years. Why are you pulling this shit now?”
“Because I’m a federal agent, ma’am. And I now have enough to put you and Mr. Miceli away for a long time.”
She was obviously as confused as we were. I could almost see her mind trying to process what Franco had revealed, what he had seen in five years, what would happen to her and Peter as a result. And her children, still young. After some time, I could tell that she had made her decision as to how this was going to go and it didn’t include her in an orange jumpsuit. She started toward Franco, ten feet separating them, and attempted to squeeze the trigger of the gun.
Franco coolly fired a shot directly into her chest and she crumpled to the ground without uttering a sound. I grabbed Bea and put my head into her chest.
Franco walked over to Gianna and stood over her, the gun pointed at her lifeless body. Convinced that she was dead, he crouched beside her, took the gun from her hand, and put his finger to her neck. “It’s all right, ladies. You can come out,” he said and stood up.
I stood first, leaving Bea by the side of the limo. “You killed her,” I said, stunned. I looked down at Gianna, a lump at the foot of a heap of garbage, a gaping hole in the middle of her chest. I put my hand to my mouth. “Why did you do that?”
“Because she was going to kill you.” He reached into his pocket and took out a cell phone, telling someone what had happened and giving them our location. When he was done, he flipped the phone closed and looked at me. “I’m sorry you all had to see that.”
“You could have maimed her!” I cried.
“We aren’t taught to shoot to maim, ma’am,” he said, smiling slightly.
I started crying. “Who are you? And why didn’t you try to stop her from having Ray killed? Or me?”
“Franco Castellano. FBI. I’ve been undercover in the Miceli family for five years.” He pulled out his badge and showed it to me; it looked real. “And I didn’t know about the hit on you. When I saw that your ex-husband had been killed, I tried to get information, but it’s a large family, Dr. Bergeron. A lot goes on. And I spent more time with Mr. Miceli than with Mrs. Miceli.”
Bea appeared at my side. “Where are you from?” she asked.
“Alabama, ma’am.”
“I didn’t know there were any Italians in the South.” She looked down at Gianna and whistled her amazement. “You’re some shot, my friend.” She looked back up at Franco. “Do they have some kind of protection program for guys like you?”
“Ma’am?” Franco asked, unsure of what she meant.
“You know, guys like you. You just killed the wife of a capo in New York. Or a sort of capo. Or the capo herself. I don’t know which end is up anymore,” she said, confused. “You’re a dead man,” she finally concluded.
Franco smiled. “I think I’ll be fine,” he said. He took off his black jacket and placed it carefully over Gianna’s face and most of her body; her legs had folded beneath her, so her frame was compressed into a tiny ball under the fabric of his jacket. “Despite the fact that he was a figurehead for the family, Peter Miceli has his hand in a lot of illegal activities. He’s going away for a long time. This investigation has unearthed a lot of evidence that the government needed to put him and several of his soldiers away.”
“Are you the only one?” I asked.
“The only one?”
“The only undercover agent,” I said. “Or are there more of you?”
He smiled again. “If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” he said, in a weak attempt at joke making.
I gave him a wan smile in reply. Seeing how he had just shot Gianna in cold blood, I thought perhaps he was only half kidding.
“Seriously, though, this investigation has been going on probably for as long as you’ve known the Micelis,” he said, and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He cupped his hand around the match as he lit one. “Mrs. Miceli’s hatred of you and her suspicion of her husband’s adultery was really just a nuisance. I couldn’t blow the case but I couldn’t let her kill you, either. Fortunately, a series of indictments will come down tomorrow and Mr. Miceli will be making funeral arrangements