J.M. Griffin - Vinnie Esposito 05 - Season for Murder Page 20

  “You’re right. I’m willing to help as much as I can, but if you end up in trouble, I don’t want to hear it, understand?” Muffy said in a stern voice.

  What the hell, I thought, it hadn’t been so long ago when I’d had to haul Aunt Muffy’s butt out of jail. Now she had the nerve to preach to me, huh. Family … you have to love ’em, right? I sighed into the phone and thanked her for the effort she’d put into my plan.

  Mollified, Muffy said she’d be waiting for me outside her house and to not be late. She rang off before I could comment, so I slipped the phone into the charger and stared at it for a few minutes. Was I nuts, or what? Could I handle the danger that I was about to step into? What the hell, my mother’s life was at stake here.

  The phone rang three times before Lola answered in a voice a tad breathless. I asked if she would still help me out. Her answer was a resounding yes, followed by a tirade of questions.

  “When are we going? What time do you want me to be ready?” Lola asked with the same enthusiasm she had the night before.

  “I’ll pick you up around ten, and then we’ll go get Muffy. Be ready, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure thing. I’ll be ready. You can count on me.”

  She sounded as though she would explode from excitement at any moment. I wondered how I got into these situations, and considered the possible outcome. That was a dead-end issue, so I got dressed instead. Who knew what could happen? Not me, that’s for sure.

  The car idled in front of the Salt & Pepper Deli while I waited for Lola to scramble down the steps. She draped the heavy knit wrap around her petite body as she scurried across the sidewalk. Millie and Bill stood in the windows staring at her departing figure.

  Buckled into the seat, Lola threw an eager smile my way as I pulled into traffic. I raced to Cranston, scooped the cookies from my mother, and raced toward Muffy’s house. Lola wrapped the parcel of cookies inside the brown paper bag I’d brought, folding the edge over in a neat fashion. I worried over her anticipation of this adventure.

  At exactly ten-thirty, I pulled up in front of Muffy’s house. She stepped off the front porch of her bungalow and took her place in the front seat when Lola moved into the back. Muffy’s demeanor was somewhat grim. I knew she wasn’t happy about her role. Hey, what’s family for if not to assist in a time of great need? I couldn’t figure out why she was in such a snit, but it didn’t take long to find out.

  “Good morning, Auntie,” I greeted her.

  “This is the dumbest thing you’ve done yet, Lavinia.” Muffy huffed. “‘The Pipe’ is no one to fool around with. He’s a maniac by any sense of the word. You know it, and so does everyone else.”

  “This is a simple meeting. We aren’t doing anything stupid.” I tried to reassure her, though I wasn’t so sure myself.

  My eyes slipped to the rearview mirror, taking in the backseat. Lola’s eyes still blazed with a look of anticipation. It was only one against two. The odds were still in my favor. I took a deep breath and drove to Federal Hill. It’s a splendid place any time of the year, but during the holiday season, it was extra special. The shops were gaily decorated for the holidays, trattoria’s offered tasty delicacies and everyone appeared cheerful.

  We turned down the back street, off Atwells Avenue, and parked near the Social Club.

  Muffy glanced at me and asked, “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

  “It’ll be fine. There’s nothing to worry about, honest,” I said. “We’re simply having an espresso and pastry with your friend Jimmy. I’ll give him the damn cookies and hope for the best. End of story.” A thin layer of patience prevailed and, for the life of me, I knew I had to hang onto it.

  The three of us strolled along the sidewalk toward the Social Club. Jimmy, dressed in a heavy black cashmere coat that I swore cost more than my car, waited for us outside. His shoes and suit were of the Armani nature. Fine leather gloves covered his hands, and a soft fedora sat atop his head. Gray hair peeked from under the edges of the hat. He was no spring chicken.

  I stood in awe of this well-dressed thug. His hands were huge, the size of frying pans. His thick neck sat on his broad shoulders, like a tree trunk with deep roots on a mountaintop. Even with Jimmy’s heavy coat, I could tell his chest breadth was enormous. He stood at least six feet tall and was scary as hell. I trembled inside and hoped it didn’t show.

