“Let’s go back to the diamond heist. Did you know your husband, your son, and Jimmy Pompo were planning to abduct a diamond merchant?”
“No.”
“Did you know your husband, your son and Jimmy Pompo got a million dollars worth of diamonds from the dealer?”
“I didn’t know it when it happened. I learned of it afterwards.”
I tried to pick up on the voice, trying to find some indication of truthfulness or deceit, but she was so emotionless it was hard to tell. I knew Kelley was watching her face, and maybe she was having more luck. “How did you learn of it?” I asked.
“Ray told me.”
“Ray Villani?”
“Yes.”
“Why did he tell you?”
“I don’t know. Just talk, I guess.”
“Pillow talk?”
“Yes,” she said shortly. She was not as emotionless, probably because the questioning was getting personal. “May I smoke?”
No one had any objections, and I heard a lighter click. The room was instantly filled with acrid cigarette smoke. I sympathized with her. I used to smoke myself, and sometimes you just have to have a cigarette.
When I judged she had everything satisfactory I said, “When did Ray tell you about the diamonds?”
“You want the date? I don’t think I remember the exact date.”
“Approximate.”
“About a week after it happened.”
“A week after the abduction of the diamond merchant?”
“Yes.”
“Which would be about a week before your husband died.”
She hesitated, whether thinking of her late husband or making sure she got the date right I didn’t know. “About that,” she said finally.
“How did you make contact with Vinnie Galzorano?”
“Ray Villani got him for me. Ray’s a capo.”
I smiled. Her tone of voice indicated she thought making capo was quite an accomplishment. “Yes, we know,” I said noncommittally. “Whose idea was it, yours or Ray’s?”
“Mine. Ray and I have been seeing each other for some time. Ray’s married, and so am I, so we met once or twice a week in a motel outside Chester. We figured nobody would know us there. That’s where Ray told me about the diamonds. I thought about it for a couple of days and decided this was my chance to be rid of the cheating bastard once and for all. That’s when I decided to kill him. Or rather, have him killed. I knew I could never do it myself.”
This sort of thing frequently happens during an interrogation. The subject suddenly explodes with words, unable to contain them any longer. Even though I was aware of Tommy DeMarco’s amatory activities, I was surprised at the bitterness in her voice. “Why Vinnie?” I asked. “Why not Ray?”
A fresh cloud of cigarette smoke enveloped me. I hoped she’d finish it pretty soon. “I asked Ray to do it,” she said dispassionately, “and he said no. He gave me Vinnie’s name. Vinnie cost me five thousand dollars, and I even had to supply the gun. Vinnie said he didn’t want to use one of his.”
“So you gave him your husband’s Ruger 22.”
“I gave him my husband’s Ruger 22. Poetic justice.”
“Did you know about Max Kimmel?”
“Yes, Ray told me about him. Ray was Tommy’s capo, so Ray had to okay the operation. He knew all about it.”
“Did you sell the diamonds to Max Kimmel?”
“No. Max was only giving Tommy three hundred thousand. I told him I wanted more, but he wouldn’t budge.”
“Do you still have the diamonds?”
“Not with me, no.”
She was cool, I’ll say that. “What did you do with the diamonds, Mrs. DeMarco?”
“They’re in a safe deposit box, somewhere safe, a place where no one can get them. If Sammy gets me out of this, they’re my fall back.”
“I don’t think you’re gonna get out of this, Mrs. DeMarco,” I said gently. “The law looks askance at husband killing.”
“The skunk deserved it.” I heard noises indicating she was putting the cigarette out. “I’ve already given them Vinnie the shooter. I’ll give them Max Kimmel, he was part of a conspiracy. I’ll even give them Ray Villani if I have to, but I’d rather not. Sammy says flagrant and frequent adultery is spousal abuse, especially when it’s openly flaunted. One of his women was the District Attorney’s sister. Maybe the District Attorney would prefer to keep his family’s name out of the papers. Maybe he’ll agree to a plea bargain.”
“And if he doesn’t? If he takes you to trial?”
