The Sunset Witness (14 page)

Joel's apartment was a surprise.  He was very neat in
his appearance and meticulous as a waiter, so I was unprepared for the clutter
in his apartment. A variety of shoes had been kicked off and pointed every
which way at the entrance.  Clothes were draped over chairs in the living room,
cans of soda were abandoned on tables, and books and games were left open
wherever they were last read or played.  I wondered if he or Michael was the
messy one.

Joel excused himself to take a phone call, and I
wandered around the room looking at the artwork on the walls.  The paintings
were modern and beyond my interpretation.  I liked the choices of color and was
surprised to see the artist had signed
Breanna
at the bottom right
corner of each one.  I thought we might've had a lot in common if we'd made the
effort to get acquainted.  Perhaps we clashed because we were so much alike.  I
had to admit she had a talent for painting.

I was looking at the view from Joel's A-frame window
when I heard Michael say my name.  I was startled, and spun around, surprised
to see him standing a little ways away.  My first reaction was anger.  I was
sure Joel had nothing to give me and that Michael asked him to lure me to the
apartment so he could ambush me.  Then I remembered what Frank had said about
Roxy.  She believed in him, and he loved her for it.

"Before you get mad, let me explain,"
Michael said.

"I'm not mad.  You startled me."

"I knew I shouldn't have done this as soon as I
heard you come in.  It was a pretty juvenile move, I know.  But I didn't think
you'd let me in your house.  I need to talk to you."

"Let's leave Joel out of this.  We can talk on
the way to my place."

Michael seemed shocked when I didn't scream at him
again.  He disappeared down the hallway and came back a minute later.  We
walked without talking until we reached the road from Sunset to the lighthouse. 
Then Michael thanked me for giving him another chance.  As we descended the
walkway above Sunset, I could see the parking lot and then the porch of the
beach house.  Michael still hadn't said a word in explanation, so I did.

"I'm sorry I screamed at you and ordered you to
leave.  It wasn't like me.  I lost it when you said you agreed to kill someone."

"You were right to get angry.  I was angry at
myself.  I don't know how I got so messed up.  Mom did her best to give me a
nice life.  But I blamed her because I didn't have a dad.  My real dad dumped
her and then my step dad died in Iraq.  She said she hadn't been close to her
dad.  She wasn't speaking to him when he died.  I think she had her own issues,
but I needed a father.  That's no excuse for what I did, but I think I was
trying to fill the hole in my life with things."

"I didn't have a great relationship with my
father until it was almost too late.  I wished his clients weren't such an
embarrassment.  But I never refused anything he bought for me, either. On some
level, I knew he was buying my approval," I said.

"I had a lot of college debt on top of the stuff
I bought on credit.  Law school is expensive.  Then a friend of mine wanted to
celebrate his birthday with a night at the casinos.  We saw a show and played
some slots, blackjack, and roulette.  I had a good night, and I couldn't wait
to do it again.  It seemed like the answer to my prayers.  The next time I went
alone.  I was serious about winning.  I left in the hole.  I kept going back
and getting in deeper and deeper."

We had reached the parking lot, and I sat on the
bench near the landing above the beach.  Michael paced back and forth as he
explained.

"To make matters worse, I lost my job.  I got
hired right after the bar exam by a criminal defense firm in Vegas.  I was the
new kid on the block, and I took whatever shit no one else wanted.  I was in
the casino parking lot one night when I saw a robbery.  The cops arrived and
arrested the guy after he had the wad of bills in his possession.  It was too
perfect.  I figured he must've been set up by somebody.  Whoever it was could
live without the wad of bills.  They had a score to settle with the guy who
took them.  Anyway, the next Monday morning, I get this guy's file on my desk. 
I'm supposed to go before the judge and jury and tell them this guy didn't do
it.  I waited for my boss to get good and ready to talk to me and then I laid
it on him.  No way was I going to defend this guy.  He gave me all this
bullshit about my duty as an attorney.  The guy deserved a competent defense,
and he was going to get it from me.  I quit on the spot.  So now, I'm in debt
and unemployed.

