The $45,000 car picked up speed as it rolled down the slight incline, nosed over the hundred-foot drop-off and then vanished over the side. Seconds later the car crashed onto the rocks and breaking waves at the bottom of the cliff.
Angela walked along the cliffs where no one could see her. After she had gone a half mile, she headed for the street and began looking for a cruising cab. Five minutes later she hailed one and watched as a San Diego police car tore past on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard with its red light on and its siren wailing. She smiled.
The police were never supposed to use sirens unless there was a life-in-danger situation. She told the taxi driver to take her to the Glass House Square shopping center. There was a movie-theater complex where she could stay until midnight. By then her father would be crazy as the police and the fire department divers tried to figure out if she had died in the crash and was still somewhere in the surf.
She hoped her father worried himself sick. It would serve the mighty Marcello right!
13
Johnny Bolan sat down in the visitor's chair in Karl Darlow's hospital room. The weathered fisherman was propped up in his bed, looking frustrated and irritable.
"Johnny! Am I glad to see you! This place is driving me crazy! Think you can break me out of here? We'll have to use a window, they've got a guard nurse in the hall who is six-two and goes about a hundred and eighty. Couldn't land her with 60-pound mono, I'm damn sure,"
Johnny held out his hand and Karl took it, wincing slightly as he leaned forward. A woman's jacket lay on a chair and a moment later Sandy came in with a fresh pitcher of water.
She kissed Johnny's cheek and they both turned toward Karl. He looked at the door. Johnny shut it quietly. There was no one else in the two-bed room.
"Karl, it's time to tell us about it," Johnny said. "We know it had to be the Mafia. Why are they mad at you?"
Karl Darlow took a long breath and let it out slowly. "At first I wasn't sure, then I figured it was something I saw at sea a few days back."
"What did you see?" Sandy asked.
"Nothing I could swear to, but close enough. A small boat was taking some boxes off a rusty old tanker."
"Smuggling," Johnny said softly.
"About the size of it. This one gent visited me yesterday morning. I was hip-deep in grease and diesel injectors, and he claimed his insurance company was interested in what I saw south of the harbor entrance the day before. He had a sinking-boat claim and the owner said I was in the area and could back up his story. I told him no. Said I went north and was trolling that day. But he had the name of my boat. He was warning me to keep my mouth shut. Then last night some goon comes through my front door without knocking. Picked the lock, I guess. He came in and knocked me down and half out, and when I came to I was spread out on my bed."
"He didn't say anything?" Sandy asked. "He just came in and hit you?"
"Right. Then he used that knife. Sharp as a razor and he was an old hand with it. He had just moved from my chest up to my face when he heard you kids coming up the steps."
"He was going to cut you some more?" Johnny asked.
"Hard to figure. He might have been going to warn me what to expect if I said anything. I've heard about this kind of attack from other captains."
"You have any idea what was in the packages you saw being offloaded?" Johnny asked.
"Search me. I was a quarter of a mile away. Used the glasses and saw the plastic-wrapped bundles. That was it. Could have been anchovies, diamonds or fish guts for all I know."
"Counterfeit money, gold bullion, hashish or any other kind of dope," Johnny said. "But best bet is dope. A lot of value in a little package and a booming market."
"So what do we do now?" Sandy asked.
"We keep our mouths shut," Karl said. "I don't want that son of a bitch coming to see me again!"
Sandy nodded. "Yes, that sounds like the best idea. We just say it was a burglar daddy caught in the house. Nobody else will know."
"The cops know," Johnny said. "Besides them, I know. And I don't like them pushing Karl around."
" Better a push than a grave," Karl said.
Johnny looked from one to the other, then finally he nodded. "Okay, Karl. You're right, it isn't worth it."
They talked for a while longer and then Johnny said he had to get back to work. Sandy was taking the day off from her job to be with her father.
