All He Saw Was the Girl

by Peter Leonard

  He was thinking about what Captain Ferrara had said, profiling the street gang that grabbed him, contrasting that with the expensive car and upscale neighborhood Angela was living in, and it didn't fit. What was this well-heeled girl, with an apartment near the Colosseum, doing with a Roman street gang?

  As she came toward him, McCabe wondered if she shared the apartment with Mazara. Of the gang members he'd be the obvious choice. Or did she live by herself? He saw the

  Lancia's front parking lights flash as she pressed the remote, and saw her open the door and get in behind the wheel. She started the car, put the lights on and pulled out. McCabe stayed close, following her across town to a restaurant near the Trevi Fountain called A1 Moro. He'd read about it, a place that catered to wealthy Romans and tourists. He watched her park, and saw her walk in the restaurant. Saw the maitre'd kiss her on both cheeks.

  McCabe figured he had some time and drove back through the city, over the river and up Monte Mario to school. Chip was standing at the sink brushing his teeth when McCabe came in the room, Chip barefoot in a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt. McCabe moved past him and went to his dresser, opening drawers, pulling out clothes — a pair of Levis and a couple of tee-shirts and a blue long-sleeved work shirt. He folded the clothes in a pile on his bed. He could see Chip looking in the mirror, watching him.

  Chip turned away from the sink and came toward him, still brushing his teeth. He took the toothbrush out of his mouth.

  "What're you doing?"

  "Taking some time off."

  Chip went back to the sink, spit out the toothpaste and said, "What does that mean?"

  He had been hoping Chip wouldn't be there so he wouldn't have to explain himself, answer any questions. Just get his things and go. He put the clothes in his backpack. He opened his desk drawer and grabbed his Swiss Army knife and sunglasses and threw them in too.

  Chip walked over and sat on his bed. "Rady's looking for you."

  "I know," McCabe said. There was a note in his mailbox that said to see him ASAP. He showed it to Chip then crumpled it into a ball and threw it at the wastebasket next to his desk, nailing a ten-footer. McCabe went to the sink and got his toothbrush and shaving kit, and came back and put them in his backpack.

  "You leave," Chip said, "he's going to take your scholarship."

  McCabe said. "Got some money I can borrow?"

  Chip got up and went to his desk and picked up his wallet, opened it and took out a wad of euros. "How much you need?"

  "All of it."

  He gave the money to McCabe, and McCabe folded the bills in half and put them in the front pocket of his Levis. "I'll pay you back."

  "I'm worried about you, Spartacus," Chip said. "You're wigging big time. What the hell're you doing?"

  McCabe picked up the backpack and slipped his arms through the straps. He said, "Take it easy," and walked out of the room.

  In the lobby, he was surprised to see Franco behind the desk. Canzio had been there when he walked through twenty minutes earlier. McCabe said, "Yo, Franco, what's up?"

  Franco said, "McCabe, listen, Signor Rady is looking for you and he is very angry."

  McCabe had missed his Italian class again, and that's what Rady wanted to talk to him about. Rady appeared now, coming from the administrative wing, his pale white face almost as red as his flat-top.

  "McCabe, in my office, now," he said, raising his voice.

  McCabe said, "I'm kind of busy."

  Rady said, "I don't think I heard you right."

  He moved toward the door.

  Rady said, "I'm warning you, McCabe, walk out of here, you're through."

  McCabe could see Franco waiting to see what he was going to do. He pushed the door open and went out. The Fiat was parked in the circular drive. He got in it and drove to a hardware store on Via Trionfale and bought a roll of duct tape, fifty feet of rope and a green plastic tarp. He drove back toward school and stopped at Pietro's. He went in. It was packed at 9:00, Pietro working the room, shaking hands, talking to people. McCabe waited till Pietro was alone and made his move.

  "McCabe, you here for dinner?"

  "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

  McCabe drove back to A1 Moro and saw the red Lancia still there where Angela had left it. He pulled up and parked on the narrow street thirty feet from the front door of the restaurant, two cars behind the Lancia, and waited. It was 10:06 p.m.

