The Scorpion's Tale (17 page)

“Thank you. It was lovely meeting you.”

She smiled. “Yeah, same here. Give my regards
to Broadway!”

He waved goodbye and walked out past the
garage, entered the offices of V&C Private Investigators, and
walked through the empty reception area.

“Mr. Chesney, are you here?”

“Come on back. I’m in the corner office.”

The detective found the small office where
Harry Chesney was seated in an old brown swivel chair, feet propped
on a desk.

“Come in, sit down,” he said, pointing to an
empty chair on the other side of his beat-up wooden desk.

Detective Johnston sat down and both men
sized each other up. Harry had his hair in a ponytail and was
wearing a Grateful Dead tee shirt.

“Are you a detective?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You totally lied to Karen about the Red Rock
murders, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“I would have done the same.”

Detective Johnston chuckled. “Would I be
correct in assuming you were watching me the whole time?”

“That would be accurate. We’ve got some
rather unsavory characters in both of the businesses, so video
cameras are essential.”

“Then why did you let me in? I could be
anyone.”

Harry Chesney considered the question. “You
looked okay to me. I was a cop for twenty years and I trust my
instincts. However, in case my instincts are wrong, I have an
insurance policy from my pals at Smith & Wesson.” Harry
casually raised the .44 Magnum sitting on his lap.

Harry removed his feet from the desk and sat
up in his chair. “What do you want?”

The detective withdrew a photograph of Steven
Capresi from his jacket and handed it to Harry.

“I’m trying to find this man.”

Harry inspected the photograph. “Is this guy
wanted by your department?”

“No. He’s not a criminal. His wife and
daughter were murdered. I think he came to Vegas for revenge. I
don’t want to see him hurt.”

Harry continued staring at the
photograph.

“Do you recognize him?”

Harry shook his head. “His face isn’t jumping
out at me.”

“Harry, let me be frank. Steven was in Vegas
a few days ago. I’ve confirmed he was on the trail to Turtlehead
Peak the same time as your partner. It may just be a coincidence,
but I’ll bet my pension that you know something about what
happened.”

Harry looked up from the photograph but said
nothing.

“I’m also willing to bet that you know
exactly what I’m talking about and that you may have even met
Capresi.” Detective Johnston knew it was a bold move to make. He
was bluffing, but at this point, he felt he had nothing to
lose.

Harry shook his head. “I can’t help you.”

The detective ignored him. “Who killed your
partner?” he asked.

“No idea,” Harry replied, a little too
quickly.

“Bullshit! You know! Was it Capresi? Did your
partner kill his family?”

“How the hell would I know,” Harry barked,
visibly perturbed at the accusation.

Detective Johnston figured he would try a
different tactic. “Harry, your partner and everyone else on that
trail were assassinated by a pro.”

“I don’t know,” Harry interrupted. “It seemed
pretty amateurish to me.”

Detective Johnston frowned. “I wager my
pension that you have a damn good idea who killed Veeksburn!”

Harry relaxed back into his chair and placed
his feet back on the desk. He continued staring out the window for
a few moments. “How much are we talking about?”

Detective Johnston smiled. “About $750,000,
give or take a few thousand.”

Harry whistled. “Wow. I always heard New York
cops had good retirement plans! That’s way too rich for my blood.
I’ve got nothing I can put on the table to match the stakes.”

“Does that mean you’ve lost your balls and
don’t want any part of the bet, Sally?”

Harry pursed his lips, ignoring the insult.
”Let’s say I do know something. How’s that going to help?”

“Let me be the judge. Just tell me what you
know.”

“Let me see your identification first.”

Detective Johnston removed his wallet and
showed Harry his credentials.

“I shall return.” Harry stood up and walked
toward the door.

“After you’ve checked me out, why don’t we
grab a burger? I’m starving.”

Harry laughed. “Don’t get cocky detective. I
haven’t made up my mind yet. I want to speak with my sources.”

“I’ve got all day,” Detective Johnston
yelled, as Harry disappeared out the front door. “I have an
unlimited expense account!”

-------------------

Ten minutes later Harry reappeared. “So
Michael…”

“Call me Mike,” the detective
interrupted.

