The Crusader Ch. 04

"Why didn't Leo just come here to talk to us?" Shawn asked.

"Vito doesn't want us to be seen with his man," Riley answered. That might give certain people ideas on who's behind this protection business." Smart man, he thought. He didn't even call us himself. This way he can claim he knew nothing about us. "Let's go, we'll wait at the park."

They had been sitting in their car for about 30 minutes when they saw a big, dark colored Cadillac pull into the park. Riley flashed his lights on and off. The dark car pulled up next to the Daltons and the rear window came down. Vito's top man, Leo, looked over at Riley in the driver's seat.

"Chambers and his friends could cause trouble for us," Leo said. "If they testify you both could do time."

"We could make sure they don't come to court," Shawn said with an evil grin.

"Shut up Shawn," Riley said. Turning back to Leo he asked, "What does Mr. Rossi want us to do?"

"Maybe you could talk to Chambers or his girlfriend and make them see what a mistake it would be to testify." Leo leaned out of his car. "Mr. Rossi doesn't want to get involved."

Riley stared at Leo. "Is Mr. Rossi gonna leave us hanging?"

"No he won't. He said to tell you that if things get bad, he'll see that you're taken care of." Leo lit a cigar and once he got it going he ordered, "Take care of the problem and do it soon. Call me when it's done." The rear window of the Cadillac raised and the car drove off.

"I guess we better go see that Talbert woman," Riley said to Shawn.

"I'm looking forward to slappin that bitch around a bit. Maybe I'll show her what a real man is like while we're there."

"Keep your mind on the problem. If you mess with her sexually it could have the opposite effect that we want. We'll rough her up a little and warn her that she and her friends should dummy up.... Let's go find Jessica Talbert."

The Daltons followed and observed Jessica for several days trying to find a good time to give her the warning against testifying. She never seemed to be alone except for the drive from home to her office and back. It was much too public for the Dalton's liking to attack her during the drive. Jessica's office was in the Washington University Medical Building and when she went to the hospital for rounds she used an underground pedestrian tunnel with security guards at each end.

During this time Rollie hadn't heard from Frank Rossi. He'd left a few messages in the voice mail of Frank's personal number. Rollie hadn't gone to see Frank in person because he didn't want to take the chance of running into Vito. He wasn't sure how he'd react if he saw the man in person.

Jessica lived with Rollie in a huge two story house across from Tower Grove Park. The house had been turned into four big apartments each with their own outside entrances. Every evening Rollie's truck was in the driveway when Jessica got to the ground floor apartment they shared. The weekends were no better for the Dalton's purposes as Jessica and Rollie were together constantly.

"We should hit them both," Shawn suggested. "Chambers is only one guy and I can handle him." Shawn grinned at his brother. "Course that means you'd have to take care of the woman all by yourself. Think you could handle her?"

"Shut up Shawn. Maybe you could handle Chambers but all you'd do is make him mad. I don't believe he'd be scared off; his pride wouldn't let him. If we threaten the woman he'll probably back off out of concern for her. No, we'll wait until we can get the Talbert woman alone."

On a Tuesday evening when the Daltons followed Jessica home they saw that Rollie's truck wasn't in the driveway. Now's our chance, Riley thought. He drove around the block and entered the alley that ran behind the homes on this block. Riley stopped the car and motioned for Shawn to follow him to the rear door. They got out of the car, making sure not to slam the doors, and walked toward the apartment.

Riley and Shawn walked around the old carriage house that was now a six car garage. They peeked into the apartment through the window in the rear door. Inside they saw Jessica standing at the breakfast bar going through a pile of mail.

"Well if it isn't Miss High and Mighty herself," Shawn said as he and Riley came into the kitchen.

Jessica looked up but the look on her face was one of anger instead of fear. "What do you want?" She asked in a cold voice.

"We want to discuss the consequences if you or your friends testify against us," Riley said. His voice was hard and threatening. "It might be a good idea if all of you develop amnesia at our trial."

"And if we don't?"

"There's no need to discuss unpleasantness right now. You're a smart lady. I'm sure you know what will happen if you testify."

"What Riley means is that we'll put you in the ground; Rollie, Tully, and you. All of you," Shawn said. He laughed as he talked. "If it was up to me, I'd do it right now; I won't stand for a bitch pointing a gun at me."

"Shut up Shawn," Riley ordered turning to look at his brother. "Ms. Talbert let's be civilized about this, just do as we ask. It'll be simpler and no one gets hurt. If not..." He shrugged his shoulders and held out his hands to his sides.

"Civilized like you were with Ted Crowe? Civilized like when you threatened his wife? Is that how civilized you want to be?"

"I told you talkin to her wouldn't do any good," Shawn complained. "Bitches only understand one thing; the back of your hand." He took two steps toward Jessica and raised a ham like fist.

Jessica quickly reached inside her purse on a stool beside the counter and pulled out her Glock 9MM. She had obtained the pistol and a Concealed Carry Permit when she worked Rollie's first case as a private investigator with him.