  He was tired, closed his eyes. Just for a couple minutes, he told himself. Next thing he knew it was 11:25. Fie heard voices and footsteps on the cobblestone street. He looked through the windshield and saw Angela walking with a well-dressed grey- haired guy, mid-sixties. There were two men walking behind them. He couldn't tell if they were all together or not.

  Angela and the old dude stopped next to a Mercedes sedan. McCabe's side window was down, and he could hear them arguing in Italian. When the two men caught up to them they stopped talking and stared at each other. One of them, a heavyset guy, said, "See you tomorrow, Cuz." He was an American, no mistake about it. Angela said, "What time you want to start?" The heavyset guy said, "I'm up early." "I'll see you at ten," Angela said. No you won't, McCabe was thinking.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Teegarden called Ray back the next day and said, "The one in Harrison Township's registered to a Joseph Palermo. Know who he is?"

  "Should I?"

  "Swinging Joey. He's a mob lieutenant that works for the Corrodos. Know how he got his name?"

  "He likes to dance?"

  "He likes to bust heads open with a baseball bat. Second number's registered to Venice Motors on Van Dyke in Warren," Teeg said.

  "You see Joey's name connected to the car lot?"

  "I don't see his name, but I see him all over it. They hide gambling profits in the business books and accept cars as payment for debts. Let's say you borrow money, you can't pay it back. Joey shows up with his Louisville Slugger and takes your car. That's how I think it works. What I don't see is why a guy like Joey is bothering Sharon."

  "That's the big mystery, isn't it?"

  "What's Sharon say?"

  "She met him at a club after a concert," Ray said, "couldn't remember his name."

  "Sounds a little odd," Teeg said.

  It did to Ray, too, but that was the best he could come up with on short notice.

  Teegarden gave him the address of the guy's house in Harrison Township and the car lot on Van Dyke, said good luck and hung up.

  Ray went to the used car lot first. He found Venice Motors just south of Twelve Mile on Van Dyke Road after passing every fast-food restaurant he'd ever heard of. He pulled in the lot, parked and walked in the showroom that didn't have any cars in it. There were two big dark-haired guys eating dinner, white paper napkins tucked into the necks of their shirts. They were sitting across a desk from each other, rolling their forks through spaghetti with red sauce, using a spoon to balance the load. They were eating and washing it down with red wine they drank out of plastic cups. Neither seemed interested in waiting on a customer.

  "What can we do you for?" one of them said.

  He had curly hair that looked like a perm. He nodded at the guy sitting across from him, got up and pulled the napkin out of his shirt and wiped his mouth.

  "How you doing? I'm Anthony. Looking for something in particular? I got a Caddy STS that's so clean, 2,500 original miles, I'd sell it to my own mother, but she don't need a car."

  He grinned, showing food in his teeth, probably thinking that was clever. He was a big dude, six two, baggy island shirt hanging out over black pants and thin-soled loafers with tassels.

  Ray said, "Seen Joey around?"

  Anthony said, "Joey who?"

  "Joey Palermo," Ray said. "Swinging Joey."

  The guy at the desk still eating his dinner said, "Never heard of him."

  "That's strange," Ray said, "because we agreed to meet here. I owe him some money. But you've never heard of him, huh?"

  The guy at the desk
got up now, still chewing, pulled the napkin out of his shirt and laid it on the desktop.

  "What's your name?"

  "Vito Corleone," Ray said.

  "Come on. This is a friendly establishment. We like to know who we're dealing with."

  "I'm not here to make friends," Ray said. "I'm here to pay a gambling debt."

  "I'm Dom, you can give it to me. I'll make sure it gets to the right people."

  Ray said, " Who're the right people?"

  "Don't worry about that, my friend," Dom said.

  Ray didn't know if they thought they were intimidating him, or they were just dumb.

  The showroom walls were floor-to-ceiling glass, banners festooned across them with an advertising message that said: The car of your dreams for a down-to-earth price. Ray turned, heading for the door, but Anthony had moved quickly across the floor, cutting him off.

  Anthony said, "We can't let you go till we figure this out."

