No Good Deed...Part XXVII

[Robbie C.]

Rico’s suit looked fresher than his face, and when he walked into the office his usual bop was missing. Nodding to Jenny, he flopped down in one of the chairs across from Sonny and rubbed his eyes. “Long night,” he said without looking up.

“Things ok at home, pal?” Sonny caught Jenny’s eye and nodded toward the coffee maker.

“Yeah. Solid. Just had to spend too much time with those idiots from Homicide after you left. Steve fended ‘em off pretty well, but they wanted to know about security protocols, how the kid got in, all that shit.” He accepted a steaming coffee cup from Jenny with a smile. “Thanks, lady. Already had one, but this is a many coffee morning. I can tell.”

“Did Stan pick up any traffic with Ramona after the shooting?”

“No. All quiet on that front. I talked to her after the cats in the bad suits left. She said Jangles would have texted her if he wanted her to get out. She’s sure of that. Stan also said the lawyers had a meet with that Hector chump last night. He said Randy was sitting on Jangles and tailed him as far as Rizzo’s. The lawyers were in there for about ten minutes, Hector and Jangles stayed an extra five or ten, and then everyone split.”

“And no way to tell what the meeting was about?”

“Not really. But even if Wiggins and Haskell are out, it looks like Hector and Jangles are still in.” Rico shook his head. “No idea why.”

“Yeah, and that bothers me. What the hell is Hector’s interest in this? He’s gotta be more than hired help, and I can’t see him sticking with it just to impress Burnett.” He shot a look at Rico. “And I don’t think we wanna know how Stan found all this out.”

“Stan who?” Rico chuckled. “Probably not, but I’m not gonna hang him out to dry if anything comes back on us.”

“No. I’m not, either. I just wish I knew what Castillo was up to.”

“Yeah. He’s been distant lately. Even for him.”

“I think he’s protecting both of you.” Jenny’s voice was low. “You have things to lose here. He’s clean.”

“Yeah, and if there’s anyone who could pull something off and leave no trace, it’s Castillo.” Sonny smiled at Jenny. “You’re probably right. He did arrange for Blair to show up, and he’s obviously got Stan and Lester making moves in the field for him. I’m sure he’s got his reasons, but I’d feel better if I had an idea of what he thought was coming.”

“I could talk to Trudy.”

“No, Rico. I don’t think that would accomplish anything aside from pissing her off. Marty might not have told her what he’s up to, and if he did odds are she’s working with him.” He snorted and turned to look out the window. Yesterday’s clouds were starting to slip away, and the blue sky promised a hot day. “Much as I don’t like it, I think we’re just gonna have to be content to be passengers on this one.”

“Yeah, and I know how much you hate the back seat.” Rico chuckled. “I ain’t too fond of it, either.” He turned to look at Jenny. “Maybe you could talk to Ramona again today. We leaned on her a bit hard yesterday, and maybe a face she thinks is friendly would help. I don’t think she’s told us quite everything she knows.”

Jenny nodded. “She’d hold something back. Maybe not on purpose, though. She just might not think it’s important.”

Sonny nodded, watching calendar reminders pop up on his computer screen. “I’ve got a meeting with the good doctors in five minutes, and you can bet they’ll want to talk about yesterday. I don’t think I’ll be free until lunch, so whatever you two work out is fine with me.” He finished his coffee and looked at the door to his conference room, feeling his nerves go cold. “Can’t say I’m looking forward to this one.”

“Better you than me, Sonny.” Rico laughed and got to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah. Guess it’s why I get the big bucks.” He was on his way through the door when he realized Rico hadn’t said anything about Stan and Gina. He’d have to ask over lunch…it didn’t feel right to not do something for the two of them, no matter what was going on right now.

The meeting went about as he’d expected: him making apologies and trying to sort through any damage four or five Miami-Dade cars might have caused to the treatment program along with the shooting. In the end it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, but it ran longer than he’d hoped.

“So what do we do about this girl?” Nichole Jessup fixed him with her dark eyes. Sitting beside her, Catalina Sanchez nodded.

