After Sonny entered, Mitcham stood to close the door. Sonny took a seat close to the desk. I could tell there was something on his mind, but he would have to wait. As Mitcham sat down, the door opened again, and my brother Luke entered and closed the door behind him. He was wearing a suit like the rest of us, and it caught me off guard.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“You’re having a family sit down, and I’m family,” he said.
“But you’ve never been part of the family business before. You’ve stayed away from it, like Connor.”
“Connor’s busy with school. One day he’ll see what’s really important, like I did. After Papa died, I realized the importance of what we do. I want in. You can start me at the bottom, I don’t care. I’ll work my way up.”
“Even Dominic couldn’t handle it. I had to send him to Vegas,” I said. “Maybe you should think about this a little longer, Luke.”
“No, and it’s Luca. I’m now using my birth name,” he said. “I’m tired of pretending to be someone else. I’m a Gambino. You’re here because Papa was killed. Tell me who did it and I’ll take care of things.”
I sighed and shook my head. The last thing I needed was an emotional wannabe gangster on my hands. I knew he meant well, but I didn’t have time to babysit.
“Let me think about this,” I said. “I’ll figure out who to put you under, but you have to be patient. First thing is you don’t act on your own, understand? We have enough hot heads in the family.”
I looked directly at Roman when I spoke, then turned to look back at Luca. I didn’t need another Roman with his temper. I needed someone steadier like Sonny. Even though he was only our half brother and we didn’t grow up with him, I thought Sonny was better suited for this life than my more emotional siblings.
Looking over at Sonny, I could tell whatever was on his mind was really bothering him. As the Don, I should have ignored it and continued with my own agenda, but it wasn’t like him to act this way.
“What’s on your mind, Sonny?” I said. “Is it something you can share with us, or does it need to be in private?”
“I have bad news, Dante,” he said. “While I was on my way here, I got a call from one of my informants. Vic Capuzzo is dead.”
“What do you mean you got a call?” Roman said, standing up and pointing at Sonny. “This has you written all over it. You think we’re stupid? You took care of Terry and I know what you did to Gia’s ex, too. And now Capuzzo is dead?”
“Enough!” I said.
I looked at each of my brothers. As I made eye contact with Sonny, he looked away. He was hiding something from me, but I’d have to find out another time without so many people around.
When I made eye contact with Roman, he sat back in his seat without saying a word. I was glad he wasn’t putting up a fight, but I couldn’t help but wonder if his outburst was to hide his own guilt.
“Roman, you didn’t seem surprised about Capuzzo’s death,” I said. “Anything you want to tell me?”
“No, I’d admit to it, unlike him,” Roman said, pointing at Sonny again. “I know I’ve been impulsive in the past, but I’m working on that. Sonny is the one in love with your fiancée.”
“It’s not like that,” Sonny said through clenched teeth.
I ran my fingers through my hair and turned to Mitcham. Mitcham was always the reasonable one. That’s how I knew, despite the many jokes about my father, that Mitcham wasn’t a Gambino.
“What do you think?” I asked Mitcham.
“If Capuzzo is dead, then you’ve got a problem,” he said. “One of Palumbo’s men probably did it after seeing you rescue Gia. They’re going to use that against you, and you can be sure they’re going to make it look like you did it.”
I knew something like this would happen eventually, but I was hoping to have more things in place first. I called an end to the meeting. I would have to initiate my plan another time. The meeting just left me with more questions anyway.
I needed to get home to Gia and prepare her for the inevitable. I was going to get arrested. I didn’t know when, but it was just a matter of time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Gia
I was sitting in the family room curled up on the couch reading a book when the front door slammed. It wasn’t like Dante to come home in a huff, but as he stormed to the back of the house where I was, I could see he was upset.
“Please just listen and don’t ask any questions,” he said. “I don’t know how much time I have.”
I nodded, and he put his hand out to me. Placing my hand in his, he pulled me up from the couch and brought me outside. We hurried over to the small building his office was in and he pressed his security code into the keypad, unlocking the door.
Dante’s office was a room with an attached bathroom and small kitchen. A smaller wood desk than the one he had in the house faced the front door and the only window. Behind it was a long black leather couch with the tan cotton blanket I bought for him, knowing he would sometimes sleep there. He had made some changes to the room since I was last in it, like adding a kitchen area with a sink, a microwave, and a small refrigerator, but otherwise it looked the same.
Still holding my hand, he brought me to the couch and we sat down. He sat on the edge of his seat and angled himself so he looked directly at me.
“Gia, you know I’m a bad man. You know I do things most people think are horrific. But I’m an honest man.”
“I know all that. What’s going on?” I asked.
“Vic Capuzzo is dead. I’ve been set up to take the fall.”
“Oh no,” I said, trying to take in everything.
Not only was Dante telling me he was going to jail, but I was learning yet another person connected to me was dead. Dante had spent the past week in his office, and it was awful. I didn’t know what I would do with him locked away. I didn’t want to even think about how long he would be gone.
