Ben wrapped his arms under Andrea’s and finally managed to haul her off Keri. As soon as he had Andrea under control, however, Keri lunged at her, taking the opportunity to return the blow to the ribs. Andrea cried out in pain.
“Jones!” Ben shouted. “Get her under control!”
Jones tried, but Keri was moving too fast for him. Even as Ben tried to pull Andrea away, Keri followed them, swinging and jabbing every chance she got. Andrea tried to defend herself with her feet. Jones finally managed to wrap his arms around Keri, pinning her in a full nelson, but the instant Keri’s arms were immobilized, Andrea hit her with a sharp kick to the gut.
“Stop it!” Ben shouted. “Both of you. Now!”
Ben and Jones yanked the two women to opposite ends of the office. The fighting finally subsided.
“Let go of me!” Andrea shrieked.
Ben refused. “Not till you’ve got a grip on yourself.”
“I said, let go of me!”
“Do I have to call security? Because I will before I’ll let you attack my client again.”
“Did you hear what that woman said to me?”
“I don’t care what she said. I advised Keri not to press charges the last time you attacked her. I won’t do that again. So cool it!”
“But she said—she said—” All at once, as quickly as Andrea’s rage had come on, it subsided. She crumbled into tears. She fell to her knees, weeping so loud and hard she couldn’t seem to stop.
“She—took—my—husband—” she managed to spit out, in hard gasping breaths, wracked with sobs. “She—took—everything—”
“Excuse me, Boss,” Jones said. The expression on his face alone was enough to inform Ben that he was not having a good time. He nodded toward Keri, who was still struggling to get free. “What should I do with this one?”
“Put her in my office,” Ben grunted. “Lock the door, if necessary.”
Jones steered Keri toward the office, still keeping her safely locked in his grip.
Andrea was practically convulsing. She seemed wracked with sorrow. Her head swung from side to side, her hands pressed between her legs.
“I loved him,” she said, still gasping for breath. “Truly loved him.”
“I’m sure you did,” Ben replied. Gazing into her eyes at this moment, he couldn’t doubt it.
Gradually, the wrenching sobs subsided. Ben gave her some tissues.
Andrea pushed herself back onto wobbly legs. “I—I think I’d best go now.”
Ben held her elbow, steadying her. “Didn’t you have something you wanted to tell Christina?”
She gave him a harsh look. “Not anymore.”
On the street behind Two Warren Place, just below Ben Kincaid’s office, two men sat alone in a motionless car. The one in the passenger seat, an immense man with an extreme buzz cut, was wolfing down Chinese food from tiny white carryout containers. The other, the man in the driver’s seat, was peering through a pair of high-powered infrared binoculars.
“He’s still in the office,” Matthews murmured, eyes locked to the lenses. “Stargazing or something.”
“Maybe he’s wishin’ upon a star,” The Hulk suggested, barely comprehensibly, due to the quantity of moo goo gai pan in his mouth.
“Maybe he’s thinking about throwing himself out the window.” Matthews lowered the binoculars. “We can only hope.”
“More likely thankin’ his lucky star.” The Hulk shoved some more noodles into his face. “I can’t believe he weaseled out of those charges. Makes me sick.”
“But we got the Dalcanton case reopened. It wasn’t a total loss.” Matthews lowered his binoculars. “We just need to think of some other way to nail Kincaid’s ass to the wall.”
“I don’t know, Arlen. Maybe we ought to give it a rest.”
“Would Joe McNaughton give it a rest?” Matthews’s face tightened.
“ Well … I don’t—”
“No, he wouldn’t. And neither will we.”
“Arlen …”
“Joe saved your butt on more than one occasion, Frank, and you know it.”
“Sure, I ain’t sayin’ otherwise, but it seems like there’s a point—”
“Joe was my partner, did you know that?”
“Hell, yeah, Arlen. You mention it every day.”
“I knew him before either one of us was on the force. We were best friends, right up to the day he died. If something had happened, he would’ve been there for me. And he wouldn’t give up just because things got a little hairy.”
