“Thanks, I think T.J. wanted his own copy. Maybe I'll just have you help me copy the tapes all to DVDs, if it's not too much of a problem?” asks Liam.
T.J. walks from the Technical Investigation Unit to his assigned duty in the Property Room. Liam says to Jackie, “I'm going to look at the tapes to make sure I've got the right ones first. I may have grabbed the wrong tapes. I'll need your help in a little bit, though. Jackie, you know I'm not a tech guy. Are the machines still in the back room?” asks Liam.
“Yes, Liam you can go back and close the door. No one will bother you. If you need some help, just come and get me, or just put your lips together and blow. I'll hear you. You do know how to whistle, don't you?” asks Jackie.
Liam looks into the eyes of Jackie, smiles and says, “I think I can manage to whistle. I whistled a few times at you in college.”
Jackie blushes and looks around to see if any of her personnel heard what Liam said.
“I wish you would have done more than whistle, Liam... that Kelley was a lucky woman,” says Jackie.
Liam walks back to the video room and closes the door. He sees the room is positioned so that no one from the outside can see what he's viewing unless they enter the room. Liam locks the door behind him. He sits down and sees the VHS player, and the large screen above the player. He turns the power on to the player and puts a tape in.
The tape begins to play, and it's Chris Torigiani, walking around in what appears to be a very nice residence. Torigiani is talking while walking around the backyard. He is speaking as though he's giving a tour. He says on tape that the house has a large pool, two stories with five bedrooms. He goes on to describe the kitchen and wine room, along with how well the bar is stocked. He walks to the upstairs and enters a bedroom. In the bed of this room is Alton Mills. Mills says to Torigiani, “Put the video down and come to me, my son.” Mills is nude. The camera gets moved onto a mount near the foot of the large bed. Torigiani takes his clothes off, and he and Mills perform oral and anal sex on each other. Liam sees this and is not surprised. He continues to view the tapes for forty more minutes before Torigiani gets out of bed and turns the video recorder off, at the request of Mills.
Liam is somewhat perplexed, as it appears that Torigiani is an adult and certainly a willing participant in all the sexual acts. Besides, everyone on the tape is dead. Liam removes the first VHS tape and puts a second tape in. This tape again starts with Chris Torigiani narrating as he is walking around Mills' house. This time a party is occurring. The party consists of Chris with about twenty party-goers, male and female, all around 18 to 25 years of age. He shows several people shooting up what looks to be heroin. Chris walks with the video camera inside the house and shows several of his friends drinking from the bar and walking to and from the upstairs bedrooms. Chris moves from inside the house to the backyard. He records additional party-goers drinking and urinating in the yard. He prompts conversation from several of his guests. Several subjects are smoking methamphetamine and marijuana around a burning fire pit in the backyard. Chris places the video camera down on a table, but leaves it running. The camera captures Chris smoking methamphetamine. Shortly after Chris is finished smoking, he walks to the camera and turns it off. The video is again about fifty minutes in length.
Liam removes the second video from the player and starts to put the third video in the machine when Jackie knocks on the door and asks if he needs anything, or has any questions.
Liam opens the door and asks if the VHS tape conversion to DVD is a high-speed process. Jackie says,
“Yes, Liam. Do you have some tapes you want converted? I'll set the machines up for you, and here are the DVDs.”
Jackie prepares the machines to the point that all Liam needs to do is start the VHS high-speed player and turn on the DVD high-speed recorder.
“I think I can handle this, Jackie. Do I owe you anything for the three blank DVDs?” asks Liam.
“I don't want to get you in trouble with anyone.”
“You're fine, Liam. I have my own blank DVDs, not the department’s. You'll just owe me one!”
“Thanks, Jackie.”
Liam starts to copy the first tape to DVD. Jackie leaves the room, and Liam locks the door and starts to view the last VHS tape. Like the previous tapes, it's Chris Torigiani narrating while holding the video camera and taping inside Alton Mills' house. This time, Chris walks from the main living room of the house up the stairs, saying on the tape that the party is about to begin. This video shows no one in the house but Chris as he walks up to the second floor. He walks toward an open door of the master bedroom, and the tape begins to pick up several male voices.
