Educating the Capo Ch. 02

The rest of Dr. Lewis’s examination was conducted in silence aside from a few grunts and groans of pain from me. When she had finished making her notations she turned to Manny and said, “Don’t stress him any more than you have to.” Then she turned and walked out. Manny moved over to the bed.

“Mike want’s to talk. I’ll bring him in first then you should see Carol okay? She has been going crazy since she came out of the ER. She’s pretty worried about you and is blaming this whole thing on herself. No matter what I have said she thinks it’s down to her.”

“Is she okay Manny? Nobody has told me what happened to her. All I remember is seeing her face covered in blood and her flopping around like a rag doll.” I swallowed a lump in my throat that was caused by the memory.

“Yeah Carol’s fine Glenn. She got a cut just up from her hairline and a couple of broken ribs. She’s got a few stitches and doesn’t much feel like laughing, but she is going to be fine buddy. I think seeing you will do her the world of good. Anyway I better get Mike in here.”

“Wait a minute Manny. Can you put him off for a few minutes and get Carol in here first? I have to talk to her before I see Mike.”

He looked at me for a moment then nodded. “Okay man, but I can’t put him off forever Glen. Leave it with me and I’ll bring her down in a minute.”

He left and I heard voices in the corridor. They continued at a low rumble for a while before I tuned them out and drifted off to sleep again. I don’t know how long I slept but when I woke the room was a lot darker. Trying to move my head brought a moan from me. At this there was a sudden movement to my left, which I was wise enough not to try to follow with my head.

“Glenn?” It was Carol. She stood and moved over to the bedside. Bending, she kissed me softly but firmly. I could see she was flustered, wondering where to put her arms. I solved her problem by wrapping my good arm around her and pulling her as close as I could without causing me any more pain. She started sobbing. “I’m so sorry baby. This is all my fault Glenn.”

“Whoa baby. Don’t even go there honey. If I remember correctly I barged my way into this situation. You didn’t come to me looking for a solution love, I offered our services. And I’d do the same again in a heartbeat. Carol the one who is to blame is your ex-husband. He is the one who caused this shit. He is the one who is gonna pay for it. You did nothing wrong Carol, nothing at all.” She stared at me silently for a moment, then she spoke.

“I just fit myself perfectly into the helpless female stereotype didn’t I? Truth is Glenn, when I woke up and found that you were badly hurt I kinda went to pieces for a while. I’m a lot tougher than that so you can expect no more tears or whimpering baby. Sorry for the display.”

She smiled down at me and leaned in close to kiss me again. This kiss while still soft held the promise of passion to come. She looked lovely even with the large white dressing on her forehead, and the large bruise that extended down the left side of her cheek.

“I’m going to call Detective Abernethy in here. I’ve talked to him already and he knows the whole story. I told him everything Glenn… everything…” Her words trailed off and she seemed to be anxiously waiting for me to say something. She was waiting for my reaction to one of my friends knowing about her past.

I smiled at her and said, “Why don’t you bring him in and we can talk to him together Carol. I have nothing to hide from Mike. He’s a pretty decent sort of guy. If you decide to stick around and spend some time with me, you’ll find that he is a good friend.”

“If I decide to stick around?” She seemed shocked to find that the decision was up to her.

“Well I can’t force you to stay but I sure would like it if you did. Without your help I’ll never get an A on my English Lit paper.” She laughed, poked her tongue out at me and headed out the door to get Mike. I had to admit she looked great in hospital pyjamas.

The door opened and in walked Mike and Carol accompanied by a nurse who was carrying a small stainless steel tray.

“Hello Mr. Barrett. Time for your meds, and your records. I’m going to take your blood pressure, temperature and pulse, and give you something to help with the pain. It should only take a couple of minutes, then I’ll be out of your way.” She was very efficient and was true to her word, leaving in a couple of minutes after establishing that I had great blood pressure, a good strong pulse, and a slight temperature. All this was recorded neatly on my chart before she left. Mike and Carol remained silent while she was in the room, just standing and observing. As the nurse left Mike turned on the light illuminating the steadily darkening room.