“Well, sure, Arlen, but still—”
“I knew Andrea back then, too. Did you know that?” All at once, Matthews’s hard-lined face seemed to soften. “She was a pretty thing back then, before she married Joe. Not that there’s anything wrong with her now. I was the one who discovered her, you know? She was dating me first. We had some great times together. I mean, the girl had a temper, believe you me. But she was special, I could see that right away. We got really close, least I thought so. Then Joe entered the picture, and those two hit it off and … well, six months later they were married.” He paused, and his voice took on an odd quavering tone. “I loved that Andrea.”
He gazed out the car window. “So you see, Frank, I got two reasons for doing all this. I gotta do it for Joe. And I gotta do it for Andrea.”
The car fell silent. The Hulk shifted his enormous bulk around to the edge of his seat and gazed at LaFortune Park. Without streetlights to illuminate the vast area, it seemed dark and foreboding, like the woods in a Grimm fairy tale, an unsafe place where the wary would not venture.
“You know, Arlen,” The Hulk began, “I didn’t want to tell you this, but I think Barry’s been talkin’. To that Loving guy. You know. That works for Kincaid.”
Matthews’s eyes were glassy and fixed. “I know.”
“You do?”
“Not much goes on in this town that I don’t know about, Frank.”
“But—if Barry’s gonna be blabbing, I don’t know how safe it is—”
“Barry doesn’t know anything. Not really. Just rumors. Vague plans. He’s on the outside.”
“Well, sure. But if Kincaid gets wind of the Blue Squeeze and all—”
“It will be perfect.”
Frank did a double take. “Excuse me?”
“Perfect. Exactly as I planned.”
Frank pondered. “You know, Arlen, I’m really not as dumb as some people think. But I got no idea what you’re talkin’ about.”
Matthews drew in his breath, then released it with a weary expression. “If Kincaid comes to believe that we were behind the knife in his office, and he has effectively defused that bomb by getting the charges dismissed, he will think he’s safe. That he’s escaped the Squeeze.” He paused, turning to face his companion. “So he won’t be expecting anything else. He won’t, Barry won’t, no one will.” His eyes became dark and narrow. “And just when he feels safe, when he thinks there’s nothing more we can do—that’s when we’ll crucify him.”
23
HIS GRANDFATHER HAD LOVED racetracks, Ben recalled, as he paid his money and passed through the turnstile to Winchester Park. It was a bit of an odd dichotomy, now that he looked back on it. His grandfather was a sophisticated man; he’d managed to educate and advance himself from utter and abject poverty to a successful career in the medical arts. He was a stern man with a serious streak, but that was probably what was required to travel from the world in which he was born to the world in which he died. He didn’t have much time for frivolity, and when free time did emerge, he usually preferred to spend it with a good book. He abstained from cards, dancing, smoking, loose women, and strong drink.
But he loved the racetrack.
When Ben was a boy, he and his sister Julia were not infrequently palmed off on one set of grandparents or the other while their parents vacationed in exotic foreign locales. If they went with their mother’s parents, it meant treasure hunts and hikes in the lush wooded land surrounding
their Arkansas farm. But if they were with their father’s parents, it meant the horse races. They would all pack up in an RV that was gigantic (or so it seemed at the time) and head for Taos.
Not bad days, all in all. Ben had learned to read a racing form when he was six, and he was better at calculating odds than his grandfather or most of his friends, which made him somewhat popular in that set. The boy genius and his beautiful baby sister. It was fun to watch the horses run, and if he got bored, no one objected to his sitting in the rear of the stadium and reading comics—which was a refreshing change from the reception such activity received at home.
His grandfather had been to the track often enough that he knew everyone, and after a while, they tended to treat Ben and his sister like the track mascots. Probably half of those people were organized crime figures, but Ben didn’t know that then. Not that it would’ve mattered.
His grandfather had died when Ben was fifteen, and after that there were no more trips to Taos … and things began to get really bad between Ben and his own father. It was probably just nostalgia, tinged by the tragedy of how things ended up with his dad, but Ben couldn’t help but look back at those days at the track with a certain rosy fondness.
