Part 28 (2/2)
He laughed again.
”So, what sends you and . . . who is this guy?” Giordano pointed to Will.
”Oh, pardon my manners. You haven't met Agent Fletcher before. Agent Fletcher, this is the infamous Vincent Giordano. I get to call him Vinnie 'cause we go way back.”
”Not back far enough,” Giordano said, still appearing to size up Will.
”Heard a lot about you, Vince.” Will sat on the edge of the table.
”Yeah, like what did you hear?”
”I heard you were the mastermind behind that whole 'Let's do some good deeds for each other when we get out' thing.”
Giordano looked up at Miranda, his face blank.
”What's this guy talking about, Cahill?”
”Vinnie, we already know about the game,” she replied.
”Game, what game? Someone betting on a game? Hey, gambling's illegal here,” he deadpanned.
”Stop it.” She slammed her fist down on the table unexpectedly, and he jumped. ”Just . . . stop it, okay? We know. We know how you and Channing and Lowell were shoved into a room together last February and pa.s.sed the time away with a little game of hit list. You do mine, I'll do yours.”
She rested her arms on the table and looked him straight in the eye. ”Did you know that Channing was going to do it when he got out, or did that come as a big surprise to you? When did you know for sure that the game had really begun, Vince? Was it when they found your mother-in-law with a bullet between her eyes? Or when they found Judge Styler raped and murdered, just like the Mary Douglases were?”
”I remember reading something about that judge. Shame, wasn't it?” He shrugged, but did not blink. ”And Diane's mother, well, hey, guess that was one of them wrong-place, wrong-time things, huh?”
”Eight o'clock at night, in her own house sound like the wrong place, wrong time?” Miranda met his stare.
”Hey, just goes to show-”
”Enough, okay?” She looked up at Will and said, ”He's not going to tell us a d.a.m.ned thing.”
”I got nothing to say.” Giordano shook his head.
”So I guess if we were to ask you to tell us who Lowell's third victim was going to be, you'd just tell us to go to h.e.l.l.”
”I prefer kiss my a.s.s.”
”Well, I guess since you're not talking,” Miranda pretended to study her nails, ”you're not going to want to talk about how it is that the bullets from the gun that killed your family match the bullet that killed Albert Unger.”
”Who?” Vince's expression never changed, but there had been a definite spark in his eyes.
”The man who murdered Curt Channing's mother.”
”Never heard of him.” Vince began to chuckle. ”But I guess it just goes to prove what I been saying all along. Guess it proves that someone else killed my family. Just like I told you.”
”Or maybe you told someone else where to find the gun. Or maybe you gave the gun away. But it doesn't prove that anyone other than you killed your wife and kids.”
Ignoring Will's comment, Vince asked, ”Aren't you wasting time sitting here talking to me? Shouldn't you be out looking for the guy who killed my wife and kids?”
”Waste of time, Cahill.” Will shook his head. ”I told you he was a waste of time.”
”Hey, sorry I couldn't be of any a.s.sistance.” Vince made no effort to hide his smirk.
”Vinnie, your sincerity is choking me up.”
”And your interest is touching, you know? I don't get much company. A guy can get pretty lonely in here.”
”Sooner or later, we all get what we deserve, I guess.” She stood up to leave.
”I guess we do.” Giordano stared at her, then grinned broadly. ”Sooner or later, you're gonna get what you deserve, too, Agent Cahill. Wish I could be around to see it all go down.”
Miranda looked at Will and smiled.
”I'd take that as a confirmation, wouldn't you?”
”I would.”
”Thanks, Vinnie.”
”For what?”
”For saving us the time we would have spent looking for that third victim.”
”I don't know nothing about no victims.” Giordano smiled back at her. ”Except my own, of course.”
”You know, you never did say how you came to choose those individuals to murder, Vinnie.”
”They were in my way.”
”Right. And I'm the Lone Ranger.”
”You lonely, Cahill, I got something for you. Pretty lady like you should never be alone.”
”Ugh, I'm gagging now.” Miranda signaled to the guard. ”Get him out of here.”
”You want to talk, Giordano, you just give a holler,” Will said.
”Cold day in h.e.l.l, Fletcher.” Giordano headed back to the door, calling over his shoulder, ”Be seeing you, Cahill.”
”Not if I can help it.” She tapped Will on the arm to let him know she was leaving, and he followed her through the door.
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