“Good question. I told her if she’s straight with us, and so far she has been, she can stay in the program.” He raised his hand. “Look, she’s a kid with problems, right? Maybe not as bad as we’re used to, but she still could use our help.” He smiled in spite of himself. “And she helped us find some holes in our screening system.” He paused for a moment. “ALL our screening systems. It wasn’t just Rico who got fooled by her.”

Nichole opened her mouth, closed it, then looked down at the table. “You’re right. We all missed it. Except maybe Jenny. She thought something was off about that girl early on.

It was Catalina’s turn to nod. “And you’re right about her needing our help.” She turned to her fellow doctor. “Actually she’s a good test for how we could work with someone else who’s about to slip into that life.” She turned back to Sonny. “She’s right on the edge, correct?”

“Yeah. I’d say so. All she’d have to do is hook up with the wrong guy and she’d be done.”

Catalina nodded. “Maybe we can try some of those early intervention techniques we’ve discussed. It might not be something we’d normally do here, but it could help some of the other programs in the region.”

Sonny nodded, knowing he’d started the two on one of their endless theory discussions. “I’ll leave you two doctors to it. But just so we’re clear: so long as she plays ball with us she stays in the program. If she doesn’t, she’s gone. Consider it her first test in meeting her obligations. And hold as many extra counseling sessions as you think you need for the rest. If we need a temp doc or two, consider it approved.”

They took over one of the back tables in the cafeteria, and for a moment Sonny almost thought he was back with OCB. Just the team clustered around a long table eating whatever food they’d snatched from the line or brought from home. Drinking coffee and mulling over a fresh case. It was a comforting feeling that faded almost as quickly as it had arrived.

Gina looked up from her Cobb salad. “So you gave them the green light to bring on support if we need it?”

“Yeah. It just made sense. Some of these girls could be really rattled by what happened, and they might need the help.”

Rico nodded, winking at Mindy sitting across from him. “I know I could use some TLC after that.”

She giggled. “So could I, mister. And I’m the one in a delicate condition.”

Rico chuckled then turned to Sonny. “Speaking of delicate, how are we going to handle tonight?”

Sonny took a bite of his hamburger to buy himself some time to sort out his thoughts. “Not much we can do,” he said at length. “We got no official standing. No real resources.” He turned to Trudy. “Unless Marty’s got something up his sleeve. I don’t want to put you on the spot, but it would be nice to know if something’s going down.”

She nodded, but he could tell from the look in her eyes they weren’t going to get the full story. Can’t blame her for that. Marty’s careful and he doesn’t want anything to come back on us. Puts her in a tough spot, though. “As far as I know he’s gonna have Randy do some tailing work and Stan and Lester are still on retainer.”

“Fair enough.” Sonny caught Rico’s eye and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have asked. I know you’d tell us if he picked up anything bad.”

They spent the rest of lunch talking like the old friends they were, Jenny repeating Sonny’s comment about there being something in the water when it came to Mindy and Gina. Sonny smiled and went along with the chatter, but behind the smile his mind was working. As they finished, he looked over at Rico. “Hang on a second, Rico. I wanna talk about how we might handle any part-timers the good doctors bring on.”

Jenny picked up on the hint in his voice. “I’ll go back up with Gina. We need to talk about the next donor event.”

Once everyone was gone, Rico turned to Sonny. “You know we already got procedures…”

“Yeah, I do. I just wanted to see if you had any ideas about what we could do for Stan and Gina.”

Rico started to say something, then paused. When he spoke again his voice was low. “Sonny, you gotta stop trying to make it up to those two.”

“What? I’m…”

“Sure you are, man. I get it. You still feel bad about Zito, and you got a past with Gina. I get that. But it’s just that now, partner. Past. Switek may still have some hard feelings. Only he answer that. But the last few years you proved to him you’re a different man than you were back then. You gotta let it go.”

Sonny started to speak, then closed his mouth. Thoughts and feelings battled each other in his chest and head, and for a moment the hiss of the HVAC turned into a roaring cyclone. Then he shook his head, bringing it all together. “You’re right, Rico. Hell, Stan’s told me more than once we’re good. And if Gina was still pissed she wouldn’t have come and told me about the baby.” He looked up at Rico and laughed. “But you know me, man. I don’t let things go well.”

