Whatever the conversation had been, it had suddenly changed ‘Luciano’ from a tough talking mafioso type to a bashful school boy right down to the text speak. Whatever had been said, ‘Luciano’ for one certainly wanted a little more conversation.
‘I tried to call you but no answer. I will try again later on. I did send my pic to you and I have my daughter in one of them. I have no idea why.
Tony.’
Eventually Collins responded to him. It was apparent that she had also fallen into a more coquettish mood and once again the words kept flowing.
‘Finally I have a chance to email with no one breathing down my neck.
Again I must apologise for not being able to take your calls tonight. I though I’d be on my own but my son, who’s 20, came home much earlier than I expected. He’s a good kid and said he wanted to spend some quality time with me as I’m going away on Wednesday. We were watching a movie and chatting and, at the time, I was trying to email you, but as I said, we are always, always having problems with internet connections at the house, so I lost the very long email that I had hoped to send you.
Anyway, what I was saying was—thank you for the photos. Your daughter is beautiful and clearly loves her dad and you’re very handsome yourself. Italian of course!
I had to smile when I saw your photos. For as long as I can remember I’ve been saying that I would love a sexy yellow sports car—and I’ve always wanted to visit Las Vegas. Maybe you’ll take me for a ride in yours if I ever get there! Now that’s cheeky isn’t it?!
Anyway, I was sitting with my son last night and thinking—if he only knew what his mother was planning. He definitely would wonder if he ever knew me at all. My boys would be devastated if they thought I would do such a thing. My other son is nearly 23 and works in Dublin. I miss him a lot. We are very close. In fact my boys are everything to me. I got married (for the first time) when I was 19. It was a disaster. There was no divorce in Ireland at the time, but I got an annulment from the Church and when divorce was introduced I got one. I didn’t have to resort to extreme measures at the time. I can get on quite well with my ex-husband now. I think it’s important for children that parents try to get along, even when the relationship breaks down. Otherwise the children question their own worth.
I suppose you think I want to be rid of my husband so I can get what he has? Well I do want to inherit—I want my home and an income, of course I do. But there’s a lot more to it than that. For one thing, he resents any time I spend with my boys and tried to keep me away from them. That’s a reason why my son wanted to take advantage of being with me last night while my husband’s in Spain. My husband wants to control every moment of my life and has a dreadful temper. And he makes sure I have no money of my own. But the main reason I’m doing this is because he is continually trying to force me to go out and pick up a stranger for sex. He finds the idea of it exciting and insists I must do it or I’m out and he will make sure that I have absolutely nothing. Well I will not do that. No way! The mother of my boys is not a slut. I think it’s disgusting that a man would want his woman to be with another man. He never, ever stops pushing for it. Frankly I don’t care what he does. I don’t mind if he has sex with hookers or transvestites (of which he is particularly fond) everyday but leave me out of it. He has gone so far that I’m at the stage now when I would be happy if I never had to hear of sex again. I would be perfectly content on my own now with no man. I certainly will never marry or live with someone again.
You might ask yourself why I don’t just leave and sue him but it wouldn’t work believe me. I’m in a very vulnerable situation. And because of the way he has things tied up I’m afraid his boys are going to suffer now—and I really regret that. I wish so much that it didn’t have to be like this, but then again, I know that if my husband was dead and they were still here they’d screw me anyway. In fact I’m sure of it. So now I want to protect myself and my boys.
Gee Tony I must be boring you out of your mind. It’s the last thing you need to know. Sorry—I do go on.
To get back to business. I still haven’t found out where the guys will be this weekend. They probably don’t know themselves yet. More than likely though, it will be Kilkee.’
‘Luciano’ probably didn’t give much thought to Collins’s allegations about Howard. It is likely that she made them up, simply to give herself and excuse for her own actions. Howard’s sons had also been nothing but kind to her. She most likely invented the allegations to ease her own conscience. Either way, ‘Luciano’ probably didn’t care one way or another as everything was going to plan. Collins’s flirtatious emails also made it more interesting.
‘Thanks for your comment. I bet you look so beautiful too. Maybe after we done the business—maybe it will be my pleasure to have dinner with you. You gonna pay for it???? Hahaha.’
Collins had finally found suitable photos to send on the computer at work. There was a nice one of her and Howard from the Christmas party, which she emailed immediately.
‘Tony,
As I said, I’m not sure which photos were which while I was sending them. You’ll be able to tell which one is my husband … and I’m the devil in the red dress!
The photo with the guy on the left is the younger one and the one on the right the older.
I’m with them now, so email later.
Sharon.’
‘Luciano’ didn’t take long to get back to her, though his tone was more serious, not having yet had confirmation that the money had actually been sent.
