A Father's Wrath (6 page)

“I’ve been kind of busy if you haven’t
noticed.” McCoy turned back to Richie and said, “It wouldn’t have
mattered anyway, since the DNA sample from the scene is
contaminated.”

Perez said, “You didn’t tell me about that,
either.”

McCoy ignored her and said, “I’m sorry, Mr.
Carson, there’s nothing we can do as far as Ko Sin Lu, but we will
follow up on the guest list and employee list, just in case we
missed anything. We’ll be in court for the next couple days, so
I’ll get back to you early next week.”

Richie couldn’t believe that this guy was ready
to sweep everything under the rug. He looked into McCoy’s green
eyes and wondered if he was lying. He wondered if Mr. Bedford had
paid him a visit with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

McCoy put his hand on Richie’s shoulder and
said, “You hang in there. Everything will be okay. Time heals all
wounds.”

“Yeah? Tell my son that.” Richie turned around
and walked down the stairs.

For the first time, his temper didn’t get the
best of him. Richie was saving his anger now for Ko Sin Lu. It was
time to take matters into his own hands.

On the first
floor, just as Richie was about to exit the building, he saw the
cop from that night. He remembered the name on his badge,
J. Martello
.

The cop recognized him too. “Mr. Carson. I was
asking about you.”

“Why?”

“Just wondering how your case is
going.”

“You don’t know?”

“I’m just a grunt here.”

Richie knew that cops usually looked out for
each other, but he decided to take a chance. “Can I buy you a beer?
I need talk to you about something.”

“My shift is over. I just have to
change.”

“I’ll wait outside.”

CHAPTER 18

Joe could tell something was bothering Richie
and he really did want to know how his family was doing, so he
decided to have a beer with the man, even though what he really
wanted was to get home and continue sorting through his father’s
case files.

Outside, Richie steamed a cigarette while
pacing on the sidewalk.

They shook hands.

“Thanks for talking to me, officer
Martello.”

“Call me Joe.”

“Joe. Call me Richie.”

They strolled down the sidewalk to a pub and
went inside for a drink.

The dark pub wasn’t crowded, but wasn’t empty
either.

Richie ordered two draft beers.

They took off their coats and placed them on
two stools, then stood at the bar between two separate groups of
tipsy office workers.

Joe looked down at the tattoo on Richie’s
forearm. “I noticed your tattoo the other night. I was in the
second battalion fifth marines.”

Richie replied, “Second tank
battalion.”

They both sipped their beers.

Richie said, “You really don’t know anything
about my son’s case?”

Joe shook his head.

Richie looked around, then lowered his voice.
“They have a suspect, but he has diplomatic immunity. McCoy said he
would get a federal warrant for a DNA test, then, the next thing I
know, a lawyer offers me fifteen million dollars to drop the case
and sign a waiver.”

“Holy shit.” That big number took Joe by
surprise.

Richie continued, “Then, I went to the precinct
tonight to talk to McCoy, and all of a sudden . . . there’s no
chance of getting a warrant. And that’s not all. Now the DNA sample
just happens to be contaminated.”

“You’re not thinking . . .” Joe didn’t have any
suspicion about McCoy being a crooked cop, but those kinds of
numbers could make a lot of people crooked.

“Yeah. I think they paid him off.”

“And what about Hanna?”

“Who? The chick cop? I don’t know. She seemed
surprised when McCoy told me he couldn’t get the federal
warrant.”

Joe didn’t know what to say. What if Richie was
just paranoid? What if he was right? Joe asked, “And who is this
suspect with diplomatic immunity?”

“Ko Sin Lu. Ambassador from The Republic of Tam
Guk Van.”

CHAPTER 19

Joe slept later than usual on Wednesday, it
must have been those few beers he had the night before with Richie.
He’d planned on looking into Ko Sin Lu, and also spending some time
on his father’s case files, but now it was too late. He only had
time for a quick workout before heading out to work.

Luckily, Joe got to the precinct earlier than
he expected. Using the NYPD computer, he looked up the schedule for
diplomats in the city. Ko Sin Lu wasn’t important enough to warrant
high security from the NYPD, so Joe was easily able to access the
information. Aside from a few meetings at the UN, the ambassador
would be attending another fundraiser in Manhattan next weekend,
this time for hungry children.

He texted the information to Richie and
instantly had a feeling deep within his gut that he may have just
made a major mistake.

Richie replied with a text message that read,
“I’m going to chop off his cock and balls.”

CHAPTER 20

Saturday morning, Richie was ready to go. He’d
had a week and a half to plan his vengeance. He’d bought a gun and
rented a tuxedo.

The fundraiser would be at The Children’s
Museum of New York City, so Richie was confident he would be able
to get in. He just hoped Lu didn’t have any bodyguards. Richie knew
he’d be going to prison, but he didn’t want to go away for murder.
He just wanted to hurt Lu, real bad.

After an awkward, quiet breakfast with the
family, Richie took his bus driver uniform and headed out the door.
The tux, the gun, and a Bowie knife were waiting for him in his
Volvo.

While driving his bus up and down Market
Street, Richie had to do his best to concentrate on what he was
doing and not to think about what he was planning to do. It seemed
like a waste to go to work, but even one extra day on his last
paycheck would help his family. There was even a moment when he
considered getting himself killed during his mission, just so his
wife and children could collect the insurance money.

After what felt like the longest shift of his
life, Richie got out of the bus, said hello to the large woman who
was replacing him, and headed to his usual bar for a
drink.

Richie had told his wife he had to work
overtime tonight. He hated to lie to her, but he couldn’t tell her
the truth.

