got the urge, and he’d take care of her, give her money, anything she needed, as long as she didn’t make a stink. She had the baby and her parents took care of it. It was like the baby was her little brother.”
“But she still wanted to be Mrs. Vincent Trafficante.”
“And that was impossible at the time, yes.”
“Let me guess. Vince was already married.”
“Vince hated his first wife. She was a horrible drunk with a violent temper and would threaten to take him for everything he’s worth. She ended up dead in a car crash, a head-on collision on the Ben Franklin Bridge.”
“And that opened the door for wife number two. That wasyou, but you were married to Sam Blackwell, a city cop. It’s an interesting story. I can’t wait to hear how it ends.”
“It all got so mixed up, Lou. There’s a lot you don’t know. Vince helped Sam, got him his first promotion, got him choice assignments, whatever he wanted. And Sam did things for Vince in return.”
“What kind of things?”
“He collected debts. Gambling debts mostly. He’d take bets, too. Sometimes he’d drive Vince around, like a chauffeur.”
“It takes money to be married to you.”
“That’s not fair, Lou.”
“You were the girl Vincent got pregnant. Weren’t you? Tommy Ahearn is your son. How old were you when you had him?”
“Sixteen.”
“Did Sam know about Tommy?”
“He found out about him.”
“And he conveniently committed suicide. So, why didn’t you all live happily ever after?”
“I don’t like the way you make that sound, Lou.”
“I don’t like it myself. It raises a lot of questions that a lot of people wouldn’t want to see answered.”
“Tommy was never the type to be satisfied with taking orders. He thought he was entitled to more money than Vince gave him. He knew the whole story, knew he was Vincent’s son and wanted to go into business for himself.”
“Vincent wasn’t crazy about the idea, I bet.”
“Vince said he wasn’t ready.”
“Anything else I need to know about Tommy Ahearn?”
“He wanted Carol Ann, Lou. He wanted my daughter. I should have seen it coming. I could have prevented it. I knew the kind of person Tommy was. He was brutal. Women were like toys to him, something he could abuse, physically, sexually. I tried everything to keep him away from her. I would have givenmyself to him a thousand times, if he had just stayed away from my daughter.”
“Do you think he knows where she is?”
“I think she ran away, Lou, to get away from him. I think she hooked up with Richie and his biker buddies, hoping they could help her. Now that Richie’s dead I don’t know what she’ll do. Did you talk to her friends?”
“Not yet. I’ll need to talk to Vince as well.”
“Let me talk to him first, Lou. See if I can’t smooth things over.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you, Lou.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
“Lou, be careful.”
He walked out and met up with Mitch, who was at the nurse’s station, leaning over the counter talking to Betty. Betty was smiling and Mitch was twirling a pencil between his fingers. They said their good-byes and took the elevator down to the main floor. They stood in the parking lot and smoked. The sleet had stopped.
“Let me ask you a question, Mitch. Anything turn up on the murder weapon that killed Mazz?”
“Yeah. Forensics pulled a forty-caliber bullet out of him after it used his brain as a pinball machine. Ballistics has it now. You carry a forty, don’t you, Lou.”
“Yeah, I do. And so does every cop in the city of Philadelphia. You want to see it?”
“Not just yet but thanks for the offer.”
“How about the body, Mitch, find anything on it?”
“Funny you should ask. Mazz was clean but stuffed down between the front bench seat of the truck was a pack of matches from the Comfort Zone Spa, a massage parlor, Sixty-fourth and Pine, only about fifteen minutes from here.”
“When did you plan on telling me that little
“But she still wanted to be Mrs. Vincent Trafficante.”
“And that was impossible at the time, yes.”
“Let me guess. Vince was already married.”
“Vince hated his first wife. She was a horrible drunk with a violent temper and would threaten to take him for everything he’s worth. She ended up dead in a car crash, a head-on collision on the Ben Franklin Bridge.”
“And that opened the door for wife number two. That wasyou, but you were married to Sam Blackwell, a city cop. It’s an interesting story. I can’t wait to hear how it ends.”
“It all got so mixed up, Lou. There’s a lot you don’t know. Vince helped Sam, got him his first promotion, got him choice assignments, whatever he wanted. And Sam did things for Vince in return.”
“What kind of things?”
“He collected debts. Gambling debts mostly. He’d take bets, too. Sometimes he’d drive Vince around, like a chauffeur.”
“It takes money to be married to you.”
“That’s not fair, Lou.”
“You were the girl Vincent got pregnant. Weren’t you? Tommy Ahearn is your son. How old were you when you had him?”
“Sixteen.”
“Did Sam know about Tommy?”
“He found out about him.”
“And he conveniently committed suicide. So, why didn’t you all live happily ever after?”
“I don’t like the way you make that sound, Lou.”
“I don’t like it myself. It raises a lot of questions that a lot of people wouldn’t want to see answered.”
“Tommy was never the type to be satisfied with taking orders. He thought he was entitled to more money than Vince gave him. He knew the whole story, knew he was Vincent’s son and wanted to go into business for himself.”
“Vincent wasn’t crazy about the idea, I bet.”
“Vince said he wasn’t ready.”
“Anything else I need to know about Tommy Ahearn?”
“He wanted Carol Ann, Lou. He wanted my daughter. I should have seen it coming. I could have prevented it. I knew the kind of person Tommy was. He was brutal. Women were like toys to him, something he could abuse, physically, sexually. I tried everything to keep him away from her. I would have givenmyself to him a thousand times, if he had just stayed away from my daughter.”
“Do you think he knows where she is?”
“I think she ran away, Lou, to get away from him. I think she hooked up with Richie and his biker buddies, hoping they could help her. Now that Richie’s dead I don’t know what she’ll do. Did you talk to her friends?”
“Not yet. I’ll need to talk to Vince as well.”
“Let me talk to him first, Lou. See if I can’t smooth things over.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you, Lou.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
“Lou, be careful.”
He walked out and met up with Mitch, who was at the nurse’s station, leaning over the counter talking to Betty. Betty was smiling and Mitch was twirling a pencil between his fingers. They said their good-byes and took the elevator down to the main floor. They stood in the parking lot and smoked. The sleet had stopped.
“Let me ask you a question, Mitch. Anything turn up on the murder weapon that killed Mazz?”
“Yeah. Forensics pulled a forty-caliber bullet out of him after it used his brain as a pinball machine. Ballistics has it now. You carry a forty, don’t you, Lou.”
“Yeah, I do. And so does every cop in the city of Philadelphia. You want to see it?”
“Not just yet but thanks for the offer.”
“How about the body, Mitch, find anything on it?”
“Funny you should ask. Mazz was clean but stuffed down between the front bench seat of the truck was a pack of matches from the Comfort Zone Spa, a massage parlor, Sixty-fourth and Pine, only about fifteen minutes from here.”
“When did you plan on telling me that little
Similar Books
