Mick and Roz didn’t see each otheragain until a week later, when they both attended the wedding and reception ofAmelia and Hammer Reese. And by thatday’s end, not only were Roz and Deuce nearly killed in that ambush, but Mickhimself, the man viewed for decades as too big to fail, had failed. And was under arrest.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Mick was lying beside her, smilingthat wonderful smile he rarely shared with the world, and then he grabbed heron top of him and hugged her until she could barely breathe. And then they both laughed.
But then Roz suddenly opened her eyes,and realized, almost immediately, that it was all a dream.
She had dozed off while sitting onthe living room sofa at their home in Philly, her legs propped up on the coffeetable, waiting for word. Charles wasseated beside her, his feet propped up too, while his wife Jenay was seatedbeside him, her head on his shoulder, fast asleep. Joey was seated in a chair, his head leanedback, his long eyelashes making it look as if he was asleep too. But he wasn’t. He was wide awake. Gloria was too, as she sat in the chairopposite his.
It was the day after the arrest thatshook the world. And although Roz had beendozing off-and-on from sheer exhaustion, Charles had not slept a wink.
“You okay?” he asked Roz after shehad awakened suddenly.
Roz exhaled and nodded. Then she realized why they were all sittingaround in the living room, and she looked anxiously at Charles. “Any word?” she asked him.
Charles shook his head. “Nothing other than they’ll let us know.”
Roz frowned. “What’s taking them so long? All those lawyers, supposedly the best in theworld, and they can’t do any better than this? We should have just hired Gemma!” Then she got up and began doing what she mostly had been doing since theordeal began: pacing the floor.
Charles knew Roz was like Mick in alot of ways, including their tendency to lash out when they were underpressure. And she had a point. Gemma Jones-Gabrini, Sal Gabrini’s wife, wasa very good attorney, and it was always a good thing if a family member couldrepresent you. But Mick had beenarrested when too many years of never getting caught had led them all tobelieve it was never going to happen, and he had to have lawyers that weremassively better than very good. Theyhad to be impossibly great. Gemma was onthe team, but she wasn’t leading it. Andeven she hadn’t phoned.
“What about Hammer and Amelia?” Rozasked. “Heard from them?”
“Yeah, they heard the news andcalled. Millie wanted to leave herhoneymoon and take the first plane. Itold her she’d better not. She can’t doanything. Shit, I can’t doanything! Why ruin her honeymoon?”
“Can Hammer do something?” Roz asked.
“He made some phone calls, but when Iasked if he could pull some strings to get Mick un-arrested, he saidthat’s impossible. Now that they broughthim in, his hands are tied. That’s why Itold him to stay out of it going forward. If he can’t get Mick off, what’s the point? This family is not corrupting him too, justbecause we can.”
In the outside world, everybodythought Mick was the head of the Sinatra and Gabrini clans. But inside the family, everybody knew it wasBig Daddy.
Then Roz had a thought. “You said he heard about it on the news?” sheasked.
“That’s right,” Charles said.
Roz knew how those news reporters hadall kinds of connections with law enforcement, and since Mick’s arrest had beenbreaking news all last night and into the next day, they might have reportedmore than even Mick’s family or lawyers knew. “Turn on the TV, Big Daddy,” she said to Charles.
Charles grabbed the remote from offof the side table and turned on the television. The channel had been left on MSNBC, but they were talking politics, sohe switched to CNN. They were talkingpolitics, too, but was finishing up the story. Then Mick’s photograph came on the screen.
“Last night the ground shifted,” theanchorwoman said, “and the reputedmobster many consider to be ‘the boss of all bosses,’ has been indicted. Mick “The Tick” Sinatra, the foundingchairman and CEO of Sinatra Industries, was arrested on numerous counts ofmurder, money laundering, and racketeering charges. Considered too big to bring down, very fewpeople saw this coming. But just like AlCapone many years before him,” the anchorwoman added, “his day has come too.”
The channel showed footage of Mick inhandcuffs taking the perp walk down the steps of a government plane inwhat appeared to be a late night arrival, with what looked like an overkill ofSUVs with sirens blaring, and regular patrol cars with sirens blaring, allwaiting to escort him into custody.
“They’re treating him like he’s Jackthe Ripper or somebody,” Roz said worriedly, and Jenay suddenly woke up.
“Or worse, if you ask me,” saidCharles, as Jenay stopped leaning on his shoulder and set up right.
“What’s worse?” she asked.
Charles nodded toward the TV. “How they’re treating Mick,” he said, andthey continued to listen to the newscast.
But the news had nothing new toreport, either, just more retelling of how Mick, like most of the biggest mobbosses, evaded authorities for decades. They attributed it to the fear he instilled in those who could havesnitched on him, but sarcastically joked how he had met his match becausesomebody snitched. And as they showedhis head being lowered into one of the SUVs, and the door shutting him in, theyadded: “And he’s in police custody now.”
Charles muted the sound and tossedthe remote on the coffee table. Then heran his hands through his thick hair. “Damn!” he said. Even he wasworried sick.
Joey shook his head. “I still can’t believe they did this to Pop,”he said. “How they gonna arrest Pop likethat? And make him do the perp walk likehe was some street thug they were locking up! Wait till I get my hands on those motherfuckers.”
But then the front door opened, andJoey jumped to his feet, even as it caused him considerable pain. But could it be his father?
It wasn’t. It was his half-siblings, the twins. Nikki was bringing them home. And when they saw Roz, they ran.
“Mommy!”
