Footsteps of the Hawk b-8 Page 12

  "No. Maybe busy with fighter?"

  "Maybe. I'll call you later."

  I ran through it in my head, showering and shaving on automatic pilot. Copycat crime, it's a fact of life. But most of the time, they copy the style more than the deed. There's no such thing as a first–time crime— humans have been on the planet too long for that. But once the media names a crime— like when the newspaper jerks started calling gang rape "wilding"— it becomes the hot ticket and every punk wants to play.

  Take carjacking— nothing new about it except the name. But once the name catches on, the crime catches fire. It's all grapevine stuff: no way there's a nationwide group of mutants united in a giant conspiracy to hijack cars. It's a moron–move all the way— you risk life in the pen for a used car. But as soon as the media names it, the twenty–four–karat dumb–fuck imbeciles have to go and do it. Starts in D.C., spreads to New York. Then over to L.A., back to Chicago, down to Miami. You ask one of those idiots why they do it, they couldn't tell you. A whole battalion of sheep, following the herd, armed and stupid.

  The latest craze is so totally retarded I almost couldn't believe it when I first heard about it— now they're robbing toll booths on the bridges. The G.W., the Triborough, the Whitestone…you name it. They just drive up to the booth, stick a gun out the window, and demand the cash. Incredible. Start with armed robbery, throw in a string of other crimes, and you're risking a dozen years Upstate before you can even dream about the Parole Board. All for what? A few handfuls of change and a bunch of tokens you'd have to sell at a discount. That's why prison never changes anybody— you can convince a man to be honest, but there's no way to make him smart.

  Of course, the people who collect the tolls, they're demanding the right to carry firearms. There's a pretty picture— some self–righteous loon who watched too many cop shows blazing away in the middle of rush hour.

  The real answer would be to eliminate the toll collectors entirely. They could train chimps to do it, but the chimps would probably get bored and swing off the job.

  You see it everywhere. Somebody says they found a syringe in their can of Pepsi, next thing you know, tampered cans are showing up all over the country. Sure. Good thing they don't make you pass an IQ test before they accept you into prison— most of the joints would be empty.

  A pattern crime, one with a signature, that's custom–made for copycats. That's a fact of life in this cancer ward of a city. But who could be copying something he never heard of…?

  I finished shaving, still no closer to an answer. Time to go to work. I know how to look like a lawyer. All you need is a dark pinstripe suit, a dress shirt with a monogram on the cuff, any necktie that looks expensive. The younger breed goes more for the Italian look, more silk, more slouchy— the older guys stay closer to tradition. They wear their hair different too. The older guys go for blow–dried razor–cuts— the younger ones wear their hair longer, go heavy on the gel. They both display flashy wristwatches and leather attaché cases— slim ones, so they don't get confused with the 18–B guys, who have to haul files around with them. And the look is indispensable: superior, snotty, arrogant, with a distinctive weasel–tint to the eyes.

  I didn't bother with any of that to go see Fortunato. He knows what I do. And I know what he is. I put on a pair of carpenter's pants over steel–toed work shoes. Then a black sweatshirt under an old leather jacket. Lots of pockets, lots of room…I didn't need an attaché case.

  Fortunato makes most of his scores downtown, from the pits on the first floor of Centre Street to the tower in Foley Square, but he wasn't a Baxter Street type of guy— his office was on Forty–second, between Madison and Lex.

  His name was in large gilt letters, standing guard over the double doors to the office. I stepped inside, into an empty reception area. The sliding glass window to the receptionist's desk was standing open. I reached my hand in and rapped on the top of the desk. A guy in his twenties came around a corner. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His tie was pulled loose from around his neck. He looked pressured.

  "Can I help you?" he asked, an undercurrent of annoyance in his voice.

  "I'm here to see Fortunato," I told him. "Name's Burke."

  He turned his back on me, walked away. He was back in a minute, said "Come in," and hit a buzzer to release the inner door.

  "Last one on the left," he told me.

