Tony continued, “I know she did it for me. She thought it was better to have a part-time father than no father.”
“So, when he was playing father,” Scott said, “he put you on his knee and told you how he whacked Mancini?”
“Of course not,” Tony said.
Scott became impatient with him. “Well, then what did he do?”
Charlie signaled for Scott to take it easy. “So, what do you know, kid?”
“Some of the guys in here.” Tony put his head down and hesitated. “They say you could maybe help me out with my trial if I help you.”
Charlie gave Scott a knowing look. “What are you in for?”
“Armed robbery.”
Charlie paced around. “I really hate little pukes like you, but if you got something, I’ll talk to the DA. That’s all I can promise; that I’ll talk to him. Now what about Mancini?”
“Mom said Mancini never suspected that Sergio was bringing dope in on that boat.”
“He must’ve had help with the operation,” Scott said.
Tony shrugged. “Some relative in Mexico, and some guy who set up the buys here.”
“Did you ever hear a name?”
“No. Just that he was a greedy bastard and Sergio didn’t trust him—I think he was in the military.”
“And?”
“And that’s all.”
Charlie slapped his knee. “Shit. We could’ve guessed all that. I’m not asking the DA to stick his neck out for nothing.”
Tony smirked. “You want to find him, don’t you?”
“Where is he?” Scott said.
“Well, I don’t know, but I do know somebody who does.”
Charlie jumped up. “All right, man. Let’s get you to a telephone.”
◆◆◆
Scott hadn’t talked to his father since Adriana’s arrest and hadn’t shared much with him about the Mancini case. Since he had to go to Parker Center in downtown LA for a meeting that week, he stopped in Ted’s office, and brought him up to date on both.
“Yeah, that Tony was a piece of work,” Scott said. “So much for protecting his old lady. He was just hoping to cut a deal with the DA.”
“Just be glad you found him. When’s the meeting going down?”
“Not for a few days. Apparently the contact is out of town.” Scott sighed. “Christ, I’m sorry I got involved in this whole thing.”
Ted leaned back in his chair and clamped his hands behind his head. “I told you to stay in the Valley, but you had to experience the south end.”
“How’d I know Mom’s past would jump up and bite me on the ass?”
“It hasn’t been easy for her either. This news about Connie is killing her. She trusted him all these years.”
Scott mumbled, “We all did.”
“She’s more worried about you, though. You mean more to her than anything, and she blames herself for this thing with the girl.”
“That wasn’t her fault.”
Ted crossed his hands in his lap and smiled. “From what I could see you got your money’s worth.”
Scott grinned and winked. “Oh yeah.” After a deep breath, his mood changed. “I was going to marry her.”
Ted leaned forward and spoke in earnest, “Scott, if she didn’t love you, you’re lucky you found out before you married her. Believe me, it’d be like getting kicked in the balls every day of your life.”
CHAPTER 12
Melanie had resumed planning her remodel of the bar and spent at least one day a week there to meet with workmen. She hadn’t stopped the delivery of the local paper, so she made a point of checking the business news before tossing it out each week.
As she thumbed through the last edition, she did a double-take when she saw a picture of James Mah above the caption, “LOCAL BUSINESSMAN DIES: VICTIM OF A HIT AND RUN.”
In shock, she scanned the article in a hurry and learned that an unidentified person had gotten away. After absorbing what she’d read, she remembered what she’d told Dean, “— After he broadcasts what he knows, I’ll have nothing to lose—but you will.” She shook her head. “Dean.” Could he have gone to those extremes? She didn’t want to know, but a weight had been lifted from her, and she sighed with relief.
◆◆◆
The following Saturday, Scott and Charlie arrived at a San Pedro coffee shop in plain clothes, sat on counter stools and waited. Scott had taken a sip of his coffee when he spotted a guy who fit Sergio’s description, and he made eye contact with the waitress behind the counter. She nodded, and the detectives followed Sergio to a booth in the back.
