Lloyd Corricelli - Ronan Marino 01 - Two Redheads & a Dead Blonde (25 page)

“You know the escort agency Karen worked for is tied to organized crime. They probably have all kinds of dirt on your boss.”

“I’ll deal with that if and when the time comes.”

I looked out the window at the water flowing downstream. Somewhere in those same waters, Karen had spent her last minutes. Diane put her arms around me and laid her head on my good shoulder.

“I hope this isn’t going to affect our relationship,” she said.

“I guess that means I wasn’t just some one-night stand.”

“Not unless you want to be. I’d be pretty disappointed.”

I didn’t know how I felt. Her involvement with LaValle bothered me. She must have detected my reluctance.

“I hope you know I had no idea what he was doing,” she offered. “I’m just as pissed off about it as you are.”

“Maybe his wife needs to know.”

“Haven’t you ever slept with someone you shouldn’t have?”

“Boy, that’s a loaded question.”

“Exactly, so don’t be the morality police, Ronan.”

It was like she’d read my mind. I’d said before that was one thing I never wanted to be. Maybe his wife was a frigid bitch who wasn’t giving him what he needed at home. It pissed me off though that it had to have been Karen.

“I won’t do that,” I said.

“Good.”

She kissed me, her hands grabbing my ass.

“Can I see you tonight?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, I think my dance card is filled.”

“What if I told you my pussy was aching for your love muscle?”

I think I had just discovered my preferred fetish. A gorgeous Harvard Law School grad talking trashy was a major turn on.

“Maybe I should just ravage you on the desk right now.”

“As much as I would love that, unfortunately I have a meeting in ten minutes.”

“Too bad, nothing better than an afternoon quickie.”

“Other than an all-night rocker.”

“Good point.”

I was getting all hot and excited thinking about seeing her tonight when I remembered I had to meet Fontini.

“I have to be somewhere tonight on business.”

“Related to the murder?”

“I’m meeting one of her other clients. He says he has information for me.”

“Is it going to help you find who killed her?”

“He’s a police chief, I certainly hope so.”

“Will it take all night?”

“It shouldn’t.”

“Good, I’ll wait up.”

“I can’t make any promises.”

“Try your hardest,” she said and kissed me again, this time long and hard.

I left LaValle’s office feeling a little better, but that was probably the residual effect of Diane’s kiss. I’d now gone through the entire client list plus one bonus and come up with nothing substantive. My hopes of ever wrapping this up were now pinned on Fontini and the paint transfer that Garcia had found on Karen’s car. If it came back to a black Dodge Charger, two badge carrying assholes were going to have a lot of explaining to do; regardless of their employer.

****

Tony got to my house around seven. It was his first time there and he seemed impressed.

“Jesus, I thought I had a nice crib,” he said. “We could have some kick ass parties here,
paisan
.”

“Maybe I’ll have you over some Sunday to watch football.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of you, me, five or six broads and copious amounts of booze.”

“I don’t know that I could handle five or six broads.”

“I’ll hook you up with some shit that will make your dick hard for a week.”

“Viagra?”

“Nah, this incredible stuff one of my Asian connections gave me. First time I used it, I took a whole one and I thought my dick was going to pop out of the skin.”

I was immediately reminded of the chest-bursting scene in
Alien,
shuddering at the thought.

“I had to pack my shit on ice for a few hours until it went down. Now, I just take half,” he said.

“Why in God’s name do you even need to take it, Tony? You’re only thirty-five.”

“It just gives me that extra little kick I need to make sure there’s no question about my sexual powers. I’ll get you some if you want.”

“I think I’ll pass. I’ve got some Viagra.”

“No shit, you got problems down there with your
bujole
?”

“Only for emergencies.”

“Oh,” was all he could muster. “Anyway, I should bring over Tanya and a bunch of her friends and we could really have ourselves a night to remember.”

“I’ll think about it, though I don’t think my neighbors would appreciate it.”

“Ah, fuck em’. Besides, it’s not like you’re living right on top of them like in my condo.”

I had no intention of actually doing it, but didn’t want to disappoint my horny cousin. The idea of having a wild party at my house had little appeal anymore to me.

“So you got laid, huh?” He said with a smile.

“Yeah, and I even managed it on my own without your help.”

“I knew you could. Is she pretty hot?”

“She makes Tanya look like Aunt Josephina.”

“The one with the mustache? Ewwww. Seeing her again?”

“Maybe tonight if we finish early enough.”

“You like her?”

“There’s some issues I need to get over but there’s at least a spark there.”

His face turned serious, a look I’d only seen when he was on the job. “You ever think about getting married again and having kids?”

“We only went on one date; way too early to think about that.”

“No, no, I mean with anyone.”

“Why? Do you?”

“Sometimes. You know Little Anthony is eleven now.”

