Hooked

Sure. But I got over it, because you can’t let someone else’s mistakes ruin your life. She was the architect of her downfall, not me. But there’s a clear distinction between the women I’ve dealt with professionally and my mother, and an even a clearer distinction in my relationship with you. You? Ah, you were…different, right from the beginning.”
    She watched him, and he watched her. “Harry knew your motives were clear of any childhood connection, which is why he wanted me out of the way. That’s why, if he knew where I was, he’d have let that building come down on me. He bartered me in exchange for you.”
    “It backfired, didn’t it? With a simple slip of the tongue, Harry gave himself away. I almost didn’t notice it. I often wondered if subconsciously he wanted me to know. Russo’s meter was running down. Harry would be free. Almost. Except for me. He wouldn’t be completely free unless I forgave him.”
    Tawny smiled. “I see the psychology courses are working.”
    “Just trying to make sense of everything. I’ll never know the answers. Maybe I don’t want to know. I can’t let it ruin all the good things I remember.”
    “I wonder if Mario would have given up Harry in exchange for leniency.”
    “I doubt it. What he had with Harry was between the two of them. There’s that thing about honor among thieves. Mario Russo protected his own. It was built into his character.”
    “Unless he thought you betrayed him.”
    “And you did.”
    “Not really. I told it all to the police after. I suspected Rick Martell killed that girl, but I wouldn’t say anything until I had proof. If I’d spoken up, maybe everyone would still be alive. I’ve thought about that a lot.”
    He drew a long breath. “You couldn’t know how it would play out any more than I knew Harry was batting from both sides of the plate.”
    “Mario thought he had reason to kill me. He couldn’t bring himself to do it by his own hand, so he hired those two bozos to do the job for him. Then he had to get rid of them too. Mario was who he was, who he was raised to be, but Benny and especially Eileen were much worse. I’m sure you read the statement I gave to the police. I told the prosecution I’d be happy to testify at their trials, but Harry got Benny to give up Russo for a deal. What’s more, he got him to give up his wife.”
    “Big deal about Russo. He gave up a dead man who never regained consciousness. A massive aneurism, the doctors said. Harry was free. I always wondered how much he knew about the inner workings of the mob. Did he know of any others like him? Traitors?”
    Tawny noted the bitterness in Walsh’s tone.
    “He made himself look good before he resigned, but it was a false show, and he knew I knew it. To his credit, Benny insisted none of his girls be charged as part of his plea bargain. Cut years off his sentence. Melody got probation, though.”
    “I heard that,” Tawny said. “Hooray for Benny.”
    “Eileen went down. She contracted the murders of innocent people to keep her in the good life. She deserved it, but I felt sorry for their kids.”
    “The innocent always suffer, don’t they?”
    A faraway look seeped into Walsh’s eyes, and then it was gone. “It happens,” he said. “The Cooper kids went with Benny’s sister. Eileen’s mother fought for them, but the courts decided the sister could give them a better environment. She was younger, well off, and she wanted them. Heard tell Eileen knew a few of the girls in prison from the old days, and Benny started teaching the guys inside how to make money in the stock market.”
    “Good luck with that,” Tawny said, laughing. “Leave it to that pervert. He can turn those lemons into lemonade, can’t he?” They both laughed, although none of what they were talking about was funny. They realized it at the same time and stopped laughing.
    There was so much to say. So much she wanted to tell him. “Strange thing, one of Benny’s girls was probably better at making money than he was. I put a chunk of what was left of my money with her before I took off, and she’s doubled it. All nice and legal. So I’m not flat broke.”
    “Maybe she can invest some money for me.”
    Tawny would never mention the money Rick Martel diverted went to dozens of charities, both local and national: rape crisis centers, homes for unwed mothers, and children’s shelters. All donated anonymously, and the only other person who knew would never tell.