It was one of those electric moments when the burden suddenly lightens and the world is righted on its axis.
“At the warehouse?”
Wanda nodded again.
“It was snowing like hell,” she said. “Business was lousy. Didn’t want to go back to my apartment with nothing to show for it and get my ass kicked again. So I found a bar and settled in.” Her eyes filled with tears. “And then Angela called.”
“Where was she?”
“Said she was in a warehouse with two guys. They were having a party. Said she missed me.”
“How long had it been since you’d seen her?”
Tiffany reached over and patted Wanda’s cheeks dry with a napkin. Wanda took it from her and crumpled it in her fist.
“Couple of months,” she said. “And it’s my fault she’s dead. Now it’s my turn. Guess we all have to pay, don’t we? Only right.”
“Why do you think it’s your fault?”
“Angela ran from those bastards because of me. And wound up dead because of me.”
“Which bastards are we talking about?”
“The mother who squeezed me out of her body twenty-three years ago, and her rat bastard husband who belted me and Angie around whenever he had a yen.”
“Jonas wasn’t your father?”
“My real father skipped when Angie came along. Hardly remember him.”
She took her eyes off her hands and fixed them on me.
“How did you know his name was Jonas?” she said.
“I met him. Met them both. They came here to have Angela’s body shipped back home.”
She went back to studying her hands, her voice a monotone. “They’re the ones who deserve to be dead. Fucking monsters. She knew what he was doing, and let it happen. And him? I’ll never forget the look on his face when he hit us. I swear the bastard got off on it.”
Tiffany took Wanda’s hand in hers and held it tight.
“It’s over, baby,” she cooed. “They can’t hurt you no more.”
“But I’m going to hurt them. If it’s the last thing I do.”
I could only wish her well.
“Let’s get back to Angela,” I said. “A few minutes ago you said you were responsible for her death.”
“I was. I had some money saved that they didn’t know about. I could have sent it to her, and she could have gone somewhere safe. But they made me bring her here. Told me what would happen to me if I didn’t get her to come to New York.”
“Who made you?”
“Martine and Ennis. Said they would send me to Asia or some other place, and I’d never come back. I believed them. It happened to other girls. And no one ever heard from them again. So I did what I was told.”
Tiffany nodded. “Show Steeg what she did to you, honey.”
Wanda undid the belt of her robe and shrugged it off. A tattoo of a tarot card adorned her left breast.
The snakes in my head whirled like dervishes.
“All of Martine’s girls had them,” Tiffany said. “Part of the deal when you worked for her.”
Wanda snorted a bitter rattle that was meant to be a laugh.
“I didn’t know that at first. I was working for this pimp who enjoyed tearing me up in ways I didn’t think possible. I heard about Martine from some other girls. Said she would help me get out of the life. See, that’s how she recruited.”
She took a sip of orange juice and continued.
“So I went to see Martine. Told her my story. And she took me in. Set me up in a fancy apartment. Bought me new clothes. Plenty of food in the refrigerator. Told me not to worry about a thing. Everything’s gonna to be just fine.”
“And then she lowered the boom.”
“Oh yeah. Ennis shows up. Worse than my first pimp. Smacks me around, rapes me, and then reads me the new Gospel according to Saint Martine.”
“Church of the Holy Buck,” Tiffany muttered.
“All the johns were these rich, important guys,” Wanda said. “But they were just creepy, fucking johns. Don’t even know how they came up with the things they wanted me to do. Didn’t even ask for us by our own names. Just by whatever our tarot card name was.”
“What was the name of your card?”
Wanda turned away.
“The Fool,” she said. “Kinda fits, don’t it?”
Wanda stared at a spot on the far wall. Her eyes were dull and empty.
“Did you see Angela at the warehouse?”
“I never made it inside. Flames were shooting out all over.”
She paused.
“There’s something else,” she said. “About the fire. Something I saw.”
I waited for her to continue.
“A man standing across the street. Just watching the fire eat up that building.” She looked down at her hands again. “And everything in it.”
It was time to take things slow and easy.
“What did he look like, Wanda?”
“The Devil.”
“Can you describe him?”
“White guy. Big. Heavyset. Wearing a parka with one of those hoods.”
“How about his hair? Blond? Dark? Long? Short?”
“Didn’t see. Had the hood up. Just his face. Got a good look at that.”
“Anything special about it? Any marks? Scars?”
“No.”
“About how old was he?”
“Hard to tell,” she said. “Twenties. Maybe thirty. Maybe less. Just saw him for a second or two. He saw me. Stared at me. I was so scared, I ran.”
“What frightened you?”
“The look on his face. Like Death.”
“Get your money’s worth, Steeg?” Tiffany asked.
“Much more. Do you have any idea where Martine and Ennis are now, Wanda?”
“They have a hidey-hole up in Harlem, I think. New building. I heard Ennis bragging about it to Riley. Liked the idea that they were living high on the hog and could look out the window and as far as the eye could see, everyone else was living in shit.”
