Tacked to Death (28 page)

"I was good, wasn't I?" Marianne
replied.

"What about me?" Anthony
asked.

Michaela patted him on the shoulder.
"Excellent, all of you."

"Yeah, well, it ain't over yet," Joe
said. "C'mon, get back in the car, let's see what we can
hear."

"Do you think she'll run?" Michaela
asked.

"No. Her family is here, and we've got
her on tape now. We've got plenty of leverage on her, and my wife
scared her witless. She won't run. Shh, here she is.
Listen."

"Hi."

"What's this all about? I don't like
this. Where's your car?"

"I parked around the corner. I don't
know what it's about. Diamante just wanted to see us."

Michaela and the others exchanged
looks. Joe turned up the volume on the scanner. Michaela was
wondering, as she was sure they all were, if Lucia would blow it,
or if Tommy would press her about where she'd parked.

"It better be good. I had to make up
some lame excuse why I had to leave work. Ed Mitchell gets a whiff
of it, we may not have a jewelry store to use for this stuff. And I
need this. We haven't reached our goals. Mitchell thinks I'm so
dependable, that's why he likes me. If he knew I was robbing him
blind…oh God." Tommy's laughter rang through the
scanner.

Michaela winced. She had no idea the
man was so completely calculating and coldhearted.

"I'm going to tell Diamante that I
don't want to do this any longer," Lucia said.

"What? Why? You're kidding. How much
money have we made at this in the past few months? What, a hundred
grand each? Come on. Don't be stupid. What's all this
about?"

"Sterling."

"Honey, we've talked, and even though
he's not here any longer we can still go forward with our plans.
Come on, you're being ridiculous."

"No. I'm scared," Lucia
replied.

"Why? There's nothing to be scared of.
We have dreams, and this is the way to get them."

"What about Michaela Bancroft? I
followed her, you know, and she's been talking to everyone about
Sterling and I don't think she did it."

"Of course she didn't. Haven't you
heard the news? The cops are saying that Sterling's sister-in-law
did. We've got nothing to worry about. Michaela Bancroft won't be
snooping around any longer."

"What if she does? She might find out
about the jewels."

"She's not going with the script,"
Michaela whispered. "What's the deal? I thought she was only
supposed to focus on Sterling."

Marianne shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe
she knows what she's doing. She better."

"You know she found my bracelet," they
heard Lucia say.

"What?" Tommy asked. "That was your
bracelet? You're an idiot."

"What do you mean?"

"She came into the store the other day
and the other salesperson looked at it and told her it was a phony.
Luckily, she told me about it. Quit worrying about her. I'll take
care of Michaela."

"What does that mean?' Lucia
asked.

Joe raised his eyebrows.

"Nothing. You need to quit worrying so
much and do what you're told. Now, where the hell is Diamante? I
don't have time for this shit!"

"I'm out. I can't do this anymore. I
just can't. I'm gonna tell Diamante when he gets here. You and
Sterling had dreams and I went along with all of this because you
told me that you could convince Sterling to be with me and that
he'd fall in love with me."

Joe and Michaela eyed each other. "I
thought so," Michaela said. "I figured there was something going on
between those two. Ed Mitchell indicated it as well."

"Shh!" Joe said. "They're still
talking."

"Oh babe, love is overrated. Plus, you
and I have had some fun together. We got enough cash stored away
right now to run off to some Caribbean island and have a
party."

"I don't want to party with you. I want
Sterling back!"

"That isn't going to happen. Now what
the hell is wrong with you? You didn't seem all broken up about
Sterling after it happened."

"How could I be? Of course I was, but I
couldn't show it. I had to think quick. I was afraid the police
would think that I did it."

"Well, you didn't."

"Like I just told you, Sterling's
sister-in-law looks like the bad guy now after killing herself.
They think she hired someone to kill him. We can still make our
deals, and like I said, we can go have some fun in the sun. And if
that's not your thing…well, no problem, babe. I'll take my share
and go have some fun. Don't be so fucking stupid!"

"You know what scares me is that I
still think there's a killer out there. What if it's Ed Mitchell?
He could have found out what was going on, and he'll take each of
us out one by one. Or that daughter of his."

"Juliet? Please. The cops think it was
a hired gun, and they don't go after people like us. They get paid,
they do the job, and they take off." Tommy laughed. "Look, neither
Ed nor Juliet had anything to do with it."

"How do you know? I don't like this. I
don't believe that Carolyn Taber hired anyone. How do I know that
it's not someone we know? Maybe it's even you."

"You are acting like a sick little
bitch! You're gonna do what you're told to do because that's the
way it is! We brought you in on this because we needed you to
convince your cousin to work with us. After what happened with
Sterling in Santa Barbara when he was a kid, Diamante wasn't too
keen on working with him again, but you helped with that, and now
you're the middleman since Sterling is fucking dead."

There was a rustling noise.

"What are you doing?" Lucia
exclaimed.

"Get in the car!"

"No!" she screamed.

"I said, get the hell in the car. I
don't like where this is going, and I don't think Diamante is on
his way. I don't know what you're up to, Lucia, but get the hell in
the car and start talking because we're going for a
drive."

"No! Let go of me!"

"I should have killed you, too. Dammit.
I knew you were trouble."

"What do you mean…ow!"

It sounded as if Tommy was hurting her.
They heard a car door slam.

Joe cranked the engine on the minivan
as Lucia screamed, "No!" again.

They squealed around the corner.
Marianne and Anthony fell on Michaela as they scrambled for seat
belts.

"Joey!" Marianne yelled.

