Beautiful, Naked and Dead mm-1

by Josh Stallings

  “Thank you, Moses, you got anything to eat?” I poured the Mexican pastries onto a plate and got her a mug of coffee. She ate four of the crumbly treats in big bites. Angel danced around her feet, hoping to catch falling crumbs. A dark cloud drifted across Cass’s eyes. It was as if for a brief moment she had stepped out of her life, and now memories had sucked her back in.

  “I have to go into Hollywood.”

  “Can I come with you?” Fear shadowed her face.

  “Not this time, baby girl. I’m meeting a cop who might see it as his duty to ask you questions neither of us wants to answer.”

  “Come on, big boy, I can handle some cop.”

  “No. You’re safe here. Just don’t…”

  “Open the door for anyone, I know the drill.” Like a petulant teenager she sulked out of the room to go take a shower. Again she left the door open, and made sure the curtain parted enough so that I could get a good eye full of her as water splashed down over her firm young body. Maybe she hoped her nakedness would be enough to keep me from leaving. It almost was.

  The Denny’s was a few blocks from the Hollywood police station. It looked like every Denny’s in the world, purple, orange and ugly. I slid into a bright naugahyde booth and ordered coffee, it was weak and bitter but I needed the caffeine. At eleven on the dot Lowrie walked through the door. His eyes were ringed with dark circles. “Son you look as tired as I feel,” he said as he sat down. He ordered a fried egg sandwich and a cup of coffee, decaf. “Doctors orders, no more coffee, no cigars, what is the world coming to, huh?”

  “Do you know anybody in the FBI?” I asked.

  “Paulson, he’s the liaison with our department, good man, bit too by the book like most of the feds. Why, you in trouble? “

  “Yes, but not how you think. I need some answers and I don’t know where to turn.”

  “This about Kelly? I told you to leave it alone.”

  “Yeah, you also told me you’d stay on the case, but what do you have? Nothing right? Well nothing doesn’t cut it with me. So I did some digging.”

  “Do you know why they gave me a gold shield and a gun? Because I’m a trained investigator. My job is to build a case so that when I take down the bad guys, they stay down. Now when you go running around tainting evidence, muddying the water it just makes my job that much harder. Not to mention, you up your own odds of winding up as an unsolved homicide. Another case I have to handle.”

  “You want to hear what I found, or do you want to keep running your mouth?”

  “Do you know the most common phrase said before a victim is killed? No? Well I’ll tell you. It’s ‘Go ahead and shoot me then.’ Or some variation on the theme. And you run through life like it’s your mantra. That said, what have you got?” The waitress delivered his sandwich but he didn’t touch it. I told him the whole story, leaving out the dead soldiers in the desert. I told him about Gino and my suspicion he was mobbed up. I knew the feds were looking for him and that he had dropped off the radar. When I told him about the web tapes, he pushed his plate away, his appetite ruined. “You destroyed the evidence? Damn it Moses what were you thinking? There’s no way to bust the prick now.”

  “He won’t be peddling his crap on the web anymore, I saw to that. Plus I sent his wife a letter and one of the tapes. By the time I’m done he’ll dream about the fine and slap on the wrist the court would have given a straight squid like him.”

  “If you don’t believe in the system, why the hell did you come to me? What do you want, absolution? You want me to say you did the right thing? You didn’t, you let this scum skate, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “I think the guys trying to kill Cass are mobbed up.”

  “Bring her in, we’ll put her in protective custody.”

  “You mean jail her? We both know the mob can reach in there with the snap of a finger. No thanks Lowrie. I’ll keep her safe, I just need to know the score.”

  “Why should I help you?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do and you know it.”

  “No, it’s not. But you’ll go ahead with or without my help… I’ll make you a deal, I’ll look into this Torelli matter, but you have to promise that if you find the mutts who dropped the girl you’ll let me take them down. I want your word.”

  “I can’t promise how it will play out.”

  “Then I can’t help you,” he said starting to rise.

