Lloyd Corricelli - Ronan Marino 01 - Two Redheads & a Dead Blonde (31 page)

We both nodded.

“It would have been ugly,” I said.

“No doubt. Meanwhile, there is another issue. I suspect you have something of mine.”

“Cassie Hogan.”

“I want her back,” Duffy said bluntly.

“You don’t own her.”

“Don’t I?” he exclaimed.

“She wants out.”

Duffy laughed. “You fucking her too? For a guy as smart as you are, you sure make some bad choices in women.”

“Rub my blister. But no, I’m not doing her.”

“Yeah, not yet anyway,” Duffy said chuckling to himself. “So why do you care what happens to her?”

“She asked me to help her and she was Karen’s friend.”

“Yeah, they were friends all right.” He made a “V” with his fingers and put his tongue through it.

“I saw the film. It only pissed me off more. I figured you sent it.”

“After Oisen, I tried to play things a little different. I was hoping it would make you decide your girlfriend wasn’t worth it and stop.”

“Nothing short of death would have made me quit.”

“I know that now.”

He wiped his mouth with a little paper napkin and took a sip of his beer.

“I’ll tell you what, you back off Diane Dunn and I’ll let the girl go.”

“Don’t you want to see her go down?” I asked.

“If she does, it might take LaValle with her and I can’t afford for that to happen. I’ve got too much invested in him. I’ll deal with her in my own way.”

“There’s been enough killing,” I said.

“There are worst things than death.”

“No, bullshit. She has to pay for what she did,” I said slamming my hand on the table.

He pushed his plate away and leaned back, crossing his arms.

“My offer is this, Ronan. I’ll let the whore go and you forget everything you know about Ms. Dunn’s recent activities.”

“Fuck that. She had Karen killed and conspired to kill both of us. Doesn’t that piss you off?”

“Certainly, but I have my priorities and so should you.”

I motioned to Tony to get up and I stood. “No way,” I said.

Tony grabbed my arm and swung me around to face him.

“It’s a good deal,
compadre
,” he said. “I’d take it and be thankful.”

“We could go to war,” Duffy explained. “You might eventually get me but is that how you want to live your life? Always looking over your shoulder? Like I said, I got plenty of more guys like Oisen waiting in the wings.”

“Think about Cassie,” Tony added.

They were right. War with Duffy would only end up with more carnage and could eventually spill over to my family. I didn’t want that so I sat back at the table.

“Okay, I leave Diane alone but I want all materials, photos, videos, films, releases, whatever you have related to Cassie and Karen.”

“Deal,” Duffy said without giving it a thought. He extended his hand and we shook.

“I’m a man of my word. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your uncle. I’ll have everything sent over to your house later today and you can do what you want with it,” Duffy said.

“Okay. Can I ask what you’re going to do with Diane?”

He smirked. “Harvard Law is an expensive school. You ever look into how she paid for it?”

“I checked into her background some but never thought to look at that.”

“Everyone has their own dirty little secrets,” Duffy said with a wicked smile.

I left the meeting feeling like I’d at least scored a partial victory. Duffy was a tough son-of-a-bitch and starting a long drawn-out fight was not in anyone’s best interests. Even after what she did, part of me was concerned over what he’d do to Diane. In a twisted way, I wished things had turned out different with her. Maybe one day my luck with women would change.

I sent Tony up to Maine to get Cassie. Before he left, he asked if it was okay now to “date” her. I didn’t really want him messing up her head but she was free to make her own choices. Maybe they’d actually turn out to be good for each other.

I walked the two blocks over to police headquarters to meet with Shea. He wasn’t going to like what I had to tell him.

“You cut a deal with Duffy Fitzpatrick?” he yelled. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

I explained the situation with Cassie.

“We’ve got barely a case without you.”

“I gave my word,” I explained.

“Our friends at the state police will be pissed.”

“They’ll get over it. They’ve got the Medford vice cops for Fontini’s murder. That solves their case and they’ll get a little gold star for their foreheads.”

“But they’re dead.”

“Even better; dead men tell no tales. I just have to keep Diane out of it. Believe me, I’d much prefer to see her go down for Karen’s murder but unfortunately I just don’t see any other way.”

