by Robert Swetz
“Vince!” Fran said. “You’re sending Brian back to talk to the police? Alone?”
“If he’s willing,” Vince replied.
“No problem, Dad. I can handle it. I know I can.”
“From what I’ve seen, I think he can do it too,” Gerald agreed.
Fran looked at her son. “I wish to God I knew what you get into all the time. But you and your father are so damn much alike it frightens me, including all the bad stuff!” She looked at her husband. “Vince, he’s so much like you, I’ve no doubt he can handle it.”
“Then what’s the first thing we have to do to make all this happen?” Gerald asked.
“The first thing,” Vince replied, “is for us to get out of here and go somewhere else. Someplace with air conditioning.”
Chapter 16
“Dad.”
“Yes son?”
“Can I have a suit?”
“A suit?”
“Yeah.”
“Would you wear it?”
“Of course!”
“Where?”
“Uh…I don’t know. Somewhere.”
“If you’ve got no place to wear one, then why would you want one?”
“Because you wear them all the time, and Uncle Gerald does too. So does Michael and both his loony friends.”
“So you think you should wear one too.”
“Yeah. Why not?”
Vince smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you a suit, we’ll get you a few of them. But not till we get back to Chicago. Now how do those pants fit? They look okay.”
“They’re fine Dad. But what if I get dirty?”
“Don’t! You’ve already got dirty clothes. Your mother wanted to see you in clean ones for a change.”
“So, no suit?”
“Not till we get home. Chicago.”
“But you’re getting one.”
“That’s different. I need one now and I didn’t bring any luggage. I was expecting to fly back home when I came.”
“But I can’t have one?”
“Not till we get home!” Vince told him once again. “Actually, you’re going to need a few of them by that time for when you meet the family. I’m sure you’ll be going to a number of parties just so they all can meet you. And after that, I have no doubt your mother will be dragging you out to Los Angeles too to meet that side of your family.”
“More parties?” Brain asked.
“I’m afraid so. Better get used to it son.”
“Can I drink champaign again?”
Vince looked down at his son. “Ask me later. Now put one of your new shirts on and let’s get out of here.”
“How come Mom gets to go somewhere else to do her shopping and we’ve got to stay here in the hotel?”
“Your mother needs too many things, as usual,” Vince replied. “We don’t think anyone will recognize her anyway. Someone might recognize me though. Now stand back and let me see you.” Vince looked his son over. He looked a lot more civilized than he did before. Tell you what,” he said to Brian. “Will you settle for just a tie today?”
“Sure!”
Three hours later, the door to their two-bedroom suite opened and Francesca entered. Brian barely recognized her. She was followed through the door by two men who had been with her all morning while she did her shopping. Both of them were loaded down with bags that they set on the floor by the door.
“Anything else?” one of the men asked her.
“No. Not right now. Thanks,” Francesca said with a smile.
Once the two men were gone, Francesca turned and faced her husband and her son.
“Mom!” Brian said. “You look great!”
Francesca smiled. “Thank you.”
Vincent crossed the room and kissed her. “There’s my wife,” he said quietly.
“Sorry I had to cut my hair,” she replied. “Give it time, it’ll grow.”
“You look wonderful,” he told her.
“So do you.” She glanced at Brian. “A tie? I like it.”
“He wanted an entire suit. I told him not till Chicago, then I’m afraid I promised I’d get him several.”
“I can’t wait to see him in a nice suit,” Fran replied. “I just wish we could go somewhere right now. Even just out to dinner.” She looked pleadingly into Vincent’s face. “Just dinner? We’re all dressed for it.”
“Sorry,” Vince told her. “As nice as that sounds, we don’t dare. Not only that, we’ve got too much going on.”
“Yeah,” she sighed as she left him and headed for the pile of bags. “Any word from Gerald?”
“Not yet, but I figure he should be back soon.”
“Brian, give me a hand,” she said to her son as she picked up two of the bags and carried them into the bedroom she had shared with her husband.
When they had arrived the day before, Vince had taken her aside before charging the rooms to one of his shell corporations. “Do you want to stay with Brian?” he had asked. “Or do you want a room by yourself? Or would you be okay with the three of us sharing a suite and you sleeping in my bed?”
She had looked up into his face and said, “Vince, you’re my husband, and we’re trying to work this out. We need to get to know each other again. I think sharing a room together might be a great way to start. Don’t you think?” He had kissed her, and the night had been one of the best she could remember in many years – after Vince had called in one of his men to guard their bedroom door all night to keep Brian away from it. Her son was thirteen, and a bit too curious.
Someone knocked on the door and the security guard standing outside opened it. Gerald entered the suite.
“Got anything?” Vincent asked as Gerald headed for the small kitchen table and a bottle of water on it. He poured some in a glass and drank it.
“Damn it’s hot out,” Gerald said. He pulled a chair out and sat down. Vince sat across from him and waited.