"When I was offered the hit, I laughed at
first.  I thought the guy was joking.  What do I know about killing anybody? 
He said I didn't have a record, so I was the last person anyone would suspect. 
He said the guy was old and going to die soon anyway.  He said I'd be doing him
a favor.  I had a few drinks in me by then, and I wasn't thinking straight. 
When I woke up the next morning, I thought, 'shit, Michael, what have you done?' 
I couldn't believe I was so stupid.  I swear to God, what happened next is the
truth.  I was begging God to help me, and the phone rang.  It was Joel.  We'd
lost touch, and he was letting me know he was in Sunset and needed a roomy.  He
thought I was high 'cause I sounded so weird on the phone.

"So I told the guy at the casino I was on my way
to Sunset, and it might take a while to get in a position to where I could off
the old man.  I told him I'd take care of it.  Of course, I had no intention of
taking care of it, but I thought I could warn the guy, at least."  Michael
sat down next to me on the bench.

He took my hand and looked into my eyes.

"Rachel, that's what I was trying to tell you
before.  I know I can quit, because I see what gambling has done to my life.  I
could've handled the credit card and school debt over time, but now I owe a
bunch of guys who wanted the money yesterday.  They're going to be real pissed when
they realize I didn't off the guy, either.  They gave me a stolen gun and
showed me how to use it."

"I'm cold.  Let's go inside.  I'll fix some cocoa,"
I said.

I was overwhelmed by Michael's confession.  He didn't
make excuses for himself.  I could tell he realized where he'd gone wrong.  I
believed he'd stop gambling.  I understood when he explained he'd been drinking,
and the hit on the old man sounded less sinister than it did the next morning. 
I admired him for not defending the man who robbed someone else.  It was a set
of circumstances that would be hard for many people to fathom, but I'd seen how
easily people dig holes for themselves when I worked at my father's law firm.  Sometimes
decent people get caught up in a series of events that lead them to do things
they later regret.  I suppose if I'd not been in love with Michael, I might
have had less sympathy for him.  But I was in love with him, and I wanted to
help him climb out of the deep pit he was in so we could have a life together.

We drank hot cocoa, cuddled on the futon with the
afghan around us, and listened to Rachmaninov again.  It seemed to be the
soundtrack of our lives with periods of calm followed by intrigue.  I had no
idea what lay ahead.  It wasn't only the amount of money but who the creditors
were that worried me.  It seemed we had three problems.  Michael still had
credit card and college debt along with gambling debts.  He'd not carried out
his contract on Frank.  He was a witness to the staged robbery in the casino
parking lot.  He could probably restructure his credit card and college debt. 
There would be no negotiating with the owners of the casino.  I had no idea how
much he owed them, and it might take everything in my savings.  The bigger
problem was his failure to honor his contract on Frank.  Dennis said someone
would be coming for both of them.  Would someone come for all three?  There was
no way out of that one.  How much danger was Michael in for witnessing the
robbery in the casino lot?  A robbery would be one thing, but if he saw
something staged by the mob, he'd have to be silenced.  I closed my eyes,
listened to the tide roaring into shore, and wondered how something so benign
could have caused me so much fear.  I was faced with real, imminent danger, and
there seemed to be no escape.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

I woke up to the sounds of men's voices in the
parking lot as they got gear together.  After a half hour of shouted questions
and good-natured banter, the last of the group headed for the beach with boards
for surfing or windsurfing.

Michael and I did a run on the beach and then walked
back toward the beach house.  He'd not yet made an effort to find Dennis.  He
was surprised I knew him and also surprised to learn Dennis had been hired to
hit Frank.  He was told Dennis ratted on the mob.  In view of De Luca's
acquittal, Michael thought the hit had more to do with Dennis not fulfilling
the contract on Frank.  Michael was interested in Frank's story, partly because
his mother had grown up in the Seattle area.  I suggested calling Frank to ask
if he was free to have brunch with us.  Michael liked the idea.  He also wanted
to talk to Dennis.

