but very clear voices squawked from the speaker. The entire conversation was captured; the suggestion by Muldanno of hitting the kid, and Gronke’s doubts about getting to him; the idea of hitting the kid’s mother or brother, and Gronke’s protests of killing innocent people; Muldanno’s talk of killing his lawyer, and the laughter about it doing wonders for the legal profession; the boasting of Gronke about taking care of the trailer; and finally the plans to bug the lawyer’s phones that night.
It was chilling. Fink and Ord had heard it ten times already, so they were noncommittal. Reggie closed her eyes when the taking of her life was so nonchalantly bantered about. Dianne was rigid with fear. Harry stared at the speaker as if he could see their faces, and when the tape was finished and Lewis punched the button, he simply said, “Play it again.”
They listened to it the second time, and the shock began to wear off. Dianne was trembling. Reggie held her arm and tried to be brave, but the easy talk of
Killing the kid’s lawyer made her blood run cold. Dianne’s skin broke out in goose pimples, and her eyes began to water. She thought of Ricky, who at that moment was being watched by Greenway and a nurse, and prayed he was safe.
“I’ve heard enough,” Harry said when the tape stopped. Lewis took his seat, and they waited for his honor to give direction. He wiped his eyes with a handkerchief, then took a long drink of iced tea. He smiled at Dianne. “Now, Ms. Sway, do you understand why we’ve placed Mark in the detention center?”
“I think so.”
“Two reasons. The first is that he refused to answer my questions, but at the moment, that’s not nearly as important as the second. He’s in great danger, as you’ve just heard. What would you like me to do next?”
It was an unfair question posed to a scared, deeply troubled, and irrational person, and she didn’t like him asking it. She just shook her head. “I don’t know,” she mumbled.
Harry spoke slowly, and there was no doubt he knew exactly what should be done next. “Reggie has told me that she’s discussed the witness protection program with you. Tell me what you think.”
Dianne raised her head and bit her lip. She thought for a few seconds and tried to focus on the tape recorder. “I do not want those people,” she said deliberately, nodding at the recorder, “following me and my children for the rest of our lives. And I’m afraid that will happen if Mark gives you what you want.”
“You’ll have the protection of the FBI and every necessary agency of the U.S. government.”
“But no one can completely guarantee our safety.
These are my children, Your Honor, and I’m a single parent. There’s no one else. If I make a mistake, I could lose, well, I can’t even imagine it.”
“I think you’ll be safe, Ms. Sway. There are thousands of government witnesses now being protected.”
“But some have been found, haven’t they?”
It was a quiet question that hit hard. Neither Mc-Thune nor Lewis could deny the fact that witnesses had been lost. There was a long silence.
“Well, Ms. Sway,” Harry finally said with a great deal of compassion, “what’s the alternative?”
“Why can’t you arrest these people? Lock them up somewhere. I mean, it looks as if they’re just roaming free terrorizing me and my family, and also Reggie here. What’re the damned cops doing?”
“It’s my understanding, Ms. Sway, that one arrest was made last night. The police here are looking for the two men who burned your trailer, two thugs from New Orleans named Bono and Pirini, but they haven’t found them. Is that correct, Mr. Lewis?”
“Yes sir. We think they’re still in the city. And I might add, Your Honor, that the U.S. attorney in New Orleans intends to indict Muldanno and Gronke early next week on charges of obstruction of justice. So they’ll be in custody’very soon.”
“But this is the Mafia, isn’t it?” Dianne asked.
Every idiot who could read the newspapers knew it was the Mafia. It was a Mafia killing by a Mafia gunman whose family had been Mafia hoods in New Orleans for four decades. Her question was so simple, yet it implied the obvious: The Mafia is an invisible army with plenty of soldiers.
Lewis did not wish to answer the question, so he
waited for his honor, who likewise hoped it would simply go away. There was a long, awkward silence.
Dianne cleared her throat