by J. B. Reed
Michael and Vivie showered and dressed and arrived at Joseph’s office a little after 7:00 a.m. After entering the large, dimly lit office, the two took their seats in front of Joseph’s oversized desk.
“Okay, here’s the deal. One of the Westies contacted one of my guys; said he had some information that we might find valuable. He is willing to sell us this info on the condition of his anonymity. Now you know I don’t trust any Westie. I think this could be a set up to get one of our guys to meet up with him and then they will whack him. My guys know how to handle themselves but for this job I need a professional. Or, in this case, two professionals. I want the two of you to meet up with this guy.”
“You need both of us?” Michael did not understand the need to use both he and Vivie for what seemed like a simple job.
“Not exactly both of you. I want you to meet up with the guy, but I want Vivian close by, just in case something’s not right.”
“When is this going down?”
“11:00 p.m. tonight. You’re supposed to meet him at the old train depot.”
“In the Kitchen?” Vivie was surprised that Joseph would want them to go back into Hell’s Kitchen knowing that Tommy was still looking for Michael.
“Yes. That is why I think it’s a set up. The Westies don’t travel too far out of the Kitchen, you know that Michael. But for this guy to attempt to sell information to us on his own turf; something just doesn’t sit right with me.”
Joseph looked first at Michael and then at Vivie. He was trying to determine if they were willing to follow his order or if they were too worried about the safety of the other to accept the job.
“We’ll take care of it Joseph.”
Michael knew that this was a test of their loyalty to Joseph. If they didn’t accept the job, it would mean they cared more about the safety of each other than their loyalty to him. If that was the case, he would no longer have a need for either of them.
“Good man. Call me after you meet with the guy. If he does have info, give him this envelope. If it’s a set up, let me know how it works out.” Joseph handed an envelop full of cash to Michael.
“Vivian, you know the logistics of the depot. You can figure out the best place for you to be, where you can keep an eye on what’s going on and still be able to take action, if needed; right?”
“Right, Joseph.”
“I’ll be expecting your call later tonight.”
“Until tonight then Joseph.” Michael got up and pulled Vivie’s chair out for her, then both left Joseph’s office.
“Michael, I don’t feel good about this.”
“I agree. I don’t like the idea of you going back to the Kitchen.”
“Me? I’m concerned about you. Tommy is looking for you, Michael, not me.”
“I can handle myself, but if Tommy gets wind you are in town, it’s not going to be good. We have no idea who this Westie even is. It could very well be a set up. I don’t want you taking any chances. If things take a turn for the worse, I want you to get out of there; do you understand?”
“I understand what you are saying, but if you think I’m going to leave you alone, you can forget it.”
“Jesus, Vivie. How can we work together if I can’t depend on you to use common sense?”
“Do you want to call Joseph and tell him that you are refusing to work with me?”
“Of course not.”
“Then, suck it up, Michael. Know that I have your back and don’t worry about me.”
“You are the most frustrating woman I’ve ever known. You know that too, don’t you?”
“I do, indeed.”
Michael looked over at Vivie and then both laughed. They knew that there was no one either of them would rather have watching their backs than each other.
At a little after 9:00 p.m. Vivie and Michael began getting together the tools they may need for their job. Not knowing if this was going to be a simple exchange of information for cash, or an ambush, they had to prepare for the worst case scenario. They decided it would be better to take Vivie’s car since Michael’s T-Bird was well known in the Kitchen. The drive to the Kitchen was not a long drive but it was a quiet drive. Michael and Vivie both had thoughts racing through their minds; thoughts they didn’t want to share with each other. Michael parked the car four blocks away from the depot. Before exiting the car, Michael leaned over and kissed Vivie.
“Be careful. Do not take any chances. I trust your instincts, Vivian, if you get a bad feeling about anything, get out of here.”
“And you promise me you will do the same, Michael. You promise me, you will not take any chances.”
“Never. I have too much to live for now.”
