Dead Money Run (17 page)

Afte
r
we got to the hotel and parked the cars, I told Crusher to get his bag and come up to the suite. We had plenty of room and there was no sense in him driving back to Jasper in the Atlanta afternoon traffic. He would get home just in time to turn around and come back. When we got to the room, I made us both a drink while he called Bunny. After finishing his call, Crusher walked over and picked up his drink and sat down on one of the couches.

“I have to say
, Lou, you sure know how to live. Beats anything I had in cell number ten twenty-eight, if you get my meaning.”

“Don’t get used to it,” I said. “This is
temporary. The best is yet to come.”

Af
ter finishing his drink, Crusher stretched out on the couch and went to sleep. I was glad for the silence. Hilary left a note telling me she had received a message from her old boss at Consolidated and went to meet with him. I didn’t like the idea, but I had to trust her decisions.

I
searched my brain for what could have been so important that Susan had to give up her life for it. If it wasn’t money, what? And then there was the issue of Homeland Security. What was that all about? I had to find out what Homeland Security did, besides checking people at airports. After a while, Crusher’s snoring was getting to me. I got up and fixed myself another drink. I felt like getting drunk, but knew that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do.

Walking out onto the
balcony off the living room, I took the file I had gotten from Roseman, sat down and began reading it. It was all in there. How the Outfit set up the heists. Which casinos to hit. When the best times to make the hits. There was even a plan in the works to move the scheme to an international level. Some of the names of the biggest drug cartels in South America were even in the file. Apparently there was a plan to bring them into the operation.

Nick Cappoleto was the head of Sixty-Six
, Partners. It listed the other sixty-five partners. The file was what FBI agent’s dreamed about. I thought about Roseman and wondered what the hell he was doing with this kind of stuff.

Sonny Cap was in the deal up to his guinea neck. It was looking more and more like he was involved with the heists and may have even been involved with my sister’s killing.

Now that I knew where Sonny Cap lived, my idea of Hilary working at the Starlight Club was out. I needed to come up with a better plan, so I did. My plan was simple. Do nothing and see what happens.

Looking at my cellphone, I saw that I had a message. I recognized the number. It was from John Goodman. Hitting the redial
, I called him back. After two rings he answered.

Chapter 47

“Lo
u
, I was about to give you up for dead.”

“
The word ‘Dead’ is a bad word, John. What have you got for me?”

“I will start from the top.

“The Sixty-Six, Partners is a partnership of loosely organized corporations and limited partnerships that own and operate casinos around the U.S. All of them are Indian based. These various entities from around the country are owned by people of dubious backgrounds in the underworld. In other words, Lou, these are mobbed up guys. The head of the group is Nicholas Cappoleto.”

“Sonny Cap
poleto’s old man, I take it,” I said.

“The very one.

“Next. And I’m giving this to you in the order you asked for them.

“Next,
comes Max Reynolds. From what I have been able to learn, he is a straight shooter. He began working for the government as an FBI agent and then, because he was so good, he was asked to join a special op group with the CIA. Remained there for five years and then, on September 11, 2001, joined a terrorist prevention unit of Homeland Security. Today, he heads that group and it is supposed to be one of the most secretive units within the Department of Homeland Security.”

“How did you find out about this if is so secret?” I asked.

“I have my ways. Let’s let it go at that, Lou.”

“Did you get a description of Reynolds?”

“Yes. He’s forty-four years of age. He is not married. Went to West Point and served ten years in the U.S. Army. Logged four tours of duty in the Middle East and when he got out, he was a full bird colonel. He is six foot four inches tall and weighs about two hundred and ten pounds. His most distinguishing mark is a small tattoo on his right wrist that simply reads, ‘Lenore’. Finally, he is a man who is known to keep his word and he’s no one to mess with.”

“Any idea why he would have
an interest in this business of my sister’s killing?”

“Okay. Skipping to Kandi Kain, aka Susan Malloy. Kandi Kain is a fictitious name that your sister used. As you prob
ably already know or suspect, she was an agent under the control of Max Reynolds. Her death was a blow to the group. Your sister was very highly thought of.”

