Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery (6 page)

The Sun Shines in Texas

M
orning sun broke through the mini blinds, a harsh awakening for Lonny. He hadn’t slept much, worrying about that boy. Now he felt like he needed a shower—on the inside. He took the money out of his nightstand drawer and counted it again.
$3,400 for hurtin’ that boy.
The money would have to last a long time, because Lonny vowed he would
never
work for those people again. Damn redneck crackers is what they were. As bad as anybody from the hood ever was.

He almost wanted to turn that money in to someone and tell them where it came from.
Almost
. He knew he wouldn’t. He’d use it for food, and electric, and gas. And if he had enough left over—for a prom dress.

Shame on me, Lord, for what I done.

As he dressed, he worried over what to tell Lucia. He’d have to lie to explain the money, and that meant pretending to work during the day to maintain that lie. After all these years of loving her, it was a bad time to start lying. The irony struck him. Their life together started at a prom eighteen years ago, and now it was taking a horrific turn on another prom.

Lonny told Lucia he’d lost his job, but that he had a lot of prospects for new work. He was still lying, but for some reason, he felt better.

“No need to tell the kids yet,” he said. “Let’s wait and see if I get some work.”

Jada tried cheering him up at breakfast, joking and making not-so-clever remarks about her new beau, Jason, a boy Lonny hadn’t even met. He finished his coffee and eggs, kissed Lucia, then snuck Scooter a treat from his leftovers. “See y’all tonight.”

“Bye, Dad. Have a nice day,” Jada said.

“Get strong, old man,” from Mars.

Lonny smiled at Mars’ jab then got into the truck and headed out.

One of the prime spots for day work was only a couple of miles away. He was almost there when his phone rang. He answered on the first ring.

“Lonny, how’s it going?”

He recognized the voice. The guy who got him the job. “I decided I don’t need any more work.”

“What, you found something?”

“Not yet…but I got a few prospects. It won’t be long.”

“Our friends aren’t gonna like this.”

“Can’t be helped. Tell them I’m through.”

“I’ll tell them, but they don’t take ‘no’ very well.”

“Tell them anyway.” Lonny turned left and soon was standing on the corner of an empty parking lot with sixty or seventy Latinos—Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, all hoping to be picked for a day’s work. Lonny missed the days when he had a job to go to every morning. He and Lucia never had much money, but at least he didn’t have to worry about feeding his family.

A guy in a truck pulled up and offered $50 for a day’s work. Five of the men jumped at the opportunity. Lonny opted to wait for better pay. He had a good shot at being picked since he spoke English and had a truck. This was one of those few times when being black paid off. Forty minutes later, Lonny wished he’d taken the earlier offer. Fifty dollars would buy a few good meals. He finally got work digging footings for a concrete pour. Not much money, but it lasted the rest of the day and might stretch for a few more.

When Lonny got home that night, he was more tired than normal. The physical work he was used to, but not the stress of fighting inner battles all day. He put on a good face, though, determined not to let his family suffer for his sins. After kicking off his boots, he walked in the front door. “Guess who’s home and hungry.”

From the kitchen he heard Lucia’s voice, sweet as the day he married her. “Must either be Scooter or a man who found more work.” She came around the corner, wiping her hands on her apron. “I guess you found something?”

“Not much,” he said then took money from his pocket and threw it on the table, “but enough for a little girl’s prom dress, I imagine.”

Jada almost dropped the plates she had in her hand. She ran to hug him. “For real? I can go?”

“Not until I meet this boy…what’s his name?”

“Jason,” Lucia said before her daughter could answer then she kissed her husband warmly. “I’ll be seeing you tonight,” she whispered, a sultry tone if he ever heard one.

“What kind of work did you find? Permanent?”

“No, but it might last a week or two. And it’s good pay.” He bent down to pet Scooter as he said it, not wanting his expression to give away the lies.

Jada was still counting the money when her mother smacked her on the butt. “I hope that dress is a bright one. We’re gonna need it when the electric gets shut off.”

Lonny showered. Then, as he was dressing, he saw the lotto ticket on his counter. He brought it to the kitchen. “Where’s the paper?”

“On the chair,” Jada said. “Right where you like it.”

He laughed. “You can stop being nice. I already said you could go.” He opened it up to see the results from the lotto. “The lotto is $39 million. Maybe we hit it.”

Lucia and Jada came to the table. “Get Mars in here,” Lonny said. “If we’re gonna be rich, I want us all here to share in it.”

“Mars, get in here,” Jada hollered. “Dad thinks he’s gonna hit the lottery.”

Lucia huffed. “Wouldn’t that be something? A new dishwasher is the first thing we’d get.”

“New
dishwasher
?” Jada said. “How about new
house
.”

“Jiu-jitsu school for me,” Mars said as he came in.

Lonny sat at the table, heart pounding, chest on fire. He could barely speak just thinking of the possibilities.

Lucia grabbed a broom and started sweeping the floor. “Lonny, you brought in mud again. I hope that imaginary lottery ticket will buy a maid to clean up after you.”

“After we hit this lottery, you won’t need to sweep the floor.”

She huffed. “Nobody hits those things. I don’t know why you waste your money.” Lucia smiled. “You
could
have bought me another chocolate bar. That would have gotten you a lot more than that lotto ticket.”

“Oh my God, Mom. Cut that talk out.”

“It really
could
be us,” Lonny said. “It happens all the time.”

“Hurry up and look!” Jada said.

“Lucia, come here, baby.”

Lucia stopped what she was doing and rushed over. “What’s the matter?” she asked, leaning over him.

He handed her the lottery ticket and pointed to the paper. “Check these numbers. See if I’m wrong.”

She looked at him funny, but bent over and gaped, first at the ticket, then the paper.

