Karina saw a flicker of pain in his eyes. When he leaned forward to kiss her, she head-butted him, while simultaneously knocking the arm with the knife away. Karina heard the metal tinkle across the floor, and his roar of anger. She bolted from the bed and scrambled to retrieve the knife.
“You lying bitch! You’re here to torment more, aren’t you? Dead, alive, whatever you are, leave me alone!” Caesar screamed. He lunged across the bed, and his hand caught her right ankle.
Karina kicked him in the face with her other foot, sending him flying off the bed. Her knees slammed hard when she hit the floor, but she ignored the pain. Spotting the knife, Karina grabbed it and struggled to her feet.
She hated the fact things were blurry, and she would have to wait until he was closer than she wanted to stab him, but it couldn’t be helped. Her best plan of action was to whip him into an emotional frenzy, causing him to attack her like a wild man. “I’m not your wife, you stupid old fool. I’m Karina Summers, the woman you tried to kill earlier. Remember? You and your friend blew my family’s house apart. But I killed him, just like I will you. Bring it on, you old bag of bones. It’s time to pay for what you did to my family, to me. To my dog. Bring. It. On.”
Caesar was faster than Karina gave him credit for. In a flash, he was in front of her, his arms swinging in circles, ready to pummel her to the ground. Karina’s training took over, and she easily outmaneuvered him.
Jerking her body in the opposite direction, Karina spun and drove the knife deep into the spot between Caesar’s shoulder blades. When he fell forward, on his knees, she noticed the gun tucked behind his back. Her own balance failed on the slick floor.
Karina wobbled to the left but remained on her feet. She saw his hand reach around for the gun. With her ability to look around for a weapon compromised, there was no choice left except to tackle him.
When their bodies collided, they both fell to the floor, her body pinning his. Caesar didn’t let go of the gun, and Karina struggled to yank it from his hand. Her face was pressed against his back, right next to the knife. Caesar screamed and writhed underneath Karina, surprising her with his strength.
Karina held on tight to the gun, but the impact of his elbow with her temple knocked her off his back. She recovered quickly. Unfortunately, Caesar did too. Karina froze when she realized she was staring down the barrel.
“Die again, bitch!” Caesar shouted, his voice full of anger and terror.
In a brief blip of time, Karina saw her salvation arrive from the corner of her eye. Shards of glass from a large, crystal vase peppered her face and arms, along with blood splatter from Caesar’s head. The kid standing above Caesar screamed, “No more death! No more!”
Stunned from the impact, Caesar lost his focus on the gun. Karina moved fast, grabbed it, then rolled left. Once far enough away, but still close enough to see, she stood, motioned for the shocked kid to move, and fired.
Karina emptied the clip into Caesar Calvanio’s body, enjoying every jerk, each burst of blood. Tears raced down her face from the joy of being alive, the satisfaction of killing him, and the horrendous nightmare being over.
Once the smoke cleared, Karina trained the gun on the freaked out looking kid. She figured he had no clue she was out of ammo, and she was right. Both of his hands shot into the air. “Thanks. Now, take your gun out of your belt and slide it toward me. So, who the hell are you?”
“Oh, just a guy who wanted the Devil off his ass.” Lucas said as he bent down and set the gun on the floor in front of him.
“Well, just a guy, got a cell phone?”
“Yeah, but it’s dead.”
Karina growled, “Death seems to be contagious in this house. If you don’t want to catch it, I suggest you find me a phone. Like right now. No tricks, or you’ll join your friend.” Karina matched his steps, making sure to keep the distance between them steady so she didn’t lose sight of him. He walked over to the edge of the bed and picked up the phone. “Put it on speaker, dial 9-1-1, and tell them to send help. Gunshots fired, then hang up.”
Lucas did as told, and in seconds, the dispatcher answered. “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“Need an ambulance and police to this address. Gunshots fired, and got a dead man here. Hurry.”
Karina motioned for the kid to hang up. “Good job. Now, have a seat in that chair, and if you move…”
“Trust me, I won’t. I’ve seen you in action. Besides, the Devil is already dead.”
