arrange with the court for him to have a sentence with a seven-year cap.”
“He’s the one who pulled the trigger.”
“I know, but it’s the only way I can get him to play.”
“He’s a murderer.”
“He also has an enemies list longer than Qaddafi’s. Tommy’s killed too many players. He probably won’t even survive the seven-year jolt.”
“And what’s number two?”
“If he lives out his sentence, you guarantee him the Federal Witness Protection Program.”
“And the last?”
“You arrange for all of the Federal charges pending against Beano X. Bates to be dropped.”
“I see. Of course, I’m only a New Jersey District Attorney. The Federal Government doesn’t generally do what I tell them.”
“Hey, Gil, stop fooling around. You and I both know the FBI Organized Crime Strike Force is all over the Rinas. How much do you think they spent last year building a case against Joe and Tommy?”
“I haven’t a clue.”
“Four hundred and fifty-nine thousand dollars, not including expenses and overtime. Let’s round it to half a million in surveillance costs per year. They’ve been swinging at those two curve balls like Little League outfielders and haven’t even hit a pop-up. They’ll deal, Gil. They’d like to drop both these bad boys and you get to be the hero. You get to take the bows at the press conference. It’s your party. All you’ve gotta do is broker the deal.”
“Beano Bates is on the Ten Most Wanted List. They aren’t gonna deal on him.”
“He’s a white-collar criminal. He’s not violent, and besides, that’s what it’s gonna take to get this done.” She looked at him for a long moment and he studied her back, without expression.
Finally, Victoria stood and clicked her briefcase closed. She headed to the door.
“You know I’ve filed a brief with the New Jersey Bar to get your license yanked. I’m surprised you don’t want to trade on that.”
“I’m through being a lawyer, Gil. It’s no fun anymore, because I figured something out….”
“What’s that?”
“I always wanted the law to be about right and wrong, but it’s not.”
“Then what’s it about?”
“It’s about legal and illegal. That’s a whole different concept that deals with fine points of law that get confessions thrown out of court and evidence inadmissible on technicalities, and I’m just not interested in that game anymore. Call me before close of business today. If you don’t call, I’m taking this deal to the Feds. Only reason I brought it here first is, I know once you think about it, you’ll fight like a son-of-a-bitch to get it for me … because after all, Gil, once you boil it down, it’s still just politics.”
Victoria left his office, got in her car, and began the three-hour drive to Wallingford.
When she arrived and saw her parents, she couldn’t believe how good it was to be home. She hugged her mother and father and sat in the kitchen with them while her mother made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Her wheelchair was parked up next to the counter and she reached up to cut off the crust.
“‘Ut the ‘ust off, way you li’,” she slurred to Victoria, who took the sandwich and ate it pensively. All her life she had cut the crusts off sandwiches, just like she had cut the crusts off most of her experiences. She wondered why; what event had put her on such a careful and precise path?
Her father was looking at her from across the room, smiling, almost as if he could read her thoughts. “What’re you going to do, Sweet-pea?” he asked. He was wearing plaid golf slacks and a pink shirt and socks. Silly as that was, she thought he looked absolutely darling. Her heart went out to both of them.
“I don’t know, Dad,” she said. “I had some plans, but I’m not sure now.”
She told them everything that had happened, ending by explaining that she had cashed her last ticket at Justice to get Tommy checked into the hospital at Lompoc Prison under an assumed name. Tommy’s lung had been punctured, but the bullet had not hit anything vital. He’d been sewn up and filled with bottled blood and was glowering at the prison nurse when she left, but he’d agreed to cooperate. Victoria had gotten Tommy’s signed confession and his promise to testify against Joe.
The rest had been mop-up. After Victoria got Tommy checked in, Beano told her he was going to go pay off the Hog Creek Bateses the percentage they’d agreed on, and that he would call her as soon as he was