The Other Brooklyn: Joey Toranetti Trilogy

by Ieva, Bob

  20

  At Home

  I got home around 6:00 p.m. and saw my mom cooking dinner. It smelled real good. I said, “Hi Mom, what’s for dinner that smells so good.”

  She said, “Chicken Parmigianino with Cavatelli pasta and steamed broccoli.” That sounds great.

  She said, “Go get your father & brother and then wash up. We will be eating in five minutes.”

  “Okay will do.” I yelled up to Rocco and went to my father's office and told him, “Mom wants us to wash up because dinner will be ready in five minutes.”

  He said, “Okay. Joey, don’t say anything to your mom about what the detective said okay.”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. We will talk after dinner when your uncle gets here.”

  “Okay Dad.”

  After dinner my brother Rocco asked if he could go to his friends and study for a test. My father said, “Of course you can Rocco.” Then he turned to me and said, “Come into the office and I will tell you what your uncle and I have decided.” I followed my father into his office and closed the door.

  “Joey, your uncle and I have decided that you are most likely right about the person you saw shoot Gino Barone. Your uncle and I will follow you about a block behind you in two different cars. We will have walkie-talkies to communicate with each other. We will take different routes and tell each other where you are. We feel that this is the best way to handle the situation. If someone comes near your truck and tries to get in I want you to use this baton and hit the person as hard as you can. “Can you do that?”

  “Yes, I can. But it will be awkward to reach across the truck.”

  “No one will try to get in while the truck is moving so you will be able to defend yourself.”

  “Okay. If he does try to get in while the truck is moving I will turn the wheel hard in the opposite direction so he loses his balance.”

  “Good thinking Joey. Now remember once we see what is happening, your uncle or I will be there immediately and take care of that person.”

  “Okay Dad.” I hope he shows up so we can end this thing. I am starting to get real nervous not knowing what is going to happen and when.

  “I know son. Just hang in there.”

  “Okay.”

  When we finished talking I asked if I could use the phone to call Joanna.

  My father said, “Are you going to ask her out?”

  I said, “No I just want to say hello.”

  “Joey, I heard Maria say to you she likes you and that you should get up the nerve to ask her out.”

  “I know but I get all nervous when I try to ask her.”

  “Just come out and say, ‘Would you like to go to the movies on Saturday night?’ I am amazed that you have a hard time with girls.”

  “Okay, I will ask her to go to the movies.”

  I called Joanna and said “Hello.” Then I started to trip over my words when I tried to ask her out.

  She said, “Joey, are you trying to ask me out?”

  I replied nervously, “Yes.”

  “When and where would you like to take me?”

  I said, “Saturday night to the movies.”

  She said, “I would love to go with you. Now wasn’t that easy?”

  “Yes.” When we hung up I jumped in the air and said yea!!

  My father said, “I guess you asked her and she said yes.”

  “Yes, but with her help.” Then I said goodnight to my father and mother and went to my room.

  21

  Work

  I showed up at work at 7:00 a.m. and saw John, the steward, and told him that the detective was not going to be with me anymore. He feels that the shooter does not know who I am so it is good to say that I am safe. John said, “Does your father know this?”

  I said, “Yes and he said he would handle it.” I got my papers for the load I was going to deliver and went to the back of the terminal and got in my tractor. I then found the trailer I needed and hooked up the tractor. When I finished checking everything on the tractor and trailer and went into the main garage and took a piece of lead pipe and put it in the tractor between the seats.

  Then I drove out of the terminal. I drove to the street I needed to turn on to go around the cemetery. When I was about halfway around I had to slow down to go around this big curve. As I drove around the curve I saw the entrance to the cemetery. As I drove to the middle of the curve the passenger door swung open, I tried to reach the pipe and couldn’t. I saw that it was the person who shot Gino Barone so I spun the wheel to the left, he kind of lost his balance, I pulled the tractor emergency air brake and the truck stopped with a big jerk. The shooter slipped again and his gun went off just missing me and going through the windshield.

  I jumped out of the truck and saw him coming after me and shooting at me as I ducked under the rear of the trailer and he hit the outside tire which went flat real fast. I ran to the passenger side just as my uncle pulled up, he jumped out of his car and shot at the shooter. He hit the passenger door of my tractor that was still open. The shooter shot back and hit my uncle.

  My father then pulled up and started shooting at the shooter as he was running toward a car in the cemetery. I saw the shooter go down, but get up and get in the driver’s side of the car and speed away. I ran over to my uncle and asked how he was. He said, I am okay he hit me in the right shoulder.

  My father said, “We will get him Joey, I promise you.”

  I heard sirens at that time and figured that someone had heard the shooting and called the police. My father said to my uncle, “Give me your gun you can’t be seen with a gun.”

  My uncle gave it to him and said, “Thanks.”

  The police showed up and wanted to know what happened? I told him, “Someone tried to kill me.”

  They asked my uncle and my father who they were and when they told them they were not surprised. They called into the police station to send an ambulance for my uncle and told my father that he was under arrest and took him to the station house. They told me to leave the truck where it was and they would take me back to my terminal.

