“You might not believe me but I want to help. Tell me what and I‘ll do it.”
“Forgive me, Frank if I don‘t jump up and down with glee. Your track record involves snorting and whoring. Neither of these qualities are in high demand right now.”
“Give me a chance. That‘s all I ask.”
“I‘ll bear you in mind if the time comes. In the meantime, stay sober and make yourself useful helping Naldo and his crew. Follow his instructions to the letter then who knows what‘ll happen.”
THE ATTACK CAME the following day when an armored van left the Lady Fortune on time laden with used notes. Bad news was: it never reached the bank. The Lagottis had been robbed of a little over three million - or a week‘s take.
“Make enquiries. We need to know who did it, who is holding our money and where it is held. No actions, no reprisals against any suspects. We stay calm and serve our revenge like a fine white wine.”
“Smash the neck and gouge their faces out?”
“No, Frank. Cold. We serve it cold once we find out everyone involved along the trail. If we act too early then the other perpetrators will fly to the four corners of the country.”
Her brother nodded consent but Alice was not convinced. She gave Naldo a look as if to instruct him to keep special close to the boy.
“This doesn‘t mean we should appear to sit idly by. Can we please hire out-of-town experts to set a fire in the basement of the Ace of Spades? Nothing to destroy the building but enough to cause a modicum of chaos and a lot of inconvenience.”
Her other thought was that if the money was still inside, they‘d have to keep it safe and move it immediately. It‘s much easier to follow three million dollars in one vehicle than chase down batches of fifty thousand - or worse.
TWO DAYS LATER and Alice entered the auto shop to see Frank pounding a man‘s head to pulp with his fists. Blood splatter and teeth littered the floor. Naldo looked on but did nothing. Three others in his crew sat around sipping beer.
“Stop this frat meeting right now.”
Frank held his arm back but did not land another blow. Naldo passed him a towel and he tried to clean up the guy‘s face.
“I thought my instructions were clear. And I expected better of you.”
A dagger-eye glare at Naldo. Then Alice strode in to take her place next to Frank. She looked down at the man: hands and ankles bound with electrical cable. An oily rag stuffed into his mouth with tape stuck over it. His nose the only outlet for his noisy breathing. Despite the violence meted out, he was calm. Alice thought he‘d be hyperventilating, but no. Naldo had the measure of him. The punches were just to keep his mind occupied until she arrived and squatted down so her head was the same level as her captor.
“I want you to listen carefully when I say these things to you.”
The guy stared straight at her with hate burrowing into her skull. Then he blinked and the edge to his manner abated. He maintained eye contact and his breathing rate increased a touch.
“You are here because your father and the rest of your family stole from us. This is not acceptable. The good news is that we have recovered our money and each of the individuals involved in the theft have been liquidated.
“Before they died, each of them confessed to their part of the crime. You need not worry on that account because we all know you did not commit the robbery. And we will not torture you into confessing to something you did not commit. We‘re not the Feds, after all.”
They all laughed and Alice discerned the corners of his mouth turning upward too.
“That‘s the good news: the money is back where it belongs. You, my friend, are our reparations. You represent the compensation we are owed for the inconvenience and upset caused by your father - and his kith and kin. We mean you no ill will.”
Alice touched the guy‘s arm to show she understood his concerns and his breathing returned to its earlier pace. She stood up and walked over to Naldo who rummaged in his pockets and then resumed his original stance. She sauntered back and mopped the bloody forehead with Friscetti‘s handkerchief. Then she slid the material over his cheeks and soaked up the red still dripping off his chin.
A quick pull and she ripped away the tape over his mouth. The guy spat the rag out and took in mouthfuls of clean air. Alice dropped the reddened cloth onto the floor and clicked her fingers until someone passed her a beer. She let a few drops land on the guy‘s lips to moisten them and held the bottle so he could take two, no three, long glugs.
Alice took the beer away to give the son of the Huang family a chance to catch his breath. Then she switched the bottle for the revolver she‘d kept in her other hand, pushed it in his mouth and squeezed the trigger. His brains flew out the back of his skull and Frank jumped with a start.
She put another slug in his heart and fired a third shot into his groin. Alice flipped the safety on and placed the gun on top of the bloody handkerchief. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Naldo smiled. His student learned fast.
As she walked out, she turned her head in Frank‘s direction.
“That‘s revenge served cold.”
She strode back to her office and hopped into the shower - the facilities were extensive but not surprising as she worked and lived in a hotel. A call to Mama to let her know everything was under control, then home time.
Alice stayed in a suite on the twentieth floor so her commute was minimal. Sam cooked two bowls of stir-fried chicken with noodles. They sat on opposite sides of the dining room table, which felt like they were an ocean apart. She reached out to touch Sam‘s hand in between mouthfuls.
“What‘s wrong dear?”
“Nothing really. The food tastes great... I‘m not that hungry, is all.”
“Thanks but there‘s something up with you.”
“Work. It‘ll be fine. Right now I‘d like you to take me to bed and hold me.”
