Killing the Blues by Michael Brandman Page A

bridge of his nose with the edge of his hand. He stepped quickly aside as Frank started to bleed.
    â€œMy nose,” he said, his hands flying to his face in order to gingerly explore the fractured remains of his nose.
    Jesse turned to goon number one, the talker, lying in a fetal position on the ground.
    â€œNice work, boys,” he said, as he picked up the cat case and walked to his car.

    Z enith Enterprises,” Healy said, using his cell phone.
    â€œI’m listening,” Jesse said.
    â€œRegistered under the name of Geoffrey Bedard, a Boston-based attorney whose specialty is corporate law. Which he practices on behalf of certain underworld organizations. Zenith Enterprises is a repository for a number of corporate entities. I’d venture to guess that upon closer scrutiny of these entities, we’d most likely find considerable sums appearing and disappearing like so many magician’s rabbits.”
    â€œSignifying?”
    â€œLaundering would be my guess.”
    â€œSo not only is Lombardo selling stolen goods, he’s finding ways to hide the proceeds as well.”
    â€œLooks like it.”
    â€œConnected to our friend Mr. Fish?”
    â€œMy guys are saying that although they make a public show of solidarity, there’s no love lost between Gino and Lombardo. Lombardo muscled his way from Fall River to Boston and is brazenly making a play for greater position. He appears to be posing a threat to Gino.”
    â€œAre the Feds interested?”
    â€œInterested but inert.”
    â€œBecause?”
    â€œThe story is still unfolding. They have no wish to step on it.”
    Jesse didn’t say anything.
    â€œThe information you’ve uncovered won’t sit well with John Lombardo. He thinks of himself as an invisible man. You’ve succeeded in rending his cloak of invisibility.”
    â€œRending his cloak of invisibility?”
    â€œHas a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
    â€œThanks for this.”
    â€œService is our middle name,” Healy said.
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    J esse was on the porch, carefully removing a pane of glass from the floor-to-ceiling French door, which consisted of eight separate panes. He was extricating the bottom-right pane. The cat was perched on the love seat, watching him intently.
    He had used a bezel to trim his way around the frame. He had secured the glass with a suction cup, which, when he had completed cutting, he used to pop out the pane.
    He then attached a fringed rubber veil to the inside of the window frame, thereby covering the opening.
    He looked at the cat, who had been looking at him. He walked to the love seat and picked it up. Remarkably, the cat allowed him to do this. Jesse took the cat to the window and showed him the opening. Then he shoved the cat through the rubber veil and into the house.
    The cat immediately turned around and jumped back out.
    â€œPoint made,” Jesse said to the cat, who was now at the far end of the porch, bathing.

34
    A t two a.m., Jesse got out of his Explorer, which was parked down the street from John Lombardo’s house. He walked to the house and rang the bell.
    After a moment an upstairs light went on. Jesse had only a short wait until he saw a downstairs light and heard someone approaching the door. It opened only as far as the security chain would allow. Jesse was standing in the shadows.
    â€œIt’s the middle of the fucking night,” John Lombardo said. “Who are you? What do you want?”
    Jesse could see that Lombardo was wearing a bathrobe and slippers, and was unarmed.
    â€œNeighborhood watch,” Jesse said. “A patrol officer notified us that a suspicious-looking person was seen in the vicinity of your house. We want to confirm that nothing here is awry.”
    â€œThere’s been no disturbance here,” Lombardo said.
    â€œMay I look inside to make certain that you’re under no coercion, sir?”
    â€œDo I look