Page 639 of Not Over You

“Yeah. Two girls were dead when I got to The Cigar Bar last night. Two out of three triplets. One of them hasn’t been found. The one pregnant with Paul Gallo’s kid. She gave her sisters that before she disappeared. One of them thought it would be of value to me. She had it on her when she was killed. It was disguised as a cigarette.”

“Ava Girardi works for that paper. You are close to her. This will not get out.”

“She’s not aware of the situation. Only me.”

His eyes held mine. His pointer finger tapped on the table.

The house creaked. One of the men behind him stifled a yawn, shaking his head like he was trying to wake himself up. Nose’s stomach made a sound like a monster was trying to rip itself out of it.

“You never were a good poker player,” Messina said to him. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Nose gave a laugh, but it was low and high-pitched at the same time.

The moment seemed to shrink even smaller. Closing us all in together. My suit even felt too tight. I had to resist the urge to roll my shoulders. To make more room.

Freddy came back, and Messina’s eyes slowly lifted. Freddy nodded. That was all it took.

“You were honest with me today,” he said. “But what do you want?”

“Only for my name to be cleared,” I said.

Our eyes held from across the table.

He nodded. “What innocent man wouldn’t want that?” Tap. Tap. Tap. “You are free to go, after you finish this last thing. I’m forcing you out of the life. I don’t want to see your face in my city for two years.” He held up two fingers. “After that, you and your family are free to return.” He looked at Nose. “You are free to walk now. You’ll take Gallo’s crew after we’re done.”

Freddy got up and walked him out.

“Get into the kitchen,” the boss told me.

Gallo’s voice came to the front door, echoing down the hall as he tried to chat Freddy up. I stood inside the kitchen. The air was warm and muggy. Pots were lined up on the stove. Red gravy ran off the sides of one.

Messina told Gallo to take a seat and then asked him the same questions we were asked. He lied. The entire time. He even brought up me killing Ghetti because we had beef that we couldn’t resolve. He said that I wanted Ghetti to lie for me, but he refused.

I heard it when the old man stood, because so did the rest of the table.

“Freddy, walk him out. Nose is already in the car.”

There was a pause, then footsteps echoed as Gallo and Freddy started to move. The door shut a few second later.

Messina called me out. Then he told me to stay put. He walked out, eaten up by the sun, until the house fell into complete darkness again. One of the guys who’d been standing against the wall came back in and got me after another drove Messina away.

“Down there,” the guy said, nodding with his chin toward a car that was parked down the street.

I walked to it and knocked on the window. Nose hit the unlock and let me in. I slid into the back seat. Gallo looked at me from the mirror.

“Drive,” Nose said, nodding toward the road.

“Where to?”

Nose rattled off the street name. “The old man wants to have a chat there. With some people.”

“The Russians?”

“Dunno.” Nose shrugged.

Gallo put the car in drive and pulled off. He was chatty, going on and on about how The Head was to blame. He’d done it all.

“The bakery,” I said. “Pull down the street from it. I want to check on some things before we get there.”

---