  I arrived at the terminal and told John what had happened and he said, “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, just really nervous.”

  John immediately sent three men to pick up the truck and my uncle’s and father’s cars. He said to me, “Are you good to drive home?”

  I said, “Yes.” He told me to take the rest of the week off.

  I said, “Thank you.” I went to my car and drove home.

  22

  At Home Again

  When I arrived home my mother was crying. She had heard on the news that an attempted assassination happened in Queens and that two men were under arrest. The two men were Tommy Consiglio and Antonio Toranetti. Mr Toranetti claimed that a person tried to shoot his son Joey and Mr Consiglio confirmed it. Mr Consiglio was wounded and was in the hospital with a nonfatal gunshot wound. Mr Toranetti told the police that the shooter was shooting at his son so he shot back and believes he hit the shooter. However, the shooter got up and escaped in a car which had been parked in the cemetery.

  My mother was hugging me, crying, and happy to see me. She asked, “Are you hurt? I knew this would happen. I want you to tell the police who this person is.”

  “I don’t know who he is Mom, and I can’t do that. I need to let Dad and Uncle Tommy handle this.” The police gave up on finding this person and that’s why Dad and Uncle Tommy were there. They were there to catch him.

  My mother said, “But they didn’t. So now what?”

  Rocco came down from upstairs and hugged me and said he was glad I was okay. At about that time the phone rang and it was my father, he said to me “Are you okay?”

  I said, “Yes, I’m fine, but Mom is hysterical.”

  “Put her on the phone.”

  Mom it’s Dad he wants to talk to you.

  She got on the phone and said, “What are you doing? You almost got our son killed. You and Tommy need to t
ell the police what you know.”

  Then there was silence from my mom, I guess my father was talking. My mother finally calmed down and said to him, “Yes everyone here is okay.”

  She hung up the phone and said, “Your father said that he was on his way home and that we should not answer the door for anyone but him and your uncle. He also said your uncle was okay and he will be here also. John was picking them up and bringing them to their cars, and they would be here shortly.”

  I was still worried about the shooter, who is he and is he still going to come after me? I was getting myself very nervous and thought that I have to be ready to handle any situation that comes along.

  23

  Arthur

  When I woke up Saturday morning I thought, “I need to stop worrying about the shooter.” I want to have a great day and a great date with Joanna. This was a first date for me and I think it was the first date for her also. I wanted it to be a fun date. I started to make plans in my head. I will ask her what movie she wants to see and if she would like to go for a pizza first or after the movie. I was getting very excited and at the same time very nervous.

  I went down stairs and said good morning to everyone and sat down for breakfast. My father said, “After breakfast you and I are going to see Arthur with your Uncle Tommy. We need to have a plan of action. I was told that Carlos Barone thinks he knows who the shooter is but is having a hard time finding him. He believes that the shooter is hiding at this time. Carlos will be at Arthur’s place also. So finish breakfast so we can get going.”

  I said, “Okay Dad.” As I was eating breakfast I heard my mother and father arguing about me. She was telling him that if anything happened to me it would be his fault and she would never forgive him. He is going to be 18 in a couple of days if he gets in trouble it will hurt him for the rest of his life.

  I heard my father say to her, “I would never let anything happen to Joey or Rocco even if I had to die preventing it. Now leave me alone and let me handle this.”

  My mother walked away from my dad and came in the kitchen and said to me, “Joey please be very careful.”

  “I will Mom.”

  My father came out and said, “Are you ready Joey?”

  “Yes I am Dad.”

  “Good let’s go.”

  We arrived at Arthur’s Social Club and I saw some men outside that I had never seen before. They were big and hard looking and they stared at us when we got out of the car. We walked to them so we could go into the club and one of the big guys said, “What do you want?”

  My father told him, “We are here to see Arthur, My name is Antonio Toranetti and this is my son Joey. Are you here with Carlos Barone?”

  He said, “Yes and I will check to see if you can see them. Are you carrying any weapons of any kind?”

  My father said “No. Please let them know we are here.”

  The big guy disappeared into the club. I asked my father who they were and he said bodyguards for Carlos.

  The guy came out and asked “Do you mind if we check you for any weapons.”

  My father said, “Go right ahead.”

  This was the very first time I had been searched for any weapons and I felt weird. What if I had my pen knife on me? Would they shoot me?

  Everything was okay and they let us in. We walked to where Arthur was and I saw my Uncle Tommy. I assumed the other person was Carlos Barone. He was not a very tall person but you could see that he was a leader the way he handled himself. He was a little overweight I would say about 30 lbs. He had a scar on his neck that looked like his throat was cut. I was kind of intimidated by him.

  Arthur said, “Welcome my friends please sit down. Joey, I want to introduce you to Carlos Barone.”

  “It’s nice to meet you sir.”

  He said, “It is a pleasure to meet such a brave person Joey. I want you to know that between all of us here we will find the person who shot my nephew and will stop him from coming after you. Did you see his face clearly?”

  “Yes sir. It was dark but I think could recognize him if I saw him.”

  He pulled out a picture of a guy named Eric Bitterman and said, “Is this, the person you saw?”

