“My second undercover partner, Conroy, what a dumb son of a bitch,” Buckala recalled. “We was on a stake out and he goes for coffee every three hours. Every time he comes back, the coffee is cold. Turns out, he’s getting blowjobs from this hooker, this big titted blonde hooker that lives above the coffee house, and he never knew when she would have a John there. So he’d buy the coffee and wait until she finished the guy ahead of him. Sometimes there were three or four guys waiting in the coffee shop for big tits to finish up. So, one night while he’s getting his rocks off, the waitress in the shop, a born again Christian, gets sick of Conroy’s fifty-cent tips, hanging around for his blowjob. She grabs a patrol car, yanks the uniformed guys out of the car and tells them to get the hell upstairs, there’s a women getting raped. One of the cops is Conroy’s ex-brother-in-law who breaks the door down and points his gun at Conroy’s head when he pops his rocks. Jesus, I could have killed that son of bitch. Our watch commander was pissed. Ok, Peter, never leave your partner alone while you’re getting your rocks off, get it, get it?”
“Got it.”
“Good, I don’t want to see Angelina down here and the two of you disappearing while I’m stuck alone telling myself these stupid stories. GET IT.”
“Don’t ask me again, GOT IT!” Buckala knew when to back off.
They stayed on watch until two thirty in the morning, sharing stories over coffee and cigars.
CHAPTER 14
Mitchelli’s relentless pace resulted in fatigue and severe stress, which led to diminished appetite, and rapid weight loss. His heart palpitations returned; sudden irregular heartbeats that felt like a rush of adrenaline in his chest. He vowed to consume no more caffeine; tobacco should have been off limits, but he continued smoking Buckala’s Turkish cigars. He had problems focusing at work, which frustrated him. His was easily agitated and his family worried he was having a mental relapse.
MacJames was worried; Weeks ago, she had memorized his face nursing him through the night in Baltimore. Now she noticed bags under his eyes and more grey hair. She felt a very slight tremble in his hand, which Mitchelli attempted to hide.
He finally had a Saturday to be with his children and MacJames on the boat. He invited Coarseni and his two daughters for the day. He had been through a bad divorce, and his wife left him with nothing but his daughters Tina, who was twelve, and Lisa, fourteen.
Coarseni had struggled as a single father, especially when he attempted to understand his two daughters. Rarely did Coarseni receive invitations for dinner or get-togethers. His face had lit up when Mitchelli asked him and his daughters to spend a day on his boat. “The only date I can afford is a hot dog and back to my house with my two kids watching the Disney channel,” he said. “The last time I got any was when my Tina was conceived and I was too drunk to remember. Shut your face and don’t tell this crap to big mouth Buckala. Bastard thinks I fart to turn sheep on.”
Mitchelli had been sleeping aboard his boat for two weeks, for fear he would wake his family returning home late after a stakeout. His mother-in-law had been with the children. She dropped Peter Jakob and Kaitlin off at 10 a.m., giving him a chance to sleep in. Time Bandit was slipped on Tonawanda Island; the two-mile island was separated from the mainland of North Tonawanda by a narrow channel that was bordered by slips on either side. The island was located on the Niagara River--head up river twenty-five minutes and you’re in Lake Erie; head down river fifteen minutes, and you could see the mist of Niagara Falls.
Time Bandit was in the last slip on the northern tip of the island, two hundred feet from the East Niagara River. From her car, MacJames stared at the boat, remembering boating with her father as a child when their relationship was strong prior to her mother’s death. She envisioned a shorter, taller boat with a fly bridge. She had the misconception that Mitchelli was an angler like her father. Mitchelli’s boat was no fishing boat. She would soon learn he did not have the patience of a fisherman.