“God man! You look like shit. I’ve seen better heads on a mug of beer.” He said with a grin. “How are you feeling buddy? You had this pretty lady here going out of her mind with worry. Is this some sort of new pick up technique you’ve discovered Glenn?”

“Eat shit Mike! Haven’t you got storeowners to shake down or something? And where were you when we were battling the forces of evil? In Dunkin’ Donuts filling your face no doubt. Bloody typical. There is never a cop around when you need one.” Carol looked worried at my outburst until Mike and I both broke into laughter, a bad move on my part as it sent a bolt of pain through my damaged shoulder. Mike saw me wince and moved closer.

“You alright buddy? Can I get you anything?”

“No I should be okay Mike. The painkillers should kick in soon.”

Mike paused and his expression became serious.

“You two have made a pretty nasty enemy. Carol has told me the whole story. I put Mr. Taglioni’s name into the system and got an immediate response from the New Jersey Organised Crime Unit. They are very interested in any and all developments regarding this piece of shit… sorry Carol. Please excuse the language.” With a flick of her hand Carol waved off the apology and Mike continued.

“He has been under the microscope there for a while now. Everything from racketeering to tax evasion. The guy I spoke to in New Jersey basically turned cartwheels over the phone when he heard that Carol was here and safe. He wants to be able to talk to you about your ex Carol. Do you think you would be up for that?” She didn’t hesitate at all.

“Any time he can get here.” She looked very determined. Mike smiled, nodded and carried on.

“I thought you might feel that way. He’s on his way here now. In fact he should be here by the morning. Up until now Taglioni has been facing major prison time if they could convict him, but now we have him on murder and attempted murder charges.” His expression softened. “I’m sorry about Simon Glenn. He was a hell of a good guy. Taglioni was definitely the doer on both counts. We recovered cartridge cases from the ambush site that bore his prints and also lifted a set from your place. We can get him on premeditated murder, and attempted murder. He’ll go to death row for this buddy. I know it’s no comfort but Simon will be avenged.” The formality of his words was offset by the grim look in his eyes. Again I thought it would probably be better for Taglioni if he was grabbed by the cops before Manny and I got to him.

We talked for a few moments more before Mike made his departure after organising a time for the next day to come and take a formal statement from me. As he left I sagged back onto my pillows, suddenly exhausted. Carol was at my bedside in an instant.

“I’m so sorry about all this Glenn. I know it’s not my fault, but deep down I still feel guilty about bringing him into your lives. I know it’s crazy but I feel responsible for Simon’s death. If you want me to go I’ll understand.” I didn’t know how to make her feel better about herself at this stage. I could feel myself sinking slowly towards sleep again but knew that I had to say something.

“Carol, please stay. I can’t think at the moment but I do know that I want you around. Please stay.” For once I must have said the right thing. As I faded out to sleep I saw her tear streaked face smile down at me as she stroked my forehead.

The next few days were eventful. I had interviews with the local cops and the guy from New Jersey’s OCU, a guy named Nick O’Reilly. He was a no nonsense short stocky Irishman with a ready grin and a very quick smile. He would have made a great Santa Claus at Christmas parties. He also knew his stuff. In a couple of hours I learned more about the workings of the New Jersey Family in general and Robert Taglioni in particular than I could have learned from months of perusing files. I got the feeling that he had made Taglioni a personal project. This interested me and I made a mental note to find out what the connection was.

He spent time with Carol as well and from her talks with me it looked like Carol was aware of only a fraction of her ex husbands activities.

Carol was released from the hospital the day after my first interview with O’Reilly. After a lot of discussion with Manny and Mike Abernethy, we decided to move carol back into my house. Manny would stay there as well along with a beefed up security detachment from my company and a good compliment of cops. This was being given a pretty high priority by the local force and we had the additional support from the New Jersey OCU. The electronic security was being beefed up as well with cameras being installed on all possible approaches to the house. She should be safe.

I was still too weak to attend Simon’s funeral, which was held three days after he was killed. I was in a blue funk all that day until I got visitors. Simon’s father and sister came to visit me before going to the funeral. I was lying there on my own feeling sorry for myself when they walked in.