  I recognized him right away and said, “Yes sir. Did you find him?”

  “Not yet Joey, but we will. I promise you that.”

  My father said, “Joey, here is what we want to do so you don’t have to worry. We will search everywhere until we find him. We have many men out there looking. The sooner we get him the better for you. I know you have a big date tonight so I think you should cancel it.”

  I said, “No way.”

  “Joey if he sees you, your friend Joanna could be in trouble also. Remember he is a killer and won’t leave any witnesses.”

  “I know Dad, but he won’t be looking tonight because he is hurt and won’t take the chance of getting caught. I believe that he will wait a while before he tries again.”

  Carlos said, “He does have a point Antonio. He will want to be in the best shape especially when you and Tommy showed up at the scene so fast. He knew you guys were following him. He does not want to be trapped again.”

  My Uncle Tommy said, “Antonio, let Joey go out on his date and I will have my best guy follow them. They won’t even know they are being followed.”

  My father said, “I don’t know, Joey can you do this without getting nervous?”

  “Yes Dad, but, can I have something to protect us with?”

  “You will have Uncle Tommy’s guy behind you. I will not give you a gun if that’s what you are asking. I know this date is very important to you but if you see anything that is not right please turn around and come home with Joanna and I will see that she gets home. Do you understand?”

  “I will Dad, I promise.”

  24

  Date Night

  When we arrived home I went up to my room to decide what to wear. I chose a nice pair of jeans and a blue button down shirt that I had never worn. Once I figured out what to wear I called Joanna and see if she wanted to go for pizza before the movies. I also told her to pick out the movie she wanted to see. She said, “Would you mind if we saw Sleeping Beauty by Disney?”

  I said, “I would love to see Sleeping Beauty with you.”

  I asked, “Do you want to get pizza first?”

  “Yes, because the movie doesn’t start until 7:00 p.m. and it is one hour and 15 minutes long. My father said “I would have to be home by 9:00 p.m.”

  I said, “Is it okay to pick you up at 5:30 p.m. and we will go for pizza then?”

  She said, “Yes.”

  Once I had the time I had to tell my father so he could call my uncle.

  My father said, “Okay but do not say anything to Joanna, you don’t want her to get nervous. I believe that nothing will happen tonight so just be aware.”

  I said, “I will.” Then I went back to my room to get ready. I had to be there in one hour.

  I arrived at Joanna’s house at 5:30 p.m. and rang the bell. Her father answered. I said, “Hello—Mr. McDonald?”

  He said, “Yes, I am Joanna’s father. She will be right down. Why don’t we sit down on the couch while we are waiting?”

  I said, “Okay.” He could see I was very nervous and kind of smiled.

  He said, “I’m not going to bite, you know. I just want to get to know you so I can feel my daughter is going out with someone I know.”

  I said, “I know sir, this is the first time I have asked a girl out and I promise I will take good care of her.”

  “Well that’s great,” He said.

  “I will have her home by 9:00 p.m. Is that the time you had told her?”

  “Yes it is.”

  At that time Joanna came downstairs and I said, “Hi Joanna.”

  “Hi Joey, I am ready to go, I’m sorry it took so long.”

  “It wasn’t long at all; I was talking with your father.”

  “I hope he didn’t scare you.”

  “No he was very ni
ce.”

  I said goodnight to her father and we left to go on our date. I noticed my uncle’s friend sitting in his car about 3/4 of a block away. I was hoping he wouldn’t stay too close.

  We drove to Johnny’s Pizza place in Bay Ridge. The pizza here is great and it is well known. It was early so we got a table right away.

  I asked Joanna what type of pizza she would like and she said, “I like a plain cheese pizza.”

  I said, “Great me too.” We ordered the pizza and soda. Now I was nervous because I did not know what to say.

  Joanna spoke first, “How is the truck driving job going?”

  “It is going very good, I was taught how to drive the truck by the shop steward and started on Monday.”

  “What is a shop steward?”

  “He is the union representative for that job. If there is an issue with a worker and the bosses he steps in and negotiates the issue so it is beneficial to the union and the company.”

  “That sounds like a big job.”

  “Yes, on this job he has 80 workers he is responsible for.”

  “Wow that is a lot of workers. And you are now one of them.”

  “Yes, and as a worker the pay is really good.”

  “Did your uncle get you in the Union and the job?”

  “Yes and I am very thankful.” Just then the pizza and soda came. It was getting very close to the time the movie starts so we had to hurry. The movie house was only 10 blocks away so I knew we would make it. I paid for the food and we left for the movie. We arrived at the movie just in time to get the tickets, get popcorn, and find seats. Joanna wanted to sit about halfway down the aisle. The movie was very good but I kept looking over at Joanna. She grabbed my hand and I looked at her and she smiled. We held hands through the whole movie. I was feeling so good and also so nervous.

  When the movie ended we walked out and went to the car. I saw that it was close to 9:00 p.m. so we went straight to her house. I walked her to her door and said, “I had a great time Joanna.”

  “So did I Joey.” And she kissed me on the cheek. I think my face turned red at that time.

  I said, “Can we do this again sometime?”