Lullaby Town

went backward out of the chair and landed on the floor. The broken Lark landed on the table next to the pack, its coal still red and smoking. Walter Lee slowly got up, righted his chair, and sat again. There was a trickle of blood from his right nostril.

Volpe said, 'It's Mister George, Walter.'

Walter made an embarrassed smile. 'Yes, of course. My apologies.' Walter took a fresh Lark out of the pack and lit it with what was left of the coal. Volpe took a white handkerchief out of his pants and tossed it onto the table next to Walter. 'Get your nose.'

Walter dabbed at his nose.

Roland watched without moving, then said, 'Thanks, Sid. I think we can take it from here.'

Volpe said, 'Whatever you want,' then got up and left.

When he was gone, Rollie turned off the Nagra. 'You want some ice for that, Walter?'

'No. Thank you.'

Rollie said, 'When I was starting out, we used to call these rooms the garden rooms. Can you guess why?'

Walter shook his head the slightest bit, made the gentle smile.

'We called'm the garden rooms because this is where we took out the hoses. You see?'

'Ah.' The smile.

'I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now, but I don't like you, either. I just can't abide beating on a man when he can't fight back. Even a piece of trash like you.'

'Ah.'

'Just so we understand each other.'

Walter nodded and took more of the Lark. Rollie crossed his arms and settled back.

I said, 'I'm looking for a handle on Charlie DeLuca, Walter. Do you have any ideas?'

'As I said, I don't know him.'

'But you hear things.'

'Yes. But none of it has been of particular interest to my friends with the Justice Department.'

'I don't have to worry about building a case or following the rules of evidence. This is private. I have reason to believe that Charlie might be involved in something that he doesn't want the rest of the family to know about.' Rollie's eyes shifted over to me when I said it. 'You got any idea what that might be?'

Walter shook his head. 'No. I'm sorry. I know quite a bit about what the DeTillios are into, and the Gambozas, but really very little about the DeLucas.'

'Could be anything, Walter. Maybe he's cheating one of the other capos. Maybe he's ripping off Sal.'

Walter shook his head. 'I'm sorry.'

I sat back in the hard chair and crossed my arms and looked at him. 'Okay, forget that angle. I'll take any dirt you can give me.'

Walter closed his eyes and drew in deep on the Lark. 'There are maybe other people who might help you.'

'Like who?'

The smile. 'Mr. DeLuca often used an intermediary to acquire films featuring young women of color. I'm told that he had a taste for black hookers, especially those who had appeared in films and videotapes.'

Rollie said, 'Who told you this stuff?'

'A fellow named Richie. A sometime customer of mine. He spoke of Mr. DeLuca with great familiarity. He said they were associates.'

I said, 'Does Richie have a last name?'

Walter gave me sad and shook his head. 'I'm sorry.'

Rollie said, 'So the man likes kink with black chicks. Mob dagos been going for the dark meat since the speakeasy days in the twenties. Sal ain't gonna give a shit about that.'

'It's more than just a taste for the dark, Mr. George.' The smile, the cigarette glowing hotly. 'I'm told that his passion is short-lived, but that he pays very well. I would think that if anyone would know something, a person in that position might.'

'You got a name?'

'There was a woman named Angelette Silver, though she's no longer in the trade. I believe she works in a florist shop on 122nd Street, in Harlem.' The smile. 'But she may not be likely to help.'

'Why not?'

'Charlie uses them up rather quickly, you see. He can be quite a violent man.' Walter's eyes twinkled when he said it, as if somehow the knowledge of it was delicious. Then he shook his head sadly. 'Their parting wasn't on the best of terms.'

'But he pays very well.'

The smile. 'Yes. For every buyer there is a seller, for every seller, a buyer.'

Rollie said, 'Shit.'

I said, 'Walter, you in here ratting on the mob, aren't you scared they'll nail you?'

The smile, the Lark. 'I've always been willing to sell what no one else would sell, Mr. Cole. I find it quite' – the smile grew broader and the Lark glowed hotly – 'gratifying. Do be careful with Mr. DeLuca. He's quite mad, you know.'

'That's what they tell me, Walter. Thanks.'

'I hope this has helped you.'

'Sure, Walter. Maybe it has.'

Volpe opened the door and tapped his watch. 'The guys from the Bureau are here.'

Roland nodded, and then we went out into the hall, leaving Walter Lee Balcom sitting quietly at the table, smoking and smiling a gentle smile to himself.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Out in the hall Rollie said, 'What's this business about Charlie being up to something?'

I told him what I had.

When I finished, he said, 'You figure Charlie's got his own private little nest egg growing down in Barbados.'

'That's what I need to find out. If he does, then I can use it to make him turn loose my client.'

Rollie nodded. 'What kind of money we talking here?'

'Forty, sixty grand at a crack during the last five months. Smaller money before.'

Roland whistled. 'That's serious crime. Sal wouldn't mind the nickel-and-dime stuff, postal scams, unregulated hijacking, that kind of thing, all the capos got something going, but fifty grand.' He shook his head.

'Could Charlie's crew be turning that kind of cash with nobody knowing about it?'

'No way. When these guys talk about family, they really mean it. Guys in Charlie's crew got brothers, cousins, uncles in all the other DeLuca crews. These guys get drunk together, they have barbecues. It'd be easier to keep a secret in a newsroom.'

'So if Charlie's got something going, he's keeping it from his own crew.'

'That's a pretty good bet.' Rollie looked thoughtful, then watched as a trim Chinese woman came out of the elevator and walked down the hall to a door with frosted glass. She had nice calves. When the door was closed, he looked back at me. 'Course, Sal might be the only other guy in the family who knows. Sal might be skimming a little off the top for Charlie 'cause it's his kid.'

'I thought about that.'

'And if Sal's in on it, you're screwed.'

I spread my hands. 'It's a position I'm accustomed to. Do me another favor?'