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“We need a plan, a way to prove it wasn’t you.” Vinnie rocked back on his heels, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I’m thinkin’ it’s time to coerce a good old-fashioned confession, family-style. But before we do, we need a few more players in place. There’s also one other person we need to talk to.”
“Costanza,” Carlita guessed.
“Yep.”
“How you gonna find him?”
“I have an idea,” Vinnie said. “We might have to put off confession time until tomorrow.”
“Better to get this done the right way than to rush in and mess things up,” she said.
“Exactly. We need our ducks in a row before chatting with our new neighbor,” her son said.
*****
“What’s the plan, boss?” Luigi dangled his arm out the open car window. “We gonna give Costanza a beat down?”
“Nah. He’s not who we’re after. Although I’m hoping we can find him and ask him a few questions. We need to hit a few of the hot spots where he might be hanging out. The Black Stallion for sure.”
“There’s another place, a bar.” Luigi rattled off the name. “It’s right down the street from the Black Stallion Club.”
Reaching the other side of town, Vinnie parked between both businesses. The club was to the right and the other bar was two buildings down on the left. Their first stop was the second hangout Luigi mentioned.
Entering the dimly lit bar, Luigi immediately approached a couple of regulars who were seated near the door. He greeted them by name. Within minutes, they discovered Costanza had made an appearance, but not the previous night. Vinnie handed the bartender, who was working until closing, a twenty and gave him his number, asking him to call if Costanza showed up.
Their next stop was the Black Stallion, where they discovered Costanza hadn’t been in for a couple of days. Another twenty-dollar bill changed hands, and soon Vinnie and Luigi were back on the sidewalk.
“Now what?”
“We wait. I’m hoping he’ll surface.” Vinnie unlocked the car. The men climbed inside, watching as patrons entered and exited. Ten minutes passed. Twenty. Half an hour.
Luigi glanced at his watch. “How much longer do you want to wait?”
“Let’s take a spin around town.” Vinnie pulled out of the parking lot and drove along the river. With a few turns, they reached Morton Street. Cruising past Ziffra’s check cashing place, they found it was dark except for a lone light beaming down from above the entrance door. The laundromat was the exact opposite and lit up like a Christmas tree, with bright lights illuminating the interior.
They slowly drove past and noticed someone inside doing laundry.
“I don’t think I would pick this hour to do my laundry,” Luigi said.
“Not unless you were packing heat,” Vinnie said. “Then it might be an entertaining night out.”
Luigi laughed. “Like back in the old days.”
Vinnie shot his former bodyguard a side glance. “I know I’ve asked you this before, but do you ever miss it?”
“The family?”
He nodded.
“Once in a while. Not the job, but the people. Like you,” Luigi said. “Thanks to your mother, I have a sweet life. A good job, a nice place to hang my hat, a girlfriend. I never thought I would say this, but I’m glad I made it out of the family alive.”
Luigi nudged Vinnie. “What about you? Any chance you’ll ever get out?”
“I always considered myself a forever family man, but as little Vin grows, I’m reconsidering.”
“Carlita would love to have you here.”
“I know she would.” Vinnie admitted he was getting some pressure from Brittney, who wanted another baby, but not until they were away from their current lifestyle. “I got a lot to think about.”