by Tony Farraj
“Well, what do they want us to do?”
“Drag our feet on the paper work. The feds want to have a word with Anthony, before he can pose bail.”
On the other side of the precinct, Vinnie was on the phone with John Pennington. “What are they charging him with?”
“Nothing, I don’t think.” Vinnie said animated. “They grabbed him and through him in the car and brought him down here.”
“Alright. Try to find out what their charging him with and I’ll get there as soon as I can.” John hung up the phone and made his way to the police station.
“What’s going on?” His wife asked.
“One of my clients was hailed to jail for no apparent reason. I have to go and take care of this.” John knew his wife wasn’t going to be happy. It was the first time in months that they had a few quit moment alone. “I promise I’ll make this up to you.” He grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door.
Meanwhile, Anthony sat on the cold hard steel bench and waited for his bail hearing. The individual cell he was in smelled of vomit and urine. Their where stains on the ground beneath his feet and the sound of grown men yelling made Anthony anxious to leave.
“Whatcha in fo?” A soft-spoken voice from a near by cell asked.
Anthony looked up to see who was speaking to him. “Excuse me?”
“I said; whatcha in fo?” The guy next to him asked again.
“I don’t know, I’m innocent.”
“Shit man, ain’t we all. They said I shot old lady five times.” Anthony’s cellmate alleged.
“Why did you shoot her?” Anthony asked cordially.
“Fucken bitch was screwing my brother! I caught her cheating ass in my own house, on my bed, so I popped the bitch!”
“At least she kept it in the family.” Anthony couldn’t help but chuckle.
His cellmate didn’t find that too funny at first, but after a few minutes of silence, they guy began to laugh boastfully. “The name is T-bone.”
“Anthony Sakakini.”
“So, Anthony? Whatcha your story?” T-bone asked.
“What do you mean?” Anthony found T-bone somewhat interesting. His dark complication and gentle smile seemed to ease his own apprehension.
T-bone stuck his hands threw the bars. His large forearms barely fit. “You don’t look like no crack dealer or a murderer and you ain’t wearing no wedding ring, so you don’t beat your wife. So, what they get you fou?”
“They think I killed a friend of mine.”
“Damn, it’s always the quiet ones.” T-bone took one step back.
Detective William walked in to the holding area and escorted Anthony to an office, were detective Johnson was already waiting.
“Don’t say a fucken word to um Anthony, them motherfuckers ain’t got shit on you!” T-bone yelled as detective William escorted Anthony out the door.
“What are you charging me with?” Anthony asked, as detective William forcefully sat him down and then stepped out to wait for the feds.
“Who said we’re charging you with anything, we just want to talk.” Detective Johnson leaned up next to the two-way mirror.
“About what?” Anthony asked.
“Well?” Detective Johnson stalled, he wanted the feds to hear every thing Anthony had to say. As he was about to answer, there was a small knock on the door. Agent Shepherd and his partner agent Hill walked into the room, followed by detective William. All four men talked among themselves for a few minutes, then detective William and his partner stepped out of the room.
“Your turn to play good cop bad cop?” Anthony asked.
“I’m not here to play games. Frankie was murdered and I believe you had something to do with his death. Now you can sit there and deny you had any involvement, but I know you did it, so why don’t you make it easy on yourself and tell me the truth.”
Anthony stared at agent Shepherd, and then began to clap. “That was beautiful…” He took a look around the room. “Is there a camera in here? That has to be the best performance I have ever seen.” Anthony looked directly in the eyes of agent Shepherd. “I’m going to say this one more time, so pay attention; I had nothing to do with anyone dying, not Frankie and especially not Chris. You have no proof I killed either one of those guys, so charge me with something or cut me the fuck loose.”
“Don’t you get it? I don’t have to charge you with anything and I can still hold you. The law allows me twenty four hours before I have to formally charge you with anything.” Agent Shepherd was irrigated with Anthony’s refusal to cooperate in his investigation.
