“Where were you today? You were expected to be part of the security detail this morning.”
“I‘ve been in bed ill. When I was told about Mrs. Lagotti, I came straight over.”
“And have you heard from Frank too? We haven‘t seen him since he walked out of the meeting shortly before some fuck blasted us with bullets.”
Alice still couldn‘t bring herself to say out loud that Mama was dead. She detected an increased redness in Isaak‘s cheeks as she spoke. His eyes darted left and right and he was unable to maintain eye contact. That was when she knew he was the trigger man.
“Well, if you find him, remind him that we‘re looking for him too.”
“Sure thing.”
“Can we get you a drink or some food? Maybe meds if you‘re still ill,” interjected Bobby.
“A coffee would be good. It‘d settle my stomach and ease my throat.”
“Naldo, do you mind making him a pot?”
When the two bodyguards had moved to the kitchen, Bobby sat down next to Alice on the couch and whispered into her ear.
“We won‘t see that cocksucker again. I’ll get Naldo to deal with him after the funeral. There‘s no rush: we need to get the job done once he‘s less nervous.”
Alice was pleased Bobby reached the same conclusion as her with greater presence of mind: she wanted to kill Isaak here and now.
FATHER CARMOODY SURFACED the following day, Saturday. He expressed his deepest sorrow for their loss and explained how Mary Lou had sought his counsel these past months.
“You are a Catholic priest? Am I right about that?”
“Yes, my dear.”
“Are you aware of her past experience of the church and her views of the clergy in particular?”
“My child, your mother had a change of mind recently and wanted to let Jesus into her heart.”
“You understand my wife suffered from dementia.”
“Yes, my son. She spoke of how hard she found remembering the simplest of things and cried in my presence at not being able to recall the names of her own children.”
Alice stormed out of the room: this man annoyed her, but she found over the coming days he inserted himself into their affairs. The only advantage of his existence to them was that he volunteered to liaise with the funeral parlor: arranging the release of the body from the pathologist, its transportation to Palm Springs and other more gruesome details neither Bobby nor Alice wanted to deal with.
The task they couldn‘t palm off to the priest was to contact everyone who knew Mary Lou to tell them what had happened. Given her dramatic end, news had traveled far across the country, but they took no chances: everybody needed a call. The only family Mary Lou had were Bobby, Frank and Alice, although somewhere her brothers and sisters might be still alive. No-one had the desire to find them as Mary Lou turned her back on her kin when she left home.
FRANK APPEARED ON Sunday and refused to account for his whereabouts. Alice could barely stand to be in the same room as him and Bobby was taciturn even by his own quiet standards. Sensing the anger from his family, Frank left and visited Sammy instead where the welcome was warm and inviting, a red G-string the only thing standing between him and a willing bush.
By the end of the week, everyone stopped focusing on the cause of the funeral and fixated on the detailed organization of the church service and wake. Out of common decency, Bobby and Alice tried to include Frank in the decision making, but inevitably his was a minority voice on the rare occasions he left Sammy’s bed. He wanted only the three of them there - and the priest if necessary - but Bobby understood Mary Lou was so widely known a small family affair was out of the question.
47
TIME TRICKLED BY until the day of the funeral. Alice awoke and felt guilty because for three seconds, she forgot Mama was dead. She cried yet again, then got out of bed, showered and put on a black pants suit before heading downstairs for breakfast.
In the kitchen, Bobby was already sitting down nursing a mug of coffee, staring at a slice of granary toast supplied by Irma. Frank arrived and joined them to wait for the limousines, which were due at ten. The only noises were the clinking of crockery and the sound of Irma busying herself in the background.
The clock in the living room struck the hour and, in almost perfect synchrony, the doorbell rang as the limos were out front and waiting. There was one black stretch for Bobby, Alice and Frank with another for Irma, Naldo and a host of fellas. Bobby had nixed Naldo‘s suggestion to be in the same limo as the family for security reasons. The way Bobby figured it, if someone was going to whack him, they might as well do it today. While he didn‘t want to die, he didn‘t care if he lived. And he knew Alice was similarly inclined.
Outside the church were at least fifty mourners if not more - all come to send off Mary Lou. Frank wished they‘d all just go away. He didn‘t like his private grief being on public display. In contrast, Alice was heartened by the show of affection and respect afforded her mom by those attending. It showed how much Mama had touched so many lives during her brief visit to this crummy world.
THE SERVICE STARTED with a hymn and then the congregation proceeded to stand and sit at the behest of Carmoody. After another song extolling the virtues of Jesus Christ, everyone sat and the priest commenced the eulogy.
“Mary Lou Lagotti, may she rest in peace, was a mother, a wife, a business woman. But above all she was a human being who died in tragic circumstances. She leaves behind two beautiful children - Frank Junior and Alice - as well as Bobby, her dutiful husband. She joined our community thirty years ago and she quickly became a fabulous contributor to our local charities. As her children grew older, and her activities thrived, Mary Lou became a force for good in Palm Springs.”