Lonny pinched her arm and whispered, “Pretend we won.”

Lucia’s eyes popped wide open, and her hand flew to her mouth, gasping. “Lord in heaven.
Praise
the Lord in heaven!”

Jada came over. “What’s the matter? Did we hit it? For real?”

Lucia grabbed Lonny, kissing all over him, then hugged Jada, squeezing her hard. “The Lord has smiled down on us again. I
knew
if I kept praying, it would do good.”

“Don’t kid me, Mom.”

When Jada said that, Lucia fell onto Lonny’s lap, laughing. Lonny kissed her and smiled. “We were rich for a few seconds.”

“That was cruel, making us think we were rich.” Jada wore a spoiled pout. “I was already dreaming of a house like Alexa’s. And a pool.”

“You sure can dream fast, girl.” Lucia turned to Mars. “What about you? You get a chance to dream up any crazy notions?”

They all laughed and then hugged each other in a big circle.

“And I thought we were gonna be rich,” Jada said.

“We
are
rich,” Lucia said. “And now we need to say our thanks before supper. The Lord has blessed us with good health and a wonderful family.” She folded her hands. The rest of the family joined.

“Lord, I know we’ve all done wrong from time to time, but we’ve seen our way through it with your guidance.” She put her hand on Lonny’s arm and kissed his cheek. “You surely know how much this man deserves a break, working like he’s done all these years and never complaining. I’m only gonna ask for one thing. Give this man a break. For all of us, Lord, I thank you. Amen.”

Lonny’s smile was genuine, but his heart was heavy. Every word of praise from Lucia was like a dagger. Would the Lord would take away the things he had?

Please don’t, for my family’s sake.
If you have to administer punishment, take it out on me.

Chapter 9

A New Line of Work

D
ispatcher answered the phone on the second ring. “Go.”

“I’m looking for more help, and I don’t want Number Three on the next job. Did I tell you how bad he fucked up?”

“You’ve told me several times.” Dispatcher waited a few seconds, then, “I have a replacement for Number Three available. When do you need someone and what kind of job?”

“Send him over right away. I want to check this one out first. As far as the job, I’ll let you know.”

“One more thing,” Dispatcher said. “Number Four is no longer available.”

“Fuck! All right, send the new man as the new Number Four. I’ll use the old Number Three for now.”

Boss waited at the meeting place, going through options for the next job. They had been happy with the take from the Marshall house, but the heat would be on with that kid getting hurt. Cops looked for robbers when it was a home invasion, but when someone got hurt, they looked a lot harder.

If only that damned Number Three hadn’t gotten out of hand
.

Boss heard the van pull into the garage and got his mask on. A moment later, the door opened. Number Two walked in with a new companion.

Boss looked up. “Number Four, I presume?”

Number Four tugged at the mask. “Why do we have to wear these when we’re inside?”

“If you don’t like the rules, leave now. These rules will never change.”

“It’s hot.”

“Prisons are hotter,” Boss said. “Almost every partnership among criminals ends with one of them ratting out the others.
That
is why we wear masks. I want no one to know who I am, or who anyone else is.” Boss looked to each of them. Number Two nodded. “This is for all of us. If I get caught, I can’t tell the cops who you are, because I don’t know.”

“What about Dispatcher?” Number Four said.

Boss got right up in his face. “Have you seen Dispatcher?”

“No.”

“That’s right. None of us have. All I have is a phone number.”

“So how does he get his cut?”

Boss sneered. “Worried you’re getting cheated already?”

“No, it’s just—”

“Bullshit. Don’t worry. I send Dispatcher his cut when the job is over. And just so we all keep with the rules, let’s not refer to him at all. Dispatcher is my problem. Clear?”

He waited until Number Four acknowledged, then continued. “First rule is no names, only numbers. I am Number One, or Boss.” He pointed to the left. “That is Number Two, and I believe I hear Numbers Three and Five coming in now. Any questions?” He waited, then said, “Good. We’ve got work to do.”

“What do you have in mind?” Number Two asked.

“Kidnapping,” Boss said, as Three and Five entered.

Number Two seemed to disapprove. “Kidnapping is dangerous. And we don’t have a target.”

“I like it,” Three said.

Boss listened, absorbing it all. “Targets are easy. There are plenty of rich people in this city. All we have to do is look for the easiest mark.”

Number Two paced. “I don’t like it. Might as well kill someone as kidnap them. The penalties are almost the same.”

“That’s an idea, too,” Number Four said. “But I don’t go for unnecessary violence.”

Boss pretended not to hear what he said, but he took note, and he liked the part about not liking violence Number Three seemed to like it too much. “Kidnapping carries stiff penalties, true, but if we get away with it, what do the penalties matter?”

Boss waited to see if anyone raised objections. “If we decide to go with a snatch, anyone have problems?”

Silence.

“You, Number Two?”

“If everyone else is in, I’ll go along.”

“Good,” Boss said. “Let’s go over this.” They discussed the possibilities for another half an hour or so then left, leaving Boss alone. When he was certain they were gone, he called Dispatcher.

“Go.”

“I’m looking for a mark to snatch.”

“I don’t have to tell you how dangerous that is. Very few succeed. If they do, it’s usually because the mark is killed.”

“All I need is a name. Any other information would help, but a name will suffice.”

“I’ll get back to you.”

“And don’t forget to keep your eyes open for a new Number Three. I’m not convinced this one will work out.”

“I never forget.”

Number Two poked her head back into the office. “We good?”

Boss nodded. “That worked well, you raising objections. We had to test the new member. Good idea, Number Two.”

“Tell Dispatcher to get us a mark with a lot of money.”

***

When Dispatcher hung up, he returned to reading the paper, checking on the sports results and his investments. As he scanned the business section, a headline caught his eye.