by Rusty Kontos
At that moment, Nickole jumped to her feet, saying, “Just what do you mean by dead?! Scallenie told you that he was sure?”
Luchino took out his hanky, wiping away the nervous sweat on his fat pale face. He sat there trying to think of a lie to cover up his blunder, as he stalled for a second. Meanwhile, memories flashed through Nickole’s mind... the explosion was never really explained. Her eyes started flickering with anger as her brain began giving her some answers to the truth.
Luchino composed himself, as he said to her, “Ah...I
mean, I was told you were dead. It was by the investigator, the one I had sent out to find you when your father died. So thinking you were dead, too, well, naturally everything went to Nick’s partner, Mr. Torrio.”
Nickole’s face became even redder with anger as she shouted at him. “I don’t believe you! I think you and Torrio murdered my father. Yes, murdered him, and then you tried to kill me, too! You almost did. But I am here now, and I want what is rightfully mine!”
Luchino started laughing as it struck him, why should he be afraid of Nickole? She was only a kid, no one would listen to her. So then he turned on her, his beady eyes glinting as he said, “Why in the hell should I be afraid of a snot-nosed brat like you? I must be getting old not to have thrown you out of here ten minutes ago, but being you’re so damned stubborn, I will tell you some cold facts. After I tell you, you get the hell out of here and go back to where you came from. If you do not, and you try to give us any trouble, I will personally see to it that you are buried for real, just like your old man. In fact, I will bury you right on top of him in the same grave and no one will ever find you.”
Nickole silently stood by the corner of Luchino’s desk as she listened to him telling her about how and
why her father was killed. Her blood ran cold as she stood there, hate in her heart, and murder on her mind.
“Look kid, your old man was in our way. Torrio and I did not need him anymore. We could make more money without him. He wanted to do things too gently. He did not want to use too much force on some of the guys that needed it. He paid dumb kids too much money. And there were other things, like he refused to sell narcotics to anyone willing to pay a good price for it. He did not want it sold to young kids. Why should he give a damn where anyone sold the stuff, as long as he got his price from the pusher? No, not him, he had to check out who every pusher sold the stuff to, and that, my dear, was bad for business. Your father acted as if he was running a Sunday school for little kids. He was not a proper Don. Torrio and I decided it was time we got rid of him. Then you came into the middle of things, so we had to get rid of you, too. You would have upset all our plans because Nick had left everything to you, including all his profits from the business. So you see kid, in order to get it all, we had to get rid of you, too. We bought off one of his men, Mike Scallenie, to kill
him and you. Nevertheless, as I can see, Mike missed killing you, just as he did with your father the first time. I don’t know how you survived the explosion, kid, but if you want to stay alive to grow up, I suggest that you get out of town just as fast as you can.” Luchino gave off a horselaugh as he went on to say, “Hey, kid, do you want to see the will your old man left to you? I’ll be a nice guy and let you see it, with all the money and property you will never see or get.”