“Smart boy. The Devil? Hmmm, how appropriate. Say, you had a gun. Why didn’t you just shoot him?”
“I’ve…never shot anyone before, and I was afraid I might miss and hit you instead. I figured if I rang his bell, you’d finish him off. I was right.”
Chuckling softly, Karina moved to pick up both his gun and the phone. She punched in a number, and waited. On the second ring, her heart skipped a beat when a strange, male voice answered with: “Hello? Who’s this?”
Another round of fear slammed into Karina’s chest, making her head spin. “Where the hell is my mother, you asshole? If you’ve harmed one hair on her head, I swear to God…”
The sound of her mother’s voice in the background made tears of relief roll down Karina’s cheeks. She heard her mother yell, “Who is it?”
Karina screamed out at the top of her lungs. “Mom! It’s me. Are you okay?”
“Give me that phone!” Karina heard her mother yell. A bit of static followed, but then the voice Karina wanted to hear more than anything in the world said, “Baby, are you okay?”
Relief caused Karina to collapse on the edge of the bed. “Yes. Are you?” Her mother’s wails of joy were so loud, Karina had to hold the phone away from her ear. “Hey, not so loud. I have a raging headache. Oh, and guess what?”
Through her tears, LiAnn choked out, “What, baby?”
“I shot first, and didn’t ask any questions because I already knew the answers. Pretty sure I’m going to be famous. I just killed a mobster. Two, actually.”
38
Internal Radar
LiAnn walked out onto the porch and sat down in the swing next to her father. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. “Well, Mom’s out like a light. Karina finally crashed, too. She wouldn’t quit doting on Ranger until he fell asleep next to her.”
Junior smiled. “She does love that dog. Knowin’ he made it sure did put some pep in her step. Our little gal brightened right up when Bo delivered him in one piece from the vet.”
LiAnn’s anger rose at the mention of Bo. She was still pissed as hell at him for not protecting her daughter. She would never forgive him. Ever. When Bo drove up with Ranger a few days ago, LiAnn had to leave and go outside, afraid she would make good on her promise to kick his butt all the way to New Orleans. Her father’s voice broke through her angry thoughts.
“Say, Crigger?”
“Yes, sir?”
Junior cleared his throat twice before continuing. “I…don’t rightly know the words to thank you with. For everythin’. I take back all the nasty things I’ve thought about you over the years. We owe you a lot. You’ve given us a place to rest our heads and saved my granddaughter’s dog. Kept the press away and allowed us to stay in your home, this quiet space, to regroup. Ruth and I are grateful.”
Crigger produced a small smile, glancing over at LiAnn. “You’re more than welcome, sir. I just wish…”
Junior interrupted as he stood. “Wishin’ for the past to change ain’t never helped anybody, ’cause it don’t work. Now, I’m off to join my wife, after I thank the Lord, once again, in my prayers. We have our family, so really, what have we lost? Not a damn thing that matters.” Junior bent down and kissed the top of his daughter’s head. His gnarled finger brushed away the tears on her cheek. “Goodnight, sweetheart. Don’t stay up too much longer. You look like you need some rest, too. After all, you’ve been awful busy takin’ good care of everyone else. Night, Crigger. Keep them shoulders strong for my little girl.”
“I certainly will, sir.”
“Goodnight, Pop. Love you.”
Junior paused at the door. “Love you too, sugar. Oh, and Crigger? It’s high time you call me Junior. Sir is reserved for strangers and friends. Family calls me by my given name.”
“Thank you, si…Junior.”
The porch fell silent. Crigger stood and came over, sitting down next to LiAnn, draping his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close.
LiAnn felt safe inside Andrew’s arms. Tears fell as she listened to the steady beat of his heart. Pent-up emotions from the last three days ran free in her overstimulated mind.
The first two days were a blur. The drive back from Branson, keeping a smile on her face as she lied to everyone, telling them they had to return to Arkansas because Karina had been in an accident, had been difficult. Seeing Karina in the hospital bed, her face swollen, discolored from her multitude of injuries, made LiAnn physically ill.
