The cop was sweating. “I have information about Ray Shane.”
“How do you know Shane?”
“We worked the Vieux Carre District together. Then later we were partners in Vice.”
“And you want to sell this information to me?”
LaGrange nodded.
“Why?” Vinnie asked.
The detective looked uncomfortable as he shot a glance at Tony. “I got bills to pay.”
Vinnie nodded. Then he bit off another hunk of bread. He chewed on it for a while, but there was still a tiny piece crawling around inside his mouth when he said, “You and Shane were partners, right?”
LaGrange nodded again.
“And now you’re willing to sell him out,” Vinnie said.
Tony saw beads of sweat shinning like sequins on the detective’s upper lip. For several seconds, no one at the table said a word. Tony could hear everything going on around him: the clink of rings on crystal glasses, forks scraping china, the thrum of indistinct conversation, a woman’s high-pitched drunken laughter.
Then LaGrange said, “Ray Shane isn’t my partner anymore. He’s not even a cop. I don’t owe him anything.”
Vinnie held up his hand, commanding silence. “No need to explain. I just wanted to find out where we stood with each other.” He reached into his jacket, pulled out a white envelope, and threw it on the table. “Say what you got to say and get the fuck out of here. They’re about to bring my dinner.”
LaGrange glanced at Tony, who gave him a nod. Then the detective looked back at Vinnie. “Shane was desperate when he came to me. He had the names of two guys who he needed to put his hands on, so I agreed-”
Vinnie snatched his envelope off the table. He glared across the table at Tony. “This is something you could’ve told me. I don’t need to hear this from him.”
Tony raised both hands, pleading for patience. “Just wait.” Then to the cop, “Tell him the rest.”
LaGrange nodded, then gulped down a couple swallows of air. “As I’m looking up the information Shane asked for, I see something strange.”
Vinnie laid the envelope on the table again and reached for his wineglass.
As the detective’s eyes tracked the white envelope, he continued, “Both these mutts I’m looking up are guys Shane already knows, guys he has a history with.”
The glass was halfway to Vinnie’s mouth. He brought it back to the table without taking a sip. “What do you mean, a history?”
“Shane arrested both of them a while back. Then later, when the feds arrested Shane, the two guys were in the parish prison at the same time Shane was. All three of them were in there together.”
Tony Zello couldn’t help but grin. Although the detective had gotten off to a shaky start, he was hitting on all cylinders now.
Vinnie asked Tony, “You check this out?”
Tony nodded. “There’s more.”
“What?” Vinnie asked.
LaGrange cleared his throat. “One of the guys Shane was looking for is now dead.”
Vinnie stared at Tony. “Is he saying Shane killed the guy?”
Tony shrugged. “If not, it’s a hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?”
Vinnie shook his head. “But it doesn’t make sense. If Shane set this up, why did he need help from a cop to find these guys? He would already know how to get in touch with them.”
Tony knew from long experience, you had to let Vinnie believe he was on the cutting edge, or at least close to the cutting edge, even if he were miles away. So Tony took his time before he answered. When he did answer, he made sure to sound as if he were just getting a grip on the idea himself. “That’s what I couldn’t figure out. Then I got to thinking about it. Shane’s a dumb fuck anyway. Say he gets these two guys…” Tony circled a finger at the cop, wanting him to supply the names.
LaGrange, taking the cue, said, “Michael Salazaar and Dylan Sylvester.”
“Salazaar and Sylvester,” Tony repeated. “Sounds like a law firm.” He took a sip of wine. “Okay, so Shane works out a plan with these two, then they either bring in two more guys, or Shane brings in two he already knows. Either way, Shane ends up with four shooters. Then he gets Hector out of the way, pays him, threatens him, maybe Hector doesn’t even know what-”
Vinnie’s eyes slashed at Tony. “Too bad we can’t ask Hector about it.”
Tony shot a glance at the detective sitting next to him. Crooked or not, he was still a cop and Tony wasn’t about to admit to a homicide in front of him. He also wasn’t going to let the conversation get sidetracked. “Maybe after the robbery, these guys get greedy, or Shane gets greedy, or they get pissed at each other. Whatever happens, they have some kind of beef and all of a sudden Shane can’t find them. Either that or he’s just trying to play us. Acting stupid, like he can’t do anything, and hoping his incompetence gets back to us.” Tony pointed at Vinnie. “Remember how he was when you told him you wanted him to find these guys?”
Vinnie nodded, then tilted his head back until he was staring at the ceiling. He stayed that way for almost a minute. Then he said to Tony, “Are you telling me Ray Shane is responsible for killing my son?”
Tony nodded, then realized Vinnie wasn’t looking at him. “I think so.”
“I hired him,” Vinnie said, looking down, his voice thickening. “I brought him into the House. It was me who introduced him to Pete.”
“There’s something else we need to discuss in private.” Tony nodded toward LaGrange.
Vinnie slid the envelope across the table to the detective. Tony saw that at least the cop had the class not to count it. Silently, LaGrange slipped it into the inside pocket of his cheap, dime-store sport coat. Then he stood up and left without a word.
Vinnie told Rocco and Joey to make sure Detective LaGrange left the restaurant and then to stop by the bar and have a drink. He needed a minute with Tony.
When he was alone with Vinnie at the table, Tony said, “Shane is trying to set you up.”
Vinnie stared at him, but his eyes were glazed over. Tony could almost see Pete’s reflection in them. When Vinnie finally focused on Tony, he said, “Why is Shane still here? Why didn’t he take the money and run?”
“Where would he go? He’s a federal convict on parole. He misses an appointment, his parole officer violates him and puts out a warrant for his arrest. But if he plays it cool, gets those other guys before they get him, he gets to keep all the money and stay straight with his P.O.”
“What do you mean he’s setting me up?” Vinnie asked.
Tony downed the last of his wine, then reached for the bottle. As he refilled his glass, he said, “Shane’s been asking a lot of questions.”
“What kind of questions?” Vinnie’s voice sharpened.
“About the money.”
“What about it?”
“Same kind of thing he was asking before, how come we had so much cash in the counting room.”
“That wasn’t my-”
Tony cut him off. “That’s not all.”
“What else?”
“He asked about Pete’s school.”
The sound was like a gunshot as Vinnie slammed his fat fist down on the table, rattling it so hard that Tony’s glass almost tumbled over the edge. Vinnie’s words came out like a bark. “He asked about my son’s fucking school.”
“He asked how much it cost.”
“What business is that of his?”
Tony shrugged.
Vinnie leaned forward. “What’d you tell him?”
Holding his hand up, Tony said, “I said he asked about it. I didn’t say I told him anything.”
“What the hell is he up to?”
“I heard he was in the Hog’s Breath talking to Charlie Rabbit.”