Back at the Free Legal Aid Center Johnny found four people waiting for him. There was plenty of work to take his mind off his dilemma. He wanted to dig into the Mafia's attack on Karl, but how could he do it without getting Karl into even more trouble? He would think about it until he came up with an answer.
By the next morning he still had no idea. There was work for him piled up on his desk at the Killinger law office. Besides that he still had to try to connect the Mafia with the loan sharking for the double murderer Mr. Killinger was defending.
Johnny pounded a fist into his open palm and swore. So far he had absolutely no luck. He wrote the results of his investigation on a note to his boss and dug into the paperwork. He could get it done by noon, but still this afternoon he would have to check the bars, hunting for that Mafia loan-sharking link. He was afraid it looked like an impossible job.
Just after eleven his telephone extension buzzed and he picked it up.
"Johnny? This is Angela. You remember, from the elevator? How about lunch today?"
Twenty minutes later they were driving along U.S. Highway 5, moving north toward Del Mar. She drove another Mercedes Benz, same model but a different color. She cut across on Carmel Valley Road to Old Highway 101 and turned south again along the beach. Angela wheeled the car off the old highway, then parked facing the crashing Pacific surf.
"Last stop, everyone out!" Angela said. Johnny could tell she felt excited, as if this was going to be a day to remember.
"Let's take our picnic basket and walk down the beach to Torey Pines. We'll find some dry sand, catch some sun and just enjoy!"
"Sounds good to me. We could go all the way down to Black's Beach."
"The nude beach?" she said with a grin. Then she shrugged. "I've never been into allover sunbathing that much, at least in public."
They walked along the damp sand because it was better footing. There were few people on the beach since it was a little early in the season and school was not out yet. They walked south for a half mile and Johnny kept his eyes peeled for a good spot.
"Those rocks up there," Angela said. "Let's get to the other side of them."
It was like a private beach. The rock fall from the two-hundred-foot sandstone cliffs had made a false cove, shielding the spot from the north. The beach was only one hundred feet wide, the sand coming up against the towering cliffs. They could see only one lone walker to the south, and nobody to the north.
"Perfect!" Angela said as she helped Johnny spread the blanket. He put the lunch basket down and sat on the blanket. The sun was shining, the temperature was in the high seventies and almost no breeze stirred the sand.
"A great time to come to the beach," Johnny said. "The sun isn't too warm yet, you can pick up a little tan, and the place isn't cluttered with herds of tourists from Kansas and Oklahoma."
"True," Angela said. She wore shorts and a thin white blouse that she now unbuttoned. Under it was a blue bikini top. She folded the blouse, laid it to one side of the blanket and stretched out beside Johnny.
"Eat first, or swim?" she said.
"We didn't stop at my place for my suit."
"Suits are optional," she said, eyes flashing.
He laughed. "Shouldn't swim on a full stomach."
"Good." She unzipped the shorts and kicked out of them. The bikini bottom was as small as the top, string on the sides and just enough fabric to cover the pubic area. "Like my suit?" she asked.
"Mm-hmm."
"Thanks." She paused, then leaned toward him. Her lips touched his. For a moment neither of them moved. Then his arms came around
her and she held him and the kiss went on and on. Her tongue traced his lips and she sighed.
They broke apart.
"Oh, Johnny, that was perfect. Once more?"
Johnny leaned back and rubbed his jaw with one hand. He laughed softly and shook his head.
"Hey, this is getting too serious. Secluded beach, the sun and surf, picnic lunch. Angela, you're irresistible, but in all fairness I should tell you I have a lady, and we have a commitment to each other."
"Fairness? Well, isn't all fair in love?" Angela said. She leaned forward, pressed her body tightly against his and kissed his cheek.
He felt her breasts thrusting against his chest. Gently he rested his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away.
"Johnny, I understand that, but this is just a friendly picnic. Who's to know if we mess around a little?"
"Me, Angela, I would know. I just don't go out and get laid every time I have the chance."