“Why didn’t they do something to protect her?” I said.

“There was an agent that left the department before your sister came on board by the name of Joe Stanton. Somehow your sister got involved with him in some deal involving counterfeiting. Beyond that, I could not find out anything further.”

“You think that may have been the reason she was killed?”

“Lou, I don’t know. There could be any one of a dozen reasons. I don’t know. I wish I did.”

“What’s next,” I said.

“Well, you asked about Sonny Cap and Angel Garcia. Sonny is the son of Nicholas Cappoleto. That should be enough. Sonny is not the brightest bulb in the box. Is known to like the company of women. I am told he likes rough sex.”

“
What’s that supposed to mean?” I said.

“
I guess it means he’s a pervert. But get this, he only likes hookers. Apparently he can’t keep a relationship beyond the bedroom. He was said to have had the hot’s for your sister, but the feeling was not mutual.”

When I heard that from John, I gripped the phone and took a minute to think.
More and more things were pointing to this Sonny as a possible suspect in my sister’s death.

“What else have you got for me?”

“Angel Garcia is considered to be smart and a survivor. He grew up with Sonny and is probably the reason why Sonny is making the money he’s making with his operations. He’s also is not as callus as Sonny. He knows what he wants and generally gets it. Not someone to take lightly.”

“What did you find out about this Hightower?”

“Jonathon Hightower is just plain nuts. He’s about the size of a fire hydrant. People say he reminds them of Charlie McCarthy. The dangerous one is his wife. Name is Sabrina. Ugly as a junkyard dog, but very lethal. She and Jonathon own a company called Eclipse. It is based in Athens, Greece and it is said to have interests in everything from the sale of illegal arms, human trafficking, drugs, prostitution, you name it. If it’s illegal, they have a finger in it. But get this, they have never engaged in any of these activities in the United States. Here they are clean as a baby’s new diaper. The fact they are involved surprises me. It has to be something really big for them to get involved domestically.

“On an economical level, the Hightowers are very wealthy. They derive most of their wealth from a public co
rporation known as Atlas Industries. Sabrina inherited the company from her family. The company is as clean as fresh snow.”

“So why have this company called Eclipse?” I asked.

“They are said to live on the edge. Some people play golf and tennis and these two like things illegal.”

“What
do you think John?”

“You want my opinion? I would stay the hell away from these people. They are dangerous and have danger
ous friends. You paid your dues. You have the money. Take it and go live a life somewhere.”

“I’ll keep that in mind John
.”

Chapter 4
8

Afte
r
talking with John, I leaned back on the lounge and closed my eyes thinking about Sonny Cap and living on top of a building. An address like that had to have its limitations.

I wasn’t planning to sleep very long. Just rest my eyes for a few minutes. W
hen I woke up, Hilary was sitting across from me nursing a drink and smiling.

“
Did you know you look so innocent, Lou, when you’re sleeping?”

“Maybe I need to sleep more often
.”

“Depends on where your sleeping and with whom,” said Hilary.

“I heard back from John Goodman.”

“What did he have to say?”

“A lot about a lot of things,” I said.

“I got time.”

While I told her of my conversation with Goodman, I handed her the file I took from Roseman and let her read it as I talked. When I finished, she sat and looked at me for a few moments.

“Where did you get this,” she asked.

“Roseman’s,” I said.

After a few minutes, she closed the file and looked at me.

“The
Sixty-Six, Partners is a bunch of gangsters from something called the Outfit, which manages Indian backed casinos. Some of the top players are Sonny Cappoleto and his father, Nick.”

“Then why did they pay her expenses on the condo? It doesn’t make any sense,” said Hilary.

“Maybe it does if they didn’t want to give rise to any inquiries of an official nature, such as noisy condo managers,” I said.

“Okay. So if you want to get your fees paid for a year just get taken out by the Outfit?
If you ask me, it still doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe there is something hidden in the condo that they need to find,”
I said. “The place looked to be swept too clean to be my sister’s
.
Susan was a slob. It looked like a professional cleaning crew had gone through the place and straightened everything out.”

