The Victim of the System

by Steve Hadden

  Ike said nothing.

  “What were you looking for?”

  Cassidy asked the question as if he already knew the answer. Ike just stared at the slug who’d dragged his feet on Ike’s parents’ case for the last eight years. Ike knew the Falzones wouldn’t want press about the seismic. That was the last thing they needed—especially, if for whatever reason, the image was somehow linked to Tom Cole’s death. Cassidy was bluffing.

  “I wasn’t looking for anything,” Ike said, his expression unchanged.

  Cassidy’s grin faded and he leaned across the table. Ike could smell his stale coffee breath. “This is why you never found your parents’ killer.”

  Ike scrambled around the table, grabbed Cassidy by the throat and pinned him to the mirror. “You know something about that, detective?”

  Cassidy struggled to free himself, but Ike drove his lower body into him. “You know, Detective, I’ll eventually find who killed them. And when I do, your luck will run out. I’ll find out who’s backing you, and that will be the end.”

  Two uniformed officers stormed in and pulled Ike away.

  “Get him out of here,” Cassidy yelled, pulling his rumpled shirt from his neck.

  “Hang on.” Ike was stunned as Jenna stepped into the room with Mac just behind her. “Unless you’re charging him with something other than trespassing, we’re done here.”

  Cassidy gathered himself and snatched the file folder off the floor. “He’s all yours. Falzones aren’t pressing any charges.”

  Ike realized Jenna’s anger wasn’t directed only at Cassidy. She turned and headed down the hall, ignoring Ike. Mac took Ike by the arm and led him out of the room.

  Jenna beat Mac and Ike out of the station, her long strides building a rapid lead. Ike trotted up to thank her, but she spun at the curb and her eyes flashed like lightning.

  “I can’t believe you did this. You put the entire case at risk—and maybe the custody hearing tomorrow.”

  “I’ll fix this.”

  “No, you won’t.” She pivoted to walk away but then stopped and turned back. “Do you know the worst thing? That boy and his aunt believed in you. They thought you could ride in and save the day. Hell, even I thought you’d help us. Now we only have one choice.”

  “No—no. You can’t do that to Jack.”

  Jenna closed to within inches of Ike’s face. “I have no choice now. Anything you might possibly uncover will be tainted by your attempted theft. Your action reflects on all of us. Jack, Lauren, me, and my father’s firm.”

  Ike saw Jenna’s eyes drop their intensity.

  “I’m sorry. There’s much more to find. I’ll make it good.”

  Jenna stepped back, took a deep breath, and spoke calmly. “No, you won’t. I talked to Lauren on the way here—you’re out.”

  A darkness swept over Ike and sent his mind reeling. He’d never been fired before. The fact that he’d been working for free didn’t help cushion the blow. Lauren had lost faith—and he’d let Jack down. As Jenna walked to her car, he wanted to stop her. Tell her it didn’t matter if she fired him, he’d still get to the bottom of this. But he gauged the words as hollow, and he knew when to cut bait.

  He walked back to where Mac had been waiting at a respectful distance.

  “You don’t have to say it,” Ike said.

  “I know I don’t. Sometimes we have to put our own footprints in the snow to know we’re headed nowhere.”

  That was Mac’s way of saying Ike didn’t listen. Ike couldn’t remember Mac’s ever telling him, I told you so. He’d always had some little metaphor or fable to make his point.

  “I can’t stop. I can’t leave this unfinished.”

  Mac wrapped his arm around Ike and they headed to Mac’s car. “I know. I wouldn’t expect any less.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Joseph stared at the lights outside his office window and held his worst fears at bay. Instead, he focused on a retaliatory strike of such scale and impact that it would overwhelm his grandson’s keepers. Rossi’s attempt this afternoon was both a blessing and a curse. He could use it tomorrow morning in the custody hearing to give cover to the judge’s ruling in their favor. Then again, using the incident could unravel the family he’d painstakingly stitched together over the last thirty years. Circumstances had dictated that he let Rossi go, but he’d ensure that one way or the other, Rossi would pay the cost for putting him in this position. A call to the station had released Rossi from custody, but not from Joseph’s powerful reach.