Hand in hand, they scurried into the bedroom and slipped under the sheets. Alice nestled in between Sam‘s breasts and tried to exorcise the image of her first kill out of her head. The softness of Sam’s skin gave little comfort that evening but Alice inhaled her fragrance and the demons floated away by the time they were both asleep in each other‘s warm embrace.
SHUN HUANG SAT on the other side of the table to Mary Lou in a nondescript meeting room in an anonymous hotel chain in the heart of Los Angeles. Also present was Bobby, Shun’s brother and a bodyguard each. There was no need for the muscle for either side because no-one would be stupid enough to attack these two bosses in the middle of peace talks.
“We have come here today to end the difficulties between our families. Both have suffered loss...”
“Some more than others.”
“... but the important thing is for us to draw a line under all the unpleasantness and to find a way to move forward.”
Mary Lou had spent a week of shuttle diplomacy to get Shun in the same room. The intermediary they‘d used had convinced him the war must stop and that Mary Lou was open to compromise. Word on the street was she'd ordered Shun‘s head on a platter - the work begun by Alice was to end with Mary Lou. The truth was Mary Lou didn‘t care whether Shun lived. She wanted him to stop muscling in on her drugs supply lines. Every day she wasted fighting him was another day when earnings were down.
“We are here to prevent more blood being shed. One of my sons died due to our differences.”
“That is a lamentable state of affairs and I am truly sorry for your loss. If we reach an agreement today, I guarantee no member of your family'll die at our hands.”
“Your word is important here because it is all you have. Without power or wealth, we are alone before our gods with only what we say to keep us on a true path.”
“You have my word. But in exchange, I need to know you will cease your encroachment into my territories.”
Beat.
“You have carved out a niche for yourself here in LA at our expense and attacked my property in Las Vegas. You must put an end
to both of these matters.”
“My son paid the ultimate price for our actions in Vegas. Now I am left only with daughters. Your business operations and your children will be safe there - from our involvement.”
“And what about LA?”
“We need to earn a living and our access to Chinese sources means our product is much cheaper than yours. I‘m talking opiates here. Let me be clear: we are not departing the city just because we are inconvenient to you.”
“I understand and respect that. Your family has done well in a short space of time. At our expense though.”
Mary Lou stared at Shun while they spoke but Bobby made sure he was on top of the entire roomful of people. They had talked through their game plan for the meeting into the small hours sat in the summerhouse and then later in bed. Bobby had been told that Shun‘s brother wanted blood revenge and had been put in his place by Shun. The man might be a grieving father, but he was a smart businessman first.
“Yours is the biggest heroin operation in California. We were bound to nibble at the crumbs on your plate.”
“What I propose is a way for you to consume a three course meal.”
“I am here to listen.”
“Build up your business by all means. If you open up territories we are not yet covering then we can support you with the resources we have available. For that we receive twenty per cent of your turnover. In areas of ours which you now occupy I must ask you to share more of your good fortune because it has been gained off the back of twenty years hard work on our part. In these places, we will get fifty per cent.”
Shun stared at Mary Lou for fifteen seconds and then leaned over and whispered to his brother, cupping his hand in front of his mouth to hide the movement of his lips. Mary Lou didn‘t bother to even strain to eavesdrop. She knew their plan and how she would respond no matter what he said. Bobby continued to survey the room.
“What would these resources be?”
“People, guns, processing labs. I could even get you some office space if you wanted.”
This last comment raised a brief smile on Shun‘s face. He resumed his whispering and Mary Lou went on staring. As their conversation appeared to carry on for a while, she stood up and walked over to the coffee pot to get a second cup. By the time the mug was empty, Shun and his brother had finished their dialog.
“Under the circumstances, we are open to sealing a deal but the price you ask is too rich for us... Ten and thirty per cent.”
Mary Lou picked up her coffee and pretending to take the last sip from it. She opened her clutch bag and applied lipstick using a makeup mirror. She saw the impatience in Shun‘s eyes.
“Twenty and fifty. Your family remains safe and we do great business together. And we both get to dip our beaks in the trough.”
“Twenty and forty?”
Shun knew the money was to be made from South LA and other Lagotti territory. New areas would be harder to capture and he wanted an easy life. He was too old to spend a year or two fighting his way across LA, block by block.
“Fifteen and fifty. Take it or leave it.”
Mary Lou placed the lipstick in her bag and waited for the whispering to subside.
“We agree.”
“And five per cent ownership of the Ace of Spades.”
The brother‘s blood vessels nearly burst out his temples but Shun showed restraint. He looked at his brother and stared back at Mary Lou.
“Done.”
The tension at the table dissipated with nods all round and Shun walked round to Mary Lou so they could shake on the deal. With business settled, there was nothing more to say and everybody left. Bobby held back briefly to let the meeting room manager know they were done - and settle the check. Before they walked out the lobby, Mary Lou told him to wait while she headed off to use a hotel phone.
“Just called off the hit on Shun and his brother.”
Bobby smiled. They had taken the time to cover every eventuality. Cutting the head off the snake was one of many options they‘d considered.
1995
9
“YOU‘VE DONE WELL here. Revenue is up and the place is running nice and smooth. You should come back to Palm Springs.”