Sam was in his mid-fifties and had served in Vietnam as a member of Marine Recon and later as a Special Forces operative working with Montagnards running covert operations against the North Vietnamese Army along the Ho Chi Mihn trail. He was tall and raw-boned and even in his fifties still looked like he could more than take care of himself in a sticky situation. Sam worked in computers writing programs for a small but profitable company in the city. He had actually written a couple of programs for us, and they were a major selling point when we were pitching electronic security to a customer.

Maria was like a young sister to me. I had known her longer than I had known Simon having met her through an ex girlfriend years ago. She too was in computers although her work was a little more shadowy. Officially she was a highly skilled analyst, but she had delved deeper into the wonderful world of computers and developed her skills a bit further than her teachers knew about. I had used her hacking skills on a couple of occasions before and had found her to be an extremely skilled operator. Normally she was a bright bouncy vivacious woman. Understandably today she was very subdued. She stood beside my bed and held my hand a look of sorrow on her face. I couldn’t help it… the tears started to flow.

“I am so sorry Sam. Maria I… I just… aaah God. I don’t know what I can say. I’m so sorry.” I broke down completely.

“Glenn we don’t blame you. It wasn’t your fault son. My boy was doing a job that he loved; working for a man he liked and respected a lot. Neither of us blames you and you shouldn’t blame yourself. What you should do is get well and go get the piece of shit that killed my son. I know that you can do it and I know it’s a job you’ll do well.” Sam smiled down at me. His unspoken message rang in my ears. “Maria and I will do anything we can to help.”

“Honey you just concentrate on getting better.” Maria said. “We met Carol on our way in here. She is busy blaming herself for Simon’s death.” Maria paused for a minute. “Would you mind if we popped in to visit from time to time? I get the feeling that she could do with a little female company.”

“That would be great Maria.” I managed to croak through a voice thickening with emotion. “I’ll talk to her about it later. Thank you.”

We talked for a while longer then Maria and Sam had to leave to attend Simon’s funeral. I managed to contain the tears until they were out of the room, then the dam burst. I was still crying when Carol arrived to check on me.

The concerned look on her face shook me and was enough to dry up any remaining tears. She felt badly enough about Simons death without having to witness me crack up over it. She walked to the bed and laid her head on my chest, wrapping her arms around me the best she could.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

“Honey you have to stop blaming yourself for Simon. No one could have predicted that Taglioni would have gone back to the house after he hit us. In fact the smart money would have bet he would’ve run.” I lifted her head so I could look into her eyes.

“Maria and Sam are a bit worried about you. They don’t blame you for what happened so why blame yourself? Maria actually asked if you would like a bit of company while I am in here. I think it would be a good idea… that is if you are going to stick around love?”

Finally she smiled.

“You think you were going to get rid of me that easily? Get a few minor cuts and bruises and see me run? Glenn I had a long time to do a lot of thinking while I was in here. I know we have only just met and one night doesn’t make a relationship, but I’ve seen enough already to know that I’d like to get to know you better. If it’s okay with you I’d like to stick around. And yes I’d love to spend some time with Maria. We had a bit of a talk as she was leaving. She made a lot of sense and I think it will do us both a bit of good to spend some time together.” She kissed me lightly and snuggled into my chest again.

“Tell me… is Maria seeing Manny? I saw them hugging and kissing in the foyer and it seemed to be more than just a comforting embrace.”

“They’ve been a couple for a year or so now. They’re due to get married in March next year. Simon and I were to be joint best men.”

We discussed the relationship and other incidentals until Manny arrived after the funeral. He was going to take Carol back to the house and stay there with her until we got something permanent sorted out. After a bit more discussion over arrangements and a lot of hugging and whispered endearments on Carol’s part they left for the house. It had been a long painful day and I had no trouble getting to sleep.

The next two weeks basically flowed to a pattern. Carol and Manny would visit on a daily basis, often accompanied by Maria or Sam. As I grew stronger and more mobile I got more frustrated at being locked up inside the hospital. I also got more sexually frustrated especially as Carol started to tease me on a regular basis. A brief but lingering glimpse of panty crotch, or a fleeting stroke of my cock disguised by her straightening the bed clothes drove me nuts. Of course she just looked at me with an innocent angelic look and carried on as if nothing had happened. It was very hard to camouflage my hard on when I was only covered by a thin hospital sheet.

