Sacrifice Fly (40 page)

“Yeah.”

“Wave good-bye to your friend, throw the phone into the water, and then turn around
and start walking east.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not going to repeat myself, Teacher.” He hung up.

I looked behind me. He was around somewhere, but where? I didn’t see any parked cars—I
looked up—or movement on the rooftops above me. I turned back to the water, and the
only boat out there was still idling under the bridge. Without waving good-bye, I
tossed Edgar’s cell phone into the East River. One more look around, and then I headed
east, away from the river.

The streets were still empty, but the closer I got to the residential area, the more
parked cars I passed. After about two minutes, I spotted the white van on my side
of the street. I slowed down as I passed it. The driver’s window was down, and behind
the wheel was Suit. Vega.

The sliding door opened, and he said, “Get in.”

After looking around, I got in. As the door closed, Vega stepped on the gas, sending
me skidding into the back, just like the first time I was in this van. If not for
my book bag, I would have hit the back door hard. We drove for about ten minutes before
he pulled over. He got out, opened the side door, and told me to step outside. I looked
around and had no idea where we were. He ran his hands over my body, checked my bag,
and, when satisfied I was unarmed and had no more cell phones, said, “Get back in.”

“Where’s your partner?” I asked.

“Shut up and move.”

We drove for another ten minutes and then stopped. Vega got out and opened the back
door. I knew where we were now: McCarren Pool. Blocks away from where we had started.

He grabbed my arm and escorted me to the front gate, unchained and opened it. We stepped
through the high weeds and grass and entered the pool area. With the small amount
of light coming off the street, I could make out three shapes in the middle of the
pool. Vega pushed me down the steps and into the pool toward the group.

“Mr. Donne,” Elijah Cruz said, standing next to Ape, who had one hand on Frankie’s
shoulder and a laptop computer in the other. Frankie looked like he hadn’t slept since
I last saw him. “You have what belongs to me?”

“Like we agreed,” I said.

“Good. Then this should not take much time.”

He stuck out his hand. I reached into the book bag, removed the discs, and offered
them to Cruz. Vega came over and took them. He stepped over to Ape. Vega opened the
laptop and slid the first disc in. The screen lit up, illuminating Vega’s face. He
pressed some keys and nodded. He took the second disc and repeated the process.

“These are the discs,” he said.

“Good,” Cruz answered. “And the money?”

I took the bundle out of the bag and tossed it to him.

“That’s what’s left of it,” I said.

“Of course,” Elijah said, taking the cash and handing it to Vega. “I understand the
boy had certain expenses the last few weeks.” Cruz stared at me. “That is a new hat
for you.”

“I have a lot of baseball hats.”

He stepped over to me and took it off. “The Cardinals?” he said. “No. A true fan does
not show allegiance to another team.”

“It’s a different league.”

“I don’t like it,” he said. He took the cap and threw it into the darkness.

We stood in silence for another minute, waiting for Cruz—his back still to the four
of us—to speak. When that didn’t happen, I said, “So, I can take Frankie home now?”

Cruz turned and eyeballed me. Then he laughed, as did Vega. Ape just smiled. Frankie
tried to take a step toward me, but Ape pulled him back.

“I don’t think that would be a smart business decision, Mr. Donne,” Cruz said.

“Yeah,” I said. “You’re probably right.” I reached back into the book bag and pulled
out the two discs I had Edgar make for me. “You might want to take a look at these,
Elijah.”

“And why would I want to do that?”

“It might be a smart business decision.”

Vega looked at Cruz, who was trying to make up his mind as to whether or not to humor
me. After a while, he nodded. Vega took the first disc and repeated the steps he’d
just gone through. “It’s a copy, Elijah.”

“Why,” Elijah Cruz said, “would you go to the trouble of making a copy of the disc,
Mr. Donne?”

“Another
four
copies,” I said. “Of both discs. The first one has to do with EC Medical and Medicare.
The other has quite a lot of info regarding your relationship with John Roberts.”
I pointed at the discs. “I labeled them.”

Elijah Cruz digested this new information. “You have been busy since we last met.”

