Doppelgangster - Laura Resnick [93]
“What news have you got so far?”
“It sounds like Vinny, Bobby, and Nathan came through and told the Corvinos what really happened. But, of course, it’s such a crazy story, they’re juggling theories now and arguing over what to do. We don’t know exactly what they’re saying within their family, of course, but it’s easy to guess. And I can’t repeat to a lady what they’re saying to us tonight.”
“What do you guess they’re saying within their family?”
“Well, probably their least favorite theory is that we was tellin’ the truth last night and Danny was cursed with death by a doppelgangster.”
“Go figure.” I rose to get Nelli’s leash from the back of the shop, near the cellar door. Her whining was getting louder.
Lucky raised his voice so I could hear him. “They’re probably saying maybe I had Angelo Falcone whack Danny for laughing at me last night. Or, alternate theory, maybe Angelo’s a loose cannon who’s bumping off made guys without permission, and we—the Gambellos I mean—are his victims just as much as they are.”
As I removed Nelli’s brand new pink leather leash from the wall hook where I’d seen it hanging earlier, I heard clanging and banging in the cellar. I opened the door and called down the stairs, “Max? Are you all right?”
“Ouch! What? Oh! Yes, Esther, everything’s fine. I’m just . . .” I heard the clattering crash of metal objects hitting the cellar floor.
“Max?”
“I’ll be up in a moment!” he called back.
I shrugged and closed the cellar door.
“The Corvinos are probably also wondering,” Lucky said, as I returned to where he was sitting and handed him the leash, “whether our family’s using Angelo to do some fumigating and just making it look like he’s a loose cannon, so we can whack one of their guys without retribution.” He rose to his feet.
Thinking over what he’d said, I asked, “Do you suppose it’s possible Angelo actually is mixed up in these murders?”
Lucky shrugged. “After the last few days, I think anything’s possible. But I gotta say, Angelo sure don’t strike me as the genius sorcerer Max is describing. If Angelo ain’t really just a dumb punk trying too hard to get connected, then he’s been doin’ the best imitation I ever seen.”
I nodded. It was hard to disagree with that impression. “But if the Corvinos think Angelo may be a loose cannon who’s killing wiseguys from both families, then at least they won’t start a war over Danny’s death.”
“Sure they will.”
“What?” I blinked. “Why?
“ ’Cuz men in this line of work are cautious, kid. Short of seeing indisbootable evidence that the Gambello family had nothing to do with killing Danny—”
“Indisputable,” I said automatically.
“—they gotta make the conservative judgment call and assume we knew exactly what was going on. And then whack as many Gambellos as they can.” He shrugged philosophically. “This is business, after all.”
“Business,” I repeated, feeling dread settle into my stomach.
All things considered, I began to realize that Max and I had made a terrible mistake by attending the sit-down last night. Now that Danny Dapezzo was dead, the Corvinos might well decide to include us in their retribution. We had used our real names at the meeting, so it would be easy for a criminal organization to track us down now. Whatever their intellectual or educational shortcomings, wiseguys were notoriously good at finding and killing their enemies.
I felt sick as I sank into a chair at the table.
Lopez was right. I had been naive.
Having summed up the situation, Lucky said cheerfully to Nelli, “Come on. Let’s take a walk.”
He rounded the tall bookcase that stood between us and the door. I heard the soft clinking of metal as Lucky clipped Nelli’s leash to her collar, then the door chimes rang merrily as they left the shop together.
I began rethinking my position on protective custody again. And now Max, I realized, would have to go into hiding with me.
I pressed my fingers against my pounding temples as I acknowledged that I was going to have to tell Lopez what we had done. And he’d be so angry once he found out that I’d attended