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Sam described the picture to Blake. After she finished, Blake had a few questions. “Has Bobby done any computer analysis on this picture? I guess we don’t have enough to do any facial tracing?”
“Yes and no. He is working on getting a clearer picture of whomever the woman is, and if it is really a woman.”
“Has Case finished his investigation on the other five people in city hall?”
“Yes, you can come by in the morning and he will go over it with you.”
They settled in for dinner and forgot about this case for the evening.
Sam was gone early the next morning, while Blake took his time getting ready. That is, until Maria got a call from Sam telling them to get down to the office as soon as they could.
As soon as they entered Sam’s office, Maria saw and told Blake there was a large group from the office in her office.
Sam got right to it. “Blake, Bobby tells me we were hacked last night. Bobby explain, please.”
Bobby cleared his throat, “When I arrived this morning and tried to log in, I had difficulty getting into our system. I had to go into the back door I had installed just for this situation. Everything we have on this case has been deleted.”
Blake growled. “You mean we are blind and have to start over?”
“No. Every night before I leave I back everything up to a freestanding computer that is not connected to the internet. We have everything.”
Sam told everyone to calm down. “Now, we must find out who and why as soon as we can. Blake, first thoughts?”
Blake was sitting in his chair stroking his chin. “Bobby, is there any way to trace back to see where the attack came from?”
“I’m running a tracing program right now. If it gets anything at, it will take a while. If they are any good at all, they will cover their tracks, so we won’t find them.”
Sam dismissed the crowd with a wave of the hand. “Everyone gets back to work. Bobby, let us know how it goes. Case, can you stay with what you have?”
When the room was clear except for the three of them and Case, he began. “I have finished the list you gave me.”
He proceeded to tell the results of the investigation of the final five. When he finished, everyone grew quiet.
Blake spoke up. I am mostly interested in the District Attorney and the Assistant District Attorney.
Case picked up his table and started.
“The District Attorney, Beverly Markarian is of Arminian decent from Massachusetts. She is a graduate of the College of New York with a law degree from Harvard. She was top of her class and was elected in a city with only a small Arminian community. She is popular in the city and among city employees in city hall. There are rumors she might have designs on other opportunities in the field of politics.
William “Will” Taylor is the assistant DA, appointed on Markarian’s recommendation. He is very career orientated. He gets the hardest cases and is well thought of in the mayor’s administration.”
“By the way, Thompson was hired as the special investigator on the recommendation of Markarian.”
“How are their finances?”
“Markarian’s is fairly normal for a person in her position. She is careful with her money and has no serious bills. Taylor has done very well for himself. He has an outside source of income from some investments he has made.”
“Have you investigated the investments?”
“Not yet.”
“Do it. The other three don’t seem to offer much. Thanks for that.”
The meeting broke up and Blake and Maria headed upstairs. When they got there, Blake had a request for Maria. “Please call Hammer and ask him if I can see him.”
She nodded and got on the phone. Within a few minutes, she told Blake Hammer would come by here this afternoon.
Blake sat down with his jazz and brandy to think.
He was still deep in thought when Hammer arrived. Maria escorted him into the living room. She then headed off to her office.
“Thanks for coming by BA. I think we need to update each other.”
Hammer settled onto his couch. “I agree. Do you have anything specific to discuss?”
“Very specific. I think you need to be extra careful until we are done with this case.”
“I don’t know for sure yet, but I have an uneasy feeling about this case. I have this thought stuck in the back of my head, and I can’t shake it, and I can’t put my finger on either. I have an uneasy feeling the killing may not be over. I am probably crazy, but I just think everyone needs to be careful for now. We were hacked last night, and someone tried to wipe out our entire file about this case. Fortunately, we have good computer tech, and he has a special backup. This tells me we are getting close to someone. Now, I have no idea who that is, but, if they are nervous enough to start striking out at us. We must be careful.”
“I agree. Thanks for the warning. I’ll be careful. It just so happens now that Mary and the kids are away at her parents’ house.”
“OK, I know this is going to sound paranoid, but maybe one of your guys could keep an eye on them while they are away. You had trouble with one of the other families a few years ago, didn’t you?”