  “Good morning, ladies,” Jimmy said with a crooked grin. A deep scar paved through his cheek from his earlobe down into the corner of his mouth. Some women might find that attractive, but I was ready to shit my drawers. A crooked nose, broken at some time in the past, sat below his cold, beady, black eyes. Inwardly, I shivered.

  Muffy stepped forward and the thug leaned down to kiss her cheek. He murmured words in Italian that I strained to hear, but couldn’t. She nodded and turned to us with a steely grin. Her black orbs narrowed a tad, she nodded toward me, and I stepped forward. After I’d been hugged and kissed on the cheek by this gorilla-sized ruffian, Lola took her turn. It’s an Italian thing to be greeted this way. The hugging and kissing part is ritualistic and expected. It doesn’t matter if it’s welcome or not.

  Was I tempted to turn and run? Hell, yeah. I didn’t, though. It wasn’t an option. I stepped into my role as deal-maker, and hoped this was a stellar performance, Oscar material even. Maybe the camera had caught us in action already, since Rafe’s car was missing this morning when I left the house.

  Herded down the sidewalk toward several restaurants that embraced the Piazza’s courtyard, I held the brown bag close to my body and furtively glanced around as though I had something to hide. I tried not to search the windows of apartments above the restaurants. It wouldn’t be a smart move to forewarn anyone that this wasn’t an honest-to-goodness deal of some sort. The FBI was far from stupid, and might catch on to what I was up to. Call me paranoid, but there you have it.

  Jimmy strolled with Muffy, her hand tucked within the crook of his thick arm. She seemed right at home, and well, why wouldn’t she? This Mafia Moll hung out with the best, and worst, of the crooks, thugs, and ‘businessmen’ on the Hill. I was sure she knew the ins and outs of the bad-boy business, but kept it to herself.

  When Muffy had gotten into trouble with the law in the past, from her association with a ‘businessman’ for the mob, the cops had tried to break her and couldn’t. My aunt, a woman of short stature, had a spine of steel and a viper attitude to match. If she ever tangled with a rattlesnake, I’d bet on Muffy as the victor anytime.

  We entered a narrow restaurant spliced in between others, near the corner of the Piazza. The smell of fresh-baked rolls and pastries tickled my nostrils. I could feel my mouth water. My stomach growled. Embarrassed, I glanced at everyone. A wide grin covered Lola’s face. I guessed she was the only one who had heard the rumble.

  Empty tables lined the walls of the restaurant. I took a seat at one of them, facing the window. Jimmy sat adjacent to me and Muffy sat across from him. This left one chair, filled by Lola. The set up held a perfect camera view.

  I set the package of cookies in the center of the table and shrugged out of my coat. A slim waiter took our order. He spoke Italian and greeted us with a grin. His nametag said he was Marcello Andreoni. Black curly hair, rich dark eyes, and strong cheekbones reminded me of Rudolph Valentino.

  I smiled and watched him take in the four of us. His eyes rested on Jimmy for a second before he wrote down the order given by Jimmy in Italian.

  We hadn’t been asked what we wanted, it had been assumed we would like what Jimmy ordered for us. There was no way I was about to disagree, so I simply nodded when he glanced at me. Lola did the same and Muffy, well, she just grinned at all of us, pleased somehow.

  Marcello moved away from the table toward the counter. I glanced at the other patrons who read newspapers and sipped their espresso. The atmosphere was subdued, but friendly at the same time.

  When the pastry and espresso arrived, I dug in with fervor. Jimmy sipped his bever
age and waited for the waiter to bring something else. In a moment, a bottle of Anisette liquor was delivered to the table. A measure was poured into each cup as the waiter refilled the tiny cups with more of the powerful brew. My eyes slid to Muffy, but all I saw was an imperceptible nod.

  At the other side of the table, Lola was having a grand time all by herself. She ate the food, and spoke with Jimmy in a soft voice at the same time. His rapt attention had to have been due to the Julia smile. She could flash that smile anywhere, well nearly anywhere, and men fell at her feet. Good grief. I watched in fascination at the way she handled herself. The woman was undaunted. My breath caught in my throat when she asked what type of business he was in.

  “The security business is my area of expertise,” Jimmy rumbled in his deep voice with an offhand manner. “I make sure that nothing happens to the people I protect. If there should be an instance, then I personally take care of things.”

