Today’s
excerpt is from Horace Goes Home, Book #2 of Bader Trilogy. Mob boss gets report he didn’t want to
hear. Enjoy and have a fantastic day.
m.j.
While Maine
Bobbitt was getting moved into the Grassi home, a very unhappy Aldo D’Alema was
reporting in to Bettino Prudi. He really
didn’t want to make his report—in fact, had delayed it longer than he should
have. “They’re gone. All three of the jokers I had up there are
gone. Their cars are gone, too…no sign
of them. No sign of any kind of struggle
or blood, or anything of the kind. Just
gone. As far as I’ve been able to find
out, they haven’t been arrested.”
“What are you
telling me?”
“I don‘t know
what I’m telling you, other than they’re gone, and I have no idea how or to
where. I can’t believe they lost their
nerve and just split…but I have no idea what might have happened.”
“What do you
propose to do?”
“Again, I have
no idea. The one I had up there first
was dug in real well. I don’t see how
anybody on the ranch could have spotted him.
I knew about where he was going to put the other two—same deal. Information on this whole deal is hard to
come by…nothing on the streets. I’ve got
good men checking. They’re coming up
empty. There’s no buzz about what the
cops are doing—or this NCIS outfit, or the FBI.
All I do know is the FBI went
through Longfellow’s office with a fine-tooth comb.
“The new dick,
Bergmann, is in place, but not rushing to make a bunch of changes. But I hear he’s a solid cop, who will undo
some of our good work in placing a few guys in the detective branch of
LAPD. I’ve been told he’ll weed them out
eventually. I’ve talked to a couple of
our best men, and they say there’s no way to get to Bergmann. He’s straight arrow. I’d bet we never get anyone into Homicide. The new boss there is a spook, but he’s
supposed to be on the up-and-up, too.
Also, of course, there’s Bader and his brother-in-law, Evans. Those two may have more money through their
wives than I have—even though you take good care of me. They evidently were the two—along with
Bergmann and the black cop, Wilcox—who got rid of Cartwright. Speaking of him—Cartwright, he’s disappeared
from sight, too.”
“Aldo, my
friend, you are supposed to be able to keep up with these things. You seem to be at a total loss. Are you getting too old to handle your job?”
D’Alema, who was
forty-eight, sighed, “I hope not. But I
do admit I’m at a total loss now. The
only thing that even runs through my mind—besides offing Sgroi and Mosello—is
to take out Bader. He seems to be the
glue holding Homicide together. In
addition, he evidently has an excellent relationship with this NCIS bunch, as
well as the FBI. But offin’ a cop is not
the best of ideas—especially one as well-liked and well-connected as this
guy. The other thing we still don’t know
for sure is if this wino Horace is even at the damned ranch.”
“No, let’s not
be doing any cops. That draws too much
heat. But I do want this damned Horace jerk.
You got anybody else to put out there to watch the ranch?”
“Yeah—I can do
that.”
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