“Something wrong baby?” she would inquire in her best sweet voice. “Can I adjust that sheet some more for you love?” Even my best scowl didn’t put her off, much to the amusement of Manny and once even Maria. They knew what was going on and thought it was hilarious. Then came the day of my release.

My shoulder still had a long way to go before I would have full use of it but the doctors were satisfied with the progress I was making. In their infinite wisdom they decided it was time for me to go home. Waiting for the official release was agonising. I sat on the edge of my bed and fidgeted while Carol and Manny kept up a teasing banter. I was almost jogging in place when Dr. Lewis walked through the door.

“I see that you are keen to leave our humble establishment Mr. Barrett.” She said with a wry grin. “As good as it was to have you as our guest; we have decided it would be great if you managed to limit your return visits to outpatient status. In other words, stay out of the path of things likely to cause holes.”

Farewells were said and instructions given and received, and finally we were on our way. Homeward bound after nearly three weeks. I had plenty of rehab ahead of me and from the small taste of it I’d had in the hospital; it wasn’t going to be fun.

I sat in the back seat of Manny’s Mustang with Carol and discovered that the closer we got to home the more I squirmed and fidgeted. It wasn’t until we turned into Waterview Rd that I figured it out. In a few minutes I would be seeing the site of the ambush and then soon after I would be seeing where Simon was killed. All talk stopped as Carol and Manny realised what was happening to me. As we approached the ambush site Manny spoke.

“Do you want to stop boss?”

Part of me wanted to stop and do a morbid look over of the site, but I shrugged it off. Maybe later.

“No man… lets just get home.” Carol moved closer and took my hand in hers, squeezing lightly and offering me a tremulous smile. I gave her a shaky smile in return and turned to look out the window in time to see the blackened charred remains of her house. It had been razed to the ground.

“Jesus! Why didn’t you tell me baby? When did this happen? My god… why didn’t anyone tell me?”

I tried to turn to look back at the devastation that was once a small well-maintained house but Carol turned my face back to hers.

“Honey what good would it have done? What could you have done? You had enough on your plate as it was and telling you would only have upset you more. Besides I was fully insured and I sort of figured I could always move in with you until I could arrange to rebuild. You’re going to need a nurse you know.”

Manny spoke up. “Mike has confirmed the charming Mr Taglioni as the doer on this one as well Glenn. He came back three days after he hit you guys and torched the place. The arrogant bastard isn’t even trying to disguise the fact that he did it. His prints were lifted off the container of accelerant he used to get the place alight. It’s almost like he is daring us to come after him.” We were now approaching the turn off to my place. “Don’t worry Boss… this place is locked down as tight as a drum. I’ve had a few extra cameras and bits added while you were away.”

I had to admit I had misgivings about coming home and not just because of the security issue. I was coming back to the scene of the violent death of a good friend. As the driveway hove into view I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I didn’t know if I was ready for this.

As we turned into the driveway I noticed that the trees had been trimmed back. A close look revealed the presence of an extra camera either side of the drive. You would have to be looking really hard to spot them. The extra cameras gave us full coverage of the driveway and its approaches. It made me feel a little more secure. Then we were outside the front door. I was home.

Manny and Carol helped me from the car and into the house. I was weaker than I had expected. Manny deposited me on the couch while Carol made coffee. We drank our coffee in silence and then when I was finished I went out to the rose gardens alone.

Simon had always loved the rose gardens. I sat in between the twin gardens in what must have been the place where he fell, and thought about my dead friend. I sat gazing at the blooms, smelling the scent, and feeling the sun on my face; things that Simon would never again experience. Early afternoon crept on to evening and the subtle cooling of the day drove me inside eventually. I had said my goodbyes and made my promise of vengeance. Manny and Carol were sitting in the lounge.

“We need to get busy” Manny gave me a solemn nod. Carol got up and wrapped her arms around me, kissing me softly.