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Robby, who was seated in one of the two chairs while Lucky was seated on the sofa, stood on his feet when Sal and Gemma, both in bathrobes, came downstairs.

“Hey Robby,” Gemma said as she sat on the sofa beside Lucky.

“Hey Mrs. G.”

When Sal sat down in the other chair, Robby sat down too.

“Where’s Marie and Tee-Tee?” Gemma asked Lucky.

“Marie’s putting her to bed.”

“Good,” said Gemma. “I had planned on doing it myself.”

“You were tied up,” Lucky said with a smirk on his face.

Sal and Gemma both looked at Lucky. “Keep on, funny man,” Gemma said.

“You didn’t laugh,” Sal said to his underboss. “You usually laugh at his tired jokes. Which means something’s up. What is it?”

“I hate to bother you like this, sir, but I need to speak with you privately.”

“No worries, Robby,” Gemm said. “You can talk in front of me.”

“No you can’t,” Sal said. Then he looked at his wife and son. “You two out.”

“Sal!” said Gemma.

“Daddy!” said Lucky.

“I said out,” Sal said firmly.

Although they didn’t like being shut out, especially Gemma, she knew Sal never kept her in the loop, for obvious reasons, when it came to that side of his business. She and Lucky went into the kitchen.

Robby got up and sat on the edge of the sofa, closer to Sal.

“What happened?” Sal asked him.

“There was an all-out brawl at one of those stockcar races.”

“What are our guys doing at some yahoo shit like that?”

“Some of them like to go to that sort of thing,” said Robby. “Don’t ask me why, but they love it.”

“So what happened?”

“They got into it with some muscle heads and fists started flying. It was a good fight, nobody got badly injured. But when they thought it was over, some joker pulled a gun and sprayed the place.”

“Shit. Did any of our guys get hit?”

“Yes sir. Two are in the hospital.”

Sal continued to stare at Robby. “And?”

“And one died.”

“Damn,” said Sal. He hated to hear that. “Who?”

That was the part Robby knew was going to hit Sal hard. “It was Zam, Boss.”

Sal, at first, was sure he didn’t hear him right. Zam Manetti was one of Sal’s longest serving capos and one of his closest friends. “Did you say Zam was hit?”

“He was killed, yes.” Robby looked distressed. “They killed Zam.”

Sal leaned forward. “What the fuck! What for?”

“For being with the capos that got in the brawl with their brothers, or whatever the reason. It’s always something stupid. We’re still piecing it together.”

“And you’re certain it was Zam they iced?”

Robby nodded. “We’re certain, Boss.”

Sal couldn’t believe it. Zam Manetti had just got married a few months ago. And his sons from his first marriage? It was going to hit them even harder than it hit Sal.

“I figure we may want to put Alice in hiding,” Robby said. “His sons can take care of themselves, they were on the outs with Zam anyway. But we need to take care of Alice.”

Sal frowned. “Why would they wanna kill his widow? They’re the ones that killed him!”

“Because when our guys saw that Zam was hit, who they loved like a father too, they went ballistic and took out almost all of those fuckers. They got’em back. We just don’t know how many are left, but we do know some got away.”

“Were they mob?”

Robby shook his head. “Negative,” he said. “They aren’t even from Vegas. They’re from some small town in Arkansas from what some of our guys said their conversation was about. But they fancy themselves gangsters, small-town Arkansas style.”

Sal exhaled and then frowned. “Get the guys involved out of town. I want them out of commission until the heat is off. Let them take a vacation out of the country until we find the rest of those yahoos and handle them.”

“Yes sir.”

“And you make sure you get a crew out to that hospital just in case those bastards try to circle back.”

“I’m on that too.”

Sal nodded. Robby was the best underboss he’d ever had. He did take a lot of pressure off of Sal. “Thanks,” he said.

“But what about Alice, Boss? You want me to notify her and put her in a safe house?”

“No,” said Sal. “It’ll be easier if it comes from me. This is gonna devastate her.”

“You ain’t lying,” Robby said. “They ain’t been married three months, Boss.

Not three months. When I first met her I thought she was just some good-looking gold-digging dame looking to cash in on that fat paycheck you pay Zam and all the guys.

But she’s not like that at all. She’s a good girl.

Zam done good getting her. And she made that old sourpuss happy too. ”

Sal smiled thinking about ole Zam. “He was one of the best.”

“Yes he was.”

Then Sal exhaled and stood up, which Robby quickly stood up too. “I want minute by minute updates. And I don’t want this dragging out. You put an army of men in Arkansas until we find who’s responsible. I’ll take care of the widow.”

“Which safe house you want me to get ready for her?”

But Sal was nodding his head. “No safe house. She deserves better than that. Zam deserves better than that. I’ve got a place I can let her stay until we catch those bastards.” Then Sal shook his head. “Damn,” he said. “Not Zam!”

But they both knew it was the nature of their business.

And Sal knew, the fact that he had to leave the house tonight after just getting back in town, wasn’t going to sit well with Gemma - she didn’t care who got iced.

But he was the syndicate boss. Zam was one of the best he’d ever had.

He wasn’t about to let his widow hear about his death from anybody else.

“When I say I want an army of men looking for those pricks, I’m not exaggerating. I want them caught. I’ll take care of Alice,” Sal said again.

“Mrs. G not gonna like it,” Robby was brave enough to say.

Any other capo and Sal would have looked at him as if he was way out of line.

Sal didn’t discuss his marriage with any of his underlings.

But Robby, Sal felt, earned the right. “Yeah I know,” he responded to him as a distressful look began to encompass his face.

“But what can I do about it? They just iced one of my most loyal capos and I’m supposed to sit home and eat my dinner while I send somebody else to tell his widow?

” Sal’s face turned hard. “Not on my watch,” he said.

“You just make certain we get every one of those bastards, that’s what you worry about. I’ll worry about my wife.”

“Yes sir,” Robby said. He could have taken that last comment as a stay in your lane clap back, but he didn’t. He knew Sal too well. He hurried for the exit.

Sal stood there momentarily, still thinking about good ole Zam and he smiled because it was mostly good memories.

Like Sal, Zam was one of those old school mobsters who would never admit to any living soul that they had any part in that mob world.

They would always claim they were simply in business together as if they sold plastics or some other boring shit nobody would want details about.

They would always say that Zam was a high-ranking supervisor in Sal’s business, but would leave out the mob part.

And on most days it was an uncomplicated, well-run, very good organization that bore no resemblance to a mob business although it was all mob.

But on days like this it wasn’t a good business at all.

It was a painful business. It was a brutal business.

But they knew what they had signed up for.

Sal steeled himself to disappoint his family once again because of this mob life that constantly had him on the go even though he had just gotten back in town. He walked slowly, hesitantly to the kitchen.