An Unfinished Life (32 page)

“I believe I have proved I can handle it Jack, so please just say it.”

“Very well. As of right now, I’m under investigation by the FBI. The lead agent is someone I have never met but I’m connected to from my past. I’m told he is out for blood and will not rest until I am prosecuted for Michael’s murder and the rest of my sins. Shall I go on?”

“Yes.”

“His partner is not a stranger to me, as we consider him to be family. Simon’s brother, Jacob, is the other agent assigned to the investigation.”

“Oh shit! Shall we contact our lawyer?”

“I don’t think Sal specializes in capital murder cases.”

“That’s not funny, Jack!”

“I wasn’t trying to make light of it, Sara, but I need a defense lawyer on standby in case this gets bad and I get charged.”

“You’re not going to be. You didn’t do it.”

“But I was out in California during the time of his murder.”

“What? When did you go?”

“After you left me.”

“Oh my God! We always end up back there, don’t we? If I hadn’t left, then you wouldn’t have gone to California. This is my fault!”

“The hell it is! Stop it right now with this foolish talk, and don’t you dare cry! We will find a way out of this nightmare, and we will be okay. After everything we’ve been through to get us here, I will not settle for anything less. Please wait here, I have to show you something.”

I threw some clothes on and ran downstairs to my office safe. I found what I needed and went back to our bedroom. This would be hard to relive with Sara, but I vowed to be honest and not hide anything from her. She made some coffee for us and asked me to eat with her. I declined food, but I did accept the coffee.

“What is this?” she asked after I slid the envelope to her.

“It’s an outline, a very descriptive blueprint of Michael St. Clair’s intentions for Nicolette once he was released from prison.”

“No, after all this time he was still obsessing over her?”

“I’m afraid so. I’m sure this isn’t all of it, but it’s what we have been able to obtain from his cell. I don’t know what the FBI has on me, or Michael, for that matter. What this file contains proves beyond a reasonable doubt that it was not over for Michael and his obsession with my daughter. It also can prove that I had the intent to murder him or have him killed.”

I watched Sara shakily open the envelope and begin flipping through the stack of letters, surveillance photos, and newspaper clippings, all of Nicolette. She covered her hand with her mouth and began crying.

“This is sick, Jack. How was he able to get away with this? He never stopped stalking her, even from the confined walls of that prison. He never intended to let her go. He was coming after her, wasn’t he?”

I put my head down and stayed silent.

“Wasn’t he?” she repeated. “Answer me, Jack.”

“Yes. He was coming for her.”

“And you stopped him?”

“Indirectly, yes.”

“Does Nicolette know any of this? Have you told anyone besides me?”

“No, she doesn’t know. This is why I flew out to California. I needed to see her and make sure she was safe. We talked for hours, and like you, she knew I was struggling. She asked me to let him go and move on with my life. I wanted to believe that I could. I came home to Chicago, and then Max told me about Michael, and then where to find you. I left the next morning, and you know the rest.”

“He can’t hurt her anymore, Jack. He can’t hurt anyone. I’m so sorry you ever had to go through this on your own. I’m here now, and I am not going anywhere. Whatever happens, we will face together.”

The next few days, I stayed home with Sara. She finally convinced me to open the bar, which made our customers very happy. The big games would be on this weekend, and it would always be a full house.

Sara’s health was doing better, and although I didn’t like it, she went back to working in her kitchen. Ramone was the happiest to have his
jefa
back, which meant boss lady in Spanish. She always laughed when he called her that. I didn’t mind, because I got to hear her beautiful laugh.

I also made a bold move and called my brother. He was guarded at first, and then we were able to talk respectfully with each other. Of course he knew about Michael, and at the time upon hearing the news, Nicolette and Simon were still away. I was never more thankful to hear that. I hadn’t spoken to Nicolette since my trip to California. I expected I would soon. I apologized to him and to his wife, who I asked to listen in when I apologized to my brother. Our disagreements had strained our relationship, and I had to make amends to his wife. Christina and I were always close. She cried happy tears that we were finally able to move past our anger.

Massimo and I didn’t resolve everything. We would need many days to accomplish that feat. He never once asked me about Michael and if I had any involvement. All he said was that he was happy he still had a brother in his life, and he would try very hard to make amends with me. The conversation didn’t go beyond that, and we ended our call.

Max was my liaison with Dominick. It was better to keep our distance from each other and my connection to the Carlucci family. I couldn’t completely cut my ties to them, as it would be almost impossible. I explained all of my reasons to Sara the best way I could. She said she understood, but I knew she was also frightened for us.

Then there was Jacob, and what I now knew about his fiancée’s murder. I could never disclose what I knew fully to him without incriminating the family. Her own father’s actions led to her death. How could Chief LaRocha look himself in the mirror every day and not want to shove a gun down his own throat?

Tommy seemed a bit off today, kind of restless. I noticed as I walked up behind the bar.

“What’s up boss? Can I get the usual for you?”

“You tell me, Tommy. And no thank you to the drink.”

“Boss? I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Sure you do, now spill it. You’ve been cleaning that damn counter for over an hour. It’s clean already. You haven’t taken your eyes off the front windows, and you are dropping more glasses quicker than I can replace. Answer my question. What’s up?”

“I’m sorry, Jack. I’m just worried, and I’m not doing a great job at hiding it. I’ve seen a black sedan pass the bar every day this week. The plates are unmarked, and I think it’s the feds. They have to be watching the building and keeping tabs on you.”