Chris walks through the open door and captures several men on the bed, performing various homosexual acts with each other. Liam sees Alton Mills on the video engaged in sodomy with a second older man, whose back is toward the camera. A third, younger man is heard coming into the room from a bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. The third man walks to the side of the bed, and Chris says to him, “If our fathers could see us now, Carmine!” He sees the third nude young man is Carmine Pennilli, the son of Roman Pennilli, Uncle Sal's grandson. This is not good, thinks Liam. Chris places the video on a table at the foot of the bed, but leaves it running. The video shows Chris removing his clothes and joining the three other men. Liam watches the tape and notices the second older man's face. That man changes position, which allows his face to point directly into the camera. Liam recognizes the man to be the current district attorney, Edward Rathman. The four men engage in an orgy of homosexual acts that lasts much longer than Liam cares to watch.
The third film was about forty-five minutes long. Liam removes the film and completes the high-speed recording process on all DVDs. He places the videos back into the bag, takes the three DVDs and puts them in the inside pocket of his leather jacket.
Liam unlocks and opens the door. He sees Jackie, gives her a hug and thanks her for letting him take so much time in the audiovisual room. Jackie asks,
“Did you get what you wanted, Liam?”
Liam tells her,
“I got more than I expected, Jackie. Thank you!”
He leaves the office and walks to the Property Room, where T.J. is working.
Chapter 11
BAD FOR BUSINESS
LIAM TELLS T.J. THAT HE IS HEADED BACK to the Rathman Trust Company of Boston to place a few DVDs in the safe deposit box. T.J. asks,
“What was on the tapes, Liam?”
“It's frigging bad, T.J., not good! The tapes are the reason I had two little friends come to pay me a visit in Florida, and probably what got Captain Torigiani killed. T.J., the best place for you right now is here. If you can meet me back at the pub when you're off work, I'll explain everything then,” says Liam.
T.J. walks Liam out the back door of the police department and tells him to be careful.
“If it's as bad as you say, you're in danger,” says T.J.
“You're right, T.J., but you know the best defense is a good offense. I'm going hunting now.”
Liam gets into his Cruiser and starts the drive back to the Rathman Bank.
Liam thinks to himself that both Pennilli and Rathman had reasons to want Torigiani dead, but Pennilli has the means. He continues to drive across town. He parks his vehicle across from the Rathman Bank and starts to walk back into the bank when he notices a vehicle pull into the parking lot. He sees it's two of Roman Pennilli's soldiers sitting in a car, watching him. Liam continues back into the bank and places the three DVDs in the safe deposit box. Prior to leaving, he places the key to the box in an envelope and drops it into a mailbox just outside the bank's entrance. Liam mails the key to safe deposit box 41 to T.J. He walks toward the parking lot with the three videos in a small bag under his hand and his gun in his back waistband. He drives back to Shenanigans Pub.
He parks at the rear of the business and enters through the back door. It's 4 p.m., and there are several customers in the bar.
He
walks upstairs, looks out the top window and sees Pennilli's men drive past the rear parking lot. He places the bag of videos on his dad's old desk. He expects that Dugan McSweeney will soon visit him. Liam waits for Big Mac. An hour passes, and Liam hears footsteps coming up the stairs to the office area. Liam removes his gun from his waistband and places it near his Boston College bag behind the desk. Dugan enters the office and asks how Liam's doing today. Liam tells him he's doing fine, and sees that Dugan is looking around the office area and spots the small bag with the videos. Liam walks over to his golf clubs, removes a putter and starts to practice the stroke of putting. He looks at McSweeney and says,
“Dugan, what did Pennilli give you for giving up Torigiani?”
Dugan looks at Liam and says nothing. He is surprised at what Liam knows. Liam takes the putter and swings it, striking Dugan in the right inner knee. Dugan drops to the ground on one leg, and Liam punches him with all of his strength, striking Dugan on the left side of his face. He continues to punch Dugan with both his left and right fists, until Dugan falls.
Dugan grabs the desk and pulls himself back up. Liam says, “What did Pennilli give you for giving up my home address, you fat fuck!”
Liam hits Dugan once more across the nose, at which time Dugan swings and hits Liam in the left ribcage. Liam takes the blow and momentarily loses his breath. Liam takes the putter and hits Dugan in his chest, he drops to the floor. He starts to push himself up, and Liam hits him with a sharp right punch that puts Dugan back on the floor.
