Murder in Chicago

by Dianne Harman

  They walked out of the hotel and got into the cab that was waiting for them. Al had ordered it and treated them to a Rolls Royce ride.

  “Woohoo,” DeeDee said, when they got inside and shut the door. “We’re riding in style.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes, but didn’t really mean it. “Al’s just doing this because I’m still just a little mad at him, and he wants to sweeten me up.”

  “Well, you sure got a catch when you snagged Al.”

  Cassie smiled. “I know.”

  It wasn’t too long of a drive to the event, which was held at the Hilton Hotel in a large ballroom in the back. They sashayed through the front entrance along with the other attendees, feeling like a million bucks. Their Rolls Royce and fashion choices certainly drew a lot of stares.

  “I hope we’ll be able to find this Hope woman,” Cassie whispered to DeeDee. “What did Benny say again? That she’s an impossibly thin, tall, and beautiful brunette.” They both looked around the crowd, tryin to spot a woman who fit that description.

  “Well, that certainly narrows it down,” DeeDee said. “Not.”

  “I’m also hoping no one asks us why we’re here or who we know or whatever,” Cassie said. “I feel like such a pretender.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly, you fit right in!” Cassie gave her a look to show she didn’t want to fit in. DeeDee chuckled at her. “Sorry, but you kind of do.”

  Cassie opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. She nodded toward the stage, where a very thin woman was sipping champagne and clutching a clipboard, while ranting at a large group of waiters. “Do you think that’s her?”

  “It’s worth a try,” DeeDee said. “Let’s go and find out.”

  “Okay. We need to get our own champagne.” She looked around, found a waiter, and took two glasses, then handed one to DeeDee.

  They made their way towards the woman. “Now, remember,” DeeDee said. “There’s absolutely no way we can leave here with no information, like last time. I say we really push it, and if she’s offended, so what? If she gets emotional, all the better. She might spill something by accident.”

  Cassie bit her lip. “I want to tell you you’re being ridiculous, but you’re not. That’s a great plan.” She let out a deep sigh. “Let’s do this.”

  They both, as if by instinct, held their heads high and began to walk forward exuding poise and confidence. Cassie flicked her bouncing curls to the other side, and DeeDee smoothed her updo.

  DeeDee decided to really go for it. She pushed through the huddle of waiters and waitresses. “Hi, Hope! So good to see you!”

  “Oh!” Hope said, smiling. But soon her eyes dimmed of joy and became confused. “Hello. Yes, wonderful to see you.” She broke eye contact and looked down at her clipboard. “You all understand, of course,” she said to the wait staff. “Now, off you go.”

  Then she put the clipboard down on the stage and did a tinkly little laugh. “So sorry, you’re probably wondering why I’m doing any logistics at all. Well, the truth is, I just don’t trust anyone else to do it as well as I do. Terrible perfectionism, I know. But a girl’s got to have standards!”

  “Indeed!” Cassie said, smiling at her.

  Confusion flickered across Hope’s eyes for a moment. Then she said, “Wonderful to see the two of you again. We met at the…was it the Stafford?”

  DeeDee grinned. Perfect. “I can’t quite remember. I think so. We’re staying at the Stafford now, aren’t we, Cassie?”

  “Yes, it’s wonderful,” said Cassie.

  “You must have the afternoon tea,” Hope said. “It’s simply divine.”

  “We’ll make sure to try it,” DeeDee said. She edged closer. “Now, let me ask you something. Do you know anything about the death of Shirley Morris?”

  Hope rocked back, clearly shocked by the sudden and unexpected turn the conversation had taken. Her brow furrowed. “Why do you ask?”

  DeeDee looked at Cassie. She felt her heart beating with nervousness, but she’d already started, so she might as well finish. “Well, we heard she was killed or whatever. And we heard you move in similar circles.” DeeDee took a deep breath. “And, well, we think she kind of deserved it.”

  Hope’s eyes widened with shock, but then she slid into a glorious evil smile. “Oh my god, thank you,” she said. “Shirley was so loose. She had so many husbands.”

  DeeDee nodded knowingly.

  “Don’t you think that’s sad, though?” Cassie said. “They dropped like flies around her. She clearly hated to be alone.”