  He’d dealt with Rossi, but now he’d have to deal with Nick, who waited in his outer suite. Like it or not, he’d accepted Nick as his only son and the only one capable of carrying on the Falzone name. He’d had his shortfalls for sure, and those shortfalls had cost Joseph dearly. While Nick was all Joseph wanted in terms of a great business mind, his temper and lack of people skills were fatal flaws unless corrected.

  But Joseph put those problems on his own ledger because of Nick’s motherless childhood. He’d done everything he could to save Nick from his mother. She’d revealed a cunning narcissism once Nick and his sister Brenda were born. The wild accusations, bizarre behavior, and two a.m. expeditions were destroying the family Joseph had always wanted. After Joseph had begged her for months to attend counseling, she’d finally agreed, but she’d never fully participated. His therapist had said she never would.

  He’d tried to get both children away from her, but she’d refused to budge with Brenda. She’d been willing to surrender Nick for the right ransom, however, and Joseph had done the only thing he could have to save him. Brenda had adopted her mother’s personality flaws, and she suffered irreversible damage. Now, Joseph was committed to saving Nick again, an effort to hold on to the last thread of hope for his son. Nick’s recent actions had made Joseph question that commitment; still, he realized he didn’t have a choice. Save Nick, and save the family.

  Joseph called his assistant. “Send him in.”

  Nick rushed in red-faced and slammed the door. “He knows. The kid told him. That kid knows.”

  “Sit down, son.”

  Nick crossed his arms in protest, but Joseph kept his stare on him and waited. Sometimes the same tactics he’d learned from their dog trainer worked on Nick. One command, then expect compliance. Finally, Nick dropped into the chair.

  “Let’s assume Rossi knows something,” Joseph said. “It’s only that the seismic represents a tie between us and Tom Cole. The data is secured, I assume?”

  Nick nodded.

  “Then he’ll never see it.”

  Nick’s face hardened. “But he’s dangerous. We have to assume he knows.”

  “Agreed. I assume you can handle that?”

  “Already working on it.”

  Joseph had kept deniability. Nick had handled a similar matter a few years back, but the risk had escalated with his recent poor decisions. “Be careful—no blowback.”

  “There won’t be.” Nick stood. “We need to get that kid.”

  “The hearing is tomorrow. I’ll have Mayer mention the other side’s transgressions by Rossi. That should get us visitation, at least.”

  “That’s not enough.”

  “It will have to be. And don’t forget, that’s my grandson and the only other male left in this family.”

  Nick’s expression showed little recognition and an alarm sounded somewhere in Joseph’s head. “You’ll keep your hands off him. Understand?”

  Nick stuck out his lower lip and nodded.

  The desk phone beeped and Joseph picked it up.

  “She’s here.”

  “Send her in.”

  Nick started to leave.

  “Stay put. We must convince Shannon that the break-in was nothing. She said it’s already on Twitter.”

  Nick did an about-face and rolled his eyes skyward. Shannon knocked, then entered. She stopped short of Nick and silently waited for Joseph to speak. Nick and Shannon’s relationship had been a disappointment, to say the le
ast. Joseph had wanted a unified family, supportive and protective of each other. But years of reading every book on blended families and hours of family therapy had yielded nothing. The pair couldn’t stand each other. Still, Joseph forced them to work together, hoping they’d eventually tire of the battles. It wasn’t working.

  “How’s the media?” he asked her.

  “Just a few bursts on Twitter about a crazy man at Falzone Center. But security said it was Rossi. Is that true?”

  “Oh, Christ,” Nick said. “We need to shut them up.”

  Shannon looked at Nick, then Joseph. “So it was him?”

  “Yes,” Joseph said. “But we need to keep that quiet.”

  “Why? What was he after?”

  “None of your business,” Nick said.

  Shannon ignored him and gave Joseph a questioning look.

  Joseph was ready. “We don’t know. He accessed the computer system and it stopped him.”

  “Where was he?”

  “Twelfth floor.”

