Deadly Shamrocks: An Irish Tale of Love, Murder and Revenge

by J. B. Reed

  “Michael O’Bannon, what did I ever do to deserve you?

  “Jesus, Vivie, I don’t know, but maybe you’ll be forgiven of that too, in time.

  Michael and Vivie held each close and laughed. In the back of Michael’s mind, he was thinking about Joseph and what he was going to say about this. If he could keep her father’s death a secret, then he could keep his marriage to Vivie a secret from Joseph.

  “Vivie, tell you what we’ll do. Tomorrow morning, we will get on a plane and fly to Las Vegas. We can get married there in just a couple hours. How does that sound?

  Michael knew that if they were married in Vegas, Joseph would be less likely to hear about it. He also knew that getting Vivie out of town right now, she would be less likely to hear about her father’s murder.

  “Las Vegas Nevada?”

  “Do you know of any other?”

  “Michael, do you know what this means? The letter I wrote to my folks will no longer be a lie. Thank you, Michael, for making my lie the truth. You are my Prince Charming.”

  “Anything for you Princess Vivie; anything for you.”

  Never, in his wildest dreams did Michael ever picture himself as a husband, much less a father. The best mechanic in the business, as Joseph put it, changing diapers? The very thought was laughable. But for Vivie, he was willing to try anything.

  6.

  VIVA LAS VEGAS

  To secure their safety, Michael knew he had to ask Joseph’s permission to leave the city for a few days. He had a good excuse; he needed to get Vivie out of town, to avoid her finding out about her father’s death. Michael knew Patrick’s death would be in all the papers by this time. A gang related hit was big news. The media would be all over it, even if it did happen in Hell’s Kitchen. Michael was not convinced this was gang related. No, it felt more like a hit that was ordered by one man, one, Tommy Flannery.

  While Vivie was busy packing, Michael placed the call to Joseph, taking care that Vivie did not overhear his conversation.

  “Joseph, I need to get out of town for a few days. I need to take Vivian out of town. With the media all over this hit, she’s bound to hear about it. I think if I take her away for a few days, maybe a week, it will give things time to cool off here. You know the media doesn’t follow through on anything longer than a week.”

  “That’s not a bad idea Michael. It might be a good idea for you to lay low for a while as well. Listen, why don’t you take her out to Vegas for a couple weeks. I have a suite at the Palms; you are more than welcome to use it. No one will be looking for you there. Live it up a little. Might be good for the little girl too.”

  Michael could hardly believe his ears. Joseph was actually suggesting he take Vivie to Las Vegas….could this be any more perfect? He and Vivie could leave for Las Vegas tonight, with Joseph’s blessing, get married with as little fuss as possible, and spend the next couple of weeks, absorbing all the pleasure that Vegas has to offer; all on Joseph’s dime. What a wedding present. Too bad Joseph did not know what a gift he had given them.

  “That sounds great Joseph, thank you. We can be ready to leave in a couple hours. I’ll tell Vivian I want to take her on a little holiday.”

  “That will give us time to get her mother and the rest of her family relocated too, Lucky. By the way, I’m going to take care of the expenses for the old man.”

  “Joseph, I had already intended on doing that.”

  “Yeah, I kind of figured you were. I do not want you anywhere near this thing Lucky. The Westies get even a whiff of you, and it may be all they need, you got me?”

  “Yeah, got it.”

  “Okay, then, go pack and get your ass out of town. Do not call me when you get there. I’ll contact you when it’s safe to come back.”

  “Thanks again, Joseph.”

  “No problem, Lucky. I have got it taken care of on this end. You go, have a good time.”

  “Okay Joseph.”

  Michael hung up the telephone and opened the bedroom door. Vivie’s bedroom door was open, and Michael could see all the clothing that she owned scattered across the top of the bed. Vivie was on her hands and knees, peering under the bed, as Michael walked in.

  “Vivie darlin, now is an odd time to be praying.”

  “Michael, I’m not praying, I’m looking for my shoes.”

  “They’re on your feet, darlin.

  “No Michael, I’m looking for all of my shoes.”

