Worth Dying For (38 page)

He could hear excited mumbling from the crowd. No doubt, they were learning that the bodies were that of Mafia Boss Anthony Castrucci and his right hand man. He glanced up at a news helicopter circling overhead. He could see a reporter sitting in the door with his feet dangling out over the side, a camera mounted on his shoulder. He watched the helicopter swoop in low as the camera operator shifted his camera to his other shoulder.

He turned his attention back to the scene playing out approximately fifty-feet away. Several men were pulling on ropes. After several hard tugs, they heaved the massively large body of Anthony Castrucci up over the side and onto the concrete. He walked over to have a look. The body was badly bloated, and there was no mistake about how he died. Directly in the middle of his forehead, almost between his eyes, was a bullet hole.

He had seen enough and headed back to his car. He couldn’t help but think how ironic it was that their bodies were found today of all days. Only a short few hours ago, he was sitting in a diner, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the morning paper, when he received the phone call he had been waiting for. Only minutes earlier, the grand jury had handed down the indictment, and the charges had been endless. Overall, he felt that Castrucci had gotten off way too easy, but looking on the bright side, Castrucci wouldn’t get another chance to hurt anyone else.

###

Vincent held the door open for Terasa and followed her inside Barecci’s Restaurant. He took a seat at the bar and watched her walk toward the back room.

Carlos and Roberto stood up to greet her. Carlos smiled and bent to kiss the top of her hand.

“Terasa, please join me,” he said, motioning toward the opposite chair. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Seven, seven please,” she said, taking the seat he offered.

“Terasa, I must admit that I wasn’t surprised to hear from you,” Carlos said.

“And I have to admit that doesn’t surprise me, either, Carlos,” she said, smiling warmly at the older man. She had always liked Carlos, in spite of what her husband thought, and without Anthony’s knowledge, she and Carlos had developed a warm friendship that now spanned more than twenty years.

“I kinda figured that, too. How have you been, Terasa? Are you doing okay with all of this?” he asked.

“I’m well, Carlos, and thank you for asking.”

Carlos waited for Roberto to set the drinks down before continuing. “It’s really good to see you, even under such dower conditions.”

She took a drink and then set the glass down on the table. She covered his hands with hers. “I do appreciate your help more than you could possibly know.”

“It’s okay, Terasa, and with that all said, I’d like to offer my condolences in the passing of your husband,” he said with sincerity. He looked at her and shook his head. He thought about Castrucci and what an idiot he had been. Castrucci had everything, including a very beautiful wife, and he blew it. “I assure you, you and Caroline will be taken care of.”

“Thank you, Carlos, for everything,” she said, and then waited for him to continue.

Never one to mince words, he got right to the point. “I knew Anthony wanted me dead, Terasa, and I’ve known it for quite some time now. Believe it or not, you did the family a great service. Not all of us are like the monsters portrayed on TV, but men like Anthony give us all a bad name. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we’re angels, either—a far cry from it—but Anthony and Sal were just plain evil. They enjoyed inflicting pain on others. I, on the other hand, only choose that path after all options have been explored, and that’s the way it should be.”

He stopped talking long enough to motion for Roberto to get him another drink. He looked at her and smiled. “Normally, your actions would be unforgivable, but I think I’ll make an exception in this case. Anthony was out of control. He let his position go to his head and in doing so, put the entire family at risk without a second thought. I knew about the girl, and yes, she was a problem, but she was Anthony’s problem. A problem that should have never become mine, as it now stands. He did everything for personal reasons and his own morbid satisfaction.”

Taking the drink from Roberto, he drank half the contents before sitting it on the table. He thought about the FBI agent and the despicable act committed against her by Castrucci’s hired gun. He could feel the anger boiling in his veins. His thoughts turned to his granddaughter. He shook his head. “What was done to that girl was unconscionable and pure evil. They violated what was sacred and everything that the family stands for, and for that, we will take care of all loose ends and I do mean all loose ends.”

The anguish in his voice was evident, and Terasa felt compassion for her friend. She could see the hurt in his eyes. She had known for quite some time about his granddaughter. He had confided in her shortly after he found out. Although Rheyna hadn’t been related to her, she still felt the horrific ache of knowing how she had suffered. She was grateful to this man, but there was one more thing bothering her. She had a question that needed an answer.

“I know you’ve done a lot for me already, Carlos, but I have one more favor to ask of you…”

Chapter 24

Edwards sat in his car outside the Catholic Church and watched the small crowd of people who came to pay their respects to Anthony Castrucci. It had been three days since they pulled his body from the bay, and they were not wasting any time putting it in the ground.

Visibly missing were his wife and daughter, as well as the high-profile members of his crime family. Not one single member had come to the church, and it served Castrucci right.

His cell phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts. “Are you sure, Laura ... Okay … Yeah … I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He shook his head in disbelief as he started the car. Things just kept getting more and more interesting.

It took him less than ten minutes to drive down to The Lexington Club over on 19
^th
street. The usual people were already on scene. Once again, a crime scene was declared as police tape cordoned off part of the street. He glanced across the street where uniformed officers were busy keeping onlookers back, and there was no shortage of reporters, either.

