Deadly Deception

by Gilbert, Morris

  Canelli stood there, sweat on his upper lip, his eyes fixed on the preacher’s face. He felt something that was like fear—yet it was not. Then Taylor very simply bowed his head and prayed, “Lord, this man is the object of your quest. I ask that you take him for your own the very instant he’s ready.” A smile came to his lips. “I’ll be praying for you, Vince.”

  When they got back to the car, Vince sat down, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped his face with an unsteady hand. Taking a deep breath, he put the handkerchief back in his pocket and then looked at Dani. “That’s—that’s quite a preacher,” he muttered. Then he looked back at the church, at the people coming out, and finally brought his gaze back to her. “The reverend, he thinks I’m the one God’s after.”

  “Yes. That’s what he thinks, Vince,” Dani admitted gently.

  Canelli shook his head. “Let’s go. I’m not feeling too well.”

  Dani started the car, drove out of the parking lot, and turned toward the city. “Let’s go have something to eat,” she suggested. She drove to Algiers’ Point, and they went into Algiers, a restaurant perched on piers in a turn of the Mississippi. Sitting at a booth that overlooked the river, they ate slowly. Vince was off in a world of his own, more thoughtful than Dani had ever seen him.

  Finally he looked at her and remarked, “I just don’t know, Dani. You know what a mug I am. I been on the streets since I was twelve years old. Done it all.” He watched the roiling waters of the big river, then spread his hand out in a helpless gesture. “What would I do for a living? I don’t know how to do anything honest.”

  “Vince, you can do a great many things,” Dani responded. “You could be a private investigator, for example.”

  He stared at her, then asked, “Would you hire me, Dani?”

  “Of course!”

  He smiled at that, but there was doubt in his dark eyes. Finally he demanded, “It’s a big thing, this Jesus business, ain’t it, Dani?”

  “The biggest thing there is in life, Vince!”

  He got to his feet and helped her on with her coat. When they got back to the car, he said, “Guess I’ll walk around a little bit, Dani. You be all right?”

  “Yes, I’ll be all right.” Dani smiled.

  He smiled back, a glint of humor in his eyes. “You set me up, didn’t you?”

  “I did the best I could, Vince.” Dani nodded.

  “Well, I been wanted by the cops lots of times,” he admitted slowly. “But this is the first time I’ve ever been on God’s wanted list!” He turned and walked away, his heavy shoulders stooped and his head down.

  10

  The Witness

  * * *

  Look at that, Miss Dani!” Eva Larson, the cook, was staring out the window of the kitchen. Shaking her head in disbelief, she turned to Dani, who was sitting at the counter. “Day of miracles is here!”

  “What is it, Eva?” Dani got up and moved to the window. She saw Ben and Abby coming down the walk, dressed in tennis wear. “What’s so strange about that?”

  “Why, that girl never got up before noon in her life, Miss Dani!” Eva asserted. She turned the eggs sizzling in the skillet, adding, “Not till that good-looking Savage man got here.” Pushing the bread down into the toaster, she grinned. “That Abby sure is man hungry!”

  Abby burst through the door, towing Savage by the hand. “Eva! Fix us some breakfast—quick! I’m starving to death!” She was wearing the briefest of white shorts and a sheer, overpriced shirt with a small animal over the left breast. She was still holding Savage’s hand, and there was a possessive quality in her manner as she turned to him and patted his cheek. “Go on, Ben,” she commanded. “Tell them how I beat you!”

  Savage was wearing a pair of ragged blue-jean cutoffs, not altered by a stylist, but by time and rough usage. His deep chest swelled beneath a thin blue windbreaker, and Dani saw the bulge made by the magnum on his left side. “Guess I had an off day,” he remarked blandly.

  Abby laughed with delight. “Like fun! You’re just a male chauvinist, isn’t he, Dani?”

  “He always says that when he loses,” Dani noted evenly, but there was a sardonic glint in her eye as she looked at the pair. She sat there while Abby walked around the kitchen, waiting for Eva to cook more eggs and bacon. There was a liveliness in the girl that had been lacking the first time Dani had seen her, and it was not hard to see that Savage’s presence had made the difference. Ben said little, but leaned back in one of the kitchen chairs, drinking orange juice and smiling occasionally at Abby.

