“Because I was supposed to kill him. There’s a lot of loose ends to tie up. There were a couple of guys on the scene they need to make sure keep their mouths shut and don’t blab to the police. They’re still trying to figure out who did it.”
Cal felt like he couldn’t reveal the complete truth. He didn’t even know the truth himself. While he suspected Vinnie had been the other shooter, he had no way to prove it. He also had his suspicions that the mafia was going to make a play on Tony and try to lure him out of hiding. This potential hit was just the latest roadblock to Cal’s freedom from the mafia.
Maria wrapped her arms close to her chest. She was shivering again, but Cal gathered it wasn’t from the chill of the frozen coffee drink.
“I know you’re the psychology expert, but I see something’s bothering you too. What is it?”
Maria shrugged her shoulders before leaning her head on his shoulder.
“Let’s get out of here, huh? Spend the rest of the day in bed?”
Cal turned to face her and gave a cheeky grin. “Now that sounds like the perfect prescription, Dr. Espinoza.”
They rose from the bench and headed back to the walking path. Maria still had a worried look on her face and shivered against him.
She stopped suddenly and grasped Cal’s hand, the strength of her grip nearly crushing his bones. A stride ahead of her, Cal glanced back and saw tears form on her face. Her cheeks reddened against her terra-cotta skin and shook along with the rest of her body.
Cal expected her to say she was breaking up with him. That would be just his luck. Commit to leaving his criminal past behind, only to lose the woman he loved in the process.
“I saw the whole thing, Cal. I can’t believe I’m just now telling you this when I had a feeling you could’ve been involved, but it’s true. This has bothered me a lot these past few weeks, but I know you had nothing to do with Caruso’s death.”
Cal’s heart sank. The thump-thump pattern quickened again in his chest. Instead of anger, he felt fear. Fear that the mafia would harm Maria if they found out.
“What are you talking about?”
Maria blinked. The tears cascaded down her cheeks like a gently flowing waterfall.
“I saw Ross Caruso’s murder.”
Cal felt his heart stop and wished he could take over the suffering his girlfriend felt at the moment. He would let her explain everything later. There was only one more question left to ask.
“Was that the only murder you saw that day? Was anyone else there besides Tony?”
Tears flooded down Maria’s cheeks and she let out several sniffles as she nodded.
“Yes, another man killed two customers coming out of the restaurant. I’m pretty sure it was your brother, Vinnie.”
42
As soon as Maria told Cal she’d witnessed the murders of the two bar patrons and Ross Caruso, he knew his life wouldn’t be the same. He knew Vinnie was back there in the alley with Tony, and that he’d been right all along. All of the happy memories he’d shared with his adoptive brother were erased from his mind.
His plan to leave the mafia would be much bumpier than he could’ve imagined. He didn’t dare tell Maria that he was asked by Al Meransky to find the witness and take her down. It would bring her into the only part of Cal’s life that she despised. That was an avalanche he had to dig his own way out of.
Telling her she was a target, like so many other victims he’d been asked to pursue in his lifetime, would destroy their relationship. He couldn’t blow this; he’d grown to love her entirely too much for that. They’d become so intertwined that he figured it was impossible for his heart to beat without hers. He had to spare her the pain, and he had to find an answer.
Cal considered the situation. He wondered if having Maria go to the authorities to expose what she saw would ultimately be the best outcome for the both of them. How vindicated he would feel to see Vinnie locked away for his crimes and the Petrocelli empire fall into chaos.
Ultimately, he knew it wasn’t the right idea. It would put a lifelong target on Maria’s back, not to mention his own. He needed to do with Maria what he’d already done with Tony. Get her out of Chicago and make sure no one ever found out that she was the witness.
They returned to her student apartment, and Cal watched as she packed a small suitcase with a few changes of clothes and other essentials. She was going to spend some time with a second cousin that lived in the northern suburb of Fox River Grove until Cal could figure out what to do.
