Lloyd Corricelli - Ronan Marino 01 - Two Redheads & a Dead Blonde (30 page)

“Well if it isn’t super-fucking-man,” he bellowed. “I told you what I was going to do if you fucked up in my city again.”

“Excuse me, but I just solved the murder of a prominent police chief and a local college student,” I shot back.

“Don’t get fucking smart with me, asshole, Morley was my brother in-law.”

“Then maybe you should have known he was dirty.”

“Fuck you.” He grabbed me and slammed me back into the wall. Under normal circumstances I would have probably been able to react but in my current condition, he had the upper hand. Garcia and Shea quickly came to my aid and pulled him off.

“That’s enough, Mickey,” Shea growled.

“I’ll decide when it’s enough,” Halloran yelled.

I stood there dazed as Shea got in Halloran’s face. The man had serious intestinal fortitude.

“Morley killed the girl on orders from Dan LaValle’s chief of staff.”

“That’s bullshit. Who’s feeding you that crap? This asshole?”

I was of course the asshole in question.

“He pistol whipped me and tried to kill Ronan,” Garcia added.

Halloran pointed at him. “You just shut up or you’ll be out writing traffic tickets. Is there any proof beyond him?”

Him had a name, but I was too spent to correct Halloran.

“We’ve got a call to her apartment on his cell phone,” Shea explained.

“That’s easy to explain. He worked details for Dan LaValle. He was probably just setting up the next one.”

“Or setting me up,” I said.

Shea shot me a dirty look indicating he’d prefer me to keep my pie hole shut. Halloran sunk into a chair. His body language told me he was becoming more receptive to the truth.

“The call was made right before Morley tried to kill Ronan,” Shea said.

Halloran leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling.

“Chief, what kind of car does your sister in-law drive?” Garcia asked.

“A Cadillac Eldorado, why?”

“Is it black?” Shea asked.

“Yes. What the fuck does this have to do with anything?”

“The paint transfer on Karen Pommer’s car came back to a late model black Eldorado,” She explained.

Halloran slumped down into a chair, his anger abating.

“Jesus Christ, what am I going to tell my wife, Gary?” he asked. “I know Robert wasn’t the best cop, but a murderer? Christ, he’s got almost thirty years on the force.”

Shea and Garcia looked at me. What could I say?

“We’ll try to keep the damage to a minimum,” Shea said.

Halloran nodded his thanks though I’m sure he knew there would be a lot of explaining to do to his sister in-law and his wife if Shea decided to seize her car.

It was past four in the afternoon when I finally made it home and there was a message on my machine from Diane.

“Ronan, I hope everything’s okay. Where are you?”  her voice asked.

I chuckled.

“Please call me back, okay?” she continued. Diane had to have heard the sirens and as smart as she was, she’d know what they were related to.

I took a quick shower and went right to bed. The last month and a half had flat out kicked my ass and that Maui vacation was starting to sound good. Unfortunately, the final act had yet to be played out. There were still the issues of Cassie and Diane to resolve; two redheads with far disparate problems, neither of which were going to be easily resolved. Peter Parker never had this much trouble with Mary Jane Watson. I finally drifted off to sleep, my mind full of things I needed to do when I awoke.

TWENTY

Shea
called late the next morning and informed me that Marcotte and Smolinski decided they still wanted me to go see Diane wearing a wire. Even though it was a huge waste of time, I reluctantly agreed and he set up a meeting with them for later in the afternoon.

It was not porch-sitting weather, but I sat out there anyway with a cup of coffee. There was just enough chill in the air to help me clear my head and think this through. I placed a quick call to Cassie and let her know that things were almost over.

“Do I have to come back today?” she asked. Her voice sounded more relaxed than I’d heard since the night Karen died.

“No. You don’t sound too excited.”

“I’m actually enjoying my time up here. This is the first time I’ve been on my own in a long long time and I’ve had time to think about things,” she explained.

“Like what?”

“You know, like the stuff we talked about when you were here. I decided I want to go to school and maybe get into a rehab group. I’ve been jonesing a bit for some coke.”

“It’s hard to give up; at least that’s what I hear.”

“You’ve never done it?”

“Nope. Never appealed to me. I was always a liquor man myself.”

“And I’ll bet you licked her real good too.”

We both laughed.

“I can still be a flirt, right?” she asked.

“Flirting is a God-given right.”

The call waiting on my phone clicked.

“I’ve got another call coming in, Cassie. I’ll call you later,” I said.

“Okay, bye, Ronan.”

I clicked the receiver and answered the second call.

“Hey, how’s my favorite nephew feeling?” Uncle Sal asked.