“Yeah. You’re one of the biggest chumps I know when it comes to that.” Rico laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “What should we do? Not a damned thing. You know the ladies already have baby showers and all that mapped out for months to come. What we gotta figure out is what the hell we’re gonna do when they both go out on maternity leave at the same time.”

Sonny shook his head. “Shit. I didn’t think of that. You’re right, partner. What the hell ARE we gonna do when they both go out?” With a sense of relief he turned his thoughts to that problem. It felt way more manageable than the whole thing with Wiggins and Hector, whoever the hell he really was.

 

Hector crawled out of bed sometime around noon. He only knew the time because the hotel room TV was running one of the local news programs with the volume turned down. “Should have shut the damned thing off last night,” he muttered as he headed for the bathroom.

He grabbed a quick lunch from a diner down the street from the hotel, then headed back to his room. Pulling the Beretta out of his waistband, he went about stripping and cleaning the auto-loader. He did his best planning while he was focused on other things, and the physical routine of cleaning the pistol was perfect for his thoughts.

Wiggins and Haskell had to die. He’d decided that last night as soon as they showed their true colors. Never trust a fuckin’ lawyer. Especially when they tell you to trust them. The two men knew too much, and they were both slick enough to toss the whole thing back on him and claim they were just along for the ride instead of calling the shots. Even with his tapes, they’d try to turn it back on him if things went bad. And like all lawyers they could be convincing as hell. Like that bit about Burnett being a cop. If he didn’t know what he did about Burnett he would have fallen for it.

He didn’t think they’d have any security with them. He’d been careful to play dumb most of the time…getting them to underestimate him. Still, he’d bring Jangles along and have Ramon already in the place just in case they surprised him. That meant he’d meet up with those two about eight or so. Have a drink, go over things, and then give Ramon time to fade into the Rizzo’s crowd.

Locking the slide back into place, he slammed a full magazine into the butt of the Beretta and worked the slide. Then he set the safety and loaded two extra magazines. Just in case. He’d make his call from the convenience store down the block and then chill for a couple more hours. Looking out the window, he tried to control his excitement. In another few hours the lawyers would be out of the way, he’d be three hundred large richer, and they’d be two steps closer to dealing with Tubbs. And he still had time to work on a couple of surprises for Rizzo’s.

 

It was hot in the Roach Coach, even with the fans going. Stan Switek wished they could run the air conditioning, but he always remembered what Rico had told him years back about being able to spot a waiting vehicle by the puddle of condensation under the engine. So he and Lester suffered through it, moving the van every couple of hours so they could run the A/C or setting up like they did today in the shade of a parking garage. But with their reduced resources it was a balancing act. They could monitor one of their taps well and the other with static, but not both well. He’d opted for Jangles today, since he was their only direct link to Hector. Haskell was small change, and Castillo didn’t think Wiggins would act without Hector’s gun close by. And Hector never seemed to move without Jangles. Process of elimination.

Randy was out there somewhere, too. Keeping a loose watch on Jangles’ place. Process of elimination again. So far they hadn’t been able to pin down where Hector was staying, but there was always the chance he’d slip up and have Jangles lead them there. And even if that didn’t happen, Jangles didn’t seem to do anything except wipe his ass without checking with Hector first.

Lester scratched his chin through his beard. “Man, is it about time to move again?”

“Naw, but we’re in cover. Go ahead and fire her up for a few minutes. We can always move up a level if we have to.”

“That’s true,” Lester said as he moved through to the driver’s seat. “We did test the system on every level here. Only the underground part was bad.”

Stan nodded, forcing himself to focus on the panel in front of him and not the image of pregnant Gina that kept dancing around in his head. He’d been excited at first, but now he was starting to get scared. What if I screw things up? What if it turns out I am like my dad? No…I ain’t like that. No way. What would the King do? Hell, he’d fry up a peanut butter and banana sandwich and chase some high school girls. Can’t do either one. He smiled at the thought. Then almost laughed as he remembered Gina’s reaction to his suggestion they do a nursery with a Hawaiian theme and blue suede curtains.

The floor of the van vibrated as the engine caught, and then a blast of cool air entered the rear cabin as Lester pulled back one of the blackout drapes. “If we keep doing this, we gotta add some ducts back here,” he said as he came back to his seat. “Make things a hell of a lot easier.”

“Yeah. But really, how much more of this kinda thing are we going to do?”