Liam yells at Dugan, “How could you do this, after all my old man did for you!”
“I did it for your mother,” says McSweeney.
Liam looks at Dugan lying on the floor and says,
“You've got one minute to explain yourself, and if I don't like what I hear, I'm going to walk all over your face.”
Liam stands back from Dugan, and Dugan catches his breath and wipes blood from his mouth and nose. McSweeney tells Liam that Salvador Pennilli is the other silent owner in the pub, and that he always has been. Dugan says that the pub was Joseph's dream, but Pennilli had the money and influence that was needed to be able to operate. He said it was a good thing when Liam’s dad was alive and Salvador Pennilli was running the Mob in Boston. Dugan said Joseph never had to work with Sal's son since he took over as the boss in Boston... that it ain't always easy. When Torigiani showed up after getting out of prison, Roman thought he had some videos that could prove to be embarrassing to the family name.
“Liam,” says Dugan, “Pennilli told me he'd take the bar if I didn't let him know when Torigiani came in. He figured Torigiani would come to the bar looking for you. Pennilli thought Captain T had the videos at first, but when Torigiani came in here looking for you, wanting to know your address, he thought you had the tapes.”
“Dugan, who comes to the bar every Thursday at around 11 a.m.?” asks Liam.
“Pennilli's lieutenants come and pick up their cut of the weekly profits. That's all I know. I didn't see who shot Torigiani. Look, I made the call that he was here, but I don't know how they got your home address. I don't know it,” says Dugan.
A waitress from downstairs walks into the office, looking surprised. She said they could hear sounds of a fight and just wanted to check if everything was okay. Dugan McSweeney looks at Liam and asks,
“Is everything okay?”
Liam says, “Yeah.”
The waitress leaves, and Liam walks over to his bag, grabs his gun and puts it back into his waistband. He looks down at Dugan, saying,
“You fuck me again, and I'll kill you!” Liam puts his hand out and helps Dugan to his feet. Dugan uses the bathroom to clean himself up. He limps downstairs, back to the bar.
Liam looks at his left hand and sees that it's shaking again. He removes his daily meds from his bag and takes his pills. He thinks to himself, Dugan hits like a mule. Liam is sure he has some broken or cracked ribs. He's starting to feel more and more pain as the adrenaline wears off.
Liam knows it's only a matter of time before Pennilli's men make their move. He walks downstairs and uses the pay phone in the pub.
“Hello, Roman. Yeah, it's me. Don't you think it's time to end this? Yes, I've got the tapes. Interesting cast of characters. Not really my type of home movies, but hey, I'm sure a lot of people would find it interesting viewing. I know it... I'll be there at 9 p.m. Just you and me, right?”
Liam knows that Roman would never show up at a meeting alone, especially a meeting with Liam. Roman wants to meet at the shipyard, a place Liam is very familiar with. All the times he went to the Pennillis’ shipyard to visit Uncle Sal and his dad as a kid, he never remembers Roman ever being there. Liam knows Roman will be covered by his men, and once he gets the videos, Liam's life is in danger. Liam calls T.J. and tells him he'll need his help with something later tonight. He asks T.J. if he could come to the pub, and bring his sniper rifle and plenty of ammunition.
T.J. leaves work early, drives to his house and retrieves his rifle, ammo, and several other items he keeps locked in a gun cabinet. Liam knows that T.J. has some skills that may be needed. He was a Marine who served in the Panama War in the 4th Expeditionary Brigade as a sniper. Liam hopes the old saying about a Marine still holds true: “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”
He sits in the office above the pub, looking at the clock. He sees it's 6:30 p.m. and he decides to walk down to the pub and have a drink and a bite to eat. He orders a pint of Guinness and a cold ham and cheese sandwich. He looks behind the bar and sees McSweeney serving drinks, limping from one end of the bar to the other. McSweeney looks at Liam, sitting in the booth across from the bar counter, and hangs his head in shame. Liam gets his beer, which he promptly takes a large drink from, and looks to the front door and sees T.J. enter the bar. T.J. walks to the table and sits across from him. Liam gets the waitress' attention and asks T.J. if he wants anything to eat or drink. T.J. says,
“I'll have what you're having.”