“Okay, so what?
” said Hilary. “Could be someone trying to hide something rather than find something.”

I had to think about that. Hilary had a good point.
The sixty-four dollar question was what?

“Only one way to find out
would be to go back and look it over again,” I said.

“
Need to find a way to get past Missus Allright,” said Hilary. “She probably watches the place like a hawk watches its nest.”

W
hen I finished, Hilary said, “It sounds like there are other agendas here. If it was just the money, then I think they could get to us. There looks to be two sides here and maybe three. Column ‘A’ is the Cappoleto’s and whoever they are associated with. Next column is ‘B’, the Feds and whoever Susan was associated with. Finally, column ‘C’ are Hightower people and their crowd. As to the Hightowers, it doesn’t sound as if the money is winding their clock. As far as the Feds, I don’t think it is the money either. They could care less. So it has to be something from column ‘A’.”

“
If it is, the answer to questions about what is column ‘A’ may still be in Susan’s condo,” I said.

“Lou, did you ever think it may be someone waiting for us to lead them to something and not the other way around?”

“Maybe, but the question is what?”

Chapter 4
9

“
Wha
t
did your boss have to say?” I said, wanting to change the subject of my sister and the reason for her death.

Hilary started laughing at my question.

“Get this. He wants to hire us.”

“Come again.”

“It seems they have struck out on all their leads. He tracked me down through my family. They, bless their little conniving hearts, gave him my new cell number.”

“How did they get that?” I asked.

“Good question. I must have given it to them,” said Hilary.

“You call your family since we hooked up?”

“No. I called once before I met you.”

“That’s it then. They saved the number.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have taken his call. At first, when he called, I didn’t. Then when he called again, I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. I told him that I was not going to work the case any longer. He asked what I was going to do. I told him I was helping a friend of mine find out who killed a relative.”

“What did he have to say about that?”

“Nothing, which was a bit unusual. All he wanted to know was if I knew anyone who could help them on the case. It was a dumb question. If he found me he could find someone else. I told him that I would have to check and see. He said that the company would pay a finder’s fee of ten percent of what was collected.”

“
That figure has been batted around all over the park,” I said. “He had to get that from his minders.

“What
’s your boss’s name?” I asked.

“Silvio Chancez,”
said Hilary.

Sitting up, that name rang a bell. I got up and walked over to
the file I had taken from Roseman and opened it.

“I knew I recognized the name,” I said. “
He had been my sister’s lawyer on a case. Chancez was not a common name.

“
Do you know where he might be from, as in country?”

Hilary
nodded her head and said, “Says he’s from Cuba.”

“Hilary, we’ve been made. This is the same guy who re
presented my sister in a case before she died. This guy is a mob lawyer.”

“Should we be leaving?” she said.

“No. I want them to find us and we just got a heads up.”

“And I was just getting use
d to this place.”

“There will be other places,” I said.
“Give me your cellphone.”

Taking Hilary’s phone, I opened the back and removed the
SIM card and put the case on the floor and stepped on it.

“We’ll pick up a prepaid
for you to use until the smoke clears,” I said.

“
So what have you been doing here, sunning yourself, while able-bodied Crusher sleeps like the dead?”

“Don’t use the word dead. Too much of that going around already
,” I said.

Spreading her
left hand out on her thigh, Hilary lifted her glass and took a sip of her drink. She looked at me over the top of her glass.

I told her what had happened at Roseman’s. She didn’t seem to care. It was probably to be expected. I told her about what he had said about Susan
and what had happened to her.

“So you don’t think the money was the reason she was killed?”

“No,” I said. “It probably made them mad, but there was another reason why she was killed. Susan was a fed. She also had a top secret clearance. They don’t give those to hookers. The fact that she had the same address here in Atlanta as this Max Reynolds and the Marks’s can only mean they were agents undercover at this casino where she was killed. She had information that someone wanted. Maybe part of it was due to the money I took, but there was another more important reason that I can’t get straight in my mind. John Goodman mentioned the Hightowers and something about a counterfeit operation. Since Susan apparently was involved with this Homeland Security thing, I need to understand how that relates to the operation at that casino.”