Lester chuckled. “You never know, Stan.”

Stan could only nod. Lester was right. You never knew. Not when you were working with this crew. And on a day like today when Jangles wasn’t even ordering pizza it was enough to make you want to gouge your eyes out. But Metro-Dade had given him years of experience with waiting. Running surveillance was all about the waiting. If there was action, odds were it happened because you did something wrong. Or someone else blew your cover.

A smile flashed across his face as he thought about the time they’d been working a pawn shop sting and the screen had fallen out of an old TV, exposing their camera and Larry’s shocked face to the world. That had been their first encounter with Noogie, a self-proclaimed freakazoid who’d later become one of their more reliable CIs. Years later, dead from an OD on bad heroin, his ashes ended up in the main pole at a stip club called Rizzo’s where Noogie had been the star DJ. There were days Stan found himself missing the crazy little bastard, who’d also given them tips leading to the arrest of one of the nastiest pimps he’d even come across.

“Stan? We got some action on Jangles.”

“Hunh? Oh, sorry. Got it.” Stan flipped on the recorder and shifted his monitors away from Haskell’s tap. He recognized Hector’s voice right away, and prepared for the usual short message.

Hector didn’t disappoint. “Usual spot. Eight. Bring Ramon.”

Lester snorted. “That guy does not waste words.”

“He’s careful. He stays on the loose, he’ll go far if he gets some ambition.” Stan grinned, then let his eyes go flat as he reached for the radio. “I’ll let Randy know the bird is taking wing.”

“Do we stay on it?”

Stan thought, weighing the options. “I’d say we shut down and get some food. If Jangles is meeting with him, Hector’s not gonna be doing anything else. We can come back up if Randy loses him or if he sees something developing.”

“Makes sense. I’ll shut it down while you call our cowboy.”

 

Hector sat near the back of the bar where he could see the door and had his back to the badly-painted wall. He figured two hours should give them plenty of time to go over the plan and make sure Ramon was in position before it all kicked off. He glanced at his watch and then the Bud clock over the bar. Almost eight.

Right on time, Jangles came through the door, Ramon close behind him. Jangles looked around, spotted him, and headed through the light crowd to the table. “Hey, man! What it is?”

“I got a pitcher coming. We gotta have clear heads tonight. At least for the first part of the night.” Hector nodded to Ramon. “You ready for real work, mano?”

“You bet, Hector.” Ramon slid into his seat, his eyes clear and focused. Good. No weed or anything else. “Just tell me the deal.”

“Those two fancy gringos are starting to get cold feet. I don’t want anything coming back to us.”

Jangles nodded. “Yeah, man. He’s right. The one? I think he pissed himself last night. More than once.”

Hector cut off Ramon’s giggle with a glance. “That means we gotta take care of things. I ain’t done with that place yet, though. One more thing to do. But we need to take care of this first.”

“What’s the payoff?”

Figured he’d ask that. Punk. “Three hundred large. Split between us. The girl gets some, too. We’ll need her again before this is over.”

Ramon nodded, his eyes calculating. “What’s the split?”

“What I say it is. When the work’s done. You got a problem with that?”

“Not me, man.” Jangles’ voice was rapid. “Split goes by risk, right? Fair to me.”

“I got no problem, Hector. So long as it’s fair.”

Maybe your split will be 147 grains. “It will be. But we gotta get there first.” Hector paused while the waitress left a pitcher of beer and three glasses. “And if you’re done whinin’ we can get on with this.”

“You still recording these punks?”

“Not this time, Jangles.” He grinned, then started talking in a low voice, outlining things on the table top from time to time with his index finger. Finally, he handed Ramon a bag he’d picked up from an old contact not half an hour before he’d entered the bar. “Anyone got any questions?”

Ramon shook his head. “Seems simple enough. I’ll move as soon as we’re done with the beer.”

“Good. Get there at least fifteen minutes early. Half an hour’s better.”

“You got it, Hector. I know my part.”

“Good. Jangles, you an’ me can hang here for a bit. I don’t want to get there much before ten. Hell, maybe even be a bit late.”

“What if they don’t bring the money?”

“Like I said, mano, then we take it outside. You hang back but be close just in case.” Hector shook his head. “But they’ll bring it. They want to be done with us, an’ the quickest way they know is pay an’ go.”