“But you didn’t do it,” I said. “How can they do this?”
“Things happen, my angel. Not everything in life is fair. I need to put some calls in to some friends and see what I can do. When the police come, they’re going to do a search. I have some pull, so they’ll probably only search here and not the whole house. I want you to take a few things for me.”
“Of course, anything,” I said.
Dante got up and went over to his desk. He started pulling some items from the drawers. I expected him to hand over some secret files to me, maybe on a thumb drive like I had seen in the movies, but when he turned back towards me, he was holding a stack of paper.
“This is all just in case things get really bad,” he said as he sat next to me again. “Here’s the deed to the house, the penthouse in Manhattan, and several other properties. They’re all in your name. These are the bank statements to accounts I created in your name also. All of this is legit, but I don’t want some cop getting the wrong idea. Lastly, I want you to take this.”
He handed me a frame with a photo I had never seen before. I recognized the block I grew up on and in the photo, I was pulling my bags behind me. I remembered that day like it was yesterday. I was so angry at Terry for not meeting me at the subway and helping me out. Dante had told me he saw me come out of the subway for the first time, but I never put it together that it was that day.
“So this is what you do when you see a lady in distress?” I asked with a grin. “I could’ve used some help, you know.”
His face relaxed and he smiled. “It’s my favorite photo of you. When I saw you step out of the subway, I knew you were sent to rescue me from the hell of my life. That’s why I call you my angel.”
The intercom from the house buzzed and then Jayden’s voice came over the speaker.
“The cops are here,” Jayden said.
“If it’s Eddie, bring him around back.”
“Got it.”
I followed Dante outside. Jayden led a tall man with red hair into the backyard. He was dressed i
n a suit, but nothing as nice as I had seen Dante and his family wear. He grinned as he approached.
“Dante Gambino,” he said. “I knew this time would come. I need to bring you in. You’re wanted for the murder of Victor Capuzzo.”
“I’ll go willingly, Detective,” Dante said.
“But you didn’t do it,” I said, realizing he was leaving me.
“Gia, call Toni. Tell her to come to the police station,” Dante said.
“Toni? Why not–”
“No, Gia. Just Toni,” he said, his voice stern.
I nodded. I didn’t understand why he wanted Toni and not Mitcham or one of his brothers, but I would do as he said.
As I stood in shock, I watched Dante hand the detective his cell phone and wallet then leave with him. He didn’t handcuff him or anything, Dante left with him as if it was just another day.
Jayden stepped closer to me as Dante and Eddie went out of sight. He pulled my cell phone from my sweatshirt pocket and held it out to me.
“Everything will be fine,” he said. “Eddie is a friend of ours. Shit like this happens all the time in our business. He’ll be back home soon. Call Toni, she’s the only one who can help in case things get really bad.”
“Toni? Why her?”
“Because no one suspects a woman.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Dante
I hated Gia having to see me leave like that, but at least it was Eddie and not another cop. Eddie Clark was not only a friend of the Gambino family but a real friend of mine.
I sat in the back while Eddie drove and his partner, a detective I wasn’t familiar with, fiddled with the radio. We drove in silence. When we reached the police station, a small group of reporters rushed towards the car and I turned my head as I tried to avoid giving them a useable picture.
Eddie drove the car into the underground lot and parked near the door. When they let me out of the car, Eddie instructed his partner to go ahead while he brought me into an interview room.
In all the years I had been involved in the family business, this was the first time I had been arrested. It wasn’t that odd, the higher up I went, the greater chance was that someone would bring me in. It was all a matter of visibility. Everyone wanted the Boss, they didn’t care about the Soldiers or the Capos as much.
The interview room was bland and grey. It had a small rectangular metal table in the center with a few chairs. I expected to see a two-sided mirror in the room, but it didn’t have one. I pulled one of the silver metal chairs out from the table and sat down while Eddie left the room.
When he returned, he sat in the chair across the table from me and dropped a folder on the table. He pointed up to a corner in the room where I saw a small camera, but the light was off. I didn’t know if that was a trick or not.
“I accidentally turned them off,” he said quietly. “Listen Dante, we go back to when we were kids. I don’t think I would’ve taken this route if I could have been a made man, and you know that. But I didn’t have a choice here, I had to bring you in.”
“Don’t worry, Eddie. We’re good. Tell me what you have.”
“Right now, not much,” he said as he picked up the thin folder and waved it. “I have an unidentified body that matches Vic Capuzzo’s description that was found in his Park Slope home. You and I know it could be anyone, but there’s surveillance and a witness who says you were there around the time of death.”
“In other words, you’ve got nothing.”
“Exactly, but you know how things are. Especially in such a quiet community like Park Slope. I had to act fast or it would look bad. Right now we have Forensics running labs, so I’m sure once they’re back, they’ll show it’s not Capuzzo, the body was killed elsewhere and moved, you know the routine.”
“Unfortunately I do,” I said.
“Do you want to call your lawyer? Or is he on his way already?”