“Maybe it had nothing to do with the casino per se,” said Hilary.
Sometimes Hilary was not only one of the prettiest woman I had ever met, but the smartest.

“John said that he had heard that Susan was involved in some sort of counterfeiting operation. That might exp
lain the torturing she endured.”

“I thought it might have something to do with National Security,
” Hilary said, “but maybe the casino is just a smoke screen.”

“Explain,” I said.

“Maybe it just happened at the casino and something was triggered when you robbed it that has come to the surface now. Have you checked Susan’s address book for names that might connect?”

“Susan was
fifteen years old when I pulled the casino heist. She didn’t move to Jacksonville and start working for this casino until around two years ago. I never told her anything about the heist itself. Can’t be that,” I said.

“What if it was one of her johns? Do you have her a
ddress book here?”

“Yes
,” I said. “But I think your buddy Chancez is in the loop somehow. Might be an angle we can work here. You have a way of contacting him?”

I hadn’t thought
a john might be the killer. In any murder investigation involving a prostitute that is usually the first place to look for a suspect. I was kicking myself for being so stupid. Walking into the bedroom, I reached into my duffle bag and took out Susan’s address book and brought it to Hilary. I left her to search the names and called room service and ordered dinner.

At about six
-thirty Crusher started to smack his lips like a seal and flop around on his side. I could tell he was uncomfortable, but when you are real tired you can sleep anywhere.

“What time is it?” he said reaching up one of his big paws to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

“Six-thirty,” I said.

“God,
it’s been a big day. Accessory to a killing after beating up a low life and then on the lam because of something we have, but don’t know what it is. And, last, but not least, there is the money. Couldn’t get any better.

“By any chance you order any food?”

“Let me see,” I said. “Ordered prime rib with the bone in, stuffed potatoes and asparagus, with hollandaise sauce. For desert, caramel ice cream on a warm brownie with chocolate sauce and a six pack of Red Hook Ale. Best I could do.”

“Well, that
ought to cover it. Time for a drink. You come up with any more ideas?”

‘Maybe,” I said. “
One of my able-bodied assistants is working on it as we speak.”

“
You mean, only assistant,” said Hilary. “Come here. I think I may have something. Look at this.”

Holding up Susan’s address book, there was a number like a code and next to it a dollar sign and the word ‘plate
s’.

“It could be several things,” I said. “Could be a dinner reservation and the
single dollar sign are the codes in those restaurant rating books. One dollar sign means it is inexpensive. Or, it could be the column ‘B’ we are looking for. The money sign could be for the word money and the word plate could be for a counterfeiting operation. Money plate could mean the plates themselves.”

“What do you think the number is?” said Hilary.

“No idea,” I said.

“Well, it’s ten numbers so that leaves out the idea of it being a license plate
, unless it’s foreign. Could be an address, but then they’re generally not that long. I think it is a telephone number. The first three numbers is an area code, the next three, an exchange and then the rest of the number.”

“How are we going to find out who
se number it is.” said Crusher.

“I have been thinking about that,” said Hilary. “I know someone in AT
&T that owes me a favor, but it’s risky since he would have to call us back. So, on that note, I assumed that it’s a telephone number and, checking area codes at the front of a telephone book, the area code for that number, if it is an area code, matches that of Jupiter, Florida.”

“Where’s Jupiter, Florida?” said Crusher.

“South of Stuart, Florida and north of Palm Beach,” said Hilary.

“Oh good,” said Crusher. “
That helps me.”

“There’s one other way we can learn who lives there,” I said.

“How?” said Hilary and Crusher almost at once.

“Simple,” I said. “We
call it and see who answers.”

“Could do that,” said Hilary, “if someone hadn’t stepped on my
cellphone.”

After we finished
eating, we left Crusher to watch something called Wrestle Mania and went out to buy a new cellphone.

Before we left,
I told Crusher to make himself at home. He was ordering up a six pack of beer and some nachos as we walked out the door.

“You think he’s going to be alright by himself?” said Hi
lary as we walked to the elevator to go to our car.

“What could go wrong,” I said.