CHAPTER 17

To Understand Each Other

THE light was green but the silver minivan didn’t budge. JR Pantaglioni felt like giving it a little shove in the ‘My child is an honor student’ bumper sticker. “Come on, lady, Jesus Christ.”

His passenger, Frankie “Four Eyes” Germano said, “She can’t go nowhere. There’s a cop holding a stop sign.”

“Holding a stop sign? The light’s green; you’re supposed to do what the light says, not what the sign says. And the light says, go.”

“Don’t you know anything? A cop overrules all the other signs and lights. If there’s a cop holding a sign that says, ‘Eat my shorts’, then that’s what you do.”

“Yeah, that’ll be the day.” 

“Hey, ain’t that him? Over there, with the fat kid.”

“Yeah, that’s him all right. Berger.”

Retired Detective Hiram Berger held a stop sign in his left hand and motioned to the crossing guard and her string of children. He watched them follow the crosswalk to another corner, look both ways and cross again. The guard made her way back to the school and Berger waved the buses out into the traffic. The sighs of the car drivers were audible. No one wanted to get stuck behind a noxious school bus on a hot afternoon in Philadelphia. 

“There, that’s the last of them buses.”

“I can see that, Four Eyes. Get out here. I’ll pull around.” 

The tall thin man wrenched himself from the Caprice and stepped to the curb as the line of cars edged forward impatiently.

Berger watched the buses pull away. He saw Four Eyes by the light post then heard the squeal of the Caprice’s tires on the hot asphalt as JR swung in tight behind the Impala. 

Berger walked to his car and tossed the hand sign through the open window, then pulled the reflective vest over his head.

JR came up behind him. “How’s it going, pal? Get the kiddies across the street in one piece? I would hate for something to happen on your shift.”

Berger spoke over his shoulder, “What the fuck are you doing here, Junior? You need someone to hold your dick, huh? Four Eyes can’t find it?” 

“Real funny, Berger. You ain’t gonna be laughing after the Boss is through with you. Come on. We’re going for a ride.”

“I don’t think so.” Berger brushed JR’s hand off his arm, reached for the Impala’s handle. “I’ve got other plans.”

JR smiled. Berger opened the car door and froze. Four Eyes sat in the passenger seat, one hand slung over the blue vinyl back, the other aiming a gun at Berger’s crotch. “Your plans have changed.” 

“Get in and drive,” JR said. “And no funny stuff. I’ll be right behind you.” He slammed the door, rattling the window in the frame.

Berger asked casually, too casually, “Where to?”

“I think you know. Gallo wants to ask you a few questions.” Four Eyes pushed up his thick glasses with his middle finger.

Berger pulled out, saw the Caprice follow. “You know, they make contacts now that anybody can wear.”

“It ain’t natural,” Four Eyes replied, shoving the glasses up again. “I mean, whoever came up with the idea to put a piece of plastic in your eye. Jesus.” He shuddered. 

Berger glanced sideways. “Bet you’d see better.”

“I see just fine. Had these glasses ten years now and still got twenty-twenty.” Four Eyes lowered the muzzle of the gun slightly.

“Yeah, twenty-twenty? That’s pretty good.”

“Yeah.”

“But what about your peripheral vision?”

“Per-what?”

“You know, how you see out of the sides of your eyes.”

“What the fuck you talking about, the sides of my eyes?”

Berger gunned the Impala’s big engine, swung out around the minivan in front of them and cut back in, just making it through the amber light and leaving JR in the Caprice sitting at the red light. 

“Jesus, where’d you learn to drive?” Four Eyes glanced into the side mirror. “You lost him! ”

Berger chopped his hand down hard on Four Eyes’ wrist, then slammed on the brakes throwing his unbelted passenger into the windshield. The pick-up truck behind them swerved to avoid the crash, jumped the curb and ran head first into a pizza shop. 

