Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery (8 page)

“Those days are over,” Jada said, getting up from the table in a huff.

“Sit down and let me tell you something. Just because the law says there isn’t prejudice, and just because we got a black president, don’t
ever
think that prejudice is over. It flat out ain’t true.” She looked at Jada and Mars both. “I’m not talking about black and white here; I’m talking about a prejudice that goes a lot deeper than that—the one between rich and poor. That’s been going on a lot longer than any black-and-white thing.” She shook her head, mumbling, “The one thing rich people hate more than anything is poor people getting rich quick.”

She looked as if she’d stop, but then she turned to Lonny. “And shame on you, husband, for letting this talk go on so long.”

Lonny’s smile had long since disappeared. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve her ire, but there was no sense in arguing when Lucia got like this. He imagined it was nerves eating away at her, which he couldn’t much blame her for. “Your mother’s right. We’re simple folk, and we need to remind ourselves of that.”

Lucia grabbed her plate and coffee cup from the table and put them in the sink. “Help me with these dishes, Mars. You too, Jada.”

Mars grabbed a dish towel and started drying. “I didn’t want to be rich anyway. It would have taken me too long to write down all I needed to buy.”

Lucia stopped doing dishes and laughed, though it seemed to be mixed with tears. “Don’t you worry, children. The Lord won’t let anything bad happen to a good person like your father.”

Lonny choked down the last of his coffee, cringing at her words. The Lord was certainly ashamed of him right now, and he had to do something about it.

Chapter 12

Gino Gets a Partner

I
left the Marshall house feeling like I had nowhere to go on this case, and a night’s sleep hadn’t improved my outlook. Whoever the hell these people were, they were doing a good job of maintaining control. In the morning, I called Coop to see about getting help. I
had
to catch these bastards.

“Captain Cooper’s office.” Cindy’s long drawl came across with a pleasant tone.

“Hi, Cindy. Where’s Gladys?”

“She’ll be all over your backside if you keep calling her Gladys.”

“So where is she?”

“In the office.”

“You know what Delgado’s working on?”

“Why don’t you come right out and say what’s on your mind?”

“I need to know who’s available before I ask Coop for help. I don’t want to get stuck with just anybody.”

“I think Delgado can be spared.”

“Okay, put me through to the sweetheart.”

Cindy was still laughing when she switched me over.

Coop picked up a few seconds later. “What do you need?”

“I need help. Delgado available?”

“Since there was a long delay between the time Cindy’s phone rang and the time I got the call, I presume you know he’s available.”

“Coop, you’re too damn smart for me.”

“I know that,” she said. “What’s new on the case?”

“The father was pretty torn up, as you might guess. The wife was at the hospital. From the sounds of it, she’s even worse off.”

“Was he any help?”

“Maybe. But I need Delgado. We need to find the people doing this before somebody dies.”

“I’ll have Cindy tell him…unless you already did that.”

“I didn’t, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to be the one to tell him.”

“What kind of sick game are you playing now?”

I dialed Hector “Ribs” Delgado’s number. He earned the name Ribs when he was young and so skinny his ribs showed, and because he loved eating ribs more than anything. Give Hector a choice of what to eat on any day, and the choice would be ribs.

“What’s up, Gino?”

“I just got a call from Coop. She wants to see us right away. You know anything about this?”

“See us? What for?”

“That’s what I asked. You don’t know anything about it?”

“Fuck no, man. What the hell did you do now? Did you get me in some kind of trouble? Does this have anything to do with that poker-game robbery?”

“Nothing I can think of. Meet me at the station, and we’ll go to her office together.”

I knew he’d be sweating. For some reason, Ribs was terrified of Captain Cooper. I didn’t blame him; she was one of the toughest cops I knew, male or female.

Ribs was waiting in my office when I got to the station.

“Hector, how’s it going?” I asked.

“Depends on why we’re being summoned. And quit calling me Hector, asshole.”

I slapped him on the back. “Let’s find out. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

“You dirty fuck,” he said. “What’s she really want us for?”

“I really don’t know.” I headed toward Coop’s office, but he didn’t follow. When I turned around, he was laughing.

“Hear we’re going to be working together again, cuz.”

“That lousy shit Coop. She told you, didn’t she?”

He laughed more.

“And quit reminding me that we’re related,” I said.

“You didn’t say that when you first met Mary.”

I laughed, recalling that day. Mary’s whole family had come to her house to meet me, all of them armed with questions and hard-eyed glares. “Yeah, I know. That was a fun day.”

“So what do you need my brains for?”

“We got the same sons of bitches that hit the game.” I pointed to the stitches in my head. “Same ones who did this.”

“And took Mary’s watch,” he said.

“Yeah. But this time they did a home invasion and hurt the son. Bad.”

