“No, Mayor, making amends would imply that I have wronged you in some way. I’m certain that the recent crackdown on organized crime in the city didn’t affect you. No, instead I’mcalling to make this offer because I need something from you. A small thing, a very simple favor.”
“And what would this favor to earn me your patronage entail, precisely?” Mayor Mathews asks with audible trepidation. The man is no fool and obviously senses the chasm opening at his feet.
Fortunately, neither am I. You never open a new business arrangement by asking for anything the other party would be unwilling to provide. If they balk at your first ask, you’ll never build the kind of relationship that lets you blackmail them later.
“I need you to call the police commissioner and tell him to contact the major who oversees the detectives at the thirty-fourth precinct. The officers there are interviewing an associate of mine named Constance Monroe, who was kidnapped earlier today. Thankfully, she managed to escape, but I don’t want the detectives giving her a hard time after everything she’s already had to endure. I’m on my way to the precinct right now to pick her up, but while I’m held up in traffic, I’d like to head off any unpleasantness she might be facing.”
“An associate of yours, you say? And you want me to call the police commissioner on her behalf?” the mayor repeats. It was obvious he had more questions about the situation, so I offered him a bit more to help clarify what I needed.
“Maybe associate isn’t the right word. Ms. Monroe is my fiancée, and I have reason to believe her kidnapping may be related to our recent efforts to combat corruption. She’s not involved in any of my business ventures, and I want to make sure that the police understand the same. Will you make the call?”
“Why, Mr. Luciani, I hadn’t heard the good news about your upcoming nuptials! Of course I will make this call for you. I’ll do it right now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get to work on this, and then once things have settled down, I’ll have my staff reach outto discuss any donations you may wish to make towards my re-election campaign.”
“Thank you, Mayor Mathews. I have one more thing I’d like to ask before you go. Do you know anything about the current whereabouts of Irina Volkov?” I know it’s a dangerous question to ask over an unsecured phone line, but I need all the leads I can get. And I know damn well the good mayor has had plenty of dealings with the Volkov family.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Luciani, that name doesn’t ring any bells. Let me think on it and ask some of my associates if they know anyone by that name.”
“Please do. And make that call for me right away. Thank you for your help, Mayor. I look forward to our future cooperation in steering our city into brighter days.”
“As do I, Mr. Luciani. Take care, sir,” he adds before the call drops.
“That was smooth, boss,” Trenton comments after he glances back and sees me put away my phone. “Mayor Mathews has been a pain in the ass. It’ll be good to bring him into the fold and get him under control.”
“After all the water he carried for the Volkovs, he’s going to have to do quite a bit to make amends,” I reply. “Politicians are the easiest of our associates to deal with, though, when you think about it. The only thing they’re interested in is money. A lot of the other people we work with have more…eclectic interests.”
“Ain’t that the truth. When Mathews first got sworn in and was helping the Volkovs push into the projects, they rounded up my boy Ross Ferguson and got him on a weapons charge. Anyhow, whenever I talk to him, he doesn’t want money for his commissary. Nah, the only thing Ross wants is for me to send him these kinky romance novels.”
“I know Ross. He was high up in that motorcycle gang from over in the East Village, wasn’t he? He hung around with that real tall woman that everyone called Mouse.”
“Yeah, that’s him. He’s always too embarrassed to ask his biker buddies to get him these books, so he has me mail them into the prison for him. There’s a whole series he’s really into. From what I understand, once he reads them, he forwards them to Mouse. She’s serving a stint over at Bedford Hills, so the two of them have their own little book club going.”
“Did Mouse get picked up for something at the same time as Ross?” I wasn’t really all that interested, but I was willing to entertain Trenton. Whatever he was smoking seemed to make him chatty.
“Nah, she’s doing a few years for assault. She got drunk one night, and Ross locked her out of the house because she was carrying on about him messing with some other woman. She goes out and gets the spare tire out of the back of his truck, throws it through the front window, climbs back inside, and then tries to stab him in the dick.”
I wasn’t interested before, but this new detail makes me lean forward, laughing. “That’s insane. And they’re still in contact, even in prison?”
“Well, yeah, they love each other. Besides, she missed his dick and just poked him in the thigh. He’s fine. And it wasn’t like she didn’t have a reason to be mad. He had been flirting with some hang-around at their clubhouse. I’ve been over there and drank with those boys a time or two. They ain’t like us, Maximo. They’re not entirely…civilized.”
“That’s the truth,” I reply as I lean back in my seat. I remember meeting Ross and Mouse several times when I had previously hosted celebrations for our associates. They, along with several other prominent members of the local chapter of the Savage Kings motorcycle club, had done excellent workhandling problems that were too violent and too exposed for my more strait-laced business partners.
“I’m glad you brought them up and stayed in contact with them. Sometimes an uncivilized brute is just what you need for a particular type of job. After what Constance has been through today, I’m starting to think that their more heavy-handed approach might be exactly what this situation calls for.”
4
“The world will tryto rush you into decisions you’re not ready for. Take your time anyway.”
— ROBERT MONROE
Constance
I spend almost thirty minutes in the bathroom at the police station trying to clean myself up. By the time I finally emerge, I’ve managed to scrub off all my makeup and what feels like a layer of skin from my hands, arms, and face. The blood on my clothes has partially dried into a sticky mess that clings to me. I need a giant tub to sink into for all the aches and pains. And even with half a roll of paper towels and a sink bath, I still stink of blood and terror.
Detective Tillman assigned a woman from the office staff to escort me to the bathroom. She checked on me numerous timesduring and even procured another towel so I could blot away some of the blood soaking my clothes and hair. I won’t feel human again until I’ve stood under a hot shower for a few hours, but my efforts made me feel a bit better and gave me time to recover from the shock of my ordeal.
God, I wish Maximo was here with me. After everything that’s happened, oddly enough, I know I won’t truly feel safe until I’m with him.
Melissa suggested I get away from him, to have some time to think clearly. But now I am.