  Fortunato's office was bigger than the whole reception area, a corner spot with two exposures through large windows. He was sitting behind his desk, a kidney–shaped monster— its left lobe held three separate telephone mini–consoles— the right had a smoked–plastic stack of trays loaded with various documents. The broad expanse in the middle was empty, gleaming like it had just been polished. I walked in, took the middle of three identical leather chairs facing the desk.

  "You're Burke?" he said by way of greeting.

  "Yes."

  Fortunato leaned forward, elbows on the desk. He didn't ask for identification, didn't offer to shake hands. He reached into one of the plastic stacked trays, extracted a white envelope, held it in his hand for a few seconds. Then he slid it across the slick surface toward me. I caught it, pocketed it without looking inside.

  "You have any questions?" he asked.

  "The way I understand it, this guy was dropped behind some DNA fingerprinting, right?"

  "That was one of the factors," he said cautiously. "There were others."

  "So what's his play on appeal? How do you get around that?"

  "An appeal isn't usually about the evidence," he said smoothly. "It's about the law, not the facts. Let's say the police find the murder weapon in the trunk of a guy's car. But let's say it was a bad search— no warrant, no probable cause. They can't use it in court, understand?"

  "Yeah, I do. But they wouldn't need a warrant to take a blood sample."

  "It's all in how you look at the evidence," he said. "The DNA…Wait a minute, are you saying they got DNA samples from the New York case?"

  "Well…yeah, I guess so. I mean, I knew they had it in Jersey, and I thought— "

  "There was no DNA taken from the body on University Place," he said flatly.

  "None at all? How could that be?"

  "Look, maybe you don't have all the facts here," he said, ticking off the points on his fingers. "One, the DNA they got in Jersey was a tissue sample, understand? From fingernail scrapings— the woman scratched, she fought hard. There were fragments of skin under her nails. Two, the woman in New York, the one on University Place? Her fingernails were smooth, like she just had a manicure. Nothing under them at all. Three, there was no sperm in the body."

  "You telling me they found different DNA in the other bodies?"

  "There were three bodies," Fortunato said, ticking them off on his fingers, one–two–three. His manicure was perfect. "Three murders," he said. "And all of them in New York. And the assault, the one in Jersey— I already explained that one, right? The woman on University Place— there was no sperm— they never made a match. The other two— the other two murders, I mean— there was no sperm either."

  "You sure that's right? No sperm at all? Sometimes, a guy isn't a secretor…"

  "I know that," he said, looking up sharply. "No sperm, period—that's what they found. And they didn't find any in the other two, the ones that happened after he was in custody."

  "So let's say he didn't do the last two— hell, that would make sense. He was inside, right? But there's no question about the first pair."

  "One of them," Fortunato corrected. "The one that lived. That'll stand up, no question. But the woman on University Place, he may have been in her apartment, he may have fucked her a couple of times— hell, he admits all of that— but there's no real hard evidence that he killed her."

  "Sounds like a dead loser to me," I said. "What's the point? Without proof that the ME pulled the red ribbon out of the other bodies— and you gotta admit, that sounds ridiculous— you got nothing."

&
nbsp; Fortunato shrugged, watching my face. "Sometimes," he said, "you take a case as a favor. Even if it doesn't look good. You never know what can happen…"

  "Okay," I said. It was like I'd thought— if Fortunato had a scheme, it didn't have anything to do with the law books.

  He reached behind him to where a shelf was built in below the window line, brought out a small wood humidor. He reached inside, took out a long dark cigar. "You mind?" he asked.

  I shook my head. Shook it again when he turned the humidor in my direction, offering me one, He clipped the end of the cigar with a little silver guillotine, flicked a wafer–thin lighter into flame. He made a ceremony out of it, rolling the cigar in his lips, making sure it was fully lit. He finally got it going to his satisfaction, leaned back in his chair.

  "You're an interesting man," he said. "I've heard a lot about you."

  "People talk," I told him. "I don't."

  "I understand. You have a very strong reputation…in some circles."

  "And your point is…?"

  "My point is that this job, it doesn't have anything to do with family business. You following me?"