‘Hello Sharon,
You look so great I can’t wait to see you. OK let’s talk business. We agreed before 50% down which is 45,000 and we went down to 15,000 and you tell me after all done…sorry Sharon we don’t know each other yet to do that and I’m sorry.
I did trust you for the 30,000 and now I feel you take advantage—that’s what I feel. So if I didn’t receive the money or some of them (15,000) by Thur forget about it well! Email me the tracking number or let me know wither one or what you gonna do.
Thanks.’
Collins didn’t get back to him immediately as she was busy covering her tracks in Ennis. When she finished in work she copied the important files she needed from the computer onto a disc so they would be saved when the computer disappeared according to her plan. After all, even if she was successful, the business would still have to keep running. But his last email worried her a bit. She began to think twice about what she was about to do. At one point she started to write an abrupt email to him.
‘Just one thing Tony. There is a disclaimer at the bottom of your website which states that the website is a parody. Please comment.’
The disclaimer was a copy of the one on the hitman.us website, a convenient way for hitmanforhire.net to cover itself if people did get suspicious. It had been displayed at the bottom of the website since Collins had first visited it two weeks previously. But she decided she didn’t want to irritate ‘Luciano’. Not while there was still business to be done. It was for this reason that she typed another email.
‘OK Tony I promise I wasn’t trying to take advantage—honest. But I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I was. I’m just nervous. I haven’t been very happy with my parcel and I’m worried someone will examine it. I am going to try to figure out a better way of concealing the cash in the parcel before I drop it off later.
‘OK friends again. There is something else you might be able to help me with though. I had hoped to take the computer out of the offices this evening and say I was bringing it to our computer maintenance firm. Anyway when I said it, one of the sons told me that the technician who does out work is on holiday and told me to leave it in the office and they would bring it over themselves. Now I can’t think of an excuse to remove it tonight or tomorrow. They know I have a laptop at home and won’t need it there. So is there anyway that any of you doing the job here could let themselves into the office and remove the computer after they have finished the job. I could arrange to leave ke
ys somewhere for them to collect? I feel that the computer is the one thing that could point the finger at me (apart from the cash being discovered in the parcel.) Is it possible—you did say that the guy who will be working is German right? There’s a guy …
Sharon.’
Collins never sent the email and ended up deleting it. She fiddled around with the parcel until she was happy with it. €15,000 in cash isn’t that easy to wrap discreetly. But she eventually mustered up the courage to send it.
When she left the office she headed to Shannon Airport with a neat parcel containing €15,000 in cash, and, so it didn’t look suspicious, a pair of goggles she had found in a cupboard at home. They were supposed to be for some kind of computer game, not something she’d miss. They’d do. She made it to the FedEx office before they closed and filled out the docket in the name of an Anthony Howard, addressing it to Teresa Engle at the Camden Cove Street address. Back at home she tried to email ‘Luciano’ again after unsuccessfully trying to ring.
‘Now I know for sure you sleep as I’ve just been ringing you. Well I’m glad—I’ll need you at your best …
What I really need to know urgently is where to leave the keys of the office for your people and what name to put on the envelope.
I will not put the address in the envelope with the keys—I will give it out to you after you receive the money and confirm that the job is still on. But I will give you some details for getting into the office.
If they leave it until late there will be no one around (there is a cleaner who comes on her own time, but not at night.)
There is an alarm so they must do the following—two locks on the outside door. It’s not a very secure door anyway. Light switch to the right of the door. Straight up the stairs and into the reception.
Sometimes the door at the top of the stairs is locked but the key is always in the door lock. Light switch to the left of the reception door just inside reception area. Walk behind reception. There are two doors behind the desk and also an opening to a small area behind the desk. The alarm is just inside this opening on the wall. The code is [number given]. This turns the alarm on and off. The computer that I am concerned about is the one at the reception desk. No need to take the monitor or keyboard etc just the hardware left on the floor under the desk.
It would be a good idea if the alarm was turned on again when they leave, same code. And leave the door locked as before.
There’s a safe in the office but there is never much money in it. Just a few hundred euro. I don’t want it touched. I just want it to look like one of the sons took the computer themselves for repair or something.
I’ve just saved everything important for work on a CD and have it with me. If I don’t hear from you in time I will decide myself where to leave the key and let you know.
There is something else I want done – I want an email sent to my husband’s email address. I will give you the details tomorrow. No time now. Trying to get ready for trip.
Sharon.’
‘Luciano’ tried to ring her back but was unsuccessful.
‘I guess we have a problem to talk on the phone. I just wondering is all info in the package … what’s there beside the money? Is everything we need inside?
Don’t get mad when I see you in Malaga if I like you I will kiss you … if I don’t you do it. I just joke.
Thanks.
Tony.’
It was at this point he suddenly realised Collins was not going to be contactable for the next few days.
‘You gonna have you laptop with you in Spain? In case I want to contact you?’
