A Bullet for Carlos (2 page)

“I told you, Dominic, I can’t keep her. What would the neighbors say? They will—”

Zeppe shook his head. “Tell them a relative died. Trust me, they won’t say anything.” He leaned over and kissed Maria on the cheek, then kissed the baby. “I promise you.”

Dominic looked at Maria, then Zeppe. “If Maria keeps Concetta, no one is to know where she came from. Understand?
No one.
”

“Don’t worry,” Zeppe said. “Just the three of us.”

Maria nodded, clutching the girl as if someone might take her. “Yes, just the three of us.”

Zeppe turned and headed for the door. “I’ll wait outside.”

“Good night, Giuseppe.”

“Yeah, good night, Maria.”

As the door closed behind Zeppe, and Maria walked to the kitchen, Dominic made the sign of the cross, asking God for forgiveness. It was one thing to kill a man—but to take his baby and claim it as a gift from God might be pushing things too far. That was the kind of thing that could haunt a person in both lives.
And what will Maria do if she finds out the truth? Even worse, what will this little girl do if
she
finds out?

Chapter 2

Help From Strange Places

30 years later—Brooklyn, New York

T
he alarm went off on my iPhone, warning me of a meeting about to begin. I glanced at the framed newspaper article hanging on the wall above my desk; the headlines still embarrassed me:

“Brooklyn’s Toughest Cop—Connie Gianelli.”

The article referenced a bust where I fought it out with three gang members and took them all down,
without
shooting them. That fifteen minutes of fame cost me more grief than anything since I’d been in the department. After that story ran, I had to prove myself with every cop I met.

I set my earrings on my messy desk, took a deep breath, then started down the hall, my hands trembling. How’s that for a tough cop? We planned a big drug bust tonight and I was scared. Not of being hurt—always a possibility—but of
who
might be involved.

I saw Rafferty entering the conference room down the hall. I forced my hand to be steady, waved to him, then ducked into the bathroom.

Please, Uncle Dominic, don’t be there tonight.

I knew Dominic wouldn’t be there himself, but I was scared to death his men might be, and the last thing I needed was more suspicion haunting me at the station. I turned the water on, scrubbed my hands, splashed water on my face, and the whole time fought to keep my knees from buckling. Images of the headlines in tomorrow’s paper flashed in my mind like a strobe light, and in every one of them Dominic Mangini’s name was prominent. If that happened, I’d get fifteen minutes of a different kind of fame.

Why did I choose narcotics?

A knock on the door startled me.

“Let’s go, Gianelli. We’re waiting on you.”

“I’m coming, Sean. We don’t have it as easy as you guys. Can’t just whip something out and cut loose.”

“You sure about that?” he said, and laughed like hell.

“Shut up or I’ll tell Debbie you’re always staring at my ass.”

There was a joke in the department about me being more guy than girl because of my deep voice. My voice
was
deep, deeper than most guys, but the guy/girl confusion stopped there. I
did
have a nice ass.

I grabbed a few paper towels, wiped my face, twisted them around my hands, and tossed them in the trash.
Let’s get it done, Gianelli.

I exited the ladies’ room, turned right, and took long confident strides toward the meeting. We had been planning this bust all week, and this was just a wrap-up session. Four steps away, I thought I heard them whispering, and wondered if it was about me. I planted a smile on my face and walked in.

“Okay guys, I’m here. Now we can wrap this up.” I said that with all the confidence I could muster, but I wasn’t comfortable with the plan.

Jerry Rafferty sat at the end of the table, Lieutenant Chambers at the opposite end. Four chairs stretched down each side.

“About time you got here, Gianelli. Had to fix your hair?” Rafferty said it with his usual taunting smile. More a smirk than a smile. It made me want to kick his ass; instead, I narrowed my eyes and smiled back. Maybe I glared. He got the point.