  The ongoing tremor of fear in my body hiked to ten points on the Richter scale. I glanced around in hope that nobody noticed. Focused on my food, I picked at the pastry before me. The fork cut into the buttery crust and I nibbled the tasty treat. My loss of appetite was unusual to say the least. It wasn’t often that I didn’t enjoy food. Fear may have been the cause this time.

  After a few moments, Jimmy turned to me and then gestured to the brown package on the table with a heavy ringed hand. His eyes rested on it for a fraction of a second before he turned to me with a full-on gaze.

  A forced smile crossed my face as I picked up the neatly folded bag and handed it to him. I explained that it was a gift. I turned my face away from the window and leaned toward Jimmy. I murmured that it was a gift from Nonni and my mother ‘The Bake Sale Queen’ and that it was intended for his mother.

  Surprise and pleasure slid across his heavy features, one after the other, while he gazed at me. I smiled and waited for his response. The only hope I had was that he wouldn’t open the package. I wanted Rafe, or Aaron, to think this was a deal, not a batch of cookies.

  His smile widened and he nodded in satisfaction thanking me for the gift. He mentioned that he’d seen my mother on the news when she was interviewed. One thing about thugs, mobsters, and that brand of lawbreaker, is that family is still everything. Respect for family means much to these people. Anybody else is fair game.

  Jimmy signaled the waiter again and another round of espresso was served. My nerves had reached overdrive and another cup of pure caffeine hummed its way through my system. I fiddled with the tiny spoon as I watched Jimmy pour more liquor into my cup.

  Lola grinned, Muffy smirked, and Jimmy smiled in satisfaction as I sipped. Why? I hadn’t a clue. I just hoped that I had accomplished what I came for.

  A half-hour of small talk passed before we rose from the gingham-covered table and prepared to leave. I looked out the window at the two restaurants across the Piazza and nearly fainted when I saw Aaron leave the door wedged between the buildings. My gaze moved upward as a sheer curtain twitched. A faint shadow moved behind the curtain, but I couldn’t make out who it was. I glanced down and finished buttoning my coat, as though I hadn’t seen anything. My heart pounded so loud, I thought everyone could hear it.

  As we turned to leave, Jimmy tossed money on the table and grabbed the package. A crooked little grin touched the edges of his mouth as he turned away from me. My eyes wandered the courtyard. I saw Aaron standing outside the restaurant across from us. He waited. My heart pounded harder. Showtime, places, everyone, I thought in a moment of panic.

  As we left the restaurant, I glanced back to see the Rudolph Valentino look-alike staring at me. His luscious brown eyes were narrowed. I knew we had been made. He was no waiter. He had to be undercover law enforcement.

  Aaron had disappeared from view when I reached the street. Jimmy said his goodbyes, thanked us for joining him, and for the gift to his mother. He placed the hat on his head and kissed us all before he moved away.

  With a sigh of relief that the episode was over, I turned to walk away. A commotion at the end of the courtyard caught my eye. Men in dark blue garb with FBI draped across their jackets swung into action and accosted Jimmy ‘The Pipe.’

  Appalled at the sight, I momentarily stood in silence. My inner voice started to yell, Get these women the hell out of here, Vinnie. In a fraction of a second, I dragged the two women away from the fracas and pushed them into the nearest shop.

  We stood in the window and peered down the courtyard as the FBI and the SWAT team secured the package from Jimmy. Calm and cool, he stood at ease while handcuffs were slapped onto his wrists. He never opened his mouth, but glanced around instead. His eyes caught Muffy’s, he nodded as did she, and then he turned away.

  The boys in blue opened the package and stood back in disappointment. Their egos were deflated. It was easy to see. I smirked a bit and again realized whose side I was on … my mother’s side. She would not be found guilty, but instead, she would be vindicated. I had no doubt that Rafe was in this up to his blue eyeballs and had set my mother up for the fall.

  FBI agents undid the cuffs and handed the package back to Jimmy. They spoke to him and then moved out of sight. Jimmy turned toward the shop and waved. He laughed, and I breathed in relief once again.