“Well, in the long run I guess that works for me,” he said. “Halloran will be happy because without a case against her, we can make it look like Morley died on the job.”

“Yeah, my fucking hero.”

“So, now that this is about over, you ready to come to work?”

“Yeah, I’m sure Halloran would love to have me,” I said.

“Who cares what he wants? Right about now, I have his ass over a barrel. It’s the perfect time.”

“Very true, but I am going to have to decline, Gary.”

He looked disappointed. “Why?”

It was time I filled him in about my lucky lotto ticket.

“That explains how you can afford to keep plying me with donuts,” he said sarcastically.

I left the station and went downtown to get a coffee from one of the newer little shops that had sprung up.  I walked down by the river and sat on a bench to drink it and collect my thoughts. People jogged by, mostly students, bundled up to keep their bodies warm on this cold autumn day. Two nights ago it was warm, today it was cold. One day, Mother Nature would decide which season it was supposed to be. A woman ran by in a purple jogging suit with a mane of black curly hair. From behind, she looked like Dr. Sadolovaki.

Karen’s murderer had been revealed and then been killed, Cassie was free, I’d made peace with Duffy and everything could go back to normal. Unlike a comic book though, things hadn’t been wrapped up to a neat conclusion on page twenty-two. I had cut a deal with the devil, upsetting my moral compass and letting Diane get away scot free. Unfortunately, I saw no other alternative. Exposing her in anyway would jeopardize Duffy’s hold on LaValle and that seemed very important to him.

Off in the distance, a hawk swooped down and plucked an unsuspecting fish out of the river. That’s just how life works, one day you’re in the game the next you’re dinner for some predator. As long as I managed to not end up like that fish, I figured that this was a win.

I finished my coffee and threw it in a nearby garbage can when I heard a sweet voice call out my name.

“Ronan?”

I turned to see Dr. Sadolovaki, her face glistening with sweat. It had been her in the purple jogging suit.

“I hope you’re not getting in any trouble out here,” she said.

“I thought that might have been you running by me earlier.”

“You looked deep in thought. I didn’t want to bother you, plus I had another half-mile to go.”

“That’s okay. I was just trying to work some things out.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that. Well, I need to get to work.”

I nodded and she looked at me hopefully. What the hell, a doctor couldn’t be too screwed up. Could she?

“You ever get time off from the ER?”

“Occasionally they let me out to attend hockey games.”

“Do you want to have dinner sometime?”

“Sure.”

I gave her a pen and paper from my jacket and she scribbled down her numbers. She handed them back to me and I stared at them.

“This number is an eight, right?” I asked pointing to the paper.

She looked at and smiled. “Yes, that’s an eight. Are you teasing me because I’m a doctor?”

“It’s what I do best.”

“I thought training elephants was what you did best,” she replied.

“That’s all behind me now.”

“Good. So um, I should be going.”

“Great, I’ll call you.”

“Don’t you want to know my first name?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“Then you’ll just have to make sure you do call to find out.”

I had a good feeling about her, hoping she’d turn out to be a normal average woman. Of course, I had that same feeling about Karen once and that didn’t turn out so well.

****

There was a large box waiting for me on my porch when I got home. Duffy was damn quick; I didn’t expect to see anything from him for at least a few days. I also found another message from Diane on my machine. There was no hint of concern in her voice as she asked me to call. Duffy had her pegged perfectly, a black widow.

I opened the package and found it full of videos, books and DVDs. The first book I looked at was jammed with eight by ten nudes of Karen, the same ones I had seen at her apartment. I also found a couple of original contracts she had signed including the one for the porno movie. In time, I’d figure out what to do with the contents. Winter was coming and I’d need something to keep the fireplace going.

I grabbed a Sam Adams from the fridge, sat down on the couch and looked some more through Karen’s book. There was no doubt she could have done
Playboy
with little airbrushing needed.

There were footsteps on the porch and Tony walked through the door with Cassie. She hugged me and kissed my cheek.

“Easy,” I said. “I’m a broken man.”

“Poor, baby,” she replied. “So is it true?”

“You’re free as a bird.”

She squealed and hugged me so tight I thought she’d pop my new stitches.

“Ow,” was all I could muster.

“Sorry there, broken man,” she laughed.

