Sleight of Hand - By Phillip Margolin Page 0,72

he was murdered because he just vanished. After that, everyone started calling Molinari ‘the Magician.’ ”

“Because he made his victims disappear?”

“That was part of it, but he actually was an amateur magician.”

“If he was in so tight with the Dragons, why did he take off?”

“The Dragons were dealing for a Mexican drug cartel. Marion and Watts were emissaries from a gang in Cleveland that was going to do a drug deal with the Dragons. We had a snitch who told us that the deal was bigger than usual and there was a substantial amount of cash involved. Watts and Marion were supposed to make a swap in one location but they never showed up. We think Molinari lured them to an abandoned barn, killed them, then hid the money. We arrested Molinari but we couldn’t hold him. The day he left the jail was the last day anyone saw him in Missouri.”

“Fascinating.”

“Isn’t it. And what you’ve told me makes sense. Even as a teenager, Molinari was the smartest criminal I’d ever dealt with. He was definitely smart enough to know he had no future with the Dragons after he ripped them off, and smart enough to know he had to disappear, like a card in one of his tricks.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Frank Santoro had a friend in Organized Crime in the Department of Justice who owed him a favor. According to Santoro’s friend, Nikolai Orlansky was always accompanied by several bodyguards and his armor-plated car had bulletproof glass. Orlansky varied his routes from his home to his businesses and never visited the businesses in any predictable order. The crime lord did have one weakness, however—women.

Nikolai changed mistresses frequently. This was not a problem, since one of his businesses was prostitution and new young bodies regularly flowed from Eastern Europe to the brothels he controlled. Orlansky rarely kept company with one woman for very long, but he used the same penthouse apartment in a high-rise condominium in D.C. for his assignations. Santoro’s friend said that Orlansky was known to have a very healthy sex drive and rarely remained celibate for more than a few days. According to the latest surveillance information, Orlansky’s wife had just left for a shopping spree in Manhattan and the Mafia chief had not visited his current mistress in several days.

Nikolai Orlansky’s driver parked in a reserved spot next to an elevator that went straight to the penthouse. A second car filled with bodyguards made certain that their boss was safe before motioning him out of the car.

Santoro watched the ritual from the front seat of his car. As soon as Orlansky got out, Frank walked toward the gangster with his badge held high.

“Lee County police,” he proclaimed in a loud voice.

The bodyguards swiveled toward him and several guns pointed at various parts of his body.

“Mr. Orlansky,” Santoro said, “I’m unarmed and I’m not wearing a wire. I just want to talk. If you’ll give me a few minutes of your time I’ll be out of your hair.”

Orlansky assessed the situation before telling his men to stand down.

“Frisk him,” Orlansky told a slender man with a narrow mustache and watery eyes. Santoro had read several files on Orlansky, and he recognized Peter Perkovic from a mug shot. Perkovic was a ruthless killer and Orlansky’s right-hand man.

“He’s clean,” Perkovic said after a thorough pat-down.

“Come in the car,” Orlansky said. He slid across the backseat, and Santoro sat next to him. Perkovic shut the door but watched the detective through the window.

“So, Detective . . . ?”

“Frank. And this conversation is just between us. It is completely off the record. I’m going to talk and I don’t expect you to say anything. I just want you to listen.”

Orlansky looked amused. “You have intrigued me. So, tell me, what is so important that you have approached me in secret in a garage?”

“Gregor Karpinski.”

Orlansky’s brow furrowed and Frank got the impression that Orlansky was genuinely puzzled.

“He’s a bouncer at one of my clubs,” the gangster said.

“He’s also in the hospital after coming out on the wrong end of a discussion with a friend of mine.”

Santoro assumed that someone like Orlansky, who was used to dealing with the police, would be able to mask his emotions if he wanted to, but Orlansky showed surprise, and it looked genuine. Either he was a terrific actor or Santoro’s revelations were new to him.

“Horace Blair has been charged with murder. Barry Lester is the state’s key witness against Mr. Blair. Two days ago my friend interviewed Tiffany