“Okay Mike. You are who you say you are. I
also confirmed that you’re the lead detective on the Westhampton
homicides. I hear your captain has you on a pretty tight
leash!”

Detective Johnston was impressed. “You
obviously have a very good source.”

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks, Mike,”
he laughed.

“So what’s it going to be Harry?”

“Well, Mike, I met Steven Capresi and I drove
him out to Red Rock Canyon. I took him to Turtlehead Peak trail and
waited for him. He had no idea who I was or that I knew he was
meeting my partner. Capresi is a pretty cool customer. I had fun
interrogating him about what he was doing on a God forsaken trail
in the middle of nowhere, but he never cracked.”

“Why was he meeting with Billy
Veeksburn?”

“Billy got a call from one of our associates
in Chicago.”

Detective Johnston stroked his chin and
nodded his head. “So, why the meeting in the desert?”

Harry frowned. “Billy was extremely paranoid,
especially if the Scorpion might be involved.”

“The Scorpion? Who’s that?” the detective
asked.

“That’s who probably killed Billy and who is
tracking Capresi,” Harry answered. “He’s a professional hit
man.”

“Catchy name,” the detective said. “Billy
knew the Scorpion?”

Harry nodded. “Billy worked with him many
years ago.”

“So Billy could identify the Scorpion?”

“No,” Harry retorted. “Billy never saw his
face.”

The detective looked confused.

“Let’s get that beer and burger and I’ll tell
you everything I know.”

It didn’t take Nick long to find Jackie
Cairo. In Nick’s world, Jackie Cairo was the absolute scum of the
earth. Nick couldn’t fathom why Tony employed him. Cairo was seated
at a table in a corner of a hole-in-the-wall Soho bar, polishing
off his fourth beer when Nick and three soldiers walked in. Cairo
spotted Nick and bolted down a little hallway, through a back door
into the alley. Nick and one of his men followed Cairo while his
other two men ran out the front door, breaking right and left
toward each end of the alley in a Mafia Panzer move.

The alley was narrow, poorly lit, and strewn
with garbage, making it difficult for Cairo to gather any speed.
Nick had the advantage of observing where Cairo stumbled, and
picked an easier route through the debris. Cairo grabbed garbage
can covers on the run to throw at his pursuers, but kept missing
them. Cairo launched his last object and turned directly into the
fist of one of Nick’s men, sending him sprawling. Nick and his
second man caught up, and all three lifted Cairo off the ground and
took turns punching him into submission. The last of Nick’s group
finally arrived to a hail of insults.

“Jerry, my grandmother runs faster than you!
You’re a fat slob! Get to the goddamn gym and start working
out.”

Jerry was huge; six foot eight and three
hundred pounds. He was keeled over, breathing hard. He spoke with
great difficulty. “Nick, gimme a break. I hadda run around the
whole block. That was twice as far…as you guys…hadda go.” His chest
was heaving.

Nick softened as he watched the big man
struggling to stand. He vented his frustration by kicking Cairo one
last time in the groin, causing him to slump to the ground
moaning.

“Jerry, get the fuckin car and bring it
here,” Nick ordered.

Jerry hung his head and muttered, “I swear
I’ll start taking care of myself.”

Nick shook his head in disgust. “Just get the
car.” He watched as Jerry limped out of the alley as fast as he
could.

“What are we going to do with Cairo?” Pete
asked.

“Roll him over,” Nick ordered.

Louie and Pete rolled Jackie onto his back.
Nick looked down at the crumpled mass at his feet.

“Jackie, I know you were giving out
information on JTS. Who were you snitching for? I need a name, and
I need it now!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he
groaned.

Nick gritted his teeth. “Sure you do, Jackie.
Why the hell else would you run when you saw me?”

Cairo grimaced in pain. “I figured if you
were looking for me, it couldn’t be good.”

Nick snorted. “Well, you figured right,
Jackie.” He moved his face closer. “We can make this painless or I
can permanently fuck you up. Tell me about Sal, Joey, and
Tony.”

Nick nodded to his men to help Cairo stand.
“Understand this,” Nick added, as he pulled out his gun and pointed
it at Cairo’s face. “I know what happened, so one wrong answer and
the last thing you’ll taste is a bullet.”