  “Oh, my goodness, you don’t know?” Hope said. “She killed them all!”

  Cassie grimaced. “Are you sure? I mean, we’d heard rumors, but…”

  “I’m certain of it,” Hope said. “That woman was evil. Trust me.”

  “Really?” DeeDee said in an excited voice. She was a great actress. “Did you have many dealings with her?”

  “Not many, thankfully,” Hope said, raising her upper lip in disgust. She sipped the champagne in her glass and left her red lipstick on the rim. “I tried to stay out of all that mob… Wait a minute… Are you… affiliated?”

  DeeDee didn’t know what to say.

  Thankfully Cassie stepped up. “I’m married to Al, if you know of him. He was a big player around here before he got out of the game.”

  “Oh,” Hope said, relaxing. She looked Cassie up and down, a little jealous, if anything. “Why did he get out of the game? Chicken?”

  “No,” Cassie said. “He just wanted a life where he wasn’t worried about getting murdered in his bed every night.”

  Hope laughed. “He sounds like my Hank. Always bleating on about how we should retire somewhere. Ridiculous. I’m so sorry for you. It must be so sad to have a man without a backbone.”

  Cassie was getting red in the face. “I think you’ll find…”

  DeeDee laughed to smooth things over. “Seems you like life in the fast lane, Hope.”

  Hope fixed them both with an icy glare. “Why, don’t you?” Then she turned to DeeDee. “What does your husband do?”

  “He’s a private investigator, but not anywhere around here. It’s still pretty exciting, though, I have to admit.”

  As if for no reason, Hope burst into tears. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, unable to stop herself.

  “Oh, quick, come on,” DeeDee said, taking Hope’s arm. “Let’s go to the ladies room. Let’s go before people start noticing.” She knew Hope would be embarrassed to be seen crying in public.

  “Sorry,” Hope said again, wiping her eyes. “I’m being so ridiculous.” But then she burst into a fresh round of sobs.

  When they arrived in the ladies room, thankfully it was empty. Hope took one look at herself in the mirror and said, “Look at me. I’m a mess.”

  “What’s wrong?” DeeDee asked kindly. “And by the way, you still look beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” Hope said, sniffing. She grabbed a paper towel and dabbed under her eyes. “It’s just… well, I’ve been married thirty years to Hank, and he’s so totally and utterly boring.” She burst into tears again.

  DeeDee felt a little annoyed with her. It was clear she wanted some fast gangster life, and was mad at her husband for not providing it. It seemed very silly and childish. DeeDee could see Cassie out of the corner of her eye, pacing the floor of the ladies room, looking even more irritated.

  “Oh dear,” DeeDee said, not quite knowing what to say.

  But that didn’t matter, because Hope had plenty to pour out. “Sometimes I wish he was dead. The truth is I hated Shirley. She had all these different men and so much excitement. It’s not fair! I mean, she was probably a six on the looks scale, maybe a seven on a good day. And I’m probably like a nine. Maybe even a ten when I’m not crying. And I got stuck with Hank, the most boring man in the universe. He’s not even good looking.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “This can’t be my life.”

  “Well, you can always change it, can’t you?” DeeDee said. “You may not b
e twenty anymore, but you’re gorgeous and well-connected and charming.” She was embellishing a little with the charming part, but she imagined Hope could turn it on when she wanted to.

  “But that’s just it. I can’t.” Hope said. She looked around the ladies room to make sure no one else was there. “I’ve had numerous affairs over the years trying to make Hank jealous. Hoping he might fight for me, maybe even kill someone for me. But he never did. He just turned a blind eye. You see what I mean? He’s like a dead fish at a fish market.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” DeeDee said, “why did you marry him in the first place? He doesn’t really sound like your type.”

  “Well, let me start at the beginning,” Hope said. “I’m not actually from a Mafia family. I was just a regular Chicago suburb girl. Well, my family had some wealth. But I wanted more. So I started mixing with Mafia types. I met this man called Vinny Santora…”

  DeeDee and Cassie looked at each other.

  “What?” Hope said.

  “Well, he was one of Al’s best friends,” Cassie said.