  The breakfast was quickly cooked, and Abby suggested, “Let’s go eat out on the terrace.” The three of them carried their plates out, and Eva brought the whole pot of coffee to one of the modernistic glass-and-steel tables. The three of them sat down, and Abby did most of the talking. She finished first and got up with the words, “Don’t forget, Ben, you promised to take me to the tennis tournament next Saturday.”

  “Hey!” Savage objected quickly. “I never said that!”

  Abby laughed and shook her hair back. “You will, though,” she demanded, reaching out with a possessive gesture to pull the thick hair that lay on his neck. “I’ll tell Uncle Dom that I need a bodyguard. He’ll make you do it, Ben.” She started to leave, but turned to give him an arch look. “I can make men do what I want them to, Ben! Haven’t you noticed?”

  Dani watched her leave and started to speak, but at that moment, Frank Lanza emerged from the house and started toward where she was sitting. His face was stiff, and she was not surprised when he said without preamble, “Dani, Rosemary isn’t feeling too well this morning. Would you look in on her when you have time?”

  All three of them knew that meant, Rosemary has a hangover; look out for her until I get back. But Dani said only, “Yes, of course.”

  Frank stood there, bitterness in his eyes, but he suddenly lowered his gaze and stated quietly, “You make a difference around here, Dani. I don’t know what I did before you came.”

  Wheeling quickly, he walked away, his back rigid.

  “You know,” Ben offered in a casual tone, “I think that guy’s got a yen for you, Boss.”

  Dani stared at him speechlessly, and then snapped, “Don’t be silly! It’s you and that teenybopper I’m worried about.”

  Savage tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and soaked up the sun. He had the gift of going loose at any time, and now he sat there bonelessly. “I’m just an uncle to her. She’s only a child, you know.”

  “Oh, right!” Dani grated. “Anyone can see she’s a sweet, innocent young girl! Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm!”

  Slowly Ben opened one eye and regarded her. His broad mouth turned upward slightly, and he shrugged. “Remember what the Good Book says, Boss—‘Jealousy is cruel as the grave. . . .’ That’s in the Song of Solomon, if you want to look it up.”

  “Jealous!” Dani shrieked, outraged. “You think I’m jealous of you and that—that—”

  When she found no word, Ben suggested, “Child. . . ?”

  “You just keep your mind on your job, Benjamin Davis Savage!”

  He grinned fully then and pulled himself up. “Hey, now I know you’re sore. You only use all my names when I’ve been naughty. My mom was the same way.”

  Dani glared at him, then sniffed and told him, “Just mind your manners, that’s all!”

  “Sure.” He sat there, watching the cirrus clouds drift across the azure sky, refusing to argue. Finally he asked, “What’s going on with Vince? Ever since you took him to church, he’s been wandering around like a lost soul.”

  Dani moved uncertainly in her chair. She was never sure how serious Ben was about those things that concerned her most, and now she responded cautiously, “He’s a lonely man. And sooner or later the kind of life he’s led will catch up with him.” She rubbed the top of the glass table with her forefinger, thinking of Vince, troubled by the way he’d kept clear of her since the previous Sunday. Without meaning to, she spoke her mind. “Ben, sometimes
I think I do more harm than good—trying to preach to people who don’t want to hear it.”

  Her sudden outburst caught his attention, and he turned to face her. A quizzical light brightened his hazel eyes, and memories stirred as he considered her, touching the scar over his left eyebrow with a forefinger. Finally he shook his head. “Remember what John Wayne used to say? ‘A man does what he has to do!’ He said that in about ninety movies, didn’t he? And I guess a woman has to do what she has to do.”

  Dani looked up at him quickly, for it was as close as Savage had ever come to expressing his opinion about her Christian faith. The sun washed over her face, bringing out the fine bone structure, and a fresh burst of yellow sunlight fired golden glints in her auburn hair. There was, Savage decided, some sort of inner strength or peace that revealed itself in her features. She was looking down at her hands, but suddenly she lifted her head, a serious expression in her eyes. “Is that some sort of compliment, Ben? I know the Duke is your hero and all—but are you telling me that you don’t think I’m a complete nut?”