Berger reached for the gun that had slid from Four Eyes’ hand and fallen to the floor. He raced through traffic, going deeper into the city as JR came up fast behind him. Berger pulled into the passing lane. Going nowhere. He cut back in, ignoring the shouts and honking horns. There—an opening. Berger gunned the engine and sent the Impala surging down a side street, smashing through pothole after pothole. Four Eyes’ head banged into the starred windshield like a bobble-head toy. The last bounce jarred him awake. He turned his bloody face to Berger, thick lenses embedded in his pulpy forehead and squeezed the trigger.

“Fuck! You fucking shot me!” Berger grabbed his leg then pulled his hand away, bloody. “You son of a bitch!” 

Four Eyes slumped against the dashboard, his gun dangling from his limp hand.

The car catapulted down the narrow street. No one behind him—yet. He jammed his left foot on the brake and squealed into a parking garage. He smashed through the wooden gate and made his way down to the lowest level, to a dark corner behind an industrial van. 

Berger didn’t have much time. He figured the cops would send two cars to deal with the casualties back there, one to chase him. He ripped the keys from the ignition and surveyed the damage.

“Goddammit!” Berger pulled a rag from under the driver’s seat, tied it tightly around his leg. It looked like the bullet had gone straight through his calf. He pushed Four Eyes off the dashboard and reached into the glove box, grabbing his cell phone, his wallet and his ball cap. He slid the hat on his head and left the Impala, then limped to the elevator hitting re-dial on his phone as he hobbled along. 

On the second ring, and answer: “Hello?”

“Gina.” He struggled to slow his breathing. “I need your help.”

“Hi?’ She paused, knowing his tricks. “Listen, you agreed we needed some time apart, and I meant it, now if this is your idea of making up—”

”Gina, please. This isn’t about us. I really need your help.”

“Why? Are you off the meds again?”

“Gina, it’s not that. I need you to meet me at the library. Please, it’s important. And bring your first-aid kit.”

“First-aid kit? Hi? What’s going on?” 

He hung up as the elevator doors opened. Five minutes later he drove a borrowed car to Philadelphia’s Central Library on 19th and Vine.

“Chuck? I’ve gotta go out for a little while!” Gina yelled as she ripped off her apron and tossed it over the coat rack. She scrambled through drawers in her office, throwing a first aid kit and green t-shirt into her silver backpack purse.

Chuck stood in the doorway, his hands on his hips. “Hey! Where are you going?’ 

“I’ve got to run an errand.” Gina squeezed around him and jogged toward the front. “I’ll be back. Listen, call that new girl. Tell her to come in early, and make sure she pulls her hair back today, okay?”

Chuck nodded. “Hey, Gina?”

She looked back at the cook, one foot already in the sunlight.

“Be careful.”

Gina smiled grimly and was gone.

Deluca’s desk phone rang. Reilly reeled backward, blinking rapidly. What the hell? He eased himself from the edge of the desk, away from her eyes. The phone continued to ring. 

Sailor calmly raised the receiver. “Mr. Deluca’s office.” She listened then raised a brow at Reilly. 

The man on the other end sounded sick, or really drunk. “I said. Put Eddie on.”

“May I tell him who’s calling?” 

“No, you may not. Jesus Christ! Just put... him...on.” The guy groaned. 

“Sir?’ Sailor switched the call to the speakerphone. 

Reilly heard traffic noises. 

Sailor said, “Are you all right?

“I’m fine. Get me Eddie.” The man breathed heavily, his words paced upon the exhale.

“One moment, please.” Sailor reached for the hold button, but Reilly grabbed her hand. 

On the other end, the man kept talking. “Goddammit, Gina. Did you have to pour that shit on there? That fucking kills.” 

They heard a woman’s voice. “Shut up, Hi. I’m trying to help.”

Reilly released Sailor’s hand. 

She pushed the hold button and a red light blinked. “Oh my God, it’s Berger.” 

“And Gina.” Reilly looked away.

“What should I say?”

“Tell him Deluca stepped out. And get his number.”

Sailor hesitated, then punched the blinking light. “I’m sorry, Sir. Mr. Deluca is unavailable. May I have him call you?”

“You tell Eddie I need him to deliver a message to his pal.”