  “Oh, right,” Hope said, quite uninterested. “Who’s Al again? Anyway, it doesn’t matter.” Her eyes went quite dreamy. “Vinny Santora. He was gorgeous. So exciting. When he walked down the street, everyone turned to stare. I wanted to marry him.

  “But he was too difficult to pin down. All the girls were after him, and as soon as I got one away from him, there was another one waiting in the wings. I finally told him, it’s me alone, or all of them without me. And he chose them.”

  “I’m sorry,” said DeeDee. “That must have hurt.”

  “But as a kind of a parting gift, he told me the higher-ups were advertising a job opening to run a hair salon and keep an eye on any Mafia news. I didn’t know anything about hairdressing but I decided that since I was so glamorous, they’d pick me anyway, and I could just learn on the job.”

  “But they picked Shirley,” DeeDee said.

  A dark cloud passed over Hope’s face. “Yes. They said I was too bland. Too bland? Me? Can you believe it? I was furious. I wanted to march back there and tell them all about me and how totally not bland I really was, but this guy called Hank, who they’d sent to give me the message, told me not to. And I sort of fell into his arms because he said some nice things. After that, I thought, well since he’s Mafia, that’s good enough.

  “I rushed into it because I wanted to marry into the mob so desperately. It’s the biggest regret of my life. I should have fought for Vinny. But I didn’t, and I lost him, just like I lost the salon job. Although I don’t know what I’d have done when they ordered me to kill my husbands. I’m pretty squeamish, to be honest. In Hank’s early days, when he was a little more exciting, he had some altercations and I had to clean him up. To be honest, I vomit at the sight of blood.”

  She laughed bitterly. “Some Mafia wife I am. Maybe they were right. Maybe I am bland and perfectly suited to dull old Hank.” She sighed deeply. “Wow, I’m not sure where all that came from.” She gave a jittery, nervous laugh. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

  “Of course not!” DeeDee said.

  Hope was beginning to look embarrassed, as if she regretted spilling so much of her emotions. “Okay, well, I think I’d better get back to the party. See you soon, I’m sure.” She hurried out of the ladies room without even waiting for them.

  Cassie and DeeDee stared at one another wide-eyed for a moment.

  “I don’t think she killed Shirley,” DeeDee said.

  “Why not?”

  “Well, she said she was squeamish and vomited at the sight of blood. There was no way she could have jammed those scissors in Shirley’s chest. That’s not job for someone who’s squeamish.”

  CHAPTER 17

  That night, they stayed up late in their Langham suite, making plans. Along with DeeDee, Cassie, Jake and Al, Benny, Little Fingers, and Joey were in attendance, too. Al was annoyed they’d made so little progress and wanted to do something a little more special for the remaining suspects, Surly Sab and Rocco.

  “I’m starving,” Cassie said. “There were some canapes at the charity event, but nothing substantial.”

  They didn’t feel like any of the dishes on the Langham’s menu, so they ordered take-out Indian food instead. Al ordered the feast for ten, considering everyone said they were hungry.

  “Okay, so Surly Sab,” Al said, once the food had arrived. He tore his naan bread and dipped it in korma sauce. “He’s too dangerous for me to go to his house, and anyways, he’d just throw me out or worse. We need a better plan.”

  “Yeah,” Little Fingers said. “That guy would shoot first and ask questions later.”

  Cassie and DeeDee gave each other a meaningful look.

  “What Ima thinkin’ is to meet him at the private investment brokerage,” Al said. “He’s a partner. Ima thinkin’ go wild with a major deposit. Like… $100 million. That way all the partners’ll be there and he can’t off me.”

  “Hate to break it to you, darling,” Cassie said. “But we don’t have $100 million.”

  “Aha, but that’s where we come in,” Little Fingers said with a grin, pointing at himself and Joey. “A Mafia man’s always gotta’ have some fake papers.”

  Cassie put her hand up, palm facing them. “I won’t ask.”

  “You’ll have to use a fake name,” Benny said. “That Sab guy don’t like you one little bit, I’ve heard.”

  “And a fake face and a fake body,” Al said with a laugh.