  "Sure,"

  "Julio used to speak well of you," he said. I could feel his eyes through the cigar smoke.

  "Used to?"

  "He's dead," Fortunato said. "You didn't know?"

  "How would I know? Was it in the papers?"

  "Just a little squib," he said. "Old man sitting on a bench just off the water by La Guardia. Watching the planes come in, it looked like. Only his neck was broken."

  I gave out a short grunt of surprise, with a question mark at the end.

  "The cops have it down as Unsolved," Fortunato answered. "They never made an arrest."

  "You want me to look into it?" I asked, flat–faced.

  "No, that's okay," he replied. "We know who did it."

  "Then you're telling me because…?"

  "I just thought you'd be interested. I know you were tight with the old man once."

  "Inside I was. I didn't see much of him once I was out."

  He nodded as if that made sense. "Your record…it's long, but it's old. You ever think of going for a Certificate of Release from Civil Disabilities?"

  "What's that?"

  "It's like a pardon. Not really a pardon…I mean, you still have your record, but you can do things you couldn't do before."

  "Like what?"

  "Well, you could vote. Open certain kinds of businesses…he said, the sly hint of suggestion in his voice.

  Telling me he knew about me owning a piece of Frankie? "How much does it cost?" I asked him, no sign of real interest on my face.

  "Well, that depends. Different lawyers charge different rates. You know that. Me, I could get it done. Guaranteed."

  "How much?" I asked again.

  "I could do it as a favor. No charge."

  "That's too high a price," I told him.

  He took another hit off the cigar, blew a perfect smoke ring toward the ceiling. "The offer's still open," he said. "You change your mind, let me know. Anytime."

  "I'll do that," I told him.

  On the way back to my office, I tried to put it together. Fortunato as much as told me he knew I was involved in Julio's murder. Was he threatening me, or offering me a way out?

  I wasn't afraid of Fortunato. Inside his pretty office, he was strong and confident, but he was only a messenger— he couldn't deliver the payload. A mob lawyer might get involved with homicide for money, might even set it up, but he wouldn't do the work himself. Guys like that, they stay between the lines, trying to widen them by pushing from the inside.

  But Julio…it was a long time ago. A family quarrel the newspapers called a Mob War. One side hired Wesley, and Wesley got it done, delivering the bodies like he always did. But then Julio's crew stiffed Wesley on the fee, and Wesley starting taking them out, one at a time. Julio, the old alligator, had been screaming for Wesley's blood— even promising me the earth if I could lure the ice–man into a trap. But it was Julio who got trapped…by a flame–haired witch named Strega who licked her lips as she watched him die.

  What was Fortunato telling me? Wesley was a shooter— the best there ever was. But Julio had died of a broken neck. Just like one of those freaks in the Bronx house of beasts.

  I got back to my car and headed downtown. I left the West Side Highway at Chambers Street, heading for the Brooklyn Bridge. I took the on–ramp before the span. It was the tail end of rush hour, but the bridge was clogged. I looked ahead, saw one of those orange signs: LEFT LANE ENDS 500 YARDS. I was in that lane, and I wasn't getting much play from the middle lane, so merging right wasn't all that easy. I didn't get worked up about it— I wasn't in a hurry.

  In some cities, the citizens have actually mastered the art of staggered lane merging— one from the right, one from the left, until it's all done. It'll never happen here— if you're in the lane that needs to merge you don't hope for courtesy, you watch for weakness.

  A tired old black Buick finally came up on my right, laboring and sputtering along, an elderly Hasid at the wheel. Everybody was cutting him off, jumping ahead of him— he was acting so unaggressive he became fair game. Just before the left lane ended, I tapped my brakes to let him pull ahead of me, then slipped in behind. He chugged on ahead, reaching his left arm out the window to wave a thank–you to me. It felt good. I like that kind of stuff. If motherfuckers would just let me be, I swear I would be a polite, respectful man.

  Then I heard the angry blare of a horn, glanced in the mirror. A white Nissan sedan had been behind me, but it got pinched off when I let that other guy in.

