Rage of Angels (38 page)

It’s like some kind of goddamned Hollywood movie production,
Major General Roy Wallace thought,
with my prisoner as the star.

The large conference room at the United States Marine Corps base was filled with technicians from the Signal Corps, scurrying around setting up cameras and sound and lighting equipment, using an arcane jargon.

“Kill the brute and hit the inkies. Bring a baby over here…”

They were getting ready to put Thomas Colfax’s testimony on film.

“It’s extra insurance,” District Attorney Di Silva had argued. “We know that no one can get to him, but it will be good to have it on the record, anyway.” And the others had gone along with him.

The only person absent was Thomas Colfax. He would be brought in at the last minute, when everything was in readiness for him.

Just like a goddamn movie star.

Thomas Colfax was having a meeting in his cell with David Terry of the Justice Department, the man in charge of creating new identities for witnesses who wished to disappear.

“Let me explain a bit about the Federal Witness Security Program,” Terry said. “When the trial is over, we’ll send you to whichever country you choose. Your furniture and other belongings will be shipped to a warehouse in Washington, with a coded number. We’ll forward it to you later. There won’t be any way for anyone to trace you. We’ll supply you with a new identity and background and, if you wish, a new appearance.”

“I’ll take care of that.” He trusted no one to know what he was going to do with his appearance.

“Ordinarily when we set people up with a new identity, we find jobs for them in whatever field they’re suited for, and we supply them with some money. In your case, Mr. Colfax, I understand that money is no problem.”

Thomas Colfax wondered what David Terry would say if he knew how much money was salted away in his bank accounts in Germany, Switzerland and Hong Kong. Even Thomas Colfax had not been able to keep track of it all, but a modest estimate, he would guess, would be nine or ten million dollars.

“No,” Colfax said, “I don’t think money will be a problem.”

“All right, then. The first thing to decide is where you would like to go. Do you have any particular area in mind?”

It was such a simple question, yet so much lay behind it. What the man was really saying was,
Where do you want to spend the rest of your life?
For Colfax knew that when he got to wherever he was going, he would never be able to leave. It would become his new habitat, his protective cover, and he would not be safe anywhere else in the world.

“Brazil.”

It was the logical choice. He already owned a two-hundred-thousand-acre plantation there in the name of a Panamanian corporation that could not be traced back to him. The plantation itself was like a fortress. He could afford to buy himself enough protection so that even if Michael Moretti did finally learn where he was, no one would be able to touch him. He could buy anything, including all the women he wanted. Thomas Colfax liked Latin women. People thought that when a man reached the age of sixty-five he was finished sexually, that he no longer had any interest, but Colfax had found that his appetite had grown as he had gotten older. His favorite sport was to have two or three beautiful young women in bed with him at the same time, working him over. The younger the better.

“Brazil will be easy to arrange,” David Terry was saying. “Our government will buy you a small house there, and—”

“That won’t be necessary.” Colfax almost laughed aloud at the thought of his having to live in a small house. “All I will require of you is that you provide me with the new identification and safe transportation. I’ll take care of everything else.”

“As you wish, Mr. Colfax.” David Terry rose to his feet. “I think we’ve covered just about everything.” He smiled reassuringly. “This is going to be one of the easy ones. I’ll begin setting things in motion. As soon as you’re finished testifying, you’ll be on an airplane to South America.”

“Thank you.” Thomas Colfax watched his visitor leave and he was filled with a sense of elation. He had done it! Michael Moretti had made the mistake of underestimating him, and it was going to be Moretti’s final mistake. Colfax was going to bury him so deep that he would never rise again.

And his testimony was going to be filmed. That would be interesting. He wondered whether they would use makeup on him. He studied himself in the small mirror on the wall.
Not
bad
, he thought,
for a man my age. I still have my looks. Those young South American girls love older men with gray hair.

He heard the sound of the cell door opening, and he turned. A marine sergeant was bringing in Colfax’s lunch. There would be plenty of time to eat before the filming began.