The bartender poured Richie a beer and a shot
of Jack Daniels. “Nice haircut. You join the marines or
something?”

Richie downed the shot and said,
“Another.”

“One of those nights, Rich?” The bartender
poured another shot.

Richie downed the second shot and chased it
with a gulp of his beer. “Nothing a good drink can’t
fix.”

The bartender said, “I’ll drink to that.” He
set up an empty glass and poured a shot into it. He poured another
shot into Richie’s glass, then put the bottle down.

They raised their glasses, clinked them
together, then downed their shots simultaneously.

Richie finished his beer, threw twenty dollars
on the bar, and stood.

The bartender asked, “You okay to
drive?”

Richie patted his own big belly and said, “This
thing is like a sponge. Don’t worry about me.” He headed out the
door and walked through the falling snow to where his car was
parked.

Inside the car, Richie stared at the windshield
wipers as they went back and forth. The sun was gone already, and
the roads were getting dangerous. He opened the window for some
fresh air. The last thing he needed was a car accident, or a
drinking and driving arrest.

He took his time driving to New York. He
already had the route to the museum highlighted in his map
book.

The snow stopped falling as Richie got into the
city. He drove into a half-empty parking garage a few blocks from
the museum and went up to the fifth floor, parking behind a van to
block the view of his car.

Standing next to his car, Richie quickly took
off his bus driver’s uniform and put on his tuxedo. He didn’t have
a mirror to see what he looked like, but he’d practiced putting it
on twice at home during the week and he was confident that he now
had everything in place.

He checked his map book once more before
heading to the garage elevator.

Downstairs, on the sidewalk, Richie hurried to
the museum, being careful not to slip on any snow or ice. Luckily,
it only took him a few minutes to get there.

During the past week and a half, Richie
pictured every possible scenario in his head—he tried to think of
the best way to get in, but by the time he got there, he decided to
try something completely different, it just seemed too perfect not
to work.

Richie approached the door, opened it, and saw
a security guard standing next to a woman with a nametag on her
dress and pamphlets in her hand. Before either of them could say
anything, Richie said, “I forgot my phone. Can you believe it?” He
chuckled, then strolled in as if he were there all
night.

The security guard and the woman at the door
must have fallen for it, because they didn’t say anything, and they
didn’t come after him.

Richie was relieved, but he knew he still had a
long way to go. He looked around for Lu, while hoping he didn’t
have any protection.

Trying to fit in, he took a glass of white wine
from a waiter with a tray and began to mingle. He saw the same type
of rich people who were at the last fundraiser. He glanced at the
exhibits, most were art made by children, but a few were art that
featured children.

Finally, he spotted him. Ko Sin Lu was looking
at a painting of two naked cherubs and discussing it with two older
women who weighed less than the diamonds they were
wearing.

Richie never liked those pictures of naked
angels, and it seemed fitting that this little sicko would like
that type of shit.

There didn’t seem to be any bodyguards around,
or anyone else who looked threatening, so Richie decided to make
his move. He slipped his glasses into his pocket. He wouldn’t be
able to see exact details, but he didn’t need to . . . for
now.

He approached Lu and the two women and with
some help from the alcohol, Richie put on his best southern accent.
“Is that?” He got closer to them. “Is that Ko Sin Lu?”

Lu adjusted his thick glasses, but didn’t
answer.

Richie said, “You look great.” He held out his
hand, hoping Lu would take the bait.

Ko Sin Lu shook Richie’s hand, “I am very
sorry. I do not remember your name.”

“Tex. Tex Williams. We met at the United
Nations.” Before Lu could answer, Richie looked at the two old
women and asked, “And who are these beautiful young
ladies?”

The two women giggled like
schoolgirls.

The taller one said, “I’m Helen. Nice to meet
you.” She gave him a half-curtsy and half-handshake.” The shorter
woman kept giggling, so her friend answered for her, “She’s Anna .
. . and she’s single.”

The shorter woman hit her friend in the
arm.

Richie never imagined women of this age and
wealth, acting like this. He continued the charade, “Well, Anna. If
my wife catches me with you, she just might get
jealous.”

Helen chuckled.

Anna seemed disappointed. “Wife?”

“Yes.” Richie turned and waved at a group of
beautiful women in their thirties. The young women didn’t notice.
Richie had to remember to use his southern accent. “When she gets
to talking, there’s no stopping her. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll
be over any minute now.”

Anna said, “I’m sorry we can’t stay and meet
her, but we have friends looking for us as well.”

“It was nice meeting you ladies then. Maybe
we’ll catch up later.” Richie smiled and hoped no one could see the
bulge of the small pistol in his jacket pocket or the bulge of the
Bowie knife strapped to his ankle. Thank god he asked for a little
extra room in the tuxedo.

The rich old women sashayed away, leaving
Richie alone with Lu.

Richie put his arm around Lu’s small shoulder
and looked at the painting of the cherubs. “Beautiful, aren’t
they?” He could tell Lu was uncomfortable, so he decided to talk as
much as possible and hopefully gain his trust before someone else
came over.

“These naked boys remind me of my nephew. He
just loves to dance around naked.”

“Really?” Lu seemed to be interested
now.

Richie laughed, then said, “Yeah. And then his
mother spanks his little white butt and the kid just laughs. It
seems like he likes it.”

Lu adjusted his glasses. “Really?”

Richie wanted to take out his gun and shoot the
little sicko right there in front of everyone, but that wasn’t the
plan. He continued enticing Lu. “And then the kid loves water. He
always wants to be naked and wet. Hey. You wanna see a
picture?”