“Why can’t you get it through your thick skull, I didn’t kill anybody!” Anthony leaned forward in his chair and poked at his temple. “I’m not saying another word, without my lawyer being present.”
“That’s fine.” Agent Shepherd said calmly. “But let me tell you this; I know who you are and I know what your up to and I’m not going to rest until I personally bring you down. Then we’ll see who has the last laugh.” Agent Shepherd stood up and knocked on the door. “Get this piece of shit out of my sight.”
“Sir, his lawyer is here. He wants to know what you and his client talked about. He’s waiting for you in detective William’s office.
Anthony was escorted back to his cell, while agent Shepherd went to talk to John Pennington.
“Mr. Pennington, I’m agent Shepherd and this is special agent Hill, we’re with the F.B.I. we’re investigating a murder that possibly involves your client.”
“Possibly involves my client? You’re saying you have no actual proof?” John asked furiously.
“We need to hold your client overnight, until we get all our facts together.” Agent Shepherd said calmly.
“When is his bail hearing?” John asked.
“That won’t be necessary at this time. As I explained to your client earlier, we haven’t officially charged him with any crime, yet.” Agent Shepherd could tell John was becoming agitated with the run around.
John Pennington took a deep breath. “I would like to speak with my client alone and assure him that he has nothing to worry about.” John stood up and began walking toward the room agent Shepherd walked out of minutes earlier.
“He’s no longer in there. I sent him back to his holding cell.”
“I still would like the opportunity to talk to my client.” John insisted.
“Very well Mr. Pennington, I’ll have him brought back down.”
John walked into a room, where an officer was seating behind a small gray metal desk. On top of the desk there was a black phone and the morning paper.
“Can I help you?” Asked the officer.
John handed the officer a business card, then politely asked to speak to his client, Anthony Sakakini.
“Please have a seat, I’ll bring him out.” The officer said sternly.
Meanwhile, Anthony had just settled down in his 3 by 5 cell, when an officer came back and dragged him out. “What now?”
“You have a visitor.” The officer unlocked his cell. “It’s your attorney.” The officer led Anthony down a narrow hallway to a door marked with a letter B. “You’ll have thirty minutes. Then I’m coming to get the prisoner. Please keep both hands where the monitor can see them. Do not try to smuggle any contraband back to your cell. You will be searched.” The officer stepped back into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
Anthony stood by the door cautiously and stared at the elderly man, sitting behind the large metal table. He was wearing a dark suit, with an off color tie. His hair was gray and combed back; his fair skin and pleasant smile invited Anthony into the chair on the opposite side of the table.
“Anthony Sakakini? Mr. Spinelli asked me to come down here and try to get you out of this nasty mess.” John’s voice, along with his million-dollar smile made Anthony feel comfortable, but still wary.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” Anthony asked.
“John Pennington, I’m a friend of the family.”
/>
“It’s nice to meet you John. So, what are they charging me with?” Anthony whispered. He didn’t want the monitor to hear his conversation.
“That seems to be the million dollar question? According to agent Shepherd they’re not charging you with anything, yet. But, they are going to hold you for forty-eight hours. You want to tell me what happened?” John pulled out a note pad and a miniature tape recorder.
“John, I have no problem talking to you, but turn that tape recorder off, please.” Anthony asked before starting.
“I understand.” John put the tape recorder back in his briefcase. “Please go on.”
“Vinnie, Bruno and I had just pulled into my driveway, when detective William pulled in right behind us, he jumped out of his car and immediately accused me of killing Frankie Pattaglia. I told him to back off and I tried to walk away, that’s when he grabbed me…”
“Who grabbed you?” John interrupted.
“Detective William.” Anthony said bitterly.
“Then what?”
“I told him not to put his hands on me and before I knew it, he had my face buried in the hood of my car. They brought me down here and put me in this shit hole. John, you got to get me out of here.” Anthony begged. “I can’t stand being confined.”