The first day, Thomas Colfax had complained about the food that was served to him, and from then on General Wallace had arranged for all of Colfax’s meals to be catered. In the weeks that Colfax had been confined at the fort, his slightest suggestion had become their command. They wanted to do everything they could to please him, and Colfax took full advantage of it. He had had comfortable furniture moved in, and a television set, and he received a daily supply of newspapers and current magazines.

The sergeant placed the tray of food on a table set for two, and he made the same comment he made every day.

“Looks good enough to eat, sir.”

Colfax smiled politely and sat down at the table. Roast beef rare, the way he liked it, mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. He waited as the marine pulled up a chair and sat down across from him. The sergeant picked up a knife and fork, cut off a piece of the meat and began to eat. Another of General Wallace’s ideas. Thomas Colfax had his own taster.
Like the kings of ancient times
, he thought. He watched as the marine sampled the roast beef, the potatoes and the Yorkshire pudding.

“How is it?”

“To tell you the truth, sir, I prefer my beef on the well-done side.”

Colfax picked up his own knife and fork and began to eat. The sergeant was mistaken. The meat was cooked perfectly, the potatoes were creamy and hot and the Yorkshire pudding was done to a turn.

Colfax reached for the horseradish and spread it lightly over the beef. It was with the second bite that Colfax knew something was terribly wrong. There was a sudden burning sensation in his mouth that seemed to shoot through his whole body. He felt as though he were on fire. His throat was closing, paralyzed, and he began gasping for air. The marine sergeant sitting across from him was staring at him. Thomas Colfax clutched his throat and tried to tell the sergeant what was happening, but no words would come out. The fire in him was spreading more swiftly now, filling him with an unbearable agony. His body stiffened in a terrible spasm and he toppled over backwards to the floor.

The sergeant watched him for a moment, then bent over the body and lifted Thomas Colfax’s eyelid to make sure he was dead.

Then he called for help.

Singapore Airlines Flight 246 landed at Heathrow Airport in London at seven-thirty
A.M.
The other passengers were detained in their seats until Jennifer and the two FBI agents were out of the plane and in the airport’s security office.

Jennifer was desperately anxious to see a newspaper to find out what was happening at home, but her two silent escorts denied her request and refused to be drawn into conversation.

Two hours later, the three of them boarded a TWA plane bound for New York.

In the United States Court House at Foley Square an emergency meeting was taking place. Present were Adam Warner, Robert Di Silva, Major General Roy Wallace, and half a dozen representatives from the FBI, the Justice Department and the Treasury Department.

“How the hell could this have happened?” Robert Di Silva’s voice was trembling with rage. He turned to the general.
“You were told how important Thomas Colfax was to us.”

The general spread his hands helplessly. “We took every precaution we could, sir. We’re checking now to see how they could have smuggled prussic acid into—”

“I don’t give a shit how they did it! Colfax is dead!”

The man from the Treasury Department spoke up. “How much does Colfax’s death hurt us?”

“A hell of a lot,” Di Silva replied. “Putting a man on a witness stand is one thing. Showing a lot of ledgers and accounts is something else. You can bet your ass that some smart attorney’s going to start talking about how those books could have been faked.”

“Where do we go from here?” a man from the Treasury Department asked.

The District Attorney replied, “We keep doing what we’re doing. Jennifer Parker’s on her way back from Singapore. We have enough to put her away forever. While she’s going down, we’re going to get her to pull Michael Moretti down with her.” He turned to Adam. “Don’t you agree, Senator?”

Adam felt ill. “Excuse me.”

He quickly left the room.

The signalman on the ground, wearing oversized earmuffs, waved his two semaphores, guiding the jumbo 747 toward the waiting ramp. The plane pulled up to a fixed circle and, at a signal, the pilot cut the four Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines.

Inside the giant plane a steward’s voice came over the loudspeaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have just landed at New York’s Kennedy Airport. We thank you for flying TWA. Will all passengers please remain in their seats until a further announcement. Thank you.”