“Let them. I have nothing to hide. I run a legal establishment here, and I am very well known in the community. I am living my life out in the open, so let the chips fall where they may. Keep yourself in check Tommy, and don’t get overzealous. Capisce?”

“I hear what you’re saying, boss, but I don’t want no cops up in here.”

“Yeah, that makes two of us.”

I left Tommy to take care of the rest of the lunch rush. I needed to clear my head and took a walk down to the park. Walking by the waterfront always did me good. Sara was at the Farmer’s Market with Ramone, picking up all she needed for her weekend game menu.

On my walk home, I stopped at Geno’s place to get a trim and shave. He was old school and still used the blade to get the most precise shave. It felt like home here, just old friends drinking their espresso and telling stories. He welcomed me in with his robust laugh and took care of me.

“You see, Jack, not a spill of blood,” he said as he waved the shiny blade in front of my eyes.

“Not today my friend, and hopefully never again.”

He patted me on my back and understood the meaning behind my words.

Max met me at the bakery and joined me the rest of the way back to the bar.

“What do we know?” I asked as we walked and braved the cold temps of Chicago.

“Paulson is here, Jack. His flight landed, and I would bet he’s making his way to you.”

“Very well. I look forward to speaking to Agent Paulson. Any word on Marino?”

“Not yet. He can’t hide forever, but we will find him.”

“Yes, he can, but Max, if I have taught you anything, it’s to know everything about your enemy. Maybe even know them better than they know themselves. He’s out there somewhere, quite possibly watching us right now. He’s waited a very long time to settle the score. He’s smart but dangerous at the same time. He’s led by a haunting past that he didn’t have control over. He blames me for his brother’s death but hates himself more because he couldn’t prevent it. I will meet Marino again, I have no doubt about that, but first let’s see what the dutiful Agent Paulson has to say.”

I arrived back at the bar with Max beside me. I took the back entrance in and then quickly entered my office so I could view the cameras. Sure enough, Jacob was present upstairs in my bar. It appeared he had ruffled Tommy’s feathers and needed to be pulled back.

“How do you want to play this, Jack?” Max asked me as he looked at the monitor.

“Let’s go back out and enter through the main entrance. Vito is up in the dining room today. You walk in first and pull him aside. I’m not sure what to expect when I get in there, but stay close and out of the way until I signal you otherwise, okay?”

“You got it. Be careful Jack, he’s not your family today, he’s your enemy.”

“I’ll be fine, Max. Go on now. I’m right behind you.”

I took a deep breath and a shot of my favorite whiskey before making my way up through my restaurant. No sins stayed buried forever, I knew that to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Jacob Paulson was now leading the brigade to take me down. He was a good man, that Jacob. He’d seen enough pain firsthand to last him a lifetime. He was honest like his father and Simon. Honorable to the very core of their existence. He was Nicolette’s family. I couldn’t hurt him, nor did I want to. I took another shot of liquid courage and left my office to come face-to-face with Jacob.

Just as I expected, Tommy had lost his cool and was now crying out in pain in the middle of my bar. Jacob was helping himself to my beer.
That’s balls, I’ll give him that.

I hung my coat and greeted some of my patrons who were watching the scene go down. I gestured to Max. He knew what I needed him to do. I called for a free round of drinks for all to enjoy and then made my way over to the hunched-over Tommy and Jacob. I signaled to Max and Vito.

“Take Tommy to the ER, and get him fixed up.”

Max nodded at me, and left with Tommy. I took a seat at the bar and looked back to Jacob, who was breathing fire. Let’s hope the beer he helped himself to would calm him down.

“Help yourself, Jacob. We’re family, after all. What’s mine is yours.”

“Really, Jack? Does your guy, Tommy, know that? Judging how I received such a warm welcome, I wasn’t sure he received the memo.”

“You never can be too careful nowadays…So Jacob, welcome to Chicago! It’s been a long time. What can I do for you?” I asked him while lighting up a cigar, never taking my eyes off of him.

“I think you know, Jack. You seem to have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“Nothing wrong with that, son. I protect what’s mine. That’s no crime.”

“Answer me this, Jack: what lengths would you go to
protect
what you say is yours?”

“Seriously, Jacob? That’s your big question? Come on, boy! You can do better than that,” I said as I blew out a few puffs of my cigar and tapped the ashes into the ashtray before answering him.

I wasn’t a man to be fucked with, and when it came to my family, I’d already proven I would do anything for them. It was very easy to flip the switch on my personality and go dark when I needed to. I could not back down to him, show any weakness, or be over-confident with my tone.

I simply said, “What wouldn’t I do? Ask any family man that same question, and I would bet everything I own that the answer would be the same. There’s no greater thing on this earth than family. I love mine more than anything else in this world, and from what I know of yours, we are cut from the same cloth.”

I watched him shift in his seat and grip the edge of the bar. He was clearly strong and easily had a couple of inches on me. I had no doubt that he would have shattered the glass he was holding if he hadn’t placed it back down to the bar.

He finally answered, “I don’t think so, Jack. We are miles apart.”

Short answers. Exactly what I expected from him. He was feeling me out, like what you would do with your opponent in a chess match. I could play this game quite well, in fact. I placed my cigar into the ashtray and looked directly into his eyes.

“Do you have something to say to me, Jacob, or are we going to continue this dance?”

I watched him finish off his mug of beer before slamming it onto my bar. It appeared Agent Paulson had a temper. That’s good. Better to have one when taking me on. He got off his bar stool and looked me directly in the eye.

He said the words I expected him to say: “Michael St. Clair.”