I smiled. “Idle hands…”

“No matter,” Cruz said. “They prove nothing. The information can all be explained
away. Changed if necessary. They are of little significance.”

“Not to my people,” I said. “The same folks who’ll be getting copies of those discs.
And definitely not to the doctors, and service providers, and patients listed there.
A lot of people’s lives are involved here, Elijah. You said so yourself the other
night.”

Elijah Cruz said nothing. He was exuding complete control as he tried to figure out
if I was bluffing; if I knew as much as I was letting on.

“Now,” I continued, “are you willing to take a chance with all those people’s lives?
Your people? After all you’ve done so far?”

“What guarantee do I have,” Cruz asked, “that this … information will not be delivered
to your people if I choose to let you and the boy go?”

“All I want,” I said in as clear and steady a tone as I could manage, “is for Frankie
to go back home.” I looked at Frankie, Ape’s hand still holding him in place. As Frankie
struggled, his eyes filled with anger and fear. “That’s all I’ve wanted from the beginning.
You let us walk out of here, I’m not going to give a second thought to your business
dealings. You want to beat the government at their own game, fine. I honestly don’t
give a shit.”

Cruz stared at me for a while, then turned and walked away. Ape, Vega, Frankie, and
I watched as he made a slow circle, contemplating the situation before him. Ape and
Vega exchanged almost imperceptible glances, and I could tell they had never before
seen their boss caught by surprise. They looked at me like they wanted to do some
real damage.

Just wait. It’s about to get better.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught some movement on one of the small towers at
the other side of the pool. I couldn’t look very long for fear of being noticed, but
I thought I saw a flash of red disappear behind the concrete. Billy?

“You!” Cruz walked back to me. “Are not the one making decisions here. You…” His finger
was about a foot from my face. “I am in charge here. I will tell what happens next.”

“Now,” I said, “you sound like Father Rodrigo.”

That stopped him. Vega took two steps closer to us. Frankie moaned, and I guessed
that Ape had increased the pressure on his neck.

“You,” he said, quieter this time, “have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“It’s amazing what information you can find online these days. Like the fire that
destroyed the church.” Cruz said nothing, so I continued. “The papers called it suspicious.
The police suspected arson.”

“There was nothing to prove. It was an accident.”

“And all the allegations that came out,” I said. “Years later, the rumors about Father
Rodrigo and his boys. Horrible stuff.”

“Again,” Cruz said, “nothing. A bunch of unhappy young men, looking for someone to
blame their weaknesses on.”

“How long did it take, Elijah, before you’d had enough? Before you asked yourself
what kind of god would allow that to happen?”

“You … you question my faith? You are a little man in the scheme of things, Mr. Donne.
How long do you think it will take before you are forgotten by all except your family?”
He allowed himself a small grin. “Your sister, Rachel. Your mother, Anna. She has
a nice home, by the way. Close to the park.”

“As nice as your mother’s?”

Cruz flinched at the mention of his mother. I hoped that was a flash of red in the
tower and not just my imagination.

“She’s still down in Puerto Rico? Luquillo Beach?”

That stopped him again, and before he could think of something to say I went on.

“But her last name isn’t Cruz. She still goes by Morales. You changed your name.”

Cruz put his hands together and then brought them up to his mouth. He kept them there
while he thought. “You are a smart man. Resourceful.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” I looked over at Frankie. “We’ll be going home soon.”

“Good,” Frankie said, struggling to get the one word out.

“Just like that?” Cruz said. “You come here with some computer discs and some information
you found on the computer, and you think it is enough to intimidate me into letting
you
dictate the outcome of this morning? You are greatly overestimating the value of
what you have.”

“How about this?” I asked, reaching into my shirt pocket and pulling out my trump
card: the picture of the crucifix I had taken a few hours earlier. I handed it to
Cruz. “How much is that worth to you?”

Cruz just stared at the picture. His breathing became labored, and his confident stance
wavered slightly, as if a cold hand were touching his back.

“You broke into my church?”

“Someone left a window open. You should be more careful in a neighborhood like that.
It
is
still Brooklyn.”

“You violated my church?”