There were general murmurs of protest. A moment later the doors were opened by the ramp crew. The two FBI agents seated with Jennifer in the front of the plane rose to their feet.

One of them turned to Jennifer and said, “Let’s go.”

The passengers watched with curiosity as the three people
left the plane. A few minutes later the steward’s voice came over the loudspeaker again. “Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen. You may now disembark.”

A government limousine was waiting at a side entrance to the airport. The first stop was the Metropolitan Correctional Center at 150 Park Row, that connected into the United States Court House at Foley Square.

After Jennifer had been booked, one of the FBI men said, “Sorry, we can’t keep you here. We have orders to take you out to Riker’s Island.”

The ride to Riker’s Island was made in silence. Jennifer sat in the back seat between the two FBI men, saying nothing, but her mind was busy. The two men had been uncommunicative during the entire trip across the ocean, so Jennifer had no way of knowing how much trouble she was in. She knew that it was serious, for it was not easy to obtain a warrant of extradition.

She could do nothing to help herself while she was in jail. Her first priority was to get out on bail.

They were crossing the bridge to Riker’s Island now, and Jennifer looked out at the familiar view, a view she had seen a hundred times on the way to talk to clients. And now
she
was a prisoner.

But not for long
, Jennifer thought.
Michael will get me out.

The two FBI men escorted Jennifer into the reception building and one of the men handed the guard the extradition warrant.

“Jennifer Parker.”

The guard glanced at it. “We’ve been expecting you, Miss Parker. You have a reservation in Detention Cell Three.”

“I have the right to one phone call.”

The guard nodded toward the telephone on his desk. “Sure.”

Jennifer picked it up, silently praying that Michael Moretti was in. She began to dial.

Michael Moretti had been waiting for Jennifer’s call. For the last twenty-four hours he had been able to think of nothing else. He had been informed when Jennifer had landed in London, when her plane had left Heathrow, and when she had arrived back in New York. He had sat at his desk, mentally tracking Jennifer on her way to Riker’s Island. He had visualized her entering the prison. She would demand to make a phone call before they put her in a cell. She would call him. That was all he asked. He would have her out of there in an hour, and then she would be on her way to him. Michael Moretti was living for the moment when Jennifer Parker walked through the door.

Jennifer had done the unforgivable. She had given her body to the man who was trying to destroy him. And what else had she given him? What secrets had she told him?

Adam Warner was the father of Jennifer’s son. Michael was certain of that now. Jennifer had lied to him from the beginning, had told him that Joshua’s father was dead.
Well, that was a prophecy that will soon be fulfilled
, Michael told himself. He was caught in an ironic conflict. On the one hand, he had a powerful weapon he could use to discredit and destroy Adam Warner. He could blackmail Warner with the threat of exposing his relationship with Jennifer; but if he did that, he would be exposing himself. When the Families learned—and they would learn—that Michael’s woman was the mistress of the head of the Senate Investigating Committee, Michael would become a laughingstock. He would no longer be able to hold up his head or command his men. A cuckold was not fit to be a
don.
So the blackmail threat was a double-edged sword and, as tempting as it was, Michael knew that he dare not use it. He would have to destroy his enemies in another way.

Michael looked at the small, crudely drawn map on the desk in front of him. It was Adam Warner’s route to where he was going to attend a private fund-raising dinner party that evening. The map had cost Michael Moretti five thousand dollars. It was going to cost Adam Warner his life.

The telephone rang on Michael’s desk and he involuntarily started. He picked it up and heard Jennifer’s voice on the other end. That voice that had whispered endearments into his ear, that had begged him to make love to her, that—

“Michael—are you there?”

“I’m here. Where are you?”

“They’ve got me at Riker’s Island. They’re holding me on a murder charge. Bail hasn’t been set yet. When can you—?”

“I’ll have you out of there in no time. Just sit tight. Okay?”

“Yes, Michael.” He could hear the relief in her voice.

“I’ll have Gino pick you up.”