  “Vivie….good God…don’t tell me you’re taking every pair of shoes you own, with you to Las Vegas?”

  “Michael, I need my shoes, I won’t know what pair I’ll need, until I decide on what dress I’ll be wearing.”

  “Very well, Vivie, I know there’s no need to argue with you, but we do need to get packed. I called the airport and our plane leaves in two hours.”

  “Two hours? Michael, I’ll never be ready in two hours.”

  “You will, if you’re going to catch that plane, Vivie.”

  “It’s easy for men, all they need is a pair of pants, a pair of under shorts, a pair of socks and a shirt and they’re all set.”

  “The under shorts are optional, Vivie. Now hurry, and get packed.”

  Michael gave Vivie a quick peck on the cheek and left the bedroom.

  Michael and Vivie did get to the airport in time to make their flight. Despite the fact Vivie had never flown before, she was relatively at ease, her hand intertwined with Michaels, waiting for the plane to take off. Soon the plane was in the air and they were on their way to Las Vegas, and a new life, a married life. Vivie closed her eyes, thinking about what her wedding day would be like, wishing her mother and father could be there with her. Michael closed his eyes as well; only Michael’s thoughts were back in Hell’s Kitchen with Tommy and his crew and Vivie’s family, or what is left of them. The quicker Joseph can get her family relocated, the better. If Tommy would take out Patrick Clancy to flush him out, what else would he do?

  The funeral of Patrick Fergus Clancy went as planned. His body was taken from Moran’s Funeral Parlor to St. Peter’s Catholic Church for the funeral; he was then laid to rest in the church cemetery. Mary Clancy was in anguish. Not only had she lost her husband in such a brutal, tragic, manner, but she had no way of notifying Vivie that her beloved father had been murdered in the street. Mary had convinced herself that if only Vivie could have been there, had she not ran off and gotten married, her father would still be alive. Mary was filled with anger, bitterness, and resentment. Most of it was for the man, or men who killed her husband. Some if was for her daughter, Vivian.

  Just a few blocks away, Tommy, Shane and Ryan sat at Tommy’s table in the back room of Molly O’Hanlon’s. Ryan was ready to celebrate his successful hit. Tommy was not quite in the mood for a celebration.

  “What say you, Tommy, did I do a damn fine job or did I not?” Ryan hoisted his glass toward Tommy and Shane, waiting for them to return the gesture on his behalf.

  “What say I, Ryan? I say you’re damn lucky. Lucky that you didn’t shoot your mother fucking leg off, when you pulled that Luger up to the window, like you did. Who the fuck, told you to drive up by the old bastard, and fire at him, from the car window?”

  “But, Tommy, I was dead on balls on target. Right between the eyes, I was. I couldn’t have gotten a better shot had I walked up beside him on the street.”

  “Well, you may as well have walked up on the street, as sloppy as this hit was. Do you know many fucking witnesses saw you pop that old man, you fucking retard? How high were you that morning, Ryan? How much of my dope, had you stuffed up your nose, before you went out to do an important job…..a job I trusted you to do?”

  Ryan, dropped his head, and then looked over to the other side of the room, avoiding eye contact with Shane. Ryan and Shame had always vied for top man in Tommy‘s crew, top man in Tommy’s eyes. The embarrassment of Tommy‘s chastisement was more than Ryan could deal with at that moment.

  “That’s what I thought. Stupid fuck. And here
you are, wanting me to tell you what a grand job you did. Bull fucking shit.” And you, Shane, if you hadn’t got yourself fucked up, I could have had you take care of this. But there you are, sitting in that fucking chair, rolling around like you think you’re in a fucking little red wagon. Having a good time, are you Shane? You like being in that chair, do ya?”

  “No, I don’t like being in this fucking chair, Tommy. What the hell’s wrong with you, Tommy? Why you talking to us like this? We don’t need to hear this shit. We do the best we can for you.”

  Tommy jumped up from the table, knocking over the chair he was sitting in, ran around to the back of Shane’s wheelchair and grabbed it, nearly turning it over backward.

