but it was difficult because of the rush-hour traffic. Franco was behind
the wheel of a stolen Ford sedan on the way to Englewood, New Jersey.
Angelo Facciolo was sitting in the front passenger seat, staring out the
windshield. Both men were wearing gloves.
‘Get a load of the view to the left,’ Franco said. ‘Look at all those
lights. You can see the whole freakin’ island, even the Statue of
Liberty.’
‘Yeah, I’ve seen it already,’ Angelo said moodily.
‘What’s the matter with you?’ Franco asked. ‘You’re acting like you’re
on the rag.’
‘I don’t like this kind of job,’ Angelo said. ‘It reminds me of when
Cerino went berserk and sent me and Tony Ruggerio all over the goddamn
city doing the same kind of shit. We should stick to our usual work,
dealing with the usual people.’
‘Vinnie Dominick is not Pauli Cerino,’ Franco said. ‘And what’s so bad
about picking up some easy extra cash?’
‘The cash is fine,’ Angelo agreed. ‘It’s the risk I don’t like.’
‘What do you mean?’ Franco questioned. ‘There’s no risk. We’re
professionals. We don’t take risks.’
‘There’s always the unexpected,’ Angelo said. ‘And as far as I’m
concerned, the unexpected has already occurred.’
Franco glanced over at Angelo’s scarred face silhouetted in the half
light of the car’s interior. He could tell that Angelo was dead serious.
‘What are you talking about?’ he questioned.
‘The fact that this Laurie Montgomery is involved,’ Angelo said. ‘She
gives me nightmares. Tony and I tried to whack her, but we couldn’t. It
was like God was protecting her.’
Franco laughed in spite of Angelo’s seriousness. ‘This Laurie Montgomery
would be flattered that someone with your reputation has nightmares
about her. That’s hilarious.’
‘I don’t find it funny at all,’ Angelo said.
‘Don’t get sore at me,’ Franco said. ‘Besides, she’s hardly involved in
what we’re doing here.’
‘It’s related,’ Angelo said. ‘And she told Vinnie Amendola that she’s
going to make it her personal business to find out how we managed to get
Franconi’s body out of the morgue.’
‘But how is she going to do that?’ Franco said. ‘And worse comes to
worse we sent Freddie Capuso and Richie Herns to do the actual dirty
work. I think you’re jumping to conclusions here.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Angelo questioned. ‘You don’t know this woman. She’s one
persistent bitch.’
‘All right!’ Franco said with resignation. ‘You want to be bummed out,
fine by me.’
As they reached the New Jersey side of the bridge, Franco bore right
onto the Palisades Interstate Parkway. With Angelo insisting on sulking,
he reached over and turned on the radio. After pushing a few buttons he
found a station that played ‘oldies but goodies.’ Turning up the volume
up he sang ‘Sweet Caroline’ along with Neil Diamond.
By the second refrain, Angelo leaned forward and turned off the radio.
‘You win,’ he said. ‘I’ll cheer up if you promise not to sing.’
‘You don’t like that song?’ Franco questioned as if he were hurt. ‘It’s
got such sweet memories for me.’ He smacked his lips as if he were
tasting. ‘It reminds me of making out with Maria Provolone.’
‘I’m not going to touch that one,’ Angelo said, laughing despite
himself. He appreciated working with Franco Ponti. Franco was a
professional. He also had a sense of humor, which Angelo knew he himself
lacked.
Franco exited the parkway onto Palisades Avenue, passed Route 9W, and
headed west down a long hill into Englewood, New Jersey. The environment
quickly changed from franchise fast-food restaurants and service
stations to upper-class suburban.
‘You got the map and the address handy?’ Franco asked.
‘I got it right here,’ Angelo said. He reached up and turned on the map
light. ‘We’re looking for Overlook Place,’ he said. ‘It will be on the
left.’
Overlook Place was easy to find, and five minutes later, they were
cruising along a winding, tree-lined street. The lawns that stretched up
to the widely spaced houses were so expansive they looked like fairways
on a golf course.
‘Can you imagine living in a place like this?’ Franco commented, his
head swinging from side to side. ‘Hell, I’d get lost trying to find the