Deadly Deception

by Gilbert, Morris

  “Just walk off and leave the children?” Dani shook her head stubbornly. “I can’t do that.”

  Savage gave her an odd look, but there was no time for him to answer. Looking over his shoulder he warned, “Here they come.”

  Dani followed his glance and turned to walk toward the front of the building, where Frank led the others. She called brightly, “Come in, everyone. The show’s about to start. Plenty of seats for everyone.” She noted at once that Rosemary wasn’t in the group, but said nothing about it. “This is Ben’s show today. Sometime we’ll have an academic performance, but I’ll let him tell you what’s on the program.” She walked over and took a seat next to Dom, who touched Dani’s arm and smiled at her.

  Savage stood beside the kids, who grinned nervously. At the moment he started to speak Rosemary came in. She erupted through the entrance, but hesitated before taking a seat beside Frank. She said nothing, and her face was pale, but she managed to wave to the children and give them a faint smile.

  Savage announced, “I’m not much of an emcee, folks. But I do want to say that all of our performers have worked hard for this. First we have Mr. Patrick Lanza. Let’s hear a little applause as he does his thing. Go to it, Pat!”

  Shrugging out of his short coat, Ben dropped it on the tile as Pat ran to the side of the pool. The gun in the pocket rang as it struck the surface, and Dom smiled and whispered to Dani, “I’ll bet that’s the first time he’s been without that iron since he came here!”

  Pat jumped into the pool and dog-paddled vigorously across. When he got to the far side, he cried out, “Now watch, Daddy! You just watch!” He ducked and came across the pool underwater, surfacing when his head banged on the side of the pool. He came up spouting and gasping, but as Ben reached down and pulled him out, he waved frantically, calling, “Did you see me, Daddy?”

  “I saw you, Pat,” Frank answered. “That was great swimming!”

  Everyone applauded, and then Ben cried out, “Now, an exhibition of precision diving by Matt Lanza.” He walked down the pool to stand beside Matt, who was nervously looking up at the diving board. Ben slapped him on the shoulder, saying quietly, “Break a leg, Matt! Just like we did it in practice. It’s no different now.”

  Matt swallowed, but went to the one-meter board, and without a pause executed a perfect jackknife.

  “Let’s hear it, folks,” Ben encouraged. “Matt’s put in a lot of hours working on that one.”

  Dani whispered to Dom, “He’s right about that, Mr. Lanza. When they started, Matt was afraid to jump in from the side of the pool, but Ben just kept encouraging him.”

  They all applauded as Matt did several dives from the low board. “Now, I’m going to do a one and a half from the high board,” Matt proclaimed.

  Ben gave him a quick look and warned, “You haven’t got that down, Matt.” But Matt ignored him and climbed to the top of the three-meter board. His face was pale, and everyone saw that he was afraid.

  “That’s too much for him,” Dom stated quietly. “He could get hurt.”

  Matt made his approach and seemed to be all right, but at the last moment, just as he left the board, he lost his courage. He tried to correct, but it was too late. He made a half turn, arms waving and legs kicking, and hit the water facedown. Rosemary cried out and rose, but Frank pulled her into her seat again.

  Matt came up, his face red with the force of the impact and with shame. He pulled himself out of the pool and was about to run, but Ben caught him by the arm. “That wasn’t your best shot, Matt. Go back, and this time forget about everything except the dive.” Matt hesitated, but Ben continued in a low voice, “You’ve got to do it, kid! If you don’t, you’ll never dive from that board again. You can do it!”

  Matt stared at Savage’s hard face, and something in the steady hazel eyes seemed to reassure him. He nodded, and as he went back up the tower, Ben called out, “Watch this, folks!”

  Matt took a deep breath and closed his mind to everything. He seemed to be praying, and when he made his approach, he made a perfect spring and went into a ball, coming out just in time to cleave the water.

  “Hey, that was a perfect ten!” Savage yelled. He started to run over, but Frank Lanza had leaped from his seat and rushed to pull the boy out.

  “That was great, Matt!” Frank exclaimed. He had been afraid that the boy would run away, and when Matt had gone back and tried again, it gave him a thrill. “You’re going to be a champion!”