“Good considering we may have killed half the population of Iowa the other night.”

“From what Tony told me, they all deserved to die,” he said.

“I’m generally not in the business of choosing who lives and dies. How are you doing?”

“Good, although a certain nephew of mine has been bogarting my top performer.”

“Sorry. I think I’m about done with him.”

“Not just yet. He’s on his way back up there.”

“What for?”

“Duffy called me about a half-hour ago. He wants to meet with you,” Uncle Sal explained.

“Great. Sounds like another setup.”

“No, he wants to make peace. This is unusual, kid. He normally doesn’t back off from anyone.”

“I killed one of his best guys.”

“That’s what I heard; shoved his eyeballs back into his brain. We need to find you a nickname,” Uncle Sal laughed.

“Crusher sounds pretty good.”

“Maybe we’ll just stick with Ronan.”

“Did you broker this meeting?” I asked.

“I thought about it, but he called me first. Said it’s getting way out of hand and doesn’t want to cause problems between us. He wants it to end today. Tony’s going with you to the meeting.”

“Why?”

“Because you are a fucking hothead.”

“I’m the most level-headed person I know.”

“You think. Tony also told me about breaking that guy’s nose at the escort service. Maybe there’s some hope I can get you to come to work for me yet. Then I could hand everything over to you and Tony and retire in Florida.

“You’ll never retire, Uncle Sal. Who’d keep the peace?”

“You. That’s the whole point.”

“I thought I was a hothead.”

“You can learn to control that temper. I know you must have in the service or you wouldn’t have gotten as far as you did.”

We chatted for a few minutes about the weather, the Patriots and how much sugar to add to tomato sauce, which he like most local Italians over fifty referred to as “gravy.” I promised him to come down for dinner during the week and maybe catch a Bruins game. We didn’t discuss tickets; he’d get them at center ice, ten rows up just like when I was a kid.

It seemed too good to be true. If everything went right with Duffy, I might tie things up with him in a nice neat little bow and be home in time for the late news.

I shaved, got dressed and waited for Tony. I called Diane’s cell phone and got her voice mail. I left a message to call me and said something about making up for the other night.

Tony pulled into the driveway in a shiny black Cadillac Coupe Deville that looked like it had recently been washed and waxed; nothing worse than a dirty mob-mobile.

“Don’t you think this car is a bit clichéd?” I asked.

“Maybe, but it’s got plenty of room for pussy in the backseat.”

“Yeah, that it does.”

“Where’s the Suburban?”

“I needed a change of pace. Cops looking for me?”

“Nah, I forgot your last name.”

“Again? They don’t believe you.”

“Of course not, though you did speak to Garcia.”

“Not a bad kid…for a fucking cop,” Tony replied. 

“What was the deal with the shooter on the roof?”

“Fucking sniper. I spotted him climbing up there right before you showed so I went up and introduced myself.”

“You know him?”

“No, never seen him before.”

“Name was Erickson, one of Duffy’s guys.”

“Erickson? Wasn’t he a fucking Viking or something?”

“Yeah, he’s the guy some historians think might have discovered America.”

“Bullshit, Columbus discovered America,” Tony snapped.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“No, not whatever, Ronan. Why you putting down an Italian hero?”

“Okay Tony, Christopher Columbus discovered America. You happy? Now where are we meeting Duffy?”

“Some Mick place. The Dub Flyer or something like that. You know it?”

“The Dubliner?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“It’s down on Market Street, probably been there forever.”

“Never heard of it,” he mumbled.

Whether Tony knew it or not, the Dubliner was a Lowell institution. My grandfather on my Irish side drank there when he was a younger man and I’d gone there occasionally in college. Ironically, it was right around the corner from Diane’s place, though I doubted she was home this time of day.

The bar was supposed to look like an authentic Irish pub with all of the dark wood trim and brass. If that was the intent, they’d come close but something just wasn’t right. Maybe it was huge Budweiser and Patriots banner that hung above the bar. I don’t recall seeing those in the Dublin pubs on a trip I took there a number of years back.

When we got there, Duffy’s albino bodyguard was waiting at the door and motioned us in.

“You wearing a wire?” he asked.

I opened my coat and shirt to show him I wasn’t. His eyes went to my .45 but he didn’t say anything about it. He reached in and patted my chest quickly just to make sure. Satisfied, he nodded and we followed him to the back. He didn’t bother checking Tony, he knew better.

In a back booth, we found Duffy eating of all things a big plate of corn beef and cabbage with a pint of dark beer. First Tony with the black Caddy and now Duffy with his choice of lunches–and these guys didn’t want to be stereotyped.

The albino gestured for us to sit and I slid into the booth giving Tony the outside.

