The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (83 page)

The Search for the Truth Begins

A
ll his sense
had left him. First it was dinner and the scene in the parking lot, then again once he got her home, and even though he had told himself a thousand times to get ahold of himself and to stay away from her, as soon as he walked in the front door last night and saw her waiting up for him after his visit with his son, it had been like some beast had taken hold of him, and he needed to possess her to make his again—lay his claim on her. But all that had gone out the window. Lisa brought this side of him out to the forefront. He was addicted. But love, he hadn’t believed in that for a very long time. And it was Lisa who had done that to him, he reminded himself.

Getting up early, he would busy himself with making breakfast and try to put yesterday and last night behind him. Try not think about it, but the condition of the living room brought it all back. Pillows from the sofa were thrown about and her skirt still lay in a heap on the floor. He picked it up and then draped it over the arm of the chair. He was so damn confused, and headed to the kitchen to start on breakfast.

He heard the shower upstairs go on just as he pulled out the ingredients for a large breakfast. He was famished. He had worked up an appetite, and even though he had left his room, the one Lisa was using, to sleep alone so he could think, he knew she would be pissed that he hadn’t wanted to talk. He had been up half the night, but still had no clue what to say. He’d pretty much said it all. Yes, they could raise a child together, but be together? He wasn’t ready for that. He was getting closer to understanding her actions, but still no way near forgiveness. He missed so much of his son’s life, and he was a pretty cool kid. That kind of hurt didn’t disappear after just one meeting. She had to understand that.

He had eggs and the ingredients for an omelet ready to go, when he set his mind to making the coffee. He began to fill the coffee pot, when a blood curdling scream from upstairs caused his heart to practically leap out of his throat. He dropped the partially filled carafe into the sink and ran towards the sound of those screams. He took the stairs two at a time, and bounded into the hallway just as the bathroom door flew open, and Lisa, partially covered in a towel, her hair a sudsy mess, looked at him evilly.

“What is the matter?” he asked full of concern, peering past her into the bathroom, and then glancing into each of the three bedrooms to be sure no one was lurking about. Lisa was staring at him icily, and he figured it was because he had left her bed last night.

“The water is scalding. You moron!” Lisa was pissed and turned on her heel slamming the door in his face. And not just about the water. After last night, when she’d expressed her feelings, he’d walked out and went to his parents’ room.

“Oh,” he stated dumbfounded looking at the closed door. And then “oh,” louder when dawning hit him like a ton of bricks. He had been making coffee and run the cold water to fill the basin.

“Yeah, oh!” Lisa retorted through the closed door.

Gio heard the shower go back on. Feeling bad, he made his way back down the stairs. He made the coffee, only half a pot, since he wasn’t finished filling it. But didn’t dare fill it all the way, even though he was sorely tempted to do so. He began to prepare breakfast and would try to explain the accident when she came down. He hoped she didn’t think it was not accidental.

When Lisa appeared down stairs twenty minutes later, he had already eaten and finished. She’d taken her time upstairs getting ready. “Omelet?” he asked carrying his plate to the sink to rinse off.

“You’re finished already?” Again, she sounded hurt, and he glanced at her, but any emotion she was feeling was quickly masked by a blank look upon her face.

“Yeah, I’m gonna head out early. I’ve got lots to do before Nikko arrives tomorrow. I want to put feelers out, and have something about Albert’s routine when we meet with your attorney tomorrow. I also need to go do that paternity test.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll come with you.” Lisa said nonchalantly, hoping during the drive he’d want to talk. It seemed like he was trying to make a quick getaway.

Gio shook his head. “No, sorry, you can’t. You are staying put today. I can’t risk you being spotted.” Her expression was fierce and her mouth clamped shut into a thin line. “Why don’t you go to your folks today, and get those papers, but otherwise I think you should stay here today.”

Lisa’s face twisted into a perplexed and angry expression. Her parents were . . . her parents. Old fashioned, judgmental. It wasn’t a good mix, but she would go because they needed all the paperwork. “Okay,” she relented, knowing that her attorney’s needed the paperwork immediately but still angry that they wouldn’t be able to talk this thing through.

“Good. You want that omelet?” he asked smiling at her.

Lisa rolled her eyes. “No. You go. I’ll take care of myself,” she stated softly and tried to hide the disappointment from her voice. She was expecting this, sort of, she thought. After last night, meeting their son, she hoped things might be a little different, but the tension was still there. Gio was not ready to forgive her yet. Disappointment and sadness threatened to swallow her. There would be many long lonely days of waiting between now and her trial. Gio may never forgive her. So she would focus on her son. She just hoped the restraining order would be lifted soon, and at least she could have Johnny to focus her attentions on, other than just her case.

Gio paused briefly, before setting down his cup. Lisa toyed with her cup of coffee but would no longer meet his eyes. He nodded, and left the room, murmuring behind his back softly, “Well, have a good day.” He made his escape.

“You too,” he heard her say softly to his retreating back, and again, he heard the note of sadness in her voice and almost turned to give her a kiss goodbye. But he didn’t. He couldn’t go back down this road again with her. If he did that now, he could very well lose his sanity. He needed to focus on proving her innocence. He needed to clear her name, and get custody of his son. That had to come first right now. That had to be his focus.

*     *     *

Gio was just
leaving his old precinct. He wanted to talk to Vinnie about getting some help, and needed names. His brother, Nikko, would be in town tomorrow, and he wanted to have everything ready. Luckily Vinnie was there and he got what he needed promising to have a drink with him when Nikko got in. Then he headed to see Dan Murphy, the name Vinnie gave him.