Scott slipped in the seat across from him, and Charlie nudged Sergio over toward the wall.
Sergio twitched. “Hey, what do you guys want? I ain’t got no money.”
“You Oliva?” Scott asked.
“Name’s Santos.”
“That’s funny. Waitress says your name is Sergio Oliva.”
Sergio twisted in his seat. “Well, she was wrong.”
“A dirtbag by any other name—,” Charlie placed a picture of Mancini on the table in front of him.—“Is still a dirtbag.”
Sergio jumped up and climbed over the top of the seat, but Charlie grabbed the tail of his jacket, while Scott ran over to tackle him. Scott then held him down while Charlie handcuffed him.
“Serge, my man, we’re not as goddamned young as we used to be, huh? That’s why I travel with Scott here. You should remember that.”
“We just want to ask you a few questions. After all, the detectives never had a chance to do that in ‘73.” Scott stood him up. “We’ve got a car outside to transport you to Harbor Station. We’ll all be more comfortable there.”
◆◆◆
They arrived at the station and led Sergio into an interview room, where they all sat at the table.
“Talk to us,” Charlie said.
Sergio sat with his arms crossed. “I don’t know nothin’.
“Now, if we thought that, we wouldn’t be wasting our time with you, would we?” Scott said.
Charlie leaned back in his chair. “Maybe if we tell you a couple of things we know, it’ll jog your memory. First of all, we know you were using Enzo’s boat to transport contraband from Mexico without his knowledge, and that you were unloading a shipment the night he died. And we know that you disappeared before the police could talk to you.” Charlie leaned forward. “Now, you’ve got to admit that puts you pretty high on the list of suspects.”
“I didn’t kill him,” Sergio insisted.
Scott said, “We sort of expected you to say that. So prove it.”
Sergio shrugged. “I ain’t got to. You got to prove I did it, and it don’t seem like you can.”
Scott and Charlie exchanged glances.
“Okay,” Scott tried another approach, “what do you know about the murder of Connie Conroy?”
Sergio sneered. “Who the hell is Connie Conroy?”
Charlie had had enough. “All right, let’s say you didn’t kill Mancini, but you know who did. Would you tell us?”
Sergio smirked. “You ain’t got enough money.”
“So it’s money that’s kept you under wraps all these years. How much?”
Sergio stared at the ceiling.
Charlie stood up and paced around the room. “It doesn’t matter. You’re right. We don’t have enough—but maybe we have something else worth almost as much. We know that your son, Tony, stands to do some hard time for a couple of robberies. And we might be able to arrange it so he gets the minimum sentence.”
Charlie sighed and began to play the guilt angle. “Christ, man. I know how it is. I wasn’t always there for my kids, and I’d give anything to find a way to make it up to them.” Charlie cleared his throat. “This is your chance to do this for Tony.”
Sergio squinted, but said nothing.
Scott added. “Besides, you may have been able to stay lost for twenty-five years, but not anymore. If you don’t tell us what you know now, we’ll be up y
our ass everywhere you go.”
“Come on, Serge. Do your kid a favor,” Charlie reasoned.
◆◆◆
That same morning, Melanie stood in front of her full-length mirror, slipped her blouse over her head, and smoothed it over her slacks. She admired the outfit and went over to sit at her dressing table. She finished styling her hair and dug through her purse to find the perfect lipstick color to match her clothes.
After pulling out two tubes of the wrong color, she remembered the last time she used it had been in the car. It wasn’t unusual for the tubes to fall out of her purse when she was driving, so she walked out to the garage and opened the passenger door of her car. She put her hand under the seat and felt around on the floor.
She came up with a pack of tissues, a nail file, and her holstered .38 caliber snub-nose revolver, but no lipstick. The gun had been in her car for many years, on Ted’s insistence that she have something to defend herself when driving alone at night. She put the tissues and nail file in the glove compartment and the gun back under the seat.
