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“Why would Vincent do this?”

  “Make a statement.”

  “About what?”

  “Usually when someone takes charge of something, such as new territory in this case, the new man in charge wants to make a statement to put everybody else on notice.”

  “And Mancini was one of the Italians men,” Jones said. “Make it as violent and public as possible so everyone knows who did it.”

  “When I left the warehouse last night, Mancini was still tied up in the office.”

  “Well he obviously meant a very painful demise.”

  “Hmm,” Recker grunted.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, I did tell Vincent to do whatever he wanted with him.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Well, I said I wasn’t going to kill him and I told Vincent to do whatever he wanted with him.”

  “I would say he obviously took you up on your word. Quite literally,” Jones replied. “Does the location of where they dumped him have any significance?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Well then why take the trouble of moving the body?”

  “If Vincent’s taking ownership of that trucking business then he wouldn’t want police snooping around the area. Dumping the body in a dark alley in the middle of the night eliminates prying eyes and ears. Not to mention cameras,” Recker told him.

  “Well this is quite a start to the day,” Jones stated.

  “Hopefully it doesn’t get more interesting.”

  Recker’s hope for a boring and uneventful day from that point on wouldn’t come to fruition. A little over two hours later, he received a call from Tyrell. As soon as Recker saw his name on the screen, he assumed there was some kind of trouble going on. Tyrell didn’t usually call just to chit chat.

  “I assume you have more business to discuss?” Recker asked.

  “Don’t you ever just pick up the phone and say hi?” Tyrell sarcastically responded.

  “Uhh…no.”

  “You know, I’ve noticed that about you. Half the time you pick up the phone, you lead off with a question.”

  “Well maybe next time you call I’ll start with a riddle,” Recker joked. “Or maybe you’d prefer a limerick?”

  “A limerick? What’s that?”

  “Another time. What’s on your mind?”

  “Your presence is being requested,” Gibson informed him.

  “Let me guess…Jeremiah?”

  “You got it, bro.”

  “What does he want?”

  “No idea. He didn’t say. He just asked if you could meet him at the usual spot.”

  “I guess I could do that,” Recker agreed.

  “I’ll let him know.”

  “What time?”

  “He said noon.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Recker hung up and sat down in a chair just blindly staring ahead, not really focusing on anything in particular. He was struggling to figure out what exactly Jeremiah could have wanted with him. Jones let him stew there for a few minutes before he spoke up.

  “I heard Jeremiah’s name mentioned,” Jones said, getting Recker’s attention. “I take it you’re getting a meeting with him.”

  “It seems so.”

  “What does he want?”

  “Couldn’t say.”

  “Seems odd that he’d request a meeting the very morning Mancini is found dead. And very publicly at that,” Jones noted. “Might not be a coincidence.”

  Recker shrugged, not sure if there was a connection. “I don’t know. Mancini wasn’t one of his men. As far as I know, Jeremiah doesn’t have a beef with any of the particular parties. Really don’t know what this is about.”

  “Well, he must be concerned about something. It certainly isn’t to request your help on a matter.”

  “You wouldn’t think so.”

  Recker continued to sit there for a few more minutes, wondering if maybe Jones was on to something. Maybe Jeremiah’s meeting was somehow connected to Mancini’s death. He couldn’t think of why Jeremiah would be interested in it, but perhaps he was. At least Recker wouldn’t have to worry about it for long. The meeting would be in just a couple of hours and then he’d know for sure what Jeremiah wanted him for. He kept himself busy by looking over files on the computer that Jones had asked him to look into. He actually got so immersed in it that he almost lost track of time for when he was supposed to leave for the meeting.

  “Give me a call when you’re finished,” Jones said as Recker reached the door.

  “Yes, dad,” Recker replied, closing the door behind him.

  Jones rolled his eyes and shook his head, then went back to his work. Recker immediately went down to the vacant, boarded up house that was their usual meeting place. Once he got there, he just sat in his car and watched the house for a few minutes. Though he didn’t feel he was on as good as terms with Jeremiah as he was with Vincent, he certainly didn’t feel like he was on bad terms either. He thought there was a healthy respect between the two sides. But something was tugging at him that something wasn’t right with this meeting. He wasn’t sure why exactly he thought that as nothing had happened to cause any friction between them, but he couldn’t shake the feeling. It could’ve just been his paranoia playing on him, but it was in the back of his mind that he’d need to be alert in there.

  Recker walked up to the house, seeing the same guys as usual, who opened the door for him as he approached. Once inside, Recker went into the living room and saw Jeremiah sitting in a chair in the corner. Jeremiah had furnished the place up a little since the last time Recker was there. Now there was a couple of beat up looking plush chairs sitting across from each other on opposite sides of the room.

  “Like what you’ve done with the place,” Recker remarked.

  Jeremiah laughed. “Yeah. Had my interior decorator come in here and spruce the place up. Glad you like it.”

  “Mind?” Recker asked, pointing to the other chair.

  “Please do. Had it brought in for you special.”