Dan was a surveillance guru, and Gio needed more equipment than he brought with him. And more than what Nikko could carry on the plane. They needed some cameras, some video surveillance, and some bugs. He wanted to tap the phones at Albert’s office, and home, too.

The visit with Dan went well. He had a van, fully loaded, and a man who could go in tonight and put in the bugs. He also gave Gio a name of a sharp kid who could trace Albert’s cell. Illegal, but Gio wasn’t planning on using what he found in a trial. This was off the books, and he wanted the information to keep track of Albert’s whereabouts, and see who he called. The kid, he called himself Tiny Minion, charged a 1000 bucks a week, and would give him a daily print out at midnight. Tiny gave him a routing number via text to transfer the money. Gio would be able to see who all Albert’s calls were from, and vice versa, who Albert called. It was money well spent as far as Gio was concerned, and he transferred the money with the tap of a finger.

By noon, Gio decided to drive by Luxury Auto, Albert’s biggest showroom in Manhattan. He pulled up to the building, but stayed on the street. He didn’t want to risk being seen, but wanted to get an idea of Albert’s routine. Business was booming it seemed. Several salesman were showing cars to prospective buyers. It looked busy. And the cars looked expensive.

He used the telescopic lens on his personal camera and could see inside the plate glass windows fairly well. He was there about an hour, when he saw Albert come through the showroom. The man was smiling, shaking hands with another man in a suit, and walked him to the door.

He didn’t look like the sleaze ball Gio knew he was. He was well-groomed and had aged fairly well. Albert waved at the man as he pulled out of the lot in a sedan driven by a driver, and then Albert scanned the road and lot looking for potential customers before returning inside. He stopped to chat with a few of the salesman, clapping some on the back, and then headed back into his office. Gio stayed another hour, and then headed out. It seemed Albert put in a decent day’s work, but who the hell knew what the man was capable of behind closed doors. He had kept his life secret except for the one incident when he had been busted all those years ago that prompted his parents to marry him off to hush up the rumors.

The blue blooded Rasmussens covered it up, and allowed him to destroy other lives in the process. Gio then headed to Albert’s apartment in the city. He wanted to scope out the place. His address, where he and Lisa had lived, was the old Dakota Building facing Central Park. He used his camera again to scope out the building. They had an apartment up on the fourth floor with a great view overlooking Central Park, and nearby was the Museum of Natural History. He loved going there as a kid with his parents, and briefly wondered if Johnny had been yet. He’d love to take him there, someday.

He checked out the front of the building and saw the doorman lounging by the side of the building. He saw him hustle when a car pulled up, and opened the door for one of the buildings rich tenants. You had to be rich to live in this building. Even the apartments on the lower floors had five million dollar price tags. The doorman walked the man in holding the door open for him as he passed under the covered entryway.

Gio saw the security cameras on either side of the door. Getting in and bugging the phone was not going to be an easy matter. He wondered if Albert had live in servants. He was sure Dan would be using someone to get in who was either disguised as delivery or repair. He had passed along all the information he knew, but Dan would dig up the rest. Vinnie’s referral was golden. Many private investigators, the best in the city used Dan, Vinnie stated, and sometimes he even did jobs for the prosecutor’s office, he’d been told.

Gio saw the doorman come back out, and resume his position. He glanced down the road and saw a sign that indicated a service entrance out back. He decided to check that out. Getting out of his car, he put on his sunglasses, and dropped a couple of coins in the meter. He wouldn’t be long.

He walked across the street and then cut over once more when he had passed the alleyway figuring he would double back. The building was not one of the largest in the city, but it was still prime real estate. He came back to the alleyway and slipped inside. No one else was watching, so he felt safe enough. There was a camera positioned above each door, and then several dumpsters below the garbage shoots. The city picked up the trash twice daily to keep the city clean, free of unwelcome smells, and the rat population at bay. They were always fighting against that. Gio didn’t enter much further. The back of the building had three entrances. One for employees, one for security, and then a cargo bay with double doors for larger deliveries. A bell was attached to each door, and a peephole.

He’d seen enough. He headed back to the car. Just as he was getting in he saw a familiar car pull up. He’d seen that car at Luxury Autos. It was a Rolls, and it pulled up right to the entrance of the building. Gio quickly got into his car, glad for the tinted windows, and scooted down. No telling if Albert would recognize him or not. Albert got out of the driver side and threw his keys at the doorman, who accepted them and took something from Albert’s other hand as he passed him. Probably a tip. There was no smile in the exchange. Albert’s smile from work was gone, Gio noticed. He slid down into his seat, but there was no need. Albert didn’t look back, and walked briskly inside just as another doorman came out and held the door open for him. The Rolls pulled away and then disappeared into the parking garage on the right side of the building.

Gio wondered what Albert was doing home at three in the afternoon. Lisa said he usually stayed until six at the dealership when she had lived with him. His routines had obviously changed, Gio surmised as he started the ignition and then carefully pulled out into traffic.

Gio decided to head back to Rosedale. He wanted to beat the traffic on the Sunrise Highway. If he didn’t leave now he’d been in it for three hours. Leaving now, he’d get home in less than an hour.

He was half way home when a text came in from Tiny. He saw an attachment as he briefly flicked the phone on, and the words: “Yesterday’s cell phone calls. You’ll have today’s at midnight.”

Gio threw his phone on the seat next to him to concentrate on the road. He was coming up on the bridge and wanted to be attentive, and also didn’t want trouble. It was illegal to even glance at your phone in the state of New York while driving. He’d look at the report once he got home.

What Gio Wants