Natalie's Dilemma: a Frank Renzi crime thriller (Frank Renzi novels Book 7)

by Susan Fleet

  “Don't leave me!” Bianca screamed, and ran after her.

  With an ear-splitting wail, Jacques ran after Natalie and Bianca.

  Frank motioned to Kelly. “Make up a story and get them in here. Catarina, too.” Hell, he'd take her into custody along with Natalie.

  But by the time Kelly caught up to Jacques, Natalie had opened the front door.

  Before Kelly could stop her, Natalie grabbed Bianca's hand and took her outside.

  Jacques kept on wailing. Kelly scooped him up and stepped outside.

  Cursing under his breath, Frank stayed in the kitchen, waiting. A minute passed.

  The storm door opened and Kelly came back inside, holding Jacques, who was wailing and kicking his feet. She came down the hall to the kitchen, grimaced at Frank and said, “They're going back to the house.”

  CHAPTER 34

  “Orazio is very angry,” Catarina said, avoiding her eyes as they walked down sidewalk.

  Sick with despair, Natalie didn't answer, focused on putting one foot in front of the other, taking tiny gasps of air through her mouth, tasting the sour bile in her throat. Any second she might drop to her knees and vomit in the gutter.

  Don't think about Orazio. Prepare your story.

  Bianca squeezed her hand, anxiously looking up at her. The girl was frightened. Not half as frightened as she was. We'll protect you, Renzi had said. Empty words. He didn't have to face Orazio.

  Her only chance to escape was gone. The woman with Jacques was a cop—she'd seen the bulge under her sweatshirt—and another cop was upstairs. Three armed cops in a so-called safe house. Renzi had lured her there so he could arrest her.

  How stupid of her to think that she might escape from him. She'd be lucky to escape with her life.

  When they reached the driveway, a dark blue SUV was parked beside Nicky's yellow Jeep. Orazio stood at the front door, glaring at them. She tried to quell her mounting sense of desperation, her heart racing, her shirt clammy with sweat. Orazio was going to kill her.

  If he didn't do it now, he would do it later.

  She and Bianca followed Catarina into the house. Bianca gripped her hand tighter. Nicky was sitting in his usual spot beside the foyer. She refused to look at him.

  “Take the girl up to your room,” Orazio said to Catarina. “Wait there until I call you.”

  Without a word, Catarina took Bianca's hand. As they mounted the stairs, Bianca turned, gazing at her with terrified eyes.

  Orazio motioned her into the dining room. The table was already set for dinner, porcelain place-settings, gleaming silverware, linen napkins folded just so. She had an overpowering urge to laugh. The condemned woman would sit at an elegant dinner table to eat her last meal.

  “Why were you in that house?” Orazio said in a quiet voice. Which made it all the more sinister.

  She dug her fingernails into her palms. “It's a nice day. Bianca can't stay inside all the time. She needs to get some fresh air and a bit of sun.”

  “After you went shopping with Catarina, did I not tell you never to leave the house?”

  “Yes, but—”

  Orazio slapped her, a vicious blow to her cheek. She recoiled and backed away. Shooting stars danced before her eyes. She shook her head and blinked rapidly to clear her vision. Nicky was watching her from the foyer with a smug smile on his face. The bastard.

  Orazio stepped closer, looming over her in his business suit, so close she could smell his spicy aftershave. “Why do you not listen, Laura? I made it very clear that you are not to leave the house.”

  She said nothing, resisting an urge to rub her cheek where he'd slapped her. Don't let him intimidate you. Show no fear. If you do, he'll come after you like a lion pouncing on a gazelle.

  “You women are impossible. We stay in an elegant house and eat home-cooked meals, but are you happy? No. Catarina constantly complains that she is bored. Now I must take her and Tomasso shopping. Go tell them I am ready to leave. Take the girl to your room and stay there until it is time for dinner.” His implacable eyes bored into her. “Do not leave your room. If you do, Nicky will shoot you.”

  The words chilled her. No more subtle threats. If she tried to escape, she would die.

  Shaken, she left the dining room and approached the stairs. Her legs felt weak and shaky, and she could barely breathe. Gripping the banister with one hand, she climbed the stairs, went to Catarina's room and tapped on the door.