“Yes, it was Vito’s family. I haven’t thought about him in years.”
“Would it be possible to get a summary of what happened. You can edit it any way you want. I just want the basic details, okay? One last thing. Anthony told me there were things going on that made our meeting necessary. Can you give me the basics of the threat?”
Hammer let out a long breath and Blake waited. “There are a couple of things swirling around. I won’t give you details, but a couple of families are complaining. I told you about it before, but it’s worse than complaining. Someone took a shot at Anthony. Every family has denied any involvement, but Anthony is sure it came from one of them.”
“Someone is willing to start another war over this. That sounds like stupidity.”
“No one knows about this, so keep it to yourself. Don’t even tell Sam. As for the other thing, I will be careful. Keep me updated.” Hammer patted Blake on the shoulder and left.
Blake sat back in his chair. It was time to reset.
The hack means they were a threat to someone. That means there is danger for everyone involved.Of any of the other families, it was most likely from Vito’s family. After all, Hammer had killed him and his underboss with the blessing of Anthony. That sort of thing might piss some people off. But it has been a few years.Why now? Something must have changed. Blakes’ first guess would be Thompson’s investigation. He might have kicked a rock over that someone doesn’t want kicked over.He has a list of four names from city hall who are the most likely suspects from the mayor’s list. Did he leave anyone off that he is protecting? Blake had to tell Sam to have Case widen his list of suspects. He also wants Case to dig deeper into the four’s background. Blake wanted to know as much of their hi as he could.He now knows the things Anthony is worried about. Blake would be worried too if he thought someone out there was actively trying to kill him.
Blake told Maria he was going to see Sam and she didn’t have to go. He found Sam in a meeting with a client. He decided to leave her alone and hunt up Case. He found him in his office. “Hey Case. I would like to expand our investigation a little bit.”
“Sure, what’d you need?”
“I’m sure by now Sam has asked you to expand the number of people in city hall that you investigate. I would also like to go deeper in the four. I want to know everything about them. I want to know who their grandparents were. Everything. Use as many people as you need. There must be something.”
“You got it, boss.” Blake went looking for Sam. She was finished with the client, so he went in a settled down in his chair.
“What do I owe a special afternoon visit?” Sam laughed at him.
“Can’t I just come by to see my favorite person?”
“What do you want?”
Blake laughed. “I went to see Case as you were busy. I told him to expand the investigation of the four. I want to know EVERYTHING about them. I figured you already told him to expand the people he is investigating. I told him to get the manpower he needed. I asked Hammer to give us the details of his encounter with Vito several years ago, and I warned him about the threat. We need to protect ourselves. It is starting to remind me of the billionaire’s chip case.”
“I had the same thought. I have told everyone in the office to go out in pairs until this case is over. We have enough firepower in the office to prevent anyone who knows anything about us to come here.”
“I am thinking maybe Maria should stay with you when you go out?”
“And leave the blind man alone? Not a chance. I will have one of the guys go with me.”
Blake got up, kissed Sam, and spoke. “See you tonight.” He headed upstairs.
When Blake got upstairs, he called for Maria. When she came, he asked “Maria, do you have a gun?”
“Yes, and I know how to use it.”
“I assume you have never had to shoot someone.” She shook her head. “It’s not like target shooting. It is hard to do, even after you’ve trained.”
“Why are you telling this? I guess you think we might be defending ourselves in the near future?”
“It’s possible. I want you to be prepared. If you hesitate, you will be dead, and me too.”
Blake couldn’t see her tear up. She wouldn’t let anyone get him while she is with him, she promised herself. “I’ll be ready.”
That afternoon a messenger from BA dropped off a package. Maria read the report that looked like it was in Hammer’s handwriting.
Maria started. “I think Hammer wrote this himself. Here goes.
