Rage of Angels (25 page)

“Move your ass,” Joseph Colella said.

Gus looked at the pawn ticket number again and began to sort through his files. He found what he was looking for, nodded in satisfaction, and went to the large walk-in strong room and opened it, the two men close behind him. Stavros searched along a shelf until he found a small envelope. Turning to the two men, he opened the envelope and took out a large diamond ring that sparkled in the overhead lights.

“This is it,” Gus Stavros said. “I gave him five hundred for it.” The ring was worth at least twenty thousand dollars.

“You gave five hundred to who?” little Salvatore Fiore asked.

Gus Stavros shrugged. “A hundred customers a day come in here. The name on the envelope is John Doe.”

Fiore pulled a piece of lead pipe out of nowhere and smashed it savagely against Gus Stavros’ nose. He fell to the floor screaming with pain, drowning in his own blood.

Fiore asked quietly, “Who did you say brought it in?”

Fighting for breath, Gus Stavros gasped, “I don’t know his name. He didn’t tell me. I swear to God!”

“What did he look like?”

The blood was flowing into Gus Stavros’ throat so fast he could hardly speak. He was beginning to faint, but he knew if he passed out before he talked he would never wake up.

“Let me think,” he pleaded.

Stavros tried to focus, but he was so dizzy from the pain that it was difficult. He forced himself to remember the customer walking in, taking the ring out of a box and showing it to him. It was coming back to him.

“He—he was kind of blond and skinny—” He choked on some blood. “Help me up.”

Salvatore Fiore kicked him in the ribs. “Keep talkin’.”

“He had a beard, a blond beard…”

“Tell us about the rock. Where did it come from?”

Even in his extreme pain, Gus Stavros hesitated. If he talked, he would be a dead man later. If he did not, he would
die now. He decided to postpone his death as long as possible.

“It came from the Tiffany job.”

“Who was in on the job with the blond guy?”

Gus Stavros was finding it harder to breathe. “Mickey Nicola.”

“Where can we find Nicola?”

“I don’t know. He—he shacks up with some girl in Brooklyn.”

Fiore lifted a foot and nudged Stavros’ nose. Gus Stavros screamed with pain.

Joseph Colella asked, “What’s the broad’s name?”

“Jackson. Blanche Jackson.”

4:30
A.M.

The house was set back from the street, surrounded by a small white picket fence with a carefully tended garden in front. Salvatore Fiore and Joseph Colella tramped through the flowers and made their way to the back door. It took them less than five seconds to open it. They stepped inside and moved toward the stairs. From a bedroom above they could hear the sounds of a bed creaking and the voices of a man and a woman. The two men pulled out their guns and started to move quietly up the stairs.

The woman’s voice was saying, “Oh, Christ! You’re wonderful, Mickey! Give it to me harder, baby.”

“It’s all for you, honey, every bit of it. Don’t come yet.”

“Oh, I won’t,” the woman moaned. “Let’s come to—”

She looked up and screamed. The man whirled around. He started to reach under the pillow but decided against it.

“Okay,” he said. “My wallet’s in my pants on the chair. Take it and get the hell out of here. I’m busy.”

Salvatore Fiore said, “We don’t want your wallet, Mickey.”

The anger on Mickey Nicola’s face turned to something else. He sat up in bed, moving cautiously, trying to figure out
the situation. The woman had pulled the sheets up over her breasts, her face a combination of anger and fright.

Nicola carefully swung his feet over the side of the bed, sitting on the edge, ready to spring. His penis had gone limp. He was watching both men, waiting for an opportunity.

“What do you want?”

“Do you work with Frank Jackson?”

“Go fuck yourselves.”

Joseph Colella turned to his companion. “Shoot his balls off.”

Salvatore Fiore raised his gun and aimed.

Mickey Nicola screamed, “Wait a minute! You guys must be crazy!” He looked into the little man’s eyes and said quickly, “Yeah. I’ve worked with Jackson.”

The woman cried out angrily, “Mickey!”

He turned on her savagely. “Shut up! You think I want to be a fuckin’ eunuch?”

Salvatore Fiore turned to the woman and said, “You’re Jackson’s sister, ain’t you?”

Her face was filled with fury. “I never heard of him.”