  Catarina opened it immediately. Her eyes widened as she stared at Natalie's cheek. “My God, he hit you,” she whispered. “I'm so sorry.”

  “Orazio is ready to take you shopping now. He told me to stay in my room with Bianca.”

  “Tommy,” Catarina called over her shoulder, “Orazio will take us shopping now.” To Natalie she whispered, “Be careful. I do not trust this guard.”

  Natalie didn't either, nor did she trust Catarina. When the chips were down, Catarina's allegiance would be with Tommy and Orazio.

  “Where's Bianca?”

  “Watching TV. Wait here, I will get her.”

  Tears misted her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had to stay strong for Bianca.

  Bianca came to the door, smiled and said, “I'm watching a TV show. The Muppets.”

  “That's good. Let's go in our room and I'll put it on for you.”

  If only she could be like Bianca. The girl had witnessed a sad scene at the house Renzi was using to spy on the mobsters, but she seemed to have forgotten the little boy who was devastated about losing his mother. His murdered mother.

  A simple folk song had soothed him.

  A show about puppets on TV had distracted Bianca.

  But nothing could quell her fears about what would happen after dinner. Orazio was taking Catarina and Tommy shopping.

  If she didn't find a way to escape before he came back, she and Bianca were as good as dead.

  _____

  Frank stood beside David at the second floor window, unable to contain his fury. His plan to grab Natalie and Bianca had failed. Natalie had thwarted him again. She might not have suspected that Kelly was a cop, but hearing David warn them that Catarina was coming had put Natalie on full alert. She knew he wanted to arrest her.

  Maybe Orazio had threatened to kill her and maybe he hadn't. Either way, Natalie preferred to take her chances with the mobsters.

  “Whose SUV is parked beside the yellow Jeep?” he said.

  “I don't know,” David said. “Orazio drove it in the driveway two minutes after Natalie brought Bianca in here. I didn't want to interrupt at a crucial moment, so I didn't say anything.” David turned to him with a worried frown. “Should I have told you then?”

  “Doesn't matter. Either way, we're screwed. Keep watching the house. If Orazio comes out with Natalie and Bianca, tell me right away. Natalie claims he's going to kill them tonight.”

  “Jesus!” David said. “What do we do then?”

  “Stop him,” Frank snapped. “I'm going down and talk to Kelly.”

  When he entered the kitchen, Kelly was trying to comfort Jacques, who was sobbing as though his heart would break.

  “David says Orazio came home right after Natalie got here. Not in the black SUV, a blue one. What did the blonde woman say? Catarina.”

  “She seemed scared. She told Natalie to bring Bianca home right away. I played dumb and told her Bianca could come over anytime and play with Jacques, and they left.” Massaging the sobbing boy's back, Kelly said, “What could I do? Whip out my Glock and make them stay?”

  “You did the right thing, but I'm worried about Natalie. This might have been our only chance to grab her and put Bianca in a safe place.”

  “I know you want to arrest her, but did you see how good she was with Jacques? Singing to him? Comforting him? She's not all bad.”

  “Maybe not, but she killed people.”

  “True, but you showed me her diary. Natalie's mother was murdered, too. Maybe that's why she can relate to the pain Bianca and Jacques a
re feeling.”

  Irritated, he said, “She shot me. At the time, you were pissed off about it. Now you want to give her a pass?”

  A nasty gleam appeared in Kelly's sea-green eyes, a look he knew well. “No, but I think you need to cut her some slack.”

  Jacques flailed his arms and squirmed, trying to get down. When Kelly set him on his feet, he looked at Frank and said, “Mama.”

  Locking eyes with the boy, he said, “What happened to Mama?”

  “Frank,” Kelly said sharply. “Not now.”

  “You want to put King Rock away for killing Angelique, don't you?”

  At the sound of his mother's name, Jacques began crying again.

  “Frank, don't push him. Give it a few days. I can't wait to tell the social worker how Natalie got him to talk.”

  “I'm glad she did, but you're right. It's better to wait. Right now, arresting Natalie isn't my biggest concern. She says Orazio is planning to kill her and Bianca.”