“I’m not guilty, I have no need for an attorney. I’ll be out of here in a couple of hours.”
“Okay. If you change your mind, let me know. I’m not putting you in a cell. You can stay here. If you need me, press the button by the door.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Eddie picked up the folder and walked out, closing the door behind him. I glanced at the clock on the wall to check the time. Every minute I was in custody was another minute the Palumbo family won. I didn’t like losing, and I was tired of this game.
Between the drive and talking to Eddie, I had already been out of commission for forty-five minutes. I knew despite my warning that Gia was surprised to see me leave. I hoped she was able to pull herself together enough to call Toni right away. If she did, then Toni would arrive at any minute.
I looked up at the camera and saw the little red light was on. Waving, I wondered if anyone was watching at the other end. I didn’t care. They could watch all they wanted. They wouldn’t get anything from me. Even if I had ordered the hit on Capuzzo, I wouldn’t give them what they needed.
A knock at the door then the release of the lock told me that I had a visitor. I hoped it was either Eddie releasing me or my sister. Either way, I would be out of here soon.
The door opened and in the doorway were Eddie and Toni. Toni was dressed more conservatively than usual with a long skirt and a buttoned top. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she wore her dark framed acetone frame glasses, which I knew she never left the house in. I tried to act like nothing was unusual.
“Oh Dante!” she said, sounding concerned. “What happened? The police wouldn’t tell me anything.”
Eddie closed the door behind her. I knew he would wait on the other side of the door. The police had grown wise to family members giving tips or leads while locked up and began monitoring visits. Unless it was a woman.
The Mafia was old school. Women had their place, and men were the ones who let their hands get dirty. My father saw that Toni had more promise than any of us and she could get away with things none of us could as men. Had Sonny or Roman been here, Eddie would have to stay in the room. But not Toni.
Looking up towards the camera again, I saw the light was off. I didn’t trust it though. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Eddie, but just as I found out the hard way, sometimes there are people right in front of you who you trust but shouldn’t.
“You look lovely. Thanks for coming to see me,” I said as Toni sat across from me.
I darted my eyes up towards the camera and she gave a brief nod back.
“I came as soon as I heard,” she said. “I was at work at the library putting books away when I heard you were here. I didn’t find out why though.”
“It’s Vic Capuzzo. A body was found in his home, and they think I did it. There’s video and a witness. Eddie said they’re waiting on Forensics.”
For the first time, Toni looked surprised for a second as her eyebrows rose then fell back into place. Toni prided herself in knowing everything, but I could tell she didn’t know about this.
“You know we’ve shifted everything at the library to electronic. It’s all now on the computer,” she said, keeping her voice steady.
She was speaking in code, and I understood exactly what she was saying. This wasn’t like the old days of paper police files. While Eddie showed me a physical file, it was likely he also had a digital version of the case, too.
“I’m sure it makes things easier,” I said. “Do you have any problem finding the books you’re looking for?”
“No, not at all. It’s a pretty simple database. I can usually find everything I need in a matter of minutes,” she said then looked at her watch. “As a matter of fact, I have to get back to work. Do you need anything?”
“No,” I said. “I can be patient. I didn’t do anything, so I’m sure I’ll be out of here soon.”
She stood and smiled, but I could see the darkness in her eyes. She really was ready to get to work. She rapped her knuckle twice on the door and Eddie opened it. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen y
ou, Eddie,” she said sweetly.
“Yes, it has,” he said.
“I didn’t know you were a detective now. Do you have your own office?”
“Not many detectives do, but yes, I do have my own office. Would you like to see it?”
“I would love that!” she gushed. “I bet you have your very own computer, too. They really know how to treat someone with your brains with respect here, don’t they?”
“Yes, they do,” Eddie said with a smile. “I can show you right now.”
As she walked through the door, she brushed against him and Eddie watched as she walked past. Toni could read people better than anyone I ever met. And she used that to get what she wanted. With a few smiles and the promise of a date, she would wait out the time until Eddie was called away and get the information she needed from his computer. And what she couldn’t find, she would create.
***
Sighing, I checked the clock again. An hour had passed since Toni had arrived. The camera’s light was on again. There was a quick knock at the door and Eddie entered.
“I’m sorry to keep you all this time,” he said. “But we got forensics back and the body’s not Capuzzo. We don’t know who it is yet. I examined the video footage we got from Capuzzo’s place myself, and you’re not even in it. Not only that, but the witness is gone. I mean erased from our system, and we don’t have any other records of him.”
“Do you know how that happened?” I asked even though I knew.
“Our techs are looking into it, but it seems there was some kind of virus. I’ll be honest, we’re lucky we have what we do. At least we can use that to figure out who did this.”
“Good luck finding your man,” I said as I rose from the chair.
“Thanks, Dante. Once again, I’m sorry about the wait. And if you could do me a favor? Put in a good word for me with your sister? She left here in a bit of a huff. I think she was upset. I don’t know what happened.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” I said. “You know us Gambinos.”
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