Fiore raised his gun and moved closer to the bed. “You got two seconds to talk to me or you two are gonna be splashed all over the wall.”

There was something in his voice that chilled her. He raised his gun and the blood began to drain from the woman’s face.

“Tell them what they want to know,” Mickey Nicola cried.

The gun moved up to press against the woman’s breast.

“Don’t! Yes! Frank Jackson’s my brother.”

“Where can we find him?”

“I don’t know. I don’t see him. I swear to God I don’t know! I—”

His hand tightened on the trigger.

She screamed, “
Clara
! Clara would know! Ask Clara!”

Joseph Colella said, “Who’s Clara?”

“She’s—she’s a waitress Frank knows.”

“Where can we find her?”

This time there was no hesitation. The words spilled out. “She works at a bar called The Shakers in Queens.” Her body began to tremble.

Salvatore Fiore looked at the two of them and said politely, “You can go back to your fuckin’ now. Have a nice day.”

And the two men departed.

5:30
A.M.

Clara Thomas (nee Thomachevsky) was about to fulfill her lifelong dream. She hummed happily to herself as she packed her cardboard suitcase with the clothes she would need in Canada. She had taken trips with gentlemen friends before, but this was different. This was going to be her honeymoon trip. Frank Jackson was like no other man she had known. The men who came into the bar, pawing her and pinching her buttocks, were nothing but animals. Frank Jackson was different. He was a real gentleman. Clara paused in her packing to think about that word:
gentle man.
She had never thought of it that way before, but that was Frank Jackson. She had seen him only four times in her life, but she knew she was in love with him. She could tell he had been attracted to her from the very beginning, because he always sat at her booth. And after the second time he had walked her home when the bar had closed.

I must still have it,
Clara thought smugly,
if I can get a handsome young guy like that.
She stopped her packing to walk over to the closet mirror to study herself. Maybe she was a little too heavy and her hair was a couple of shades too red, but dieting would take care of the extra pounds and she would be more careful the next time she dyed her hair. All in all, she wasn’t too dissatisfied with what she saw.
The old broad’s still pretty good-lookin’,
she told herself. She knew that Frank
Jackson wanted to take her to bed, even though he had never touched her. He was really special. There was an almost—Clara furrowed her forehead, trying to think of the word—
spiritual
quality about him. Clara had been brought up a good Catholic and she knew it was sacrilegious to even think such a thought, but Frank Jackson reminded her a little bit of Jesus. She wondered what Frank would be like in bed. Well, if he was shy, she would show him a trick or two. He had talked about their getting married as soon as they got to Canada. Her dream come true. Clara looked at her watch and decided she had better hurry. She had promised to pick Frank up at his motel at seven-thirty.

She saw them in the mirror as they walked into her bedroom. They had come out of nowhere. A giant and a little fellow. Clara watched as the two of them moved toward her.

The small man looked at the suitcase. “Where you goin’, Clara?”

“None of your business. Just take what you want and get out of here. If there’s anything in this joint worth more than ten bucks, I’ll eat it.”

“I got something you can eat,” the big man Colella said.

“Up yours, buster,” Clara snapped. “If this is gonna be a rape job, I want you to know the doctor’s treatin’ me for gonorrhea.”

Salvatore Fiore said, “We ain’t gonna hurt you. We just wanna know where Frank Jackson is.”

They could see the change that came over her. Her body suddenly stiffened and her face became a mask.

“Frank Jackson?” There was a note of deep puzzlement in her voice. “I don’t know any Frank Jackson.”

Salvatore Fiore pulled a lead pipe out of his pocket and took a step toward her.

“You don’t scare me,” Clara said, “I—”

His arm lashed out across her face, and in the midst of the blinding pain she could feel her teeth crumbling inside her mouth like tiny pieces of grit. She opened her mouth to speak and blood began pouring out. The big man raised his pipe again.

“No, please don’t!” She gagged.

Joseph Colella said politely, “Where can we find this Frank Jackson?”

“Frank is—is—”

Clara thought of her sweet, gentle man in the hands of these two monsters. They were going to hurt him and, instinctively, she knew that Frank would not be able to stand the pain. He was too sensitive. If she could only find a way to save him, he would be grateful to her forever.

“I don’t know.”