“Michael is still staying in his father’s house every night. He goes in and out a lot, but he eventually always comes back. We noticed he seems to pay a call at one particular apartment every evening though. We haven’t seen him spend the entire night there, but I’m betting he does fairly often. I think he’s more concerned about us right now than his girlfriend.”
“So his girlfriend is a weakness.”
“I think that’s where you should concentrate your efforts.”
“Okay. What else?”
“We spotted a woman going in and out of his father’s house too. We’re pretty sure it’s Iris. The servants all seem to leave shortly after dinner, and last night, as far as we could tell, they were all gone by nine.”
“So Samuel is keeping his entire family close.”
“At least right now he is. My bet is that both Michael and Iris have their own places somewhere, but Samuel is insisting they stay together for security reasons. It’s a lot easier to guard one place than multiple places.”
“Makes sense. And how about his security?”
“That’s going to be the tricky part. As you thought, there’s an army of guards. A lot more security than when we were there.”
“Did you get an idea of how many guards he has there?”
“We don’t know how many are inside. A few I’d guess. We couldn’t tell exactly. But the house sits on a corner, so we were able to count sixteen on the grounds outside. You saw the fence when you were there. Eight-feet high, wrought iron spindles with points on each piece. Not only would it be difficult to climb, but since it’s easy to see through, anyone who tried would be dead before they started.”
“Gates?”
“Two. The one in the front and one on the side street near the back of the property.”
“Can it be done?”
“Like I said, it’ll be tricky, but if we can get the right people, no problem.”
“I’ve got all my people in Chicago standing by,” Vince told him. “Just let me know whatever you want, and I’ll make sure you get it. How about what
I asked for?”
“They’re searching for some good places now,” Gerald told him. “They say it won’t be a problem.”
“Good. How much time do you think we’re going to need to get ready?”
“Finding what you need…getting all the men and equipment here…double checking and making sure everything is ready…. I suggest we give it at least three days. And I’m hoping that will be enough for Brian’s part.”
Vince thought about it. “Three days sounds like a long time, but it’s not. Still, I don’t want this to go on any longer than necessary. Not only that, but we’re all going to be stuck in this hotel the entire time, and I know Fran won’t stand for it.”
“No! I won’t!” Fran said from where she and Brian had been standing off to the side, listening. As nice as this place is compared to where we’ve been living, three days is too long.”
Vince looked up at his wife. “Sorry,” he said, “but I just don’t see how we can get it all done in less time. Three days is doable, but it still may be pushing it. And staying here is the only safe thing for us.”
“Why did I bother getting my hair done?” she fumed.
“For me!” Vince replied with a smile.
“Three days,” Gerald said, “might be the perfect amount of time to pull together that meeting with the police.”
Vince thought about it. “Yeah, but it will mean we better start the process tomorrow.”
--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---
He was Brian Winston again. Wearing the same old clothes Brian Winston had always worn, walking the same streets Brian Winston had walked a thousand times. Except this time, they had dropped him off only three blocks from the church. It was two in the afternoon. Long after the noon meal for the needy people.
As he walked, Brian couldn’t help but remember the long session he had the night before and the two talks they had with him today. His father and Uncle Gerald had talked to him until he couldn’t stand it anymore, no matter how much he kept telling them not to worry. But they seemed to be too focused on exactly what words he should say and how much information he was allowed to tell. Geez! This was easy stuff. Fortunately, his mother had finally stepped in and told his father to stop worrying about it. She had told his father and Uncle Gerald both that he could handle it. Duh! Of course he could. He had no doubt in the world about it. That didn’t seem to stop them though from sticking a bug on his belt so they could hear every word he said. He didn’t like that part at all.
He had already purposely forgotten every sentence and phrase they had suggested he use. He had purposely forgotten every suggestion on how he should act. He knew Father Joseph. He knew the nun, Sister Agnes. He had already talked to the police guy too. His Uncle Gerald had something big that he was going to do. His father had a separate big thing that he was doing too. This was his big thing, not theirs.
He remembered listening last night to the start of the big planning meeting between his father, Uncle Gerald, and a bunch of men who had gathered around the table in their suite. And then his father had looked over at him and told him to go to his room and stay there.
“Why?” he had asked.
“Because we’re talking about things you shouldn’t hear.”
“Killing people?” he had asked.
“Among other things,” his father admitted.
“Dad, I’ve seen men killed before. Right in front of me.”
“I still want you to go to your room and stay there. This is stuff you can’t know about.”
“Why not?”
“Brian, think. If you knew what we’re doing, and some of that information accidently slipped out, we could all be compromised. Killed!”
“I won’t say anything. I promise!”
“Brian! Go…to…your…room! Now! And stay there!”
“And don’t listen at the door!” his mother had added.
Grownups! His father was just like his mother. Neither of them wanted him to know anything interesting. That was one of the reasons why he had purposely ignored everything they had told him. This was his idea, his project. He was going to do it his way. They would just be listening. Unfortunately.