  “That’s the Minuteman team,” she said. She surveyed Nick and waited. He silently stared back. “Why would he be there, of all places?”

  “Like Dad said, we don’t know.”

  Joseph could see Shannon’s mind grinding. She couldn’t know about the seismic. “Look, Shannon. For the company, it’s best this doesn’t get out. No mention of Rossi. He’ll be a lightning rod and we don’t need that attention before the hearing.”

  “Wouldn’t revealing that help us?”

  “No. I don’t want the publicity. We’re on firm ground on the custody hearing tomorrow and I don’t want any more publicity around Minuteman until we get a well drilled.”

  Shannon carefully weighed Joseph’s words. “I can call it a random trespass.”

  “Perfect,” Joseph said. “Let me know if y—”

  The desk phone pinged again and Joseph spotted the time on the display. He remembered his dinner with Erin, and a sickening dread spread over him as he answered.

  “Mrs. Falzone is here.”

  Joseph never made her wait. He respected her too much. Despite his certainty of a pending storm, he said, “Send her right in.” A warning to Nick was in order. “Your mother’s here and we’re headed to the veterans’ dinner. Be nice to her. She’s been through a lot and this will be her first time out since Patrick’s accident.”

  Erin opened the door and hesitated when she spotted Nick. Like a sheepdog herding a lamb away from a wolf, Shannon intercepted her with a hug and gently moved her to her side of the office. Joseph rose and gave Erin a hug, too. Nick watched them and waited for a glance from Erin.

  “Erin,” was all he said.

  “Nick,” she replied.

  If looks were daggers, Joseph’s walls would have looked like a knife thrower’s backboard.

  Erin looked back at Shannon and Joseph. “I heard there was a break-in?”

  The question rattled Joseph. If Erin found out about the seismic, she’d be one step away from the truth, and her response would be nuclear. Erin’s intelligence was the trait that had sealed Joseph’s decision to marry again. Just a crack in the veil hiding their secret and she’d walk right through. “It was nothing, dear, just a trespasser.”

  “How did he get in?”

  As Joseph took a millisecond to weigh his reply, Shannon jumped right in. “He used a stolen access card. We think someone lost it somewhere outside the building.”

  It appeared Shannon was protecting her mother, but for another reason. They were close and Shannon had been protective of Erin since Patrick’s death. But it also felt as if Shannon had rescued Joseph, and a seed of suspicion was planted in Joseph’s mind. Shannon had been pressing lately—pressing Joseph and Nick about the operations. Her challenges to Nick had become more frequent. Joseph had written it off as more sibling competition now that Patrick was gone, but he wasn’t so sure.

  Erin smiled at Shannon, “That’s a bit of bad luck. Did the thief just happen to look like that person?”

  “Yes,” Nick said.

  Shannon cut her eyes to Joseph, as if asking for confirmation.

  Joseph knew Erin had a great bullshit detector. “He actually wore a fake beard to look like the contractor.”

  Erin’s brow furrowed. “That’s a lot of effort for a trespasser.”

  “You ready, dear?” Joseph said, cutting off the questioning.

  “I need to speak with you about the hearing tomorrow before we go,” she said.

  Shannon kissed her mother’s cheek. “I’ll leave you two to it.” She kissed her father’s cheek

  Before she could clear the door, Nick said, “I’d like to hear any new information. We need to be sure we prevail.”

  Erin locked her eyes on Nick. “That’s none of your business.”

  Nick’s cheeks turned crimson, but Joseph warned him with a look.

  “Erin, that’s your opinion. But he’s my nephew.”

  “He’s never been your nephew. Three weeks ago, you called him your sister’s crack baby.” She turned to Nick again. “This is between my husband and me. We are the grandparents and we are the plaintiffs in the case.”

  “Nick, let’s go.” Shannon moved to the door.

  Nick ignored her. “I don’t care—”

  “That’s enough,” Joseph said. “Leave us, Nick.”

  “So that’s it. You’re going to take her side?”

  “Go.”

  Nick stood there, but Joseph nodded toward the door. Nick was playing with fire and couldn’t see it. Finally, he bumped past Shannon and left. Shannon waved, smiled, and followed him out.