A few moments later Michael reached for the telephone and dialed a number. He spoke into the phone for several minutes.

“I don’t care how high the bail is. I want her out
now.
”

He replaced the receiver and pressed a button on his desk. Gino Gallo came in.

“Jennifer Parker’s at Riker’s Island. She should be sprung in an hour or two. Pick her up and bring her here.”

“Right, boss.”

Michael leaned back in his chair. “Tell her we won’t have to worry about Adam Warner after today.”

Gino Gallo’s face brightened. “No?”

“No. He’s on his way to deliver a speech, but he’ll never get there. He’s going to have an accident at the bridge at New Canaan.”

Gino Gallo smiled. “That’s great, boss.”

Michael gestured toward the door. “Move.”

District Attorney Di Silva fought Jennifer’s bail with every stratagem at his command. They were appearing before William
Bennett, a judge of the Supreme Court of New York.

“Your Honor,” Robert Di Silva said, “the defendant is charged with a dozen counts of felony. We had to extradite her from Singapore. If she’s granted bail, she’ll flee to someplace where there is no extradition. I ask that Your Honor deny bail.”

John Lester, a former judge who was representing Jennifer, said, “The District Attorney is guilty of gross distortion, Your Honor. My client did not flee anywhere. She was in Singapore on business. If the government had asked her to return she would have done so voluntarily. She’s a reputable attorney with a large practice here. It would be inconceivable that she would run away.”

The arguments went on for more than thirty minutes.

At the end of that time, Judge Bennett said, “Bail is granted in the sum of five hundred thousand dollars.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Jennifer’s attorney said. “We’ll pay the bail.”

Fifteen minutes later, Gino Gallo was helping Jennifer into the back of a Mercedes limousine.

“That didn’t take long,” he said.

Jennifer did not reply. Her mind was on what was happening. She had been completely isolated in Singapore. She had no idea of what had been going on in the United States, but she was certain that her arrest was not an unrelated incident. They would not be after her alone. She badly needed to talk to Michael and find out what had been happening. Di Silva had to be very sure of himself to have had her brought back on a murder charge. He—

Gino Gallo said two words that caught Jennifer’s attention.

“…Adam Warner…”

Jennifer had not been listening.

“What did you say?”

“I said we won’t have to worry about Adam Warner no more. Mike is havin’ him took care of.”

Jennifer could feel her heart begin to pound. “He is? When?”

Gino Gallo raised his hand from the wheel to glance at his watch. “In about fifteen minutes. It’s set up to look like an accident.”

Jennifer’s mouth was suddenly dry. “Where—” She could not get the words out. “Where—where is it going to happen?”

“New Canaan. The bridge.”

They were passing through Queens. Ahead was a shopping center with a pharmacy.

“Gino, will you pull up in front of that drugstore? I have to get something.”

“Sure.” He skillfully turned the wheel and swung into the entrance to the shopping center. “Can I help you?”

“No, no. I’ll—I’ll only be a minute.”

Jennifer got out of the car and hurried inside, nerves screaming. There was a telephone booth at the back of the store. Jennifer reached into her purse. She had no change except for some Singapore coins. She hurried over to the cashier and pulled out a dollar.

“Could I have change, please?”

The bored cashier took Jennifer’s money and gave her a handful of silver. Jennifer dashed back to the telephone. A stout woman was picking up the receiver and dialing.

Jennifer said, “I have an emergency. I wonder if I could—”

The woman glared at her and kept dialing.

“Hello, Hazel,” the woman whooped. “My horoscope was right. I’ve had the worst day! You know the shoes I was going to pick up at Delman’s? Would you believe they sold the only pair they had in my size?”

Jennifer touched the woman’s arm and begged, “Please!”

“Get your own phone,” the woman hissed. She turned back
to the receiver. “Remember the suede ones we saw? Gone! So you know what I did? I said to that clerk…”

Jennifer closed her eyes and stood there, oblivious to everything but the torment inside her. Michael must not kill Adam. She had to do whatever she could to save him.

