Mad Dog Justice by Mark Rubinstein Page A

headache. So we drove him back to his apartment, but he wanted to stop at a pharmacy. Dan and I headed to Yonkers … to his office to talk about the tax implications of the whole thing. You remember that night, don’t you? I left you a note telling you not to wait up for me.”
    “Yes, I recall,” she murmurs.
    “Well, the next day, Kenny didn’t show up for work.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “And he never showed up again.”
    Tracy squints. “What do you mean, ‘He never showed up again’?”
    “No one ever heard from him again. And you know that McLaughlin exercised his lien and foreclosed on the restaurant.”
    “I know all this. But why didn’t you tell me about Kenny’s disappearing?” She leans forward and tilts her head.
    “Well …”
    “And what does this have to do with Danny getting shot a few nights ago?”
    Roddy feels an inner trembling. He hopes Tracy doesn’t notice how jumpy he feels or how high-pitched his voice sounds.
    “Okay, Trace,” he says, wondering how he’ll get through this minefield of half-truths and evasions. “Danny called Kenny, and so did Omar, the maître d’, probably a dozen times, but we never heard back. Eventually, we notified the New York City police.”
    “And,” she says with her lower lip protruding.
    “They got into his apartment and discovered some things.”
    “What things?”
    “It was disturbing.”
    “C’mon, Roddy, just
tell
me.” Tracy’s lips now form a thin line. She crosses her arms in front of her chest.
    “Apparently, Kenny was doing drugs. But more important, there were messages on his voice mail from guys who the police say were involved in mob activities.”
    Roddy sees her intake of breath, and Tracy’s face blanches. She leans forward on the sofa and her hands clasp around her knees. Her knuckles look white.
    “Mob activities?”
    “Yes, gambling.”
    “How do you know all this?”
    “Danny and I went to the head of the Missing Persons Squad in Manhattan.”
    “You went to the New York police and I’m first hearing about this
now
?” She shakes her head. And blinks rapidly.
    “Because I didn’t want to—”
    “How does this involve Danny getting
shot
?”
    “I don’t know for sure, but Kenny must’ve owed the wrong people money because the messages on his voice mail weren’t friendly.”
    “Roddy?” Tracy’s hand shoots to her mouth.
    “Captain Greene told us gamblers like Kenny can get into trouble. He wondered if Kenny might have been killed.”
    Tracy gasps.
    “And now it’s possible the mob might be after Danny and me.”
    Tracy’s irises look lost in a sea of white. She leans back on the couch, as though she’s repelled and wants to distance herself from Roddy.
    “
Why
? Why would they come after you?”
    “I don’t know. But since we were Kenny’s partners …”
    Tracy’s hands begin shaking. “You waited until
now
to tell me this?”
    “I didn’t want to worry you.”
    “And now?
Now
I can worry?”
    “No, but—”
    She crosses one leg over the other and leans forward. She clutches herself with her arms crossing her chest. “But
what
, Roddy? What’s going on?” Her posture stiffens, as though she might leap from the sofa.
    “I don’t know exactly, maybe. Listen, honey, the only thing I care about is you and the kids.”
    “Meaning what, Roddy?”
    “Meaning … I’m not sure you should stay here anymore.”
    “
What
?” She shoots to her feet. She crosses her arms and paces a short distance away. She whirls and faces him. Her mouth drops open.
    He gets up, moves to her, and takes her hand. “I think maybe you and the kids should stay at your sister’s house in Nutley. Just for a little while.”
    God, I sound so tentative … so unnerved
.
    She yanks her hand out of his and moves away. “Roddy,” she says as her eyes bore into him. “You’re telling me Danny may have been shot by people who’re after both of you … people who may’ve
killed
Kenny? You’re telling me you learned