  “Wait, my word, if at all possible I’ll let you have these pukes. That’s the best I can do Lowrie.” I stretched out my hand, he looked at it for a moment then shook it.

  “I’ll be in touch.” And he was gone. I paid the bill and headed for home. Lowrie was a good cop, better than most but he was out of touch with the streets. If I had waited for his system to work Cass would be dead and buried by now, and I’d be left with my thumb up my ass wondering if I could have stopped it. I would be true to my word, if I saw a way to have Kelly’s killers busted I would. I also knew I wouldn’t hesitate to drop a hammer on them if that’s what was called for.

  Walking up to my crib I was afraid Cass would be holding a grudge for leaving her behind. Instead I found her smiling, curled up on the sofa with Angel’s head on her lap. She had cleaned up the house, it looked nice. She even cut a rose from the garden and put it in a water glass on the coffee table. She had draped one of my Mexican blankets over the sofa, two or three little touches and it almost looked like someone could live here.

  “Hi dear, how was your day?” Rising up onto tiptoes, she gave me a peck on the cheek.

  “Still going on. You want some lunch?” Her eyes sparkled at that.

  “Always.” We went down to a small taco stand, she ate three carne asada soft tacos, a plate of rice and beans, and a diet coke. I told her about Lowrie and his offer of police protection.

  “Are you trying to dump me? Did you make a deal with him?” Fear flickered down deep behind her eyes.

  “No, just giving you your options.”

  “I’m staying with you,” she said firmly taking my hand in hers. “I’ll be a good girl, I’ll do just what you say. I promise.” I was her lifeboat and the storm clouds were brewing all around us.

  Walking up the block toward my house I spotted a dark sedan parked across the street, a G-man in a cheap dark suit and Raybans was leaning against the front fender.

  I pulled Cass back around the corner before the fed could see us. “Go in the back, through the alley, ok, baby girl?” I said, she started to say something then caught herself and complied. I crossed the street and walked up to the G-man. His partner sat behind the wheel, reading a file. They both looked bored. “You looking for me, or do you just like my house?”

  “McGuire?” he said in a clipped voice.

  “That’s me.”

  “What do you know about Gino Torelli?” He didn’t waste any time on formalities.

  “Who?” I kept my expression neutral.

  “You’re a two time loser McGuire, want to go for three strikes? Interfering with a federal investigation, resisting arrest, threatening a federal officer with an unlicensed firearm. Oh yes, I can make it stick, who do you think the court will believe? “

  “Is that your best shot? I reached out to you, remember?”

  “You may have fooled your LAPD buddy, but I know who you are. Now, what do you know about Gino Torelli?”

  “Fuck you,” I said and started to turn away, he grabbed my arm and spun me back. Suddenly he had his Glock in hand, pointed at my gut.

  “As long as you asked me so nicely.” I strained to look calm. A pat search would reveal the.38 in my boot and then I would be dry lube fucked. “Like I told Lowrie, the name Torelli came up in connection to a murdered friend. I don’t know anything about the man, except he has something to do with internet porn and that you boys are looking for him.”

  “That’s it? Everything?” He slammed the barrel of the 9 mm into my gut and almost got a face full of my partially digested taco. “Don’t think
about holding back on me.”

  “Look, that’s it. You want more, you’re going to have to find another sucker.”

  “Alright for now. Do yourself a favor and stay out of San Francisco. You pissed in my stream, and I will warn you once, but only once. Walk away. Don’t look back and forget you ever heard the name Gino Torelli.” I hung my head in what I hoped passed for defeat. He holstered his piece, climbed in the sedan and left me standing in the middle of the street.

  My face felt cold as I tried to stuff down my feelings of rage and impotence, fact was the fed could drop me any time he wanted, put me in a cage and say goodbye to daylight. He was right, who the hell would take my word over his. I knew the score and so did he. In the straight world I was nothing but a two time loser with a penchant for violence. And he was a shining star of valor.

  “Who was that?” Cass asked as I walked past her to the kitchen.