Salvatore Fiore moved forward and Clara heard the sound of her leg breaking at the same instant she felt the excruciating pain. She fell to the floor, unable to scream because of all the blood in her mouth.

Joseph Colella stood over her and said pleasantly, “Maybe you don’t unnerstand. We ain’t gonna kill you. We’re just gonna keep breakin’ things. When we’re through with you, you’ll look like a piece of garbage the cat threw away. Do you believe me?”

Clara believed him. Frank Jackson would never want to look at her again. She had lost him to these two bastards. No dream come true, no marriage. The little man was moving forward with the lead pipe again.

Clara moaned, “Don’t. Please don’t. Frank’s at the—the Brookside Motel on Prospect Avenue. He—”

She fainted.

Joseph Colella walked over to the telephone and dialed a number.

Michael Moretti answered. “Yes?”

“Brookside Motel on Prospect Avenue. Want us to take him?”

“No. I’ll meet you there. Make sure he doesn’t leave.”

“He won’t go anywhere.”

6:30
A.M.

The boy was beginning to stir again. The man watched as Joshua opened his eyes. The boy looked down at the wire on his wrists and legs, and then looked up and saw Frank Jackson, and the memories came flooding back.

This was the man who had pushed those pills down his throat and kidnapped him. Joshua knew all about kidnappings from television. The police would come and save him and put the man in jail. Joshua was determined not to show his fear, because he wanted to be able to tell his mother how brave he had been.

“My mother will be here with the money,” Joshua assured the man, “so you don’t have to hurt me.”

Frank Jackson walked over to the bed and smiled down at the boy. He really was a beautiful child. He wished he could take the boy to Canada instead of Clara. Reluctantly, Frank Jackson looked at his watch. It was time to get things ready.

The boy held up his bound wrists. The blood had caked dry.

“Would you mind taking this off, please?” he asked politely. “I won’t run away.”

Frank Jackson liked it that the boy had said “please.” It showed good manners. These days, most kids had no manners at all. They ran around the streets like wild animals.

Frank Jackson went into the bathroom where he had put the can of gasoline back in the tub so that it would not stain the rug in the living room. He prided himself on details like that. He carried the can into the bedroom and set it down. He moved to the boy’s side, lifted up the bound figure and
placed him on the floor. Then he picked up the hammer and two large nails and knelt next to the boy.

Joshua Parker was watching him, wide-eyed. “What are you going to do with that?”

“Something that will make you very happy. Have you ever heard of Jesus Christ?” Joshua nodded. “Do you know how he died?”

“On the cross.”

“That’s very good. You’re a bright boy. We don’t have a cross here, so we’ll have to do the best we can.”

The boy’s eyes were beginning to fill with fear.

Frank Jackson said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Jesus wasn’t afraid. You mustn’t be afraid.”

“I don’t want to be Jesus,” Joshua whispered. “I want to go home.”

“I’m going to send you home,” Frank Jackson promised. “I’m going to send you home to Jesus.”

Frank Jackson took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and moved it toward the boy’s mouth. Joshua gritted his teeth together.

“Don’t make me angry.”

Frank Jackson pressed his thumb and forefinger against Joshua’s cheeks and forced his mouth open. He shoved the handkerchief into Joshua’s mouth and slapped a piece of tape across it to hold the handkerchief in place. Joshua was straining against the wires that bound his wrists and hands, and they began to bleed again. Frank Jackson ran his hands over the fresh cuts.

“The blood of Christ,” he said softly.

He picked up one of the boy’s hands, turned it over and held it down against the floor. Then he picked up a nail. Holding it against Joshua’s palm with one hand, Frank Jackson picked up the hammer with his other. He drove the nail through the boy’s hand into the floor.

7:15
A.M.

Michael Moretti’s black limousine was stalled on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in early morning traffic, held up by a vegetable truck that had overturned and spilled its cargo across the road. Traffic had come to a standstill.

“Pull over to the other side of the road and get past him,” Michael Moretti ordered Nick Vito.

“There’s a police car up ahead, Mike.”

“Go up and tell whoever’s in charge that I want to talk to him.”

“Right, boss.”

Nick Vito got out of the car and hurried toward the squad car. A few moments later he returned with a police sergeant. Michael Moretti opened the window of the car and held out his hand. There were five one hundred dollar bills in it.