“Yeah,” I said. “But like I told you the other night, I’ve lost my faith. It’s no
more to me than, say, breaking into a travel agency.” I took a step closer. “You took
that crucifix from the church,” I said. “But not
after
the fire. By then the cross would have burned up with the rest of the church. The
news reports said everything in that church was destroyed.” I pointed to the burn
marks on Jesus’ feet. “You took it during the fire, and the only way you could have
done that is if you were there when the fire started.”

Cruz reached out and grabbed me by my shirt.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!” he yelled.

I waited a bit. “Yes, I do.” Looking over Cruz’s shoulder, I definitely saw the flash
of red again, moving left to right. My hat was off, and I hoped Billy wouldn’t do
anything reckless. “You set the fire, and now you use that cross as a symbol of your
own power.”

Cruz released my shirt and punched me in the stomach.

I straightened up and caught my breath. “How will your people feel,” I whispered,
“when they find out the foundation of your church is proof that you killed Father
Rodrigo?”

“No!”
Cruz shoved me to the ground. I stayed there, looking up at him. Vega went over to
his boss, but Cruz held up a hand to stop him. He pointed his finger at me. “When
I am through with you, you will see your father in Hell.”

“If that happens,” I said, getting to my feet, “I’d have to agree you were right after
all. But when you don’t believe in Heaven, Hell doesn’t scare you all that much.”

He turned away from me. I now noticed the gun Vega was holding. He looked like nothing
would give him more joy than using it on me.

Elijah Cruz was not used to being spoken to like that. This was a man who lived his
life in complete control. Smarter than the government bureaucracy he was so willing
to steal from, and on the side of God. Who was I when it came down to it? A non-believing
nobody.

A schoolteacher.

“It’s like you told me the other night,” I said. “A man has to believe in something.”
I took a step toward him. “What is it you believe in, Mr. Cruz?”

Elijah Cruz stared into my eyes for a half minute, took a step back, and motioned
for Vega to join him. As the two of them spoke, I gave Frankie my best reassuring
smile. Ape caught the smile and tightened his grip on Frankie’s shoulder.

Cruz and Vega separated, and Cruz walked over to me.

“I have decided,” he began, a touch of defeat in his voice, “to let you go.” Cruz
looked at Ape and nodded. Ape gave one more squeeze to Frankie’s shoulder and pushed
him toward me. I put my arm around Frankie and turned toward the exit. I wanted to
get out as quickly as possible.

We had taken only a few steps when Cruz said, “Stop!”

I turned around to see Vega stepping toward Frankie and me with his gun raised.

“I cannot let you leave, Mr. Donne,” Cruz said.

“You’re willing to lose everything you’ve worked for?” I tried.

He shook his head. “You’ve left me with no choice.” He sounded almost as if I had
beaten him, yet I was the one with the gun pointed at me.

Vega came closer and aimed at my chest. The smile he gave me was one of long-overdue
pleasure. It disappeared as a shot rang out, spinning him around, causing the gun
to fall to the floor of the pool. Ape lumbered over to his wounded partner, held him
upright, and looked around to see where the shot had come from. I took Frankie by
the back and pushed him toward the exit. “Go!”

“But what about—?”

“Just get out of here!” I turned back as Cruz scrambled for Vega’s dropped pistol.

“Don’t do it!” A voice from the dark.

Cruz picked up the gun anyway and, before he could raise it, a second shot fired.
Cruz fell to the ground. He looked at the gun in his hand, but seemed unable to raise
his arm. “Alex,” Cruz whispered. Ape just stood there, holding Vega, still looking
around for the shooter.

I stepped over and removed the gun from Cruz’s hand. I pointed it at Ape and thought
about all the explaining this scene would take, and how much shit Billy and I were
in for. I didn’t know how badly Cruz and Vega were injured, and I was not going to
wait around to find out. With the gun pointed at the three of them, I ran backward
out of the pool as fast as my feet would take me.

I spotted Frankie by the corner and ran over to him. He looked like he was about to
fall, so I put my arm around him. To our right, coming through the darkened playground,
we saw a lone figure, head down, walking toward us. He was wearing a red cap and holding
a black case, the kind pool players carried.