The woman hung up and turned to Jennifer. “I should make another call, just to teach you a lesson,” she said.

As she walked away, smiling at her little victory, Jennifer made a grab for the phone. She called Adam’s office.

“I’m sorry,” his secretary said, “but Senator Warner is not in. Do you wish to leave a message?”

“It’s urgent,” Jennifer said. “Do you know where he can be reached?”

“No, I’m sorry. If you would like to—”

Jennifer hung up. She stood there a moment, thinking, then quickly dialed another number. “Robert Di Silva.”

There was an interminable wait and then: “The District Attorney’s office.”

“I have to speak to Mr. Di Silva. This is Jennifer Parker.”

“I’m sorry. Mr. Di Silva is in a conference. He can’t be dis—”

“You get him on this telephone. This is an emergency. Hurry!” Jennifer’s voice was trembling.

Di Silva’s secretary hesitated. “Just a moment.”

A minute later, Robert Di Silva was on the telephone. “Yes?” His voice was unfriendly.

“Listen, and listen carefully,” Jennifer said. “Adam Warner’s going to be killed. It’s going to happen in the next ten or fifteen minutes. They’re planning to do it at the New Canaan bridge.”

She hung up. There was nothing more she could do. A brief vision of Adam’s torn body came into her mind and she shuddered. She looked at her watch and silently prayed that Di Silva would be able to get help there in time.

Robert Di Silva replaced the receiver and looked at the halfdozen men in his office. “That was a weird call.”

“Who was it?”

“Jennifer Parker. She said they’re going to assassinate Senator Warner.”

“Why did she call you?”

“Who knows?”

“Do you think it’s on the level?”

District Attorney Di Silva said, “Hell, no.”

Jennifer walked through the office door and, in spite of himself, Michael could not help reacting to her beauty. It was the same way he felt every time he saw her. Outside, she was the loveliest woman he had ever seen. But inside she was treacherous, deadly. He looked at the lips that had kissed Adam Warner and at the body that had lain in Adam Warner’s arms.

She was walking in saying, “Michael, I’m so glad to see you. Thank you for arranging everything so quickly.”

“No problem. I’ve been waiting for you, Jennifer.” She would never know how much he meant that.

She sank into an armchair. “Michael, what in God’s name is going on? What’s happening?”

He studied her, half admiring her. She was responsible for helping to bring his empire crashing down, and she was sitting there innocently asking what was going on!

“Do you know why they brought me back?”

Sure,
he thought.
So you can sing some more for them.
He remembered the little yellow canary with its broken neck. That would be Jennifer soon.

Jennifer looked into his black eyes. “Are you all right?”

“I’ve never been better.” He leaned back in his chair. “In a few minutes, all our problems are going to be over.”

“What do you mean?”

“Senator Warner is going to have an accident. That’ll cool off the committee pretty good.” He looked at the clock on the
wall. “I should be getting a phone call any minute.”

There was something odd in Michael’s manner, something forbidding. Jennifer was filled with a sudden premonition of danger. She knew she had to get out of there.

She stood up. “I haven’t had a chance to unpack. I’ll go—”

“Sit down.” The undertone in Michael’s voice sent a chill down her back.

“Michael—”

“Sit down.”

She glanced toward the door. Gino Gallo was standing there, his back against it, watching Jennifer with no expression on his face.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Michael told her.

“I don’t under—”

“Don’t talk. Don’t say another word.”

They sat there waiting, staring at each other, and the only sound in the room was the loud ticking of the clock on the wall. Jennifer tried to read Michael’s eyes, but they were blank, filled with nothing, giving away nothing.

The sudden ringing of the telephone jarred the stillness of the room. Michael picked up the receiver. “Hello?…Are you sure?…All right. Get out of there.” He replaced the receiver and looked up at Jennifer. “The bridge at New Canaan is swarming with cops.”

Jennifer could feel the relief flooding through her body. It became a sense of exhilaration. Michael was watching her and she made an effort not to let her emotions show.