It occurred to her the lipstick might be in Ted’s car, so she searched under his seat, and found it there; along with a handwritten note on a piece of paper. She didn’t recognize the scrawl, but it read, “Let’s meet at the same spot, but don’t keep me waiting this time. I promise you Melanie will never find out.”
“What the hell?” Melanie thought. He’s cheating on me? All these years, the only good thing about this marriage, besides Scott, has been his loyalty. Without that, what’s left?
◆◆◆
Scott and Charlie prepared to record Sergio’s statement about the night Mancini had died.
Charlie pressed the record button and adjusted himself in his chair. “Okay, start from the beginning.”
“Well,” Sergio began. “I’d been hauling shit from Mexico on his boat for about a year. That dumb dago never even knew it. I’d met this sailor in Long Beach who had some connections on the street, and I knew a guy in Mexico. We figured we could make a couple of trips and make some fast cash. But hell, it was too easy to quit. Man, we were rollin’ in the dough.
“Couple of times, though, we had some close calls, and I thought we should lay off for a while. But that fucking swabbie didn’t want to stop. He didn’t give a shit about my job.
“Well, the last time, Mancini had left me the boat while he went out of town for a couple of weeks. We thought we could get one more haul in before he came back. But he got back before us and showed up on the dock while we was unloading.”
1973
Mancini watched as Sergio unloaded bricks of marijuana from the boat to a van. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Shit,” Sergio said under his breath.
Mancini hopped aboard, walked over to the kilos, picked them up, and smelled them. “Are you crazy? We both could go to jail!”
He dropped the contraband, grabbed Sergio by the collar, and punched him in the face. “You stupid Mexican. I never should’ve trusted you with my business. Without it, I don’t eat.”
Sergio rubbed his jaw. “I can explain.”
“Don’t explain anything to me. Explain to the police. I’m not going to lose my visa for you.”
CHAPTER 13
1998
Sergio looked up at Charlie. “Mancini started to reach for the radio. But before he could make the call, the sailor came up behind and stabbed him in the back.”
There it was; proof of Benny’s innocence. A surge of relief washed over Scott.
“He told me I better keep my mouth shut or we could go to jail for murder, since we were committing a felony with the drugs when it happened. But later, I felt bad about Mancini and started thinking I could make a deal with the police if I snitched on the sailor. He must’ve read my mind, so he gave me thirty grand to keep my mouth shut and disappear.
That was a lot of money back then, and I didn’t have no other offers. That’s when I found out that he hadn’t been a sailor for a while. Turns out he was one of you guys.”
“You mean he was a cop?”
“Yeah. Worked at this station. You two know him.” He grinned at Scott. “Name’s Ted Swain.”
Scott paced around the men’s room while Charlie tried to calm him down. “Jesus, kid. I’m sorry. I know it’s hard on you, but it’s not easy for me, either. He and I were pretty close in those days, and I had no clue that he was dirty.”
Scott kept taking deep breaths to offset the waves of nausea.
Charlie handed him a cup of water and turned the faucet on. “Here, drink this, and throw some water on your face.”
Scott obeyed as a million crazy thoughts swirled around in his brain. “So it was Dad that Connie saw that night. No wonder he kept it to himself all those years.”
Charlie added. “He knew Benny thought of Ted like a son.” He shook his head and sighed. “Shit.”
Scott struggled to absorb this new realty about his father. “Oh my God, my mother.”
◆◆◆
Later that morning, Melanie fumed in silence over the note she’d found, while nursing a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. Ted walked through wearing golf attire on his way to the garage. “I’m leaving now.”
Melanie played dumb. “Who are you golfing with today?”
“A business associate invited me to his club in Calabasas.”
“What about dinner?”
“We’ll probably have an early dinner after the round.”
“Okay. See ya later.”