Little Anthony was a child he’d had out of wedlock. He lived with his mother in Somerville and she’d gotten married a few years after his birth. I’d only met the kid once but he was the spitting image of his father. As far as I knew, Tony made sure the boy was taken care of financially and tried to be a dad when the mother would let him.

“How is he?”

“Doing good. I was thinking about taking him down to New York City for a weekend if he gets a good report card.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah.”

We were silent for a moment. It bothered him that his son wasn’t in his life as much as he liked. For all his flaws, Tony cared a lot about family.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.

“Finding the right one to settle down with and have children with is tough. I tried once and failed miserably.”

“I’ll tell you one thing, we ain’t gonna find the right one in my circles. Those broads are only about the money and the power.”

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize that, but I was glad he had the insight not to get stupid and wed some bimbo just for the sake of getting married.

“It’s all about a party with a wad of cash and a big dick,” he sighed.

“Well, I’ve got the wad.”

“Hey, we all can’t be ten inches of Siciliano prime beef,” he laughed.

“Maybe you should check into a dating service.”

“Right. Hi, my name is Tony and I’m a fucking Captain in the Marino crime family. My hobbies are shaking people down and pussy.”

“Okay, probably a bad idea.”

“Maybe you could find someone and set me up,” he said.

“There’s always Cassie.”

“She seems different than some of the broads I run with but the whole escort thing bothers me. Who knows how many guys she’s done?”

“Probably fewer guys than you’ve done girls.”

“Good point,
compare
, good point.”

SIXTEEN

Shedd
Park is in South Lowell near the Tewksbury line, off of Rogers Street. It’s named after Freeman B. Shedd, a famous local philanthropist who donated fifty acres to the city in 1910 and then willed a hundred thousand dollars for the park’s development. I wondered how much it would cost in present day dollars for the city to develop a Ronan Marino Park. It was probably a lot more than I was willing to shell out while I was still alive.

When Marc and I were kids our parents used to take us there to go sledding and we played our Little League and Babe Ruth baseball there. The firehouse where my father worked for many years is right across the street next to a Chinese restaurant that had changed names about forty times in the past fifteen years. The food had remained excellent, no matter what their moniker was.

Shedd Park is a fairly large city space with a lot of dark back roads that run along a huge old creepy cemetery bordering the Concord River. At the main entrance stand two imposing weathered granite pillars. At one time back in the late eighties the name Dawna had been spray painted in a heart on one of the pillars by some idiot, no doubt to impress the object of his affection and stayed that way for years. The only reason I remember that is I once dated a girl named Dawna with the same odd spelling of her name. It may have even been the same Dawna because the girl got around.

At the end of the park closest to downtown is Fort Hill, where you can see the entire city from at night. I’m not sure why it’s called that since I’ve never seen any signs of a fort up there. It used to be a popular place to go with a date, Lowell’s lover’s lane, but in recent years they’d gated the roads going in and out. I’d spent many a night at the top of that hill hoping to get laid. There was usually more hope than action.

Tony and I arrived around eight-thirty and parked back away from the cemetery in a small clearing next to a ball field. We planned to walk in on foot and surveil the area for a possible ambush. Desperate men can go to reckless lengths and I didn’t know what Fontini would do to protect his secret. It was quite possible he’d called Duffy and been ordered to take me out. If that were the case I’d hate like hell to have to kill a friend’s father. That wouldn’t however stop me from doing it if necessary to save my own neck or Tony.

It was unseasonably warm and a bead of sweat formed on my neck and rolled down my back. I wore the light-weight body armor I’d been issued by the military before my last trip to Iraq. It was uncomfortable rubbing on my shoulder where my stitches were but I’d take that over a bullet in my chest any day. I didn’t ask Tony where he’d manage to acquire his body armor but from the way it fit it wasn’t a tailored job like mine.

He moved through the bushes like a well-trained soldier, his footsteps silent. He carried a matte black Mossberg 12 gauge double-action shotgun and held it forward, anticipating an attack at any moment. If the mob had Special Forces, he would have easily made the team, if not led it.

There were few street lights in the area and I could barely make out the way ahead. As we approached the meeting point, I could see some light from the cemetery and the nearby road. I put up my hand and motioned for Tony to stop.

“Stay back in the bushes. I told Fontini I’d come alone and if he isn’t planning on whacking me you might spook him.”

He just nodded and crouched back behind a large rock. I drew my .45 as I approached the road and clicked off the safety. When I stepped out, I’d be exposed if anyone were waiting. Fontini’s Crown Vic was parked on the side of the dirt road with him sitting in the front seat.

I waited and watched him briefly. He never moved and appeared to be sleeping but that made no sense. It looked like there was something smeared on the windshield but in the darkness it could have just been a shadow. I kept my gun close to my leg and sprinted across the road, approaching the car from behind.

