Missy looked at him and said, “West Point. I plan to ask Senator Maxwell to help with that. While I’m up here. Maybe even tonight.” She’d been planning this for quite a while but now was actually the first time she’d mentioned it to anyone. Hearing herself verbalize it, she knew she wanted to ask the senator right away. She hoped it wasn’t already too late as many candidates started the whole admission process early in their junior year. “I hope you can be okay about this, Mike. It’s what I really want to do.”
Mike was initially shocked. He had no idea why she would want her life to go in that direction and couldn’t help being surprised. Then he recalled how she always talked about her Granddad McCrea and his serving in Vietnam. Now he was scrambling to recall whatever he’d ever heard about West Point. He realized women had been going there for forty years or so, but still. Missy at West Point? Of course, she was so physical about everything and she did all that sparring. Maybe he should have known. Then, a thought crept in which made him look at her more closely. “Does that mean … umm … you’re not supposed to get married or anything, huh?”
She laughed. “Nope. Not until after graduation. No getting pregnant until then either.” Missy kissed him on the cheek and stood up. “But, Boyfriends-in-Training are okay. If they’re willing to wait around and stuff.” Giggling, she walked off to go find Senator Maxwell.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Oct 2017
Missy looked at her cell phone as she walked into her house after driving home from that week’s soccer game. Having won four to three, after helping make that happen with a goal and two assists, she was feeling rather euphoric. Playoffs were coming soon and she hoped they’d go on again this year. Coming in second last year when they’d made it all the way to the state championship finals was still rankling.
She could see from the caller ID that it must be Alice’s mother calling from the house phone. She knew Alice was in Boston, doing something with Mark this weekend. “Hi, Mrs. Gonzales,” she answered. “It’s me, Missy.”
“Oh, thank God! Missy, you have to help me! I just don’t know what to do!” Her voice was frantic and desperate. “It’s about Alice. But, you can’t tell anyone. Missy, please, I beg you to just listen. I got this call. They said … no cops. If I tell the police, they’ll kill her. Missy, she’s been kidnapped. They took my little girl. And, if I don’t tell them where Tony stashed their money, they’ll kill her!”
“Okay, slow down, start from the beginning. You know you can trust me. How can I help? What do they want? Tell me everything. I’m walking out the door and coming right over.” Missy quickly ran outside and got into her car.
“They called me just now and put Alice on but only for a few seconds. Then they got back on and told me how I better come up with three million dollars or Alice will die. If I call the police, Alice will die. If I don’t cooperate, Alice will die. Oh, Missy!” Alice’s mother started crying and she couldn’t continue. Only incoherent sobbing could be heard.
Missy said, “Just hold on, I’m almost there. We’ll figure this out, I promise!” It only took another minute for her to pull up in front of Alice’s house. She hopped out and raced inside, where she found Alice’s mother rocking back and forth, sitting by the living room phone.
Seeing Missy, she burst into tears. “What can I do, what can I do?”
Missy had her explain everything, from the beginning, and soon she understood. The kidnappers knew Alice’s Mom didn’t yet have any inheritance. That wasn’t the issue. They had decided she must know where Tony had hidden some money. The three million they were demanding was what they figured she’d be able to come up with on short notice. When she’d tried to explain she didn’t know anything about Tony having money hidden away, they’d told her to find it or Alice would die. They’d somehow known she’d been able to get into Tony’s safety deposit box. They apparently had been investigating for months, trying to find where Tony could have hidden money. They’d finally decided grabbing Alice was the only way they’d ever find out. They’d be calling back later that night with instructions on where to deliver the three million.
After calming Alice’s mother down and assuring her she’d find a way to help, Missy finally managed to leave. She didn’t want to call Robert Ulrey, because there was just too much risk in that, for Alice. She knew her FBI friends were still building their case and it would be a few more weeks before they arrested Frank McCarthy and several others in his organization. She decided there was no time to plan anything complicated. A direct approach was the only way. She knew where McCarthy could usually be found, over at a nightclub in East Boston. She went home to change her clothes.
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An hour later, she pulled up outside Frank’s favorite nightclub. Then, she drove down two more streets and found a parking space. She was wearing a brown and white checkered dress with a beige cardigan sweater which made her look like a school girl. Her shoes were Mary Janes, plain and sturdy with one inch heels. She was not going for any hooker look and wasn’t sure she even knew what that might be anyway. Jeans and a sweatshirt didn’t seem right either. She was a seventeen year old high school girl and she wanted to look exactly like that.
She walked inside the place and looked around. It was a nice place and didn’t seem to have any obvious bouncer for the front door but she spotted a couple of men who obviously were there to prevent anyone they didn’t want in there from coming inside. She walked up to the first guy, who was built like a linebacker, and said, “Hi, is Mr. Frank McCarthy here?” She was not wearing any makeup and her fresh face was obviously very young. She had arranged her hair in a high pony tail on top of her head with her long hair then hanging down loosely in back, going well past her shoulders.