Bobby and Alice sat in her office in the early evening. She‘d enjoyed being at the helm of Lady Fortune and had forged a comfortable life. Sam visited from Boston most weekends which meant Alice could concentrate on work but still fall into the arms of someone she cared about. And the sex was good too. Would she be able to recreate all that under the watchful eye of her mother? Besides, running a casino was fun and when there was an occasional spot of bother, she‘d shown herself she could handle it.
“Vegas is more my town. The bright lights. The buzz when you hit the streets. You can taste it. There‘s green coming out of every manhole cover. This is a moneymaking wet dream of a city.”
They lounged on the couches Alice had introduced to the vast expanse of the office almost as soon as she‘d moved in. Bobby missed a trick - she encouraged people to stick around and have informal conversations so they‘d reveal more of what they were thinking. Alice was so much more than a black designer pants suit and red lipstick. She knew that was all Frank saw - on one of the rare moments he was sober.
“It‘s a great town for sure and you can always visit it. No-one‘s saying you should never come back. But you need to listen to me. Your mother and I would like you on the west coast. We have some issues in California and you and your brains must be here to sort things out.”
“Mama wants me to return?”
“Yes. You can live in LA if you don‘t want to hang in sleepy Palm Springs.”
“She asked for me? Not Frank?”
Thoughts of Valentine‘s Day holed up in the suite with Sam were evicted from her mind.
“I‘m in. Let me know when I need to move. And you‘re right, I can‘t stay cooped up in Palm Springs.”
“Until you get yourself sorted, you could use the top floor of the Palace.”
“Who‘ll take over at this end?”
“No-one can replace you, dear.”
“Right...”
“I‘ll go back to keeping an eye on things. We‘ll bring in a manager. And before that Frank can earn a day‘s wages.”
“Don‘t spend too long in between trips if you want the place to be still standing.”
Bobby issued another smile. She much preferred the adult relationship she had with him.
“And Naldo comes with me.”
“Naturally. I wouldn‘t have hooked you two up if I thought you‘d separate so easy.”
Alice smiled now, realizing how important Friscetti was in her newfound world and the trust he‘d been given to mind Alice Lagotti, daughter of Mary Lou.
THEY SAT AROUND the pool in the afternoon, tumblers of whiskey in their hands. In the five days since Alice returned to California, she had spent the first day unpacking. The thought of living in the Palace long-term was too weird to handle, even though she‘d lived above a casino and hotel for months. Somehow that felt normal whereas in her childhood, it was somewhere to visit for sure, but Mary Lou never allowed the twins the run of the joint. There was something taboo in the woodwork.
As an adult she got the fact it was a glorified whorehouse and cocaine dispensary although nowadays the selection of narcotics was far wider than that. The prostitution continued, but the parties were drying up. New Hollywood wanted different nighttime escapes and shipping in younger girls wasn‘t the answer. Frank would be in his element though he‘d fuck his way through the profits in his first week.
Then she flew Sam over and they pretended to be tourists around Beverly Hills, much as her mother had done decades earlier when Alice was barely able to walk. Days of sightseeing and nights of naked bliss. Sam was proving to be an essential part of her life.
“Would you think about moving west at some point?”
The question came out of the blue in the middle of horsing around on a couch in the living room
. They both had their hands up each other‘s skirts while they watched a movie.
“Maybe. I‘m doing well in Boston and my company only has a small practice out here. It would be like a demotion.”
Beat. She was an account exec at a media and marketing firm: she needed to be where the clients were. Sam‘s finger continued its massage, having stopped for a moment.
“I‘m not saying no, dear. Just it‘d be a big move for me and, well, we‘ve only been going out three months...”
Sam was right: Alice was moving way too fast. There would be time enough. Instead, she should lose herself in the moments they had together here and now. To that end, she closed her eyes and focused on Sam‘s first finger. When she opened her eyelids, she was back sitting with Mama and Bobby on a lounger by the pool.
“Palm Springs is quiet in the Winter.”
“Gets cold at night though.”
“Sure, but I‘d forgotten how restful the town is.”
“That‘s not Palm Springs - it‘s 20 Oakcrest Drive.”
“Yeah. Only have happy memories of this place.”
“What about Cindy?”
“Who?”
“A family friend, you might say. But it doesn‘t matter. You don‘t remember her and she‘s long since gone.”
They each took a sip of their drinks, almost in unison.
“Tell me: why am I back on the west coast? Can‘t be to have another drinking buddy.”
“Huang was a red flag to me. I know we have resolved them as a problem...”
“In the short-term.”
“... but they represent a bigger threat to our organization.”
“How so?”
“Entry into narcotics is getting easier by the day. Any fool with a bag of pills and some foot soldiers can take over a handful of blocks. Before you know it has happened, they control a district and you‘re fighting to retrieve what‘s yours. Doesn‘t mean we shouldn‘t fight for every inch we own, but the struggle will get harder, more gangs will appear and it won‘t be like the good old days when five Families ran the country. We‘ll have to deal with each bunch of sniveling upstarts one-by-one.”
Mama’s Gone Page 5