  Dom, the bigger of the two guys, was coming toward him. Had to be 250 pounds, but he had a gut and looked out of shape. Anthony was ten feet away, standing in front of the door that was all glass and said Venice Motors in a typeface that looked Italian, featuring a stylized gondola and a gondolier holding an oar.

  Ray stopped, watched Dom approach, Dom reaching out to grab him. Ray took his hand and using the momentum of his body, threw him through the plate-glass window, the big guy landing on the concrete walkway outside the building.

  Anthony charged him now. When he got close, Ray grabbed the front of his shirt, turned sideways and threw him over his hip. Anthony went airborne, landing hard on the tile floor. Ray walked out and got in his car. Saw Dom on a bed of glass, trying to get on his feet as he drove out of the lot.

  He had Joey's address on Lake Shore Drive. He took Sixteen Mile Road/Metro Parkway to the east side and got on I94 for a mile and a half and got off at exit 273, North River Road, went left toward Harrison Township. He passed Selfridge Air Force Base on his left, a military installation. He could see runways and military buildings in the distance, set back a couple hundred yards behind a fence topped with razor wire. He'd read somewhere — in the event of war — Selfridge had missiles with long-range nuclear capabilities.

  He could see the Clinton River on his right now, boats cruising along, houses close together, lining the water on both sides. It was a strange contrast of styles — old dilapidated single-story cottages next to huge new over-the-top, two-story brick colonials with three and four-car garages, rich and poor living side by side. He passed the Captain's Quarters Condos and a subdivision called Brigantine Estates and the Crews' Inn Restaurant, Marley Marine and Sundog's Marina: Bait, Gas and Cold Drinks. He turned on South River Road and took it to Lake Shore and caught glimpses of Lake St Clair between the houses that were big and new. Joey's was the last one on a dead-end street, bordering the lake on the north side and a Clinton River tributary to the east. His house was built in the middle of two lots, a five-thousand-square-foot colonial with a four-car garage.

  Ray parked in the cul de sac just past the house. He watched a cigarette boat rumble past him on the river and then gun it as it hit the open water of Lake St Clair, two girls in jeans and sweatshirts standing on the rear seat with cans of beer in their hands. He sat there for twenty minutes, watching Joey's house, the front windows of his Jeep down, a breeze coming in off the lake. A dozen more boats came down the river heading for open water, a non-stop armada of partiers, drinking, listening to music, and having fun.

  He could see the side of Joey's house, his backyard extending to the lake. He could see the dock and a boat on a hoist in a custom boathouse. He waited for an hour. He didn't see anyone come out of the house or go in. He got out of the car and walked to the front door and rang the bell. The garage was on the west side of the house, four varnished wood doors facing east. He rang the bell again and looked through a small round window into the foyer, didn't see anyone.

  He went around to the back. Saw sailboats with trim white sails out on the lake and motorboats zigzagging, kicking up white spray. There was a patio made out of decorative pavers, a two-tone color scheme: rose and plum. There was a table with a closed umbrella through the center of it and four chairs. The back of the house had French doors that opened to the patio.

  He picked the lock and went into a big room with a cathedral ceiling and big windows that looked out on the water. There was a furniture grouping, two couches and a coffee table and four leather armchairs in the middle of the room. There was a fieldstone fireplace against one wall, and in the corner, a sixty-inch Sony flatscreen on a custom stand. The room was spotless, everything neat and tidy. There were no newspapers or magazines, nothing out of place. It reminded him of a model home, furnished and decorated but nobody lived there.

  He moved through the room down a hallway to the kitchen. There was a Krups coffee maker on the counter and a toaster, but nothing else. He opened the refrigerator. It was empty, cleaned out. He moved past the dining room to an office. He looked in. There was an antique desk. He went in and sat behind it and checked the drawers, opened each one. They were all empty. There was a glossy picture book on a table across the room that showed a little girl posing with her hand over her mouth and a title that said A Day in the Life of Italy.

  He went upstairs and checked the bedrooms, four suites that had big attached bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs. Two had spectacular views of the lake. Like the downstairs everything was perfect, beds made, carpet spotless. No clothes in the closets. No toothbrushes or combs or shaving cream or mouthwash in any of the bathrooms.