  That was the first time he had said such a thing to Matt, and the boy stood there, dripping, his face shining with perfect happiness. Dom said, “He should have done that a long time ago, Dani! Look at the boy.”

  “Yes. Matt needs encouragement. Especially from Frank.”

  Finally Frank returned to his seat, a broad smile on his face and his clothes wet from Matt’s dripping form. Ben directed, “Now let’s move over to the trampoline.”

  As they changed seats, Dani applauded Ben’s efforts, “He’s done a wonderful job, hasn’t he, Mr. Lanza?”

  “Yes, he has.” Dom nodded. His face was lined with pain, and she knew that he was hurting. But he seemed pleased. “It was a good thing for my house when you and Savage came to it,” he told her.

  Dani glanced at him, thinking of Ben’s warning that she was getting too close to the family. Was he right? They all took their seats, and Ben announced, “For our next act, we have Miss Rachel Lanza. Come on, Rachel.”

  Rachel looked frail in her pink workout suit, but Ben’s careful coaching had developed her strength. She mounted the trampoline and began to bounce. Ben had told Dani, “She’s got a knack for it. Balance and nerve.” When she rose to the air and did a perfect somersault, she exhibited a natural grace that made Dani see what he meant.

  Eddy crowed, “Why, the kid’s good enough for the circus!”

  Rosemary cried out in delight and clapped her hands as she watched, grabbing Frank’s arm with fear as Rachel did one especially difficult number. Finally, when her daughter finished, Rosemary went to her and gave her a hug. “That was wonderful, honey! I never knew you were so good!”

  Frank had crossed over to her as well, and when he picked her up and kissed her, Rachel’s delicate face glowed. Dani saw Dom nod, and she squeezed his arm, saying, “Nothing but stars in the Lanza family!”

  Then Savage called out, “For our final act, we have Miss Abby Lanza.”

  Wearing a more discreet workout suit than usual, Abby looked slim and beautiful as she got on the trampoline. She went through the routine that she had worked hard on, and her parents glowed with pleasure.

  When the applause was over, Abby suggested, “Come on, Ben. Give us a real performance!”

  Ben shook his head. “This is a family show, Abby.” But she begged him, and soon Pat and Matthew were urging him. Finally Frank chimed in, “Come on, Ben, let’s see your act.”

  Ben didn’t want to do it, Dani saw, but shrugged his shoulders and took Abby’s place on the trampoline. He began bouncing and soon was amazing them with somersaults and flying rolls. “That is marvelous!” Dom exclaimed to Dani. “I had no idea!”

  “Ben was one of the greatest aerialists in the circus,” Dani replied warmly. “He did a triple—and not many can do that one.”

  Finally Ben was springing up and down, preparing for another trick. Dani, watching him, saw when something took his eye. He had told her once that the secret to being a good gymnast was never to take your mind off the work—but something had. He was at the top of a jump, when she saw his head move slightly.

  Then he plummeted down, collapsing to break his fall, the way acrobats do when they want to stop the force of atrampoline leap. At the same time he shouted, “Dani!”

  She leaped out of her chair and whirled toward the door.

  Two men wearing dark stocking caps and stocking masks that blurred their features had entered the building. Each carried an automatic weapon, and even as Dani saw them, one lifted the muzzle toward the group.

/>   Something like a cold electric shock went through Dani. Simultaneously she knew that Ben’s gun was in his coat by the pool and that though he had killed his jump and was starting to move toward the coat, he had no chance to get to it before the two men could open fire.

  With one motion she drew the .38. Dani had practiced it often enough, but had never really believed that the time would come when she would have to use it. Now that the thing was happening, as she swung the weapon up to clasp it with both hands, she thought, I can’t do it! I can’t kill a man!

  The muzzle of the automatic weapon in the closest man’s grip centered on Dom Lanza, and she moved at once to stand in front of him, squarely facing the gunman, her body protecting the old man. But she knew that the burst of fire from the weapon would not only cut her down, but would get Dom as well—and perhaps some of the others.

  The man’s face leaped into focus; distorted as it was by the stocking, it appeared to belong to a demon from hell. No humanity showed in the features—just a blurred blob of flesh.

  “Shoot, Dani!”

  Ben was desperately darting across the floor, but Dani saw he had no chance at all.

