Hooked

good mobster―honest construction company, stayed out of drugs and prostitution to the detriment of the bottom line―but he was also the cold-hearted son of a bitch who could put a bullet between the eyes of anyone he perceived to betray him, without so much as a shred of remorse.”
    Linc watched him, aware that every word Harry spoke drov e a wedge into his heart and between them. Nothing in his life would ever be the same.
    “We’d picked up Carlito Giavelli, an upper level mobster in Russo’s father’s band of criminals. He’d bartered his way into witness protection by promising to sing every song in the program: names, dates, the works. He was a piece of shit. I was on watch detail. Every one of us would have rather seen him get the chair—back then, that’s what it was. We had him in a safe house. Remember the case?”
    Linc nodded, knowing now where this was going and why he’d heard the story from everyone but Harry.
    “Russo picked me, not because I was young—the young ones are idealistic, eager to save the world from the bad guys. No, he picked me because he knew about Davey. Knew I was in over my head financially, about to lose my house, my wife, everything I owned, partly from lack of money, partly because I couldn’t cope with the loss of my son. It was a one-time deal, he promised. My bills would be paid, and I’d be ridding the world of a lowly piece of scum.” Harry smiled. “Funny thing, I agreed with him. Giavelli was that and more. He once killed a rival for a woman by cutting off parts of his anatomy while the guy was still alive. Started with fingers, then toes, then hands. He saved the guy’s gonads for last. Then he watched him bleed out.”
    Linc had heard the story and thought Giavelli was the type he’d want to practice the eye for an eye adage on. “So you told him where Giavelli was stashed.”
    Harry nodded. “I made him promise not to hurt my partner. He agreed. But Brian had a sixth sense. He could smell trouble coming. Russo’s hired guns blew off the lock on the door and came in shooting. Brian was ready for them, but he didn’t stand a chance. They shot Brian, shot me, and shot Giavelli. It was a bloodbath.”
    Harry’s eyes had filled with tears when he turned to Linc. “No one considered I had anything to do with the murder. Hell, I almost died from my wounds, but I’ve lived with that guilt for thirty years, always on the edge of turning myself in. I should have, but I didn’t have the guts. When Ruth died, I thought I could end the guilt. I can’t tell you how many times I put the gun in my mouth, but I didn’t have the guts to pull the trigger. I thought I could make up for it by being a good cop, but Russo lied. I’ve been in his pocket ever since but only to give up some piece of shit who’d have been on the public’s dole in prison. Most of the time, I was happy to oblige, ridding the world of one more cancer on society. I never compromised what we might call the good guys, and I only took his money one more time, so I could send it to my partner’s widow. A lot of money, Linc, but it still didn’t make up for what I’d done. I’ll never come to terms with that.”
    “No, I don’t imagine you ever could.”
    “In my defense, I’ve been a good cop, done some good things. You know that. I’ve never helped put down anyone who didn’t deserve it. Never.”
    Linc felt as if his insides had been torn out of him. “So you set yourself up as Lord and God over who lived or died, who deserved it and who didn’t, right, Harry? And what about Tawny? Is she dispensable? Does she deserve to die?”
    “You deserve better,” he said without a moment’s hesitation, “and she doesn’t deserve you at all.”
    “That’s not your decision to make, is it? Where is she?”
    After a moment’s pause, he answered tentatively. “I don’t know. All I know is come six this morning, she won’t be able to incriminate Russo or anyone else. Let it go, Linc. It’ll be better for everyone concerned.”
    “You mean better for you.”
    “That too,” Harry said. “Though with Russo dead, there’ll be no one to enforce my debt.”
    “Don’t be too sure. Russo couldn’t resist passing on such a valuable asset to his family. A fed in his employ.”
    “You owe me.”
    Tears stung Linc’s eyes. He spoke through the lump in his throat with a harshness he’d never heard from his own lips. “No, you owe me. I wanted to be like you. You were my hero,