by HD Smith
Julian wanted to know why Matty left. It had been bugging him since yesterday. All the events of that summer were rolling around in his head. There’d been a lot going on then. The Russian, the turf war, and Carter. For the last thirty years, Julian assumed Matty was dead. That someone, probably the Russian, had killed him and his mother. The Russian had disappeared around the same time. It had always seemed like the most likely answer. Of course his dad never told him Hill thought Matty was alive. That would have changed everything.
Nowhere had eventually gotten back to normal, but not before several key people died and power changed hands. The gang had never been the same. Matty was gone, Ronny had been in jail for six months, and Lenny just stopped hanging around.
Julian had waited outside the hotel for Matty to leave. Yesterday he’d paid one of the maintenance employees for their uniform and access card, which he had tucked in his messenger bag. His plan was to put the coveralls on over his messenger outfit before entering the hotel through the back entrance. The key card he had would only get him in the back door and onto the freight elevators, not into guest rooms. The maintenance employee provided him with the combination to the lock on the head housekeeper’s locker, where he’d find a master key for all the guest rooms.
Matty left the hotel just before 9:00 AM. Julian headed around back to the loading dock. After donning his disguise he found the employee locker room and retrieved the master key. He took the service elevator to the third floor, nodding to a few other employees along the way. He was good at blending in. More often than not the key was attitude—act like you belong there and others assume you do. No one even looked twice.
Julian knocked on Matty’s door. “Maintenance,” he announced, just in case anyone was paying attention. No one answered, so he used the master key and let himself in.
There wasn’t much to find in Matty’s room. He was a normal, boring businessman on a trip for a few days. There were a few papers on Matty’s desk. Julian noticed the address of the office in the old Lewis building, but didn’t see anything else interesting. After a few more minutes of looking, he left the room and dumped the uniform before leaving the hotel. He hoped Ronny had better luck getting a copy of Walsh’s file on Matty. For now he had to concentrate on his day job. The client he was currently working for was expecting him to finish things today. He couldn’t delay it any longer, but it also meant he’d be on borrowed time the moment it was complete. He never stayed in town after a job was done. It was too risky, but he’d have to take the chance this time.
~#~
It was early and Matt was surprised by the progress being made at the office. Everything was moving along smoothly. His cell phone buzzed—it was Faith’s number on the caller ID.
“Hey babe,” Matt said.
“Matt,” Faith said, a clear warble in her voice.
“What’s wrong? Are you and Pete okay?” Matt asked, alarmed.
“Yeah, we’re fine, but my sister just called. Mom’s been admitted to the hospital. She fell and sprained her ankle.”
Matt breathed a little easier, thankful nothing had happened to his wife or son. Faith’s mother had been suffering from a mild form of Alzheimer’s for several years, but this was the first time she’d been hospitalized. Matt could hear the worry in Faith’s voice. It worried her to be so far away from her mom, especially now that the disease was starting to progress.
“Is she going to be okay?” Matt asked.
“Lydia said that mom would need constant supervision for the next two weeks, while the ankle starts to heal.”
Matt knew the only way for Faith to help her mother was to be there in person. Mrs. Avers, Faith’s mother, could still remember everyone, but she had a hard time with current events and short-term memory. If you asked her she would tell you that Pete would be three on his next birthday, which made it difficult to talk to her on the phone. Also, Lydia had her own family to deal with as well and would need help if their mother needed someone with her twenty-four seven.
“When do you want to leave?” he asked.
“This afternoon would be best, but what about Pete, should I take him with me?”
“You’re going to have enough to deal with. See if he can stay with the Coopers for a couple of days. I’ll be home on Friday.”
“Okay, yeah, you’re right. Okay.”
Matt heard what sounded like a sob. “Faith, take a deep breath. It’s going to be fine. I’ll call my assistant and have her make the arrangements. You just worry about packing and getting Pete to the Coopers. Okay?”