The man stared at her for several seconds and then asked, “Who are you? Does Mr. McCarthy know you?” He was checking her out and, after all, she was a very attractive girl. He wasn’t going to ignore her completely or ask her to leave without finding out a little more information. He glanced over at the other guy who was not as big but looked like he’d been a boxer at one time with a nose which had been broken more than once. The two of them seemed to be enjoying this and made no effort to hide the way they were undressing her with their eyes.
“Oh, just tell him it’s about his friend, Tony Gonzales. Tony passed away a few months back, but they were really close friends and I just know Mr. McCarthy will want to see me.” She smiled and looked around for a place to sit, saw a booth nearby and went over and sat down. She was not carrying any purse and had left her car key in a magnetic holder attached to the inside of her rear fender.
The linebacker guy studied her for a few moments but then walked into the back and disappeared. There were about two dozen patrons scattered around inside, some at the bar and the others all sitting in booths. No one was seated at any of the tables. The night was still early. Missy could see she was being stared at by a few of the people in there but most simply ignored her.
When the linebacker guy returned he told the boxer guy that Frank had agreed to see the little lady and to hold the fort. He’d by taking her back there. The boxer guy seemed a little disappointed, saying, “Okay, Ramon. If you say so. But next time? I want to be the one who gets to bring them back there.” His eyes were watching Missy while he said this and he chuckled, in a nasty sounding way.
Ramon said, “Perks of the job, Marco, perks of the job.” Then he directed Missy to walk in front of him to a doorway over on the far side, where he had gone earlier. Once Missy was through that, they were in a hallway with a couple doors along the way and a door at the end. She walked towards the door at the end and then Ramon said, “Wait. I have to check you don’t have any weapons and aren’t wearing a wire. Frank says you should be expecting this, since you’re asking about Tony.”
Missy stopped and looked at him. “Do you have one of those wand things like at airport security?” Looking around, she didn’t see any, but she did notice a video camera overhead.
Missy had endured all of this and now said, “Can I go in now?” She was furious but kept her control firmly in place.
Ramon ushered her into a large room which evidently was Frank’s office. She had seen photos of Frank and recognized him. He was sitting behind his desk staring at a computer monitor and from the expression on his face, he had been watching every bit of Ramon’s patting her down. He was a large man, six two, perhaps two hundred and fifty pounds. He was not as big and muscular as Ramon but he looked fit. He probably worked out at the gym. That thought made her smile.
“Frank, I won’t say that I’m happy to see you. But, I am happy to see you have that monitor there. Do you have internet access?” Missy waited to see what sort of reaction she’d get.
“Young lady, who the hell are you and why are you here talking about Tony?” Frank was clearly suspicious having anyone show up right after he’d arranged for Alice to be held as ransom. Ransom for Tony’s money. He didn’t think this was a coincidence which was the only reason he’d even agreed to seeing her.
Missy said, “Who I am doesn’t really matter but I do have something which Tony left behind. I’ll be glad to show you what that is, but I didn’t bring it. I can show you if you can get to the internet, though. It’s actually a little video which Tony made. You might even say these were practically his last words.” She looked around the office and noticed there was another door behind Frank, which probably went to the outside. Ramon was standing guard in front of the door they’d come in at, which he had closed. It was a good size office and Tony was about twenty feet away. She walked forward a few steps and stopped, waiting.
Frank stared at her for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I can get on the internet.” He was really curious about her but wasn’t going to commit to anything. Maybe Ramon had missed some wire she was wearing in spite of how thorough he’d been when patting her down. “What’s this about? I don’t have time for any videos. Why would I care? Are you trying to shake me down?”
“Oh, this won’t be the usual video for Tony. I realize you are quite familiar with his proclivities, of course. Raping young girls. Like his stepdaughter Alice. No, this is more of an interview. About money, amongst other things.” She looked behind her to see where Ramon was and then looked back at Tony, raising one eyebrow. “You don’t mind having Ramon listen in? Hearing all about those other things?” She emphasized the word other.
At her mention of Alice’s name, he definitely had reacted. Now he was certain about her purpose in being there but how she’d connected him with Alice being kidnapped was still a mystery. He figured he’d better watch the video. He now wanted to find out exactly what she knew. “What’s the website? You’d better not be trying to shake me down.”
Missy gave him the website address where she’d stored the video file and then the user name and password so he could log in. She’d edited the tape she’d made with Tony, Billy and Donny. There wasn’t any discussion about her being kidnapped but the arrangements for killing Tony’s first wife and his daughter Roseanne were there, with clear mention of how both Frank and Salvatore D’Amato had been involved. She waited until he’d logged in and then she said, “Oh, wait, Frank! I know you definitely won’t want Ramon to hear any of this. Hold on.” Her voice had been very calm throughout all of this, from the time she’d first walked in. Frank now merely glanced up at her.
Drawing on her cat, she spun with speed beyond what any human might be capable of and taking a couple of steps toward Ramon she quickly kicked upward, catching him right between the legs. He was caught completely off guard and the incredible pain made him lean forward, bringing both hands down towards his groin. Missy spun again and planted a solid kick smashing his chin upward with tremendous force. Ramon dropped with a huge thud, out cold. He was going to need his jaw wired up and would be eating through a straw for the next few weeks. Once he eventually came to.