  Erin directed her ire at Joseph. “You need to do something. You always let him treat me like that. He’s not right. He’s mean and he doesn’t like me. He never did. But you just keep giving him more of the company.”

  “He’s under a lot of stress.”

  “Those are just excuses. He didn’t have a mother. He had a difficult childhood. You could have done better when he was younger. It’s all just manipulation on his part. He’s using your guilt.” Erin’s eyes welled with tears. “Do you know how that makes me feel, to have your son talk to me that way?”

  Joseph evaluated his options. Nothing short of kicking Nick out, just as he’d done to Brenda, would appease Erin. He just needed to let her unload.

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  Erin pulled a Kleenex from her purse and dabbed her eyes. “That won’t do any good.” She dropped the Kleenex into the wastebasket next to the desk and let out a deep sigh. “Let’s just go home.”

  Joseph allowed his heart to feel Erin’s pain for only a moment, and another stitch ripped away from the family ties. And while he knew he should have directed his anger at Nick, he couldn’t do it. Instead, he buttoned up his heart and took aim at Ike Rossi.

  CHAPTER 38

  As Ike approached the back door of the bar at Rossi’s, his senses surveyed his surroundings like sonar probing the depths of the dark sea. Maria had texted last night to check on him after getting the news of his detainment. But her principal concern was her request that he meet her at eight a.m. at Rossi’s. The text had ignited his protective instincts. He knew his sister, and her failure to provide a reason alerted his suspicion. Normally he’d be probing like a TSA Labrador, but this was Maria and his unease tempered his aggression.

  The first cold front of the year had raced through Pittsburgh, chasing the last remnants of summer into hibernation. A few stray newspaper pages fluttered past and were pinned against the dumpster. Despite his frigid nose, he could smell coffee brewing as he entered through the alley door. The bar was always immaculate in the morning, no stale beer or garlic in the air.

  His eyes swept the bar. The Naugahyde booths and thick brown tables formed a fairway to the stage. The Takamine six-string was still in its place where Ike had left it Sunday night. The lights were dimmed, other than those above the bar. He could hear the copper clock on the wall ticking down the seconds until eight thirty
, when he’d head to the courthouse to slip into Jack’s hearing.

  As he approached the bar, he heard Maria’s footsteps cascading down the stairs. She popped into the hallway, and before he could see her face through the darkness, she rushed over and hugged him.

  “Hey, sis, what’s going on?” he said.

  She released him and moved briskly behind the bar, then stopped, facing him. She placed two mugs on the bar and filled them with coffee. “What? Can’t a sister miss her brother? I was worried about you after I heard they had you at the station.”

  Ike grabbed the mug but kept his attention on Maria as he took a seat. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounded.”

  “Because they didn’t press charges?”

  “They didn’t. I’m shocked, but I suspect the Falzones didn’t want the publicity and they didn’t want the cops sniffing around for what I was looking for.”

  Maria let go of her mug and put both hands on the bar. “You’re smiling. That was stupid, Ike. If that gets out, your career is over.”

  “It won’t get out. They won’t let it.”

  “You could’ve gotten hurt.”

  “By who? The twelve dollar-an-hour rent-a-cops? Come on, what are you not telling me?”

  Maria looked away for a few seconds, then turned back, eyes welling. “I’m worried about you. The Falzones are powerful in this town. I’m worried something could happen to you and I couldn’t live with that. Can’t you just stop?”

  The question was like a flaming arrow that ignited a firestorm of guilt and anger. On one hand, he’d do anything for her, and to see her this way made him feel a little selfish. But he was doing this for them. Not helping Jack wasn’t an option. The force that held Ike was too strong. He didn’t fully understand it, but something told him he didn’t need to.

  He reached across the bar and gently wrapped his hand around hers. “I’ll be careful. That boy has no one else. If I don’t turn something up they’re going to plead mental incapacity. And chances are it won’t work. He could get life without parole. I can’t let that happen.” Ike slipped into parental mode. “And weren’t you the one pushing me to do this? What changed?”