  He went back downstairs through the kitchen into the four-car garage. The enormous space empty except for half a dozen moving boxes sealed with clear packaging tape. Whoever had cleaned the place out didn't have time to finish the job. He squatted and pulled tape off one of the boxes and opened it. There were framed photographs wrapped in newspaper. He unwrapped one. It was a shot of a dark-haired guy in a bathing suit, had to be Joey, posing on his boat. He unwrapped another one and saw the same guy in a golf outfit, grinning with three other guys, big white clubhouse in the background, looked like Oakland Hills. And in the third one, Joey wearing a Softball uniform, same colors as the Oakland As, posing with the team.

  He found Visa and American Express credit-card receipts in a manila envelope. He found the title to a 2009 Cadillac STS-V, a 2008 Corvette and a thirty-two-foot Century pleasure craft — everything in the name Joseph S. Palermo, Jr. on Lake Shore Drive.

  He dug deeper and saw an Apple PowerBook. He brought it out and put it on top of a wardrobe box. He opened it and pushed the power button and waited till it booted up.

  He checked the document file, mailbox and address book. Everything was empty, cleaned out like the refrigerator and the closets. He stared at the icons lined up on the bottom of the screen. He moved the cursor with his left index finger and clicked on Microsoft Entourage. It brought up Mail and he clicked on "Send amp; Receive." Nothing there. He checked Deleted Items. Nothing. Clicked on Sent Items. Everything was erased. He stared at the screen. Scanned the icons again. It didn't look like there was anything in the trash but he clicked on it and opened it, and under Name, he saw: Re- "I'm yours." He clicked on it and took it out of the trash and put it on the desktop and opened it. The message said, "I'll be a little late, but I can spend the night so we can take our time. Love, S." It was from Sharon34@hotmail. com, dated October 2nd 2008. Ray felt sick to his stomach.

  He walked out to the boathouse. There were ropes and dock lines on the wood plank floor. He turned a lever on the hoist and lowered the boat into the water. He stepped down on the bow and walked back to the cabin and went below into the galley. He opened drawers and cabinets. Checked the refrigerator. Like the house, it was cleaned out, spotless.

  He went forward, looked in the bathroom, tiny closet-size room with a shower and a toilet and sink. He moved into the bedroom or stateroom, whatever it was called. It was dark. He found the switch on the wall, flippe
d it and half a dozen recessed ceiling lights came on. There was a queen-size bed, comforter tucked neat and tight over it. He sat on the bed, glanced up at a Mitsubishi flatscreen on the wall, then looked through a porthole into the boathouse. He got up, looked at a framed painting of a sunset over the bed. He turned to go and the glint of something caught his eye. He got on his knees. It was stuck in the corner between the carpeting and baseboard. He picked it up and looked at it, a diamond earring. It looked like one he'd given to Sharon, remembered buying it at Astrein's in Birmingham for their tenth anniversary. Sharon couldn't believe he'd actually gone into a store and picked something out for her. He didn't tell her two attractive salesgirls helped and advised him. The earrings had even more significance because he'd missed their ninth anniversary, completely forgot it.

  He was coming out of the boathouse when he saw the two meatheads from the used car lot on the dock, coming toward him. Dom's face, after taking a dive through the plate-glass window, was covered with band-aids. Anthony was a step ahead of him. He had a crowbar in his hand this time.

  Ray reached back, felt the bulge of the Colt under his shirt in the small of his back, but he decided not to draw it. They were twenty feet away when Ray said, "What a surprise. You guys showing up at Joey's and you don't even know him."

  "We know you though, don't we?" Anthony said.

  He moved toward Ray now, raising the crowbar over his head. When he got close he swung big and wild and Ray stepped back and he missed him, swishing air, Anthony puffing, breathing hard.

  Ray said, "Come on, you pussy, is that all you've got?"

  Anthony came at him again, swinging and missing with his right hand, going all the way around with the crowbar and this time Ray stepped in, chopped him between his neck and shoulder, a karate shuto, and sent him in the lake.

  Dom came at him, balancing prodigious weight on little feet. Threw a big angry, off-balance punch at Ray and Ray sidestepped it and hit him in the ribs with a body shot that drove him in the cold October water.