SIREN'S TEARS (ALTON RHODE MYSTERIES Book 3) by Lawrence de Maria Page A
Authors: Lawrence de Maria
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both laughed.
“Tell us about it,” the guy with the earring said. “Sometime they don’t even wait for us to unpack the shit.”
To further break the ice, I grubbed a cigarette from them. I don’t smoke. Or at least I don’t buy. As I took a drag I recalled my last experience with cigarettes. Nando Carlucci was blowing smoke in my face and putting them out on my chest. Better than the other way around, I guess.
“Well, it’s going to be an early night for you guys. It’s almost over.”
“Shit, man,” the other guy said, “we got two more parties tonight.”
When I got back inside, Nancy wrinkled her nose at me.
“Did you have a cigarette? Yuck.”
Considering what I’d seen her smoke, I thought she was being a little hypocritical. Maybe Clyde had her turning over a new leaf.
“It was business.”
“So you didn’t enjoy it.”
“I didn’t say that.” We were standing by the bar. A waiter with a tray of appetizers walked into my kill zone and I popped a crab miniature in my mouth. “Is that better?”
“Oh, yes. Now you have crustacean breath. Charming”
Rosa and her crew broke down their displays in remarkable time and not 10 minutes later Norma D’Elcio and the wait staff set out a splendid buffet on the dining room table.
***
“Why did you want me to get that information from the woman running the sale?”
I was driving Nancy home. She had just handed me the business card she had gotten from “Rosa Casablanca, Senior Jewelry Consultant.” I told her what I suspected.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to get the lay of the land first.”
“The lay of the land was your date tonight, big boy. Not that you will ever find out again. I can’t believe you just let me commit a crime.”
“If the stuff is hot, I was the only one at the party who committed a crime by knowingly buying stolen goods.”
“Jesus Christ, Alton. There were judges and assistant D.A.’s in there. A couple of state senators. Most of my board.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nobody you know gets hurt. An iconic company like Tiffany wants to get the bad guys, not to embarrass innocent people.”
We drove in silence the rest of the way. When I got to Nancy’s house near Snug Harbor I noticed she was smiling. I had seen that smile.
“I can almost hear the wheels turning in that conniving brain of yours, Nancy.”
“It just occurred to me that Ed D’Elicio wants to be the next chairman of my board.” I could see where this was going. She didn’t disappoint me. “And he just hosted a party where some of Staten Island’s finest bought stolen property. And I didn’t see anyone being charged tax, did you?”
The tenure of executives running charitable or artistic institutions in the borough depends on two things: the ability to fundraise, and political or personal leverage. Nancy could wheedle a contribution out of a homeless person and had enough dirt on the people who mattered to run things at Snug Harbor the way she wanted. I had supplied some of the dirt when some of her board members, who wanted unfettered access to the Harbor’s bank account, tried to oust her when she wouldn’t bed them. It wasn’t my finest hour, but Nancy and I go way back. For all her faults, she is an extremely talented and honest C.E.O. and I wasn’t going to let a bunch of men, including a pederast and a couple of thieving contractors, run her out of the job she loved. Now, I had apparently just put another arrow in her blackmail quiver.
“I told you that no one else but me committed a crime, Nance.”
“Ed is dumber than a sponge. He wouldn’t know that.”
I almost felt sorry for the poor bastard.
“Hey, you know what, Alton?”
“What?”
“This is the first time I went undercover for you without going under the covers.”
CHAPTER 13 – SLEEPY HOLLOW
On Monday, I filled Abby in on the jewelry party and gave her Rosa Casablanca’s business
“Tell us about it,” the guy with the earring said. “Sometime they don’t even wait for us to unpack the shit.”
To further break the ice, I grubbed a cigarette from them. I don’t smoke. Or at least I don’t buy. As I took a drag I recalled my last experience with cigarettes. Nando Carlucci was blowing smoke in my face and putting them out on my chest. Better than the other way around, I guess.
“Well, it’s going to be an early night for you guys. It’s almost over.”
“Shit, man,” the other guy said, “we got two more parties tonight.”
When I got back inside, Nancy wrinkled her nose at me.
“Did you have a cigarette? Yuck.”
Considering what I’d seen her smoke, I thought she was being a little hypocritical. Maybe Clyde had her turning over a new leaf.
“It was business.”
“So you didn’t enjoy it.”
“I didn’t say that.” We were standing by the bar. A waiter with a tray of appetizers walked into my kill zone and I popped a crab miniature in my mouth. “Is that better?”
“Oh, yes. Now you have crustacean breath. Charming”
Rosa and her crew broke down their displays in remarkable time and not 10 minutes later Norma D’Elcio and the wait staff set out a splendid buffet on the dining room table.
***
“Why did you want me to get that information from the woman running the sale?”
I was driving Nancy home. She had just handed me the business card she had gotten from “Rosa Casablanca, Senior Jewelry Consultant.” I told her what I suspected.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to get the lay of the land first.”
“The lay of the land was your date tonight, big boy. Not that you will ever find out again. I can’t believe you just let me commit a crime.”
“If the stuff is hot, I was the only one at the party who committed a crime by knowingly buying stolen goods.”
“Jesus Christ, Alton. There were judges and assistant D.A.’s in there. A couple of state senators. Most of my board.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nobody you know gets hurt. An iconic company like Tiffany wants to get the bad guys, not to embarrass innocent people.”
We drove in silence the rest of the way. When I got to Nancy’s house near Snug Harbor I noticed she was smiling. I had seen that smile.
“I can almost hear the wheels turning in that conniving brain of yours, Nancy.”
“It just occurred to me that Ed D’Elicio wants to be the next chairman of my board.” I could see where this was going. She didn’t disappoint me. “And he just hosted a party where some of Staten Island’s finest bought stolen property. And I didn’t see anyone being charged tax, did you?”
The tenure of executives running charitable or artistic institutions in the borough depends on two things: the ability to fundraise, and political or personal leverage. Nancy could wheedle a contribution out of a homeless person and had enough dirt on the people who mattered to run things at Snug Harbor the way she wanted. I had supplied some of the dirt when some of her board members, who wanted unfettered access to the Harbor’s bank account, tried to oust her when she wouldn’t bed them. It wasn’t my finest hour, but Nancy and I go way back. For all her faults, she is an extremely talented and honest C.E.O. and I wasn’t going to let a bunch of men, including a pederast and a couple of thieving contractors, run her out of the job she loved. Now, I had apparently just put another arrow in her blackmail quiver.
“I told you that no one else but me committed a crime, Nance.”
“Ed is dumber than a sponge. He wouldn’t know that.”
I almost felt sorry for the poor bastard.
“Hey, you know what, Alton?”
“What?”
“This is the first time I went undercover for you without going under the covers.”
CHAPTER 13 – SLEEPY HOLLOW
On Monday, I filled Abby in on the jewelry party and gave her Rosa Casablanca’s business
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