Luchino took a small key out of his pocket and unlocked a top drawer in his desk. As he was reaching in to get some papers out, Nickole came around the desk to stand behind him. She untied the cord-type belt from her dress she was wearing. Very quickly, Nickole looped it around Luchino’s thick bull-like neck, making the belt become like a garrote. She pulled on it as tight as she could, showing no mercy to her victim. Luchino gagged and desperately gasped for air. His face turned a sickening bluish gray, then purple and back to white again, as the blood drained from it. His eyes bulged and he was starting to lose consciousness, but he was still able to struggle trying to free himself from Nickole’s deadly
grip. Nickole, thinking he was going to get free from her, let one of her hands free from the cord. Still holding it tight in one hand, she turned his chair so that she could reach a long sharp letter opener. Nickole picked it up and plunged it into his heart. Luchino’s body went limp. She pulled the letter opener out and began stabbing him three more times in the chest and stomach, causing blood to squirt out of the holes she made in his flesh. Like a fountain, it drowned the front of his desk and clothing. Nickole then very calmly picked up the folder containing her father’s will and went over to a small washbasin and washed off the blood from her hands and letter opener. She put her belt back on and dropped the letter opener in the folder. She then went back to the desk where Luchino’s body sat in his chair, profusely
bleeding. Nickole opened his coat very carefully so as not to get any blood on her. She took out his wallet. Inside it, she found three hundred dollars. Nickole took out the money and stuffed it in the folder, too. She started to leave when she spotted a gun lying in the open drawer. She took it out. Looking at it, Nickole decided to take it with her, too. Suddenly, Nickole heard the door from the outer office open and close. She knew that someone had come in. It must be Luchino’s secretary, she thought to herself. Quickly Nickole ran to the door, as it started to open. She stood behind it as the woman came in. The woman screamed, as she saw the bloody sight of Luchino’s dead body sitting in the chair. Quickly the woman ran to the phone on the desk to call the police. The woman’s back was still to the door when very quietly Nickole slipped out the door and made her way to the elevator. Her heart was pounding with the fear of being seen and her legs felt shaky, as she practically ran out of the elevator and the entranceway leading to the street. When she got outside to where Tony and Franky stood waiting for
her, she looked at them, her eyes still in a glaze, panting as she said to them, “Let’s get the hell out of here!” The boys looked at each other with wonder. Then without saying a word, they followed Nickole down the street to the subway entrance at a full run.
As they reached the subway entrance, Franky stepped in front of Nickole, panting hard. He blocked her way to the stairs. Franky angrily looked at Nickole as he demanded, “Alright, Nickole, we aren’t going any farther, not until you tell us why we are running. Now damn it! What the hell happened back there?”
Nickole looked at Franky defiantly as she said, “I had to kill Luchino, and I almost got caught by his secretary. I don’t think anyone saw me, but I just wanted to get away from there as fast as I could. That is why we are running.”
Franky and Tony looked at her in shock and disbelief. Then Frank choked out the words, “You killed Luchino! Why? You have to be nuts. Killin’ your stepfather was one thing. But killin’ a guy like Luchino is somethin’ else. You got to be crazy. You ain’t got troubles with just the cops. You got troubles with the big boys from the outfit. Damn it, you’re as good as dead, and maybe even Tony and me, too.”
“Franky, I had to kill him. Luchino and Torrio were the ones that had my father killed. They thought they had me killed, too, but I surprised them. That is why I killed him. Can’t you see that?”
Franky just shook his head as Nickole went onto to say, “No one will know that it was me, because they think I am dead. So far, you and Tony are the only ones who know differently —besides Luchino, and he is dead. As for the police, well, they will think it was a robbery. I took his money out of his wallet.”
Franky looked at Nickole in amazement as he said to his brother, “You know, Tony, she is one smart dame.” Then he smiled at Nickole as he went on to say, “Okay, so what now, boss? What about your inheritance?”
“Look, we can’t talk here. First let’s go back to the hideout and I will fill you in on everything on the train. So let’s go!” Nickole said commandingly.
“She is right, Franky,” Tony spoke up. “We better not hang around here. Someone might get nosey. The fare is on me.”
On the subway train home, Nickole told the boys everything
that happened in Luchino’s office. After telling them, Nickole looked to Tony, asking him if he could drive a car. Tony told her he could. Nickole said good, and then she pulled out the money, telling him to buy a cheap car. She also showed them her father’s will, telling them of her plans she had in store for the next day.
“Tomorrow we go to my father’s house and we pay Mr. Torrio a little visit. You and Tony will wait for me in the car, keeping the engine running. After I have my little talk with Mr. Torrio, I kill him. It is as
simple as that. Then I wait a few weeks, I come back and claim my house and what is rightfully mine.”
“Then what?” Franky asked.
“Then we take over this town and I will make you two the richest teenagers in history.”
Tony was not sure she could pull it off, but he went along with Nickole because of his love for her. Franky went along with her because he had a thirst for excitement and because he believed in his brother, and most of all, in Nickole. He thought she was pretty cool for a girl.