Regardless of what he did, Cal knew time wasn’t on his side. Maria’s decision to wear her friend’s hijab that day and keep it on for her planned date at the pub may have saved her life. Cal knew that, eventually, with the combination of the crooked cop Blutarski and the mafia’s own resources, they would discover that Maria was the girl wearing the outfit. He wasn’t sure how they could trace it back to her, but he knew from his time living in the Petrocelli household that if Alfredo wanted to find someone, he would. Especially if it prevented a potential witness from speaking out against his son.
“My professors will never believe me when I tell them the mafia is trying to kill me,” she said.
“What makes you think they’re trying to kill you?” Cal asked. “They might be able to buy you off.”
“That’s not funny,” Maria said. Her lips and eyes grew tense, not giving Cal a single hint that she was pleased at his poor joke. She didn’t blink as her voice rose in a harsh whistle.
“I know from your stories that the mafia doesn’t like witnesses. You don’t have to tell me that they’re not trying to kill me. I already know they are.”
Cal held his hands up and stepped back, choosing to drop the subject. Yet he was somewhat relieved that Maria was fully aware of the dire circumstances she was in. Other than her desire to stay near Chicago for her studies, she would go along with Cal’s plan all the way.
Her new “home” would be with the closest relative she had in the area, her cousin Julia, whom she hadn’t seen in years. Julia was more than willing to take Maria in for what she called “a short while.” Cal didn’t like that option either, since he wouldn’t be able to watch her like a hawk in Fox River Grove.
Cal cursed himself for not having anyone he could trust in the organization to hide Maria with. He never hung around with any of the other associates, aside from Fonzie and a few other guys, mostly drivers like Tony. His involvement with the bigwigs of the mafia was unusual, and accessible to him only because of his family ties as Alfredo’s adopted son.
He thought of poor old Frankie Ramone, whose killer still hadn’t been identified. That he’d died so close to the Caruso murder scene gave Cal a reason to think Vinnie was responsible for his death as well. While the fat man’s loyalty to Alfredo was unquestioned, if he knew Cal’s lover was the witness, he would find a way to let her live without anyone else having to pursue her. Now that Frankie was gone, Cal would have to find a way to protect Maria by himself.
Once Maria finished packing her suitcase, Cal picked it up and carried it downstairs where he would wait with her outside for her cousin Julia to arrive.
“Well, this is it, huh?” Maria asked. “I really don’t want to go, but I know it’s for the best. Promise me I’ll get to come back home someday without feeling like there’s a target on my back. You’ll straighten this out, right?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll fix it.”
The truth was that Cal didn’t know how to fix it. He wasn’t sure when the mafia would have enough information to give him an actual witness to target. That’s when an idea hit him.
Would it be possible to create a fake witness?
The only information he had was exactly what Meransky had told him, that a woman in a hijab had seen the murder. But Maria had told Cal about her planned shopping trip that day prior to the Caruso date. He could easily come up with a way to put Reema at the scene instead of Maria, who would never have had an excuse to wear a hijab aside from her social experiment.
He knew Maria wouldn’t like his plan, so he didn’t bring it up.
“How are you going to stop this? I want to know.”
The frustration in his girlfriend’s voice was understandable but annoying. It was hard for him to think under these conditions. He knew he should tell her that he would target her friend Reema, whom she went shopping with that day, and make it seem like she was the witness instead of Maria. The only problem was that he couldn’t bring up how he knew about Reema. He would have to get creative with his explanation.
“I’ll have to go straight to Alfredo and find out what they know, see if I can convince them to not go hard after the witness. Who knows how long it will take them to find out it was you anyway? I’m sure you did a pretty good job rocking that outfit.”
The playful jab was received with a piercing glare from Maria. “The goal isn’t to look good wearing a hijab, it’s to conceal beauty and display modesty.”
“Well, I’m not being very modest in saying that no matter what you’re wearing, you look very beautiful.”
Cal moved to kiss Maria. He felt nothing more than warm air on his lips as his girlfriend moved away from him. Her eyes were slanted, not open to his flirtatiousness in such a serious moment.