“Got an address?”
“No.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll find them.”
“And when you do?”
“Gonna send them your regards.”
33
This assignment was right up Kenny’s alley. Unfortunately, he was temporarily out of commission. That left one other possibility.
I called my brother and told him to meet me at Feeney’s.
When I arrived, he was already there, sitting in his customary back booth with a bottle of Johnny Black for company.
He lifted his half-empty glass and drained it. “Your meeting,” he said.
I slid in opposite him.
“So much for fraternal warmth,” I said. “Where’s your alter ego?”
“Anthony? Beats me.”
“I hear the two of you were at it again.”
“Bad news travels fast.”
“When’s it gonna end, Dave? You can’t keep hammering him.”
He shrugged.
“That’s the thing he’s got to understand.”
“What thing?”
“Hammering a square peg in a round hole just doesn’t work.”
“Why not sit him down and quietly tell him that he’s not cut out for your business?”
“How do you fire your own kid?”
“Be a problem if you ran a normal business. But you don’t.”
“Enough of this bullshit. Why’re you here?”
“I need your help,” I said.
He flashed me a cold smile.
“Now the tone changes and the bitching about what a shitty father I am goes away. Nice.”
I made a move out of the booth.
“Go fuck yourself, Dave.”
His hand shot across the table and latched onto my jacket.
“Don’t go,” he said.
“Why not? You’re crazier than a March hare. And being in your company is a trial.”
His grip loosene
d.
“Just don’t,” he said.
It was the same small, frightened voice I remembered hearing when we were kids and he was terrified of the dark. Dominic would kick Dave out when he tried to crawl between him and Norah. And he wound up spending the night in my bed.
I settled back in my seat.
“What’s happening to you, Dave?” I said. “You’re turning into something straight out of a Shakespearean tragedy.”
He rubbed his cheek with the stump of his hand.
“Everything’s haywire,” he said. “Hard to figure out which end is up anymore.”
I reached for his good hand. “You’ve got to hold it together, Dave.”
“I don’t give a shit anymore.”
“I need you to snap out of this funk you’re in.”
“It’s the only thing left that gives me pleasure.”
“Remember when we were kids and someone messed with me?”
“A mistake they wouldn’t make twice.”
“Looks like I need your help again.”
The transformation was astounding. My brother was reborn. He sat up straighter, and the color was back in his face. It was as if I had dipped him in a baptismal fount and all of his troubles just washed away. Even his voice was stronger.
“Martine?”
“You’re still running numbers banks up in Harlem, right?”
“And?”
I told him about Wanda and Martine and Ennis, and the business they were in.
“Pretty slick,” he said. “Every time you think there are no new ideas, one pops up.”
“I’m sure Martine would appreciate your admiration.”
“Should’ve been working for me. Instead, I got Anthony.”
It was the first time in months I had seen him this animated.
He waved Nick over. “You gotta hear this,” he said.
When Dave had finished extolling Martine’s marketing prowess, Nick was unimpressed.
“We don’t run hookers,” he said. “Not our business.”
Nick was right. Prostitution wasn’t Dave’s business. The only time he’d dabbled in the flesh trade, he came up against the Law of Unintended Consequences. And it resulted in the death of a half sister we never knew we had.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t make this Martine any less of a genius,” Dave said.
“Whatever,” Nick said, losing enthusiasm for the conversation.
“You never were big on imagination, Nick,” Dave said.
“If I were, I’d be in another line of work.”
“Can’t argue with that. Anyway, Jake here needs our help.” He turned to me. “Tell him who you’re looking for.”
“Martine Toussaint, and her boyfriend Frank Ennis. Martine has a heavy duty Haitian accent. Wears her hair in dreadlocks. Ennis you know. They live together in a luxury high-rise somewhere in Harlem.”
“That narrows it down,” Nick said.
“Can’t have everything. Anyway, could you put the word out to the bankers and their networks that we’re looking for them, and willing to pay?”
“How much?”
“I’ve got a little over a hundred in my bank account,” I said.
“Dollars?”
“Available immediately.”
“Let’s see,” Nick said. “Snake-mean black gal. White boyfriend armed to the teeth. And a hundred bucks for the guy who rats ’em out. Who wouldn’t jump at that?”
“Make it five large,” Dave said. “The money comes from my pocket. You tell them I need it done. And if there’s any push back, you let me know.”
Nick nodded.
“All’s I need is an address,” I said. “I’ll take it from there.”
“Alone?” Dave asked.
“It’s what I had in mind.”
“Want some help?”
“From who?”
“Me. And Nick comes along for backup.”
“Could be an adventure,” Nick said. “Haven’t had one of those in a while.”
“Then it’s settled,” Dave said.
“Why’re you doing this?”
He lifted Johnny B and slammed one back straight from the bottle.
“It’ll be just like old times,” Dave said. “The Steeg boys together again. And screw ’em all!”
