"I would if I had any real evidence of wrong doing," Sal admitted, "but no one's ever caught either of them doing anything. There's never even been any charges filed against them that stuck. It's all innuendo and supposition."
And maybe a little wishful thinking on the part of most of the police department. They'd all been disappointed when Vinnie retired from running the mob and cleaned up his act. Carlos was still in the game, but he couldn't be tied to any crimes.
They were very smart—alleged—mobsters.
"And that would be why IAB isn't all up in your face," Jerry said. "They know you're clean."
"What about the rest of us?" I asked. "Are they going to get all up in our faces?" I didn't relish the idea of dealing with the Internal Affairs Bureau, but then no one did. Not if they had an ounce of intelligence.
"They might," Jerry replied, "but as long as you keep doing what you're doing, you should be good."
Oh, I planned on it.
"What is he talking about?" Skip asked.
"Eddie is my cousin, remember?"
Skip nodded.
"I'm under extra scrutiny because he's Carlos's adopted son."
Skip's brow wrinkled. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Like Jerry said, as long as I keep doing what I'm doing, I should be fine."
"But what about this task force?" he asked. "Won't that cause problems?"
I glanced at Jerry, unsure. "Will it cause problems?"
"Not for you."
I started to grin when Jerry turned back to look at the pictures on the screen. I could tell this was going to be epic. I was sure glad I wasn't in Burnett's shoes.
"Burnett suspected you all of working for the mob and selling drugs for them, but he didn't report it to IAB as he should have done. Instead, without permission from his supervisor, he set up a task force, planned a raid, and recruited police officers fresh out of the academy so they wouldn't know who they were trying to arrest."
"That was why I didn't recognize any of them," I said. "I've never worked with any of them."
"And they've never worked with any of you," Jerry added. "That's the other thing. Burnett never informed any of them that you guys were SWAT or that they were raiding a SWAT officer's house. He told them all of you were drug dealers working for the mob, and that's pretty much it."
Burnett's goose was cooked, but I wanted to be the one to tie him to the spit.
"So, what's the plan?"
"We're just waiting on a few more people to join us, and then we're going to—Ah, here they are now," Jerry said when the door opened and a few people walked in. "Gentlemen, thank you for coming."
Carlos Gambino lifted one eyebrow. "The only reason I am here is because of Salvador and Lany."
"I understand, and I thank you. I know the circumstances are unusual."
Carlos grimaced as he glanced at the brown-haired man standing beside him. "Very unusual."
Jerry's sigh filled the room. "For you who have not met Mr. Franklin, he is from Internal Affairs."
My eyebrows shot up. An IAB man was standing between Carlos and Vinnie?
Now, I'd seen everything.
The brown-haired man's jaw firmed for a moment as he drew in a deep breath. He clearly didn't want to be here. "Yes, well, while I don't agree with the measures the commissioner has taken, I understand why he has taken them. There has to be checks and balances if law and order are to be maintained. We cannot have a rogue faction working inside the police bureau."