  Perhaps his charge into certain death made Dani decide, or perhaps it was the sight of the muzzle and the man’s grasp on the trigger. She knew all at once that, if he touched that trigger, some of them would die.

  So she pulled the trigger of the .38.

  The explosion echoed in the high-ceilinged room, and the weapon kicked back in her hand.

  By keeping her eyes open, as Ben had taught her, she saw the gunman driven backward as though he had been struck by a massive and invisible fist! He sprawled on the floor, his weapon falling with a clatter to the floor. Perhaps because he never moved, Dani knew somehow that he was dead as he fell.

  A sickness grasped her, but she became aware that the other gunman was leveling his rifle at Ben. Without conscious thought, she whirled and threw a shot at the man. It saved Savage’s life, for her slug raked the arm of the attacker just as he pulled the trigger. Savage had anticipated the burst, for he charged to one side. The slugs went wild as Dani’s bullet knocked the man off balance.

  Dani pulled the .38 down and began throwing shots as quickly as they could leave the weapon. None of them struck, but their nearness rattled the gunman. He returned a burst of fire toward Dani, then wheeled and raced for the door, dodging wildly so that Dani could not hit him.

  As he disappeared, Savage got to his coat, ripped the magnum free, and raced outside.

  Dani lowered her gun; then it slipped through her fingers, striking the floor with a loud noise. She felt Dom’s hands on her as she began to tremble uncontrollably. Heartsick, she could not bear to look at the bundle of flesh that lay terribly still, across the room.

  Dom comforted her, “You had to do it, my dear!”

  The stunning thought, You have killed, kept echoing through Dani’s mind.

  Becoming aware of cries coming from behind her, Dani forced herself to turn and found that Rosemary was on the floor, facedown, with scarlet blood soaking the small of her back. Frank bent over her, while the children stood in shock.

  Quickly Dani went to them. Her own feelings she forced down deep, knowing that they would return. “Abby, take Pat!” she commanded. When Abby picked up the boy, Dani ordered, “Eddy, you and Irene take Matt and Rachel out of here. Call the police and the ambulance!”

  She got them all moving, but at that moment the sound of gunfire reached them from outside. “Don’t go that way,” Dani directed. “Take them out the side door.”

  As the others obeyed her instructions, Dani kneeled beside Frank, who stared at Rosemary with horror. He started to touch his wife, but Dani caught his hand. “Let’s not move her, Frank,” she advised quickly. “She might have a spinal injury.”

  The two kneeled there, Frank in total shock and Dani shaking with reaction. She put her hand gently on Rosemary’s head, praying in an agonized voice, “Lord—don’t let her die! Save her, Lord Jesus!”

  How long she kneeled there, she never knew. But she heard Ben’s voice call, “Dani—come with me!”

  His tone was urgent, and she got up to see him standing there, gun in his hand and a tense look on his face. “Is she all right?” he asked, looking at Rosemary.

  “She’s alive,” Dani croaked through dry lips. “What was that gunfire I heard?”

  “They were in the furniture van,” Ben explained. “I guess Vince heard the shooting. He was running to get here and help—but they caught him.”

  “Is he—dead?”

  Savage’s lips became thin lines. “I think he’s had it,” he bit the words off in a hard-edged tone. “He’s calling for you.” He glanced at Dom and Frank, adding, “Eddy said the medics are coming. Don’t move her.”

  Dani followed him, and as they passed the body of the gunman she averted her head. Outside, the bright sunshine hit her like a blow, and she saw Vince’s body lying on the grass, twenty yards from the drive. She ran to him and fell to her knees. Slowly he opened his eyes. Blood covered his chest, and Dani didn’t see how he could live with such terrible wounds.

  “Hey—” he gasped, and the blood bubbled through his lips as he tried to speak. Dani pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped his lips with a trembling hand. He blinked his eyes and whispered, “Not much—time— Dani!” He gasped, “Been thinking about—what you said—about Jesus!”

  “Yes, Vince!” Dani’s tears ran down her face and fell on his. “He loves you, Vince!”

  Canelli tried to smile and shook his head slightly. “Don’t see—why. But it’s been eatin’ on me—couldn’t forget it!” He coughed, and the blood welled up. When Dani wiped it off, he asked, “What about it—? Looks like—I’ll be seein’—Him—pretty soon.”