At that moment, Jerry drove into the alley
and Nick motioned for him to park the car and wait.

Nick returned his attention to Cairo. “What
was going on at JTS?”

Cairo took a deep breath. “Sal and Joey were
screwing Tony, making phony invoices, and selling computers on the
side.”

“I know that. What was Tony’s role?”

“Tony wasn’t involved. He was in the dark.
Sal and Joey were double crossing him.”

“Tell me about Roberto Milani in San
Remo.”

“He was just a stupid kid being played by Sal
and Joey. Sal paid the kid to shut his mouth and ship some of the
computers to Sal’s house. Tony had no idea what was happening, but
I think the kid was getting nervous. Joey and Sal thought the kid
was going to tell Tony, so they were making arrangements to go to
San Remo to kill him.”

Nick nodded, satisfied with the information.
“Here’s the really big question, Jackie. Who was paying
you
for the information?”

Cairo swallowed hard. “I can’t rat these guys
out, Nick. They’re animals! They’re worse than us.”

Nick pushed his gun into Cairo’s mouth,
chipping a tooth. “I want you to consider your situation. On one
hand, you’ve got these bad people who aren’t here. On the other
hand, you are sucking on my gun like a queer.”

Louie and Pete burst out laughing, but Nick
shot them a dirty look that silenced them.

Cairo nodded obediently and Nick removed the
gun. “If I give you this information, you gotta swear to me on all
that’s holy that you won’t kill me.”

“You’ve got nothing to bargain with,
Jackie.”

Cairo realized that time was running out for
him. He tried to keep up a confident façade. “Without me, you’ve
got nothing.”

Nick walked away a few steps and then turned
back toward Cairo. “I already know they’re Brazilians in Rio, but I
want to know their names! I don’t want to wait for my sources to
track them down, which they will.”

“Rio is a big place, Nick,” Cairo continued
with renewed confidence, sensing he had bargaining power. “You’re
going to have a tough time finding them. These are big boys with
Colombian backing, and you can’t just go push them around like you
do in New York. They’ll kill you! They already know about your
little whore from Italy, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to see her
killed.”

Nick slapped him across the face with the
gun. In the dim light, Nick could see Cairo grinning back at him,
blood oozing from his mouth.

“I didn’t realize you cared about the bitch,”
Cairo sneered. “Looks like I hit a nerve.”

“Nick, just kill him now,” Louie said, taking
a step closer to Cairo.

Nick stretched out his arm to bar Louie’s
way, never taking his eyes off Cairo.

“Just give me their names,” Nick demanded,
“and I’ll put you out of your misery.”

Cairo shook his head. “No way. That’s my
ticket to freedom. You want the names? You let me go, and I’ll see
what I can do to make sure you and your girlfriend don’t get
hurt.”

“I’m only going to ask you one more time
Jackie,” Nick said, venom dripping from his voice. “Give me the
names!”

Cairo knew he was finished, but he had one
last card to play. “Nick, I know what really happened to your
brother Carlo, and so do a few other people. You’re good, but
you’re not
that
good! Let me live and I’ll help tie up those
loose ends. Then I promise you’ll never hear from me again!”

“What the hell are you blabbering about?”
Nick demanded.

Cairo stared at Nick. “I know you killed your
brother. Others are waiting for the right time to use the
information against you.”

Nick slapped him again. “Don’t you ever talk
about Carlo, you piece of shit!”

Cairo smiled. “You can preach your damned
bullshit all you want, but I know the truth. My offer’s on the
table and I’ll turn over their names so you can kill all of them. I
can make it easy to protect yourself.”

Nick stepped away from Cairo. “Screw you,
Jackie. You’re nothing but a lying piece of shit!”

Cairo knew it was over and he wanted to make
it quick. He raised his middle finger and spat in Nick’s face.
“Kiss my ass and die with your whore! You killed your brother just
as sure as I’m standing here, and you’d pimp your mother on the
street if it put a dollar in your pocket!”

A soft flash from the silencer took out
Cairo’s middle finger before entering his face. His head sprang
back and pieces of skull and flesh splattered over Pete, who
reflexively dropped Cairo to the ground.