Angel Face, page 16
“Halloween,” Vic supplied.
Teresa nodded. “I saw that movie in high school, at a slumber party. It gave me nightmares. I’m never going to watch it again.”
“That must have been terrifying,” Erin said.
“The strange thing was, he was crying,” Teresa said, almost speaking to herself. “I remember tears running down his cheeks. My first thought was that he’d been hurt somehow, but then I saw his sleeves. He was… red… all the way to his elbows. And that knife…”
“What did you do?” Erin asked.
“I just stood there. I don’t know how long. It felt like a long time. We looked at each other. He didn’t move. And I couldn’t. I felt cold, like my whole body had turned to ice.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No. Neither did I. Then he started down the stairs toward me.” Her voice died almost completely away. Erin and Vic leaned forward to catch her words.
“I’ve never been so scared. I unfroze, somehow. I ran inside and bolted the door. All three bolts. And I looked through the peephole and… he was standing right there. On the landing. Staring at my door and… and still crying. He raised one of his hands like he was going to knock, but then he wiped his face with it, like he was brushing away the tears, but his hand left a big red smear on his cheek.”
“Then what?”
“He gave this little shake, like a dog that’s come out of the rain. Then he turned and went away. Like he’d forgotten about me.” Teresa shuddered again. “Is he crazy?”
“And then you called the police?”
“I stayed inside. For a while. Until I was sure he was gone. Then… I didn’t want to get involved. So I went down the street. To a pay phone.”
“Did you hear anything from upstairs, while you were waiting?”
“No. I guess Isabella was… was already…”
“Yes, she was,” Erin said. “There was nothing you could have done for her. She was gone before you even knew anything had happened. If you were out shopping, you didn’t get here until it was all over.”
Teresa nodded. “I thought so. I didn’t want to say anything, didn’t want to do anything, but I couldn’t just leave things that way. She… she might have… maybe nobody would have come… and I would have had to go to bed underneath, thinking about her… just over my head.”
Rolf nudged her with his snout. She absently patted his head.
“Teresa?” Erin said. “What do you know about this guy?”
“Isabella was going to marry him. She showed me the ring. She was so… so happy.” Teresa’s own eyes filled with tears. “She was so proud of that ring.”
“I need to know his name.”
Teresa blinked several times, trying to clear her eyes. “You already know it.”
“I need you to say it.”
There was a long pause. Erin held her breath.
“Isabella called him Angel Face,” Teresa finally said in a low voice. “Because he’s so handsome. It’s his nickname. His name is… Vitelli. Gabriel Vitelli.”
Erin let out her breath. “You’re sure?” she asked.
Teresa nodded. “You’ve seen him, haven’t you?”
Erin nodded.
“Then you’d know him anywhere.”
“Yeah,” Erin said. “I would. He’s got a distinctive face.”
“My father told me about these men,” Teresa said, biting her lip again and swallowing. “When he was a young boy, they ran his whole neighborhood. My grandfather taught him about them. The only way to be safe from them is not to be noticed. You live your life quietly, you don’t cause trouble. If you call the police, they know and they will… kill you. My grandfather’s best friend was killed by them, when he talked to a policeman. Back in the Forties.”
“Teresa, things aren’t like that anymore,” Erin said, but at that moment she was thinking about Alfie Madonna. She wouldn’t tell the FBI, she thought. There was no need for them to know. Then Teresa ought to be safe. “We can put you in Witness Protection, get you out of town.”
“I don’t want to go out of town!” Teresa burst out. “I live here! This is my home! I have a job, a family, a life!”
“I thought you weren’t married,” Vic said.
“I have parents,” Teresa said. “And brothers and sisters. They all live in Brooklyn. Nieces and nephews, too. In-laws. Everybody. I can’t just leave them. And my kids. My students, I mean. The school year just started, I’m just getting to know them. They need me.”
Erin nodded sympathetically. “I know it’s hard,” she said. “Doing the right thing always is. But it would only be for a little while, until the trial. The Mafia doesn’t retaliate against witnesses after it’s all over, not these days. That’s bad for business, and that’s all they really care about.”
“I’m scared,” Teresa whispered.
“I know,” Erin said. “But I promise, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“If Erin says she’s got your back, she means it,” Vic said. “She’s the woman who saved the Civic Center last year. Remember that?”
Teresa nodded. Her jaw twitched, but she unclenched just a little.
“She’s taken down Mob guys before,” Vic went on. “They don’t make ‘em any tougher than her. There’s nobody I’d rather have watching my tail.”
Erin blinked. Vic had never said that about her before. She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.
“Don’t ask me to do this,” Teresa said. “Please.”
Being a detective could be a really nasty job sometimes. To get people to talk, you had to empathize with them, get emotionally close, open them up. And then you had to manipulate their emotions and use every dirty, underhanded trick in the book to get what you wanted from them. You told yourself it was for the greater good, for justice, to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. But here was a woman as innocent as any Erin had ever known, and she had to convince her to do something difficult and dangerous. This was the time to be a real bitch, and Erin hated it, but she’d do it anyway. Because she was a good detective.
“The kids you teach,” Erin said. “They’re what, nine years old?”