  Kelly's eyes widened in horror. “Kill them? Frank, we have to get them out of there!”

  “Yes, but marching up to the door to get them will get us nowhere. Orazio told her he'd take them shopping tonight after dinner. That might be a plus. If he does, we'll ambush him. Tony's in the surveillance van. He can cut Orazio off so David and I can capture him. Or kill him if he shoots at us. I'm sure he'll be armed. Either way, we've got a better chance of rescuing Natalie and Bianca if they're out of the house.”

  “Okay. I'll take Jacques back to the social worker and come back and help you.”

  His cellphone rang. When he answered, Conti screamd, “Why didn't you tell me you found a surveillance house? I just found out Natalie and the girl took a walk and went in a house down the street. Are you there now?”

  Frank massaged his temples. What else could go wrong?

  “Yes, but Natalie isn't.”

  “Stay where you are. I'll be there soon.”

  He ended the call and said to Kelly, “That was Conti. You better get Jacques out of here. Conti's coming here, loaded for bear. It ain't gonna be pretty.”

  _____

  Bianca perched on the chair, staring at the TV screen. The Muppets were doing silly things and laughing. She wasn't. When Catwoman turned on the show in her bedroom, she had pretended to like it so Catwoman wouldn't get mad. Owl was already mad at her. Glaring at her with his hateful eyes. Just thinking about them made her tummy hurt.

  Her eyes filled with tears. Laura had a big red mark on her cheek. Owl must have hit her. Now she was in the bathroom with the door shut.

  Why was Owl so angry? All they did was take a walk. She hated staying inside all the time. Then the lady who lived in the green house invited them to come over so she could play with the little boy. The lady gave her an orange Nerf ball. She tried to play catch with the little boy but he wasn't much fun and then Laura said they had to go in the house.

  Laura's boyfriend was there, the one that looked like Papà, except for the scar on his chin. The lady called him Frank.

  She hadn't seen Papà for so long, it was hard to remember what he looked like.

  Then the little boy threw a tantrum. When she said he wasn't nice, Laura whispered to her in Italian, saying not to be rude. Then Frank talked to Laura in English. He said the little boy's mother had died. She got that part of it, but then he said another word.

  It sounded a little bit like merda, but different. She didn't know what it meant.

  When Laura sang Frere Jacques, the little boy stopped crying. Laura let him use her crayons to draw a picture of his mother's heart, saying he missed his mother and his mother missed him, too.

  Her eyes brimmed with tears. She missed Mama a lot. Did Mama miss her?

  The bathroom door opened. Laura came out and gave her one of her happy smiles, but that didn't fool her. Laura wasn't any happier than she was. She hated living here. Christmas was coming. When she and Laura stood at the window after it got dark, all the houses on the street had pretty decorations that lit up in different colors, red and white or green and gold.

  Laura sank onto the chair beside hers. “How's the Muppet show? Is it good?”

  She glanced at the TV. Now the purple Muppet was dancing around and singing.

  “No. Turn it off.” She left her chair and climbed into Laura's lap. “I'm scared of Owl.”

  Laura hugged her and said, “Don't be scared. I'll protect you.”

  She touched the red place on Laura's cheek with her finger. “He hit you.”

  “Yes.” Laura heaved a sigh. “He's a very bad man, I told you that. If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll tell you a secret.”

  She didn't want to hear any more secrets. Last time Laura told her a secret, she said her mother died when she was ten. Maybe that's why she felt sorry for the little boy.

  But her mother was dead, too.

  Maybe Laura was going to live with her boyfriend and leave her here with Owl. Then she would never see Laura again.

  She put her arms around Laura's neck and sobbed, “Don't leave me, Laura.”

  “I won't leave you,” Laura whispered, rubbing her back. “I promise.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Orazio stopped at the gate inside the Canal Place garage, pressed the button and took a ticket. The gate lifted and he drove up the ramp.

  Dead silence in his rented SUV. He glanced at Catarina in the rearview mirror, sitting in back, too frightened to talk. Beside him, Tommy wasn't talking either. His brother knew he was furious, knew enough to keep his mouth shut.