  Recker took another quick look around, making sure there were no other surprises in store for him. Such as a hitman or two waiting around the corner or in another room. It was just the two of them sitting there. Which was somewhat unusual since Jeremiah, like Vincent, usually had a guard or two nearby at all times. Jeremiah sat there silently for a moment, just analyzing his visitor. He noticed that Recker seemed a little skittish, not at all like the usual confident person that he’d met with before.

  “Something bothering you?” Jeremiah asked.

  “No.”

  “Seem a little jumpy.”

  “I’ve had some issues lately with, let’s just say, surprises,” Recker told him. “I don’t like surprises.”

  “Well you can relax. Cause there ain’t no surprises in here.”

  “Good to know. So what’d you wanna talk about?” Recker asked.

  “I just thought me and you could rap a while about some things that have been happening around here lately.”

  “Such as?”

  “There’s a lot that’s been going on here, the Italians being wiped out, Marco Bellomi being killed, this cat Mancini being found this morning. Yeah, a lot been going on,” Jeremiah said, not in an accusing tone, but definitely a suspicious one.

  “And you’re thinking what? That I did it?”

  “Have to admit the thought crossed my mind.”

  “I’m not sure what the significance of this conversation is,” Recker said. “What exactly am I doing here? What are you hoping to find out?”

  “Look, man, I got respect for you. I thought you had some respect for me. This stuff going down with the Italians impacts me and my business. I need to know if you were a part of all that,” Jeremiah said. “That’s why it’s just me and you in here. Me and you. Man to man. No second in command’s, no third parties, just me and you sitting down and being real with each other.”

  “OK. You wanna be real with
each other?” Recker asked.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Fine. I’ll be real with you. First, you answer a question for me.”

  “Ask.”

  “Why do you wanna know if I did it?”

  “Cause this has got Vincent’s name written all over it,” Jeremiah answered. “I need to know if you did it, if you’re working for him, if I need to be watching my back now. A lot of things need to be answered. This city went from being shared a third between three parties and now it’s down to two. Me and Vincent. I need to know if he’s looking to pare things down even more. Now, my question?”

  “All right. Yes, I killed Marco Bellomi and his henchmen,” Recker firmly stated.

  “And this dude that was found this morning?”

  “Wasn’t me. Could’ve been me. But I didn’t do it.”

  “You working for Vincent now?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then why you taking out his competition for him?” Jeremiah wondered.

  “Didn’t do it for him.”

  “Then why?”

  “It was a personal matter.”

  “A personal matter? You gonna have to do better than that.”

  “Why? Am I on trial for something here?”

  “Maybe you are.”

  “Fine. I’ll play along. If you want the real reason, here it is. A while back ago, in the course of my own business, I interacted with someone who apparently knew Bellomi. He didn’t like what I did and took a hit out on me. Someone shot me, I survived, and then I gave them what they had coming. I did it for me, on my own. I didn’t do it for Vincent and I don’t much care about the power play that’s going on for this city,” Recker explained.

  “So you’re not working for him then?”

  “I work for me. Now and always.”

  “That’s what I like about you, man. That’s what I respect. You don’t come in here and just say what you think someone wants to here. I can always spot a master bullshitter.”

  “You wanted the truth. That’s what I gave.”

  “And I believe it. Did Vincent help you carry out this revenge of yours?” Jeremiah asked.

  “All he did was tell me where the Italians would be and how I could hit them. The rest was on me,” Recker replied.

  “Yeah, I’m sure he was anxious for you to finish the job so he could move in on their territory.”

  “Like I said, none of that concerns me.”

  “This dude this morning, Mancini, that smacks in the face of Vincent sending a message that that’s his territory now and to stay out of it.”

  “I’ll hundred percent guarantee you it was. Mancini was the guy that shot me. Vincent found him for me last night and called me, hoping I’d come kill him.”

  “But you didn’t?”

  “I declined the offer. So, I would have to assume that Vincent did the honors for me,” Recker said.

  “In any of your dealings with Vincent, did he say anything about moving in on me or trying to take me out?”

  “Your name never came up. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he eventually tried it.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

  “I would think that if he does try, that you’ll have some time to prepare yourself,” Recker told him.

  “Why you think that?”

  “Vincent’s a man who moves very slowly. Methodically. He’s not much for rushing into things and screwing things up cause he was impatient. He likes to plan and make sure when he’s ready, he finishes the job.”

  “So you think he’ll wait a while before trying to take my part of the city?” Jeremiah asked.

  Recker shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but I would think he’s not planning it at the moment. If you look at it logically, he seemed to be content in how things were going at the moment. He didn’t take over the Italians territory until I showed up and made it easy for him.”

  “That’s true.”

  “He didn’t even make a move on them. He waited for the perfect opportunity, which turned out to be me, and just slid his way over,” Recker continued. “So while I don’t think he’s planning anything imminently, I wouldn’t get too comfortable just yet.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because Vincent’s a man who loves power. He used to have a third of the city. That wasn’t enough. He wanted more. Now he’s got two thirds of it. I don’t know where and when, but there’s gonna come a time when two thirds isn’t enough either. He’s gonna want more. And you’re the man he’s gonna get it from.”