“A message, sir?’ 

“Yeah. Tell him, I don’t stop till I get back what belongs to me. You got that?”

“Yes. I’m writing it down.” Sailor grabbed a pen. “Who should I say is calling? Sir?” 

But Berger had hung up. 

Sailor looked at Reilly. “What the hell was that? He wants Deluca to deliver a message to his pal?” 

Reilly had some questions himself like, why was Gina with Berger when she said they were through? 

There was a tap on the door and Mimi leaned her head into the office. “Thanks for covering for me, Sailor.”

“No problem.”

Mimi noticed Reilly and smiled. She smoothed her blouse and looked for something to say. Finding nothing, she started to close the door, then popped her head back inside.

“Pretty crazy what’s happening on the docks, isn’t it? My sister lives over there, says she can’t even get home. All the streets are closed off.”

Sailor and Reilly looked puzzled. 

Mimi said, “The explosion... Wait, didn’t you hear? They’re probably still talking about it.” She nodded toward the TV, then pulled the door shut. 

Reilly found the remote and the local channel’s breaking news report. 

The reporter, Taylor Dunne, a round-faced salon blond stood at an entrance to the Philadelphia Docks, a flurry of activity behind her.

“Officials have reason to believe an incendiary device was planted under the Chinese crate. There is still no confirmation on the origin of the tractor-trailer. Pier authorities are investigating—”

The anchor in the studio interrupted, “Is there any word on casualties, Taylor?”

“Yes. We have at least four fatalities, Stan.”

“Do we know who they are, Taylor?”

“Not at this time, Stan. Authorities won’t release that information until the victim’s families have been notified.”

Reilly hit the mute button. “Holy shit.” His eyes went to the message from Berger.

“Wait. You don’t think Berger did that, do you?” Sailor pointed to the scene. As firefighters held hoses on a black smoking mass, a crowd of dockworkers gathered around another reporter, some with cuts on their faces, others with tears in their eyes.

“One way to find out.” Reilly pulled out his phone.

“Who are you calling?”

“Gina.”

“Gina Chamblee? Berger’s Gina? Lou Gallo’s ex-wife?” Sailor said, “Hang on Reilly, Let’s think this out. What would a retired detective be doing at the Philadelphia Pier?”

“Maybe he planted the bomb?’ 

“Or he was with the truck.”

“Why would he be with the truck?” Reilly said. “He’s not a dockworker.”

“Who said the truck drivers were dock workers?”

“What are you saying, Sailor?”

She scribbled something on the message pad. “Did you see the door of the truck? The one they kept showing on the roof of that building?”

“Yeah?”

“How’s your Italian?”

“Besides cannolli, spaghetti and Chianti, not so good.”

“Look.” Sailor turned her pad of paper around. She had written, ‘apirs a vicen’, the words as they appeared on the wrinkled truck panel and under that, ‘capirsi a vicenda’.

Reilly ran a hand through his hair. “That sounds familiar.”

“It should. It’s one of Lou Gallo’s favorite sayings. He said it at least four times during the trial. It means ‘to understand each other’.”

Reilly lowered his voice, “That was Gallo’s truck?”

Sailor nodded.

“And we know Berger and Gallo have a past,” Reilly said.

“Right. So now we—”

“Do nothing. Yet.” Reilly looked at her. “Deliver the message to Deluca. He’ll have to contact his pal, right?”

“Probably won’t call him, not if it’s someone involved in that.” Sailor pointed to the TV screen and the smoldering remains of the semi.

“Okay, so he’ll meet the pal in person, or–”

”E-mail him.” Sailor picked up the phone, punched in three numbers.

“Who are you calling?”

Sailor spoke around the receiver. “Early. He’s a computer genius. I wanted to talk to him about the disc, anyway. He’ll help us. He likes me.”

Reilly rolled his eyes. Didn’t she know? All the guys liked her, some more than others.

Ten minutes later, Richard Early left his cramped corner in the firm’s basement and made his way upstairs. He wondered what Sailor needed and why the air seemed better up here.