Webb raised his eyebrows. “Really? How?”
“We did some stuff together,” Erin said. She didn’t want to explain she’d done an extracurricular drug bust in February. Her reasons for evading the question were that she hadn’t gotten Webb’s permission, or even informed him, and a guy had been murdered over it immediately afterward. She hadn’t gotten him killed, not directly, but it was weighing on her conscience.
“I have to say, for a cop who’s been a gold shield less than a year, you’ve got a pretty good network set up,” he said. “By all means, call your guy. I’ll give you any top cover you need. I can probably get him detailed to you, at least for a while.”
“That might be helpful,” she said. “He’s got a good team. But right now I just need to pick his brain.”
“Pick away. Is this guy a street officer?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s fortunate. Sensible people are home and getting ready for bed. He may still be working. Drop him a line, we’ll see if we can get him in here.”
Chapter 4
“Detective O’Reilly. Get bored behind that desk of yours?”
“Sergeant Logan,” Erin said, standing up and offering her hand.
The Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit man grinned and shook with her. He was dressed for work, which meant jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt topped with a beat-up leather jacket. He looked around the room at the representatives of various city and Federal agencies.
“I get why these guys are here,” he said. “Why me? I got a buy and bust going down in an hour. Piekarski’s gonna kick my ass if I’m not there.”
“You outrank Piekarski,” she reminded him.
He shrugged. “In the office, sure. On the street, depends on the situation. We got a saying in SNEU: a beat cop on the move outranks a sergeant who doesn’t know what’s going on. And that’s me right now. What’s the score, Detective?”
“Thanks for coming in, Sergeant,” Webb said. “And I know you’re busy, so we do appreciate this.”
“Sure thing,” Logan said, looking Webb up and down. “And you’d be…?”
“My commanding officer,” Erin said. “Lieutenant Webb, Sergeant Logan.”
“Gotcha. Pleasure, Lieutenant.” Logan immediately turned back to Erin. “So, you were saying?”
“We’re working the Little Italy firebombing,” Erin said. “We think it was connected to a possible drug deal. I wanted to see what you can tell me about the players in the area.”
“Who’s the victim?”
“A Lucarelli associate, name of Marco Conti.”
“The Mouth?”
“I’m sorry?” Erin didn’t quite follow.
“Marco the Mouth. Talkative guy, I guess.”
“So you know him?”
“Yeah. He moves a lot of product for the Lucarellis.” Logan hesitated. “Not anymore, sounds like.”
“He caught one in the head outside the restaurant,” Erin confirmed. “Along with two others, his bodyguards we think.”
“He was the mark?”
“Looks like it. Who’s his competition?”
Logan rubbed the back of his neck. “Geez, O’Reilly, you want the phone book? There’s the other four families, for starters. Then you got the Colombians, the Mexican cartels, half a dozen major street gangs, the Irish… It was easier back when it was just the Mob, y’know?”
“You saying monopolies have advantages?” Erin teased.
“It’s the natural end point of capitalism, without government interference.”
“But we are the government.”
“Exactly. Busting up the five families with RICO made things a lot more complicated.”
“Okay,” Erin sighed. “You know anyone who had a particular beef with Marco, or with the Lucarellis in general?”
“Depends,” Logan said. “We talking business, or revenge?”
“Could be either.”
“Well, if it’s business, could be any of the guys I just said. If it’s revenge… Can’t think of anyone off the top of my head. The Mouth is… was a popular guy. He didn’t have any personal enemies I know of.”
“You think maybe someone might’ve been trying to send a statement to the Lucarellis?” Erin guessed. “This was a pretty definitive hit, lots of collateral damage.”
“Hell of a statement,” Logan agreed. “Tell you what. I’ll keep my ear to the ground, see what the street’s saying the next couple of days. You can bet the Italians are gonna be going crazy over this.”
“Firelli’s going to be buying a lot of drinks,” Erin said.
Logan laughed at the reference to his Italian squad member. Logan’s team had a tradition where its Italian member paid for drinks when they busted Italians. Logan, being Irish, had to buy when they took down his own countrymen.
“Sorry to keep you off the street,” she said. “But if you do hear anything, let me know.”
“Will do. And if you get any juicy narcotics action, remember who loves you.” Logan winked. “Catch you streetside, O’Reilly.”
“Be safe,” she replied.
Webb watched him go. “Cowboys,” he muttered.
“They get results,” Erin said, feeling a little defensive on Logan’s behalf.
“They get headlines,” Webb retorted. “Buy and bust, small-time stuff. They take low-level dealers off the street, and new guys take over their corners before the arrests are even processed. They don’t make a damn bit of difference.”
“That’s police work,” Erin said. “You see us running out of criminals any time soon, sir?”
A thin but genuine smile crossed Webb’s face. “I see you’ve still got your idealism, O’Reilly. That’s good. Hold onto it.”
“I get it from my partner,” she said, scratching Rolf behind the ears. “He never gives up.”
“That’s because it’s all a game to him,” Vic said, catching the tail end of their conversation. “I’m the same way. I’m still a cop ‘cause I’m still having fun.”
“And you have no other marketable skills,” Erin said.
“That’s not true!” Vic said. “I can do lots of stuff.”
“Such as?”
“I’m a great shot. I’m good in a fistfight. I’m an expert at ESU tactics, especially dynamic entry. I’m proficient in long and short firearms. I’ve got a brown belt in krav maga…” He paused and sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I can’t do anything else.”
“There’s always the private sector,” Webb said.
“Maybe once I put in my twenty,” Vic said. “By then maybe I’ll be tired enough of government guys and go be a security consultant for wealthy hedge-fund managers. They’ll still be assholes, but they’ll be a different flavor.”
Webb winced. “Flavored assholes, Neshenko?”
“When you eat shit