  Savage usually kept his deeper feelings covered with a pair of expressionless eyes, just as he hid behind light words, but the moment caught him, and he told her, “I never thought that, Dani. You’ve got more nerve than any woman I’ve ever known.”

  The sudden compliment made Dani blink, and she was irritated at the absurd happiness his words gave to her. “Well, I guess I’d better quit while I’m ahead.” She laughed and got up from her chair. “I’ll take the dishes back. The kids will swarm you this morning. Try to wring them dry so I can get them still long enough to pound some math into their skulls!”

  “Yeah. What’s going down today?”

  “Oh, Frank asked me to eat with the family tonight.” She shrugged. “They’ll all be there, and I think he wants me just to keep a tight rein on Pat.”

  “No, that’s not why he wants you, Boss,” Ben remarked. Wordlessly he got up and sauntered toward the gym.

  Dani stared after him, but finally shrugged and carried the dishes back into the kitchen. Eva looked up as she came in and cautioned, “You tell that Ben Savage to keep clear of Abby. Mister Dom thinks a lot of her. Guess he’d shoot any man who messed around with her.” She looked at a piece of paper tacked over the sink, and added, “They want seafood tonight. Maybe I’ll give them some of that étoufée you gave me a recipe for, Miss Dani. Sure is good!”

  The day passed quickly, and when Dani went into the dining room, accompanied by her three charges, she saw that everyone was there—even Rosemary. “Sorry to be late,” she murmured to Frank. “I had to scrub them all down.”

  “You didn’t scrub me down!” Matt pointed out quickly.

  “Maybe she should have.” Frank laughed. “You probably left enough dirt behind your ears to start a garden!”

  “Aw, Dad, come on!” Matt scowled, but Dani saw that he was glad, as always, for any attention Frank paid to him. “Dani don’t have to make me clean up like she does Pat!”

  Frank looked at Dani, and his eyes glinted with humor. “I didn’t do too well in English in school, but wasn’t there some sort of grammatical error in that, Dani?”

  Dani smiled at him, but patted Matt’s arm. “I don’t correct errors after six o’clock, Mr. Lanza. Do I, Matthew? Anyway, he doesn’t make many.”

  Matt tried to look indifferent to the praise, but failed. He took his seat across from Frank, and Dani sat beside him. “Bring on the food, Mary,” Frank instructed. “I could eat a horse.”

  “Got something better than that, Mr. Frank!” the red-haired maid answered with a smile. “Blackened redfish and fresh lobster.”

  The two maids started bringing in the food, and soon the table was buzzing with talk. The family was, Dani saw, grouped into definite categories. Dom sat at the end, eating almost nothing, but listening and watching. At his right were Frank and Rosemary. On his left, Eddy and Irene. The children sat in a row, along with Dani, and across from them sat Max and Helen. Dani felt slightly out of place—yet she saw that even some of the others were not completely at ease. Helen Darrow spoke often and in a strident voice, and Dani saw that Irene frequently raised an eyebrow at some of her sister-in-law’s comments. There was little love lost, Dani felt, between the two women. Dani had seen almost at once that Irene longed for her husband, Eddy, to move up in the structure, while Helen was just as determined that Max would do the same. Both women, Dani understood, were stronger than their husbands. Only Abby was missing, and when Dani asked Eddy, he replied that she was out on a date.

  Rosemary Lanza looked beautiful. Dani could see no sign of the heavy drinking that had been going on for a long time. That would come, Dani knew, but now nothing marred the smooth cheeks, slightly flushed with interest as Frank spoke to her about a cruise vacation he was planning. Rosemary didn’t take her eyes off him, but her obvious devotion was lost on Frank. I wonder if she could get his love back if she tried? Dani mused. But that was not likely, she knew, for Frank Lanza was a strong character and would demand that same strength in a wife.

  As Dani thought of that, suddenly Pat broke out loudly, “Daddy, you and Mama have to come to see us tomorrow! Pleeze!”

  “See you do what, Pat?” Frank asked.

  “See us do our act!” Pat nodded. He had a mustache of gravy on his mouth, and Dani reached over and wiped it off as he added, “It’s a show!”

