“Okay. But even if the vehicle was removed and her body dumped, they would still have records of her being missing from Colorado.”
“You’d think so. Whether or not they have followed up is unknown. Police aren’t speaking to the media and I phoned all the towing companies and wreckers’ yards. To their knowledge there was no vehicle involved in a crash that matches the description of the vehicle.”
Dalton shook his head and bit down on his lower lip. His brow furrowed and he balled a fist. “They’ve just thrown the book at him.”
She nodded. “Case closed. Man found with meth in his system surrounded by a dead family and in possession of the murder weapon. They’re not going to listen to him. That takes time, money and ultimately interest in him, and with his background, they’re probably just happy to see him off the streets.”
Dalton agreed. “So why head to Apalachin? What do you hope to achieve there?”
“Someone has to have seen him or heard something. I figure I can dig around and come up with some answers.” Kelly paused for a second. “What did Jack say?”
“He didn’t… say much.” He dipped his chin. “Except a name. Gafino.” He looked at her. “Does the name ring a bell?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Well I know that Jack used to work for someone called Roy Gafino but he’s dead. Unless of course it’s a family member.”
Kelly nodded and reached for her laptop and fired it up.
“Well let’s see what we can find.”
Dalton got up and leaned over her to see the screen.
Several articles released in the local New Jersey paper around the time of the explosion at the Pig’s Ear recounted the death of Roy Gafino. It also had listed the name of family members. Roy had an older sister but she was in her sixties, and he had one son named Angelo, but he had died many years before him.
“Why would he mention that name?” Kelly asked.
Dalton thought back to how he found him. Jack was in a trance state as if all cylinders weren’t firing. Anyone else might have written it off as the mad babblings of a man who was drugged up or suffering from some brain condition, but not him. He’d asked him directly. The movement in the finger seemed to give him some indication that Jack was still in there, still functioning, still thinking clearly even if his body couldn’t sync with his mind.
“I don’t know but I plan to find out. You think I can hitch a ride with you to Apalachin?”
“I wasn’t planning on going.”
Behind them the door closed; they didn’t even realize it was still open but obviously Zach had been eavesdropping as he was quick to chime in. “Of course she’s going.” He grinned. “In fact, I think I can smell a road trip,” he said snatching up the keys. “I’ll drive.”
8
Flashes of his face appeared in his mind’s eye. Jack writhed in discomfort. Had it all been a dream? He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare from which he couldn’t escape. Every now and again his eyes would flutter and he caught glimpses of daylight, and heard beeping. Where was it coming from? What was it? Caught between the dream and waking state he shifted back and forth. Memories formed, merged together, a wicked collection of events from his past, his youth, his former life as a mobster.
The feeling of a breeze against his skin.
Then he was there, at the top of a tall building overlooking Jersey City.
It was the Merrill Lynch Building, located in the business district, one of the tallest buildings in New Jersey. The memory no longer seemed like an event from his past but it was occurring before him in real time and yet somewhere in his mind he knew it wasn’t real. A dark sky with pinpricks of light enveloped him as he turned at the sound of his name.
“Come on, Jack, give me a hand.”
Jack turned to see Angelo Gafino shoving a businessman with a square jaw towards the edge of the building. Then it all came back. A guy who had screwed over Roy Gafino, an accountant who had skimmed money off the top. Jack latched onto the thin as a rail man and lifted him over the edge as he pleaded for his life. Angelo had one leg while Jack had the other. They dangled him while the man cried and made promises he couldn’t keep. They all did it. Every damn one of them. Had they been smart they would have stayed clear of Gafino. His reputation throughout Jersey was notorious, his taste for violence even more so.
“You shouldn’t have done it, Harry,” Angelo said.
“Come on, guys. I can get the money back plus interest.”
Angelo seemed to be enjoying himself more than Jack. Jack’s mind was elsewhere. He was going through the motions. Collecting debts was second nature to him, like throwing out trash or brushing his teeth. What little empathy he had was buried and gone. He felt nothing. Just numb. No fear of repercussions. No concern for this man’s life.
“Oh, trust us Harry, we’ll take that interest from your wife.”
“No. Please.”
Angelo laughed like a hyena. He released his grip then latched on again, sending a shot of pure fear through the victim. “What do you say, Jack? Shall we paint the town red?”
Jack didn’t respond. He was staring at the man, looking him in the eye. In all the times he’d murdered people he never spent long looking at them. He didn’t relish his work as some thought he did. It was a means to an end.
“Jack?”
He snapped out of his trance state. “Yeah.”
“It’s time.”
“No! Please!” the man cried out, a final attempt to appeal to them.
Angelo Gafino released
