Part 29 (1/2)

”So this was serious,” I guessed.

Vinny continued, ”He said something about a doppio doppio-”

”A double,” Lucky translated.

”-and then, looking scared out of his wits, he started shouting stuff. It didn't make any sense. Stuff like, 'La mia propria faccia nel viso di un altro!' 'La mia propria faccia nel viso di un altro!'”

I drew in a sharp breath. ”That sounds exactly like what Charlie said to me!”

Vinny asked, ”Who's Charlie?”

”Charlie Chiccante,” I said.

”Who?”

Lucky said to me, ”Vinny ain't in the family business.”

”Oh. And I guess you don't read the tabloids?” I said to Vinny, a little pleased.

”Oh, wait a minute! Charlie Chiccante.” Vinny nodded. ”Yeah, I read about it. Isn't he that Gambello capo who got whacked on Sat.u.r.day night by a chorus girl with ties to the mob?”

”I didn't whack him,” I snapped. ”I just saw saw him get whacked!” him get whacked!”

Today was Wednesday. I prayed that by the following weekend, some celebrity scandal would make tabloid fans everywhere forget all about me.

”So . . . I don't understand,” Vinny said. ”Are you saying that Charlie Chiccante and Danny got done by the same hitter?”

Though not in the family business, he'd obviously grown up with the vocabulary.

”We think so,” I said. ”Lucky, what does that phrase mean? The one that Charlie and Danny both said before dying? La mia . . . La mia . . . whatever.” whatever.”

Lucky said, ” 'I saw my own face on someone else's face.' ”

”Doppelgangster,” Max said with a nod. ”Like poor Chubby Charlie, Danny understood what he had seen.”

”Because we tried to warn him,” I said.

Vinny looked bewildered. ”So that stuff Danny was babbling, that means means something to you guys? I thought he was just having a stroke or something.” something to you guys? I thought he was just having a stroke or something.”

”Believe me, I know exactly how you feel,” I said, ”Go on, Vinny, what happened next?”

Vinny wiped his glistening forehead, nodded, and made an obvious effort to collect his thoughts.

”Nathan over there, he works for Danny.” Vinny pointed to the young man guarding the door. From this angle, I could see that Nathan had a gun tucked into his belt at the small of his back. ”Danny left him and Bobby at the entrance there, with instructions to search everyone who came in. Everyone Everyone. I didn't like it, and I knew the customers would hate it. But, well, Danny's not really a guy you say no to. And he's the one who bank-rolled me to open this shop, after all.”

”I see that Nathan's still by the door now,” I said. ”But where's Bobby?”

”With the body,” Vinny said. ”It didn't seem fitting to, um, leave it lying alone before the priest gets here.”

”You called a priest?” I said.

”It's what you do when a guy dies.” Vinny glanced at Lucky. ”Even a guy like Danny, I guess.”

Max said, ”So the two young men guarded the door and searched everyone who came in?”

”Actually, no one came in. Middle of the week, slow day. Nothing happened,” Vinny said.

I nodded, recalling that the street outside was almost empty when we got here.

”So about an hour pa.s.ses,” Vinny continued. ”I'm stocking the shelves, and then . . . BOOM! BOOM!”

I jumped a little.

”Shotgun blast,” Lucky said. ”Always loud.”

”I didn't know what it was at the time,” Vinny said. ”I just knew it sounded like a cannon and had come from the cellar. So I told Nathan and Bobby to stay by the door and, if asked, say that a wine casket had exploded in the cellar. It's stupid, but it would get rid of people. And I went downstairs. There's only one way in or out of that cellar, and no one had gone past us. So I figured that one of Danny's Glocks had gone off.”

”Semiautomatics can be a little jumpy,” Lucky said with a nod.

Vinny continued, ”I wanted to make sure Danny hadn't shot himself by accident-or, you know, shot a twelve hundred dollar bottle of wine. I called to him through the door a few times. He didn't answer, but that door is pretty thick.”

”It's why Danny chose the place,” Lucky said.

”I was getting really worried,” Vinny said. ”I mean, why didn't Danny open the door and tell me that everything was okay, that he'd just misfired by accident? I suddenly thought maybe he did did shoot himself. Maybe he needed help! So I keyed in the combination to unlock the door, and I opened it.” He added, ”And the whole time, I was saying, in a loud voice, 'Don't shoot, Danny. It's me. It's Vinny.' Because he'd been, you know, so jumpy. I was pretty nervous, to be honest.” shoot himself. Maybe he needed help! So I keyed in the combination to unlock the door, and I opened it.” He added, ”And the whole time, I was saying, in a loud voice, 'Don't shoot, Danny. It's me. It's Vinny.' Because he'd been, you know, so jumpy. I was pretty nervous, to be honest.”

”That's understandable,” I said.

”And when I opened the door . . .” Vinny crossed himself. ”As G.o.d is my witness, this is the truth. There was no one else in the vault. No one else downstairs . . .” His voice started quavering. ”And what was left of Danny was lying there in a pool of blood. His face was all gone, his chest was blown to bits, his brains were splattered all over the bottles and-”

”The lady don't need so many details,” Lucky said.

”Oh. No. Sorry, miss. I'm just so shaken up, you know?”

”Of course,” I said.

”And his Glocks . . .” Vinny shook his head. ”Danny's guns were still in their holsters, fully loaded. Untouched.”

I looked at Lucky for confirmation.

”They ain't been fired,” Lucky said. ”Danny didn't get a shot off.”

”I don't understand,” I said. ”How did the killer get past Vinny, Nathan, and Bobby without being seen and then get through a locked steel door? And then how did he vanish so quickly? With a shotgun? shotgun?”

Shaking like a leaf in high wind, Vinny started weeping. ”Sorry. It's nerves. Just nerves.” He wiped his streaming eyes. ”Danny was my cousin, but to be honest, I didn't like him. Not enough to cry over his body, anyhow. But what the h.e.l.l is going on here?”

Lucky looked at me. ”This doppelgangster business is getting to be a real pain in the a.s.s.”