“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, or you don’t want to know?”
She closed her eyes. Thinking of Max was sweet, yet painful. “Both.”
“But, basically, he works with Val.”
“I… I don’t know. Val likes to pretend he’s just following orders, but I think he gives the orders. He tells me I have to do what he says, or Max will get hurt.” She lowered her eyes. “What I think sometimes is that Val tells Max to do what he demands, or else Val will hurt me.”
They sat quietly for a while, and then Polly’s phone rang, breaking the silence between them. She pulled it out of her jacket. “It’s Val.”
“Answer it. Let’s hear what he has to say.”
“Hello?” Polly said.
“Are you still with him?” Val asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you think he trusts you?”
“Yes.”
“Good. What you need to do now, Pretty Polly, is to lure him back to Mama’s house. Tell him all the evidence he’s looking for is out on Long Island, and you’ll show it to him.”
“I… I don’t know if I can.”
“Don’t be a dummy. Just get him out here.”
“Be what if…” What if he sees it’s a trap? Polly wanted to ask.
“Don’t worry. He won’t figure it out. He’s too desperate to think straight.” Val’s voice was cold. “You’d better not ruin everything this time, Polly. This is all on you. You make one false move, and no one will ever think you’re pretty ever again.”
Chapter 54
So, what did Val have to say?” Desmond asked after she hung up.
Polly shrank back in her seat. She was terrified of Val, but she couldn’t let that keep her from finding Max. “He wants me to get you out to our house.” Her voice was almost inaudible, even to her own ears.
“You mean, he wants to get me out to Long Island to finish me off?” Desmond didn’t sound worried.
“He didn’t say it exactly, but… yes.”
Desmond pulled his own phone out of his coat. “Here’s the part where I call the police.”
Polly leapt out of her seat, as if she’d been scalded. Desmond stood and put a reassuring hand on her arm.
“I can’t talk to the police!”
“No one’s going to make you do that,” Desmond said. “I told you, I’m going to talk to the police. You can decide what you want to do.”
She nodded, slowly lowering herself into her chair again.
“I take it he hasn’t been home since last night?” Desmond asked.
“No. Why?”
“Because the NYPD knows you were at Trinity’s apartment last night. I’m pretty sure they’ve got the cops on Long Island watching your house.”
“Did she die?” Polly asked suddenly.
“Last I heard, Trinity was in the hospital. I don’t think she’s woken up.” He hit a couple of buttons on his phone. “Never thought I’d have cops on speed-dial,” he murmured. “Detective Iorio, this is Desmond. Give me a call as soon as you can. We’ve got more to talk about.”
“What are you going to do?” Polly asked.
“First, I’m going to talk to the cops. Then, if they think it’s a good idea, I’ll go out to Long Island with you.”
“But Val—”
“Val is planning bad things for me. I know.” Desmond sighed. “That’s why I’m talking to the cops first.” His phone rang while he was speaking. “Oh, now that’s interesting,” he said, just before he answered it. “Edgars.” He listened for a bit. “We had a long talk last night. Oh, they are? I know they certainly wanted to talk to you.” Another long pause. “Sure, that’s fine.” He glanced at his watch. “Give me ten minutes.” He hung up without a goodbye.
“I’m going to meet up with the cops,” Desmond said. “I’d like it if you came with me.”
Polly shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Polly, what happened last night wasn’t your fault. You made a delivery. An illegal delivery, but I’m pretty sure no one is even going to think about locking you up, not with what you’ve been up against.”
“You mean, they’ll want to lock my brothers up. They’ll want me to testify against them.” Her voice was bitter. She wiped her eyes. “What about coming to my house? Val… he won’t be happy if you don’t.”
“I know. I head out with you immediately afterward. You come uptown with me, and you can sit at a bookstore or something and wait for me, okay? Then we’ll go out to Long Island.”
Outside, they crossed Park to get a cab heading north. Desmond held the door for her to get in, then gave the driver an address on Park Avenue.
“What will the police do to Max if they arrest him?” she asked Desmond.
“It depends on how involved he is. My sense, from what you’ve told me, is that Val is the ringleader. If Max has been involved in bad things because he’s protecting you, that changes things a lot.” Desmond gave her a searching look. “I can’t help notice you’re not so worried about what would happen to Val.”
She cast her eyes down. Val. Whenever there was suffering and misery, there was Val. She’d known it, even as a young child. She’d heard her parents arguing about him. Her father saw Val for what he was, but her mother never had. Of course, her mother’s gaze was directed toward a bottle of vodka most of the time. Then her father had left the family, and Max had been the only one willing to challenge Val’s domination. Then even Max had left, and there was no one to protect her from Val’s attentions.
“You don’t have to say anything, Polly. Every time you mention Val’s name, I can tell how you feel. He sounds like my stepfather.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have any family.”
“I don’t. My stepfather died when I was fourteen. And he was never my family.”
They were silent after that, hurtling up the broad boulevard.
“I’ve got to do this,” Desmond said when the cab stopped at Fifty-Fourth Street. “Will you promise to wait for me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“It’s okay. I’ll watch for you.”
“What’ll you say