"But, Johnny!" Slowly she unsnapped the fastener at the middle of her bikini top and let it fall away from her breasts.
Johnny Bolan sucked in his breath at the view. She reached for him, but he caught her hands.
"Angela, don't do this. You're a beautiful girl, and evidently rich in your own right. You don't need to do this."
"I want you, Johnny! Don't make me beg. I want you right now!" She pulled the strings on the sides of her bikini and stripped the patches of cloth away.
"Oh, damn!" Johnny said softly. "Angela, don't do this. I haven't touched another woman since my lady and I got together."
Suddenly she pushed him down on his back and let one pink-tipped breast hang directly over his mouth, then lowered it so the nipple brushed his lips.
"Go ahead, Johnny! They're yours. Please, Johnny?"
He rolled away from her, jumped up and ran a hundred yards down the beach as fast as he could go. He turned into the combers that washed high on the shore and ran back, splashing in an inch of salt water. Panting from the sudden exertion, he sat down on the edge of the blanket beside the nude girl.
"Now, let's get back to reality. We were talking about going swimming. I'll go skinny-dipping if you will."
She sighed. "Goddamn you, Johnny," she said softly without anger. "If that's all I get, I'll take it."
They went swimming. There was no one within a quarter of a mile and they ran into the cool Pacific naked, laughing and splashing. They were out of the water in ten minutes, drying and dressing. Johnny found some driftwood and an old flotsam packing case and made a small fire.
"Hey, that was fun," he said. "It's been years since I've jumped waves bare-assed, and never with a pretty girl."
She smiled. "Johnny, there is something else we could do together that would be really fantastic. Sure you don't want to reconsider now that you've seen the whole package?"
"Why? Why me?"
She was surprised. "Why not? You're cute and I like you, Johnny. Besides, it's the nicest thing two people can do."
Johnny poked the fire. Damn it, she was right. He was certain it would be fantastic. But he had Sandy. With Angela sex would be the end product, the purpose. With Sandy sex was just an element of a relationship, important, but just one aspect, one small part of an understanding.
Johnny looked at her. She was perfect. Great figure. He sighed. "Hey, didn't you say something about our having a picnic?"
Angela nodded and reached for the basket.
After they ate they talked for a few minutes, then Johnny said he should be getting back.
Angela dropped him off in front of the Free Legal Aid Center and he raced upstairs to the apartment to change before going downstairs.
For three hours he worked the bars and dives, completing the list Nel had given him. He only heard the Mafia soldier's name once and that was in jest. Somebody had threatened to sic Willy the Peep on someone if he made the next pool shot. The shooter made it and everyone laughed.
From eight to nine he worked at the center. There were more than twenty calls in his stack now, and he plugged away at them. He had begun this project with fervor and a store of energy he thought was inexhaustible. Now he was finding out it was not.
He threw his pencil on the desk and sighed. He was tired. It had been a long day.
14
Angela stepped down hard on the gas pedal as she raced away from Kettner where she had let Johnny off. All afternoon she had been thinking about doing it. Now, damn it, she was going to. Nothing and nobody would stop her. She had always thought that Don Marcello understood strength and action. She would show him one hell of a lot of both.
Last night when she got home after staying at the movie until almost midnight, her father had been furious.
"You coulda called!" he had thundered. "You coulda let us know you were alive. A lot of people have been risking their lives out there in that ocean looking for you!" He had never hit her, but last night she was sure he was close to it.
"Why the hell are you doing this to me?"
"Because I think you are being mean to me. I have a lot of respect for you but it's time you listened to me."
Then Manny "The Mover" Marcello broke up laughing. Angela stood openmouthed as she watched him.
"You are some kinda broad, Angela. A damn chip off the old block. Hell, I probably woulda done the same thing!" Then he put his arms around her, kissed both her cheeks and held her tenderly.
