The Dogfather

Favuzza had already arrived, I think. They were in a big silver Chevy Suburban. It was parked parallel to my Bronco, with a space in between. And that’s where Zap parked Guarini’s limo, in that space. Guarini’s bodyguards were with him. They always are. Musclemen. Gunmen. Whatever they are. And the puppy, Frey. I was going to crate Rowdy and Kimi in my car, but Joey didn’t want them locked up. He said they hadn’t done anything to deserve it. So I sort of got talked into leaving them with him. I wasn’t totally comfortable about it, but he was strong enough to manage them, and I was going to be nearby. And I left my car unlocked so he could put the dogs in it if he needed to.” I took a break to have a few bites of dessert. “Anyway, Guarini told Joey to stay by the cars. Favuzza was supposed to walk around and keep an eye out. And Zap was supposed to drive around in the limo. And someone... there was some mention that Joey had money for Guarini. Maybe I heard something at this point, or maybe it was later. At any rate, what happened next was that Guarini and I worked with Frey. The bodyguards were there, too. On either side of Guarini. We went from the back parking lot past the laundromat, along the side of the building, and around the corner by the liquor store. We ended up in front of Loaves and Fishes. Then I went in there to buy some good treats for Frey.”
    “Alone?”
    “Yes.”
    “How long were you in there?”
    “I’m not sure. Not too long. But I did wait at the deli counter. And there was a line at the checkout. Ten minutes? Maybe five.”
    “Which?”
    “I just don’t know. What I’m sure of is that when I got back outside, Guarini was there. He was working with Frey, just the way he was supposed to. If you’re asking whether he could’ve left and come back, I guess so, but I certainly didn’t have that impression at the time.”
    “The bodyguards? They were still there?”
    “Yes. They’re always with him. So, we worked with Frey. Not for long. He’s just a puppy. And then we headed back toward the cars. And I couldn’t see Rowdy and Kimi. Or Joey, who was supposed to stay right there with my dogs. So as soon as I saw that my dogs weren’t there, I went flying for my car. The dogs weren’t in it. And then I found them. They were hitched in front, tethered to the undercarriage, one dog on one side, one dog on the other, and someone had given them bones. I don’t do that. I’m always afraid that they’ll bite off chunks that’ll lodge in their intestines. So bones are a major treat. Anyway, that’s when I saw Joey. And everyone else showed up more or less at the same time, Guarini, the guards, Favuzza, Zap and the limo. And the twins. They must’ve been around somewhere the whole time, but I’d never seen them before. They’re the ones who did the heavy lifting. They wrapped Joey’s body in plastic and moved him into the Suburban. Meanwhile, Guarini said that it—Joey’s shooting—was a message to him. He wanted to know who’d sent it. Someone mentioned Blackie Lanigan. Guarini said he wanted a name. That’s about it. Guarini told me that it hadn’t happened. He sent me home. I went."
    “Okay,” said Kevin. “So we got Joey C. in back of the mall. With the dogs. Zappardino’s cruising around in Guarini’s car. Favuzza’s on foot. And we got Tommy and Timmy Bellano. And for five or ten minutes we got Guarini and his bodyguards out of your sight. Anyone else?”
    “It’s a shopping mall. There were other—”
    I never finished the sentence. As the final words should have been leaving my mouth, Kevin rose to his big cop feet and hurled himself across the table directly at me. As his bulk slammed into me, gunfire shattered the plate glass storefront window next to us. The next thing I knew, I was flat on the floor with a dead weight across my legs. At the back of the restaurant, people were hollering. Kevin didn’t join in. Good cops don’t panic. And Kevin was a good cop.
    Or had been. Blood flowed from a wound in his side. Except for the flow of blood, Kevin was motionless. He was utterly silent.
     

CHAPTER 24
     
    Kevin and I and the whole area around us were a mess of blood, wine, broken glass, and shattered crockery. White globs of our unfinished dessert, the tiramisu, were spattered everywhere and. looked sickeningly like soft lumps of body fat or pale portions of human brain. Weirdly, I did not scream or cry or utter a single word, not even