“Four years ago, I was investigating a blackmail scheme that was traced to Vito Corlini. When I had the details, I gave them to Anthony. When Vito found out I had told Anthony, he came with his boys to my office to kill us. We had set up a trap with a dummy office. When I knew he was here, I called Anthony to ask him what he wanted me to do. He told me that if Vito made any threatening moves, I was cleared to handle it, permanently. I did so. Anthony cleaned up the mess, and I have heard nothing since. Hammer”
That was the Blake had heard. So maybe, someone in the Corlini family was finally paying Anthony back. If the assassin was traced back to Anthony somehow, the frame would be complete. It maybe, however, whoever planned this might not be willing to wait for the slow wheels of justice, and just do it themselves. Either way, the heat has definitely been turned up.
Blake decided they were going to the steakhouse for dinner, and took Maria down to get Sam. They had a nice, quiet dinner.
The next morning Blake got a call from Sam telling them to come downstairs. Case has some news.
When they arrived in Sam’s office, Case was already there.
“I have some news I didn’t want to wait for everyone else.”
“Good, fire away.”
“The DA is planning to run for mayor next year. She is hoping solving the Thompson case will propel her to the mayor’s office. Taylor is planning on running for DA at the same time.”
“That is certainly interesting. I can see why the mayor gave us their names. What about the others?”
“Covington owes one of the families a large gambling debt.”
“Let me guess, the Corlini family?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“Lucky guess. Anything else?”
“Maybe. I went back into everyone’s early hi. One odd thing, Taylor’s hi seems to not go back far enough.”
“What do you mean, not back far enough?”
“Well, he has a hi of his parents and grandparents. However, I can’t verify the grandparents to my satisfaction. The records are there, but something just doesn’t look right. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m not sure.”
Blake spoke up. “Can we get his fingerprints?”
Case and Sam looked at each other. “I guess we could. His fingerprints are on file with the city.”
“No, not them. I mean something we have SEEN him touch. I need to see if his prints agree with the ones on file.”
“Any ideas?”
“Sure, follow him to lunch and steal his water glass. That way, we know those prints are his. Let’s see if they match.”
They agreed and split up. Blake went to Sam’s office with an idea. “Do you have a digital enhanced photo of the killer?”
“Yes.”
“Please have a copy sent by messenger to Hammer. Ask him if there are any hitters from the families that are a woman, or someone who could match the picture?”
Sam agreed and he and Maria headed back upstairs.
Maria got him a brandy as he turned his jazz on. She went into her office to do paperwork while he sat and thought.
Blake was putting an idea together. Pieces were starting to fit together. He just needed to get a few more answers.
He spent the afternoon in his favorite chair.
Sam sent one young woman and one young man to follow Taylor when he went to lunch. They managed to get a table near Taylor. He was sitting alone for lunch. They waited until he got up to go to the bathroom. When he did, the man switched water glasses with his table. They put it in a bag and departed. When they got back to the office, they gave Case the bag.
Hammer received the message within the hour. He read the note and looked at the picture. He knew of a few women in the wet work game, but none of them had a thin face like this one. He looked at the computergenerated estimation of what her face could look like. He didn’t recognize anyone. However, he did have one idea, and called Sam.
She listened to what he requested, and went to Case to have him make a change to the picture. She then messengered the new picture back. When Hammer got it, he got up and headed to Blake’s building.
Maria answered the door and brought Hammer to Blake.
“Blake, I had Sam make a change to the picture. Here.” He handed Blake the new picture. “I think I know who this person might be.”
Blake and Hammer talked for a few minutes and Hammer left.
Blake gave Maria a name and told her to have Sam run it through everything they could. Maria headed for the office, and Blake relaxed. This fits with his hypothesis. A couple more things, he just needed a couple more details.
Sam ran the name of Leslie Graham. She had Case check on the dark web.
Bobby ran a scan of the prints on the water glass. He just had to wait to find a hit.
Sam called Blake and told him to get down there immediately. Blake and Maria headed downstairs.
When they arrived, Sam was with Bobby and Case. She started. “I think we have a little break here. Case, you can start.”
“I ran the name you gave us. It is a dummy. The CIA has this name flagged as a known associate of the families in New York.”
“Which families?”
“Two, Carbione and Corlini?”
“Of course it is. That narrows it down to the two families we already were pretty sure it was.”
Sam turned to Bobby. “Okay, Bobby, what have you got?”
“I ran the prints off the water glass through the feds and New York state. I have a hit. Apparently, he has changed his name. His birth name was Carmen Caruso.”