Laura walked over to him shaking her head. “Single bullet to the side of the head,” she said as she lifted the police tape up for him to duck under.

They walked over to a green Chevy Caprice that was parked in the exact spot where Rheyna’s Jeep had been weeks earlier. Edwards followed her around to the back of the car. Laura nodded at the uniformed officer. The hinges squeaked shrilly as he raised the trunk lid to a fully opened position.

Edwards looked down at Jay Farino’s dead body, curled up in a fetal position, his hands bound tightly behind his back, his pants pulled down around his knees, exposing blood-covered legs.

“What’s in his mouth?” he asked, leaning over to get a better view.

Laura grinned. “They cut his dick off.”
 

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” Edwards laughed as he slammed the trunk lid shut.
 

###

Terasa pressed the remote and turned up the volume on the TV. Several news crews were live on the scene down at the Lexington Club. A picture of Jay Farino flashed on the screen and then the camera cut back to a live, close-up shot. She recognized Agents Forrest and Edwards standing near the rear end of a car. They moved out of the way as two of the coroner’s assistants prepared to remove the body from the trunk.

The camera switched to a close-up shot of James Styles standing behind the police tape. He smiled broadly, showing a full set of teeth as he spoke into the microphone. “Citing anonymity, an unidentified source with the FBI has confirmed that the dead man in the trunk of the car behind me is Jay Marbles Farino. As some of you may already know, Farino was reported to be a hit man for reputed Mob Boss Anthony Castrucci.”
 

A split picture of Big Tony and Sonny Valachi flashed across the screen before the camera cut back to a wide shot of the reporter, and the crime scene behind him.

“Castrucci, along with his trusted Lieutenant, Sonny Valachi, were found several days ago floating in the San Francisco Bay.” He continued to speak as another picture flashed on the screen, showing the bodies being pulled from the water. “According to the same FBI source, Castrucci died just days before a secret grand jury indictment for child pornography and several federal racketeering charges were handed down. It was also reported that Farino was the main suspect in the brutal death of undercover FBI Agent Rheyna Sorento. Her badly beaten body was discovered in this same location earlier this month.”

The camera switched back to a close up of the reporter. He smiled at the camera. “This is James Styles, reporting for Channel 2 news.”

Chapter 25

It had taken Edwards a good sixty minutes to drive up the coast to Benicia, and he still couldn’t believe what he was about to do. It should have been against his better judgment, but it wasn’t.

He drove the sedan slowly through the entrance to the park. For once, he was doing what was right, and this was the right thing to do, even if the law didn’t agree. He knew he was taking a big risk and that if discovered, it would cost him his job, and more likely than not, he would also be arrested.

There was no doubt in his mind that all parties involved would keep this secret. He laughed as he thought about Omerta, the Mafia’s vow of silence, their sacred oath, and how he was now about to take part in it. He had taken an oath of his own and he had sworn his allegiance to the bureau, but the bureau had let down one of its own when they failed to protect Rheyna, and that just plain pissed him off.

He followed the signs leading to Dillon’s Point and pulled the sedan into one of the empty parking spots. A glance at his watch showed he was early, and that was fine by him. He could use the time to stretch his legs and shake off some of the nervous energy he was feeling. He walked around to the front of the car and leaned back against the grill.

Lighting a cigarette, he inhaled the smoke deep into his lungs. He needed to quit this nasty habit and he knew his wife would appreciate it. He took another drag, flicked the cigarette across the pavement, and then hoisted himself up on the hood of the car. With his hand raised in front of his face to shield his eyes from the sun, he glanced around the park. It was larger than he had imagined. He looked to his right and saw a couple of hikers enter a trailhead.

His thoughts turned back to the event that had brought him here today. The phone call he received earlier in the week had surprised him. Actually, it had surprised the hell out of him, catching him totally off guard, and that was something that didn’t happen very often.

Over the years, he had seen and heard just about everything humanly possible. Sometimes, he got to see the best in people, but more often than not, it was mostly the worst. It was a wonder that he had been able to keep his sanity over the years.

He turned to see an approaching car’s headlight and watched as the black limousine pulled into the spot next to his sedan. Vincent got out and came around to hold the rear door open.
She’s definitely more attractive in person
, he thought as Terasa Castrucci slid out of the backseat. He hadn’t seen her since Rheyna’s funeral, but could tell from the look on her face that the events of the last month and a half had taken their toll on her, too.

She smiled warmly and walked over to him. To his surprise, she put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him. He could see the gentleness in her. She was genuine and obviously loved her daughter more than anything on earth. Her actions and intentions had made that perfectly clear when she phoned him. If Caroline was anything like her mother—and he suspected she was—Rheyna hadn’t stood a chance. He understood how she had fallen in love with her.

Terasa turned to Vincent and took the manila envelope from his hand. She handed it to Edwards. She looked at him thoughtfully. “I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for me and my daughter, Agent Edwards.”

He looked at the envelope, turning it over repeatedly in his hands. He raised his head to meet her gaze. “I hope you understand that we were only doing our jobs, and Rheyna never meant to hurt you or Caroline.”