“Sammy says he’ll tell the jury I couldn’t take it anymore, I finally went over the edge. A couple of years and I’ve paid my debt to society. When I get out I’ll still be a relatively young woman. Maybe I can find a good man and start over.”
“Tell me about the night of the shooting, Mrs. DeMarco.”
She paused. “I was very nervous.” Her voice was low, but controlled. “I tried to watch television, but I couldn’t concentrate. I knew when and where my husband would be. Ray set it up.” She paused again before continuing. “Ray and Tommy were partners in something called Delphi House, distributing pornography. Ray told Tommy somebody from the coast wanted to buy into the operation, expand it, and wanted to talk to Tommy.”
“So they picked midnight on a street corner?”
“That’s the way Ray set it up. He told Tommy the guy was flying in and flying right back out again.”
“Did you know your husband had arranged to meet a woman later that night, on the same corner?”
“No, but it doesn’t surprise me.”
“Tell me how the hit went down.”
“Tommy left the house about eleven thirty, eleven forty. He was carrying the briefcase with the diamonds. He never let it out of his sight. I knew he’d put it under the seat when he got in the car.”
“Did Vinnie know about the diamonds?”
“Really, Mr. Doyle. Of course not.”
“What happened next?”
“Tommy left the house and a few minutes later Vinnie came over and I gave him the gun. I didn’t want to give it to him earlier because Tommy might have noticed it was gone. He kept it in his sock drawer.”
“This was about eleven forty five, eleven fifty?”
“Closer to twelve, maybe a little after. I was so nervous I didn’t look at the clock.”
“I have a witness who says the shooting took place at approximately twelve thirty.”
“That’s about right. After Vinnie left I got in my car and drove to Cameron and parked about a half a block from the corner. I could see Tommy’s car. It seemed like hours went by with nothing happening. I was afraid something had gone wrong, maybe Vinnie decided not to do it, maybe Tommy would grow tired of waiting for the guy from the coast. But then I saw Vinnie walking down the street, coming up from the other side. He crossed the street and shot Tommy through the open window. Then he ran down Cameron.”
“What did you do then?”
“I walked to Tommy’s car and got the diamonds.”
“They were under the driver’s seat?”
“Yes.”
“Was your husband dead when you took them?”
“I didn’t look at him. He didn’t try to stop me, so I guess he was.”
“What did you do then?”
“I went home and put the diamonds under my bed. No one knew I had them. No one knew Tommy carried them around with him. Billy searched the store top to bottom, but of course he didn’t find them. He looked in the house, too, top to bottom, but he never looked under his mother’s bed.”
“Ray Villani did a lot of work for you on this, Mrs. DeMarco.”
“Yes he did.”
“Ray’s elbow from the diamonds was seventy-five thousand. Why would he give that up? What was in it for Ray?”
“I like to think it was for me, and maybe it was, partly. Also, Ray is now sole proprietor of the business. Delphi House is quite profitable, I understand, worth much more tha
n seventy-five thousand.”
“So Ray did all right.”
“Ray always does all right.”
“Thank you, Mrs. DeMarco.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Doyle.”
I heard chairs being pushed back and stood. “Nice job,” Kelley whispered. “I hope she doesn’t have to spend too much time in jail. A husband like that deserves what he gets.”
“She did it for a briefcase full of diamonds, toots,” I whispered back, “not to get even.”
We left Kelley to find her way back to the office and Sammy and I headed for the northeast and the prison complex. I’d been spending more time there of late than I liked.
We headed for the garage, Sammy keeping pace with Buster and me through the lunchtime crowd. “I want to hear what Vinnie has to say,” he said. “It’s important everyone be on the same page, testimony-wise.”
I knew what he meant. Sammy always had his clients ready, testimony-wise.
Vinnie was in the old House of Correction, a far different smell from Curran-Fromhold, a penetrating, seeped in, cast in stone stench of men long gone, their names and faces long forgotten, but not their smell.
We came through a set of doors and sat at a counter. My hand felt a telephone, and Sammy said, “Vinnie, this is Matt Doyle. He works for me. I want you to tell him the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Matt?”