“I’ll do what I can…” John paused. “But there is one problem? They haven’t charged you with a crime.”
“So?” Anthony thought that was a good thing.
“If they don’t charge you, then there won’t be a bail hearing.” John could see the irritation on Anthony’s face. “Hang in there, let me see if I can reason with agent Shepherd.”
“Thanks.” Anthony said softly. The door to the integration room swung open. A lady officer with long brown hair and a shapely body entered the room.
“I have to take Anthony back to his cell.” She stood Anthony up and placed the handcuffs tightly around his wrists. She escorted Anthony down the hallway and patted him down right before they entered the holding cells. The female officer ran her hand down the inner part of Anthony’s thigh, while pressing his head hard against the light blue wall with the other. She reached around and grabbed Anthony’s crotch and squeezed hard.
“What the hell are you doing?” Anthony asked surprised.
Shhh! There’s no cameras in this hallway.” The female officer unbuttoned the orange jump suit and began to stroke Anthony’s erection. She forcefully turned Anthony around and dropped to her knees. Minutes later, she got up and wiped the dirt off her uniform and looked Anthony in the eyes. “Bruno thought you might be a little tense.”
“Bruno set this up?” Anthony asked somewhat out of breath.
“Yeah, I hope you didn’t mind?” The female office walked Anthony to his cell and closed the door behind him. “Dinner will be served in about an hour.” She locked the cell and walked back out into the hallway.
Anthony lay down on his stain mattress and closed his eyes. The air was filled with the smell of mildew and urine. As the minutes dragged into hours, the holding area became more and more lively. The cells around Anthony filled with drunks, gang members, shoplifters and your occasional wife beater. Through the night Anthony shared his cell with a variety of different criminals. Most didn’t stay for more than an hour or so. He closed his eyes and tried to get some rest, but it was impossible. He found himself pacing back and forth in his tiny environment.
The following morning Anthony was taken back into interrogation, where detective William and his partner detective Johnson where waiting for him.
“Are you finally going to release me or charge me with something?” Anthony asked the minute he was seated.
“I could charge you with carrying a concealed weapon, but the paperwork would take to much of my time and you’re not worth it. You’re free to go, but don’t even think about leaving town. We’re still investigating Frankie’s murder and you’re still our number one suspect.” Detective William glared at Anthony.
Anthony was taken back to booking, where he changed back into his street clothes. He walked out to the front desk and met up with Vinnie and Bruno.
“So, how did they treat you?” Bruno asked.
Anthony smiled. “Let’s get the fuck out of this hell hole.” They stepped out into the morning sun. Anthony felt good to be free. He couldn’t imagine spending life in prison. The smell of freedom was to great for Anthony to ever give up. “Are you guys hungry? I could kill for a good breakfast.” He turned and glanced at the faces of Vinnie and Bruno, each one just smiled.
“That’s funny.” Vinnie said after a few seconds.
All three men piled into Bruno’s car and drove down to a small cafeteria to have a small bite to eat and discuss their next move.
“What now?” Vinnie asked, when the waitress lift to go and get their drinks.
“We have to be very careful, Shepherd is going to be watching me like a hawk. I want to get Mr. Spinelli’s money as quietly as I can and then I’ll take care of the unfinished business I have with Carlo and Michael.” Anthony wolfed down his breakfast and was ready to go home and sleep in his own bed. “Did you happen to tell Tina what had happened?”
“Yeah, she knows. I told her not to worry.” Vinnie said calmly. “She said she would talk to you later.”
That evening, Anthony and Tina spent most of the night together wrapped in each other’s arms. It felt good to be out of that cell and back home, with Tina lying next to him. Anthony could have spent the rest of the night with her, but he had to go and find Leroy and Tina had to go to work early the next morning. They both walked each other to the door, where Anthony kissed Tina good night and watched her drive away.