“Ronan’s serious, Cassie. He nearly died a few times getting this resolved for you,” Tony stated. “He spent the night in the hospital getting patched up and he got blood all over my leather jacket.”

She looked at me and held my hands.

“You did that for me?” she asked.

I just nodded. This time she held me very gingerly and started to cry.

“Karen was lucky to have you in her life,” she whispered in my ear and I almost started to cry myself. 

“We need to celebrate,” Tony said.

“There’s still one more thing I have to do,” I replied.

“What’s that?” Cassie asked.

“You have to see that other broad, Diane,” Tony stated. “Why torture yourself?”

“This is a matter of pride, you know that. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you just let it go?”

“No way.”

“And neither can I.”

“I wish I knew what you guys were talking about,” Cassie said.

“I’ll explain it to you later,” I replied.

“Okay,” she said with a shrug.

She looked in the box of items.

“What’s all this?”

“A little gift for you. I tried to make sure they would never have anything left to hold over your head.”

She picked up a book and opened it. There were pictures of her and another woman engaged in various sexual acts. She flipped through as Tony looked over her shoulder.

“
Ma’don
,” he said.

“You like?” she asked.

He nodded, drool practically dripping out of his mouth.

“Maybe I’ll give you one of these. I don’t know if I want them. This is a part of my life I think I’d rather forget.”

“That would make this entire thing worthwhile,” he said.

TWENTY-ONE

I
waited outside Diane’s apartment, parked across the street in my Jeep. Cassie and Tony stayed back at my house, probably celebrating in my hot tub. Note to myself; add extra chlorine.

It was around ten o’clock when LaValle’s limo dropped her off. She chatted with him briefly and made her way up to her apartment.

I crossed the street, dodging the nighttime bar traffic. I knocked on her door and could hear her on the other side, looking through the peephole. She opened it and her eyes grew wide.

“Ronan, you’re okay!”

She hugged me but I shrugged her off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Knock it off, Diane.”

“What do you mean?”

She cocked her head seductively letting her hair fall down over one eye.

“I’ve been so worried about you. I heard about the shootings and was worried you’d been hurt.”

“Worried I’d been hurt, or hoped I’d been killed? Tell me, what was that the other night, a goodbye fuck?”

She let out a little sarcastic laugh and walked into the living room.

“You wearing a wire?”

I lifted up my shirt and showed her I wasn’t.

“Just you, me and God,” I said.

“Yummy.” She was insatiable, evil but insatiable.

My temper got the best of me and I pounced on her like a panther to his prey, pinning her to the couch with all my weight on top of her. I barely felt my bad shoulder as the adrenalin flowed inside me.

“I’m not here to screw around. Don’t take me lightly.”

“I fantasize about you forcing yourself on me. Rip my clothes off and fuck me now,” she cooed.

“I’ll snap your fucking neck right now. You think I won’t?”

“I could just scream rape.”

I grabbed her throat and started to squeeze. Her face started to turn red and her eyes bugged out.

“Go ahead and scream. The Lowell Police Department is well aware of your bullshit.”

I stared in her eyes and saw them harden. It was a look I’d never seen from her before. I let up on her neck and stood.

“I suppose you have think you have it all figured out?” she said rubbing her neck from my grip.

“Fortunately for me, you let it slip about the drugs they found in Karen the night she was murdered. Nobody knew that other than the cops and me. It was never in the paper.”

“Looks like I fucked up, Ronan,” she said nonchalantly.

“I also know you had Morley kill Karen.”

“That’s only the tip of the iceberg.”

She strutted around the room, proud of herself and confident she’d gotten away with it. This was the part of the story when the super-villain explained their evil plot to the hero.

“Your little girlfriend asked Dan to help her get away from the escort service. She’d tried to quit but they refused to let her go. Dan told her there was nothing he could do but she insisted he talk to Duffy Fitzpatrick and if he didn’t; she’d go to the press with their relationship. He came to me and asked what he should do and I told him I'd handle it.”

“Does he know what you did?”

“Probably figured it out, but we never discussed it again.”

“You always clean up his messes?”

“Usually. Like most men he’s very easily manipulated.”

That one was a dart right at my heart. I tried not to react to it and let it show, but she was an expert at hurting people emotionally and knew it had found its mark.