"Hey, I understand. Forget the goddamn car. I got another one just like it in the garage you can have." He fished in his desk and brought out a set of keys. "It's the same make, different color. Enjoy it." He hugged her again. "Jeez, I'm glad I still have you. What a trick to play. Sure as hell reminds me of me. Now go see your mother before she has a heart attack."
Her mother had been much calmer, even hinted that she understood what was going on. "All this women's liberation thing," which was as close as her mother came to understanding the women's movement. But Angela was glad that she had made a point with her father.
Now, as she drove away from Johnny, she found a phone booth and called Mimi, one of her best friends. Mimi was twenty-four, had just finished a degree and was bored out of her mind sitting around home.
"Mimi?" Angela asked.
"What's left of me. Angela?"
"Right. Tonight is the night. We're having a council of war at my place, as soon as you can get there. Plan to stay all night. I'll call the other girls, too. Remember what we talked about a few weeks ago?"
"Sure. But is this a good time?" Mimi asked.
"When the hell can we do it any quicker?"
"You're right, I guess. Be at your place in an hour."
Angela made two more calls with the same message. Felicia said she could come right away. Gemma said she had a date for that night, but she could break it without too much explanation.
Angela grinned as she came out of the phone booth. In her hand was a coin with smooth edges on it. She had tried to use it as a quarter in the phone booth. It was a "Susie," a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar Uncle Sam had tried to sell to the public a few years back.
"Susie, you are going to be our good-luck piece, our symbol."
Tingling with anticipation, Angela gunned the Mercedes along the freeway to La Jolla. Then she spotted a San Diego cop coming up on her rear bumper and she eased back on the gas to the legal limit. The expensive German car purred sedately out U.S. 5 north to Ardath turnoff and wound up the hill to her father's mansion.
Angela never thought of it as a big place, but it was. She had always lived there. She was used to a place with forty rooms and four acres of lawns and land, and a high wall all around it. When she was younger she thought everyone lived that way.
Upstairs in her third-floor apartment, she got ready for her guests. She told the cook she would need a special dinner for four served in her apartment at six-thirty, and that it should include champagne. Then she called the gate man to let him know whom she was expecting so he could let them in without a lot of phoning back and forth.
>
She made sure the three special videotapes were in place in case the girls Wanted some sexy male entertainment on her Betamax. Then she found pads of paper and ballpoint pens and began thinking about their plan of attack.
Mimi arrived first. She was the daughter of one of Don Marcello's lieutenants. Mimi was a dark-eyed, tiny girl, only an inch over five feet tall, and constantly fighting a weight problem. She had short dark hair, an olive complexion and a bouncy personality. Angela always enjoyed being around her.
"Hey! I'm the first one here, that means I get to be at least a general in this chickenshit army!" She giggled and tossed her purse on the coffee table in the living room. It hit with a clunk and Angela pounced on it to see what was inside.
She drew out a.45 automatic. She had seen lots of them but never held one before.
"Tomorrow morning I'm going to a shooting range out beyond El Cajon and get in some shooting practice," Mimi said. "To get respect from the Mafia men, we have to show them that we understand their game."
Angela nodded. "Hike it!"
There was a knock on the door and the doorman ushered Felicia into the room. She looked at the gun in her friend's hand and frowned. "We've got to whack out somebody already? Hell, we're just getting started."
Felicia was not the fragile type. She was nearly five-ten and had been a rower in college. She was slim, trim and flat chested. She kept her hair just off her shoulders and her face showed the classic Sophia Loren kind of Italian beauty. She had been engaged twice, but broke it off both times. She was the daughter of the consigliere, the Family legal brain and top advisor to the Don. Felicia was twenty-two and had wanted to be a nurse, but her father would not permit it.
"I don't know what you two are cooking up, but count me in. I think I can get an Uzi submachine gun when we need it. One of the men has reworked it so it's fully automatic. Makes one hell of a sound and fires 600 rounds per minute."
Resurrection Day Page 11