He hadn’t been to Taos since his grandfather died, but in the interim, Oklahoma had legalized pari-mutuel betting. How his grandfather would’ve loved that, Ben had often thought. Today, his grandfather could spend an entire day soaking up the larger-than-life atmosphere, the sharks and touts and jockeys and all the other colorful characters, the smell of sawdust and horses and hot dogs—and still be home in time for dinner.
“Benjamin Kincaid! My old friend!” A hand slapped down on his back. “It’s good to see you.” The merry brown eyes suddenly telescoped. “I hope to God you’re not looking for me.”
“Actually, I’m not.” Ben had no trouble recognizing Alberto DeCarlo, gangland’s youngest godfather. He had inherited the role from his father, who had taken it from his own father. Ben had crossed paths—and he did mean crossed—with DeCarlo a few years before during a murder investigation.
DeCarlo had changed since then; he’d traded the ponytail for an equally fashionable, but somewhat more contemporary buzz and goatee. It looked good on him, and probably also deaccentuated the bald spot and receding hairline. Not that Ben was one to give people grief about their hairlines.
“But it’s good to see you,” Ben continued. “How’s Intercontinental Imports, Alberto?”
“Trey, call me Trey, remember?” Of course. Because he was actually Alberto DeCarlo the Third. “The company is doing wonderfully. Thanks for asking.”
When DeCarlo took over the family businesses, Ben recalled, he had tried to modernize them. He had created a corporate entity, Intercontinental Imports, and invested in a number of legitimate enterprises—banking, real estate, and so forth. He maintained that their operations were now entirely legitimate, although Ben knew many at the police department considered Intercontinental Imports a mere sham and cover for the usual mob activities—prostitution, gambling, drug peddling. “I’m into antiques now. Did you know?”
“I didn’t.”
“You must come down to our showroom, Ben. Near Utica Square. I would imagine a sophisticated man such as you could appreciate some of these treasures.”
“Sorry to disabuse you, but I wouldn’t know an antique if it socked me in the face. And to tell you the truth, Trey, I’m rather busy these days.”
A concerned expression came over DeCarlo’s face. “I have read in the papers something about your troubles, Ben, and I’m sorry. I know what it is to be wrongfully persecuted. Could I help in some way?”
Ben’s eyebrows rose of their own accord. Was he offering to fix the case? Buy off the judge? Or maybe have him eliminated? “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to pass.”
“You know, Ben, I may not have told you this, but I was very appreciative of how you handled that nasty business after Tony Lombardi was killed. I’m sure you suspected I was responsible. I know the police did. Nonetheless, you treated me no differently than you did any other suspect. I won’t forget that. So if there’s any way I can help you …”
Well, that was an offer he couldn’t refuse. So to speak. “Do you come to the racetrack often?”
“Actually no. I don’t enjoy it much, plus, if I’m at any gambling establishment, people always suspect it’s a mob operation. It’s a cliché, but there you have it. Some people can’t get past the old stereotypes.” Gazing into those deep-set brown eyes, Ben could almost believe he was sincere. “My grandfather loved horse racing. Actually, he loved all kinds of gambling, which I suppose is what first brought him into his, uh, line of work. But the horses were his favorite. Always he would drag us out to Raton to see the horses. Every summer.”
“Taos. With my grandfather, it was Taos.”
“Really. Well, you see, Ben? We have more in common than you imagined.” His smile faded a touch. “I miss my grandfather. Despite what you may have heard, he was a good man and he cared about people. I could never say two words to my own father without starting a fight, but my grandfather always understood. You know what I mean, Ben?”
He certainly did. Life was full of surprises. He’d never expected to find himself standing around a racetrack waxing philosophical with a Mafia kingpin. But there you have it.
“But enough of this talk. You must be here for a reason. If I may be so bold as to inquire …?”
“I’m looking for Antonio Catrona. I’m sure he’s surrounded by security, and I probably don’t have a chance, but I had to try—”
“You want to see Tony? Say nothing more. I shall arrange it.”
