and black wings? That’s the male of the species.”
I couldn’t care less and hoped my expression showed it. DeMeo watched the bird fly off . Then he studied me a moment. “You’ve come a long way for this meeting,” he said. “I should let you conclude your business so you can enjoy our warm climate and friendly atmosphere.” He winked at me.
“Actually, I wanted to talk about
“To which business are you referring? I have lots of businesses.”
I reminded him that a couple of years ago, he wanted to hire me to kill people who had signed contracts for structured settlements. I asked if he personally okayed each hit.
“This is a very disrespectful question,” he said, “considering I haven’t even patted you down.”
I told him whoever he hired to kill the Dawes family in Montclair had been sloppy. I told him a little girl survived and I wanted him to personally underwrite her medical expenses for a complete facial reconstruction. Further, I wanted him to write a certified cashier’s check to the estate of Greg and Melanie Dawes in the amount of nine million dollars so Addie could try to cope through life with the disability his actions had caused.
DeMeo laughed out loud. “You got some stones,” he said. “I always said that about you.”
“Me and my stones will give you five days to come up with the money.”
DeMeo’s eyes grew hard. “An ultimatum?”
I tried to think about it from his perspective. “Mr. DeMeo, I don’t want to come across as disrespectful. Nine million plus the surgeries, that sounds like a lot of money. But let’s be honest: it’s no more than a bucket of sand off the beach to someone like you. I would consider it a personal favor if you do this thing for this one small girl. In return, I’ll owe you a favor.”
“I can make you stay out my business for all time with a simple hand gesture,” he said.
“And you’ll be dead before I hit the ground.”
“Your giant? We’ve got three people on him.”
“My girl.”
“The blond?”
I nodded.
DeMeo turned to me, made a show of opening his jacket. “I’m just reaching for my phone,” he said. He pressed a key on the touch pad and said, “You have the girl?” Then he said, “Why not?” He turned his attention to me and said, “Nice bluff , but that’s all it is. She’s not here.”
“You believe that, go ahead and give your signal.”
He smiled that Cheshire cat smile again and said, “I don’t think it would have worked out, you working for me.”
Then we parted company.
I took a deep breath. I had faced down Joseph DeMeo and lived. Of course, it didn’t mean much, since Joe had no intention of paying the money.
I made my way to the front of the cemetery and stood a block away from the black sedan and waited for Coop’s signal. Cooper Stewart had been driving limos in the LA area for more than ten years. Before that, he’d been a capable light-heavyweight with a stiff jab. Coop was tall, maybe six five. His rugged face showed extensive scar tissue around the eyes, confirming his status as a journeyman, not a contender. Augustus Quinn knew Coop better than I did, but I’d ridden with him several times and trusted him. Coop gave the signal, and I walked over to the limo and climbed in.
“Your phone rang while you were out there,” Coop said. “About twenty minutes ago.”
I checked the display and found that Janet had called. A large shadow crossed the window, and I looked up and saw Quinn standing a few yards away. Coop flashed him a signal, and Quinn opened the side door and joined me.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Pretty much the way I thought it would. No sale.”
“What’s our next move?”
I motioned for Quinn to raise the privacy glass so we could talk. Though we trusted Coop, we were in DeMeo’s town. No sense forcing him to choose between us.
“DeMeo made you out there,” I said.
“Yeah, I know,” Quinn said. “He had nine guys surrounding the place.”
“Still,” I said.
“According to Tony,” Quinn said, “they been there since midnight.”
Midnight! No wonder they saw him. “Who’s Tony?”
“One of DeMeo’s guys. At the end, we talked some. He recommended a restaurant, Miceli’s.”
“He’ll probably be waiting there for you with an Uzi,” I said.
Quinn shrugged. “So DeMeo won’t pay. No surprise there. Got a backup plan?”
“We’re going to rob him,” I said.
“Joe DeMeo.”
