Gretchen rested in a chair, not happy, but she knew they were right. If this thing went south, she would have been in the middle of it with the mayor. DEA could handle the heat, and she realized it now—the undermining was what pissed her off.
It was the chief that knew Ben Stein and got Howard a job as a limousine driver, long before Mario knew he was working undercover. It was the chief and her connections that made everything work.
“Why are you blowing smoke up my you know what, Lex?”
“Chief, you’re in charge and will get all the credit when this goes down.”
Gretchen thought for a second. “What do you think you can get out of Savino?”
“Hand me my coat,” Mario said. Lex reached for the jacket. Mario pulled out the envelope from the inside pocket. “There you go—I had reason to arrest Isaac,” he said, throwing the pack of money to Lex. “Ten thousand dollars in cash.”
Lex opened the envelope and looked in. “Wow, they were that bold.”
Mario did his anxious dance and walked around the room.“Look, we have Savino and Issac on bribery. I also have Zack Nelson as a witness to Julie Wong being on the airplane the last time Dr. Ross was seen alive.”
“You do?” Lex and Gretchen said at the same time.
“There is a lot more to get Savino on, things that will put him away for life,” Mario said. “Howard is now trusted in the Savino circle. He’ll be with me all the way.”
The chief walked to Howard. “Speaking of, an eyewitness said an older model Cadillac pulled up on the Cornerview gang’s flophouse and opened fire from the front seat and rear seat after they let someone out the car.”
“So what’s your point?” Howard said.
“The witness never saw the limo pull in front of the house after the Cadillac pulled off,” Chief Parks said.
Howard was a professional and took his time repeating that when he pulled up to the curb, the Cadillac had just turned the corner. The bodies were on the sidewalk, and he didn’t see any witnesses.
Mario’s face was pale white, then he realized he had to stay calm. Howard had told him the Cadillac pulled up behind the limo, and hearing gunfire, he rushed from the scene.
They all looked at Howard. Something wasn’t right. But Howard knew how to cover it up. Just confuse the crap out of them—that was what professionals did.
“Again, tell me why were you even there?” the chief asked.
“I had a meeting with Dante to smooth things over with the gang,” Howard said.
Chief Parks turned to Mario, “You’re sure it’s not about Kate?”
“Chief, Kate and I broke up months ago. She’s living in Paris. Howard and I were working a new approach to the gang.”
“Another gang killed them and now we move on too bigger fish,” Howard said.
Mario got their attention. The bad guys in prison got Felipe out of their lives. Some other bad guys put Dante and the rest of his gang dead on the ground, and Julie Wong killed Dr. Walter Ross, who was responsible for many deaths at Riverside Inn.
Mario promised the details would be outlined in his report—along with Howard’s.
Gretchen didn’t know who to believe and was looking forward to reviewing the reports with a death glare in her eyes. She knew her agents were hiding something.
“Gentlemen, you all know the history of my family and the Savino’s. It probably dates back further than I’ve been told,” she said, standing at the window looking out at the city.
“Chief,” Lex said. “There is no reason for you to go through this. Let them do their job.”
“No, I want them to see the Savino Family for who they really are.”
Mario took a seat. “Not sure you can say anything that will change my outlook on that scumbag family one way or the other.”
Howard stood as Gretchen walked the room. It was a pain she’d carried for too many years, and why she was so adamant about catching this horrible family they’d created. The Savino’s came from the backwoods of Mississippi. Lorenzo’s father was one of the largest marijuana growers in the south. They were known as the Hillbilly Mafia—everyone knew them and their reputation. Her grandfather had land that ran alongside a creek that separated the two properties. Old man Savino wanted to buy her grandfather’s farm and made an offer several times, but her family made it clear they would never sell to him or any Savino family member.
It was summer, and she spent a lot of time with her grandfather. One day old man Savino asked her grandfather to come over. She was left in the truck while her grandpa went in the house. She remembered the mosquitos were eating her up. Ten minutes later, Gretchen followed in the house. Hearing arguing, she got closer and peeked into the room. Old man Savino sat in front of her grandpa, saying: “You’ll sign the sale of your property or you will die at this table.” Gretchen ran to the truck, and a few seconds later two gunshots were fired. Both hit her grandpa in the chest—he died on the table.
The Savino family killed her grandfather. She managed to get away, but the testimony of a six-year-old didn’t hold up in court. Even then the Savino’s could buy the best attorney in town. Claims her grandfather pulled a gun on him. He didn’t own a gun—it was planted.
Savino walked, and he lived another fifteen years and died just about when she went to college. Those hillbillies came from the backwoods to the suburbs with their big houses, fancy cars, and created businesses with drug money and family crime, killing whoever stood in their way. Their family’s bad blood continues to breed more hateful and thieving folks. They should pay for the sins of their father as long as they followed his footsteps.
“I want the Savino family business closed down. For good! And all of them in jail or dead—doesn’t matter how you bring them to me.”
THE END
Crescent City Detective Page 41