When the time had come to go in search of Leroy at clicks, Vinnie noticed a dark sedan parked down the street with its lights off. Anthony stepped out of the house and walked to the dark sedan and knocked on the window.
The field agent slowly rolled down the window and glared at Anthony. He hated the fact that his cover was blown. “Something I can help you with?”
“Yeah, I just wanted you two numb nuts to know, I’m going out, just in case you wanted to come a long.” Anthony smiled and walked back to Bruno’s car.
“Was that really necessary?” Vinnie shook his head. He pulled the car out of the driveway and made his way toward the freeway. “Do they think we can’t see them back there. I’m going to try and loose them.”
Anthony turned to see where the agents where. He saw that the sedan had pulled one car closer. “Pull in there.” Anthony pointed to a movie parking lot.
Vinnie zigzagged through the parking lot trying desperately to loose the agents. Finally, in a blink of an eye Vinnie slipped the sedan, which had gotten caught behind a little old lady driving at a snails pace. Vinnie quickly exited the lot and headed back onto the freeway.
“That should teach them not to follow us.” Anthony said smiling back at the sedan. They drove down to the third ward and pulled up to Clicks. There was a long line at the front door. The loud music could be heard outside. The heavy base vibrated the concrete sidewalk. Anthony and his party slowly made their way through the crowd and to the front of the line. As Anthony began to walk inside, he felt a large hand grab him by the shoulder and push him back.
“Yo bra? What the hell do you think you’re going?”
Anthony looked up to see a giant of a man staring down at him. “I’m trying to get inside, if you would only let me.”
”And what the fuck do you think all these people are standing here fou?” The large bouncer asked as he had a tight grip on Anthony’s shoulder.
“I don’t know, their health?” Anthony responded tauntingly.
“Oh, you think that’s funny? Get your ass in the back of the line.” The bouncer gave Anthony a tiny push.
“Look, are sure there’s nothing you could do to get us in quicker?” Anthony reached inside his jacket and handed the bouncer a hundred dollar bill. “Come on, whatta say?”
The bouncer quickly looked d
own at the face on the folded bill and then shuffled Anthony and his two guests into the club.
Inside the music pounded in Anthony’s chest. This time around, there where twice as many dancers walking around. The main stage was crowded with men throwing money at the two naked ladies dancing. Anthony shuffled his way through the sea of people searching for the waitress that knew what Leroy looked like. The patrons stared angrily at Anthony, Vinnie and Bruno as they made their way around the club.
“I don’t think they like us in here.” Bruno yelled over the loud music. He spotted a table in the back corner of the club. All three slid into the plush velvet chairs.
“What can I get you?” The large breasted waitress didn’t recognize Anthony and his friends.
“Jake and coke.” Vinnie yelled.
“What about you?” She pointed to Anthony.
“Information.” Anthony asked.
The waitress looked at Anthony. “Do I look like I have 411 written on my fore-head?”
“Can’t tell, it’s to dark in here.” Anthony replied with out hesitation.
“I’ll be back with yo drinks.” The large breasted waitress said with a feeble smile.
As the music lowered and the lights came up for brief instant, Anthony looked around the club and saw a familiar face. T-bone was leaning on the end of the bar. He was dressed in an all red suit, with a red matching hat. A large platinum necklace hung outside his shirt for all the girls to see.
“Excuse me for a second, I think I see someone I know.” Anthony began to get up, when Bruno grabbed him by the arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?"
“Relax, I’m just going to the bar.” Anthony made his way toward T-bone.
“Anthony!” T-bone shouted over the music. “Whattacha doin here by brother?”
“I can’t believe they let your ass out on of jail.” Anthony said amiably.
“Shit man I told you they can’t hold me. Shit, it looks like they couldn’t hold you neither. Whatta doing in here?” T-bone asked curiously.
“I’m looking for someone. A guy that goes by the name of Leroy, he supposedly likes to hang out here. Ever heard of him?”