Just like old times.
As I recalled, that’s what got me into this mess in the first place.
“I almost forgot,” Nick said. “DeeDee came by looking for you. She was with her boyfriend. Anyway, between you and me, I didn’t like the way they were acting.”
“Define acting.”
“Y’know, all cuddly, and kissy face. Stuck together like someone poured Krazy Glue on them.”
“Someone new, or Justin, the kid she’s been seeing?”
“The old boyfriend,” Nick said. “Have you talked to her about…?”
“About what?”
“You know. Boys. And what assholes they are.”
“Nick has a point,” Dave said. “She’s a young girl. You gotta let her know what the deal is.”
It was like living in a lunatic asylum.
To exorcise the demons that persuaded him to turn parenting into cage fighting, Dave wants to paint the town with blood. And Nick, another wonderful role model for his kids, thinks murder would be an adventure. Then, as quick as a wink, the two nominees for Father of the Year weigh in on the responsibilities of parenthood.
“I’ll get right on it, Dr. Spock.”
34
Leaving Dave and Nick to deal with the hobgoblins partying in their heads, I stopped in at DeeDee’s apartment.
DeeDee answered my knock.
She and Justin weren’t exactly in a state of deshabille.
But close.
Her blouse was four buttons short of where it should have been. And Justin wasn’t in much better shape. He sat on the sofa with his shirttails hanging out, and a troubled look on his face.
“There was a reason buttonholes were invented,” I said.
DeeDee’s face turned crimson.
She half-turned, her fingers quickly moving to her blouse. When she faced me again, she looked as prim and collected as a schoolmarm.
And I was the misbehaving child.
“Well,” she said. “It’s about time you showed up. I can’t spend my time worrying about you, Steeg. It’s not fair.”
I shook my head in wonder.
“I’ll try to do better in the future,” I said.
Justin, who had yet to move, threw me a limp wave.
“So,” DeeDee said, continuing to pile on, “where have you been?”
“Making the world safe for democracy.”
“So that’s how it’s going to go.”
“Pretty much.”
“How come you don’t let me in, Steeg?”
“Have you and Allie been comparing notes?”
“We care about you.”
“And I care about you, kiddo. But some things are better left unsaid.”
And that’s where we left it.
I rubbed my hands together, trying to work some warmth into them.
“I know,” DeeDee said. “The boiler’s still on the fritz. My dad gets out in a few days, and he’ll take care of it.”
DeeDee’s father was the building’s super, and indisposed at the moment. A nice way of saying a bar fight had made him a guest of the city.
I settled in next to Justin and patted him on the knee.
“How goes it, kid?” I said.
“Y’know,” he said. “Great. Just great.”
The words were all in the right places, but lacked conviction.
“So, you two are an item again.”
DeeDee came up and wedged herself between us.
“It was a silly argument about silly things,” she said, looking at him adoringly. “But now it’s behind us.”
“Glad to hear it. And Justin, how’s your dad?”
Something flickered across his face. And just as quickly, it wa
s gone.
“He’s, y’know, doing OK,” he said.
“Nice guy. Seems to care about you.”
Justin got up from the sofa.
“He’s a loving man,” Justin said. “Look, DeeDee. I’ve got to study. Got this biochem test tomorrow, and I still haven’t figured out stereoisomerism.”
He reached down to shake my hand. His hand was damp.
“Good to see you again, Mr. Steeg,” he said. “Look forward to seeing you soon.”
“You take care of yourself, Justin.”
DeeDee walked him to the door, said her good-byes, then came back and snuggled in next to me.
“Are you happy for me, Steeg?”
“Deliriously so.”
“Do you really mean it?”
I put my arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight.
“Every word of it.”
“You’re not just saying that to make me feel good?”
“You know, there are some people who think I didn’t raise you right.”
She pulled away.
“Who?”
“Nick, and my brother.”
“Well their opinion has got to be worth absolutely nothing.”
“They think I should have had the dreaded talk with you long before now.”
“And what makes you think I need it?”
My eyes strayed to her blouse.
“Four buttons shy of modesty,” I said.
“Nothing happened, Steeg. And even if it did, you can’t fault us for being normal. It’s all a matter of simple science. Biology and chemistry.”
“With a soupçon of lust thrown in.”
She smiled a wicked smile. “That’s what makes it so exciting,” she said.
“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll forgo the talk in exchange for a little honesty. OK?”
“Deal.”
“From where I stood, it didn’t look to me that nothing happened.”
“Depends on your definition of nothing,” she said.
“Are we having a presidential moment here?”
“Let’s put it this way. Justin wanted something to happen. And I wanted something to happen. But he couldn’t quite make it happen. From what I hear, it’s perfectly normal. And that’s as far as I’m going to go, so don’t push it. I’m not going to get clinical with you.”
“I mean, sometimes it takes a while to get everything—”
She threw her hands over her face.
Sinner's Ball Page 13