Trouble Boys by Debra Dunbar & J. P. Sloan

Author:Debra Dunbar & J. P. Sloan [Dunbar, Debra & Sloan, J. P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-23T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

“Whoever did this thing, I want him dead!” Joe Masseria paced around the meeting room, shoulders hunched. Words continued to pour from his mouth with spits and snarls as he mixed Italian with English.

Vincent watched Catena from his position in the room. The consigliere stood vigil in the corner, arms bent, hands in his pockets.

Masseria waved a fist in the air. “There will be blood! I will return this attack tenfold!”

Everyone in the room stood stiff, bracing for an order to go to war. Floresta stood alongside Vincent in an equally stiff posture, though he seemed pleased enough before the meeting with their accomplishment. Luciano, for his part, seemed as uninterested in Masseria’s bluster as Catena.

Once Masseria had expended his anger and his saliva, he spun on a heel to exit the room, slamming the door behind him. After a few seconds of silence, Catena eased himself away from the corner to address the rest of the room.

“Alright, gentlemen,” he began, “we have work to do. The damage is about thirty thousand in cash, and five thousand worth of gold and gems. We got the worthless sons of bitches who decided playing cards was more important than guarding the cash locked up downstairs. So far, they seem to know nothing.”

Catena’s eyes shifted toward Vincent, then away again.

“There was one body at the scene. Lou. Some of you knew him.”

A few nods in the room.

“He was cut to pieces by whoever did this. Floresta? We have the body downstairs. I want you to take a look. See if you can sniff out whether there are any pinchers in town with that sort of talent. The usual suspects…and newcomers.”

Floresta nodded once more, glancing to Vincent as Catena dismissed the meeting. The two huddled together by the front door as the rest of Masseria’s crew received marching orders.

Vincent whispered, “Masseria seriously doesn’t know who’s behind this?”

“Catena sure as hell knows,” Floresta replied. “Which means he’ll bring the talent into this.” He nodded in warning as Lefty approached around the desks with Buddy in tow.

“I think we came at the right time, Floresta,” Lefty said. “Your pals in Queens decided to make this trip interesting.”

Floresta shrugged. “If it’s Maranzano’s people, then they’ve just decided on an early retirement.”

Buddy stepped forward. “Is this normal? No one knows anything?”

Lefty patted him on the shoulder. “Oh, they know. This is pageantry. Bluster meant to get the blood up with the foot soldiers.”

They all fell silent as a figure approached. Luciano pulled his hands from his pockets and gestured with a single finger for them to follow him onto the street. The group filed through the front doors, gathering around Luciano as he squinted in the sunlight.

“No war,” the man said. “Not yet. We find the glass pincher.”

“What glass pincher?” Buddy asked.

“What about your pinchers?” Lefty asked, ignoring Buddy’s question. “Is this on us contractors, or are your boys getting in the game?”

“You meet with them today. Behave yourselves.” Luciano turned and walked up the street.

Floresta sighed. “Well, folks.

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