“I warned her that she better back off and stop making threats.”

“Or else?”

“Or else, but she wasn’t scared. She said she had a new boyfriend who’d protect her. She thought you were fucking Superman.”

She tossed her head back and her long red hair shifted to the other side of her face.

“I figured she’d been screwing some heavyweights as part of the business so I checked around and found out about you. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect scenario,” she explained.

“So you had her killed, hoping I’d blame Duffy and kill him then your boss couldn’t be blackmailed anymore.”

“Very good, Ronan. Unfortunately, I didn’t count on you being more interested in investigating than getting revenge.”

“You think you’ll get away with this?”

“I already did. There’s no evidence linking me to the crimes other than your testimony and you can’t do that.”

“You talked to Duffy?”

“Right after you met with him. That was a very fortunate twist, don’t you think? You taking pity on that whore, how pathetic. Thankfully, I know you won’t go back on the deal you made.”

“You assume too much.”

“Don’t kid yourself. Men like you live by that stupid code of honor that really limits your potential and makes you so predictable.”

“Duffy knows you wanted him killed,” I said.

“He doesn’t seem to care. I’m much too valuable to him.”

She was overestimating her worth, but that was her load to bear. Her eyes changed back to the sexpot Diane that had drawn me in initially.

“That girl Karen was beneath you. A man like you deserves a powerful woman.”

“Let me guess, one like you.”

“We would be an incredible team.”

She put her arms around my waist and I started to feel like a boy on his first date, vulnerable and confused.

“Your brains and my steel?” I asked.

“Yes, a romantic way to put it but very effective.”

She kissed me but as her lips touched mine, the image of Karen face down in the cold waters of the Merrimack flashed into my mind. I also remembered Duffy’s words and pushed her away so hard she landed on the floor on her butt.

“There’s no way you and I could ever be together, Diane.”

She stood up and brushed herself off. Her eyes again hardened.

“Your loss. I was probably the best fuck you ever had.”

“If I were you, I’d pray to never cross my path again. Don’t think that this is over either. I might have cut a deal with Duffy not to testify, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make your life miserable.”

I turned away and left, her last comment ringing in my ears. Maybe the bad girls
are
the best in bed. Was that what kept attracting me to them? All I really wanted was a good girl who was loyal and loved me that didn’t work for an escort agency or conspired to have me killed. Was that asking too much?

Cassie and Tony were still at my house when I got there sitting on the couch watching the Bruins’ game. There were half a dozen empty beers on my coffee table.

“Hey Ronan, you gotta’ see this one porn we found,” Tony said.

“I’m really not in the mood.”

“You’ll really like it,” Cassie added.

Tony stood and rifled through the box and found the DVD he was after.

“This was attached to it,” he said.

He handed me a handwritten note on Dubliner stationary. I read it aloud.

“Ronan, remember when I said everyone has a dirty little secret? I thought you might enjoy this video. You’re free to do what you’d like with this after the election. In fact, I think Dan LaValle might enjoy it too.”

It was signed with a big “D.” Tony popped it in the machine and hit play. A younger Diane, I guessed by about ten years, was nude and on her knees pleasuring two guys at once. When Duffy had alluded to the cost of Harvard Law, this never once occurred to me. The mental and physical fatigue I’d been dealing with had apparently taken a bigger toll than I thought. Normally I would have been right on top of that. It also explained why she had changed her last name; I never really bought the excuse she gave me.

“You know, for a murdering scumbag, Duffy is an okay guy,” I said.

“Tonight I would have to agree,
paisan
,” Tony replied.

I fell back on the couch next to Cassie. She hugged me and Tony slapped me playfully on the back of the head. I laughed so hard that tears started to stream down my face. On screen, Diane performed all kinds of different sexual acts, some that she had never got a chance to share with me. We must have watched it three times before the night was over. It was definitely a keeper.

I burned a copy onto two additional discs and sent one to Diane with a little note. She needed to know I could take her out anytime I chose to. We all have skeletons in our closets that if ever came to light might change our lives and the way people viewed us. Diane teetered on the edge of ruin, her fate in my hands. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d have to live with that fact, always wondering when it would happen. Being the miserable bastard I was, I’d let her suffer with that knowledge until the time was right.