“Okay. I’ll call you if there’s a problem. I’ll have my cell phone, and you have Lydia’s number. But don’t panic if you can’t reach me, you know how bad the coverage is out there.”
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” Matt said, trying to calm his wife. “She just sprained her ankle. She’ll be okay. You’ll be there to help tomorrow.”
Faith had always been very close to her mother. It hit her hard when her mother had received a diagnosis of Alzheimer's eight years ago.
“You’re right. I’m fine—just worried.” Faith took a few deep breaths. She sounded better now, not as emotional. “Okay, lots to do. I’ll call you when I get there. Love you, bye.”
Matt texted his assistant, who would take care of all the travel arrangements, then went back to work.
~#~
Lenny was looking through the file Walsh sent. Ruben was certainly thorough. He had copies of everything: birth certificates, marriage licenses, wills, and anything else you could think of right down to the one thing Lenny never wanted anyone else to know. His eyes passed over it, refusing to even acknowledge it was written on the page.
Lenny retrieved his cellphone and dialed Carlos.
Carlos was an associate in Miami. Lenny wanted to see if he could arrange a special pick-up for him in Orlando. He would make sure Matty had a reason to visit Nowhere.
“Hola,” a nice-sounding female voice answered the phone.
“It’s Hill, let me speak to Carlos.”
“Just a minute, please,” she said.
The phone clicked over to hold music, but was picked up immediately.
“Hill, how are you doing, my friend?” Carlos asked. His accent was a blend of American and Cuban, although Lenny wasn’t sure which one was fake. “Are you coming to see us?”
“No, but I need a favor, and I know the cost.” This wasn’t the first time Lenny had paid to have someone picked up, but it was the first time he’d involved a wife and child. As long as Matty cooperated, they wouldn’t be hurt.
Carlos’s tone turned serious. “What is it that you need done?”
“I need you to arrange a special pick up for me in Orlando. I’ll send my own guys down to retrieve the cargo once your crew has acquired it. No transport necessary.”
“And what names will be on the cargo?”
“Larson. I’ll email you the address.”
“How heavy is the cargo? Will I need two men from my crew or three?”
“Two men should be fine. Half the cargo is small.”
“When do you expect delivery?”
“I need this done quickly. I’ll have my guys there tomorrow for pick-up. I’ll call you back once I’ve made the arrangements. Is this acceptable?”
“And the delivery charge?”
“Half now, and half once I’ve received the cargo.”
Carlos laughed. “Then this is acceptable. I have two men from my crew in Orlando that can handle this. They will track down the cargo and arrange for delivery to your couriers.”
“Good. You’ll have the money within the hour.”
Chapter 8
1985
The gang decided they’d have to be in stealth mode to watch the Russian. They couldn’t all watch him together, not if they wanted to avoid getting caught. So they tailed the Russian in rotation. It had been over a week, and so far none of the gang had seen him doing anything unusual.
Today it was M
atty’s turn to tail the Russian. He sat on a low concrete wall across the street from Deuces Wild, an illegal betting establishment that looked like a rundown repair shop. This was always the Russian’s last stop, and Matty knew he’d be headed back to Miller’s Pub after this, which would finally end Matty’s turn watching the Russian make his daily rounds.
Matty was bored. He glanced back over his shoulder at the pick-up game of basketball that was about to start. The court was why he picked this corner to spy from. The other neighborhood kids were a perfect camouflage for Matty’s surveillance. He considered joining the game and blowing off his assignment, until he spotted Juli.
He jumped down from the wall and waited.
“What’s up?” Juli asked, as if he didn’t know Matty was working.
“Nothing. I’m so bored.” Matty cocked his head toward the repair shop. “He never does anything wrong. Let’s get out of here and go get pizza.”
Juli smiled. “I’m in.”
Just as they were about to leave, the front door to Deuces Wild swung open.
Matty grabbed Juli’s arm. “Hold up a minute. That’s him coming out now. We’ll let him leave first.”
Juli nodded.