"Get my piece from the glove
compartment," he said.

Marianne did as he said.

"Anthony, you know how to use a
weapon?"

"Hell no, Joe. I'm a tax
attorney."

"You're also a Pellegrino!"

"I can use it, honey, I know how,"
Marianne said.

"No, Michaela knows how to as well. I
need you to drive. Here, trade."

Michaela watched in awe as Marianne
slid under Joe, who moved over to the passenger seat while keeping
his hands on the wheel and foot on the gas until Marianne could
take over. "You two are scaring me. You're like a regular Bonnie
and Clyde," Michaela said.

"In my bag, in the back, grab the other
gun. You remember how to use it?"

"Yes," Michaela replied. Joe had taken
her to the shooting range several times over the past year after
her uncle had been killed.

Marianne spun into the parking lot as
Tommy and Lucia took off in his jeep. They all heard Tommy say,
"What the hell? Who is that, Lucia? Who the fuck is
that?"

"I swear I don't know. I
don't!"

"Should have never trusted you. You
should've kept your questions to yourself!" Tommy screamed. "I'll
kill you just like I did Sterling and that stupid sister-in-law of
his!"

"What? No!"

"Oh my God," Michaela said. "He's
spilling it all."

"She hasn't lost the wire yet," Joe
said. "This isn't good. Are you willing to use the gun,
Mick?"

"I…don't know," Michaela
said.

"No time for 'I don't know.' I think
this guy plans to kill her," Joe said.

Marianne punched the
accelerator.

"Lucia!' Tommy screamed. "Tell me! Who
is following us?"

"I don't know," she cried.

"I'm going to kill you, Lucia, just
like I did Rebecca Woodson! And frigging Sterling got all greedy on
me and was gonna tell that stupid chick's family that I did it, all
because he wanted all the cash from the jewels. Know what? He
probably would've figured a way to have ousted you, too. He was a
snake, Lucia, and you're being a moron! I'm willing to share with
you and now you go and rat me out. Didn't you?"

"No! No! Diamante did!"

"He did kill Rebecca," Michaela
said.

"What! What the…" Tommy turned down a
one-way street, his tires screaming around the corner.

Marianne stayed right behind him. Tommy
emerged on the other end, but just before Marianne got there, a
huge semi started to pull in front of them.

"Oh shit!" Joe exclaimed.

Michaela held onto her seat
belt.

"Oh Mary, Mother of God," Anthony
muttered.

Marianne floored the gas and circled
around the semi's cab, barely missing it.

"Around that way!" Joe
yelled.

She followed his directions and they
again got behind Tommy's gray jeep. "Now, Mick, now! Can you take
out that left rear wheel?" Joe yelled.

"I don't know."

"Try!"

They rolled down their windows. Joe
stuck his gun out the front window, Michaela the back, pointing it
as best as she could at the tire. They were heading toward the
freeway and traffic increased as they weaved between cars. The last
thing Michaela wanted was for anyone to get hurt.

Anthony had his phone out. Michaela
heard him calling the police, which at this point was an excellent
idea. He reported an abduction and gave a description of the car.
Tommy went down another street, away from the freeway and toward
suburbia.

"Take the shot, Mick! You've got a
better vantage!" Joe said.

She aimed and fired. The jeep
squirreled out and then zipped around a light post, finally
straightening out. "I think I got him!"

The jeep started to slow. Michaela
watched as Tommy leaped out. "Stop the car!" Joe yelled.

When Marianne did, Joe scrambled out
and started after Tommy. Michaela followed. What happened next
seemed like it took place in slow motion. No one figured Tommy had
a weapon on him, but he turned around and fired, and Joe went down.
Michaela sprinted to him as Tommy ran off.

"Asshole got me in the knee." Joe
winced. Marianne was by Joe's side in seconds, with Anthony behind.
"Go check the girl. Make sure she's okay," Joe told
Anthony.

"Oh no, Joey, Joey!" Marianne
cried.

He reached a hand out for her. "I'm
fine, sweetie. It hurts, but I'll be okay. Now, where did that SOB
go?" Joe said, his face paling as the pain hit him hard.

"He got away. Again," Michaela said and
took Joe's other hand.

Forty-Three

Michaela leaned against the cold, hard
wall of the hospital corridor, coffee in hand and thoughts racing
through her mind. Joe was in surgery, having a bullet removed from
his knee. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Detectives
were questioning Lucia, and Michaela was afraid that all of them
would be facing some sort of criminal charges.

Marianne was in the waiting room;
Anthony had gone down to the cafeteria. Michaela had no idea what
Lucia would tell the police. If she told them what Marianne and
Anthony had said, then, yes, they would all be in a lot of trouble.
She didn't know if Lucia was even aware of her involvement in the
car chase. Once the police had been called and emergency crews
arrived, it all happened so quickly. The area had been sealed off
and a manhunt for Tommy ensued, with no results. He had definitely
eluded the authorities.

She turned to see Anthony walking down
the hall. He held out a cookie for her.

"No thanks," she said. "What do you
think will happen?"

"Joe is gonna be fine. He's
tough."

Michaela nodded. She prayed that his
knee would be okay. "How about Lucia? What do you think she'll tell
the police?"

"She's not going to tell them anything.
That's why I was looking for you. I just got a call from her and
she has refused to talk until she sees me. She told the police that
I'm her attorney." He smiled. "I better get on downtown. Don't
worry, I'll handle everything."

Michaela had no idea what Anthony had
up his sleeve. But the one thing she'd come to know about the
Pellegrino family was that if anyone could get out of a sticky
situation, it was them.