  It was time to leave Federal Hill before things got dicey. The three of us hurried across the Piazza in haste. My stride was much longer than those of Muffy and Lola. I slowed a tad, so they could keep up. We rounded the corner toward the car when I glanced up the street and came to a complete stop.

  The door to the social club stood wide open. Rafe struggled to get free from Jimmy’s grasp and Aaron stood aside, watching the scene. In a flash, I heard gunshots.

  The two women were ahead of me on their way to the car in the opposite direction from the social club. I shoved them hard and sent them flying faster toward the vehicle.

  “Get in and get down. Hurry,” I yelled at them.

  The car doors swung open as Lola and Muffy jumped inside. They hunkered down on the seats, away from the gunshots. I glanced back for a second as the scene unfolded.

  Rafe held a gun on Jimmy. No sign of blood was evident from this distance. Jimmy pulled his arm back so fast that I almost didn’t see the movement and then he punched Rafe. The blow landed so hard, I could hear the crunch of bone from where I stood. Rafe flew backward and Aaron jumped him when he hit the pavement.

  The FBI and city police surrounded the three men, pulling Aaron off Rafe, arresting all of them. I watched in silence as they were dragged away.

  Within moments, the neighborhood stood empty. Alone outside the car, I was glued to the ground while Muffy and Lola huddled within. As I turned to get in, I caught sight of Detective Bellini when he exited the social club. He shook hands with a well-known mobster and smiled.

  Scared shitless, I jumped into the car and sped away from Federal Hill as though the devil was hot on my wheels. He probably was. Who knows?

  Chapter 23

  It wasn’t until we hit the bottom of the hill and headed toward Muffy’s house that the two women sat up straight in their seats. I kept glancing in the mirror while Muffy yelled at me. Lola glanced around, her face as pale as a ghost.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing, standing out there? You could have been shot,” Muffy yelled at me. Auntie and Lola sat side-by-side in the backseat. They’d both tumbled into the car at the same time.

  “Auntie, don’t yell. It’s not good for your blood pressure,” I said in as calm a voice as I could muster.

  “She’s right, Vin. You could have been injured or worse,” Lola added.

  “Did you see Bellini come out of the club?” I asked, my eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.

  “No, we were hiding,” they both said at once.

  I turned down Muffy’s street and pulled into her driveway.

  I cut the engine. Stillness pervaded the car and its passengers for a brief period. I guessed we were all trying to get our emotions under
control. Muffy opened the car door and stepped out, with Lola not far behind.

  “Come into the house and I’ll make some tea, or maybe a good stiff drink,” Muffy directed.

  I followed the two women into the bungalow and dropped onto the living room sofa. My tense body relaxed within the confines of the soft, overstuffed cushions. All told, the day hadn’t been too bad so far. Until gunfire erupted, that is.

  Across from me, Lola settled in a chair. She flipped through a magazine, but kept glancing at me. When she couldn’t stand the silence any longer, she tossed it aside and leaned forward, her hands clasped together.

  “That was a foolish thing you did back there. You could have been shot, ya know? Cripes, you scare me sometimes, Vinnie.” Lola’s deep brown eyes stared at me. There were worry furrows between her eyebrows.

  “You’re right,” I admitted. “When the gun went off, I couldn’t move. My legs froze in place and my feet were planted to the ground.”

  “I guess that was why you didn’t want me involved, huh?” Lola asked, clasping and unclasping her fingers.

  “Yeah, exactly.”

  Lola shrugged. “Jimmy didn’t seem so dangerous when we were having coffee with him.”

  “Lola, he’s a thug,” I assured her. “A well-paid, no-remorse, lifelong criminal. He probably has a rap sheet that stretches farther than the eye can see. Don’t be taken in by his friendly manner.”

  “Right, well, okay,” she mumbled.

  “Muffy paved the way for us. It’s as simple as that.”

  The cups rattled as Muffy brought the teapot-laden tray into the room. I rose and took it from her. She settled next to me on the sofa and poured the brew into the cups.

  “Auntie, tell me why Jimmy wasn’t surprised when the cops and FBI came on the scene.” I watched the smile creep across her lips as she handed the first cup of tea to Lola.

  “Honey, you don’t think I’d make the mistake of setting him up, do you? I like living and breathing too well for that.”