That afternoon, when they got back, Tony went out to see a car dealer he knew, one that would not ask
him many questions, like where he got his money to buy a car. Tony very carefully looked over the dealer’s cars before he picked the one he thought to be the fastest and best running. He spotted the one he wanted, a black 1937 Ford Coupe, and it was in very good shape. Tony paid for it, bought plates, and then drove it to the hideout to show Nickole and Franky.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The next morning, Tony drove Nickole and Franky out to Nick’s house, where Torrio was now living. The driveway was about a half-mile long. The house was a white, thirty-five room, Southern-style mansion. Tony pulled the car to a stop at the front entrance. Franky looked at his watch, as Nickole got
out of the car. It was seven o’clock. Nickole rang the front door bell. A man in a dark suit answered the door. He was Torrio’s butler and a torpedo for him. He looked at Nickole for a moment, then to the car at Tony and Franky who sat there waiting as she had ordered. Then the man looked back to Nickole as he said in a gruff voice, “Well, what do you want?”
“I am here to see Mr. Torrio.” Nickole answered.
The butler looked at her with a mocking grin on his face as he said, “Yeah, and just what makes you think Mr. Torrio will want to see a kid like you?”
“He will see me! You just tell him that Nick Colletti’s daughter wants to talk to him.”
The butler’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as he said, “Did you say, Nick Colletti’s daughter?”
“Yes, Nick Colletti’s daughter.” Nickole repeated.
“Wait here, I will tell him you are here to see him. He then closed the door in Nickole’s face, leaving her waiting for him to come back. A few moments later, the door opened and the butler told her that Torrio, would see her. She was to come in and wait for him in his study. As soon as she was inside, the butler closed the doors and left. Nickole looked the room over, as she thought to herself, “This is all mine, and I mean to have it, Mr. Torrio.”
Suddenly the doors opened. A powerfully built, medium sized man came in. His complexion was dark, his nose was long and slender. He had black flashing eyes that held a cruel look in them. His hair was black and very curly, but he also had an impressive dignity about him, making him sexually desirable to many women.
He stared at Nickole for a moment, and then spoke to her, saying, “Well, well, so you are Nick Colletti’s kid. And here I thought all this time you were dead. Now that I have seen you, I am very glad that you aren’t. It would be such a waste of natural beauty to destroy such a lovely creature as you, my dear. Now what is it you want of me, my pretty?”
Nickole looked at him with a violent and disgusting hatred for him in her heart, as she said, “I have come to take back what is rightfully mine. I want you out of my house and I want my share of the business now!”
Torrio burst out laughing at her. “You want your house back and your share of the business?” Still laughing, Torrio moved toward Nickole, putting his hands on her shoulders. Then with one of his hands, he started running his fingers through her hair, as he went on to say, “Okay, sweetie, you can have your house. In addition, I will also give you your share of the business. However, it will be on my terms. First, you will live here with me as my woman, and after I get tired of having you around, then I will give you the business. You can be one of my whores, in my whorehouse downtown, and then you will get all the business you can handle. I will teach you everything I know from sucking to fucking. What’s the matter? You should feel honored. I could have you killed instead, you know...” he said in a low voice as he stared down at Nickole. Then like a wild animal, his breathing became heavy, as he threw Nickole down on the floor.
As they struggled, he said, “We might as well start now. I have always wondered what it was like to fuck a virgin — or have you been screwed before? Don’t fight it, baby. Let me show you how a good cock can feel. Once you get mine, you won’t want to give it up.”
Torrio started ripping the front of Nickole’s dress. The sight of her bare breasts excited him even more. The only thing he had on was a bathrobe that was now off and lying on the floor beside them. He was straddling her, his body completely nude. He managed to rip off her panties and had forced himself between her legs. Torrio was about to thrust his huge penis into Nickole when all of a sudden Nickole fired the gun into Torrio’s stomach. A horrified look came over his face as Nickole saw the
last flicker of life die out of his eyes, like a candle burning for the last time before going out.