I took a seat to Chambers’ right, notepad ready. Tonight’s bust was going to be big, and I wanted nothing going wrong. Despite my fears, I was counting on this to finally bring me recognition beyond being a tough cop. These guys hadn’t done shit for years, but six months after I joined the team we rose to number-one status on drug busts. If I kept it up someone
had
to notice, especially since I was the only female on the team.

Sean came in a moment later. “Hot coffee,” he announced, like he was a vendor on the street corner, then he handed one to each of us.

“I still don’t like the idea,” Chambers said, his face twisted into a scowl.

I saw this as my chance. “I’m glad
you
said it, Lieu. I’m not crazy about going in without backup. Not with drugs.”

Sean took a swig of coffee and flopped into the seat across from me. “It’ll be okay. We can’t risk another failed bust, and remember,
somebody
leaked information last time. We can’t let that happen again.”

“I don’t like it,” Chambers said, “but I sure as hell don’t want another bust going bad.” He shook his head, looked at me. “You okay with this, Gianelli?”

I was shocked he asked my opinion, but it was also obvious it had come down to three against one. Wasn’t much I
could
say. “It should work,” I said, and shrugged. “If we have trouble, we give them the money and wait till next time.”

“Give them the money, my ass.” The lieutenant laughed then looked to Jerry. “How about you, Rafferty? It’s your neck on the line?”

I don’t know why Chambers bothered to ask Rafferty. We knew he stood with Sean.

“Gianelli, you and Sean get a good look at me,” Jerry said. “I don’t want to be mistaken for a dealer.”

“It should go down as planned,” Sean said, in between munches on a bagel.

“Nobody’s getting shot,” Chambers said. “Nobody
better
get shot or it will be my ass.”

“You clear it with the captain?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah, I cleared it,” Chambers said, “but I had to promise my firstborn to get approval.”

“Don’t worry, Lieu. It’s not a big deal. Just enough to get them to trust us.”

For half an hour we went over who would be stationed where, then Sean and Jerry went through the whole thing again. Two hours later, Lieutenant Chambers looked at his watch. “Why don’t you take off early, catch a little rest and get there fresh.”

“Sounds good,” Sean said, and stood to go. “Connie, I’ll see you at 10:00.”

“I’ll be early,” I said to Sean, then gave Jerry a good-luck punch on the shoulder. It didn’t matter if I didn’t like him, we were in it together. “In case I don’t see you beforehand.”

“Don’t forget who’s buying after,” he said.

I raised my hands in surrender. “I know. I know. My turn to buy. See you guys at ten.” I turned to Sean before I left. “Say hi to Debbie and the boys.”

I got home and
tried to nap but was too wired up, so I put on my workout clothes, pulled my hair in a ponytail, and headed to the park for a run. I hated the thought of working out, but once I got started it felt good.

As I made the turn near the giant oak tree with the low-hanging branches, anxiety set in, the kind that happened before every drug bust—that we’d get the scum and they would somehow be connected to Uncle Dominic or one of his crew. My gut churned, as if I’d swallowed nails. Tonight’s bust was tied to the Mexicans, but that didn’t stop the worry, or the nightmares. I worried more about that than I did getting popped in the head during a bust.

I was half-tempted to quit running when Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” came on and provided enough spark to keep me going—maybe for a lifetime. I always had a thing for Bon Jovi, who was really
John Bongiovi
, an Italian from New Jersey hiding out as a rock star. The rock star part didn’t matter; he fit Uncle Dominic’s strict rules about who I could marry—Italian and male. The fact that Bon Jovi made me want to take my badge off, among other things, made it all the better. While dreaming of what I could do alone with him for a night, I found myself at the end of the run, still bursting with energy.

When I got back to the house, I wiped off the sweat with a towel and reached into the fridge for a bottle of water. The shower called to me, but it would have to wait—undercover clothes went better with stink. For an instant I thought about the leftover Gorgonzola ravioli in the fridge, but I didn’t need that weighing me down tonight.