Liam tells the waitress, “Another sandwich and Guinness for my brother.”
She looks at T.J. and at Liam, and smiles. Liam notices that T.J. has come in all black clothes.
“Shit, T.J., I almost didn't see you there,” laughs Liam. “It's like looking into darkness.”
T.J. tells Liam that he brought the other items with him, and asks Liam what the hell is going on. Liam tells T.J. what he viewed on the tapes and who was on them. He tells T.J. about how Dugan was pressured by Roman Pennilli to give up Torigiani, and how he danced on Dugan's face earlier.
“Dugan is not to be trusted,” says Liam. “T.J., it's like Dad always used to say, ‘He's fit to mind mice at a crossroad, but no more!’”
Liam and T.J. finish their sandwiches and beer, and walk back upstairs to the office.
Liam explains to T.J. about the meet with Roman and its location. T.J. tells Liam,
“You know he's not coming alone. As soon as he gets the tapes, he'll take you out. You're a liability he can't afford to have.”
“That's why you'll be there too, T.J. We need to even the playing field. I thought you could position yourself on top of the ships' crane that borders the docks. That should give you a clear view from above, about a hundred feet or so,” says Liam.
“I'll need you to cover my backside. T.J., it's cold out and it has been snowing. It'll make things pretty hard for you to climb. I thought you might leave before me and scout things out, and get into position a good twenty minutes or so before the meet.”
T.J. agrees and asks Liam, “Are you prepared to kill Roman? If you do, all hell is going to break loose.”
“I got that covered, T.J. If something happens out there and I don't... well, take care of Mama for me,” says Liam.
“I got you covered. Just do what you do best and end this tonight,” says T.J.
Liam looks at the pictures one more time in his father's office. He stares at the photo of Jimmy and the encased flag. His father, and him in their department dress blue
s. T.J. and him in their high school football uniforms. Liam scans to a family photo taken the day his father opened up Shenanigans and sees in the photo Uncle Sal, T.J., Kelley, Molley, and his mother and father.
T.J. leaves the pub at 8 p.m. He goes out the back door and makes sure no one is following him. He drives to the shipyards and parks three blocks from Pennilli's business. He takes his rifle case, jacket, and gloves, and begins to scout the shipyard. He notices the business is shut down and the long sliding bay doors running alongside the docks are closed, but the lights are on. He sees no vehicles or people inside Pennilli's business. He positions himself at the highest point on the ship crane that runs alongside the docks. From this spot, there is a clear view of the docks, and of the sliding doors leading into Pennilli's place. His position within the cab of the crane provides both cover and concealment. T.J. opens his case up and removes his sniper rifle, a Marine M-40A1 with a night scope good for a distance of up to 700 meters. T.J. sits and waits as 9 p.m. approaches.
At 8:45 p.m., T.J. sees a dark-colored vehicle drive into the business and park by the large bay doors. The driver and front passenger exit the vehicle, while a third man opens the back door and gets out. He looks through the scope and sees that it's Roman Pennilli and two of his associates. T.J. sees Pennilli instruct one of the men to park the vehicle away from the entrance. Pennilli then opens the large sliding bay door to the shop and turns the shop lights on. After parking the car to the side of the business, the third man returns to the shop. Pennilli lights a cigar and appears to be nervous, as he is pacing from one end of the business to the other. T.J. looks through the scope and sees Pennilli's men checking their handguns. He continues to scan the surroundings for additional threats.
Liam pulls the old Cruiser into Pennilli's shipyard and slowly drives toward the open doors. He looks over at the crane and can't see T.J. He starts to worry, but has faith that T.J. will be there for him. He passes the front entrance, drives a few hundred feet past the business, and notices Pennilli's parked vehicle to the side of the business. Liam parks his vehicle and tucks his Glock semi-auto into the back of his waistband, and makes sure his old black leather jacket covers the bulge of the gun. He grabs a second 16-round magazine and puts it into his jacket. He grabs the small bag containing the three videos, steps from his vehicle and walks slowly to the open doors. Liam walks into the business and sees Pennilli with his two bodyguards. He looks at Roman and says, “I thought I told you to come alone.”
The Key to Betrayal Page 11