Page 74 of Shakedown in Savannah

Costanza’s eyes slid to the side. “Stuff.”

Vinnie took a menacing step closer. “What kind of stuff?” And then it dawned on him. “You were going to finish blowing the place up.”

The look on his face answered Vinnie’s question. “Lombardo had it heavily insured as a beneficiary.”

“So he was gonna finish taking it down and collect on the insurance.” Vinnie gritted his teeth. “Technically, my mother still owns this property.”

Costanza shrugged. “Hey, I’m not inside Lombardo’s head. I had a job to do, and I was gonna do it.”

“So you left to go buy explosives. When you came back, Enzo was dead.”

“And that little weasel, Ziffra, killed him. I would bet my life on it.”

“When are you taking Ziffra and his property out?” Vinnie asked.

“It’s none of your business,” Costanza said.

Vinnie, his eyes filled with rage, grabbed hold of the man’s shirt so tightly he started choking. “You listen to me. This message is for you and Lombardo. This is Castellini family territory. You don’t make another move. Do you hear me? Because if you do, you’re going to join your buddy Enzo. Capisce?”

“Castellini?” Costanza gasped. “Who is a Castellini?”

“Me.” Vinnie loosened his grip.

Costanza made a choking sound. “You can let me go. I’m not gonna do anything. Why didn’t you tell me you were part of the Castellini family?”

“To repeat what you said—it’s none of your business.” Vinnie’s eyes narrowed. “You can take this back to Lombardo and whoever else is involved. We’ll handle Barnie Ziffra.”

“When?” Costanza nervously wiped his brow. “I need more information.”

“Tomorrow. You can tell them it’ll be taken care of tomorrow.”

Chapter 30

“Here’s the plan.” Carlita pressed her hand to her forehead. “I go over to Ziffra’s place and lure him to the Morton Street property.”

“And we’ll take care of the rest,” Tony added.

“Do you know for sure if he’s working? Never mind.” Mercedes waved dismissively. “I can call and find out.”

Vinnie glanced at his watch. “He should be opening for business.”

Using her cell phone, Mercedes tracked down the website and clicked on the telephone number. It rang several times. She was getting ready to hang up when someone finally answered.

“EZ Check Cashing. Barnie speaking.”

“I-I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.” Mercedes ended the call and waved her phone in the air. “He’s there. He answered.”

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

Carlita drove separately while Tony, Vinnie and Luigi followed behind in Tony’s car. Reaching Morton Street, they parted ways when her son turned into the alley directly behind the building.

Quickly climbing out of the car, Carlita darted inside. Less than a minute later, her sons and Luigi stepped inside via the back alley entrance, not visible to the buildings on the opposite side of the street.

“You ready for this, Ma?” Vinnie asked.

“Yeah.” Carlita sucked in a breath. “I have everything we talked about down pat. No worries. I’ll get him over here as soon as I can.”

“And we’ll be waiting,” Luigi promised. “Don’t worry, Mrs. T. After today, Lombardo will be off your back and Costanza’s killer will be behind bars.”

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