If Ann Mitchelli’s husband was going to buy a boat, she wanted one that was stylish. Time Bandit’s European elegance pleasantly surprised MacJames. Her long sleek bow took up two thirds of her length. The foredeck had a sun lounge in the center. The cockpit utilized the back third of the boat. The cockpit windshield was seven feet of glass angled a sleek forty degrees from the forward deck. The tall windshield wrapped around the sides of the cockpit and was covered by a roof which supported the radar bar and satellite receiver. Canvas enclosed the back of the boat when it was unoccupied or running in foul weather. Mitchelli had the canvas off, ready for a day of pleasure boating.
MacJames arrived at ten thirty. Mitchelli did not recognize her; she was wearing khaki shorts, a white pullover and topsiders. He couldn’t help but notice her perfectly shaped legs. Her hair was pulled back in a short ponytail and her sunglasses were classic Jackie O. Kaitlin was the first to greet her as she came aboard. “Nice sunglasses, I’m Kaitlin. I was told to show you where the toilets are, I mean the head, and how to use it so Dad doesn’t have to fix it.” She whispered to her dad, “Nice boobies Dad, check her bumper out when I take her below.”
“Hi, Kaitlin, it’s nice to meet you; my name is Angela. You better show me how to use the head because I hear your dad has quite a temper and I don’t want him mad because I broke the toilet on his yacht.” Mitchelli hated it when people referred to his boat as a yacht.
“Wow, you know my dad; don’t leave your clothes on the floor--he gets mad over that too.” Mitchelli and MacJames did not display any affection. They agreed to tone down their passion in front of his children.
Fifteen years in the FBI, six years in the Department of Homeland Security, and three difficult marriages had taken a physical and mental toll on her. Rid of her government issue suit, MacJames was quite attractive, even for a woman in her forties.
Coarseni arrived next with his daughters Lisa and Tina, who was the same age as Peter Jakob.
Coarseni’s eyes sparkled as he introduced his daughters. “This is my little angel Tina, say hello Tina, and my oldest Lisa, the vampire.” Tina, well mannered, had a pretty face with long black hair and light brown eyes. Kaitlin took her through the salon to show her how to use the head. On her way, she reprimanded Peter who was busy watching movies on the Satellite TV and needed coaxing to say hello. He reluctantly conceded a hello, looking up from the TV. Seemingly taken by Tina’s looks, he smiled immediately and assisted Kaitlin with her tour.
Lisa’s heavy black eyeliner; black eye shadow, black lipstick, black nail polish, and black hair obscured her beauty. She did not speak. Her father pushed his adolescent daughter further away by making fun of her appearance. Lisa stared at the water and avoided making eye contact. The loud beat of heavy metal music could be heard from her ear buds.
Coarseni spoke loudly so she could hear him. “Take those damn things out of your ears and say hello! What the hell is a matter with you?”
Reluctantly, Lisa removed one ear bud, “Hello, happy Dad?” She put the ear bud back and walked away.
Tina was excited to be aboard Time Bandit. Her excitement reminded Mitchelli of when he was five years old and spent the day on the Banners’ boat, old friends of his parents’. He loved the water and the mechanics of a boat pushing through the waves. He fell in love with boating at five years old, and had always dreamed of owning his own boat when he was an adult. The rest of his family thought he was nuts. Time Bandit was expensive; he should have invested his money in property or mutual funds, not a depreciating asset like a boat.
It was time to cast off. Peter Jakob disconnected the shore power and water. He was headed towards the bow when MacJames said, “I can handle the bow lines, PJ; I spent my childhood on my father’s boat, just like you.”
Peter Jakob and his father were impressed. Before they knew it, MacJames’s shoes were off and she quickly walked the rail, undid the dock lines from Time Bandit’s cleats, and threw them dockside for easy retrieval when they returned. As Coarseni struggled with the stern lin
es, Kaitlin tried to tell him what to do, but he insisted he knew.