  “The best you can? You let some fucking hit man blow your legs off and at the same time, tell him exactly, where he can find me. I should kill you myself for being such a fucking rat. And then we have Ryan over there that has to stay so fucked up on coke that he can’t carry off a simple hit on an old bastard who can barely walk, without the whole fucking city seeing him do it. You and Ryan couldn‘t find a whore‘s twat if I didn‘t spread her legs apart for you. I should dump your crippled ass out the window, Shane. What good are you to me now, anyway?”

  Tommy released Shane’s wheelchair, giving it a shove toward the wall of the backroom. Ryan was standing in the corner of the room, half frozen in fear. He had seen Tommy when he was in this mood. He knew it would only take one word from himself or Shane to push him over the edge and Shane would, in fact, go straight out the window.

  “In case you little pricks didn’t notice, this ain’t exactly the time for a fucking celebration. The guy we’re looking for didn’t show up at the funeral today. And neither did Vivian. Something’s not right. Why would Vivian not come to her father’s funeral? This guy, he’s out there somewhere, just waiting, waiting for us to let our guard down. He said he’s coming after us, for what we did to Vivian. I think we can believe he will keep his word.”

  Shane and Ryan had never seen Tommy so disturbed. Tommy was always so damn cocky, always bragging about his accomplishments, about his standing with the Westies. Tommy wasn’t afraid of anything or anybody. Tonight they were seeing a different Tommy Flannery. Tommy was worried, and rightly so.

  “I want both your asses out on the streets, Shane, roll your ass up and down the streets; find out what you can about the funeral today. See if anyone heard anything about Vivian, where she was, why she wasn’t here. Ryan, keep trying to find out about this Michael, or whatever the fuck his name is. I haven’t given up totally on the family idea. Vivian has a sister about 14. We may have to snatch the sister.”

  “You gonna rape her like you did Vivian, Tommy?” Ryan was a little uneasy about Tommy wanting to kidnap Vivie’s sister. After witnessing the attack on Vivie, Ryan did not want to see the same thing happen to a 14-year-old girl.

  “Well now that will be my decision, won’t it Ryan? But for now, the answer is no, not yet anyway. For now, we’ll just snatch her, hold her until Vivie comes home to get her. I’ll have to think about that plan, think it through. I don’t want a repeat of the Papa plan. For now, do as I told you, get out on the streets and bring me some information.”

  Ryan and Shane left Molly’s and Tommy sat back down at the table. Tommy was getting to the place where he was fearful of leaving Molly O’Hanlon’s. He knew he was safe at Molly’s, it was his refuge. No one came into Molly’s that he did not know. If a stranger did come in, he was the first to know it. He also knew if he stepped outside, Michael could be waiting for him.

  Uptown, Joseph had called in a couple of his boys, Jimmy “Two Fingers“ Costellano and Joey “Baby Joe“ Portifillo. He promised Lucky he would wait until after the funeral before relocating Vivie’s family. Technically, it is, after the funeral. The quicker they get this family moved the better. Hopefully, Lucky can reunite the girl with her family when he gets back into town with her. Life could then, once again, get back to business as usual.

  “I’ve got this Irish family up in the Kitchen that needs to be relocated. You guys heard about the hit on the old Irish guy, right?”

  “Yeah, is this his family, Joseph?” Baby Joe had heard about the hit from a guy he had grown up with, who still lived in the Kitchen.

  “This would be his family. Now, I’m thinking, this hit had to be ordered by the Westies. We need to get that family out of the Kitchen as soon as possible. Those dirty micks might do anything and that includes going after the kids or, God forbid, the mother. Who knows the reason the old man was hit. A friend of the family asked for our help, as a personal favor you might say, to get this family relocated. Either of you have any ideas where to relocate them to?”

  Jimmy Two Fingers was the first to speak up.

  “What about West Virginia? There are so many damn mountains and valleys, roads going this way and that, nobody would find them there. There are coal mines in West Virginia too. All kinds of little mining towns; little places, not even on the map.”

  “How do you know so much about West Virginia, Jimmy?”

  Joseph was curious how Jimmy would have such extensive knowledge, about a small state, such as West Virginia, a state so far from New York.

  “Do you remember about 15 years ago, that bad business with Chucky Molinaro?”

