO along the way. They’ll never catch us then.”
“And do you think Uncle Frankie will give up too?”
Frank didn't answer. His silence spoke volumes but Mary Lou waited, hoping the response would be what she wanted to hear and not reality.
“One day at a time, babe. Uncle Frankie’ll be harder than a bunch of G-men, but we’ll get away from him too. Somehow.”
They remained hugging another five minutes, she closed her eyes and soaked in each moment of tranquility in the cabin, although she noticed roach traps all along the walls.
“Ever been to Cincinnati?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
He kissed her on the forehead and they allowed themselves a laugh.
“Rob a bank and see the sights of America.”
“Yeah, I didn't count on this happening.”
“No-one did, babe. It’s how the cards landed. You only play the hand you're dealt.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
She pecked him on the cheek twice. Tenderly.
“Once we meet up in Cincinnati, where to then?”
“I was thinking Oklahoma City. It’ll be a long drive but then at least it won't be too far to Vegas and we can relax in the anonymity of the bright lights and one-armed bandits.”
She distracted him by kissing his cheeks then poking her
fingers in between his shirt buttons to caress his chest. Frank placed a hand on a breast and squeezed until she felt a tingle running up her spine from her groin to the back of her neck.
Mary Lou undid his shirt while he pulled at her bra until they were both under the blankets and naked. An hour later with Frank fast asleep, she slipped out from under the covers long enough to switch the TV off and to dry off her thighs. She remembered the nights soon after his last time out of the State Penitentiary. “Not for the first time,” she thought.
FRANK WOKE FIRST and couldn't remember switching the TV off the night before. He smiled as he recalled what they’d got up to before he’d fallen asleep. He felt calm and a sliver of happiness soaked into him as he looked at Mary Lou - until a roar of lust exited past his throat which she mistook for a belch.
“Good morning to you too.”
He laughed and licked her back as it was the nearest part of her body to his mouth at the time. His fingers landed between her thighs.
“Not now dear, there's traveling to do.”
Mary Lou took his hand and placed it on his dick. Then she flung the covers off the bed and scampered into the bathroom. Frank let his palm rest where it was and used the moment to consider what they had to do before leaving town.
He got dressed and put the bags back in the Falcon then waited for Mary Lou to be ready. Frank liked to watch her get dressed and he loved to watch her take her clothes off, slowly revealing her soft skin and curves to him. There was something deeply satisfying about being the only one privileged to experience those moments.
In the car and out for breakfast and a place to swap vehicles. A mile down the road they found a diner to eat. It was a popular venue and cars crammed into the lot until it nearly burst. The Falcon got lost in the sprawl as soon as Frank drove in.
Coffee and pancakes later, Mary Lou stared out the window from their booth and watched the world go by.
“There’s a bunch of trees at the end of this lot.”
“Yeah?”
“Lots of shrubs too.”
“Okay.”
“You could hide a car in that undergrowth.”
The Lagotti Family Series Page 31