“Hotshot, where are you?”

Hotshot, my black, three-legged cat, came running from behind the sofa and brushed up against me. I never wanted a cat. Wasn’t a cat person. I found Hotshot when we busted a crack house. He was in the gutter, with an arrow through his chest and out the other side. He was scrabbling to try to get up the curb. We learned later that the local dealer shot him with an arrow because his owner didn’t pay up.

It cost me a fortune—and two weeks of worrying to death—but I got Hotshot taken care of. He’s only got three legs now, but he gets along just fine.

I got down on the floor next to him and stroked his head, as much to console him after a long day alone as to calm me down for what I had to do. I liked being a cop, but it brought fear with it, especially when dealing with drug dealers.

“I’m scared, Hottie,” I said, admitting to my cat what I refused to admit to myself, or anyone else. I convinced myself it was a good luck mantra, but deep down I knew it for what it was—fear. I don’t know why death scared me. Dominic always told me that Mom was in a place where nothing went wrong, and she’d never be sick. I dreamed of joining her sometimes, comforted by thoughts of happiness, and eating pasta all day without gaining weight.

Damn, that
would
be nice.

A few hours later
, I checked my gun—a 9mm Beretta—stuffed extra clips into my coat pocket, and pulled on a wool cap. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I headed for the door.

I knew I’d be a cop when I was twelve. Hiding at the top of the stairs, I heard Uncle Dominic talking to his men about someone being killed. What I learned that night shocked me—Uncle Dominic, the sweet, loving man who cared for my mother and raised me after she died—was a mobster. Later in life a shrink told me that’s what drove me, that I became a cop to defy my uncle, and to prove that I wasn’t scum like him.

I quit going to the shrink after that. I refused to listen to his bullshit or let him talk about Dominic the way he did. Dominic might be wrong—hell, he
was
wrong—but he was family. And
nothing
in life was more important than
la famiglia.
I said that to myself countless times. Dominic had drummed it into my head like the nuns did multiplication tables. The trouble was, I didn’t know if I believed it. I couldn’t worry about it now, though. I had work to do.

I got my thoughts together, and within fifteen minutes I was with Sean, huddled under the awning of Birelli’s Bakery, rubbing my hands to keep warm while the wet February night gnawed at my flesh through ragged clothes and the holes in my shoes. I stared through the window at samples of
cannoli
and
tadales
, and tried to keep my stomach from growling. Crazy as it sounds, whenever I got scared,
really
scared, I got hungry. I wanted to break the glass and grab those pastries and run. Forget the bust and the badge, just go home with Hotshot, brew up an espresso, and eat pastries.

I should have eaten that Gorgonzola ravioli.

A gust of icy wind brought my mind to the present, forcing a shiver. I tucked my hair under the wool cap and wrapped a tattered scarf tighter around my neck.

“Cold as shit,” Sean said. He kicked snow from his shoes, then stepped in place to keep his feet warm.

I moved closer, shoved my hands into the coat pockets and looked over to Sean. “What time is it?”

“Time to start worrying,” Sean said. He looked up and down the street then glanced at the watch. “This is bullshit. They were supposed to be here by now.” His breath formed a frosty cloud.

“They’re drug dealers. Who the hell knows if they’ll be on time; besides, we’re gonna get this guy tonight.” I blessed myself, then returned to rubbing warmth into my hands. We had been after this dealer for eight months and he always eluded us.

Not tonight, prick.

Yeah, not tonight. I was talking tough, but scared shitless.

Sean raised himself up on tiptoes and craned his neck. “Where the hell are they?”

A chill ran up my spine. “Car coming.” I blew hot breath on cold fingers, and tucked myself into a corner. My heart was thumping so hard I was afraid Sean might hear. I think that bothered me more than the fear itself. There were a lot of women on the force now, but we were afraid to show our emotions, scared that the guys would call us “pussies.” My pulse hammered. Now I wished I argued more for backup.