Family loyalty. Touching. “Tell me about Irene DeMarco and Ray Villani.”
“You know about that? Well, I guess a lot of people did. They was pretty hot and heavy there for a while. Still are, I guess. I don’t pay much attention to that stuff.”
“Could Irene and Ray have put Tommy out of the picture to clear the way for themselves?”
“I doubt it,” he said. “Ray’s a married man. They’d have to off his wife, too, or file for divorce, and I don’t see Ray doing either of them.”
“What about Villani and the wife splitting the diamonds?”
He was silent at that, then said, “Don’t think I ain’t thought about it.”
“And what did you come up with?”
“I don’t think so. Ray knew we done the job, but I don’t see Tommy telling either of them where the stuff was.”
“Do you know where the diamonds are now?”
“Tommy was supposed to sell them to a guy named Max.”
“Did he?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. He was supposed to meet him that weekend down in Stone Harbor.”
I knew a guy named Max Kimmel, had a boat in Stone Harbor, or at least he did when I was with the Strike Force. Max was a big time fence, and we could never seem to pin anything on him.
“Do you know Max’s last name?”
“No, I never heard it. Just Max.”
“Any suspicions?”
“About the last name? No. Tommy came up with the buyer, that was his business, he was a jeweler, he knew them kind of guys. If he was dealing with a fence it coulda been Max Kimmel, but if he was dealing with Max he probably woulda told me.”
I listened carefully, but couldn’t tell from the voice if he was being truthful or not. I took him at his word, because I had no reason not to.
“If Tommy never met Max in Stone Harbor,” I said, “then the diamonds are still around someplace.”
“They might be. I don’t know where Tommy had them.”
When I talk to people, I have to supply my own pictures. With that last sentence I pictured Jimmy shrugging. Like he didn’t know, and didn’t care. “They’re probably somewhere in the store, don’t you think?” I said.
“They could be.”
“Did Tommy have a safe, a vault, where he kept valuable merchandise?”
“I don’t know. You would think so.”
I imagined another shrug. Jimmy was starting to piss me off. I shifted the telephone to the other ear, just to show I was annoyed. “Jimmy, you’re gonna have to be a little more forthcoming, or I’m leaving. Are you planning on getting them and looking up Max when Sammy springs you?”
He laughed. “I would if I knew where they were, and if I knew who Max was. Can’t be any more forthcoming than that.”
“Did Tommy say anything at all about Max? Was he a local guy?”
“The only thing I know is that Tommy said he was going to Stone Harbor on Saturday and the guy had a boat. He was gonna meet him on the boat.”
“He didn’t tell you the name of the boat, did he?”
“No he didn’t. He was gonna meet the guy somewhere else and then they were gonna go out to the boat.”
“Jimmy, I find it hard to believe that you and Tommy pull a job and only Tommy knows who the buyer is.”
“That’s the God’s honest truth, Doyle,” he protested. “The job was Tommy’s from start to finish. He did all the planning, he made all the arrangements. He brought me in because he needed somebody he could trust.”
“He didn’t trust you with Max’s last name.”
“That wasn’t something I needed to know.”
He sounded aggrieved, as if wondering why I seemed to doubt him. “Did you trust Tommy to whack up afterwards?”
“I’d trust Tommy with my life,” he said earnestly, “and Tommy would trust me with his.”
I tried another tack. “What was he doing sitting in his car at one in the morning?” Adele had given me one answer, maybe he’d give me another.
“He was meeting a woman.”
“Who was she?”
“Adele Clotherman.”
“Business or pleasure?”
“Strictly pleasure. I asked him to come to Atlantic City with me, we’d get a couple of broads and have some fun, but he said he was seeing Adele. That’s the only Adele I know, so I assume he was talking about Adele Clotherman.”
“Was he supposed to meet you that night?”
“No. I asked him if he wanted to go to Atlantic City and when he said no I picked up Maureen and went myself. If I ever get my hands on the bastard did that to her, I’ll slice him down an inch at a time, beginning with his dick. The sonofabitch’ll be begging me to kill him. She was a fine woman, a lot of fun. That goes for Louise, too. Louise was a little nuts, but she was fun.”