She spun back around, taking a couple of steps to return to where she’d been standing just a moment earlier, and calmly said, “Now, Frank. Now you can watch that video and listen to what Tony has to say. You’ll see a couple of other guys on there, too. They work for yet another one of your close friends. A Mr. Salvatore D’Amato.”
Frank was staring at her in total shock, as everything had been so fast he’d not had a chance to move. When she mentioned D’Amato’s name, he became even more concerned. “Who the hell are you?” he yelled. He pulled open his desk drawer and pulled out a revolver, which he pointed right at her.
She hadn’t moved while he’d pulled out the gun. Now she said, “Frank, you don’t want to shoot me. You really want to watch that video.” She emphasized the word really and her voice now had a very hard edge to it. “There’s a copy going to Sal if anything happens to me. Or to Alice Morris. Or to her mother.” Now she walked slowly forward until she was standing right in front of his desk, with the gun still pointed directly at her.
Frank suddenly wanted to see the damn video in the worst way. He didn’t even insist she back away, but switched the gun to his left hand so he could use his right hand to click his mouse and start the video. As the video began playing on his monitor, his eyes kept moving back and forth going from her to the video. As he watched, the full weight of her warning slowly registered with him. She hadn’t said anything about the cops. No, she’d said this video was going to Salvatore. When Billy and Donny each named Sal, Frank lowered the gun and put it back in the drawer. Without waiting for the video to end, he started it over from the beginning. This time, he didn’t look at Missy at all. He watched the entire video until it ended. Then he looked at her. Then he looked at Ramon.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one Tony wanted taken care of.” He was staring at her now as though she were an alien from outer space. “Sal told me his guys came back empty handed. That Tony must have had his accident before … oh, shit. Tony didn’t have any accident, did he?” Frank was rapidly connecting the dots. “You probably have all of Tony’s money, too. We couldn’t figure out how his wife could have managed … she’s just not that bright. So, we figured the daughter, maybe.”
“Glad you brought that up, Frank.” Missy walked around the desk so she was standing right next to him. “Where’s Alice?”
He paled visibly as he thought about what he’d already arranged and what the possible consequences might be. If Salvatore ever saw that video, he was going to die a very slow and painful death. There wasn’t anywhere he could hide. Certainly not in prison. Even witness protection wasn’t going to save him. “She’s okay, nothing’s happened yet.”
“Really? That’s good to hear, Frank. Let’s just call and check, okay?”
Frank sat back and looked at Missy. The shock of everything he’d just seen, both her taking down Ramon and what he’d watched on the video, was slowly ebbing away and the reality of what he’d seen began to sink in. He’d definitely noted how terrified Tony had been. And, he knew those other guys wouldn’t have talked about Sal that way. Not in a million years. What the hell had this girl done? How had she done it? She looked about sixteen years old. Except when she was talking. Then, she seemed like something else entirely. This was no little girl.
Missy asked him, “Is there a problem, Frank?”
Frank realized that, indeed, there was a problem. The two guys he’d used to kidnap Alice were only supposed to keep her alive
until he gave the word. He’d wanted to see if the mother would come up with any money. If she couldn’t, then he’d figured maybe the daughter might know. Either way, there was never going to be any letting Alice go. And, these guys knew that. They were really looking forward to taking care of Alice. And, he had insisted that it all be on tape. No way was he going to let them find out where the money was and not tell him.
“She should be okay …” he began. Then he realized he still had no idea who Missy was. Unbelievable. He didn’t even know what to call her. Young lady no longer seemed appropriate. He started again. “Nothing’s supposed to happen to Alice. She needs to convince her mother to cooperate. So, ah … she should still be good.”
Missy had picked up on the fact that things for Alice were precarious. “I want you to call your guys and explain that nothing is to happen to Alice. Tell them you’re coming out there a few hours from now and you need her to be safe and happy. So she can convince her mother for you. Right? Can you make that call? Right now, Frank?” She didn’t trust any part of this entire situation and could see that asking Frank to tell his guys to release Alice, unharmed, was probably not going to work. If they were already planning to get rid of her, any change of plans like that would be a red flag. They’d realize something was up and probably assume Frank had been arrested. If so, they’d take off with Alice and no one would ever see them or her again.
Frank made the call and then Missy had him go with her, out the back way. No one saw them leaving and she walked with him to her car. He was no longer looking to make any problems for her, as he believed what she’d said about Sal getting that video. She had obviously prepared all this long ago and probably would have been shaking him down anyway. His grabbing Alice was now looking like a really bad idea. Obviously, it had pissed her off and he wasn’t at all clear just where all this was going. But, he knew if those guys had already been messing with Alice, he was in trouble. And, since they knew they would be killing her eventually, there really wasn’t much reason for them not to have already started. They didn’t sound too happy about his now coming out there, insisting they leave her unharmed until he got there.
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