  “Yeah, I remember, that. Chucky took off, nobody ever did find him. Don‘t tell me he‘s alive and well and living in the hills of West Virginia?”

  “Well, you’re half right. Nobody ever did find him. That’s because he’s buried in the hills of West Virginia, in a little place called Mingo County. That’s where they had that big fight with the miners and the Baldwin-Felts detectives, remember? A lot of people died? Lots of history down in West Virginia, boss. A lot of our history too.”

  Jimmy Two Fingers smiled at Joseph, and then all three men laughed, each knowing well, what the implied statement meant.

  “Sounds like a good place. You will probably have a little resistance from the mother. She is not going to want to leave her home. I am going to give you a letter to give her. All she‘s going to know is her daughter, Vivian, has arranged the move for her and the children because of the death of her father. The letter will tell her that Vivian will be meeting her there. Hopefully, that will make the mother more agreeable. Take as little as possible. Once you get them to West Virginia, buy them whatever they need, furniture, clothing, dishes, whatever. Get them set up right.”

  “Will do boss. When do you want us to get started?”

  “I would like you to go tonight Baby Joe. The quicker we get them out of the Kitchen the better. As we know, the Kitchen has eyes watching 24-7 but with any luck, you can get in and get them out without any trouble. If you do have trouble, I trust you to take care of it, by whatever means necessary. Just make sure nobody hurts anyone in that family.”

  The two men left Joseph’s office and Joseph thought about calling Lucky, to let him know the plan to relocate Vivie’s family was in play. After considering it a few moments, he placed the receiver back on the phone. “The call can wait. Michael is probably having the time of his life.” Joseph chuckled at the thought. “Viva Las Vegas.”

  Joseph’s guys arrived at the Clancy apartment a little after 1:00 a.m. Mary came to the door, afraid to open it, unsure who was waiting on the other side.

  “Who is there?”

  “Mrs., Clancy?”

  “Yes, who is there, please?”

  “Mrs. Clancy, we’re friends of your daughter, Vivian. We have a message from her. Would you open the door, please?”

  Still wary of opening the door to someone she did not know, Mary opened the door, just enough to see the two gentleman standing there, in her hallway. Baby Joe handed the letter through the crack of the door, to Mary.

  “How do you know my daughter?”

  “She’s a mutual friend of our boss. She wanted to make sure you got this letter tonight. May we come in, Mrs. Clancy?”

  Mary opened the letter and read the
first paragraph. As she continued to read the letter, she opened the door to allow the men entry into the apartment. Mary walked over and sat down in her rocking chair, tears started streaming down her face.

  “I don’t understand. How did Vivian know her papa had been murdered? She lives in another state…..how did she get this letter here so quickly?”

  “Like I said, your daughter is friends with our boss. He contacted your daughter to let her know what happened to your husband. He also told her to stay away from the funeral, for her own safety.”

  Baby Joe was trying to explain to Mary, in terms that she might believe, why Vivie did not show for the funeral of her father and why there was a need for her and the family to leave.

  “Mrs. Clancy, the men that killed your husband; they’re really bad men. It’s not safe for you and your family to stay here in Hell’s Kitchen. Vivian and our boss have sent us here to help you pack up. We’re going to move you to a safe place, a place where you won’t have to worry about your safety or the safety of your children. Vivian will meet you there.”

  “Move, from my home? I cannot just leave my home. All my belongings, I would have to pack…I cannot just pick up and leave. What about all my belongings?”

  “Mrs. Clancy, all you need to get together is some clothing for yourself and the children. If you want some personal things, okay, but we do not have time for you to pack up everything in the apartment. You need to understand. The men that killed your husband, they could come here, to your home, at any time. Please, wake the kids, get your things together and we’ll get out of here, the sooner the better. Whatever you need, we’ll buy when we get to where we’re going.”

  “Whatever I need? I need my husband, I need my daughter.”

  Mary began to sob. Jimmy Two Fingers walked over and knelt down in front of Mary, placing his hand on her hand.

  “I understand what you’re going through, Mrs. Clancy. What you need to understand is we’re here to help you, and your children. Please, I’m begging you, let us help you.”