“Keep your hands on the table,” the albino directed.

Shooting Duffy was not in my plans. There’d been enough gunplay. I simply nodded my understanding.

“Thanks for seeing me, Duffy,” I said.

“You have been a huge fucking thorn in my side,” he said between mouthfuls of cabbage. “How you doing, Tony?”

“Fine, thank you. I want you to know that I am in no way here as a representative of the Marino family. I am simply here to support my cousin,” Tony said as if he was reading from a script.

“I understand. Let’s get down to business. I think you know now that I didn’t have your girlfriend killed. She was one of my best girls.”

“Then why were your people involved?”

“I wanted to find out who killed her too so I sent my guys to investigate. Who better than cops to do that kind of work, right?”

“Is that what they were doing when they beat the hell out of me in the woods?” I asked.

“I don’t dictate their means and methods. You know I’m still not real clear exactly who killed the girl.”

“Lowell cop named Morley.”

“The one that worked for Diane Dunn,” he replied.

“Yes, how’d you know that?”

“I have my sources. LaValle has been using my services for a number of years. Ms. Dunn of course was none too pleased about it.”

“We all have our flaws.”

He nodded. “She has been trying to control him since she came into his employ but he can’t keep the snake in the cave, if you know what I mean. She even had the fucking gall to offer me money for whatever pictures and videos I may or may not have of him.”

“Still doesn’t explain why she had Ronan’s girl killed,” Tony said.

“No, it really doesn’t. Your girlfriend tried to terminate her employment with me,” Duffy explained. “But I didn’t accept. These girls don’t understand my business and what an important asset they are.”

“But I think I do. You don’t even care all that much about the money, at least for AAA Diamond. It’s all about getting dirt on powerful men and using that to get them to do your bidding. Men like LaValle and Fontini,” I said.

“Very true. I was told your girl was different than most of the others though. I asked my manager Richard about her. You know, the guy whose nose you broke.”

“I remember him.”

“He told me she didn’t seem to care about the gifts and fringe benefits that the other girls got. She stayed off the drugs too; definitely smarter than the rest.”

“But not smart enough to stay out of the business to begin with,” I said somberly.

He shrugged. “Nothing your uncle doesn’t do.”

“I stay out of that side of his life.”

“So you claim.”

“Before your guys clipped him, Morley told me Karen was a security liability to LaValle,” I said. “He threatened her to keep quiet but Karen told him I would protect her.”

“But you knew nothing about it?” Duffy asked.

“Right.”

“Then it sounds like she was blackmailing LaValle to get him to pull a favor with me.”

“That’s what I figured. There is an election coming up and if it got out, he’d surely lose,” I said.

“Let me throw something out there, Ronan,” Tony said. “What if this Diane broad checked into who the boyfriend was and found out about you and your background? She might have figured if your girlfriend was found dead, you would get involved, find out that she was working for the escort agency and assume Duffy had her whacked.”

“Interesting theory,” Duffy said.

“Then I’d kill you in retaliation,” I added.

“And if I was out of the way, LaValle’s secret just might be safe,” Duffy explained.

“Diane once told me that she felt pity for whoever killed Karen when I caught him. She does know a lot about my past, even things that aren’t exactly public record.”

“You been porking her too, huh?” Duffy asked.

“Yeah.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Don’t feel too bad. That bitch is a black fucking widow with a trail of broken men and bodies all around her. She tried to lure me into her little web but I knew better.”

“I don’t know about any of that,” I said. “But if Tony is right, we’ve been set up. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

“I’d have to agree. What are we going to do about it?” Duffy asked.

“Cops want me to go in with a wire.”

“She’s way too smart for that,” Duffy offered.

“I told them.”

“You going to do it?”

“What choice do I have?”

“Men like us always have a choice. Right, Tony?” Duffy stated.

Tony nodded in agreement.

“What I don’t get is if you didn’t have Karen offed, how come your guys kept coming after me?”

“You think I can let someone walk into one of my businesses and bust up the manager? I was protecting myself and my investments.”

“That’s why you sent Oisen, the vice cops, and Erickson.”

“Four of my fucking all-stars I lost in this mess,” he lamented.

“Pity,” I said.

“Don’t worry, I still got a pretty full squad left to call into action. You know it was Dunn who tipped us off to the meeting two nights ago. It seems she wanted to escalate things.”

“I know. She probably hoped that you’d nail Morley too,” I said.

“With him out of the way, there was no one to link her to the first murder.”

“And if I got whacked, she’s home free,” I added.

“Or if you didn’t, she might have hoped you’d be really pissed and come right at me,” Duffy said.