There were no needy people hanging around the side door, but he didn’t expect to see any. He did expect to have to knock a few times. He didn’t bother knocking softly. He knocked as hard as he could to try and get someone’s attention inside. He was happy to only have to knock twice before he heard someone opening the door. No surprise, the nun.
“David!” Sister Agnes said as she saw who had been knocking. “Lunch is over.”
“I ate already,” Brian told her. “Is Father Joseph here?”
“Yes. We’re just finishing cleaning up in the kitchen.”
“I need to talk to him. It’s important.”
She paused for a moment, then let him in and closed the door. “What’s your problem?” she asked.
“That’s for me to tell Father Joseph.”
Sister Agnes wasn’t happy about it, but she left him in the dining room and headed back to the kitchen. It was a minute before Father Joseph came out. Brian had no doubt he had just removed the apron he usually wore.
“David,” Father Joseph said. “Sister Agnes says you need to see me?”
“Yes,” Brian replied. “I need you to call that cop I was talking to last time. The same one.”
“What about?”
“I need to talk to him.”
“About what?”
“I’ve got information for him…if he’s interested.”
“What kind of information?”
Brian looked determinedly at the priest. “The kind he wants!”
“Why don’t you just go to the police station?”
“I don’t know his name, and I’m not going to the police station. Now are you going to help me, or do we just let a bunch more people die?”
“People might die?”
Brian shook his head. “Maybe I should just leave and forget it. A few more dead people won’t matter much to the cops anyway.”
“No!” Father Joseph said quickly. “Why don’t we go to my office. I’ll call him from there.”
“Good,” Brian said. “Besides, I like your office.”
“Thanks,” Father Joseph replied as he led the way, wondering what this kid had gotten into now. First it was that box full of credit cards, and now he was talking about murder.
Father Joseph sat behind his desk and Brian sat in one of the big chairs in front of it and looked around. “I was telling this lady I met about how nice your office is and about all the books you have,” he said.
“You did?”
“Yeah. You should see her house though. Fancy doesn’t even begin to cover it. But most everything she had was real old. I like this better.”
“Whose house were you in?”
“Don’t ask,” Brian replied. “But don’t worry, I wasn’t there to steal anything. Just visiting.”
“I see,” Father Joseph said as he picked up his desk phone.
“Is there some way you can put that on speaker?” Brian asked. “So you can hear too?”
“Yes, of course,” Father Joseph replied. “No problem. You want me to hear?”
“If you want.”
Father Joseph nodded, then dialed the number. He waited a moment for the call to be answered.
“Crosby,” Brian heard a voice on the other end of the line answer.
“Detective Crosby? This is Father Joseph again. Remember that boy you were talking to who had the box of credit cards? I’m afraid he’s back again and he’s insisting he needs to talk to you.”
“The boy with the box?”
“I can hear you,” Brian said loudly. “I’m right here.”
There was a slight pause, then the detective said, “What is it you need?”
“I need to talk to you in person, and when I do, I need you to bring one of the driver’s licenses from that box.”
“A driver’s license? Look kid, they
’ve all been processed already. They’re gone.”
“Too bad,” Brian said, unperturbed. “I was going to trade you that license for information.”
“What kind of information.”
“Who killed all the Scorpions for one thing.”
“Who… You knew who had killed some of them before! You knew all about a few of the murders. Who was it this time?”
“No license, no information,” Brain told him.
“Look kid, I can have you arrested for withholding valuable information.”
“Good luck,” Brian replied. “I guarantee you’ll never find me. Not only that, but I won’t tell you anything at all about the Scorpions, and I also won’t tell you who blew up the plane at the airport a few days ago.”
“The explosion at the airport?” Crosby asked, his voice seeming to go up several octaves.
“Was there more than one?” Brain asked. “I heard some policemen got killed.”
“Who did it?” Crosby demanded.
“I don’t know,” Brian replied casually. “At least not until I get that license.”
“What license? Which one?”
“The one that had Francesca Bianchi’s name on it.” Brian heard the large intake of breath. He also didn’t miss the long pause.
“How do I know your information is good?” Crosby asked.
“Can you take a chance that it isn’t?” Brian countered.
“Damn you kid, every time we talk, you’ve got to get your way.”
“Wouldn’t you? All I want is that license. What I have to trade is who killed the Scorpions, who blew up the jet at the airport, and who else is going to get killed very soon.”
“Someone else is going to get killed? Who?”
“Several people actually.”
“Who?”
“I need a license first.”
“Why that license?”
“Because that’s the one I want.”
“Look kid, there’s a problem. I don’t have it.”
“But you did have it,” Brian said. “I saw it. One of your men showed it to me.”
“Those weren’t my men. They were FBI. All three of them. They’ve got it.”
“FBI? Well, I guess that a lot more people are just going to get murdered soon. Unless you can get me that license.”