I said, “They’ll catch him.”
“Sure,” he said disgustedly, “and put him in a hospital and a couple of months later some soft headed doctor will say he’s cured and let him go.” I couldn’t argue with that, it happens far too often.
“Jimmy,” I said, “Mrs. DeMarco says Tommy said he was meeting you the night he got it.”
“Tommy must’ve just told her that. He was sitting on that corner waiting for Adele.”
Abrupt changes in topic sometimes take people unawares. “Tell me about the gun.”
“What gun?”
“The gun that shot Tommy, the Ruger twenty-two, the gun you stole from the gun shop.”
“I didn’t steal it, Phil Salerno did.”
“What happened to the guns Phil Salerno stole?”
“Well, we sold them to a guy.”
“Who?”
“I dunno, a guy named Steve, has a hoagie shop over on Porter.”
“How many guns were there?”
“Fourteen. We got a buck for them.”
“So you netted five hundred.”
“You know better’n that, Doyle. You know how the elbow works. Salerno did the job, he gets half. Half of my half goes to the capo, that’s his elbow, half the capo’s elbow goes to the big guy. That’s the way it works.”
“Who’s your capo?”
“Ray Villani.”
“So Ray gave half his two fifty to Carlo. Not much when it finally gets up the ladder.”
“Well,” he said defensively, “that was just a small job. These diamonds, now, Tommy said Max agreed to go three hundred if they was first class merchandise. That’s seventy-five each for me and Tommy, seventy-five for Ray and seventy-five for the big guy. That’s the way the elbow works. Big or small, the score gets settled up. And of course the ransom gets whacked up as well.”
“You didn’t keep the twenty-two?”
“Course not. I know better than to keep a hot gun.”
“Somebody walked up to Tommy and shot him with that twenty-two Phil Salerno stole. Would Steve the hoagie man retail them, or would he have passed them on?”
“Steve would’ve retailed them.”
“You don’t know any of the guys bought guns from Steve, do you?”
“No, how would I?”
A zig seemed to be in order. “I’ve been told Tommy was engaged in child pornography. Were you in it with him?”
“No, that was Ray Villani, and it wasn’t child pornography. As far as I know it was just your standard triple ex stuff. Tommy and Ray were distributors for somebody on the West Coast.”
“Would Carlo Senna have objected to anybody being connected to child pornography?”
“No, why would he? As long as he got his elbow. Ray was the main man, being he’s a capo. Ray doesn’t make a move like that without the big guy’s permission.”
“What do you think happened, Jimmy?”
“To Tommy?”
“Yes.”
“I think the Jews never had no intention of going to the cops. I think they settled this their own way.”
“I think they did too,” I said. “Maybe you oughtta think about not makin
g bail. If they did one, they’ll probably do two.”
“Maybe they don’t know who I am. Maybe the guy remembered the jewelry store and traced Tommy down.”
“But if they do know who you are, they may be waiting for you to get out.”
“But now I know I gotta be careful. This ain’t my first time around the block, Doyle. I been in some tight spots before, I know how to handle myself.”
We left, and I said, “Well, at least we know who killed Tommy DeMarco, or at least who hired somebody to kill him. I’ve got a clear conscience on this one, Sammy. My advice to you is to tell the District Attorney about the diamond merchant. At least put them on the right track, assuming he believes it.”
“Not much chance of him believing it. The guy probably never reported it, so as far as the District Attorney is concerned, there wasn’t any diamond heist, there wasn’t any kidnapping. And if by some chance I’m dumb enough to tell about the diamonds, and if the DA does believe it, and if they find the guy, you think he’s gonna admit he offed Tommy? Course not. All that means for Jimmy is in addition to murder he’s facing a kidnapping rap, not to mention conspiracy and armed robbery. The guy or his associates hired somebody to hit Tommy DeMarco, probably somebody local, probably somebody who knew Tommy by sight. Find that somebody for me, Doyle. If I can give the DA the shooter, and the reason for the shooting, maybe I can plea Jimmy down on the diamond charges.”