Jangles laughed as he sipped his beer. “They’ll be goin’, all right.”

“Yeah, they will.” Hector’s eyes went cold. “They really will.”

It was just before ten when Hector and Jangles walked into Rizzo’s, brushing past the goons at the door like they owned the place. What the hell Hector thought as he headed for a table near the back door. After tonight we just might. He could feel the attitude flowing through his veins, turning his eyes dark and empty. Two skinny punks who looked like lost frat boys were sitting at the table, looking up at him as he and Jangles walked over.

“That’s our table. Didn’t you see the reserved sign?”

The one with darker hair looked like he wanted to argue. “I don’t see any damned sign.”

Hector grinned a skull’s grin and lifted the front of his shirt just enough to let the Beretta peek out. “You see it now?”

“Uh…yeah. My bad, dude.” He turned to his buddy, whose face had just gone a funny shade of white. “Let’s go someplace else, Chip. I ain’t into this scene any more.”

“Try Caramel down the street.” Jangles grinned like he was trying to be helpful. “It’s more your kinda place.”

Hector held his grin until they sat down. “Nice one, mano. Sendin’ them to the gay strip club.”

“Just trying to be friendly.” Jangles grinned, but Hector could sense his nerves behind the smile. “I just saw Ramon over by the third stage.”

“Good. Perfect place for him.” Hector’s eyes lit up. “And I just saw our boys come through the door.” He pitched his voice low and even. “Just keep your eyes open, Jangles. That’s all you gotta do. That and make sure the way to the door’s clear. You good?”

“Sure, Hector. I done this in my sleep.”

I ain’t too sure of that, but nothing for it now. And it looks like the fruity one has a bag with him. Even better. Hector waited until the two men sat down to break out his business smile. “Our girl’s still in place if you’ve changed your mind.”

Wiggins shook his head. “I’m afraid friend Arthur here just doesn’t have the nerve for it any longer. Do you, Arthur?” He didn’t wait for the man to answer. “And I have pressing business on the West Coast. Things that require my personal attention. I’m sure you understand.” He laid the black nylon gym bag on the table. “Still, here is what we agreed to. A sign of good faith, yes?”

“Jangles, check it.” Hector watched as his friend unzipped the bag and riffled through some of the bundles of bills, keeping the whole thing hidden with the edges of the bag itself.

“It’s all good, Hector.”

“Hector, is it? I thought Hank seemed an odd name for you.” Wiggins turned to Haskell, who had sweat rolling down both sides of his pudgy face. “I think this concludes our business, doesn’t it, Arthur?”

Hector shifted in his chair, letting his hand fall to his lap as if he’d relaxed after being tensed up. “I almost feel bad. You didn’t get what you wanted out of all this.”

“No, but there’s always tomorrow.”

His hand closed over the grip of the Beretta, warmed by contact with his body. “Not always, my friend. Not always.” His thumb found the safety and flicked it off as the pistol cleared the top of the table. The first shot was always a risk with the Beretta’s heavy double-action trigger. But after that it was smooth as melting butter. Two for Wiggins, two for Haskell They were messy, hurried shots, leaving the bodies jerking and twitching as they tangled with their chairs and crashed to the floor. From the corner of his eye he could see smoke billowing from the third stage and through the ringing in his ears he caught Ramon screaming “Fire!” at the top of his lungs. On his other side he saw Jangles making for the door, clearing a path for him with a strength you wouldn’t expect from his scrawny frame.

The hot Beretta was back in his waistband before he took two steps, and in a handful of heartbeats he and Jangles were in the alley, cutting up and away from the screams and smoke that was starting to roll out the back door. They cut between two buildings, then turned again and met up with Ramon near a row of parked cars. “The gray Ford,” Ramon said, turning and heading that way himself. They were in the car and driving into the warren of streets making up Little Havana before the first patrol car arrived on the scene.

 

Martin Castillo had been helping Trudy with the last section of her new composition when the phone rang. As soon as he picked up, Randy’s voice filled his ear, slightly hollow from being patched through by the Roach Coach. “We got a situation.”

“Explain.”