  “A couple of government pricks on a fishing expedition.” I poured myself a tall glass of Scotch and sat down at the kitchen table. Angel curled up around my legs laying her head on my foot, and went to sleep.

  “What’s the plan, Ace? Get drunk and hope it all goes away?” Cass said.

  “You got a better plan? Me, I’m fresh out of ideas.”

  “Then let them skate. Put me on a bus out of town, they will find me sooner or later but you won’t have to worry about it. You can just get drunk and forget you ever met my sister or me. Is that what you want?” I didn’t answer her, instead I took a long warm drink. The McCallans tasted like liquid smoke warming its way down to my soul. Standing with the bottle in hand I walked past Cass and her reproachful eyes. Falling into bed I took one pull off the bottle before sleep swept up over me and took me down under.

  I’m back in Chino, out on the yard, but the place is completely empty of human life. The guard tower is manned by a guy in a black suit and dark glasses. He is following my every move with a scoped rifle. Men just like him stand on all the walls, none move. Except for the wind rustling their suits they could be statues. I try to move but a cage has formed around me, closing in getting tighter with every second. My breath is ragged as the bars push against my chest.

  It was dark when I woke, Cass had taken the bottle from my hand while I slept and Angel was curled up on my chest. In the shower I let my mind unwind. Somehow I’d been looking at this thing from the wrong direction. Kelly’s killers had something to do with this Gino Torelli. The boys in the desert were mobbed up, I was sure of that. Two from Vegas and one, a James Grasso, his driver’s license told me, was from San Francisco with an address on Post Street. Had they whacked Kelly? If so, who sent them? I knew who would know.

  It was ten o’clock when I pushed through the door of Figueroa’s. An older square headed muscle man stepped into my path as I moved for the back room. “Sorry, we’re closed.”

  “It’s me, Eddy. Moses, remember?”

  “I know who you are, and we’re closed.”

  “I need to see the old man.”

  “Make an appointment, he’s busy.”

  “Eddie!” The metallic chirp of the Pope’s voice box called out.

  “Don’t move,” Eddie the Mechanic said as he headed for the back. He was once one of the most feared enforcers in LA. Pushing sixty he still put a chill in my bones.

  Don Gallico sat at his table, drinking an espresso while a mousy young nurse stood beside him drawing blood. “Moses, word is our Armenian problem is walking with a limp, I owe you one for that. The vig is stopped, the principal is all you owe us,” he said spreading his hands out with benevolence.

  “I’ve come to ask for more than that, I need your help.” I said keeping my face neutral.

  “You owe two large and I haven’t taken your spleen. I’d say we were even. What the fuck are you trying to do shish-kabob me? “ he squawked at the nurse. She didn’t bat an eyelash, she just kept pulling blood from his wrinkled arm.

  “A girl I know was killed up in Silver Lake.”

  “It happens, LA is going to the dogs.”

  “She was hit, pro.” I shot the nurse a glance but her full attention was on her job. “Is it ok to speak around her?”

  “Say what you want, she’s deaf as a tombstone. Now, what the fuck makes you think I know anything about some dead girl?”

  “It came out of San Francisco. Gino Torelli is involved. It’s got mob stink all over it.” I looked in his eyes, not a flicker or a flinch.

  “Mob stink? That’s nice, you got the manners of a wart hog. And you’re ignorant to boot. Read the papers, there hasn’t been any family business in the Bay Area since 1988 when Milano bought a Rico charge.”

  “Who is Gino Torelli?” I said, and still saw no reaction.

  “Other than he sounds Italian, I got no clue.” If he was lying he was good, but then again you don’t get to be his age in the game without being good.

  “James Grasso?”

  “Sorry, are they connected to the dead girl?”

  “Yeah. Look sir, you know me, I don’t want to make trouble for anyone. Live and let live. I just need to know what I’m dealing with so I don’t step on any toes.”

  “Take my advice kid, walk away. Shit you don’t need to know about, shit I don’t need to know about. Forget you ever met these girls and get back to earning the cabbage you owe me.”

  “You’re right. Fuck it. Italian don’t make it mob. Thank you for the time.”

