A Walk Among the Tombstones

Page 40

 

  "Yes. "

  "Well repackage them slightly," I said. "Well use the Chase wrappers, but well take six bills out of each stack and replace them with real ones, three on the top and three on the bottom. How much have you got here, Yuri?"

  "Two hundred fifty thousand in the schlock. And Danis got sixty thousand, a little over. From four different people. "

  I did the arithmetic. "That should put us right around eight hundred thousand. Thats close enough. I think were in business. "

  "Thank God," Yuri said.

  Peter eased the wrapper off a bundle of counterfeit bills, fanned them, stood looking at them and shaking his head. Kenan pulled up a chair and began removing six bills from each packet.

  The phone rang.

  Chapter 20

  "This is tiresome," he said.

  "For me too. "

  "Maybe its more trouble than its worth. You know, there are plenty of dope dealers around, and most of them have wives or daughters. Maybe we should just cut and run, maybe our next client will prove more cooperative. "

  It was our third conversation since Yuri had come back with the two flight bags full of counterfeit money. He had called at half-hour intervals, first to suggest his own agenda for making the transfer, then to find something wrong with every suggestion I made.

  "Especially if he hears how we cut before we run," he said. "Ill carve young Lucia into bite-size pieces, my friend. And go looking for other game tomorrow. "

  "I want to cooperate," I said.

  "Your actions dont show it. "

  "We have to meet face-to-face," I said. "You have to have an opportunity to inspect the money and we have to be able to assure ourselves that the girl is all right. "

  "And then you people come down on us. You can have the whole area staked out, God knows how many armed men you can put together. Our resources are limited. "

  "But you can still create a standoff," I said. "Youll have the girl covered. "

  "A knife at her throat," he said.

  "If you want. "

  "The edge of the blade right up against her skin. "

  "Then we give you the money," I went on. "One of you holds on to the girl while the other makes sure the moneys all there. Then one of you takes the money to your vehicle while the other still holds the girl. Meanwhile your third man is posted where we cant see him, covering us with a rifle. "

  "Someone could get behind him. "

  "How?" I demanded. "Youll be in place first. Youll see us arrive, all of us at the same time. Youll have the drop on us, thats to offset the numerical edge weve got. Your man with the rifle will be able to cover your withdrawal, and youd be safe anyway because wed have the girl back by this point and the money would be in the car with your partner, and out of our reach. "

  "I dont like the face-to-face business," he said.

  Nor, I thought, could he rely too strongly on the third man, the one covering his retreat with the rifle. Because I was virtually certain there were only two of them, so there wouldnt be any third man. But if I let him think we figured their strength at three, maybe it would make him feel a little more secure. The value of the third man lay not in the covering fire he could lay down but in our belief that he was there.

  "Say we set up fifty yards apart. You bring the money halfway and then return to your lines. Then we bring the girl halfway and one of us stays there, knife at her throat, as you said-"

  As you said, I thought.

  "- while the other withdraws with the money. Then I release the girl and she runs to you while I back off. "

  "No good. You have the money and the girl at the same time and were on the other side of the field. "

  Around and around and around. The operators recorded voice cut in, asking for more money, and he dropped a quarter in without missing a beat. He wasnt worried about having calls traced, not at this stage. His calls were lasting longer and longer.

  If Id been able to reach the Kongs early on, we could pick him up while he was still on the phone.

  I said, "All right, try it like this. We set up fifty yards apart, just as you said. Youll be in place first, youll see us arrive. Youll show the girl so we can see youve brought her. Then Ill approach your position carrying the money. "

  "By yourself?"

  "Yes. Unarmed. "

  "You could have a gun concealed. "

  "Ill have a suitcase full of dough in each hand. A hidden guns not going to do me much good. "

  "Keep talking. "

  "You check the money. When youre satisfied, you let the girl go. She joins her father and the rest of our people. Your man takes off with the money. You and I wait. Then you take off and I go home. "

  "You could grab me. "

  "Im unarmed and youve got a knife, a gun, too, if you want. And your sharpshooter is behind a tree covering everybody with the rifle. Its all going your way. I dont see how you can have a problem with it. "

  "Youll see my face. "

  "Wear a mask. "

  "Cuts the visibility. And youd still be able to describe me even if you didnt get that good a look at my face. "

  I thought, fuck it, lets throw the dice.

  I said, "I already know what you look like, Ray. "

  I heard his intake of breath, then a stretch of silence, and for a minute there I was afraid Id lost him.

  Then he said, "What do you know?"

  "I know your name. I know what you look like. I know about some of the women you killed. And one you almost killed. "

  "The little whore," he said. "She heard my first name. "

  "I know your last name, too. "

  "Prove it. "

  "Why should I? Look it up for yourself, its right there on the calendar. "

  "Who are you?"