  “What about… if I go?” Jake suggested. “Make the appointment in my name, and I’ll handle everything. Benny, you’re coming, right? With the gun?”

  “Nothin’ doin’,” Benny said. “That guy hates me too. You’ll have to carry it. Anyway, I’ve got someone else to meet. I’m working on another angle to find out who killed Shirley.”

  He and Al looked at each other meaningfully.

  Jake took a deep breath. “I’ll take the gun, too. Anything to help. But why do you think this meeting is a good idea?”

  “It’ll be the only way to get him talkin’ without shootin’,” Al said. “With all the partners there, he ain’t gonna’ go straight in for the kill if ya’ start askin’ questions. Now, I dunno’ if he’s the one who wants to kill me, but the guy’s very sensitive and very trigger happy. I mean that dude is one truly dangerous man. Don’t make no comments ‘bout his face.”

  Little Fingers shuddered. “You know that guy Valentino, he made a joke once at a social gatherin’ ‘bout his face. He was never seen again. Literally. He disappeared, and no one heard from him. Rumor was he was tossed in the river with weights on his ankles. But who knows?”

  DeeDee frowned. “This guy sounds crazy. Jake, I know you’re very experienced, but this one’s making me feel nervous.”

  “Me too,” Cassie said.

  “It will be fine,” Jake said decisively. “This is the next line of investigation. Let’s just be brave and do it. Who knows, this might help us wrap up the case. We can’t back down now.”

  Al clapped him on the back. “Good man. Jake, I’ll ride along with ya’ in the cab and then wait in it while you go into yer’ meetin’ with the fake cash.”

  “Right,” Little Fingers said. “Joey and me are gonna’ go organize the fake money tonight.”

  “Fred Marino doin’ it?” Al asked. He remembered the name from the past.

  “You got it,” Joey said.

  Al nodded. “Hope he’s got enough for $100 million. That’s enough fake paper to bring down a forest.”

  “We’ll get as much as we can,” Little Fingers said. “Bulk out the bottom of the suitcases with regular paper if we have to. Toilet paper, even.” They both pulled on their coats, said their goodbyes, and left.

  Benny shook his head. “This is kind of a crazy plan, Al. It’s still not too late for you and your lady to hop on a plane to Venezuela, or Bali, or New Zealand, you know. Get lost in a crowd somewhere. I can do some fake passports for you,
easy as anything. Start a whole new life.”

  Al looked inquiringly at Cassie.

  “No,” she said, holding her head high. She even managed to smile a little. “We don’t want to live a life in hiding, do we, Al? We’d feel like we couldn’t come back to the U.S., or maybe people would even track us down abroad. I think it’s better if we just get this over and done with, right here and now, hand the culprit over to the police, and move on with our lives.

  “Yes, this is scary and complicated, but we’ve come so far now, we might as well finish it. I want Al to be able to move on without this hanging over his head like a dark cloud.” She looked directly at him. “You’ve had enough stress and danger in your life already, darling. I don’t want you to have that for the rest of your life. Let’s just get this done, and then we can live our happily ever after.”

  Al smiled. “That’s my lady.”

  She sighed. “I’m really sorry about the things I said before. And especially about taking my wedding ring off.” She twisted her finger and the ring flashed in the light. “I’ll never take it off again. I was just, well, I was afraid. I didn’t want this kind of life for us. But when I’m being fair, I know that you don’t, either. In fact, this is the last thing you wanted to happen.”

  “Ya’ got that right,” Al said. “I’m livin’ my worst nightmare. Always was in the back of my mind that some goon from the mob’d catch up with my new life and have some kinda’ problem with it. And sure ‘nough, that’s exactly what’s happened.”

  Cassie nodded. “But we’ll get through it. We will.” She flashed a smile. “And it’ll make a brilliant story for dinner parties.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “That it will,” DeeDee said.

  “Jake,” Al said. “Ya’ sure you wanna do this tomorrow? I’d never have asked ya’, but since ya’ suggested it, it does make sense.”

  “Of course I want to.”

  “Okay,” Al said. “This Sab guy, his name’s Sabazio Vinaccia.”

  “Let me guess,” Jake said with a grin. “He was married to Shirley Morris.”