DeCarlo took Ben by the arm and led him like a dog on a short leash through the stadium. A phalanx of horses sped past on the track beneath them, and a few moments later, half the stadium rose to their feet, cheering and shouting. It was a close finish, and some of the spectators seemed pleased with the result. But most, Ben noted, tore their tickets into pieces and pulled out their wallets to count what was left.
After taking the elevator to the top level, DeCarlo led Ben to a private glass-enclosed booth. He knocked twice. A burly man at the door let him in. Ben saw the security man give him a stony look, but apparently the fact that he was traveling with DeCarlo was good enough.
Ben peered through the huge glass window at the track below. These had to be the best seats in the house, and just to make them all the better, closed-circuit monitors had been placed all around the room, affording everyone an up-close view of the track. The booth was air-conditioned and sported a fully stocked bar. An attractive woman in a short black skirt stood at the side, waiting to fill orders for one and all.
DeCarlo tapped the shoulder of a large man sitting at the front. He turned, and Ben instantly recognized him from the photos in the police file. It was Antonio Catrona.
DeCarlo pointed Ben out, and a few minutes later, Catrona ambled toward him. He was not fat, not exactly, but he was large and Ben got the impression that walking was not as easy for him as it once might have been. His hair was thinning and gray, but it seemed appropriate to his rugged, scarred exterior.
“Hope you didn’t bet the favorite,” Catrona grunted.
Ben wasn’t sure what to say. “No. I didn’t bet at all.”
“Smart man. No one ever got rich at the racetrack.” An angular, lopsided grin broke out. “Well, no one but the owner, that is.” He focused his eyes on Ben’s face. “Al tells me I should talk to you, even if you are a lawyer.”
“Al’s a generous man.”
“Yeah. Bit of a wimp, really, but he’s smart as a tack, and frankly, these days we need all the smarts we can get. So what can I do for you?”
Ben swallowed. Maybe he’d just seen The Godfather too many times, but there was something about the man that was keenly intimidating. “My name’s Ben Kincaid. I represent Keri Dalcanton and I’m investigating—”
“Yeah, yeah. I already know all about that. So yo
u’re asking if I know anything about that cop getting killed.”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“And what would make you think I knew something about it?”
“Well, the … manner in which he was killed. The gruesomeness. The severing of his member.”
“Sounds like a gangland execution to you, huh?” He chuckled. “You watch too many movies, kid.”
“You’re probably right. Still—”
“Listen to me. I didn’t know this guy—what was his name?—McNaughton. Didn’t know him at all. They tell me he was investigatin’ me and my boys, but I didn’t know anything about it.”
“It’s … hard to imagine that you wouldn’t know …”
“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been investigated? Let me tell you—a lot. They’re always investigatin’ me. Anytime they got something big, something they can’t pin on anybody else, they come lookin’ for me.”
“Well, I’m sure they wouldn’t—”
“You seen that movie, Casablanca?”
“Once or twice—”
“You remember when the French guy says, ‘Round up the usual suspects’? That’s like, the story of my life. Chief Blackwell says ‘Round up the usual suspects.’ And his boys all come scurrying to me.”
“Still …” Ben knew he was venturing into dangerous waters, but it was hard to interview a Mafia kingpin without getting into the shark tank. “The police file shows Joe McNaughton had been investigating your organization for several months prior to his death. He must’ve thought he was onto something.”
“Or maybe it was easier work than runnin’ around catchin’ real criminals. Did you know this McNaughton character?”
“No, I never met him.”
“Well, like I said, neither did I. But I hear some nasty stuff from my boys. They didn’t like him, and not just ’cause he was sniffin’ around our kennel. They thought he was up to somethin’.” He paused. “They thought he was dirty.”
McNaughton? The policeman’s hero? “Do you know why they thought that?”
“Not offhand.” Again he paused, but this time his voice became more introspective. “He’s not the first cop we’ve had snoopin’ around. Not by a long shot. A lot of the time, though, my boys are able to work out some kind of … accommodation.”
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