Part 33 (2/2)

Dave lowered himself to the ground and slid his gun across the room. Gideon didn't budge. ”You're making a mistake,” he said. ”We're NYPD.”

”Well, that explains why you don't listen. Now either get down while you still have knees to help you down, or I'll cap one of them and let gravity do the rest. Right or left-your call.”

Gideon knelt down next to Dave. ”If you think you can just walk in and rob a couple of cops,” he said, sliding his gun across the cement floor, ”you're crazy.”

He laughed. ”Is that what you think? This is not a robbery.”

”Then what the h.e.l.l do you call it?”

”I'd call it Judgment Day,” said the silver-haired man who stepped out from behind the wall. He had a gun in his right hand-a black Beretta 85 fitted with a five-inch suppressor. In his left was the choke pear.

”Jesus,” Dave said. ”Joe Salvi.”

”And son,” Salvi said.

With that, Jojo Salvi swaggered out from behind the wall, a satin nickel version of his father's Beretta in his hand.

”Over there,” Salvi said to Jojo. ”Opposite Tommy Boy.”

Jojo took his position, and the three men stood there in silence-an ominous triangle of guns and muscle.

Finally, Salvi spoke. ”Ingenious,” he said, holding up the choke pear. ”Easy to operate, extremely effective-every smart businessman should have one. I think I'll keep it.” He tossed the pear to Tommy Boy.

Salvi stared at them with the same dark, menacing eyes that had scanned a church filled with people at his son's funeral. But now he had found what he was looking for. ”Your partner looks confused,” he said to Gideon. ”But you expected us, didn't you, Gideon?”

Dave's head snapped to the left. ”Gideon, what is he talking about?”

Gideon stared straight ahead.

”Let me make this easy for you,” Salvi said to Dave. He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a dark red Moroccan leather journal, bordered in gold filigree. ”Look familiar?”

Dave couldn't quite put the pieces together fast enough. ”Where did...how...”

”Shut up, Dave,” Gideon said. ”Salvi, don't be an idiot. We're cops. I don't care what you think is going on, but you can pull a s.h.i.+tload of jail time for this. Put the gun down now, and we'll drop the whole thing.”

”Oh, you're cops?” Salvi said, lowering the gun and bringing his arm out to his side. ”Why didn't you say something?” He turned to Rachael O'Keefe, still chained to a pipe, her mouth sealed with duct tape. ”Look, lady-the cops are here. You want to go with them?”

Rachael shook her head violently and let out a m.u.f.fled scream.

”Bad news, boys,” Salvi said. ”You're striking out with the ladies. I guess n.o.body has any respect for cops these days. Even a damsel in-” Without warning, he brought the b.u.t.t of his gun down hard against Gideon's jaw, shattering bone, ripping flesh, and exploding capillaries.

Blood spattered across the room. Gideon doubled over but managed to stay on his knees.

Salvi turned to Dave. ”I'm sorry, Detective Casey. I got distracted. Did you have a question? Oh yes, how did I get my son's journal? Funny thing-Gideon's mother found it and was kind enough to return it to the family. Lovely woman. Took care of most of the flower arrangements for my son's funeral.”

Dave turned to Gideon. ”Your mother? You said you burned it. Why would you keep-”

”Shut up,” Gideon said, spitting out blood and chunks of teeth.

”You knew your mother gave it back to them?”

”Of course he knew,” Salvi said.

”I just found out about it,” Gideon said. ”I didn't want you to freak out while we were in the middle of this, but I swear I was going to tell you as soon as we finished here.”

”So you spared me the fact that the Mob was gunning for me?”

Gideon looked away.

”There's no talking to him, Dave,” Salvi said. He walked over to the video equipment. ”Nice little setup you got here. You like to tape confessions? So do I. We've been here a while, and I think Jojo's got the hang of it. Jojo, turn on the camera.”

Jojo didn't move.

”You deaf?” Salvi said. ”Turn on the camera.”

”I don't know, Pop,” Jojo said. ”We have to do what we came to do, but videotaping it-I don't know if that's such a good idea-”

Salvi held up a hand. ”Don't think,” he said, his voice a menacingly low whisper. ”Your mother has been waiting twelve years. Now turn on the f.u.c.king camera.”

”Okay, okay,” Jojo said, tucking his gun in his belt. He stepped behind the camera and pointed it at the two men on their knees. He pressed the red Record b.u.t.ton and a red light blinked on. ”Whenever you're ready, Pop,” he said.

”Okay, then,” Salvi said. ”I guess I'm the director of this little movie. This is going to be the big confession scene-the one everybody's been waiting for.”

He stood eight feet away and pointed the gun straight at Dave's head. ”Now, start confessing.”

”This place is going to be swarming with cops any minute,” Dave said.

Salvi laughed. ”You are cops. You came to torture this woman. What did you do-call for backup?” He lowered his voice to a whisper. ”Look, Dave, you seem like a reasonable man, so tell me-whose idea was it to kill my son?”

”Your son raped my sister,” Dave said.

”I don't care if he f.u.c.ked your grandmother, chopped her up, and fed the pieces to his dog. You both killed him. I know that. Now I want to know which one of you planned it.”

”What's the difference? You're going to kill us both anyway.”

”The difference? The difference is that one of you pulled the strings. The other is just a soldier-a follower. One of you made the decision to bash my boy's head in and hold his face underwater until he drowned. There's always a leader.” Salvi pointed his gun at Gideon. ”Was it him? He acts like he's in charge.”

Gideon, dripping with blood, stared at Salvi defiantly.

Salvi stared back. ”But he's not,” he said, kicking Gideon in the ribs hard enough to hear bone crack. ”He's not in charge of anything.”

Gideon collapsed to the floor and yowled in agony.

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