Just as I made it across the road, a vehicle approached at high speed, its headlights cutting through the darkness. I turned to look as the gunfire erupted. I instinctively threw myself to the ground and a beat up white van squealed to a stop with the side door open. A lone masked shooter leaned out and sprayed a clip from a Mac-10 in my direction, shattering the windows in Fontini’s car. On the other side of the van, I heard the booming sound of Tony’s shotgun firing off rounds in succession.

I managed to get a few shots off, blowing out one tire and maybe hitting the shooter but they sped off so quickly I couldn’t be sure. I stood up as Tony lumbering across the road, the shotgun still pointed in the direction the van had gone.

“You okay,” he yelled.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Fontini wasn’t so lucky. I took out the mini Maglite I kept in my jacket pocket and shined it in the car to get a better look. There was an entrance wound in the back of his head and a large portion of his forehead was missing where the bullet had exited. The smear on the windshield I’d noticed from across the road was his blood. It was sprayed all over the dashboard as well and continued to drip from his head onto his lap. Whoever had shot him had used a large caliber weapon. I moved his jacket with my flashlight and saw his pistol was still in the holster on his belt. His neck was still warm meaning he hadn’t been dead long before we got there.

I’d seen many a gruesome sight during my years in the military but it was never easy, especially when it was someone you knew. Tony didn’t seem fazed at all.

“You gonna’ call the cops?” he asked.

“Yeah and I need to be here when they show. Do you need to disappear?”

“Probably be a good idea.”

Instead of dialing 911, I called Shea on his cell phone. Tony took off in my Jeep and went back to the house. Less than three minutes later, I was surrounded by a wave of Lowell Police cruisers. I was leaning on the back of a cruiser when Shea arrived with Garcia and Morley. The elder detective peeled off and went over to the uniformed cops without even acknowledging me. Garcia and Shea took a quick peek at the scene and Shea motioned for me to follow. We walked away from the uniform cops down a small footpath.

“What happened?”

“He called to set up a meeting. When I got here he was dead and a white van sped up and started shooting.”

“You shoot back?” Garcia asked.

“Yeah, I think I hit one too. The uniforms have a description.”

“I’ll go talk with them, LT,” Garcia said and he headed back down the path.

“This was definitely a hit, Gary,” I said.

“No shit, but who did it? You think it was his guys?”

“It was someone who knew him.”

“How do you know that?”

“He was shot in the back of the head from the back seat. His gun wasn’t drawn so he must have not thought he was in any danger.”

“Makes sense. You get a look at the guys in the van?”

“No. The shooter wore a mask and I didn’t see the driver.”

He looked down at the ground and kicked a rock.

“I called the state police. They’re on their way.”

“They gonna’ want to talk to me?”

“Eventually.”

“Tonight?”

“No, I’ll have Garcia take your statement. Who was here with you?”

“What makes you think I wasn’t alone?”

“Because I know you’re not that fucking stupid to come here with no back up.”

“My cousin Tony.”

He shrugged. They’d never had the pleasure.

“What does he do?”

“I think he’s in plumbing sales.”

He just smirked. “Where’d this Tony go?”

I looked around. “He was here just a minute ago.”

Garcia came back up the path along with Morley.

“They found the van abandoned in McDonald’s parking lot over near the city limits; full of shotgun pellet holes and a tire blown out.”

“Have it processed right away,” Shea ordered.

“Yes, sir. Oh, and Ronan, it looks like you did hit one of them. They found some blood inside.”

“More samples for the lab,” I said. “Speaking of which, now more than ever we need that paint transfer back.”

“This is bullshit, Lieutenant,” Morley said as he poked me in the chest. “This guy’s connected to two deaths in our city and we’re going to trust him? No one’s convinced me he’s not somehow involved.”

“Maybe if you were out doing your job instead of worrying about collecting an overtime check from LaValle you’d have a chance of solving this case, asshole,” I said pushing back.

Shea looked like he was going to grab the two of us and bang our heads together like Moe to the other Stooges.

“That’s enough, the two of you,” he said. “I’ll call the lab in the morning myself.”

“Fine,” I said and started to walk away.

Shea grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“From now on, anytime you do anything in city limits that even remotely might lead to gunplay, I want Garcia tagging along. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

“You’re the only person I’ve ever known who’s homecoming has to include a fucking body count, Ronan,” he growled.

I gave Garcia a short written statement and he took me home. Before I left, Shea and I had another talk about how tired he was of covering my ass and how I’d royally fucked up. He threatened to unleash the full fury of the Lowell Police Department, the Marines and all the heavenly angels and saints on me if I so much as jaywalked from here on out.

              He was blowing off steam and I didn’t have a problem with it. If I were in his position, I’d be pretty damned pissed off too.