MURDER TAKES TIME

Chapter 69

Judgment Day

Current Day 

 “Nicky, get the hell out of my car.”

“Don’t say a word.” I drove out of the garage with the gun pointed at Tony, but covered with my coat. 

Despite what I told him, he started to talk as soon as we got on the street. “Why are you going this way? We—”

I shoved the gun into his side. “Shut-up.” As soon as I had a chance, I pulled to the curb, reached over and undid his shirt. A wire. I ripped it off, tossed it out the window. “Any more?”

Tony looked desperate and shook his head. “That was it.”

“Can’t believe you stooped to wearing a wire.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

When we got to Paulie’s house, I took Tony to the kitchen. Paulie’s blood stained the floor.

“Sit,” I said. “And don’t try anything. I’m not going to torture you like I did the others. Maybe it’s Mamma Rosa. Maybe it’s the friendship we had. You should thank God for whatever it is.”

Tony stared at me; he had a way of staring at people that pissed them off.

“How do you want it?” I asked. While I waited for his answer, I struggled with my decision. Tony had been like a brother—hell, he was my brother, for all practical purposes. But he betrayed me. He was the reason Gina was dead. “Decide, Tony. I don’t have a lot of time.”

He spat at me. “You pitiful shit. You’ve lived your whole life in my shadow. Raised by my mother. Relied on me to get good grades. Got a job with my boss. Then, when a tough decision has to be made, you get your ass in an uproar and fall for the girl. Well screw you, Rat. This is the real world, not like when you played make-believe with Angela.” He turned his head to one side, then looked back at me again. “And you know the saddest thing? You’re still in love with Angie. I see it in your face every time somebody mentions her name.”

Shooting was too good for Tony; I was going to beat him to death. I laid the gun on the counter and went for him, punching his face again and again. He fell, grabbed my legs, pulled them out from under me. We crashed to the floor. Tony grabbed an ashtray from the table and pummeled me with it. I managed to cover my head, but my arm took a bad beating. I tried everything to move him off me, but couldn’t. Finally, I jammed my foot against the counter and, using all my weight, rolled him over. Then I jumped up and got the gun. “Don’t move.” 

My hands were shaking. Shit, I think my whole body was shaking. Everything in me wanted to blow his kneecaps off, or his balls—anything to make him suffer. But when I thought of it, Mamma Rosa came to mind. I saw her smile, heard her laughter, and remembered how she used to hum those old Italian songs. No matter what Tony had done, I couldn’t bring myself to kill him. I lowered the gun. “Tony, you’re—”

As soon as I lowered my hand, he came at me. Instinct took over. I fired, hitting him in the gut.

Tony went down, clutching his stomach. “Guess I’m going out the way I want, Rat. Had to make it easier for you. I knew you’d do it anyway.”

I grabbed a towel and knelt next to him, putting pressure on it. “Hold this. I’ll get an ambulance.” As he applied pressure, I called 9-1-1 and reported it, then got on the floor with him. 

Tony pushed himself backwards, bracing his back against the wall. “Get out of here, Rat. Can’t let them find you.”

I got another towel, tried to stop the bleeding. As much as I hated Tony, I couldn’t let him die alone. “I’m staying.”

He shook his head. “Go. I’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, well…”

He gasped. “We had some good times together.”

“Damn good times.” I held him. Wished more than anything else that I could take that shot back.

“Nobody screwed with us, did they?”

I shook my head. “Why, Tony?”

“Too many things done wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’d have killed me anyway.” He grabbed my shirt. “Bugs didn’t have anything to do with you in Cleveland. It was all me.” Tears formed in his eyes. “Sorry, Rat. You know I didn’t want it to go like this.” 

I wanted to believe him, but… 

“Can’t trust you after what you did. How am I to know Bugs didn’t do it? He was the only one who knew.”

“I swear. He was just…trying to give me a heads-up in case something affected me.”

That sounded right, but still. “I’ll know it when I look into Bugs’ eyes and hold a gun to his head.”

He squeezed my shirt, pulling me closer. “Nicky, I swear on my mother’s eyes.”

That stopped me cold. I got within inches of his face. “On Mamma Rosa’s eyes? You swear it?”

Tony gulped and spit blood. “I swear. He didn’t know.”

“You want a priest?”

He laughed, coughing blood. “Even if I believed in that shit, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t want Mamma seeing me.” He cried then, hard. “Shame on me, Nicky, for what I’ve become.”

Tears now flowed from my eyes too. I held him tight. “Shame on both of us, Tony.”

I felt sure the ambulance would be there any minute, but I couldn’t leave. I stayed with Tony until he died, and I cried. A lot. After I closed his eyes, I blessed myself, repeated the words of the Trinitarian formula. “Mi dispiace, Mamma Rosa. I’m so sorry.”