  He rounded the turn and drove up to the next level. No vacant spaces. The multilevel cement structure was full of cars, moviegoers and shoppers buying last-minute Christmas gifts.

  “Why are you driving a different SUV?” Tommy asked. “Where's the black one?”

  “Quiet,” Orazio hissed. His brother had the brains of a flea. When too many people knew a secret, it was no longer a secret. Catarina knew about the stolen jewelry, but not about their attempt to fence it at the Vietnamese restaurant. Or the murders.

  “Why did you let the nanny leave the house, Catarina?”

  Her frightened eyes met his in the rearview. “I didn't. Tommy and I were in our room.”

  He continued up the ramp past vehicles parked on both sides. “Why did she take the girl in that house? Who else was there?”

  “A woman and her little boy. She was very nice. She said Bianca could come over and play with the boy anytime she wanted.”

  “No one else was in the house?”

  “Not that I saw.”

  “This woman is the boy's mother?”

  Catarina didn't answer, avoiding his eyes in the mirror.

  “Look at me! I asked you a question. Did you not hear me?”

  “I'm not sure,” Catarina said, reluctantly meeting his eyes in the mirror. “The woman was white, but … the boy was black.”

  Merda! He knew it. The woman was a cop!

  He continued to the rooftop level and found a vacant space. In stony silence they rode the elevator down to Level Three where the cinema and the food stalls were located. Most of the tables in front of the food vendors were empty. People were in the theater or downstairs shopping.

  “Meet us here at four o'clock,” he said to Catarina. “Don't be late.”

  She managed one of her fake smiles. “Don't worry, I won't. Thank you for taking us shopping.”

  “Go find your precious Saks Fifth Avenue. I need to talk to Tommy.”

  As Catarina hurried to the escalator Orazio sat in a molded-plastic chair at a vacant table. Tommy took the seat opposite him. Odors from a nearby pizza shop filled the air, but American pizza couldn't compare to Italian pizza: crust slathered with tomato gravy, layers of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, topped with slices of fresh-cooked sausage.

  “I didn't hear them go out,” Tommy said in Italian. “We were in our room. I thought the guard was supposed to make sure they didn't leave the house.”

  “The woman in that hous
e was a cop.”

  Tommy's eyes widened. “How do you know this?”

  “I know this because white women do not have black babies.”

  “Maybe her husband is black.”

  He slammed his palm on the table. “In that neighborhood? Don't be stupid.”

  Visibly angry, Tommy glared at him but said nothing.

  “I will get rid of them tonight. The girl and the nanny.”

  A frown creased Tommy's forehead. “Why?”

  He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Did you forget that the girl witnessed what happened in Venice? Her parents are dead, but if that cop had taken custody of her, she could testify against us.”

  Tommy puffed his cheeks. “How will you do it?”

  “Never mind, and don't tell Catarina. If you do, I will make you wish you had never been born.”

  Avoiding his gaze, Tommy muttered, “I won't.”

  “I need to think. Go downstairs and buy your wife something nice for Christmas.”

  As soon as Tommy got on the escalator Orazio reached inside his jacket and took out a cigar. And put it back. These stupid Americans did not allow smoking inside public buildings.

  He thought about what Catarina said. If the woman in the green house down the street was a cop, maybe there were others, spying on Tick-Tock's house. How long had they been watching?

  The publicity about the murders at the Saigon Canteen worried him. He should have made it look like a fucked-up robbery, but he hadn't. His clueless brother wanted to know where the black SUV was. Earlier he had parked it at the airport and rented another one.

  His cellphone rang. Merda! Another problem.

  He punched on and said, “Hello Silvano, how are you?”

  “Where are you?” Silvano said, ignoring his pleasantry, a sure sign of displeasure.

  “At Canal Place in the French Quarter. Catarina and Tommy are Christmas shopping.”

  “A detective came to my home today, asking about my Toyota Sequoia SUV. He wanted to know where it was Sunday night.”

  An ice pick of fear pierced his heart. Someone had seen the SUV outside the Vietnamese restaurant, just as he'd feared.