The twin diesel engines roared to life. Mitchelli loved to hear them thunder below the cockpit deck. Each Cummins diesel engine produced six--hundred-horse power. They produced enough thrust to propel the boat up to forty miles an hour. Mitchelli loved the powerful industrial sound of a diesel engine. He was a true builder raised on construction equipment. Diesel engines were the heart of his industry. The engines revved as he twisted and tilted the joystick. The boat’s engines roared, chugging to maneuver the boat against the current. When the boat was far enough away from the pier, he gently nudged it into the small channel. A computer manipulated the propeller pods sending the boat in the direction of the joystick. Each pod rotated independently one hundred and ninety degrees; they had two twenty-four-inch counter rotating propellers. This was a boat’s version of a plane’s fly by wire system. When the boat was in the little channel perpendicular to the Niagara River, Mitchelli used the throttle levers to turn the boat, placing one in reverse and the other forward. The boat confidently pivoted on its axis. Mitchelli placed both throttle levers forward, slowly idling into the East Niagara River. He called Tina over to the helm and let her hit the air horns twice, signaling Time Bandit was about to enter the Niagara River. She jumped as the horns bellowed, Bwomp! Bwomp!
Tina, Kaitlin, and Peter Jakob were on the U-shaped seats that wrapped around a table at the rear of the cockpit. MacJames sat with them facing forward, watching Mitchelli as he piloted the boat. Coarseni sat opposite MacJames watching the six-foot wake Time Bandit produced behind its stern. Lisa stood alone, looking board in the middle of the cockpit. She was determined not to fit in or have fun. Mitchelli was bothered; he had seen this attitude with one of his nieces. He had to help his new friend Coarseni with his daughter. The builder knew what thirty-five thousand pound tool to use to help a father and daughter get reacquainted.
“Lisa, can you bring me a water? It’s in the refrigerator right behind you.”
Coarseni quickly looked to see if Lisa would get him the water. She slowly turned around and took one water bottle from the refrigerator. She walked it over to Mitchelli, her hand palm up as held the bottle. “Here,” she said, her arm extended, locking her elbow towards Mitchelli.
“Could you do me a favor and get behind the wheel for a minute?” He took the bottle and began to step aside. “I need to check out something aft?”
“What? Can’t someone else do it--I… don’t know how to drive!”
Mitchelli was negotiating, “It’s easy; I’ll show you--that is, if you’re not afraid?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Pa-lease, why would I be afraid?”
“Ok, I like a woman with spunk. I’ll show you, but if you’re afraid, I can ask Tina to drive.”
“Give me a break; she’s a baby, whatever.” She got behind the helm and her eyes bulged. “Oh my God, this thing is big. I can’t see over the front!”
“That is the bow. Ok, I’ll raise the seat, how’s that?” Lisa’s two hands clung to the wheel as he spoke. “Now, there aren’t many boats on the river so that makes it much easier. You have to stay two hundred feet away from the other boats, or Time Bandit wake will tip them over, so try to stay in the middle of the river and between the center piers when we go under the bridges.”
Lisa screamed like a child, “Bridges! We’re going under bridges; I can’t steer this thing under bridges, are you frickin’ crazy?”
Mitchelli spoke the next few words quietly, “Well, some people think so.” Not quiet enough. MacJames instantly looked up.
Lisa shouted, “Dad, your friend is frickin’ crazy!”
Mitchelli calmed her down by teaching her how to steer several shallow S turns so she could get used to the feel of the boat. Then he had her bring the throttles gently back to slow the boat, explaining that she should do this in an emergency or to slow down to give other boats time to cross Time Bandit’s course.
When MacJames saw Mitchelli give the helm over to Lisa, she kicked Coarseni and motioned for him to turn around and watch. He didn’t take his eyes off his daughter as the big guy turned his pride possession over to her. Mitchelli left Lisa briefly at the helm and walked back to Coarseni.
“Dom,” he said with a wink, “the best view is from the two helm seats. Why don’t you go up and keep our Captain company?”