“Caruso?”
“Yes, his brother was Vencenzo Caruso.”
“He was a lieutenant for Vito Corlini.”
His family moved to Ohio when the boys were around eleven or twelve. Their parents wanted to get them away from the “family” business. When Vincenzo grew up, he headed back to New York to join the business. When Carmine was an adult, he legally changed his name to William Taylor. He changed it after he had enrolled in a small college in Ohio. Once he was enrolled, he changed his name legally and had everything at the school changed to his new name. It was easy from then on. He then transferred to Ohio State and graduated with honors. He went to law school at Harvard and graduated with honors.”
Blake laughed. “So, except for his little “birth problem”, he has a promising future. I wonder, does the mob know the assistant DA has a connection with them?”
Sam interjected. “If they don’t, they are dumber than we think.”
“It is the one thing he would have to keep secret. No one in New York would knowingly vote for someone from a mob family to be the DA.”
Blake went back to the apartment to think. After a couple of hours, he called the number Anthony had given him. Alberto Russo answered after the first ring.
“Well, Mr. Steele, I was beginning to think you didn’t like me.”
“I finally have a question that is worth your time, Mr. Russo.”
“No, call me Al like my friends do. What do you need?”
“I am going to send you a photo of someone we are interested in. I want to know if you know this person, and if it is someone Anthony considers “Family”, if you know what I mean. I need to know how to handle this person before I proceed.”
“I will send a man to the café downstairs to pick it up.”
“I don’t need any of your people here.”
“He’s there every month anyway. He is our “insurance” collector for your area.”
Blake knew who he was. Slick little bastard. “Okay, I’ll be in the café in an hour.”
“He’ll be there.”
Blake told Maria he was going to the café and told her to stay home. He told her who he was meeting and told her not to worry. He assumed she would call Sam, and that would be okay with him.
He went to the café and sat in his booth. He told the café owner that the “insurance” person was coming to see him and asked her to bring him back. He was there on time, Blake handed him the envelope, and he left. Blake decided to have a piece of apple pie. After a good piece of pie, he headed back upstairs to tell Sam what he had done. She acted surprised. He had to hand it to her; she didn’t bust her informants. Now, all he could do was wait for Al’s answer.
He didn’t have long to wait. Al called back the same afternoon. Blake guessed that Al and Anthony had huddled and decided what to tell them.
“Mr. Steele this person is known to us. They are a hitter we have used in the past.”
“My question is, is this a person Anthony wants me to leave alone?”
“No. We haven’t used them for a couple of years. If one of the other families are involved, just let us know.”
“Thank you for the information. I will do so.”
Blake sat back in his chair. It was time to review his main suspects.
Isiaha Covington He has a beef with the mayor. He owes the Corlini family money and is very susceptible to being influenced by them. And the police’s workmanship with this case leaves open the idea that they are trying to dump the investigation for someone. He decided to have Maria call Case and add Lt. Davis to his list of people that need investigating.Elizabeth Baker She is dropping down the suspect list. There is nothing that has connected her to anyone in this case.Beverly Markarian Blake is ready to drop her from the list completely. There is nothing to tie her to anything in this case.”Will Taylor”, Carmen Caruso He is the leader in the clubhouse. His need to keep his association with the Carlini family secret is the clearest and most pressing motive they have.
He asked Maria to call and add Lt. Davis’s name to the suspect list that needs investigating.
He called Russo back. “I notice you didn’t tell me where my suspect is presently. Is there a reason you would prefer me not to find them?”
“We can handle that ourselves.”
“I would respectfully suggest that that it would be better for Anthony if we found a solution to our case that did not involve him. If we leave this case open forever, it might drag on a long time.”
“We don’t care about the shooter. You need to find who hired them. That is still your task.” He hung up. Well, that was clear enough.
It was time to update the mayor. Maria called him and they headed to city hall.
Once they were sitting in his office, he began. “I hope you being here means we have an update?”
“We now know the identity of the shooter. It is someone who has done work for a couple of the families. However, they both deny it. We have three main suspects. We are closing in. A few more days should do it.”
ero
