The Goodbye Kiss by Massimo Carlotto Page B

she saw us, her face
became a mask of fear.
        "Hurt
her," my partner ordered.
        I
didn't have to be told. I faked a punch in her face, forcing her to protect
herself by holding out her arms towards me. Then I grabbed one of her fingers
and with a rapid twist snapped it. She lost her breath. I threw her on the bed.
Ferruccio pushed the pistol into her left tit, right at her heart.
        "Live
whore, dead whore. Which game you want to play?"
        "Live
whore," the girl whimpered.
        "We
want Romo and Tonci."
        "I
don't know where they are," she answered, desperate.
        "Dead
whore," snarled the cop, lifting the gun barrel.
        She
was more afraid of her compatriots than our death threats. The Ustashi and
their friends could hurt her family.
        I
bent over her. "If you help us find them, we'll kill them. You'll never
see them again, and nobody'd link you to their deaths."
        "You
tell me the truth? You really kill that pig Romo?"
        I'd guessed
right. Gave her a complicit smile: "You bet."
        Luana
got her color back, sat up and told us she was supposed to wait for them at
another apartment rented a few days ago. It'd serve as a hideout till the dust
settled. Then a train to Genoa and a ship straight to Paraguay. Cerni decided
she was his woman and she had to follow him wherever he went. But she hated
him. She gave us the address and the keys and explained the signal they'd use
with the doorbell. A short ring followed by two long ones.
        "Disappear
from Milano," Anedda warned her. "If I meet you again, you're
dead."
        I
pointed at the bitch. "We're leaving behind a witness?"
        He
looked at her. "The last thing she'll want to do is talk about this
business."
        "She
could tip the two Croats."
        He
shook his head. "She won't."
        I
shrugged. "I think it's an unnecessary risk. But you're the boss."
        As we
left the room, I turned towards her: "Since you're still alive, put some
ice on your finger and go to an emergency room."
        She
burst into tears from the sheer relief of being spared by fate. Ferruccio the
bull smiled, pleased with his grand gesture. Fact is, it was really stupid.
Never trust a whore. But I didn't dare give him any back talk. A waste of
breath. He wouldn't have changed his mind.
        "Let's
get a move on," said Ferruccio once we were in the car. "We have to
arrive before them."
        "How
are we going to whack them in the apartment? We can't allow ourselves the
luxury of a shoot-out."
        "You
have that pistol with the silencer?"
        "It's
at the widow's house. I wasn't planning to use it today."
        "Then
we'll just have to make do."
        We
parked a few blocks away and walked to the building, keeping our eyes peeled,
checking out the parked cars. We didn't spot the Renault or the Escort. I rang
the bell according to the signal. A minute later we entered the apartment with
our weapons drawn. Empty. Apart from the Ustashis' bags. We quickly ransacked
them. Clothes, three pistols, some boxes of ammo.
        Anedda
pointed to one box that contained the same kind of bullets used to murder the
security guards. "When I find them, searching the apartment with my men,
I'll be able to declare with absolute certainty that the two bodies belong to
the marksmen. This will definitely give a boost to my career," he
snickered, rubbing his hands together.
        I
looked at him in amazement. "You've got balls. How will you 'discover' the
hideout?"
        "The
classic tip from an informer."
        "What
else? You cops use that excuse to justify everything."
        "Stop
bellyaching about the profession. Instead think how the investigation will pick
up the Croats' trail-and we won't run any risks." He looked at his watch.
"Our friends have probably finished messing around with the Spanish broad,
and they'll be here any minute. Let's get ready to welcome them."
        In
the