Vendetta (19 page)

    
“Which reminds me,” Williams said.

     He
turned his body to face off with Mark. “I texted you this morning, at 7:30 a.m., and told you we had Lucy. I thought you’d be at the station with bells on. Instead, you shut your phone off and disappeared until about 11:00. That’s when I was finally able to get a hold of you. Where were you?” Williams looked at Mark with skepticism.

    
Mark smiled. “A real gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” he insinuated.

    
“Oh. Say no more,” Williams chuckled.

    
“Alright, man. I’ve got to go,” Mark held out his hand to Williams and he shook it firmly.

    
“Thank you for everything. I know you‘ll keep at this investigation until everyone involved in my family’s murders are brought to justice. You’re a good man and a loyal friend. If there’s anything about this crazy scenario worth believing, I believe in that,” Mark patted his shoulder.

    
Williams knew that this might be the last time he saw him. He had no idea what Mark’s plan was. It could be anything or nothing at all. Maybe he would just disappear completely off the face of the earth this time. He hoped he would get Julie and move away from all of these bad memories. Start anew. Heck… he didn’t have the slightest idea.

    
“Good luck, my friend, God speed,” Williams said.

    
Mark quickly got out of the car. He pulled the hood from his sweatshirt he wore under his jacket, up and over his head. It had started to rain. Williams watched as he walked behind an old brick building, and disappeared.

        
~

    
Detective Williams walked into the precinct like he had any other day. He sauntered up to Haddocks office and knocked on the door. Haddock looked up from his turkey sandwich and potato chips he had spread out on the desk. He waved Williams in.

    
“I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch, Sir. I just wanted to ease your mind about something,” Williams leaned into the room.

    
“Oh, I could always use some good news, Williams. What’s on your mind?” Haddock asked.

    
“Well, after a long talk with Mark over lunch, he’s decided to go back to his houseand get some sleep, poor guy. I told him that if anything came up, anything at all, I would text him or call him immediately,” Williams said.

    
“Oh, that is good news! I mean, I have all the compassion in the world for that guy but, it’s best that he take a break from all this. Let us handle things as we see fit,” Haddock said, as he took a big bite of his sandwich.

    
“Yeah, well… I’m sure eating a meal for the first time in days helped out a little too,” Williams smirked.

    
“I bet. It’s got to be hard to go back to an empty home, where there’s nothing but reminders of your daughter. Hell, I’d stay in a hotel room. No reminders there,” Haddock mumbled.

    
Williams thought about what Haddock had just said. Detective Williams realized at that moment, that Mark had no intention of moving on with his life. There was no way that Mark would go back to that empty house and be able to continue.

    
“I’m fairly confident that Mr. Butler will be released from his evaluation and once he’s of sound mind and in our custody, we’ll be able to get some answers from him that we need to pick up Lucy. As for Mr. Vanzetti, he would have to be one smart son of a bitch to pull one over on the parole officers in fancy New York, City to even try to come here. Everyone seems to think something’s going down today… but not with Leo Vanzetti. That man just got out of prison.  He wouldn’t make it here today even if he wanted to,” Haddock reasoned with himself.

    
“So, basically… you’re focusing on pitting Nick and Lucy against each other or getting them to roll on Dom … and then once you have sufficient evidence, then you’ll pick up Vanzetti?” Williams was trying to get an idea of where the case was going.

    
“Yeah, sure. That’s what I’m saying. I mean, if he is even involved and there really is a connection. I‘m not real convinced of that just yet,” Haddock said.

    
“Surely you see the connection between Vanzetti and his sister… given what Nick confessed to about Lucy… this definitely looks like a revenge killing that was obviously premeditated. We’re talking conspiracy to commit MURDER here Captain,” Williams tried not to show his frustration.

    
“We also can’t base our questioning on the ranting’s of a known drug addict, Detective. We need more proof to bring up charges of conspiracy to arrest Vanzetti. So far, all we have is circumstantial evidence. We have Julie’s testimony that she “overheard” Lucy and Nick talking. She never actually saw Lucy; they could argue it wasn’t even her. Nicks wiretap confession was a good idea, but that might not be admissible in court. There is a method to all of this. Just trust in the system. We’re all giving this case the attention it deserves, but we do have other cases to work,” Haddock said.

    
“Okay? That’s the truth of the matter, and that’s how we’re going to be proceeding. I have a family of my own, Williams. I know this is a sensitive case. It always seems personal when a child is involved,” Haddock said truthfully.

    
“Yes, Sir, I understand. Maybe taking a break today doesn‘t sound so bad, you know.” Williams eased up and took a deep breath, blinking his eyes like it was going to clear out his mind. Williams leaned up against the newly made door frame.

    
“Then, take a break Williams. Go call your daughter or something… I’ll let you know when Nick is transported from the hospital. I’m serious now,” Haddock did look serious.

    
“I understand you’re worried about things, but you’re not going to miss anything. It’s all out of our hands today. Let the pieces fall where they may, and THEN we might be able to put this puzzle together,” Haddock’s hands slapped down on the desk, emphasizing his point.

    
“Alright, then, I think I’ll do that, Captain. I’ll take the rest of the day off. Have a good day, Sir, thanks,” Williams said.