Still no answer. Collins was having difficulties with the dial up. ‘Luciano’ tried again, not telling the entire truth.
‘Everything is done. I did send my people to Ireland and I send them the deposit that they need and I’m getting ready to Malaga. Is any more info you can give me? I will try to call you again. Maybe I get through this time or try to call me back.
Tony.’
Collins finally got the internet working again.
‘Oh by the way Tony, I know you were ringing me earlier but I wasn’t in a position to talk at the time. Funny, now I’ve managed to send several short emails but before that when I was trying to send a long message, I lost it every time—four times to be exact.
Now I don’t know what I’ve said and what I’ve left out. I would be able to talk on the phone at approximately 1.30 a.m. my time if we can’t get everything sorted by email before we meet in Spain. Did you get my message from earlier today regarding someone who works in security here? Is there any chance he could have any connection to your people in Ireland?
Am I driving you mad with questions and suggestions? OK I’ll wait until I hear from you before emailing again. Sharon.’
‘Call me later on when you have a chance … or I will call you. Tony.’
‘I can talk now or anytime for the next two or three hours. I realise it is just after midnight here now. So if you are in a position to talk, please ring.
Sharon.’
The conspirators managed a couple of brief phone calls that evening. Nothing much, no time for any serious flirting—a maximum of five minutes snatched by Collins during the evening. Collins was also keeping an eye on the FedEx parcel which was slowly making it’s way to Las Vegas. It arrived the next morning. Eid was in the shower and Engle was at work so it was Lisa who signed for the delivery. That night ‘Luciano’ was back at the computer.
‘Hello Baby,
I tried to reach you several times but no answer. I guess you are not like me. You sleep a lot and I’m not. You can call me any time, I’m always up.
Bye Baby.’
Collins had left for Spain and it was not until Thursday when she was settled that she managed to get away and write a longer email with the details of the job in hand. She named those she wanted killed.
‘The people you want information about are as follows:
The family name is Howard. There is P.J. Howard (57) and his two sons Robert (27) and Niall (23). P.J. Howard spends most of his time in the Costa del Sol in Spain. He has an apartment in Fuengirola, approximately 20 minutes from Malaga Airport on the motorway. The address, [she gave him the exact address]. This is a hotel and apartment complex. The entrance to which is beside the bus station and then ask the taxi driver to continue straight on to Calle Jac into Benevente. There is an entrance between Coyote Dance (disco) and Karaoke Video Café (bar). There are a lot of shops in the entrance with their merchandise on display as you walk through. When you go past approx three shops turn left and the door to the apartment block is on the right. Any of the shop owners can direct you to Torre [number given].
P.J. Howard also has a boat in Benalmedena and spends most weekends there on the boat.
Robert Howard and Niall Howard live in Ballaghboy, Doora, Ennis, Co Clare. To reach their house, [she then gave precise details of how to find their house, as well as a visual description of it].
Niall drives a BMW (small one) and Robert drives a Land Rover. They also have a house in Kilkee on the west coast of Co Clare. The address is [names address], Kilkee. They usually go there at weekends and often have cousins and friends stay with them. There is a possibility that they might go to a seaside resort called Ballybunion in Co Kerry this weekend. Will find out and let you know.
The Howard’s have a company called Downes & Howard Ltd. The office address is 7A Westgate Business Park, Kilrush Road, Ennis, Co. Clare. Driving from Ennis Town in the Kilrush direction go through the traffic lights at a shop called Coote. Go past Seat Car Sales on the left. Then turn right into Westgate Business Park—it’s opposite another car dealer (not sure of the name). There is a sign for John O’Dwyer Hardware and other businesses in the Business Park. Then turn right. Various shop units are there on the left. Go as far as Aids to Independence which is the last shop in the first block and there is a gap. The door for Downes & Howard offices is to the side of Aid to Independence. It is not marked, no sign. J
ust a timber double door.
There is a house on the Clare Road (Limerick Road) in Ennis. Leaving Ennis town, heading in the Limerick direction there is a filling station and car sales called Estuary (Francie Daly is the proprietor and his name is on a sign). Immediately after this there is a turn right—don’t take it. Immediately after that there is a blue house, then a yellow house with a Sale Agreed sign outside it. The seller is Era Leyden Auctioneers. No one lives in the house. Behind the house beside the central heating boiler there is a concrete block and keys under it.
I will forward any further information that you need as soon as I have it.
Will ring you later.’
Over the next few days the two kept in touch by phone. Collins rang Eid numerous times between 17th and the 23rd of August. On the 23rd there was a flurry of contact as the final details were arranged. The deposit had arrived and the final touches were being put to the plan which would see Engle flying into Shannon a few days later. That morning Collins emailed ‘Luciano’ again.
The Devil in the Red Dress Page 10