“Moe,” she whispered.
“Hey, nice to have you back.” I brushed a strand of hair off her cheek.
“Murphy’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
“And the girl, the one who stepped in front of me?”
“Her too.”
Carmella clenched the sheets, tears pouring out of her eyes. I let her cry.
“Listen, you’ve gotta stay calm. Doctor’s orders. You can’t open up that wound again.”
“I’ll try.”
“My sister said you needed to see me.”
“I got a call at home from Murphy yesterday, about an hour after I left work. He said he got tipped off about Chief McDonald. I told him that you needed to hear about it. That’s why I called you to come to Rip’s.”
“What about Larry?”
“The informant said he was dirty.”
“Is that so?”
“You don’t seem so surprised, Moe.”
“I think I’ve assumed that Larry was dirty all along. I mean, something had to be going on here to push Larry over the edge or get him killed. Did the informant say
“If he did, Murphy didn’t tell me.”
“Did Murphy tell you who tipped him off?”
“Just that it was another cop.”
“We were set up.”
“I already figured that out for myself. I am a detective, you know.” She tried smiling, but it didn’t work.
“Okay. So you have no idea who the cop was that tipped Murphy off, huh?”
“No.”
“I do. Detective Bento was also in Rip’s last night. He was standing in a crowd about twenty feet to your right. I didn’t recognize him at first, but Murphy did and that’s when he realized we’d all been set up. When Murphy tried to warn you, all hell broke loose.”
“Bento? But I didn’t get hit in my side. I got shot from-”
“-the front. I know. The first shooter, the one that clipped Murphy and hit you, was standing over my right shoulder. His piece was so close that my ears are still ringing. Then Bento started firing at me.”
“That’s weird,” she said. “If the guy who shot me was that close to you, why didn’t he just-”
“-shoot me in the back and then go after you and Murphy? Good question. I guess I’ve had my head stuck so far up my ass since last night I hadn’t thought about it. Maybe he didn’t recognize me from the back. Did you get a look at who shot you?”
“Not really. You know how dark Rip’s is. I saw his outline mostly, his hair. He was a big man, big shoulders, taller than you. Older too. I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup.”
“It’s a start.”
“Moe, there’s something else.”
“What?”
There was a light knock on the door and Ronnie stuck his head in. “Only another minute or two, Moe. She’s got to rest.”
“Okay, Ron. I promise. And bring some stuff down for her pain.”
He shut the door.
“Your family’s been great to me. Your sister is so pretty.”
“Someone had to get the looks in the family.”
“There are plenty of looks to go around with the Pragers.”
“So what’s this other thing?”
“I have a snitch, Vinny Cee, a real low-life cokehead. He does some dealing to support his habit. He says he’s got something for me on Malik Jabbar.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I-” She began coughing. “I was planning on seeing him with you today, but I-” The coughing was getting worse. “I guess someone had other plans.”
“Take it easy.”
Beads of sweat poured down her forehead. “No. Listen. He works off the Cropsey Avenue Bridge or sometimes in the parking lot of the Nebraska Diner. Show him some money and use my name.”
“Okay, okay, relax.”
She was starting to gulp for air like she had the night before and I could see blood seeping through her dressing.
“Ronnie! Ronnie, get down here!” I screamed.
“One more thing,” she said, “somebody’s got to go check on my grandma. She doesn’t speak much English and she gets frightened when she’s alone for a long time. Please go check-”
“Ronnie! Get the fuck down here!”
The door burst open. “Shit! I told you not to push her. That’s it. She’s going to the hospital.”
“I’ll take her,” I said.
“No, you won’t. I know the people at Kings County. Just give me a few minutes to stabilize her. Go on, get out of here.”
“Wait, call this guy,” I scribbled Fishbein’s number on the back of my card. “He’ll help you out.”
“Who is it, some mob guy?”
“You know, Ronnie, Aaron and me didn’t use to think you had a sense of humor.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Forget it. Just make sure she gets to the hospital and call that number.”
Being in over my head was par for the course, but this wasn’t just about me anymore. Looking back, I’m not sure it ever was. Unfortunately,
Standing on the Coney Island side of the Cropsey Avenue Bridge, Vinny Cee was about as hard to spot as a cotton ball on a sea of black velvet. He was pale, skeletal, fidgety, and squeezed his too-prominent beak between his fingers every few seconds. Christ, if this guy didn’t have LOSER tattooed across his ass, he should have. It was easy to see why he made good snitch material. He probably didn’t deal enough to hurt anyone but himself, so the cops could leave him on the street. And depending upon his level of desperation, he’d probably sell out anyone, from his birth mother to the Holy Ghost.
I folded too much money up in my palm. Money was the second best way I knew to cut through bullshit. Fear was best, but I’d hold that in reserve. As I approached him, Vinny Cee got even more twitchy, his eyelids beating like hummingbird wings. I guess I still had the cop vibe about me. I liked that, I guess. I slapped the folded bills into his hungry hand. He took a peek. That got his attention.
“Only half grams, buddy. I can’t-”
“This isn’t about coke and I ain’t your buddy.”
“Hey, man, no reason to be that way.” I thought he might burst into tears.
“We have a mutual acquaintance. Detective Melendez sent me your way.”
Vinny Cee smiled at that. “She’s fine. You a cop? See, I fuckin’ knew it. I was jus’ thinkin’ to myself, dis guy’s a cop.”
“I’m not a cop anymore, Vinny, and you talk too much.”
I’d hurt his feelings again. “No need to be that way. Whaddaya want?”
“Malik Jabbar.”
“Whadabout him?”
“You tell me.”
“Maybe I don’t feel like talkin’ no more. Maybe I-”
“Vinny, don’t try and shake me down for more than what’s already in your palm. ’Cause, you see, I’ll throw your skinny fucking ass off this lame excuse for a bridge if you don’t just answer me.”
He flinched. “Okay, okay, man. Easy, easy.”