“Hello, Vinnie,” I said. “Both you and Mrs. DeMarco have been arrested for the murder of Tommy DeMarco. We’ve already talked to Mrs. DeMarco. We’d like to hear the story from your side. It’s important that Sammy knows exactly what happened.”
“Not much to tell,” he said. The voice was young, and not at all bitter.
“Sometimes there’s more than we think. Tell me how it happened, how it all went down. Start at the beginning. Who put you in touch with Mrs. DeMarco?”
“Ray Villani.”
“Do you know Ray?”
“We’re not asshole buddies, but I done some things for him.”
“What have you done for him?”
“Odds and ends. Nothing connected with the DeMarco matter.”
“Enough odds and ends that he trusts you?”
“He trusts me. Ray’s a good guy.”
“He trusted you enough to do a special job for him?”
“Well, I knew it was for him, and that made it special.”
“What did Villani say to you in connection with the DeMarco matter?”
“He said somebody he knew needed a job done. Said it paid five thousand. I told him since it was him I’d do it for a lot less, but he said she could afford it.”
“Did he tell you who it was for?”
“Only after I told him I’d do it.”
“He told you the job was for Mrs. DeMarco?”
“Right.”
“Did he tell you the job was murdering her husband, or did she?”
“Well, I knew what he wanted me to do, but I didn’t know who until I talked to Mrs. DeMarco.”
“So Ray told you someone needed to be taken care of and you agreed?”
“Right.”
“And it was only after you agreed to do the hit that you contacted Mrs. DeMarco?”
“Well, I never actually contacted her. Ray set up a meet. We sat in her car and she told me what she wanted done. I didn’t want to use one of my guns, so I asked her if she had a gun, and she said she could get one.”
“Was Villani at the meet?”
“No. But afterwards Ray told me what the plan was, and where Tommy would be.”
“Did she give you any money then?”
“I told her I only needed half up front. I knew this was for Ray, I knew I’d get paid.”
“You didn’t have any qualms, any second thoughts?”
“No. I knew it was for Ray, I knew he’d remember.”
“Did you get the other half?”
“Sure. Ray’s a stand-up guy.”
“Did you know Tommy DeMarco?”
“I seen him around, didn’t know him to talk to.”
“Do you know Jimmy Pompo?”
“Sure I know Jimmy. Good guy.”
“Did Jimmy ever talk to you about this?”
“About knocking off Tommy? Course not, they was friends.”
“Did Jimmy ever talk to Ray Villani about it, do you know?”
“How would I know something like that? Those guys only talk to guys like me when they need something done.”
“You were part of Jimmy’s crew who knocked off that gun shop a few years ago, weren’t you?”
“That was a long time ago, and besides, that was Phil Salerno’s job.”
“Would it interest you to know the gun you used on DeMarco came from that gun shop?”
“I suppose it hadda come from somewhere.”
“Tell me how the hit went down.”
“Well, I stopped at the DeMarco house and Mrs. DeMarco gave me the gun. I knew where Tommy would be because Ray set it up. I walked over and Tommy was just where he was supposed to be. He was sitting in the front seat, smoking a cigarette, the window down. I walked up to the car and said, ‘Hello, Tommy.’ He looked up and I shot him three times. I took off down Cameron Street and threw the gun in a sewer a coupla blocks away.”
“What did you do after that?”
“I went home and went to bed.”
“Did you know Tommy had a million dollars worth of diamonds in the car?”
“Shit no. You kidding?”
“Ray never mentioned diamonds?”
“Not to me. He put it to me this was a personal favor for him. I dunno I woulda knocked somebody off just so Ray can score some diamonds.”
“I understand Mrs. DeMarco gave you up.”
“Yes she did.”
“Sammy’s making a deal with the prosecutors now. She gave you up, she gets a deal. You ready to give Villani up?”
“I dunno. No shit, Tommy had a million in diamonds?”
“A bit over that, I understand. Five thousand doesn’t seem like much to pay for a million bucks worth of diamonds.”