  So what? I worked the middle lane for a piece, saw my opening, and rolled once more to the right, setting up for the exit to the BQE. The white Nissan pulled up on my left, running parallel. The driver and the two in the back seat were black males— there was a black woman in the front passenger seat. She rolled down her window. I hit the switch to drop mine too.

  She leaned out her window, screamed "You fucking Jew bastard!" at me just as the Nissan pulled away, obviously concluding she'd been the victim of still another Zionist plot.

  I thought about how much fun it would be to lock her in a room with old Cline–as–in–Patsy.

  After I completed all the necessary loops, I climbed onto the BQE, heading for Queens. As I passed the Flushing Avenue exit I spotted a congenital defective driving a Cadillac in the left lane. Driving slow. Posting up so everyone had to pass in the middle lane and then cut back in. Nobody did it calmly— some of them shot the finger, others waved fists. One cut back in so close the Cadillac had to stand on its brakes.

  I dialed my mind to calm, waited for my shot, then swept around the fat Cadillac. I got back into the left lane and settled in, punched the button for the all–news station, half–listened as I drove. The news came out in little blips:

  Down South, another anti–abortion maniac gunned down a doctor going into a clinic. An equally freakish misfit killed two nurses and a secretary somewhere in New England. Good thing there's no waiting period for buying a handgun— makes it so much easier to act on impulse.

  A nine–year–old girl writes an essay for school. "Daddy Raped Me" it was called. She gets an A on her paper— nothing else. Months later, the scumbag gets himself arrested for some other stuff— turns out he has AIDS. Some group promises a protest.

  Another baby killed in another crossfire. The only difference between certain neighborhoods in this city and Bosnia is that we're better armed here.

  The New York weather report: cold and vicious.

  I switched to FM, punched the oldies station. They were playing music from the '70s, as impossible as that sounds.

  I slammed in the one sure cure: a Judy Henske tape. That broad's got enough rich, dark juice for a grape arbor, every word dripping with promise. I had a scheme to meet her in person, years ago. It worked out the same as most of my schemes.

  Traffic crawled once we got over the Kosciusko Bri
dge— the halfass government was doing something stupid to the highway again. I grabbed the LIE eastbound, still in no hurry. Just before the Elmhurst Tanks, I spotted a downed Lincoln Continental in the right lane. I wasn't the first to see it— one of the vulture vans that cruise the city expressways looking for crippled cars was already on the scene. A pro team was at work— one guy had a hydraulic jack under the back wheels while his partner had popped the hood. Give them a half–hour, they'd turn a wounded car into a corpse.

  I exited at Woodhaven Boulevard and worked my way toward Forest Park. I found a quiet spot. Pulled over to a roadside pay phone and punched a number in.

  "What?" came the rust–bucket greeting.

  "You been looking for me?" I asked.

  "ID me something," the voice demanded.

  "Baby Pete," I said.

  "More."

  "I found him. Where you said he couldn't be."

  Baby Pete. Big Peter's grandson. Kidnapped, held for ransom. Big Peter never went near the Law. Paid in full. Never got the boy back. After that, he reached out for me. I found the little kid. In the basement of Big Peter's next–in–line. Found his ashes and a few bone fragments— the furnace hadn't finished its work. The next–inline was impatient, but he needed a war chest before he made his move. Big Peter hadn't called the Law about that one either.

  "Ask the question again?"

  "You looking for me?"

  "If I wanted to find you, I would," he said softly. "I know how to do that."

  "Yeah. That's what I figured. I just wanted to make sure you didn't have some problem— "

  "With you?" he interrupted.

  "Yeah. Some strange stuff is happening. And I heard a name today…."

  "Say it."

  "Julio."

  "Oh." The line was quiet for a few seconds. Then he said, "Come see me."

  "Where?"

  "At the house."

  "When?"

  "Now. I'll wait."

  "Twenty minutes," I told him, and hung up.

  The house was a simple wood–frame two–story in Ozone Park. Only the chain–link fence looked serious. The gypsy cab dropped me off in front. I walked around to the side of the house and rang the bell.