“Yes,” Teresa said. “Third grade.”
“I have a niece about that old,” Erin said. “It’s a great age, isn’t it?”
“Yes. They’re all so sweet, so eager to learn.”
“What do you teach them?”
“Pretty much everything except math. They have another teacher for that, Mrs. Gambucci. I teach reading, writing, history, and social studies.”
“What do you teach them about honesty?” Erin asked, suppressing a wave of self-disgust.
“I teach them to tell the truth,” Teresa said, looking down at Rolf and caressing his head. “I try to teach them integrity.”
“What do you think they’d want you to do?” Erin asked quietly.
“I know what the right thing to do is,” Teresa said. “It’s just so hard.”
“The right thing usually is,” Erin agreed. “The hardest thing there is.”
“Oh God,” Teresa whispered. “What am I going to do?”
And Erin knew they had her. She should have felt exhilarated, triumphant. But all she felt was tired and unhappy.
Chapter 17
“You’d better stay with her until the Marshals get here,” Vic said. “The Lieutenant and I will go get Angel Eyes or whatever the hell he’s called.”
“Like hell you will!” Erin snapped. “This is my collar.”
They were on the landing outside Teresa’s apartment. They’d told her they needed to step out for a few moments to take care of some police business. What they’d meant was, they needed to have a discussion but didn’t want to have it in front of a civilian. It was like parents not fighting where their kids could hear it; seeing disagreements between authority figures could undermine trust.
“I’m not trying to take credit for your bust,” Vic said with uncharacteristic patience, speaking in an undertone. “Think about it. These Mob guys think you’re watching out for them. How’s it gonna look if you slap the cuffs on the son of a Mafia boss? I don’t care what they think of me, and the Lieutenant doesn’t give a damn. But you have to look out for your rep.”
“We can have Patrol units watch the house,” Erin said. It was weak and she knew it.
Vic threw her a contemptuous, almost pitying look. “Yeah, and we know the Lucarellis don’t have eyes inside the Brooklyn precincts.”
“You’re right,” she said heavily. “I just feel like I’m ducking out of my responsibilities.”
“You kidding? We’ve got the easy job. These guys know better than to resist arrest when we roll up. But how do you know someone won’t come round to shut this girl’s mouth for good? Hell, for all I know, while I’m reading Pretty Boy Floyd his rights, you’ll be swapping bullets with five of his buddies.”
“Pretty Boy Floyd was a bank robber in the Depression,” Erin said. “And Angel Eyes was the bad guy in an old Clint Eastwood movie.”
“Do I look like I care? The only problem I have is, can you trust the Marshals?”
“Of course I trust them. They killed two Lucarellis yesterday, and one of their own is in the hospital. They’ll be on the warpath.”
“Yeah, but the bad guys heard about their last job.”
“I know! That was the guy the Oil Man’s got in the FBI.”
“Are you sure one of the Marshals didn’t leak it? Sure enough to bet this girl’s life on it?”
Erin chewed the inside of her cheek. She was pretty sure, but not a hundred percent. Vic saw it in her face.
“Here’s the problem,” he said. “We’ve got plenty for an indictment, if we include her statement. But then somebody, somewhere, is gonna know about her. We can keep her involvement quiet for a while, and pray we get a grand jury that’ll line up with us, but our case is weak without her and you know it. Besides, it’s gonna come out anyway, on account of the discovery process.”
Erin nodded. Vic was referring to the judicial proceeding in which the prosecution and defense were legally required to show their opposite numbers the evidence they had. In the real world, there were very few surprises at trials. All the surprises were worked out ahead of time, which made for bad drama but cleaner court cases.
“So we either hand her off to WitSec,” Vic went on, “or we take care of it in-house. We can’t trust our house on this, and from what’s been happening, we can’t trust the Feds either. I guess we’ve got a third choice.”
“What’s that?”
“We let the bastard walk.”
“You know we can’t do that.”
Vic gave it a beat, looking at her. “Yeah, I know. But I wanted to hear it from you.”
“What a mess,” Erin said.
“Yeah,” Vic said. “Times like this, I understand why the Lieutenant smokes so much. I haven’t had a cigarette since I was sixteen, and right now I feel like I could use one.”
“Is that why you chew toothpicks?”
He smiled. “Nah, that’s just so I look like a badass. Nobody’s impressed if you’ve got a mouthful of chewing gum, but a toothpick makes them think you’re some sort of scary SOB.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed her so hard,” Erin said.
“You mean that?”
Erin looked at her feet and said nothing.
“Hey,” Vic said. “You gonna feed me that bullshit after you just told her how hard it was doing the right thing? You gonna be a hypocrite now? Because I was just starting to respect you a little.”
“How do you do that?” Erin asked.
“Do what?”
“Act like an asshole and still make me want to like you.”
“Years of practice.”
“We have to bring some reinforcements in,” she said. “Our squad doesn’t have enough bodies to keep watch on her twenty-four seven. I still think the Marshals are our best bet. But if Valentino Vitelli was willing to have his guys shoot it out with them for money, what do you think he’ll be willing to do for the sake of his son?”