  “You going to take a hike on the matter, let dead dogs lay?”

  “Maybe…” I let out a long tired sigh.

  “Do.” Even through the squawking box, the edge in his voice was clear.

  “Alright, I will.”

  “Good boy.” His face relaxed. “Now you want me to have Charley make you an espresso? You can tell me who’s winning at the track?”

  “I’d love it, but I have to get to work or Manny will have my ass.” I walked out shooting Eddy a smirk and a wink, he shook his head scowling.

  Two blocks away I found a phone booth and called home. Cass picked up on the third ring. “Get your things, grab my dog and get out of the house, now!”

  “What? Moses what’s happening.”

  “Do it. Wait for me at the panaderia.”

  “The what?”

  “Mexican bakery down on the corner. Now move.” Sweat was running down my back in a cold stream. I hung up the phone and jumped into the Crown Vic. I hadn’t told the Pope about Cass, but he told me to walk away from those “girls”. I should have known, if there was a hit in his town, they would need his approval. I skidded up onto Los Feliz almost smacking a mini van full of kids in dirty soccer uniforms. The mom flipped me off as I sped past them. I raced around the Griffith Park fountain and slid onto the freeway. Traffic was at a crawl. Half a mile up I could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. I pulled over onto the shoulder and punched it. I jumped off at Fletcher and took side streets into Highland Park. The whole wild ride took only twenty minutes, I just hoped that wasn’t too long.

  Looking through the front window of the panaderia I could see the entire shop, Cass wasn’t there. A bell rang over the door when I entered, past a rack of bread and tortillas I found her sitting on the floor with the owner’s granddaughter, playing with Angel. Letting out a long sigh, I grabbed her suitcase.

  “Let’s roll,” I said picking up Angel. Cass followed me without question. In the car I told her about my meeting with the Pope.

  “You told him I was with you?”

  “No, he put it together when I asked about Kelly. My place isn’t safe anymore.” I said flicking my eyes to the rearview to make sure I wasn’t being followed.

  “Who ever is after me, now knows you’re involved.” She said.

  “Or they will soon.”

  “So, I guess you’re stuck with me now.” She was right, walking away was no longer an option, if it ever truly had been. Sooner or later they would find out I took out three of their soldiers, and they would want me to pay the freight. My
only chance was to find them first.

  “Where are we going?”she asked as we snaked onto the freeway.

  “I have to hook up a place for you to stay.”

  “Us. A place for us.”

  “You have to trust me, baby girl, I have things I have to do that I can’t do if I’m worrying about keeping you alive. When it hits the fan I have to know you’re safe if I’m going to be any good to either of us.” She didn’t like it, but she knew all the cute pouts and coy eyes weren’t going to change my mind.

  I parked behind Club Xtasy. “Is this where Kelly worked?”

  “That’s the place.”

  “Kind of shabby.”

  “It’s alright.” I left Cass in the car and went inside. Piper was sitting in a booth with a man in a baseball cap and a tee-shirt that proclaimed he was a party animal. Piper’s face formed a broad grin when she saw me approach. “Hey buddy, wait your turn, I’m talking to the lady,” the guy said.

  “I’m not your buddy, pal. I’m with the health department and this ‘Lady’ has tested positive.” The guy instantly took his arm off Piper. “Come with me miss,” I said. Piper stood up and stalked me into the back.

  “You crazy bastard, he was good for sixty bucks, minimum.” Her eyes were sparking with mirth.

  “I need you to slip out the back and take a friend of mine to your house.”

  “Can’t do it sweet cheeks, this is my big night. And momma needs to make rent.”

  “I’m jammed up Piper. I really need this.”

  “And I look like a pushover, is that it?” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, pressing her breasts together creating a mountain of cleavage. It was a power move, half defiance, half seduction, designed to confuse the poor male brain into doing her will.

  “I don’t have any options here,” I said honestly.

  “You sleep in my bed but you won’t fuck me, you leave town and you don’t call. Now you want me to leave my money night to help a friend of yours. When did we get married?”