  “That ain’t happening,” Jeremiah defiantly said.

  “Maybe so. But he’s sure gonna try. Maybe this year. Maybe next year. Maybe it won’t be for another five years. But the day will come.”

  “I’ll be ready for him.”

  “I’m sure you will be.”

  “Will you look out for me if you hear anything? Pass it along.”

  “This is a war I got no stake in,” Recker said. “I’m not choosing sides and getting stuck in the middle of you.”

  “But you helped him gain some power.”

  “No I didn’t. I helped myself in avenging a vendetta. He just happened to capitalize on it. Nothing more to it than that. On the flip side, if you wanna hit him tomorrow, and I hear about it…I’m not gonna tell him about that either.”

  Jeremiah leaned back in his chair, his hand touching his face and fiddling with his fingers. He just stared at Recker for a minute, studying his face. Jeremiah was excellent at reading people’s faces and analyzing their words. He could tell when someone was being honest with him and when someone was feeding him a pack of lies. He could handle the truth, even if he didn’t like it. He could tell that Recker wasn’t holding back on him or just telling him what he thought Jeremiah wanted to hear.

  “We good?” Recker asked.

  Jeremiah started nodding his head. “Yeah. We’re good.”

  “Anything else you wanna talk about? These chairs are comfy,” Recker kidded.

  “Nah, that was it.”

  “All right then. I’ll see myself out.”

  Recker got up and left, Jeremiah’s eyes focused on him the entire time. Once he left the house, one of Jeremiah’s top aides came in to ask how the meeting went.

  “Whatcha want us to do with him?” the man asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “He throw in with Vincent?”

  “Nah. He’s staying out of it all together,” Jeremiah answered.

  “He say anything about Vincent?”

  “Oh yeah. Vincent’s coming. Don’t know when, but he’s coming. And we’ll need to be ready when he does.”

  “We will be.”

  “Might be a year or two from now. Maybe even longer. But we need to get stronger,” Jeremiah vowed.

  “How you wanna do that?”

  “Get more eyes and ears on the street. We need to know what’s going on weeks, months before it happens.”

  “We’ll do it.”

  “What we need is to somehow get Recker to throw in with us. That’s a man who can do some damage in a fight.”

  “How you propose to do that?” his aide asked.

  “I dunno yet. But we gotta figure out a way. He took out the Italian leadership all by himself. A man that can do that is a man we need working with us,” Jeremiah mused. “Before Vincent gets to him first.”

  Chapter 12

  Recker’s phone started ringing and as soon as he saw who it was, continued to let it ring, drawing a look from Jones. They were sitting side by side, Recker’s phone laying on the desk in between their computers. Jones thought it a little strange that he wasn’t answering his phone, but then thought about it, and didn’t think it so strange after all. He knew who it was. The only person he didn’t pick up for right away was Mia. Jones figured it must’ve been her. Which was strange in itself considering she was a friend, but he didn’t like to butt into Recker’s business too often. Jones knew he had his reasons for ignoring her calls. A few seconds after the p
hone stopped ringing, another ringer went off, indicating a voice mail. Jones looked at the phone out of the corner of his eye as he continued typing, wondering why Recker was still not reaching for his phone.

  “Are you not going to answer that?” Jones finally asked.

  “Answer what?”

  “The phone that just rang.”

  “Oh. Yeah, I’ll get to it,” Recker responded.

  Though he wasn’t really satisfied with his answer, Jones didn’t want to press him any further. A few seconds later his phone buzzed again, this time indicating a text message. Jones stopped typing and looked at the phone again, seeing that it was still Mia. He turned to Recker, who still wasn’t making a move for it.

  “Is there an issue or something?” Jones asked.

  “With what?”

  “With Mia.”

  “No. No issues,” Recker said.

  “Well then why are you ignoring her calls?”

  “I’ll get to them.”

  “Well then why don’t you talk to her? You know, I’ve noticed that you answer your phone right away for everybody except for her,” Jones told him.

  “Have you now?”

  “I have.”

  “Well if it’s bothering you, then next time you can answer it,” Recker said.

  “Did something happen at dinner the other night?”

  “Nope. Nothing happened. Not a thing,” Recker said, somewhat angrily.

  With the tone of his voice obvious, Jones wanted to get to the bottom of it. “From the sound of your voice I can see there’s a problem.”

  “You really wanna know what the problem is?”

  “That’s why I asked,” Jones calmly responded.

  “The problem is that you were right all along.”

  “Gratifying to know, but which part are you referring to?”

  “The getting too close part. That’s the problem.”

  “You feel you’re falling for her?”

  “No. But I realized that she shouldn’t be around me. I’m not good for her and I can only bring her heartache,” Recker stated out of frustration.

  “What exactly happened at dinner?”

  “Nothing. Nothing happened. That’s the problem,” Recker told him, getting more agitated as he vented. “We were there five minutes when Vincent called. She got dressed up, looked pretty, trying to have a nice evening out, and I ruined it for her. I couldn’t even give her more than five minutes of my time. I’m trying to keep my distance so she doesn’t think there’s a chance of something happening between us.”