off to war. Millions of men, men like Con’s commanding officer, Captain Green, and Syrone served active duty without turning into whack jobs. Every crook Con arrested trotted out the Big Excuse, and whined about it in court. Something to blame for their downfall. Everything but themselves and poor choices. “I still fail to see how this is my father’s fault.”
“Are you blind, kid? He got caught red-handed, and was rewarded. He turned my woman against me, the only person I’ve ever loved. Then stole her out from under my nose. He got the gorgeous wife, four sons and a big-shot career as a hero. Me? Nobody ever caught me with my hand in the cookie jar, but I got shipped off to hell. When I came back, instead of being hailed the hero I was, I got spit on. I lost everything. Including my dignity.”
“Maybe you should have done the right thing, instead of slinking away. You could have admitted your culpability and taken what was coming to you like he did. Like a man.”
“I’m more of a man than he could have ever dreamed of being.”
“A legend in your own mind.” Con did a covert visual sweep of the exit. No signs of the “chopper.” Keep him talking. Raise the stakes. Buy a few more minutes. “Did you follow him to Riverside after Denver fell through?”
“I tracked his whereabouts. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Brian finally got what was coming to him. So will you. I’ll retire with all this beautiful money, and live the high life. The life I deserve.”
“You’ll get what you deserve all right.” Con stared DiMarco in the eye. Dammit, the slimebag was dancing all around the edge of an outright admission, never tipping his hand. Con hadn’t heard any viable evidence, and DiMarco knew it. Crazy, not stupid. “Did you frame and kill my father?”
“I know a rotten apple in the high-and-mighty O’Rourke family tree is unthinkable. It eats at you, doesn’t it? Not knowing.”
Con gritted his teeth. Play the game. Ignore the pain. “I do know. I want you to confirm it.”
“How does it feel every time you visit that empty grave? Not knowing where his body is? Bet it rips Maureen’s heart out.” Triple aces on the table.
Agony arrowed into Con’s chest. “No, it doesn’t,” he lied. He’d be damned if he’d give DiMarco the satisfaction of losing it. DiMarco hadn’t told him a thing he could take to the D.A. All the evidence was circumstantial. All the “testimony” hearsay. Without a body, the murder was impossible to prove, and the bastard knew it. “We know where his soul is. We’ll see him again. You won’t. You think you went to hell before? Eternity’s hottest wiener roast has a standing reservation with your name on the books.”
“You hang together pretty good, kid. I’ve kept my eye on your family all these years. Yep, Daddy would be proud. You want more?” He held up his beefy wrist. “See this watch?” The watch Con and his brothers had worked so hard to buy and fix up. The watch he had seen his father wearing on the last day of his life. DiMarco laughed, and bet the pot. “The hands stopped at twelve-forty-nine and thirty seconds. The second I saw Brian O’Rourke depart this world…screaming like a woman.”
Con clenched his fists so hard his short nails cut into his palms. He shook with the desire to wrap his fingers around DiMarco’s throat and squeeze the breath out of him. Hold the line, Officer O’Rourke. Stay in the game. For your honor. Your family. For Bailey. See you and raise you one. “You wouldn’t know the truth if it was tattooed on your forehead.”
Outside, the sound of whirring blades filled the air. Bright lights cut a swath through the darkness. Con risked a quick glance at the front door. Showtime.
DiMarco patted Con’s cheek. Raise and call. “The chopper is here. Time to die, kid.”
Outside the theater, Bailey watched as Tony tugged a remote from a vest pocket and pointed it at the door. “Explosives disarmed.” His lips curled in an evil smile. “As soon as my crew shows up, we’re outta here. In case I forget later, be sure to say hello to your father for me. Maybe I’ll give my condolences to your mother personally. The lonely widow might be glad to see me.”
Terror’s sharp talons sunk into Bailey’s chest. Once DiMarco’s crew returned, she’d be vastly outnumbered. Time to execute