Michael and Vivie kissed again before getting out of the car. They walked through alleys and down side streets to the agreed upon meeting spot. Vivie stayed in the shadows a few feet away from where Michael was supposed to meet the Westie. From where she was standing she could see everything clearly but she was not in plain sight of anyone else. After a few minutes, Vivie’s stomach started to turn. She had not felt this uneasy since the night she came out of the kitchen of the pub and saw Tommy and his crew standing there, waiting for her. Fifteen minutes had gone by. Vivie wondered if the guy had decided not to show. She also started to wonder how long Michael was going to wait for him. Ten more minutes passed. Vivie saw Michael turn around and start walking toward her. Evidently the guy wasn’t coming. Michael was within four feet from her when suddenly he fell to the ground.
“Michael?” Vivie screamed out and ran to Michael’s side. She knelt down beside him, placing his head in her lap; she realized he had been shot. A bullet had entered his left temple. Michael was dead. Vivie had not even heard the gunshot. Vivie jumped to her feet, pulled out her Glock and started shooting in all directions, not seeing anyone. After emptying the gun, she dropped it to the ground and she fell to her knees beside of Michael’s body, sobbing. Alone, in the abandoned depot, she held Michael’s head in he lap, talking to him through her tears; not caring if she was the next to be hit. Vivie lost track of time. When she finally realized where she was, she stood up and walked to her car. She pulled the car down to where Michael’s body lay and pulled him into the back seat of the car. She then drove to Joseph’s office.
Vivie’s knocked on Joseph’s door, using Michael’s signal. Joseph opened the door and saw Vivie standing there, Michael’s blood covering her coat.
“Jesus Christ. Come in here. What the hell happened down there?”
“Michael’s dead. I didn’t see the person who shot him. I didn’t even hear the shot. We waited for the guy to show but he never did. Michael was walking toward me when he just fell to the ground. They shot him in the head, Joseph.” Tears were streaming down her face.
“Son of a bitch….mother fuckers. I knew it was a set up. I fucking new it. Where is Michael now?”
“He’s in my car, in your garage.”
“I’ll take care of him, Vivian. I’ll have my driver take you home. Get yourself cleaned up and I’ll be over there in a little bit. Don’t answer the door until you know it’s me. You understand?”
Vivie shook her head, yes.
“Jesus, Vivian, I’m sorry, you don’t know how sorry. Lucky was like a son to me.”
“I know, Joseph. He loved you as well.”
Vivie left Joseph’s office and he called the mortuary the family used to pick up Michael’s body. Joseph lit a cigar and walked over to his window and looked out onto the street below.
“Damn it Lucky. I’m sorry it had to end this way. You knew how I felt about loyalty and yet you betrayed me twice. Your priorities changed once you hooked up with that girl. I couldn’t take a chance on you betraying me again. Why did you make me do it, Lucky; why?”
Vivie ran the shower and stepped inside. Standing underneath the hot, steaming water, she started weeping uncontrollably. Her mind went back to the previous night; the night she and Michael had made love. For the first time in such a long time she had been ho
peful. She had allowed herself to believe that she and Michael would have a life together. Maybe it wouldn’t have been the life she had originally wanted, one that included Rose, but they would have been together. And Vivie knew that eventually Rose would have joined them. But now, Michael was dead and so were all of her dreams. All she wanted to do now was to hold Rose in her arms. She couldn’t help but wonder who was responsible. Could it have been Tommy? Was he high enough in the ranks of the Westies to pull off this type of hit? Joseph will find out who is responsible, Vivie felt certain that she could count on Joseph to get to the bottom of this.
By 6:00 a.m. Joseph was knocking on Vivie’s door.
“Vivian, its Joseph. Open the door.”
“Hello Joseph. Were you able to take care of Michael?”
“Yes, my dear. He’s at Tucci’s Mortuary. They’ll take good care of him there. How are you doing?”
“How do you expect? I let him down, Joseph. I was supposed to be watching his back, and I let him down.”
“Now Vivian, the guy that hit Michael had to be a sniper. I would say the guy wasn’t anywhere close to where you guys were. He was probably on top of a building on the next street. If it makes you feel any better, he never knew what hit him.”