“Play it your way, Sammy, but do your client a favor. Don’t let him make bail.”
A blast of hot air announced we were now outside. I heard the doors close behind us and we headed across the lot to the car.
“I’m leaving that up to him,” Sammy said. “Jimmy’s entitled to make that decision.”
Inside the car, buckled up and engine running, Sammy said, “What now? Check out Sansom Street, look for the guy they kidnapped?”
“That, and have a talk with Billy DeMarco.
10
The office was cool, and smelled faintly of Kelley’s perfume. Buster’s too. I took off Buster’s harness and wiped his pads with cold water. Those concrete sidewalks have to be hot on a guy’s bare feet.
Kelley was at the repair shop seeing about our shattered windows, so I had the place to myself. I called Information and asked for Stone Harbor. They had no listing for a Max Kimmel, which was disappointing, but not surprising. Max probably had an unlisted boat.
I swung my chair around and let the sun warm my face, thinking of Adele Clotherman, Relinda Smith and Jimmy Pompo. A church bell bonged hollowly in the distance, announcing the noon hour, calling the unhearing to prayer.
The last of the bell’s reverberations were still hanging in the air when I heard the door open and close. The scent of licorice told me it was Eddie Westphal. I heard the client chair being pulled over. “Beautiful day, Matthew. Licorice?”
“No thanks. Anything doing?”
“Just stopped in to say hello. Had a chance to talk to one of the neighbors. Most people are working, so it’s probably best to try them in the evening. The one I did talk to said she never really knew Maureen Zobranski except to say hello to, didn’t know who she saw, who she had over for company, who she went out with. Seemed to feel most of the people in the building didn’t really know her.”
“Pretty much as expected, Ed. One of the neighbors would’ve had to have seen her leaving with Jimmy on the night in question, and remembered it. Pretty unlikely, on both counts. Maybe somebody knows who her friends are, maybe she said something to someone, but at the moment I can’t think who that might be. Sammy’s gonna have to play the Bernice Tisman card.”
“That’s how I see it, Matthew.”
“There’ve been a couple of developments. We now know why Tommy DeMarco was killed. He and Jimmy Pompo kidnapped and robbed a diamond merchant. Sammy says the merchant didn’t call the cops.”
“Took care of it himself, eh?”
“Either that or had someone do it. Adele Clotherman says Tommy was supposed to meet her that night, that’s why he was sitting in his car. She and Louise Driscoll were close friends. Sorority sisters or something. Also first cousins.”
“Explains why your Adele was involved with Tommy DeMarco. What do you want me to do?”
“Head on up to Sansom Street, see if anybody knows anything about a diamond merchant being snatched off the street. Also, we have to find somebody named Max. Max has a boat in Stone Harbor, presumably also a house.”
“What was the take?”
“Jimmy says they got a million in diamonds, retail value, and another hundred thousand ransom. The diamond merchant was a Hasidic Jew from New York.”
“Strange business, Matthew. Those people carry diamonds around in their briefcases. Just asking for trouble. Who’s Max?”
“Max was the buyer. Tommy was supposed to meet him on his boat in Stone Harbor, but he never made it. I remember a big time fence, guy named Max Kimmel. Maybe it’s him, maybe it isn’t. I called Information and there was no listing for a Max Kimmel in Stone Harbor.”
“I’ll check the name out on Google. If he’s alive he’s there, phone number, address, the name of his dog. What did they do with the diamonds?”
“I don’t know. If Jimmy’s telling the truth, then they’re still around.”
“Do you think he was telling the truth?”
“I don’t know. If he intended to get them without anyone the wiser, then he’d have said they sold them.”
“You’re probably right. How long was it between heist and hit?”
“Two weeks.”
“A long time, Matthew. I don’t see them keeping them that long.”
“Neither do I, but you never know.”
“All right, I’ll head on up to Sansom Street.” I heard him push the chair back. “If I come up with anything I’ll call.”