“Is this straight, Mr. Weese?”
“Straight as gospel.”
“When you’re ready to give Villani up,” I said, “call Sammy. Maybe you’ll get out of jail before you’re an old man.”
“Told me it was a personal favor,” he said. “I always looked up to him.”
The tone of voice seemed a bit anguished. Time to twist the knife. Time to remind him life is tough enough without people you look up to betraying you. “You decide,” I said. “You decide if spending the rest of your life in jail is worth letting Ray spend the rest of his in the Bahamas.”
“I have to think about it.”
“Don’t think too long,” Sammy said. “If I can put you and Mrs. DeMarco together, I think we can do some business.”
“I’ll let you know, Mr. Weese.”
I said, “Thanks, Vinnie,” and we left him there, thinking about it.
“This is a first for you, Sammy,” I said, heading for the door and the sweet outdoors, “putting mafiosi in jail instead of getting them out.”
“Villani? The only way Mrs. DeMarco comes away with a slap on the wrist is to give them Villani. She knows it, I know it, and the prosecutors know it. There’s nothing I can do about it, there’s nothing I can do to keep Villani from going down, even if I wanted to, so I might as well make the best of it. Besides, she doesn’t deserve to be in jail.”
I wasn’t so sure, but if Sammy wanted to play Sir Galahad I’m sure he had his reasons.
14
Monday morning, no sign of Leon, no killings, no calls since last Tuesday. All to the good. Maybe all the publicity spooked him. Flyers, TV, billboards. I thought it likely he’d departed for someplace a bit calmer. Ed hadn’t come in yet, and Kelley was out, roaming around West Philly someplace, looking for someone for the Public Defender’s Office, so when the phone rang I picked it up.
“Hiya, Doyle,” Frank said,
“just checking in, keeping you up to date. We finally interviewed everyone on Louise Driscoll’s computer, and no one stood out, everybody more or less checked out okay. Our man musta been there, but we didn’t spot him. The problem is, if a time and date was set by email, it’s not in her files, she musta deleted it.”
“Why would she delete that and leave everything else?”
“Who knows? People do strange things. None of her messages gives her phone number, and none of the guys gave her his phone number, but they must’ve made arrangements somehow, because some of the guys we interviewed admitted meeting her for sex, and if they didn’t arrange the meeting by phone, then it had to be by email. To me, that means she deleted it for some reason, and if it’s been deleted it’s in her hard drive, and we got some people looking into that right now. We find that time and place message, Doyle, and we got him. Plus, I’ve got Dan Acker and his team going over all the reports. Maybe a fresh eye will find something we missed.”
“They had a case in England some years ago,” I said. “They had a couple of rape murders and the cops took a blood sample from every male in a certain radius of the crimes. They matched the DNA and got their man.”
“Don’t think it hasn’t occurred to us,” Frank said wearily. “We got three hundred and twenty-six guys in her file contacted her, and a hundred and sixty seven she responded to. I’d love to get blood samples and match them up, but I can’t see the ACLU letting us do it.”
We said solong and I was once more alone with my thoughts. The interviews with Irene DeMarco and Vinnie Galzorano closed out our participation in the Tommy DeMarco murder case. We sent a report and bill to Mrs. Latham, telling her we’d gone as far as we could, and that was the end of our involvement in the Driscoll case as well.
None of the DNA results had come back yet, but no one had the slightest doubt that when they did they’d show Driscoll, Zobranski and Pagano were killed by the same guy, and Maggie Swain and the others as well. In the midst of my reveries, the door opened and Leon said, “It’s time.” There was no mistaking that voice. I heard the door close, but didn’t hear footsteps. Was he in the office? I stood up, hair bristling on the back of my neck. Was he standing by the door, watching me? I listened for sound, strained for scent. Nothing. Buster hadn’t stirred, but that didn’t always mean anything. He was a guide dog, not a watchdog. Tense, nerves jangling, eyes straining to see, I walked to the door. The office seemed to be empty.
AND A TIME TO DIE Page 19