Matty didn’t think the Russian had ever noticed him, but he didn’t want to give the guy a reason to suspect anything. He and Juli waited for the Rusian to turn toward the pub. Since that was also the direction they planned to take, it was safer to wait until the Russian was out of sight before they left.
He turned toward Juli as if talking, but Matty watched from the corner of his eye as the Russian left the building.
“Shit,” Matty cursed, “follow me.”
Matty jumped back on the wall, and threw his legs over to the other side. Juli did the same.
“What?” Juli asked as they walked toward the basketball court.
“He should be headed back to the pub, but he’s not.”
Juli stepped in front of Matty, holding out his hand to stop him. “Okay, so what does that mean?” Juli dropped his arm and casually scanned the street behind them.
“I don’t know. Where’s he going?” Matty asked, realizing Juli had placed himself in the perfect position to stare without being obvious.
“Still going straight—wait, he just turned onto Hayes.”
“Hayes? What’s down there?”
“Southside, but Hill doesn’t run any businesses down there.”
Matty nodded, agreeing, then smiled. “At least now it isn’t boring.”
“Yeah, but we aren’t exactly going to blend in, and my dad will kill me if I start any trouble down there.”
“We’re just walking through. In and out,” Matty said, as if it were no big deal. He was worried too, but they had to find out what the Russian was up to.
Matty was relieved when the Russian didn’t go into Southside. He’d continued down Hayes for two blocks, then turned onto Cleveland. He stopped when he reached Bert’s Barbershop. Matty and Juli both jerked their heads back behind the corner of the building when the Russian glanced up and down the street. Matty waited a beat before he chanced another look. He watched the Russian entered the shop.
While it was possible the Russian was just stopping by to have his hair cut, it wasn’t likely. The shop was owned by Police Chief Waters’ uncle, Bert, and as far as Matty knew, it was off limits.
The barbershop was a small building that appeared to have been stuffed in between two other buildings, as if it had been squished to fit. There were three floors total and Matty assumed the top two floors were living quarters.
He and Juli waited in the shadowed alley across the street.
“What do you think he’s doing in there?” Matty asked.
Before Juli could answer, a blue sedan pulled up and parked in front of the shop. “Who’s that?” Juli whispered.
“Shit, it’s Chief Waters.” Matty grabbed Juli’s arm and pulled him down behind the dumpster.
Juli, crouched low, peeking around to see what was going on. Matty, resting his hand on Juli’s back for balance, kept his head lower than the dumpster to stay hidden. He peered around the edge. Waters was in his street clothes, not wearing his uniform.
“Off duty,” Juli whispered.
Waters looked around. Matty and Juli ducked back, colliding with each other in their effort to stay hidden. After a few seconds, they resumed their spying.
Matty watched as Waters disappeared into the barbershop.
“Do you think he saw us?” Matty asked.
“No, and I don’t think they both need their hair cut either.”
“Yeah, I agree. So why are they meeting?”
Juli shrugged, but before he could respond, Waters came back through the door. He stuffed an envelope inside his jacked, giving the street a quick glance. Matty and Juli pulled back, this time without crashing into each other. Matty stayed hidden until he heard the car pull away.
A few minutes later, the Russian stepped out and started back toward Miller’s Pub. He didn’t look around as he left, which either meant he wasn’t worried now that the job was done, or he had no idea the gang was following him.
Juli tapped Matty’s leg and pointed in the other direction. Matty nodded, then he and Juli made their way out of the alley, walking in the opposite direction as the Russian, before taking a parallel side street back toward Demarko’s.
Lenny and Ronny were sitting at one of the outside tables when he and Juli arrived.
“Where have you two been?” Lenny asked.
Matty swiped the last two slices of pizza and passed one to Juli.
“Hey, get your own,” Ronny whined.
Matty ignored him, answering Lenny’s question between hungry bites. “We were spying on the Russian. We saw him talking to Waters.”
“The Chief of Police?” Ronny asked, still scowling at Matty as he ate the pizza.
