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contempt.
    Sheila, placing both of her hands on the
table, went right up to Felicia’s face, and staring into her eyes
said, “It’s just a matter of time before we take you down.”
    Felicia, smiling, stared back and replied,
“That will never happen, and I suggest you keep your distance
before I get a restraining order against you and your partner.” The
tension in the room could be felt as Felicia’s bodyguards moved
toward the two agents, only being stopped when Felicia waved them
off. “You better leave now. My friends are getting nervous,” she
told the agents.
    Looking up at her “friends” Sheila said, “If
I were you, boys, I would be distancing myself from her. It’s just
a matter of time,” she said. “We’ll be back, Ms. Giordano. Your
luck is running out!” replied Sheila, looking down at Felicia.
     

 
An Unexpected Break
    May
11-13, 1984 (New York City)
    When both Sam Williams and Sheila Cooper
returned to their headquarters, John Connolly invited them into his
office. Closing the door behind him, he asked how their conference
with Felicia Giordano had gone. He listened intently, watching how
they reacted as they relayed their experience in dealing with
Felicia. John could see that these two agents were serious about
their jobs, and that they also understood the limitations that were
being placed upon them.
    “Sir, if I could persuade Ms. Giordano to
volunteer as my sparring partner in the ring, it would really make
my day,” Sheila remarked to her captain, bringing a smile to both
Connolly and Williams.
    “I would like to invite you two to a barbecue
Stephanie and I are throwing this coming weekend,” the captain said
suddenly. “I can’t invite the entire task force, however.
Unfortunately, the Hampton estate is being painted. So please keep
this between us.” He smiled, as did they.
    “Umm, sure, sir,” responded Sheila.
    “Yes, sir, it would be my pleasure,” Sam
said.
    John and Stephanie Connolly and their three
children (John, Julie, and Ingrid—ages twelve, nine, and seven
respectfully) lived in a three-bedroom Cape Cod house located in
Levittown, Long Island. Stephanie grew up in this home, which was
left to her by her parents when they retired to Florida some years
back.
    It was a beautiful and comfortable May day
when Sam, his wife, Erin, and their two teenage daughters, Tami and
Lenita, arrived at the Connolly home around 1:00 p.m. The kids
disappeared almost immediately into the backyard, or to the game
room where there was a pool table and a ping-pong table, the latest
video games, and two televisions.
    Sheila arrived alone around 1:30 p.m.,
bringing a home-baked cherry pie and a bottle of red wine. Both
John and Sam greeted her when she arrived. There were several other
people at the barbecue, and the mixer was quite comfortable. A
couple of neighbors and a few more friends arrived a few minutes
later. In all, there were about twenty-five people.
    At 4:30 p.m., after everyone had stuffed
themselves with hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausages, they retired
into different parts of the house. The ladies congregated in the
dining room while the men moved into the living room. There were
outbursts of laughter as stories of life’s experiences were shared
among friends.
    After awhile, several people said their
goodbyes. With only a few guests left, John invited Sheila and Sam
up to his study where he wanted to show them his gun collection.
The remaining guests were having coffee with Stephanie in the
dining room.
    After closing the door behind him, John asked
them both to sit down. “What I am about to tell you cannot leave
this room. It is not, and I emphasize the word not, to be shared
with the other agents or anyone else,” he ordered.
    Both Sam and Sheila were taken by surprise.
“Yes, sir,” they both responded.
    “It seems as if we caught a very lucky break,
though through unfortunate circumstances.”
    “What do you mean, sir?” asked Sheila.
    “Do either of you