When the doctor told her Karina had a concussion, broken nose, and several spots of embedded shards of glass in her back, LiAnn went numb. So did her parents and Cecil after LiAnn pulled herself together, sat them down in the hospital waiting room, and told them the truth. When she got to the part about the house, her parents were stoic, their faces devoid of emotion, but Cecil fell apart. Poor Cecil. He was overcome with grief, thinking it was all his fault.
Fortunately, Crigger intervened and filled in some of the gaps of the story LiAnn was unaware of, trying to make all those present understand none of them were at fault. They were all victims of a vile, despicable group of people. Even after Crigger spoke, there were still numerous unanswered questions.
When they all trudged back into Karina’s room, they sat in stunned awe as she retold the story to the two FBI agents and the lead investigators from the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, who had snuck into Karina’s room while they were gathered in the waiting area.
What LiAnn heard made her blood boil. The bastards had gotten away with their evil schemes for so long. Her daughter, and her entire family, had been targeted by the freaking mob. When Karina recounted how she woke up in the bedroom, bound and the ensuing fight, LiAnn’s vision blurred. She nearly passed out from the abject horrors her child endured, and at the same time, was overcome with relief and pride Karina had survived.
At first, the agents had doubts on several aspects of the story, especially the morbid details of black market body parts, derived from some kid named Lucas Hill. Karina let out some steam and lit into the agents. Told them if they had done their jobs properly, they wouldn’t be talking to her in a hospital bed, her family wouldn’t be minus a place to live and all their possessions wouldn’t be a pile of smoldering ashes. Karina ended her tirade by insisting whatever laws Lucas Hill had broken, he had saved her life, not them, and if they didn’t take that into account when charging him, she wouldn’t hesitate to go public with some very unflattering words about the shoddy investigative tactics of FBI.
LiAnn wanted to stay by her daughter’s side the first night but didn’t. Karina was a tough girl, and her parents needed her. After all, they had no home, no clothes, nothing. LiAnn tried to rely on her training, to push aside her mental pain, focus on the proper next steps, but her mind was gridlocked. Too much stimulation, too many things in her lap to deal with.
Crigger noticed and convinced her to follow him to the cafeteria to get some coffee for everyone. On their way, he finally explained why he was in the state.
Not very many times in LiAnn’s life had she been shocked into silence, but after Crigger told her he had retired, driven to Arkansas, purchased the farm next to her parents to be near her, there were no words.
They clung to each other in the cafeteria and Crigger told her the thought of spending the rest of his life without her was too much to bear. Crigger arrived at his new home a few hours before the explosion, his plan to surprise her shot to hell when he saw the fireball in the sky. He pulled up right behind the cops and Bo.
Crigger said he almost shot Bo, thinking he was the responsible party, until he noticed Bo was tending to Ranger while tears streamed down his face, muttering his apologies to the night sky for failing to save Karina.
Andrew’s presence was a Godsend for LiAnn. He took Cecil back to The Magnolia after Cecil finished giving his statement to the detectives and federal agents. Upon Crigger’s return, he loaded up the rest of the family, insisting they stay with him. By nine o’clock the first night, they were all settled inside Andrew’s big farmhouse, the press unaware of their location.
The second day was spent out shopping for clothes and necessities for everyone since they had zilch. LiAnn had finished only minutes before Karina called, threatening to punch someone if her mother didn’t spring her from the hospital.
News cameras greeted LiAnn when she arrived at the hospital. Neither she nor Karina said a word to the news teams when they left moments later. Afraid they might follow, LiAnn had zigzagged through the streets of Hot Springs until she was confident she’d lost anyone on her tail.
LiAnn had to change her phone number since somehow, it had been leaked to the press. Before she did, LiAnn called Calvin and told him Karina was fine. Caught him just as he arrived at the airport, ready to board a flight bound for Little Rock. LiAnn could tell he was beside himself with worry after watching the news. Karina called Calvin after LiAnn picked her up. It took almost the entire drive back to Sheridan for Karina to convince Calvin she truly was okay, and he didn’t need to make a trip to Arkansas.