  Frank looked at Dani, and she chimed in, “It really is a show.” A smiled curved her lips upward, and she added, “Ben Savage has been working with them, and he says they’re ready to show what they’ve learned. He asked me to invite you all to the performance at two o’clock.”

  Rosemary agreed at once. “Oh, that will be nice, won’t it, Frank?”

  Frank had opened his mouth to say that he could not come, until he saw the eager look on Rachel’s face. Quickly he glanced at Matt and Pat, and seeing the same expectation, quickly changed his mind. “Sure! I’ll be expecting great things from you all.”

  Dani confessed, “I wish all of you could come. It would be nice for the children to have an audience.”

  Irene excused herself, “Oh, I can’t possibly make it! I have an appointment with the hairdresser at one.”

  “Aw, come on, Aunt Irene!” Matt begged. “Abby’s going to be there, too!”

  “I think we can make it, Irene,” Eddy insisted, ignoring the quick, angry expression that touched his wife’s face. “You can get another appointment,” he urged.

  “Oh, I think you should keep the appointment, Irene!” Helen interjected. “Your hair does need something done to it!”

  Helen’s words angered Irene. Her eyes flashed, and she spoke in a hard-edged tone, “I believe I will come to see the children. After all, it’s the children who make life worthwhile, isn’t it, Helen?”

  Helen Darrow flushed, then turned pale, for she resented any reference to the fact that she had produced no children.

  Max jumped in, “We may be a little late. I ordered that new rice bed Helen’s been wanting. They’re supposed to deliver it at two.”

  Helen looked at him with pleased surprise. “Why, Max!” she cried out with warmth. “You never told me you’d done that!”

  “Sort of a prebirthday present.” Darrow smiled. Then he looked down the table at the children. “But we’ll be there as soon as we get the bed in place.”

  The meal ended, and as the party broke up Dani approached Dom Lanza. “You’ll be there tomorrow, won’t you, Mr. Lanza?”

  “Yes.” He nodded slightly and continued quietly, “I find myself wanting to take in everything. Not wanting to miss even a sunset.”

  Max Darrow was passing by, and upon hearing this, he paused and commented, “You’ll enjoy it, Dom. Afterwards, maybe we can play chess.”

  He left, and Dom looked up at Dani. “Are you busy?”

  “Right now?” she asked in surprise. “No. I was going to read a while and get to bed early.”

  “I’d like a little company—if you
don’t mind?”

  “I’d like it very much.” Dani smiled. “Where shall we go?”

  “I want to show you some photographs. Let’s go to my room.” He got up slowly, and as he turned, a pain caught him. It was violent enough to twist him around and cause him to miss a step.

  Dani almost reached out to help him, but caught herself just in time. Glancing around, she saw that no one else had noticed and quickly moved to stand beside him, admitting, “I like pictures, but I could never take good ones myself.” She kept up the conversation, and his pain-filled eyes touched her with gratitude. He had not missed her impulsive move to help him or the tact that made her suddenly withhold it. He said nothing, but when they were in his room, he sat down slowly and requested in a tight voice, “Dani, will you get those albums in that chest?” He leaned back and shook his head sadly. “A terrible thing—to have to be waited on all the time!”

  Dani found no answer. It was painful to have to watch the strength drain out of the old man day by day. She suspected that he was heavily sedated most of the time, and somewhere down the line was the moment when even drugs would be inadequate to stem the pain that lined his face. As she brought the three thick leather albums back and sat down in a chair beside him, she wondered again how she could ever bring herself to speak of God to Dom Lanza. The man’s pride had not been destroyed by the disease that was ravaging his body—and that pride revealed itself in the fierce light in his old eyes and the defiant set of his thin lips. He had lived by a savage code all his life, using his superior strength to beat down those who contended with him. Now that the end was come, he was seeing the family and the empire he had built begin to crumble—and he had no power to defend it. Dani could not imagine what went on in his mind, but she knew he had to be experiencing doubt and despair as he came to the end of life.

  “Nothing is more boring than to look at someone else’s snapshots.” Dom shrugged. “But there are a few in here that you might like to see.” He began leafing through the thick album, but Dani put out a hand and interrupted him. “Oh! Isn’t that George Raft?”