“That’s Julia’s car,” she said, pointing to a gray Audi pulling up to the curb outside her apartment.
“Let me help you with that suitcase. We don’t want you getting injured in case you have to kick some lowlife’s ass up there in the burbs.”
“Cut out the humor, Cal, okay? I’m so nervous I could shit bricks right now.”
Cal set his jaw as he dragged the suitcase toward the car. Julia didn’t bother getting out and greeting either of them, only letting the passenger door open so Maria could crawl inside.
Maria peered into the car before pulling Cal into a tight embrace, squeezing the air out of his lungs. She was holding on so tight that Cal wondered if she would ever let go. Considering the nature of the last few weeks, Cal would’ve loved for her to hold on forever.
“I’ll call you once everything’s clear. Don’t leave the house unless you have to.”
Maria stepped into the car and strapped on her belt. Her lips formed a faint smile, showing off her playful side that Cal was sure had abandoned her.
“Anything else, Warden?”
Cal leaned into the car and laughed, getting a good look at Julia. The overly tan blonde was too busy talking on her cell phone to do anything other than wave. Cal already couldn’t stand her.
“Be careful, Maria. I love you. I’m gonna get us out of this. Then we can be together without any worries. Okay?”
Maria nodded, blew him a kiss, and shut the door.
Cal smiled and waved as she left, a sense of relief that Maria would be safe with Julia flooding his insides. Walking back toward the bus stop to catch a lift toward his apartment, he prepared to call Alfredo. He’d have to pull out all the big guns to ensure Maria’s safety. He just wasn’t sure which card he’d play first.
He didn’t see the short man with the briefcase, standing directly inside the doorway of Maria’s building, watching his every move.
43
Vinnie and Alfredo were seated in Alfredo’s office of his penthouse apartment in Gold Coast. They decided to plan their next move in the city and didn’t want the odd chance of some low-level soldier overhearing their conversations. Their decisions over the coming days would determine their fate as much as the murder of Ross Caruso had saved them from the Commission’s wrath.
Vinnie watched as Alfredo rose from his desk and walked toward the open door of his office. Aside from a hired maid, who was busy cleaning other areas of the apartment, no one else was at the residence. Alfredo lingered at the door, his eyes glancing at both sides of the great room, then he shut the solid oak doors.
“We need to keep this under wraps,” Alfredo said, walking toward Vinnie’s chair. “We’ve briefly discussed it before, but it’s time to put the plan into action, especially now that Blutarski has told us about this witness.”
“You really think she saw me kill those guys? What if all she saw was Tony take out Caruso? If anything, we need to get Cal to go after him first, before we worry about this witness. Don’t you think?”
“Don’t question my decisions! Those Middle Eastern types may be silent in most cases, but think of how many Caruso sympathizers there are out there, particularly Superintendent Walker. He’d love to see us rotting behind bars, especially if it was your ass in the slammer.”
“I can’t believe Cal didn’t kill the kid. I wasn’t sure he’d have the guts to do it, since the kid was his driver and all, but that’s never stopped him before.”
“It’s got to be that girl he’s with. He’s changed because of her.”
Alfredo put his hand over his eyes, scrunching his face behind his palm. “Why do you think he doesn’t want anything to do with us anymore?”
Vinnie considered this and tapped his thumb and index finger on his father’s desk. He wished his father had something else to drink besides brandy.
“I can see why he’d want to do something else. At some point people move on. Even some of our best, who have a chance to get made, take off at times. You know the Commission wouldn’t have Cal made. His options for growth in the organization are limited.”
Alfredo grumbled as he walked back to the desk. Much to Vinnie’s surprise, his father didn’t reach for his usual glass of brandy. Instead, Alfredo drank from a cooling mug of coffee. The boss removed a cigar from the breast pocket of his jacket, offered it to Vinnie, and lit it, before following the same process with his own cigar.
The father and son sat in the office, smoking for a short time. Sharing a moment together, in silence, was something so rare that Vinnie made sure to appreciate it, filing it away in his brain for a time when he didn’t have a positive view of his father. With a puff of the cigar, he was able let his worldly cares escape from his mind.
