“Work, you say?” Alessi rasps. “What work? Where’s this boy of yours working?”
“He’s hardly a boy. And he manages one of our businesses. A nightclub.”
“Ahhh,” they say in unison, nodding.
Apparently managing a nightclub is acceptable for the spouse of a Don. Or perhaps they can justseeFinch in that environment.
Rossi leans forward. “You still think you did right, getting Clemenza outta that situation?”
“I think he owes me, and everyoneknowshe owes me. So, yes, Don Rossi. I think I did right.”
Rossi leans back as though satisfied. “You’re unpredictable, Morelli, I’ll give you that.”
“And then you take down the Donovan family,” Alessi says.
“Maggie and Gus Donovan were killed in a tragic home invasion.”
“Of course, of course,” Alessi says, and gives a wheezy laugh. “Maybe God listens when you speak, eh? Grants you favors. Salvatore and I think it’s wise to be friends to those who have God’s ear. You understand?”
“I understand.”
“The old Commission is in shambles. Lombardo, he’s not gonna last much longer in Chicago.” What Alessi means, I assume, is that someone’s taken out a contract on the Chicago Don. Unsurprising. “And none of us will ever trust him again, anyway. Chicago is not a place I’ll be rushing back to any time soon. None of us will, eh, Sal?”
Rossi grunts his assent, and takes over. “You’re right, Joe. You’re right. And maybe it’s time for new traditions.” He looks at me, dark eyes still bright and piercing despite his age. “It’s like you said on that terrible day, Morelli, when I asked you why you were saving our asses. We’re all New Yorkers, you said, and it put us to shame. Because you were right. Weunderstandour city. What do we care what they do in Chicago, or Boston, or Miami, eh? New York is the greatest city in the world, and together, we run it. Weownit.”
I lean forward and offer them each a cigar. “What are you proposing, exactly?”
Rossi snips off the end of the cigar with the silver clippers on the coffee table. “A new kind of Commission. New ties, new blood, New Yorkers only. Maybe those guys across the bridge in Jersey. Maybe. But focusing onthistown.”
“What do you think, Don Morelli?” Alessi asked, lighting his cigar. “Would you want to be a member of such a club?”
“No,” I say, and let them stew on that while I light my own cigar. Then I lay it out for them. “I wouldn’t want to be a member. But Iwouldconsent to be the head of it.”
Alessi and Rossi exchange a nervous glance. “We’ll have to think it over,” Alessi murmurs.
“Please do, gentlemen. And feel free to let me know your decision in—shall we say, one week’s time? I have other things to take care of in the coming week. I can wait for your response.”
They mumble their agreement, but I already know what that decision will be. They showed their hand too early with their small talk. They might have the numbers in their ranks, but after Chicago,I’mthe one with the rep in this city.
They owe me their lives, along with Clemenza.
I own them all now, and they know it.
* * *
Today I’m dealingwith a smaller problem, but far more tricky: Frank and Celia.
They’ve become liabilities in the most dangerous way, both to the Family and to me, personally. I can’t keep covering up Frank’s mistakes. I’m done with overlooking his petty grudges and his disrespect. And his big fucking mouth most of all.
But he’s my brother, and I love him.
If anyone finds out that the leaks came from him and his wife, I won’t be able to protect either one of them. And so, while Frank is in recovery, I pay him a visit.
It’s not pretty. He’s lost his right hand and eye, and he’s still bandaged up. On the part of his face that's visible, he's scarred and burned. Even for me, someone who’s seen many different faces of death, it's a lot to take in.
But Frank seems to be in a very good mood. He's holding the baby in his non-handed arm, feeding her a bottle with the other. Despite the bandages, the scars and burns, I've never seen Frank look so at peace.
He grins at me when I walk in. Celia is asleep in the corner, and I don't want to wake her, so I come over to the bed softly and take a seat next to him.