    
“You too, Williams, it’s not a problem! We’ve got to look out for each other right?” Haddock said.

    
“We sure do, Sir,” Williams smiled as he walked out of the Captains office.

           ~       
                                 

    
William’s quietly sat in his car and closed his eyes. He had so much on his mind, he just needed to take a step back and see it for what it was… without over processing it all. He had a tendency of over thinking things until it became warped into something it wasn’t.

    
Mark was right about the precinct underestimating the situation. Captain Haddock was a good man and a good Captain, but his instincts were lacking and his actions were political. Williams issue with this was more than a professional disagreement, it was a moral dilemma. He knew in his gut that Leo was coming today and that Mark would be facing him alone. Dom and Lucy could have had this planned out for a long time… and nothing was going to stop it now. That was clear to him. If Captain Haddock couldn’t see that too… then there was just no point in trying to change his mind. William’s hands were also tied, and he has no choice but to follow the orders of his Captain. So, that’s exactly what he’ll do today.

    
Detective William’s decided to take his first unscheduled day off, in almost six years. He was going to try to find Mark and help protect his partner and friend, from whatever mess he was about to get himself into. The first place he thought to look was Mark’s house. Surely he wouldn’t go back there… but maybe there was something there that could help lead him in the right direction.

    
Just as he began to pull out of the parking lot, William’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and glanced at it. “Who the heck is this calling me?” he wondered. The number didn’t look familiar to him.

    
“Detective Williams,” he answered.

    
“I’m sorry, this is who?” Williams was dumbfounded. He had heard who it was, the first time. He just couldn’t believe his ears.

    
“Absolutely, where would you like to talk? I was just there, but YES! That’s fine. I’ll be there in about two minutes.”

    
So much for the afternoon off, William’s day just got a whole lot more complicated.

    
He hung up the phone and felt more confused and uncertain than he ever had.

    
“I’m seriously going to need a REAL vacation, after this is all over,” Williams said aloud. He proceeded to turn his car around and head back into the precinct.

           CHAPTER 16

                     
                 UNFORESEEN

     Using his work keys, Mark came in through the back door of the restaurant. Re-locking the door behind him, he punched the code into the security pad and reset the alarm. As he walked through the dining hall towards the vestibule, a piece of paper taped up on the inside of the glass, caught his eye. He hadn’t noticed it there earlier, and decided to give it a closer look.

    
“We are temporarily closed, due to unforeseen personal circumstances. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Sincerely, Angelo’s Management and Staff,” Mark read aloud.

    
“Unforeseen?” He scoffed. What a joke.

    
Making his way back towards the kitchen, he began to check on the hidden cameras that he had secretly installed there earlier that morning. The one he had strategically placed in the lobby was still secure.

    
After leaving Julie at the hotel, Mark had stopped by his house and gathered the cameras from his own home security system. He thought that while Lucy was still in custody, and Dom was out of town, it would be the perfect window of opportunity to set his plan in motion.

    
Hanging a left, just through the silver double doors, he swiftly walked down the narrow hallway to Dom’s office, unlocking the door. Mark looked to the top of the filing cabinet, knowing right where the camera was hidden. It was still there. Besides Dom, only Lucy and Mark had a key to that office. But, everything seemed untouched, and it appeared that nothing had been tampered with. He locked the door behind him and quietly walked back down the hall towards the kitchen. The last camera was mounted between a stack of bowls and a pile of old menus on a high shelf. It would span the entire kitchen, showing the dining room entrance.

    
Feeling confident that everything was where it should be and was going according to plan, he meandered into the dry storage room.

    
There, he stood up on a plastic bin and reached up towards the ceiling. He lifted up a ceiling tile and set it off to the side. Hoisting himself up into the dark musty opening, he carefully distributed his weight evenly on the structured steel frames. He carefully replaced the ceiling tile and situated himself into a semi comfortable position. Reaching out to feel with his left hand, he searched blindly, until he felt the canvas bag that he had also stashed that morning.

    
Feeling for the zipper, he grasped it and jerked it sideways. He felt inside, finding his flashlight. Mark clicked it on and held it in his mouth to free up his hands. Finding the remote control to the cameras, he put the bag down next to him.

    
According to the “D.I.Y Home Security System”, he had approximately twelve hours of audio and visual recording time, upon pressing the remotes trigger button.

    
Marks plan was to get as much incriminating evidence as he possibly could recorded on both video and audio. He would confront them all and get them to talk… once he felt like he had enough evidence… he would make sure that Leo, Lucy, and Dom would pay for whatever part they each had in the murder of his daughter.

    
In the envelope with the money he gave to Williams, he disclosed Julie’s location and that of her car. He had also left a note in Julie’s car revealing the locations of the cameras and evidence he hoped to collect. He felt that he had entrusted the right people to take the evidence in and bring his plan of final legal justice to fruition.

    
The biggest gamble he felt, however, was the location of the meeting itself. Mark hoped “they” would figure that the restaurant was the safest, most private meeting place to get away from watchful eyes. His gut feeling told him that it would happen here anyway. After all, were they not Italians? Everything exciting always happens in the kitchen.

    
With his finger on the remote button, he waited patiently. God only knew how long he would be sitting there, but that didn’t matter to Mark. It would all be worth it in the end.