  Dani put her arm under him, fought back the tears, and said, “We all come the same to Him, Vince. All of us die, and I think God’s got you ready. Do you believe in Jesus— that He’s the Son of God?”

  “Always—believed that,” he breathed.

  “All of us have done wrong, Vince,” Dani explained. “God wants to make us right. He asks us to seek His forgiveness. Can you tell Him you’ve done wrong with your life?”

  “No doubt—about that!”

  “And one more thing, Vince—just one. Ask Him to come into your heart!” The eyes fixed on her were glazing, and she rushed on, “Let me pray with you, Vince—just think about Jesus dying on the cross for you!” She closed her eyes and prayed haltingly, “O Lord, Vince wants You to make him ready to meet You. You love him so much! Vince, just say, ‘God, I believe that Jesus is Your Son. I have sinned against You, but I ask You to forgive me, and I ask in the name of Jesus Christ’!”

  Dani heard Vince’s voice, falling and faint, repeating her words. She opened her eyes and saw a look of wonder in his eyes. He gazed at her and whispered, “Dani—I did it! He’s—real, isn’t He?”

  “Oh, yes, Vince!” Dani held him tightly.

  The broken man cried out, “Good thing—I met you! Now I ain’t—going to dread—” He faltered, and his eyes fluttered rapidly. Then he raised himself up, and a smile touched his lips. She leaned forward to catch his words, which faded off at the end.

  “Finally—met—Jesus. ’Bye—Dani. . . !”

  Then he was gone. Dani’s hot tears fell on the still face, and she shook with grief—but joy interlaced her sorrow, for she knew that Vince Canelli was now the man God had always wanted him to be!

  12

  Rosemary

  * * *

  On Thursday somber skies closed down over New Orleans. Low-lying clouds seemed heavy and oppressive, and in a clinical tone that matched her sterile expression, the weatherperson on channel 4 announced that a tornado had touched down in Hammond, killing two people.

  Savage considered her and wondered where they managed to find people who seemed so far removed from the triumphs and tragedies they chronicled. Most seemed like plastic mannequins frozen in departm
ent-store windows: attractive, well-dressed, and totally artificial.

  “Turn that thing off,” Frank Lanza snapped, his tone edged with irritation. He waited while Faye got up, walked to the TV, and shut it off. Then Frank turned to Luke Sixkiller, who was sitting across the walnut table, and asked, “What does it look like to you, Lieutenant?”

  Sixkiller was wearing a pair of gray slacks and a charcoal sports coat that was set off by a flowered, black-silk tie. He looked too dapper to be a cop from homicide division, but when he raised his hand to rub his coal-black eyebrow, his bicep swelled, straining the fabric of his coat sleeve. Without effort he exuded a sense of physical power, and the sheer strength in his solid body somehow made the other four men in the room seem a little unsubstantial.

  “The gunny Dani put down is a small timer from Detroit, Roy Dusenberg. Got a record long as a piece of rope. Done time in Angola for manslaughter.” His smooth, coppery face showed little, but a glint in his ebony eyes revealed a trace of anger. “Should have been fried, but the judge was bought off.”

  “He’s not one of Martino’s guys,” Faye reported quickly.

  Dominic Lanza had said little during the interview with the policeman. Now he nodded, commenting briefly, “Even Johnny Ring’s not that stupid. He can hire punks like Dusenberg by the dozen. If they get hit, who can tie them to Martino?” His gaze moved to Sixkiller. “Nothing you can do, is there, Lieutenant?” he prodded.

  “If we can make any of the other guys, maybe.” He leaned back in his chair and studied Dom carefully. “It was timed perfectly. They were waiting for the delivery truck from the furniture store, and the driver and his helper never got a glimpse of a face.”

  “How’d they stop the truck?” Savage asked.

  “Parked in the middle of the private road, with the hood up,” Sixkiller answered. “The driver of the truck said two guys had their heads under the hood, as if they were looking at the engine. When he went up to help, they laid a gun on him and made him wave his helper to come up. Both gunmen wore stocking masks, so neither of the delivery men could pick them out of a lineup. The thugs tied them up and kept them in the back of the van while they made the hit.”