“You sure it’s them? You’re not—”

“When the guy was beating the son with a tire iron, one of the others yelled ‘Number Three!’” I stared at Delgado. “That proof enough?”

“I’m ready,” he said. “Fill me in while we drive.”

We stopped for coffee on the way. “I’m sure these are the same guys who did the house in Memorial, the one where the lady was home by herself.”

“What makes you think they’re connected?”

“Same approach. One guy went to the front door, the rest of them went in the back. Everybody wore masks and gloves.”

“How many people are we talking about?”

“Four at the Memorial job. Five on this one. I talked to the husband and their butler. Both said there were four whites and one black. When I was about to leave, the husband said that maybe the black was Latino.”

“So that’s the way this is gonna play out. Blame the Latino.”

“You know how it works, Ribs. I only asked for you in case we need an interpreter.”

“What else you got?”

“Well-organized. Methodical. Barely talked at either job.” I looked straight at him. “Except for the ‘Number Three’ remarks. In and out in less than thirty minutes.” I sipped coffee, and continued. “Both were huge houses in neighborhoods with limited views of the front doors, and both backed up to a golf course.”

“Sounds like these guys did their homework.”

“At Marshall’s they came in while he and the son were in the shower. And they knew he had a safe. The back door wasn’t locked. They wore latex gloves, just like at Memorial. And before they left, they tied everyone with duct tape.”

“
Dios mío
. The poker game!”

“Like I said, the poker game.” My blood pumped harder at the thought of catching these guys. I wanted the fucker who hit me. Wanted to get him alone, with no witnesses. Even more, I wanted to get even for Mary’s watch.

Delgado finished his coffee and stared at me. “You know I love you, but don’t go gettin’ wild on me.”

“I’m fine. I—”

“You’re
not
fine. I see what’s working in that sick mind of yours.”

I wanted to be pissed, but he was only doing this for me. “Ribs…”

“I know you’ve been fucked up since Mary died, but you still got Ron.” Ribs poked at me with his finger. “Don’t go fuckin’ things up where he’s got to visit you in jail, man. If I see you headin’ in that direction, I’m out.”

“Let’s just solve the case.”

Ribs stared at me, looking for the truth. “Maybe we should interview some neighbors. See what they didn’t see.”

I tossed my cup in the trash and headed out. “Let’s do it.”

Chapter 13

New Plans

B
oss spread the chart on the table. Across the top were six spaces. The first read “Driver,” followed by spaces for numbers One through Five. He pointed to the slots beneath each one.

“These are your duties. Memorize them. Memorize the others too. Everyone needs to understand the whole operation. Clear?”

“Clear,” they all said.

“Number Two has surveillance. We need to know when the girl goes to school. When she gets home. We need to know what time he leaves for work and gets home.”

“Clear,” Number Two said.

“Number Three has muscle,
if
it comes to that. He does the grab.”

“Clear,” Number Three said.

“Number Four will be our intermediary with the target. Number Five will be the primary watcher.”

“Clear,” they both said.

“The rest is on the chart. I’ll take care of the equipment: electronic sweepers, chemical tests for the money, disposable cell phones. Everyone has extra gloves and masks. Clear?”

“Clear,” they all said.

“Okay, we need to be quick and clean. Understand?
Quick and clean.
We grab the girl then make the call. Number Four,
do not
stay on the phone too long. The more contact we have with them, the more chance we have of getting caught. Follow the script.” Boss looked around. “Any questions?”

“Won’t they want to talk to her?” Number Four asked.

“We let them talk to her
after
they get the money. We want them worrying at first.”

“You know they’ll call the cops. Or the FBI.”

“We have plans for that,” Boss said.

“When are we grabbing her?”

“When it’s right. We still have to rent the other hotel rooms, get more equipment, do other preparations, not to mention more surveillance.”

Boss waited through the silence. “Everyone ready for this? This is the big league, people. If you’re not in, now is the time to say so.”

“We’re in,” Number Three said. He was joined by Numbers Two and Four and Five.

“Okay, any fuck-ups and somebody dies. Clear?”

“Clear,” they all said.

Chapter 14

Where’s the Connection

D
elgado and I walked the street in front of Marshall’s house. All the houses were huge, with lots of trees.

“Damn trees block the views,” Delgado said.

“Not much activity on the street, either.”

“Not like my neighborhood,” Ribs said.

“That’s what happens when you have thirty relatives on one block.”

“Nice, isn’t it?”

I smiled, remembering the times Mary and I joined Ribs on weekends, partying and eating and laughing. “Sure is nice. It’s the way every neighborhood should be.”

“Where do you want to start?” Ribs asked.

I nodded across the street to a sprawling ranch that looked like a hacienda, all stucco with at least a dozen arches. “How about this one?”