Hooligans (54 page)

toes and said, “Galavanti. Honoree Galavanti, G-a-l-a-va-n-t-i. Oglethorpe County DA. I‟ve

got my own people with me. I don‟t need you, so out.”

“Not so fast,” I challenged.

“Listen, here, uh, what was your name again?”

An act. This was a tough lady, but then she would have to be. It would take a tough lady to

get elected DA in Stonewall Titan‟s macho court.

“Kilmer. K—i—l—m—e—r.”

“Oh, yeah. Scram.”

“Aren‟t you pushing this DA thing a little far?” I said.

She glared at me for several moments and said, “They told me you‟d be trouble.”

“Who‟s they?” I asked.

“Everybody that‟s met you,” she snapped back.

Then she saw the tape recorder on the retaining bar beside Raines‟ head.

“What‟s that?” she demanded, spearing the air with her finger again.

“That is a tape recorder.”

“Listen to me—”

I pulled her to one corner, away from the nurses, who were trying not to listen, and said,

“Won‟t you step into my private office? I think maybe we should talk.”

I led her into another empty cubicle and sat her down on the bed.

“Leave the recorder where it is. Anything that‟s on it is yours. All I want to do is hear it. If he

says anything before he checks out, we share.”

“You sound like his checking out is a fait accompli,” she said.

“He‟s got a bullet in his brain.”

“His doctor should be here any minute.”

“The man‟s the colour of wet cement, his fever‟s rising like fresh bread, and his blood

pressure‟s about two over two. Unless God‟s on his way here, forget it. You‟ve got a hot

potato on your hands, lady, any way you cut it. That‟s the most powerful man in town dying

in there. Somebody‟s gonna go to the dock before it‟s over and your case is going to rely on a

homicide squad which, if I‟m any judge at all, collectively couldn‟t put their socks on in the

dark. Offhand I‟d say you need all the help you can get.”

That slowed her down a little. I could almost hear the gears clicking inside her brain.

“What have you got to offer?” she said after a minute or two of hard thought.

“Some ideas, a few hunches. All I need is a day or two to see if they wash”

“So what do you need me for, Kilmer?”

“Look, Gavalanti—”

“It‟s Galavanti,” she said. “The „I‟ comes before the „v,‟ like in „gal.”

“Sony. . . Galavanti. You‟ve got twelve homicides on your hands. Thirteen if we lose Raines.

Sooner or later you‟re going to have to deal with all these cases.”

“What‟re you driving at?” she demanded.

“Maybe I can put them right in your lap.”

“You know who‟s behind all this?”

“I‟m getting close,” I bluffed.

She laughed. “God, have I heard that line before,” she said. “That the first thing they teach

you at the police academy?”

“What have you got without me?” I asked.

“Zero-zero at this point,” she admitted.

“Ms. Galavanti, I haven‟t laid eyes on you before tonight. Twelve homicides and this is the

first time you show your face.”

“Don‟t be naive. That man over there‟s being touted for governor.”

“I think if you‟re smart enough to be DA of this county, you‟re smart enough not to pay any

attention to what the newspapers are saying. You keep in touch with Titan aid Morehead and

everybody else in town that counts. You know all about the Tagliani connection.”

“You think this shooting is connected to the others?” she asked cautiously.

“Seems likely, doesn‟t it?”

She pursed her heart-shaped mouth while she mulled over what I‟d said.

“I‟m also smart enough to know you Feds are after something and murder‟s not it,” she said

finally. “Whatever happens, the villains in this piece will go to federal court before I get a

crack at them.”

„Maybe not I said and let her fill in the rest of the sentence.

“All right, Kilmer, what‟s your offer?”

“Before this is over, some RICO cases could be coming down. Between you and me, if

murder‟s involved, too, I‟d be glad to turn the culprits over to you on the homicide charges

before I take them to federal court.”

“Why are you being so good to me?”

“Two reasons. Murder puts them away for a lot longer than racketeering and we can always

go after them after you get finished.”

“And the other reason?”

“I want a little straight talk in return.”

Suspicion put a frown on her face. “About what?” she asked.

“Tony Lukatis,” I said.

“What about him?”

“Did you prosecute his case?”