Sammy called a few minutes later. I put Buster’s harness on and headed for Sammy’s office. Billy was waiting for us. The three of us sat around a table, four if you count Buster, and I was beginning to have a whole lot of respect for Sammy Weese. He said never a word when I interviewed Jimmy Pompo in jail, and now he was leaving the Billy DeMarco interview entirely up to me.
“Billy,” I said, “I’ve talked to Jimmy Pompo and he says you were the driver when the diamond merchant was snatched.”
“Uncle Jimmy woulda never given me up,” Billy said casually.
“Have it your way,” I said. “We’re looking for the guy who killed your father. The cops think it’s Jimmy. Me and Sammy don’t think so. We need you to answer a couple of questions.”
“Shoot. I’ll answer them or not, depending.”
He thought he was being cool, but he wasn’t. He had the voice, the tone, the overweening arrogance of the typical wiseass. I had no doubt Billy DeMarco would wind up the same way his father wound up.
“Fair enough,” I said agreeably. I wanted information, not an argument. “You and Jimmy and your father nabbed the diamond merchant, is that correct?”
“Correct.”
“Did the diamonds get sold?”
“If they did, I didn’t get paid.”
“Your father wouldn’t have sold them to Max and not given you and Jimmy your cut, would he?”
“I don’t think so. He always needed money, but I don’t think he’d of done that.”
“The only reason I can think of for Jimmy to kill your father would be if your father sold the diamonds and held out on him. Do you think that’s possible?”
He paused, as if considering the question, though I was sure the thought had occurred to him. “If pop had held out, yeah, Jimmy coulda done it,” he said finally. “But pop didn’t hold out. He wouldn’t have done that to me.”
“Do you know where the diamonds are?”
He laughed. “If I did, I’d go get them.”
“Have you searched your father’s store?”
“Top to bottom.”
“Do you know who Max is?”
“Max is the guy
who was gonna buy the diamonds.”
He seemed relaxed, the answers flowing. “Do you know his name?”
“Sure. Max Kimmel. Me and pop were supposed to go to Stone Harbor and deliver them to him on his boat.”
The answer is always there. All you have to do is ask the right person. “How come you know Max’s last name and Jimmy doesn’t?”
“Hey,” he said, belligerent once more, “why shouldn’t I? This was pop’s idea start to finish. Uncle Jimmy was brought in because we needed a third guy.”
“Is Jimmy Pompo your uncle?”
“Not a real uncle, but just as good. I’ve always called him that.”
“When were you supposed to meet Max?”
“On Saturday.”
“The Saturday after your father died?” The whole thing was kind of sad when you thought about it. Tommy DeMarco was about to have probably the biggest score of his life on Saturday, and he never got past Friday.
“Yeah,” Billy said matter-of-factly. Recounting his father’s last days apparently didn’t affect him. “Me and pop were gonna drive down to Stone Harbor and meet him on his boat.”
“What was the name of the boat?”
“I don’t know. Pop didn’t tell me that. He only told me the guy’s name, and he didn’t tell me that until Thursday.”
“Just before he died.”
“Yeah. Practically his last words to me. I ever catch the sonofabitch I’ll chop him up in little pieces.”
“Any ideas who it might be?” He gave us Max, maybe he’ll give us something more.
“No, none. I been wracking my brain.”
“There’s something major been bothering me, Billy. How come your father kept the diamonds for two weeks? Why didn’t he give them to Max right away?”
“Because Max wasn’t here. He was in his boat, down around the Bahamas or someplace. He was due back Friday sometime, and we was gonna see him on Saturday.”
I had to think about that one. I’d been giving prime consideration to Max. Ever since Jimmy told me about the meeting on the boat I thought it possible Max had changed the plans. Arranging to meet Tommy on Cameron Street made sense from Max’s standpoint. Tommy would have the diamonds with him. A couple of bullets behind the ear and Max has the diamonds and gets to keep his three hundred thousand. But if he was in the Bahamas and not due back till Friday, that meant he couldn’t have killed Tommy. Of course, he still could’ve ordered it, they do have telephones in the Bahamas, and the shooter could’ve taken the diamonds and delivered them to Max. Not likely, but possible.
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