Frank was happy to hear from me and said he would
call Dennis.  We agreed to meet at the diner.  While we ate, the conversation
was light with talk of favorite sports teams and Frank's memories of growing up
before, during, and after World War II.  Dennis was twelve years younger than
Frank, so he grew up in the aftermath of World War II and enjoyed the post-war
prosperity.  Dennis' most vivid memory was the assassination of President
Kennedy.  He was a truck driver at the time.  He thought the mob was behind the
assassination.  Frank disagreed, saying he thought Kennedy was killed for
planning to withdraw from Vietnam.  Michael had been quiet.  He calmly pointed
out that Kennedy often said Vietnam was too important in preventing the spread
of Communism to let it fail.  Kennedy was proud of having beefed up the
military-industrial complex and gave a speech about it the day he was killed. 
Michael agreed with Dennis.  The mob wanted revenge, and the CIA made it easy
for them.

Frank and I walked to his home.  Michael and Dennis
split the tab and paid the cashier.  Michael planned to warn Dennis about the
contract on his life.  Michael told me later that Dennis was surprised Michael
had been sent to kill him.  Dennis realized he'd not be able to spot another
assassin if the mob was willing to use someone who looked as innocent as
Michael.  Dennis understood the circumstances that put Michael at the mercy of
the mob and thanked him for putting himself at risk rather than fulfilling the
contract.

When Michael arrived at Frank's house, we were
sitting on the sofa in the living room looking at a photo album.  Frank had
started the album in high school.  There were various photos of family members
in uniform.  Frank's older brother was killed in the D-Day invasion.  There
were photos of Roxy and Frank at picnics and dances.  Then Frank showed us
photos of Bob and Donna as school children.  When he showed us Donna's high
school graduation photo, Michael was stunned.  He recognized his mother.  At first,
Frank thought there must be only a resemblance between the two.  Then Michael
showed us the photo of his mother in his wallet.  The photos looked strikingly
similar.  His mother's name was Donna.

Frank and Michael began comparing their histories. 
Michael was born shortly after his mother left Seattle.  She'd told him his
grandfather died in an auto accident.  She refused to talk about Michael's
father, but she told him his name was Ricky Russo.  Michael had never wanted to
find him, because his mother said Ricky abandoned her even though he knew she
was pregnant with his child.  The resemblance between Frank at twenty-five and
Michael then was remarkable.

Michael told Frank about quitting his job at the law
firm rather than defending someone he knew to be guilty.  He said he'd like to
stay in Sunset and get to know Frank better, but he had an offer for a job in
California, and he needed it badly.  Frank was sorry he couldn't help Michael,
but he told him he was very proud of him.  He told Michael that Dennis had been
sent to kill him because he'd testified against Carmine Russo.  He said he spent
his life regretting that decision because it deprived him of his family. 
Seeing Michael reminded him of the man he once was.  He was at peace with his
choices and felt that God had blessed him by sending Michael in his last days.

After hearing Frank's story, Michael vowed to put an
end to the animosity between Russo and Frank by contacting his father.  Once
Michael intervened on behalf of Frank, he was certain Dennis would also be out
of danger.  His hit would no longer serve a purpose if the Russo family forgave
Frank.  It seemed everything depended upon Michael.  Frank was overwhelmed by
the events and needed to rest.  Michael and I made sure he was comfortable and
left.

Once we were back at my house, Michael did a search
online and called the number he found for Ricky Russo.  He explained he was
Russo's son and that he was calling to beg Ricky to forgive his grandfather and
cancel the hit on him.  Ricky wanted to see Michael, but he needed some proof
that he was Donna's son.  In the meantime, he promised to call the De Luca
family and tell them their debt to him had been settled.  He told Michael he
did not abandon him.  He said he and Donna had a terrible fight when Frank
testified against Ricky's dad.  They were too proud to make up.  Donna left Seattle
to start a new life and didn't tell Ricky about Michael.  Ricky asked Michael
to come for a visit so they could get to know each other.

Michael and I were ecstatic.  He was sure he could
convince his father to smooth things over with the men to whom he owed gambling
debts.  He agreed to talk to a financial counselor to find a way to consolidate
his credit card debt.  I offered to help him with my savings.  Although I'd
promised myself never to sell my mother's wedding ring, I knew it was an option
if all else failed.  If his financial worries were eliminated and the contract
on Dennis was no longer necessary, Michael was sure he'd be safe.  Michael also
told me about the job in California.  A friend's father was in broadcasting and
thought he could get Michael on at the station to fill a new position as legal
correspondent.  He asked how I felt about moving there.