Nickole pushed his naked body off her, and got to her feet, trying to hold her torn dress up to cover her bare breasts. She could not hide herself enough, so she picked up Torrio’s robe from the floor and put it on. Then Nickole slipped out of the house without being seen. She got into the car with Tony and Franky. They sped off, leaving Torrio’s naked body lying in the study, covered in a pool of blood. His butler found Torrio three hours later. He might not have been found until much later because Torrio had left strict orders that he was not to be disturbed unless is was urgent. Moreover, it was urgent. Torrio had a call informing him of Luchino’s death. A call he received a day too late.
Three weeks later, Nickole made her claim to her father’s estate. She moved into the house and took over all the businesses. Using Tony and Franky as her mouthpieces, Nickole had them spread the word
that Nick Colletti was back and he was running things once more. The numbers, rackets, and narcotics men were shocked and in disbelief when Tony and Franky passed the word around of Colletti being back in the running of things, and that he expected his payments as usual. The ones that did not believe it to be true, refused to pay. They had attended Nick’s funeral and swore that he was still dead and that somebody was just trying to muscle in on his old territory. And for this, the ones who resisted were either put out of business or killed. This method was used as an example to anyone else refusing to pay his dues. Then after a while, when everyone was made to believe that Colletti was alive, they began to accept it to avoid an all-out war, and things began to run smoothly.
Nickole sent for Salleina and the two little ones to come and live with her at the house, just as she had promised she would. Paul and Tiena attended private school during the day and were chauffeured back and forth every day with a bodyguard for their safety. Even though things were going smoothly, some of the families in the organization were becoming suspicious and filled with curiosity as to why Nick Colletti was never seen by anyone, or why he never
attended any of their council meetings. It was always Tony who attended all the meetings and did all of the negotiating on Nick Colletti’s behalf. The old Mafia chiefs decided that this was to be brought up at their next meeting. They wanted some answers to the truth.
There were twelve Mafia chiefs, besides Tony, sitting at a large round table. A small, thin, very well-dressed man with a thick head of white curly hair, stood up, bring
ing the meeting to order. He began first by speaking to everyone about business matters. His name was Vincent Stracci. After he finished, Stracci then spoke directly to Tony. All eyes turned to Tony as Stracci said, “Tell me, Mr. Geanellie, why is it that your Don shows his disrespect to us, by never being present at our meetings?”
Tony first turned white from this question. As he started to open his mouth to answer, Stracci waved
him off with his hand, and went on to say, “Don Colletti was once thought to be dead. Then a few years passed, and his name is made known to us once more. His partner and friend, and his consigliore are mysteriously murdered. Why is this? Is he a ghost or was he disfigured in some way, which it is so horrible that he dare not to be seen? Was this what happened when the first attempt was made on his life, for reasons and by persons still unknown? Tell me, is this the reason?”
Tony paused for a moment, thinking of what to say to them. As he cleared his throat to speak and answer Stracci’s questions with the greatest lie he ever told, Tony sat up very straight in his chair as he answered, “Don Colletti made it only appear that he was dead, so that he could go into hiding and seek out his would-be assassins. In addition, yes, he was terribly disfigured from acid that was thrown in his face after he was shot. His face cannot be repaired, so he does not wish for anyone to look upon his face and pity him. So you see, Don Stracci, this is why he sends me to make his appearances for him. It is not that he wishes to show disrespect to you and the other Dons. It is because of his misfortune. As for the mysterious murders of Luchino and Torrio –well, there is no mystery. Don Colletti killed them himself, because they were the ones responsible for the tragedy to his face. They had become too greedy and wanted to take over his power and money. They tried to kill him. He made them think he was dead so he could see if he was right in his suspicions of them. When he was sure that it was them, he took his time and waited for his revenge. When the proper time came, Don Colletti took it. You see, Don Colletti had left everything to his daughter, and when Luchino and Torrio tried to cheat her out of her inheritance –well, that is how he knew for sure it was them. Now he has