The local news reporters were bad, but the network anchors were relentless. The more information uncovered, the worse it became. Crigger rented LiAnn a car under his own name, had it delivered to his house, allowing her to drive into town without being detected. Of course, once LiAnn picked up Karina at the hospital, her cover car was blown, but not one reporter had sniffed out their location so far.
She made the mistake of turning on the news on the second night. The story was headlining every channel. The reporters were practically tripping over their drooling tongues, eager to spit out the juicy details. LiAnn couldn’t blame them, really. After all, how often did such a sick, twisted, morally reprehensible story emerge?
Once the family was back together in one place, a little bit of the load seemed to lift from each of their shoulders. Karina was thrilled and not too surprised Crigger had retired and moved. At the dinner table later, while discussing when they should go look at what was left of the farm and see if there was anything left to salvage, Karina leaned over and whispered in LiAnn’s ear, “See? It’s the blonde hair and those boobs!”
At that moment, LiAnn knew her child would be just fine.
The two FBI agents working the case had stopped by before dinner earlier with updates. In stunned silence, all of them sat in the living room and listened as they recounted even more disturbing news. Franco and Carmella D’Nucci, along with their cousin/partner, former doctor Vincenzo Molinero, were dead. The cops caught a lucky break identifying them, because someone drove by and noticed the lights were on and the front door wide open at the funeral home less than a half-hour after Caesar left with Karina. The poor cop who responded to the call was shocked at what he found upon arrival. Blood was everywhere, and he had the presence of mind to turn off the oven. Although not much was left, there was enough to identify the charred remains.
Another strange twist, courtesy of hours of grilling Lucas Hill, was the deaths of two other men. Nick Shonnert and Carmine Del Vecchio were found dead inside Nick’s home. The agent stated the coroner listed their deaths occurred early Thursday morning, and according to Lucas, Carmine was Caesar Calvanio’s right-hand man. Nick Shonnert had been another poor soul roped into service by the mobster, forced to use his position at Happy Days Retirement Living as hunting ground for new victims. Nick had been shot and Carmine had been pumped full of potassium chloride.
Special Agent Winslow said numerous arrests of doctors in on the scheme in the surrounding states were forthcomin
g, after they had investigated the dates and locations where Lucas made deliveries.
So far, the Feds had determined forty-three seniors died suddenly within twenty-four hours of Lucas’ deliveries, and every single one had been cared for by Carmella D’Nucci’s company, plus taken by Lombardo’s Ambulance Service to Slumber Land Funeral Parlor. The agents assured the entire family they wouldn’t stop until all players were brought to justice.
Questions were minimal as each of them tried to absorb the nightmare. Special Agent Winslow also mentioned the ownership of The Magnolia was up in the air, since all the parties who owned it were deceased. Happy Days Retirement Living’s status was up in the air as well, because the remaining owner, Nick Shonnert’s ex-wife, had a stroke when the news broke and was in a coma.
LiAnn’s mother spoke for the first time then, inquiring in a soft voice about what would happen to the residents who lived at The Magnolia, as well as the other facilities. The answer was a shrug of Agent Winslow’s shoulders.
The last piece of information was about Caesar Calvanio. Their investigation uncovered he had been living under the name of Jimmy Calhoun, ever since disappearing from New York years ago. Their research concluded that Jimmy Calhoun had been an elderly resident at Green Pastures at one time.
Jimmy Calhoun’s driver’s license, social security card, ownership papers of various companies, including The Magnolia, were discovered inside Caesar’s house. A one-way ticket to Tahiti was found in Caesar’s pocket, under the name of Jimmy Calhoun. However, after running his fingerprints, they confirmed the truth about his identity, which matched up with Karina’s story.
When LiAnn heard the news, she had to excuse herself and go to the bathroom. She threw up so violently, she almost passed out. Her precious child was waiting outside the door after LiAnn freshened up. Karina had grabbed her and gave her a bear hug.
In her usual fashion of trying to make light of things, Karina whispered, “You were wrong, Mom. Your man radar is just fucking fine. Just fucking fine.”
Blood Ties_A Magnolia Novel Page 32