  "Cant you figure that out for yourself?"

  "You sound like a cop. "

  "If Im a cop, why isnt there a pack of blue-and-whites lined up in front of your house?"

  "Because you dont know where it is. "

  "Try Middle Village. Penelope Avenue. "

  I could almost feel him relax. "Im impressed," he said.

  "What kind of cop plays it this way, Ray?"

  "Youre in Landaus pocket. "

  "Close. Were in bed together, were partners. Im married to his cousin. "

  "No wonder we couldnt-"

  "Couldnt what?"

  "Nothing. I should bail out now, cut the bitchs throat and get the hell out. "

  "Then youre dead," I said. "An all-points goes out nationwide in a matter of hours, with you on the hook for Gotteskind and Alvarez, too. Do the deal and I guarantee Ill sit on it for a week, longer if I can. Maybe forever. "

  "Why?"

  "Because I wont want it to come out, will I? You can go set up shop on the other side of the country. Plenty of dope dealers in L. A. Plenty of fine-looking women out there, too. They love to go for a ride in a pretty new truck. "

  He was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "Go over it again. The whole scenario, from the time we arrive. "

  I went through it. He interrupted with a question from time to time and I answered them all. Finally he said, "I wish I could trust you. "

  "Jesus Christ," I said. "Im the one who has to do the trusting. Ill be walking up to you unarmed with a bag of money in each hand. If you decide you dont trust me you can always kill me. "

  "Yes, I could," he said.

  "But its better for you if you dont. Its better for both of us if the whole transaction goes off just the way its scheduled to. We both come out winners. "

  "Youre out a million dollars. "

  "Maybe that fits in with my plans, too. "

  "Oh?"

  "You figure it out," I said, leaving him to puzzle out my own interfamilial secret agenda, some strategy I must have for getting the upper hand on my partner.

  "Interesting," he said. "Where do you want to do the switch?"

  I was ready for the question. I had proposed eno
ugh other sites in earlier phone calls, and Id been saving this one. "Green-Wood Cemetery," I said.

  "I think I know where that is. "

  "You ought to. Thats where you dumped Leila Alvarez. Its a distance from Middle Village, but you found your way there once before. Its nine-twenty. There are two entrances on the Fifth Avenue side, one around Twenty-fifth Street, the other ten blocks south of there. Take the Twenty-fifth Street entrance and head south about twenty yards inside the fence. Well enter at Thirty-fifth and approach you from the south. "

  I laid it all out for him, like a war-games tactician re-creating the Battle of Gettysburg. "Ten-thirty," I said. "That gives you over an hour to get there. No traffic at this hour, so that shouldnt be a problem. Or do you need more time?"

  He didnt need anything like an hour. He was in Sunset Park, a five-minute drive from the cemetery. But he didnt need to know that I knew that.

  "That should be time enough. "

  "And youll have plenty of time to set up. Well enter ten blocks south of you at ten-forty. That gives you ten minutes lead time, plus the ten minutes itll take us to walk up to meet you. "

  "And theyll stay fifty yards back," he said.

  "Right. "

  "And youll come the rest of the way alone. With the money. "

  "Right. "

  "I liked it better with Khoury," he said. "Where I said Frog and he jumped. "

  "I can see where you would. Twice as much money this time, though. "

  "Thats true," he said. "Leila Alvarez. Havent thought of her in a while. " His voice took on an almost dreamy quality. "She was really nice. Choice. "

  I didnt say anything.

  "Lord, she was frightened," he said. "Poor little bitch. She was really terrified. "

  WHEN I finally got off the phone I had to sit down. Kenan asked me if I was all right. I said I was.

  "You dont look so hot," he said. "You look like you need a drink, but I guess thats the one thing you dont need. "

  "Youre right. "

  "Yuri just made some coffee. Ill get you a cup. "

  When he brought it I said, "Im okay. It takes it out of you, talking to that son of a bitch. "

  "I know. "

  "I tipped my hand some, let him know some of what I know. It started to look as though that was the only way to get him off the dime. He wasnt going to move unless he could control the situation completely. I decided to show him he was in a little weaker position than he realized. "

  Yuri said. "You know who he is?"

  "I know his name. I know what he looks like and the license number of the car hes driving. " I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling his presence on the other end of the telephone line, sensing the workings of his mind. "I know who he is," I said.

  I explained what Id worked out with Callander, started to sketch out a diagram of the terrain, then realized that what we needed was a map. Yuri said there was a street map of Brooklyn somewhere in the apartment but didnt know where. Kenan said Francine had kept one in the glove box of the Toyota, and Peter went downstairs for it.