“Oh yeah, if he hears about it, he’ll come gunning,” Vic said. “Absolutely. Look, we can hold off for a few days before we make the arrest. Maybe even a couple weeks, if it’ll help.”
“And give Angel Face the chance to slip out of the country for a nice, long stay somewhere warm, somewhere with no extradition treaty? No thanks. I appreciate you trying to find a way out of this, but sometimes, life serves you up a shit sandwich and there’s nothing to do but take a nice, big bite.”
“And swallow,” he agreed. “So, it’s got to be the Marshals?”
“Yeah. I don’t have Calley or Boone’s number, but I’ll just call their office. That won’t raise any suspicion. If I don’t get one of them, I’ll tell whoever I talk to that I’m checking up on Headley, which I should be doing anyway. Those two will understand the need for security.”
“Copy that,” Vic said. “You’ll be okay on your own until they get here?”
“I won’t be alone,” she said, laying a hand on Rolf’s head. “But the only car we’ve got is mine. I’d better keep it, just in case we need to move fast.”
“No problem,” he said. “I’ll call a cab and expense it to the Department. Our tax dollars at work.”
The Marshals office provided Erin with Calley and Boone’s phone numbers. She tried Calley first, placing the call from Teresa’s living room. Teresa was in the bedroom, thinking things over. Rolf lay at Erin’s feet. He didn’t understand the little boxes the humans liked to hold against their ears, but humans did a lot of things he didn’t understand and he was used to it.
“Calley,” the Marshal said by way of greeting.
“This is Erin O’Reilly,” she said. “How’s Headley doing?”
“Hanging in there,” Calley said. “I’m at the hospital now, playing the waiting game. You know how it is.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve been on both sides of it, too many times.”
“They think he’ll pull through,” he said. “He’s old-school tough. As they were wheeling him into surgery, I heard him ask one of the nurses what all the fuss was about. Said he didn’t need an anesthesiologist, just a bottle of whiskey and a bullet to bite. They thought he was joking. I wasn’t so sure.”
“Where’s Marshal Boone?” she asked.
“Home. You saw what he was like. Poor guy’s a mess. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hands in his star. I sent him home to get his head straight, and told him to give things a day or two before he does anything, so at least he won’t make a snap decision.”
“How about you?” Erin asked.
“What about me?”
“You holding up okay?”
“I’m doing my job.” Calley sounded awfully calm for a man who’d been in a gunfight and literally held his boss’s life in his hands only a few hours earlier.
“Glad to hear it. I’ve got another job for you.”
“I don’t work for the NYPD, Detective.”
“It’s witness protection.”
“I’m listening.”
“But this can’t go through the FBI. Not this time. Not through anybody you can’t personally vouch for.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Detective?” Calley asked sharply.
“Yeah. I am.”
“That’s a serious charge.”
“If I was pressing charges, yeah. What I’m trying to do is save a woman’s life. And before you tell me I’m being paranoid, think about what happened yesterday and why your boss is lying in a hospital bed.”
There was a brief pause. Then Calley said, more softly, “Point taken. But doing this through back channels will be difficult. It’ll take time to set everything up.”
“How much time?”
“Two, three days. Could be as long as a week to get everything sorted.”
“A week?” She didn’t bother hiding her dismay.
“You’d better tell me the situation,” Calley said. “Everything you can.”
“I’ve got a witness who’s agreed to ID a Mob killer,” she said slowly. “But she’s scared, and I’ve got reason to believe her fears are justified. She needs round-the-clock protection, and I can’t use the NYPD. We’re compromised.”
Calley whistled softly. “Okay,” he said. “We have a fair number of Marshals in the Southern District. I might be able to get a few of them detailed for short-term duty. It’ll be irregular, but I can take it upstairs. I’ll play it as close as I can. How soon do you need me and my guys?”
“As soon as possible. I’ll be standing guard until you get here.”
“I’ll need the address. Can you send it, or is it secret?”
“I’ll text you the address of the crime scene,” she said. “Someone will meet you there.” She didn’t explain that the two addresses were in fact identical.
“Okay, send it now.”
Erin did so.
“Got it,” Calley said a moment later. “Give me ninety minutes. I’ll be there with a couple other guys. Don’t worry, they’re solid.”
“Thanks. I appreciate this.”
“This one’s not going to run out on us, is she?”
“No. She’s pure civilian. You shouldn’t have any trouble with her.”
“Copy that. See you in an hour and a half.” He hung up.
Erin walked around the apartment, checking sight lines from the windows. She checked her Glock and her backup snub-nosed .38 and made sure they had rounds chambered and ready. Then she went to the bedroom door and knocked.
“Come in,” Teresa said.
Erin found her sitting on the bed, staring at the wall. The woman’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot.
“It’s going to be okay,” Erin said. “A team of US Marshals is coming. They’ll protect you. They’ll need you to move to another location, most likely a hotel. You’d better pack clothing for a few days, along with anything else you’ll need.”
“I should call the school, let them know I won’t be coming in.”
Erin started to say that Teresa shouldn’t call anybody, should be completely incommunicado. But then she realized that would probably raise more suspicion and attention than it would prevent. She nodded.