“Yeah,” Juli said, grabbing his brother’s soda.
Ronny just looked at him, incredulous.
Lenny laughed, then grabbed his own soda, holding it close as if to protect it. “What were they talking about?”
Juli shrugged. “We don’t know. They met at Bert’s Barbershop, but weren’t there long.”
Matty snagged one of the napkins from the dispenser and wiped his mouth. “Waters had an envelope when he came out. They didn’t leave together.”
“I think we should tell Hill,” Juli said.
“I don’t know,” Matty said. “What if he was making a payoff for Hill?”
Straightening, Lenny said, “What do you mean a payoff for Hill?”
Matty raised one of his eyebrows. “What do you want me to call it? A contribution to the widow’s and orphan’s fund?”
“My dad’s not a snitch. He’s not working with the cops,” Lenny said haughtily.
Matty rolled his eyes. “Water’s wasn’t the one paying the money—he was being paid. We all know that Mr. Hill runs a lot of businesses in the area. And it’s not like they get busted by the cops—ever.”
The organization tried hard to appear legitimate, but Lenny had to know his dad’s businesses were still connected. Did he really think the cops were staying away because they trusted the Mob?
Juli spoke up. “It would explain why Hill never gets busted.”
“Yeah, they don’t even get raided,” Ronny added.
Matty eyed Lenny, pointing his hand palm up toward Ronny, as if saying “See, I’m not the only one who noticed”.
Juli broke the silence. “Okay, maybe you’re right. If we go to Hill now, and this wasn’t off the books, then we’ll just tip our hand. He’ll know we’ve been watching the Russian and not staying out of things.”
“Yeah, I think we should wait,” Ronny said.
Everyone stared at Lenny. After a beat, with his lips pressed together, he nodded. No one wanted to get on Mr. Hill’s bad side, or give the Russian a reason to keep an eye out for them.
“We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing for now,” Matty said. �
�If it wasn’t a sanctioned payoff, the Russian will show his hand soon enough.”
They all agreed.
~#~
It had been a few days since Matty had seen the Russian talking to Waters. Nothing new had happened since.
Matty was at Demarko’s with Juli eating pizza. “I thought Ronny and Lenny were coming?” Matty asked.
Juli slurped the rest of his soda then tossed the empty cup into the nearby trashcan. “They’re probably at the hideout. Let’s go see.”
Matty tossed his trash in the can, then followed Juli to the hideout. Once inside they crept up the stairs to the roof. Juli slowly pushed open the door and pointed. “Told ya.”
Ronny and Lenny were lying on their stomachs looking down into the back room of Miller’s Pub. Matty and Juli took their places beside them.
The Tweedles weren’t around, but Mr. Hill, Mr. Townsend, and the Russian were all discussing the latest figures—boring. Matty was about to suggest they leave—maybe go over to the basketball courts and catch a game, when Hill’s phone rang.
“What?” Hill answered, “Shit. Who did it? Is Logan there? Tell him we’re on our way.” Hill slammed the phone on the cradle. “Parrish is dead.”
“Damn, who?” Townsend asked.
Hill shook his head. “Tell Reno to get the car.” Hill turned to the Russian. “Find the others and let them know what’s happened. Make sure everyone is watching their backs.”
“Sure boss,” the Russian said.
“Someone killed Parrish,” Matty whispered, unable to believe it.
He looked at the guys. They were all just as wide-eyed in shock as Matty.
Hill and Townsend left the pub immediately. Matty assumed the Russian would leave too—Hill had given him orders after all—but he didn’t leave. He sat down in Hill’s chair. Placing his hands on the desk, he looked around as if accessing his new digs. With a wicked sneer, he picked up the handset and dialed.
He wasn’t on the phone long, and Matty couldn’t hear him clearly, but what he had heard sounded like, “… their way.”
Matty looked at Juli, who shrugged and shook his head as if he hadn’t been able to make it out either.