“Hell no, it doesn’t make me feel better. Michael is dead. Nothing is going to make me feel better, Joseph. Christ.”
“I’ll find out who is responsible for his death, Vivian. I promise you that. We’ll make the son of a bitch pay. I swear to you. I know you’re going to need some time. Do you want to go visit your daughter for a few days?”
“I’m not going anywhere until after Michael’s funeral. I may then go visit Rose. I don’t know yet. One thing I want you to know, Joseph, I will not rest until I find out who killed Michael.”
“Why don’t you leave that up to me, Vivian? I’m better equipped to handle this.”
“Michael was my husband. It’s my duty.”
Joseph knew that Vivian was not going to be swept off to West Virginia like Mary. Somehow he was going to have to make this look like the work of the Westies, to throw her off course. Maybe he could make it look like Flannery’s doing. If he could get Vivie to whack Flannery it would make her feel better and it would take care of one his problems as well. Michael had let him down by not whacking Flannery that night in the garage when he got the other two that were involved in the fur heist.
“Vivian, I hate to bring this up, especially right now, but a source has informed me that Flannery is responsible. Now, I know the bad blood between the two of you and I don’t want you going off half cocked, so I’m asking you to work with me on this. Will you do that?”
“Tommy was the one who killed Michael? Are you sure, Joseph?”
“My source is never wrong, my dear. I hesitated to tell you because I didn’t want to upset you more than you already are.”
Vivie got up off the couch and walked over to the bar. She never wanted to harm Tommy because Rose may need him someday. But now, she had no choice. She could not allow him to murder Michael and get by with it.
“Joseph, this is a lot to process. If you don’t mind I think I’m going to rest for a while.”
“Not at all. If you need anything, give me a call. And remember, Vivian, don’t do anything foolish.”
“Don’t worry, Joseph, I won’t.”
Once Joseph had gone, Vivie dressed and left for Hell’s Kitchen. She had to find Tommy. She had left her car at Joseph’s office so she had no choice but to take the T-Bird. That was probably better anyway. If she wanted to flush out Tommy, what better way than to drive Michael’s car to the Kitchen.
Driving down the main street of the Kitchen she looked first at Molly’s, but did not see Tommy’s car. After about an hour of driving around, and with no luck of finding Tommy, she decided to go to Shane’s apartment. She located his apartment on the mail slot and knocked on the door. Shane opened the door; his mouth fell open, as he stared Vivie in the face.
“Vivian? Shit. What the fuck are you doing here?” Shane looked around Vivie, trying to see if Michael may be standing behind her.
“Where is Tommy, Shane?”
“I don’t know, Vivian. I haven’t seen Tommy since last night. Tommy has been laying low ever since someone killed Ryan. Tommy thinks your friend Michael killed him, Vivian. Did he?”
“No, Shane. I killed Ryan.”
Shane started to laugh.
“You? Yeah, right, Vivian. You killed Ryan.”
Vivie shoved Shane’s wheelchair back into the apartment and then closed the door and locked it. She then pulled out the Glock and held it near his cheek.
“I killed the mother fucker because he killed my father. Now, I want to know where Tommy is.”
“I swear I don’t know where he is, Vivian.”
“You said you saw him last night. What time last night?”
“We were together all night, down at Molly’s.”
“All night?”
“Yeah, all night. Tommy has been scared, Vivian, really scared. He thought Michael had killed Ryan and that he would be looking for him next. He hasn’t wanted to be by himself. I was with him till about 4:00 this morning.”
“You swear to me that you were with Tommy all night, Shane?”
“I swear to you, Vivian. What’s going on? Why are you looking for Tommy? What do you think he’s done?”
“Someone hit Michael last night down at the depot. They killed him Shane.”
“Fuck me. That was Michal that was hit? We heard about that. Vivian, the trigger man was not Irish. The trigger man was an Italian.”
“A what? How do you know this Shane?
