Lia Vazzi, For the first time, deliberately disobeyed the order of his boss, Cross De Lena. It was unavoidable. Detective Jim Losey had made another visit to the Hunting Lodge and had again asked questions about Skannet's death. Lia denied all knowledge of Skannet and claimed he had just happened to be in the hotel lobby at that particular time. Losey patted him on the shoulder, then lightly slapped him across the face. "OK, you little guinea prick," he said, "I'll get you soon."
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Lia remembered driving Cross to the meeting with Phil Sharkey, Losey's retired partner. He had never believed that Sharkey would remain quiet on the promise of a future fifty grand. Now he was sure that Sharkey had informed Losey of that meeting and probably had seen Vazzi waiting in the car. If this was true, there would be a great danger to Cross and himself. In essence he distrusted the judgment of Cross, police officers stuck together like Mafioso. They had their own kind of omerta.
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In his mind Lia signed a death warrant for Losey. No matter what else happened, and he knew his future was in peril, he would make sure of Losey's fate. But he had to be very careful. The Clericuzio Family had strict rules. You never harmed a police officer.
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The outside of Sharkey's house was deserted, the lawn empty except for an abandoned mower. But the garage door was open, a car in it, and Lia walked up the cement path to the door and rang the bell. There was no answer. He kept ringing. He tested the knob, the door was not locked, now there was a choice to be made. Did he go in or leave immediately? He wiped his prints off the knob and bell with the tail of his tie. Then he went through the door into the small hallway and called Sharkey's name in a shout. There was no answer.
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Lia recruited two of his soldiers to drive him down from the Hunting Lodge to Santa Monica, the home of Phil Sharkey. He was confident that just by talking to Sharkey he would know if the man had informed Losey of the visit by Cross.
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Lia moved through the house; the two bedrooms were bare, he looked into the closets and under the beds. He went through the living room, looking under the sofa and through the cushions. Then he went into the kitchen and to the patio table where there was a container of milk and a paper plate that held a partially eaten cheese sandwich, white bread with dehydrated yellow mayo on the edges.
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Lia Vazzi descended the two steps and looked behind a mound of used bicycles. He opened a closet with huge doors. In it was a policeman's uniform hanging all by itself, on the floor was a pair of thick black shoes, and resting on the shoes was a braided street policeman's cap. That was all.
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Lia went back up the stairs and stood on the patio staring at the ocean. Burying a body in the sand was foolhardy, so he dismissed the idea. Maybe somebody had come by and picked Sharkey up. But for an assassin there would be a risk of being seen. Also, Sharkey would be a dangerous man to kill. So, Lia reasoned, if the man was dead he had to be in this house. Immediately he went back down to the basement and threw all the wool blankets out of the trunk. And sure enough, there at the bottom was first the large head, and then the lean body. There was a hole in Sharkey's right eye and over it a thin cake of blood like a red coin. The facial skin, waxy with long death, was pockmarked with black dots. Lia, as a Qualified Man, knew exactly what that meant. Someone trusted had been allowed to come very close to shoot point blank into the eye; those dots were powder marks.
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There was a slatted brown door in the kitchen, and Lia opened it to reveal a shallow basement only two wooden steps down, sort of a dropped room with no windows.
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Lia went to the one trunk on the floor and pulled up the lid. It was surprisingly light. The interior was filled to the top with neatly folded gray blankets.
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Carefully, Lia folded the blankets, put them back over the body, and then exited the house. He had not left any fingerprints but was aware that fragments of the blankets must have adhered to his clothing. He would have to destroy the clothes thoroughly. His shoes, too. He had his soldiers drive him to the airport, and while he was waiting for a plane to take him to Vegas, he bought a change of clothing including new shoes in one of the stores in the airport mall. Then he bought a carry-on bag and put his old clothes into it.
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In Vegas he checked into the Xanadu and left a message for Cross. Then he showered thoroughly and dressed again in his new clothes. He waited for Cross to call.
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When the call came, he told Cross he would be up to see him. He brought the bag of his old clothing, and the first thing he said to Cross was "You just saved yourself fifty grand."
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Cross looked at him and smiled. Lia, usually a natty dresser, had bought a flowery shirt, blue canvas pants, and a light jacket, also blue. He looked like a low-caste casino hustler.
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Cross said, "How the hell could Sharkey be that dumb?"
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"Simple," Lia said. "Sharkey was the only one who could tie Losey with Dante. Otherwise it's just your say-so. Dante made Losey kill his partner."
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Lia told him about Sharkey. He attempted to make excuses for his actions, but Cross dismissed them. "You're in this with me, you have to protect yourself. But what the hell does this mean?"
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Lia shrugged. "He figured he could get money from Losey and then get the fifty from you anyway. He knew that Losey must be playing for big stakes because of the money you gave him. After all, he was a detective for twenty years, he could figure these things out. And he never dreamed Losey would kill him, his old partner. He didn't figure on Dante."
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"They were extreme," Cross said.
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"In this situation you cannot allow an extra player," Lia said. "I must say I'm surprised that Dante could see that particular danger. He must have convinced Losey, who really would not want to kill an old partner. We all have our sentimentalities."
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"Which means I have to act very quickly," Lia said.
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"You're talking about two different classes of animal," Lia said. "Losey is formidable, Dante is crazy."
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"So now Dante is controlling Losey," Cross said. "I thought Losey was tougher than that."
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"So Dante knows I know about him," Cross said.
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Lia laughed. "Do you think that will deceive Don Clericuzio?" he said.
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Cross nodded. "It will have to be a Communion," he said. "They will have to disappear."
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On the night of the third day they sat on the balcony of the penthouse. Cross had laid out the brandy and Havana cigars. They watched the crowds on the Strip below.
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Lia spent the next three days with Cross going over plans. During that time he burned his old clothes in the hotel incinerator with his own hands. Cross exercised by shooting a lone eighteen holes of golf, with Lia accompanying him to drive the golf cart. Lia could not understand the popularity of golf in all the Families. To him it was a quaint aberration.
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"If we plan it right, nobody can blame us," Cross said.
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"No matter how clever they are, my death so soon after my father's would compromise Dante with the Don," Cross said. "I think we can wait."
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Lia puffed on his cigar. "Not too long. Now they know you spoke with Sharkey."
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"We have to get them both at the same time," Cross said. "Remember, it will have to be a Communion. Their bodies must not be found."
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"No," Lia said. "That is Losey's territory. He is too formidable there. We will have to do it in Vegas."
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"I think I know how to get them to Vegas at the same time," Cross said. He explained the scheme to Lia.
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Lia said, "You're putting last things first. And first we have to be sure we can kill them."
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"And break rules," Cross said.
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"If it's a Communion then nobody will know where they were killed," Lia said. "And we are already breaking the rule by killing a police officer."
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"We will have to use more bait," Lia told Cross. "We have to make sure Losey and Dante come when we want them here."
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Cross sighed. "It's going to be very difficult. Losey is a dangerous man and careful. Dante can fight. We have to isolate them in one place. Can it be done in Los Angeles?"
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Cross drank another brandy. "OK, here's some more bait." He told Lia, and Lia nodded in agreement. "Their disappearance will be our salvation," Cross said. "And it will deceive everyone."
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"Except Don Clericuzio," Lia said. "He is the only one to fear."
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