“I can wait,” Robert assured her.
Laurie paid the driver and climbed from the cab to stand in front of the Midtown North Precinct, its flag snapping in the breeze and a bevy of cop cars parked every which way.
“I’m back,” Laurie said. “You were saying...”
“I was saying that as I was boarding, I got a fleeting look at the man lying on the platform. Standing by him were two other Asians. But it was truly fleeting, because I was looking through a bunch of other riders pushing to get on the train, some of whom didn’t make it. I was also getting my cell phone out.”
“At that time, did it look like the man was still seizing?”
“It happened so fast, with such a limited view, but if I had to guess, I’d say no. I was also dialing the nine-one-one operator to get the call in before the doors closed, and I lost the little signal I had.”
“Look,” Laurie said. “I really appreciate your being willing to talk with me. You have my number if anything else comes to mind, anything at all.”
“I will,” Robert said. “Actually, now that you’ve made me relive the moment, I feel guilty at having boarded the train. Maybe I should have tried a little harder to see if I could have helped.”
“Don’t torture yourself,” Laurie said. “You made a nine-one-one call so medical help could arrive.”
“That’s nice of you to say.”
Laurie disconnected her call and then climbed the steps into the busy precinct.
11
March 25, 2010
Thursday, 2:45 p.m.
Louie felt energized as he neared his restaurant. He’d used the bus ride from Rikers Island to consider Paulie’s advice, and by the time he got back to his car he’d decided to follow Paulie’s suggestions. It was now clear in his mind that there was a time to avoid violence, and there was a time in which violence was the only solution. And this was one of those situations. At the same time, he was convinced he was right about not taking out Hideki. There were too many negatives, including the concern of losing the Japanese income stream and flow of crystal meth, even short-term. Instead, the disappearance of Susumu Nomura and Yoshiaki Eto was the perfect message to everyone, but most specifically to Hideki. The plan wasn’t necessarily going to be easy, but it was doable. Accordingly, Louie had started by calling Hideki and requesting a meeting at the Venetian for three-thirty to go over the evening’s plans, to which Hideki had immediately agreed.
Louie parked his car in his spot at the rear of the restaurant and walked in the back door. He knew all the guys would still be there, because after he’d made the call to Hideki to set up the meeting for that afternoon, he’d called Carlo.
“Did you get to see Paulie?” Carlo had asked. “And do we have a plan for tonight with the two crazy-ass Japs?”
“Yes to both questions,” Louie had said. “We have a plan but with different rules of engagement.”
“How so?” Carlo had asked, not trying to hide his disappointment.
“You’ll know soon enough,” Louie had snapped back. “Why I’m calling is to make sure you guys are still there when I return.”
“We’re here,” Carlo had said.
After walking through a short hallway containing the restrooms, Louie pounded open the swinging door leading into the kitchen, catching Benito off guard as he sat on the countertop, shooting the breeze with the chef, John Franco. Guiltily, Benito dropped his feet to the floor and stood. Louie glared at him for a moment but quickly decided he was too busy to ream him out for behavior the health department would hardly condone. “Did the guys eat?”
“Yes, they did,” Benito answered smartly.
“Is there any of the pasta left?”
“I have the sauce,” John Franco said. “I’ll have fresh pasta in ten minutes.”
Without answering, Louie pushed through the swinging doors leading into the dining room. Carlo, Brennan, Arthur, and Ted were sitting around the table, poker chips and dollar bills piled up in the table’s center. Empty espresso cups littered the table’s periphery. Carlo slid out from the booth so Louie could slide into his usual spot.
“So how was Paulie?” Carlo asked after Louie had nodded a greeting to each of his henchmen.
“Weird,” Louie said. “He’s lost a lot of weight. Plus, he’s found God.”
“You mean he’s become a Bible banger?” Carlo questioned.
“I don’t really know,” Louie admitted. “He said he’d found the Lord and then talked like the old Paulie Cerino. The issue didn’t come up again until almost the end of our talk, and then only briefly. It might be an act for the parole board. I think he’s getting desperate about not getting parole.”
“So what’s the plan for tonight?” Carlo asked.
Louie then told them about his conversation with Paulie, trying to remember all the details, such as the clever idea of the diversionary explosion concept to convince Hideki that Louie was serious about helping with the break-in. The only time he paused was when Benito brought out Louie’s pasta and placed the steaming plate under his nose. Benito poured him a glass of Barolo and another of sparkling water.
“Will there be anything else?” Benito asked.
Louie waved the waiter off without responding, and as soon as Benito was out of earshot, he went back to his conversation with Paulie and Paulie’s suggestions, most specifically about getting rid of both Susumu and Yoshiaki.
“So we’re going on the offensive here?” Carlo asked. He was pleased and happy to show it.
“Most definitely,” Louie responded. “In this business, sometimes you need to use violence to keep the peace. We can’t have the likes of those two wandering around shooting whomever and wherever they please. It gives us all a bad name. At the same time, when you use violence you have to limit the fallout, which brings us to the morgue issue. You all understand that, don’t you?”
No one spoke, causing Louie to repeat the question.
“I guess so,” Carlo said. As the head enforcer, Carlo was expected to speak for the group.
“The point is that it is important Satoshi’s death continues to be thought of as a natural death. We would be accomplices if it were considered a homicide, and we don’t want that.”
“Surely not,” Carlo agreed.
“Paulie was also insistent about this medical examiner, Laurie Montgomery. We have to make sure she’s not associated with the case. If she is, we have to do something to get her off the case. It’s as simple as that.”
“What exactly do we do if she is on the case?” Carlo asked.
“Paulie didn’t have any suggestions. He was just insistent she not be involved. But we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.”
“Now let’s go back to Susumu Nomura and Yoshiaki Eto,” Carlo said. “We’re supposed to pick them up as if we are going to help them break into iPS USA but whack them instead.”
“That’s it,” Louie said. “And I don’t want their bodies found. Drive them way out to the tip of Brooklyn, way out near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. I want them in the ocean, not the bay.”
Carlo looked at Brennan and shrugged, wondering if his partner had any questions.
“How are we going to pick them up?” Brennan asked. “Like last night, in front of their apartments on the Lower East Side?”
“No,” Louie said. “There’s always the chance someone will spot you hanging around their neighborhood. I want to arrange a pickup in a public place. Do you have any preference?
Carlo and Brennan exchanged a glance.
“Come on, guys, give me a location. Hideki’s going to be here at three-thirty, and I want to have this planned out.”