Frank disliked the hypocrisy of the man who met Mama only a few months ago and knew nothing of her. He‘d inveigled himself into Mama‘s life when she was at her most vulnerable. The guy‘s whole attitude sickened him to the core.
Alice remained too consumed with the pain of her loss and the reality of seeing her Mama‘s coffin in front of her. Within that wooden box and its oak veneer was the body of her mother. Mama‘s corpse was almost within her grasp, but to acknowledge that meant Alice had to tell herself her mom was dead - and mean it - and that was too much for her to bear. So Alice cried again and waited for the juddering silent ache inside to subside enough to breathe again. And still the priest droned on while Alice curled up in her own thoughts.
AT THE GRAVESIDE, Carmoody issued a series of prayers and the coffin was lowered into the gaping hole awaiting it. Then the men used two shovels to heap the soil on top of the box. Bobby had the honors of throwing the first earth onto the wooden box. The echoing thud as the clay slammed on the veneer sent a shiver down Bobby‘s spine. He focussed on the physical act of pushing the shovel into the mound of clay and dropping the contents into the abyss. He knew if he allowed himself half a second‘s thought about Mary Lou‘s corpse down in that pit then he would break down completely.
When the coffin was no longer visible under the clay soil, Bobby, Alice and Frank walked away and back towards the church. Alice looked round for one last chance of seeing her mother and that was her undoing. The sensation of losing her Mama hit her knees and she collapsed to the ground. The Lagotti men grabbed an arm each and hauled her to her feet, half dragging her through the cemetery.
The wake took place at the house which gave those who couldn‘t make the funeral a chance to show their faces and show their respect. Irma had asked permission to get three waitresses in to help her serve canapes and drinks. An hour in and the food was eaten although there was still enough hard liquor to last four more hours.
BY THE TIME the final guests departed, Bobby was left slumped in the living room with a tumbler of Scotch in his hand. Frank and Alice were seated on sun loungers.
“We‘re orphans, Frank.”
“Because both our parents are dead?”
“Yep.”
Alice knocked b
ack the remains of her whiskey and soda.
“Let‘s sneak into the summerhouse like when we were kids.”
Frank followed Alice inside as she switched on the lights.
“Give me a hug. We‘re all alone, kid.”
Frank stepped toward her and Alice opened her arms and engulfed him in a sisterly embrace. She squeezed that huge torso and leaned her chin on one shoulder. Despite the momentary comfort of her brother’s biceps, Alice snapped awake to remember why her Mama was dead and who was the cause.
“I know what you did, Frank.”
“Huh?”
“At the peace conference. No idea why but you killed my Mama.”
“What‘re you...”
Alice pulled out a knife from her pants pocket and slammed it into Frank‘s stomach, twisting the blade as she plugged him. He gurgled, clutched his belly with one hand and swiped at his twin with the other. His palm caught the side of Alice‘s head and she almost lost her balance, but then she removed the metal and stuck it in his chest...
The sound of glass breaking and the memory of her Mama‘s blood splashing onto her cheek...
Frank fell to his knees, grabbing Alice‘s arms, torso, anything to stop himself hitting the ground. She reached out and scrunched his hair with a hand, yanking back his head. Then she took the blade and pressed its serrated edge over his throat to cut him open from one ear to the other.
Alice slumped on the floor, bouncing off Frank‘s body as she collapsed and sat in the pool of his blood until the red liquid seeped into her undies and felt sticky and uncomfortable. She rolled onto her side, huddled into the smallest ball of humanity she could make and she cried.
Alice sobbed and sobbed until she could cry no more - for her Mama, for Frank and for herself. She picked up the knife and wiped it clean on Frank‘s jacket. Then she stood up, one foot either side of his corpse, just as Bobby entered the room in search of the children. He looked down at Frank then sighed. Alice Lagotti, head of the family, stepped away from her brother‘s body and held out a hand.
Bobby went towards her, bowed and kissed her cygnet ring. The stench of Frank’s gizzards heavy in the air.
“Get this mess tidied up: we‘ve got territory in San Francisco to reclaim and a deal to close with New York.”
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OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
The Lagotti Family Series
The Heist (Book 1)
The Getaway (Book 2)
Powder (Book 3)
Mama's Gone (Book 4)
The Girl in the Striped Bikini (Book 5, Short story)
Upcoming Releases
The Case (Due 2019)
Whatever Happened to Ollie Olesworth? (Becky Greene Book 1 - Due 2019)
The Death and Life of Penny Pitstop (Becky Greene Book 2 - Due 2019)
The Bowery Slugger (Alex Cohen Series Book 1 - Due 2020)
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ABOUT LEOPOLD BORSTINSKI
Leopold Borstinski is an independent author whose past careers have included financial journalism, business management of financial software companies, consulting and product sales and marketing, as well as teaching.
There is nothing he likes better so he does as much nothing as he possibly can. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the US and has visited Asia on several occasions. Leopold holds a Philosophy degree and tries not to drop it too often.
He lives near London and is married with one wife, one child and no pets.
Find out more at LeopoldBorstinski.com.
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