“Now,” Alfredo began, bringing Vinnie back to reality. “This witness business is one thing. Al Meransky called Cal to take care of it. There should be no mess-ups this time, Cal knows what’s on the line. Hopefully Blutarski can get some leads on who this woman is so it won’t take too long. Then we have to prepare for what’s next with Cal.”
Vinnie set his cigar down in the ashtray in front of him and leaned forward, his head hanging over the desk.
“What’s next for him? Aren’t we going to let him leave after all this is taken care of?”
Vinnie certainly hoped his father would let Cal take a hike. As great of a killer as Cal was, it was Vinnie’s turn to prove he could be the most valuable asset in the mafia. He wouldn’t mess up during such a critical mission the way Cal had failed to take out Caruso and then Tony to boot.
Alfredo puffed on his cigar and let the ashes fall down onto the desk. Vinnie rolled his eyes as his father reached for his bottle of brandy and poured himself a glass.
“That’s what I told him, wasn’t it?” Alfredo asked before taking a swig of the brandy. “But in this business, son, you can’t always keep your promises.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying we need to worry about Cal too?”
Even with the disgust he felt toward Cal, Vinnie was prepared to outshine his adopted brother on his own merit. It wouldn’t sit well with him if his father wanted something bad to happen to Cal. He didn’t want responsibility for any of the action either; his mother would never forgive him for it. She’d taken to Cal as her own son after his younger brother, Luca, died as a boy.
“Think about it, Vinnie. MacErlean somehow found out about our secret. Caruso knew about it. He was going to tell the Commission. You know what that would have done to us, right?”
Vinnie nodded. He shouldn’t have even asked. He knew where this was going. Now he had to listen to his father lecture him some more.
“We went to all these lengths for a reason, Vinnie. You know who else knows this secret we worked so hard to protect?”
>
“I take it not many people know other than Cal.”
“Exactly. You and Melissa are the only ones who know. Frankie never knew. Meransky doesn’t know. You and Melissa are family, real family. It was never in your best interests to blab to the Commission because your lives would be at stake being tied to me. Cal on the other hand, isn’t family. As much as we’ve loved having him in our lives for years, he isn’t family. He can blab. He can still hurt us in the same way Caruso could.”
“Okay, but why would Cal go to the Commission? Cal wants to be free from all of this, he isn’t out to cause trouble. Besides, you may have ordered the hit, but he’s the guy who actually killed a boss. His own life would be in danger too. This isn’t like Caruso telling them about it. It’s completely different.”
Alfredo leaned back in his chair and took another drag of the cigar. Vinnie mirrored his father’s action by retrohaling his own cigar smoke. The elder Petrocelli’s face began to contort in an expression of rage before settling back into a more peaceful profile.
“Son, you’ll make an excellent peacetime boss. I’m sure of it. All your ideas for our future are peaceful and soft. No more selling drugs, no more hits, no more gambling, no more beating people up for not paying their loans on time. Our entire enterprise is very risky. Lots of people I’ve been close to have died or been locked up over the years. But there’s a reason we do this, son. We’d never get this type of power with a regular working gig.”
Vinnie held his gaze firm on his father. A small pile of ash was piled above the breast pocket of Alfredo’s jacket, just above the wine-colored handkerchief that sat inside the pocket. Vinnie wanted to flick the ash off. The mere presence of the dirt bothered him as much as his father’s insistence that he was smart and weak as opposed to menacing and strong. The speech made his jaw tense and caused him to wonder if his father thought he was less of a man, that he couldn’t handle his own problems. He wanted to stomp the ground in protest.
“This is a time of war,” Alfredo continued. “Think of all the enemies we have, even with the Commission off our back. We have this witness to get rid of, and we’re still being questioned about the mayor, even though ballistics shows the boy did it and they have no way to connect him to us. We’ve got all the mayor’s thugs that we’re being tied to. All these murders are going to come screaming back to us at some point.”
One Last Kill Page 21