As soon as Ted walked out, Melanie grabbed her purse and listened for Ted’s car to pull out of the garage. When it did, she ran out to the garage, jumped into her car, and sped down the street until she had him in her sights. From there she maintained a safe distance behind as she tailed him to the 405 Freeway south entrance. She knew then he wasn’t going west to Calabasas.
Ted took her down the familiar route on the 405 toward the Harbor Freeway. Somehow, she hadn’t figured the other woman would live in the South Bay area. Then to her surprise they were heading for San Pedro.
As they approached the exit, he looked in his rear-view mirror, and she flinched. He began his exit, another car cut Melanie off, and they rolled into a lot of traffic at the end of the ramp. When the light turned green, Ted pulled forward, but Melanie found herself stuck behind a couple of cars, and she struggled to keep her eyes on his car while weaving in between lanes.
Afraid he would see her when he checked his rear-view mirror, she hung back as he turned into the lot of an abandoned warehouse, parked his car and disappeared into the building. By now, curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she couldn’t imagine that he would be meeting a lover in this smelly old place.
Melanie drove around to the side of the building, pulled up next to Ted’s car, and got out of hers. The sound of a fog horn in the distance caused her to stop and gaze at her surroundings, and she shuddered. The back door had been broken into, so she made her way in on tiptoes.
She eased down a hallway, listening for voices, but heard none. After noticing a catwalk above, she climbed up and made her way toward a large open room, where she spotted Ted down below pacing, and looking out the window.
◆◆◆
Charlie and Scott had wired Sergio and accompanied him to his meeting with Ted at the warehouse, followed by two black-and-whites for backup. Charlie and Scott hid in the backseat of Sergio’s car as Sergio drove up to the front of the building and got out.
“Stay cool now, Serge,” Charlie warned.
Inside, Melanie continued to watch an anxious Ted. She saw his attention turn toward the sound of another pair of footsteps approaching the room. To her surprise, he pulled his gun out of his back pocket and took aim. Melanie could tell by Ted’s expression and body language that whoever was walking into that room was in trouble. She let out a scream, two shots rang out, and a man she’d never seen fell to the ground.
Ted jerked and pointed his gun toward her above him.
“Mela
nie!”
Scott and Charlie drew their guns outside at the sound of the shots, and headed toward the back of the building. When Scott turned the corner, he caught a glimpse of Melanie’s car. “Wait! What the hell?”
Charlie stopped.
“My Mother’s in there.”
“What?”
“Look.” Scott pointed. “There’s her car.”
“Fuck.”
Scott moved toward the entrance “I’ve got to get to her.”
“No.” Charlie pressed his earphone into his ear. “Listen. I hear something.”
Melanie eased down from her perch in the catwalk.
“What are you doing here?” Ted shouted.
She ran over to Sergio. “My God, Ted. Look what you’ve done.”
Ted followed her to where Sergio lay bleeding from a head wound, and gestured for her to move away from him. “He’ll be dead soon.”
“But why?’ Why would you do this?”
Ted ignored her. “How did you find me here?”
“I followed you.”
“What for?”
“I, uh, found the note from your girlfriend.”
“What girlfriend?”
Melanie handed him the crumpled note. “Who is she?”
Ted scanned it. “This is from Connie. That son of a bitch has been waiting all these years for your old man to die so he could milk me.”
“What are you talking about?” She pointed to Sergio. “Who is that?”
He sighed. “You don’t know. You don’t know what’s been going on. It’s Sergio.”
“Sergio?” I don’t understand!”
Ted shook his head slowly and lowered his gun. “I never meant to kill Mancini. But he caught us with the contraband, and I had no choice.”
Melanie’s thoughts bounced around her mind trying to absorb what she had just heard.
“My God,” she said when it came to her. “It was you. “You were Sergio’s partner.” She didn’t get it. “But why kill him after all these years?”
“Scott was getting close to finding him, and I couldn’t take that chance.”
Harbor Blues Page 10