Coarseni quickly ran to the helm, worried his daughter was going to damage the expensive boat. He sat next to Lisa, closer than he had been to her in years. His arms were flailing in front of him as he directed his daughter to stay away from the other boats. Mitchelli and MacJames moved forward to the settee adjacent to the helm where Mitchelli could help keep an eye on his new Captain in case she needed help. Coarseni gradually calmed down and began to talk to his daughter. First about how it was to drive the boat, then complimenting her on how well she handled the large boat. She smiled and touched her father’s hand, asking Mitchelli’s permission for her dad to take over; she was getting tired. Mitchelli agreed. He told her he would get them both something to drink, but insisted she had to stay next to him to keep an eye on him. When Mitchelli sat down again next to MacJames, he could see a small tear just under the frame of her sunglasses. He gently wiped it away with his hand.
“Suck it up MacJames,” he said. “Remember, you’re a tough federal agent. Relax, you’re not paying for the fuel.”
She smiled and grabbed Mitchelli’s hand. She put her feet up on the settee and wrapped his arm around her torso as she leaned against him. She could feel the tension in his arms and the gun concealed under his shirt; he was uncomfortable, but she persisted.
“Dom and his daughter remind me of my father and me,” she said. “You’re quite the family councilor. My dad… well, we could have used your services fifteen years ago.”
“It’s not me, it’s the boat; I’m glad they’re enjoying it. I loved steering the boat when I was a kid, it’s still a thrill. Days like this on the water with my family, I wish they’d never end.”
MacJames saw his expression change, the corner of his eyes dropped and his mind instantly went somewhere else. She nudged him. “This dream gets better--good news: you’re not paying for the fuel either, we’re logging this trip. We’re spending the night watching the inner harbor.”
“All dreams must come to an end.” His voice was sullen.
She squeezed his hand, “Hey, Kaitlin wants to know if you checked my bumper out.”
“Kaitlin’s going to put me in my grave.”
“Well?”
“I may have glanced.”
“That’s a start! Peter Jakob and Kaitlin are beautiful.”
“They look like their mother.”
Everything reminded him of his wife. Mitchelli’s confidence waned. He had no clue why MacJames was attracted to him. He tried not to think about how attractive she was. He felt guilty, as though he was cheating on Ann. He knew it was wrong, but his mind tortured him. Mitchelli continually bent his mind over his wife’s death and his past. If left uncorrected he was going to destroy himself. His obsessive personality was unrelenting, tearing him down, mentally and physically slowly killing him.
Time Bandit was nearing Strawberry Island, thus named because the small half-acre island looked like the top of a strawberry. The small island lay in the middle of the east Niagara River. This section of the river was more difficult to navigate. The boat had to stay in the shipping channel that ran along the east shoreline of Tonawanda and the edge of Strawberry Island. The river was very shallow in close proximity to the Island. Beyond the Strawberry Island, the Niagara River forked, splitting to go around Grand Island New York, the largest inland island in the United States. The West River bordered Canada, and the west shore of Grand Island New York. Although he had kept a close eye on Coarseni and his daughter at the helm, Mitchelli resumed his position behind the wheel.
The river current was too strong for Coarseni’s first time at the wheel. All the water from Lake Erie
and the other great lakes ran through the Niagara River and it started at the Peace Bridge. The river current increased to seven miles per hour at the river’s mouth under the Peace Bridge that spanned between Canada and the United States. As the boat passed under the international bridge, a low railroad bridge about two miles south of the Peace Bridge, Mitchelli gradually moved the throttles forward until the speedometer indicated thirty miles an hour. Although the current was only seven miles an hour under the bridge, the force was staggering. Boats small and large got in formation behind the Time Bandit as she approached the bridge and Lake Erie.
Canadian shoreline at Fort Erie was very rocky; Mitchelli would chart a course under the middle span of the bridge. The children pointed to the trucks backed up, bumper to bumper on the bridge, waiting their turn for inspection before they entered the U.S. The force of the water rushing around the bridge’s abutment pushed Time Bandit’s stern to port as she passed under the bridge. The boat jumped port to starboard, as though she headed into the lake against her will. The adults onboard looked at each other; they knew the danger that lurked in the lake. Mitchelli looked at Coarseni, then at MacJames as they entered the crime scene.
Mind Kill- Rise of the Marauder Page 16