While a cold March wind rattled the storm windows, Taylor Devonshire
Cabot reveled in the security and warmth of his walnut-paneled study in
his sprawling Manchester-by-the-Sea home north of Boston, Massachusetts.
Harriette Livingston Cabot, Taylor’s wife, was in the kitchen
supervising the final stages of dinner scheduled to be served at
seven-thirty sharp.
On the arm of Taylor’s chair balanced a cut-crystal glass of neat,
single-malt whiskey. A fire crackled in the fireplace as Wagner played
on the stereo, the volume turned low. In addition there were three,
built-in televisions tuned respectively to a local news station, CNN,
and ESPN.
Taylor was the picture of contentment. He’d spent a busy but productive
day at the world headquarters of GenSys, a relatively new biotechnology
firm he’d started eight years previously. The company had constructed a
new building along the Charles River in Boston to take advantage of the
proximity of both Harvard and MIT for recruitment purposes.
The evening commute had been easier than usual, and Taylor hadn’t had
time to finish his scheduled reading. Knowing his employer’s habits,
Rodney, his driver, had apologized for getting Taylor home so quickly.
‘I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with a significant delay tomorrow
night to make up,’ Taylor had quipped.
‘I’ll do my best,’ Rodney had responded.
So Taylor wasn’t listening to the stereo or watching the TVs. Instead he
was carefully reading the financial report scheduled to be released at
the GenSys stockholders’ meeting scheduled the following week. But that
didn’t mean he was unaware of what was going on around him. He was very
much aware of the sound of the wind, the sputtering of the fire, the
music, and alert to the various reporters’ banters on the TVs. So when
the name Carlo Franconi was mentioned, Taylor’s head snapped up.
The first thing Taylor did was lift the remote and turn up the sound of
the central television. It was the local news on the CBS affiliate. The
anchors were Jack Williams and Liz Walker. Jack Williams had mentioned
the name Carlo Franconi, and was going on to say that the station had
obtained a videotape of the killing of this known Mafia figure who had
some association with Boston crime families.
‘This tape is quite graphic,’ Jack warned. ‘Parental discretion is
recommended. You might remember that a few days ago we reported that the
ailing Franconi had disappeared after his indictment, and many had
feared he’d jumped bail. But then he’d just reappeared yesterday with
the news that he’d struck a deal with the New York City’s DA’s office to
plea-bargain and enter the witness-protection program. However, this
evening while emerging from a favorite restaurant, the indicted
racketeer was fatally shot.’
Taylor was transfixed as he watched an amateur video of an overweight
man emerge from a restaurant accompanied by several people who looked
like policemen. With a casual wave, the man acknowledged the crowd who’d
assembled and then headed to an awaiting limousine. He assiduously
ignored questions from any journalists angling to get close to him. Just
as he was bending to enter the car, Franconi’s body jerked, and he
staggered backward with his hand clasping the base of his neck. As he
fell to his right, his body jerked again before hitting the ground. The
men who’d accompanied him had drawn their guns and were frantically
turning in all directions. The pursuing journalists had all hit the
deck.
‘Whoa!’ Jack commented. ‘What a scene! Sort’a reminds me of the killing
of Lee Harvey Oswald. So much for police protection.’
‘I wonder what effect this will have on future similar witnesses?’ Liz
asked.
‘Not good, I’m sure,’ Jack said.
Taylor’s eyes immediately switched to CNN, which was at that moment
about to show the same video. He watched the sequence again. It made him
wince. At the end of the tape, CNN went live to a reporter outside the
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York.
‘The question now is whether there were one or two assailants,’ the
reporter said over the sound of the traffic on First Avenue. ‘It’s our
impression that Franconi was shot twice. The police are understandably
chagrined over this episode and have refused to speculate or offer any