“Word gets around in the Kitchen Vivie, you know that. A couple guys came into Molly’s last night and told Tommy that an Italian sharp shooter had hit some guy down at the depot. We didn’t know who was hit because by the time the cops got there, the body was gone.”
Things started to click in Vivie’s mind. Joseph was behind this. It was a set up, Joseph had set up Michael. Vivie put her gun back in her jacket and walked toward Shane’s door.
“Tell Tommy he can relax. No one will be looking for him anymore, Shane.”
Vivie left Shane’s apartment and Hell’s Kitchen. Driving back home, Shane’s words echoed through her mind. It was an Italian sharp shooter. Joseph said it had to be a sniper. Vivie now knew she had to pay a visit to Joseph.
15
CON TE PARTIRO (TIME TO SAY GOODBYE)
Vivie remembered Michael saying that Joseph would leave his office everyday at 12:00 sharp to go for lunch at Luna Del Mario‘s. She would need to find a way to get into the office while he was not there. She wanted to be waiting for him inside the office when he returned; otherwise, she would have to get past his bodyguard. It was 10:15 a.m. She would need to go home to get the equipment she would need and then drive down to his office to scope out the building and decide what would be the best way to get inside. Opening the closet door and viewing the arsenal inside, Vivie was unsure what would be the best weapon to use. The shotgun would cause the most damage and be a sure kill, but it would make too much noise. She could use the Glock with a silencer on it but she was still uncertain that Joseph’s bodyguard may not hear the shot at his post outside of the door. The crossbow. That wouldn’t make any noise; and Vivie was a dead shot with it. It was now 11:15 a.m.; time to go.
Vivie drove around the block of Joseph’s office building. His office was on the top floor of the seven story building. There was a fire escape on the side of the building in the alley. Vivie remembered a window in Joseph’s office that opened up onto the fire escape. That’s it; that would be her way in. Now all she had to do was wait until Joseph left for lunch. Vivie parked the car in an adjacent lot where she had a clear view the underground parking entrance. At exactly 12:02, Vivie saw Joseph’s car come out of the garage and drive away. Vivie got out of the T-Bird and made her way to the fire escape. She climbed the steps until she reached the seventh floor. Ca
refully, she peered into the window. Not a sign of anyone. She tried the window; it was unlocked. How careless for a man of Joseph’s position to leave a window unlocked like this. Vivie entered the office and looked around for what might be the best place to wait for Joseph. His office was actually a suite of rooms. He even had a bedroom there. Michael had mentioned that Joseph often slept at the office. Vivie opened the doors to a large walk-in closet. It was filled with three hundred dollar suites; eight pairs of shoes, dress shirts, ties, belts and suspenders. Joseph was definitely a snappy dresser. This looked like the perfect place to wait for Joseph’s return.
From the front window of the office, Vivie watched for Joseph’s car to arrive. 2:00 p.m. Obviously, Joseph enjoyed a long leisurely lunch. The fat bastard. Vivie began to think that perhaps Joseph had not planned to return to the office after lunch. He may have had business elsewhere. However long it would take, she would wait. At 2:45 p.m. Vivie saw Joseph’s car pull into the garage. She quickly moved into place in the closet. The door to the office opened and Vivie could hear Joseph talking to his bodyguard, telling him to wait out front; that he would let him know if he needed anything. Through a crack in the closet doors, Vivie could see Joseph enter the bathroom. Quietly she stepped out of the closet. Loading the crossbow, she stood silently, waiting for Joseph to emerge from the bathroom. Vivie heard the flush of the toilet, the door opened and Joseph stepped out into the bedroom.
“Son of a bitch! Vivian; what the fuck are you doing here and what the hell are you doing pointing that thing at me?”
“You set us up, Joseph. You set Michael up. You are the one responsible for his death.”
“Christ, what are you talking about? Why would I do that? You’ve lost your mind.”
“You lied to me, you said Tommy killed Michael. I know for a fact that Tommy was nowhere near the depot that night. You never forgave Michael for not killing me, for betraying you. You hired the hit on him and you wanted to make sure I was there to witness it. Now you’re going to pay for it.”