“I’m outside Rizzo’s. That dump strip club we seem to go to more than is healthy. I tailed Jangles and Hector there after they met Ramon at another bar. Ramon left first, and then those two headed for Rizzo’s about half an hour later. The two lawyers showed up just after Jangles and Hector. They had a bag with ‘em, so I’d guess they brought the rest of what they owed Hector.”

“Did you go in?”

“Nope. Stayed outside. If anything went south I got no solid local cover.”

“Good move.”

“Not five minutes later I hear shots, and about the same time a smoke grenade goes off an’ flushes everyone out like quail. Next thing I know there’s naked women on the sidewalk, two dead bodies inside, an’ no sign of Hector or Jangles.”

Castillo knew his knuckles were turning white as he gripped the phone. “Anything from Miami-Dade?”

Stan’s voice cut in. “We’re on their frequencies, captain. Report is Wiggins and Haskell both took two in the chest, and there were nine mil casings on the scene. And right after the first shot someone set off that smoker. If I was still a betting man, I’d put big money on it being Ramon.”

Castillo nodded. “We underestimated Hector. It won’t happen again. I don’t think we’ll see any more movement from them tonight. Shut Team Elvis down.”

At some point Trudy had stopped playing and come over to stand next to him. He’d been so absorbed in the conversation he hadn’t noticed. “What happened?”

“Rendozo and his people killed Wiggins and Haskell. Switek says Miami-Dade hasn’t put the pieces together, but Mather saw them all go into Rizzo’s and then there was gunfire.”

She touched his arm. “Does that mean it’s over?”

“No. The girl is still in play. If Rendozo was going to cut his losses he’d pull her out. Or at least tell her to keep a low profile. But there’s been no communication.” Castillo looked out the kitchen window at the shifting shadows beyond the faint arc of light from the house. “Rendozo’s still out there, and we don’t know what he hoped to get out of this. And he has more resources now. Mather saw Wiggins carrying a bag when he went into Rizzo’s.”

“Do you think he’s after Sonny?”

“I don’t know. Ramon used to work for the Carreras and Rendozo worked with Sonny as Burnett a few times before Tubbs arrested him.”

“Maybe he’s after Rico. If he sent him away, that’s enough reason for most of them to look to settle a score.”

“It’s possible.” He kept looking out the window, letting the shadows fill his mind so the pieces would sort themselves. “We need to check the files, but I think Ramon was with the Carreras when we tried to put Cooper inside. And Tubbs was using Cooper when he arrested Rendozo.”

“So they’d know he was a cop.”

“Yes. We know Wiggins was after Sonny. So was Jimmy. But Rendozo always seemed like he didn’t fit. This might be why.”

“Are we gonna tell Rico?”

He turned and rested his hands on her shoulders, easing her close. “Not yet, my love. I don’t want him to overreact. And if Rendozo is after him, it will be simple for Mather and I to provide cover.” Inside he felt the dream converging. Three tracer streams, and now there was only one. Hector Rendozo. “We may need to put the girl in play ourselves. Would you be willing…”

“I’ll talk to her. Me and Jenny.” Trudy smiled. “She seems to like Jenny. And she likes the House. Sonny already threatened to kick her out if she plays us, and he means every word. She knows it, too. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble with Miss Ramona.”

“Good.” Castillo rubbed the bridge of his nose, fighting to push the thoughts to the back of his head. Hector and his crew would need to go to ground for at least a few hours to avoid Miami-Dade, so there was time to get things in order. And tonight he had Trudy. He smiled, feeling the mental lurch as his brain shifted gears. “Why don’t we go finish that piece? It feels really close, and I know you wanted to premiere it at Downbeat next week.”

She smiled at the mention of Rico and Mindy’s favorite jazz club. After they left the force she’d taken a few gigs there from time to time, and Castillo knew she didn’t like to admit how popular she was or how much she enjoyed playing for an audience. “Yeah, I guess I should. It’s kind of in honor of them, after all. And maybe Gina and Stan now.”

He let her lead him to the piano, enjoying the sway of her firm body as she walked. Every moment he was with her reminded him how lucky he was. And how blind he’d been for most of those years at Metro-Dade. Sitting next to her on the piano bench, he touched the music paper with a finger. “I’ll turn pages, my love. Let me know if you need anything added.”