“Yes,” she said with a shrug, “although it‟s nothing to brag about.”

“How come?”

“It was open and shut. We had a corroborative witness.”

“His partner?”

“That‟s right. Gil Winslow.”

“I heard the DEA made the arrest. Wouldn‟t that make it federal?” I asked.

“Titan‟s people were there. They took the credit.”

“So Titan turned the case over to you for prosecution?”

“That‟s right. Listen, if you‟re looking to make trouble for Mr. Stoney..

“I‟m not looking to make trouble for anybody who doesn‟t deserve it,” I said, and hurried on.

“So Stoney took credit for the bust and put the case together. And he provided the turncoat

witness.”

She nodded suspiciously. “If you want to call Winslow that.”

“I don‟t mean this to be insulting, but didn‟t the boat belong to Winslow?”

“Mm-hmmm. .

“Wouldn‟t it make more sense to lay it on him, confiscate his boat, take him off the water?”

“None of my concern,” she snapped. “Look, Kilmer, what happened, the case came to me

with Winslow. His testimony was that Lukatis had the scheme and the financing. Lukatis

knew where a ton of pot was hung up in the Bahamas. He offered Winslow fifty thousand

dollars‟ guarantee against a split if Winslow went over there and brought the stuff in.”

“On Winslow‟s boat?”

“That‟s right.”

“How much?”

“One ton.”

“Whose idea was it to land on Buccaneer Island?”

“I don‟t know,” she said earnestly.

“What was the other side of the coin? Lukatis must‟ve had a story.”

“Yes. He claimed it was Winslow who approached him.”

“And the front-end financing?”

“Lukatis‟ story was that Winslow did it all; he just went along to help,” she said; then her

mood became hostile and suspicious. “How come you‟re so interested in this? Are you going

to do something stupid—like try to overturn the verdict in the Lukatis case?”

“Hardly,” I said. “Tony Lukatis is dead.”

Her reaction told me she didn‟t know about Tony Lukatis yet. That made sense, since the

homicide was being investigated outside her jurisdiction.

“What happened?” she asked.

“We‟re not sure yet,” I said. “Our guess is that he tried another dope run and it went sour.”

“Where?”

“South of here. We should have the autopsy report by now. He may have been in it with

Longnose Graves.”

“What? Never!”

“How come you‟re so sure he wasn‟t?”

She held up one finger and said, “Graves isn‟t in the trade,” and then a second, “and if he

were, he wouldn‟t go near Tony Lukatis.”

“Why?”

“Because Mr. Stoney wouldn‟t like it.”

“And Graves and Titan get along, that it?”

“An uneasy peace, but it seems to work for the sheriff. That‟s not my business, anyway,

Kilmer.”

“You could make it your business.”

“Not and stay in office. We‟re getting off the subject, anyway.”

“If Lukatis financed the Winslow run, I‟d like to know where he got the hundred grand or so

in front money it took. That‟s what we‟re talking about, hot off the boat.”

“He was financed by his connection,” she said with a shrug.

“Did you prove that in court?”

“It‟s what Winslow testified.”

“So he was the main witness?”

“Yes. And the arresting officers.”

“Do you think Lukatis was really the guilty one?”

It was an insult, a question I was sorry I asked as the words were coming out of my mouth.

Her expression said how big the insult was. She looked shocked and angry.

“I‟m sorry,” I said hurriedly. “I withdraw the question.”

“It was a strong case and a good one and I did the best I could with it, which is how I handle

every case, Mr. Kilmer. I talked at length with Tony Lukatis. He was arrogant and

uncooperative.”

“Which is the way anyone might react if they felt they were being double-dealt,” I said.

She hesitated for a moment and then shrugged. “I suppose so,” she said. “Anyway, all this is

a matter of public record.”

I said, “With any luck, I‟m going to make you a hero.”

“I‟ve heard that song before.”

“Not in my lovely alto,” I said.

She hesitated a moment longer. “God, would I like to trust you,” she said, half-aloud.

“What‟ve you got to lose? Besides, we‟ve got a deal. You told me what I wanted to know.”

We started to leave and a new face appeared in the ICU. He was tall and so painfully thin that

he looked anorectic. He was wearing a tuxedo and there was a panicked expression on his

face. He stared at us and at the cop sitting at the control unit.

“Who are all these people?” he asked, motioning to us, but looking at the nurses.

“I‟m District Attorney Galavanti,” she said, and pointing to me, “This is one of my people.”

“Can we please clear the area,” he said, taking command again. “I‟m Dr. George Hanson, Mr.

Raines‟ personal physician.”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “There‟s just one thing. I have a small tape recorder on the bar neat Mr.

Raines‟ head, in case he should say something. .

“Thanks,” I said on the way out. “We may end up with zip, but we could score.”

“Like I said, Kilmer, I‟ll believe it when it happens.” We stepped out into the hall and came

face to face with Stonewall Titan and Doe Raines.

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She looked like one of those wide-eyed French mimes you see on the stage. Tiny, fragile,

vulnerable, terrified, and none of it an act, if I was any judge. This was a woman who was

running out of control. A stone in the road could throw her over the edge.

The DA excused herself and got out of the line of fire. Dutch and the Stick had moved back

down the ball, out of earshot.

“How is he is he all right?” she babbled, making one question out of two. Titan looked at me

as if I had bubonic plague. His nostrils flared like an angry mule‟s.

“Don‟t you ever light anyplace?” he growled.

“Jake, how is Harry?” Doe demanded, ignoring Titan.

I steered her into a small waiting room adjacent to the ICU. Titan scurried along behind us,

his cane tapping along the linoleum floor like a blind man‟s. I pushed the door shut behind

him. She stared at me with her saucer eyes, waiting.

“He‟s dead, isn‟t he?” she said.

“No, but there‟s very little hope,” I said.

“Oh, God,” she cried out. “Oh, God, I did this to him.”

“What are you talking about?” I said.

“That‟s pound foolish,” Titan added.

She started to sag. I took her by the shoulders and put her in a chair. She sat there with her

hands between her knees and began to shake.

“Better get a doctor in here,” I said to Titan, and he left to look for one.

“What did you mean, Doe?” I asked, kneeling in front of her.

“I do love Harry, I do. He‟s a fine person and he‟s been a good husband,” she said in a

whimper.

“I know it.”

“Maybe if I‟d been more honest…….

“You had nothing to do with it, Doe. Don‟t go off on some guilt tangent.”

“Why did this happen?” she asked as tears burst from her eyes.

“I don‟t know.”

“Was it something to do with the horses?”

“1 doubt it,” I said. “Did he tell you where he was going tonight when he cancelled out of the

party?”

She shook her head. “He called me from the track, told me about the accident, and said he

was staying in town.”

“He didn‟t say why?”

“No. It was fairly common—not the accident, his staying in town.”

“Look, we‟ll find out who did this, I promise you.”

She nodded but she was close to shock. Nothing was getting through to her.

“Where was he shot?” she asked.

“Down at the waterfront, in the Quadrangle.”

“Oh,” she sobbed, “his favourite place in the world.” She stared around as if expecting some

psychic cloud to drift into the room and erase her pain. “It was his idea. We donated the land

for it.”

I took her hands between mine and rubbed some warmth into them.

“Jake, I feel so... rotten.”

“Titan‟s right, that‟s pound foolish. Nothing good can come from that kind of thinking.”

But she wasn‟t listening. She began to rock back and forth and moan like an injured animal.

“How did Harry sound when he ca1led you?” I pressed on. “Was he angry? Sad? Confused?”

“He just sounded like Harry. He was funny about keeping things from me if he thought they

would be upsetting. My God, listen to me, I‟m talking like he‟s dead already. Oh, Jake, I‟m

so sorry.”

She lowered her head into her lap and started sobbing. A moment later Dr. Hanson and Titan

came in. Sam Donleavy was with them. She jumped up and rushed over to him.

“I‟m sorry. I just heard,” Donleavy said. “I‟ve been on the phone half the evening. I drove in

from Sea Oat as fast as I could.”

Doe turned quickly to the doctor.

“How is he?” she said, in a voice that was shrill and ragged at the edges.

He looked at me sternly and said, „May I speak with Mrs. Raines privately?”

“He‟s a friend,” she said.

He didn‟t like that very much but it wasn‟t the proper time to argue the point. He said, “Doe,