Shawn stopped in surprise. Then he gave her an evil type smile. "You ain't got the balls to shoot me lady." Shawn took another step toward Jessica.

"I wouldn't bet my life on that Dalton," Rollie said as he stepped out of the large kitchen pantry. "But I damn sure will shoot you."

Shawn turned and saw Rollie pointing a Glock at him. He started to reach for the gun in the small of his back and saw Rollie tighten his grip on his gun which was pointed at his head. Shawn slumped bringing his hand back to his side. Seeing Rollie's attention on Shawn, Riley started to reach for his gun in a shoulder holster.

"Give a reason Riley, please just give me a reason," Tully said coming out of the hallway on the opposite side of the kitchen. He too had a big Glock pointed at the Daltons. "I could save the city a lot of money if you don't go to trial. Make me feel good too."

Riley saw the rage in Tully's eyes as the big policeman continued, "Ted Crowe is a friend of mine. I'd like nothing better than to put you and your dip shit brother down. So give me a reason."

Both Daltons realized that they were in an untenable situation. If they tried to use their pistols, two people, three counting Jessica, would shoot them down like rabid dogs. And according to Tully, enjoy the process. Riley raised his hands to join Shawn who already had his in the air.

"Did you think we haven't seen you shadowing Jessica for the last week?" Rollie asked. "We knew you followed her home every day but always left when my truck was in the drive. So today I parked my truck in the garage and we waited for you to make a move."

"Put your hands on your heads and interlace your fingers," Tully ordered. When the Daltons complied, he added, "Now on your knees, cross your legs behind you, and sit back on them."

Rollie walked over to the kneeling men and being careful not to get in Tully's line of fire, he took the men's weapons. Riley gave up a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson. Shawn had carried a .357 revolver and a .380 semi auto back up gun in an ankle holster. Rather than using handcuffs, Rollie used plastic zip ties to secure the Dalton's hands behind them. Then he sat both of them on the big couch in the living area.

Tully still held his pistol at his side but Rollie holstered his Glock and Jessica put hers back into her purse. She patted the purse with satisfaction as she put the gun away.

Rollie couldn't help but smile at the flush on her face and the excitement in her eyes. "We'll make a soldier of you yet Jess," he teased.

"No thank you. I'd be perfectly happy never to have to draw down again on anyone else." But she smiled back at Rollie as she spoke.

"I thought you boys would have left town when you got bailed out," Tully said.

"You must have some serious backing to hang around and to try this little stunt," Rollie suggested.

"We do and this won't amount to much," Shawn said. "When it's over, we'll be back to see you Chambers."

"Shut up Shawn," Riley ordered.

"You're not as smart as your brother Shawn," Rollie offered. "He knows that after you were bailed out for one felony, you committed a more serious one. He knows you won't get bail this time and that you're going to do hard time."

"What'da you want Chambers?" Riley asked in an exasperated tone.

Rollie sat on the coffee table in front of the couch. He took a small digital tape recorder from the drawer in the end table and placed it next to him. "You two aren't in this alone; someone is backing you. I want to know who's behind this whole mess and I want to know why"

Shawn stared at Rollie with hatred. Riley slowly shook his head. "I don't hear what's in it for us; I mean if we had any info to tell you. Maybe we'll just take our chances in court with a real good, real expensive lawyer."

"One thing you didn't think of Riley; your actions and crimes come under the RICO laws. That means you'll be facing Federal, State, and City charges. Think your expensive lawyer can beat the Feds? Want to take the chance?"

"If we talk what's the deal? What can you do for us?"

"Me? I can't promise anything; I'm just a civilian. But Sergeant Tully there is a police office. He can put in a good word with the D.A. for you. Hell, if you're nice he might even go to bat with the Federal Prosecutor for you." Rollie leaned back and smiled at the Daltons.

"If they charge you under RICO laws, you might even get protected witness status," Tully said. "Depends on what you've got to tell them. If your backer is someone they want bad enough, you could walk away."

"What the hell are RICO laws?" Shawn asked.

"It stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act," Tully answered. "It gives the good guys broader powers to go after organized crime figures and even gangs." He smiled and said, "Basically it takes the gloves off and turns the prosecutors loose."

"So what can you do for us, Sergeant Tully?" Riley asked sarcastically.

"I can tell the D.A. and the Federal prosecutor that you had a change of heart and wanted to do your civic duty to help us get the big boys behind this protection racket and the attack on Jessica." Tully chuckled at his statement and then sobered. "Seriously Dalton, if you turn State's evidence on who I think is behind this, I think you'll probably be put in the Witness Protection Program."

Shawn opened his mouth to talk and Riley said, "Shut up Shawn." Turning back to Rollie and Tully, he nodded. "We'll give you everything."

Rollie picked up the recorder and turned it on then for the record cited the location, date and time plus who was present. He cut the zip ties holding both men and turned to Tully. "Keep em covered Tully. Go ahead Dalton, start at the beginning. Who came to you with the idea for starting a protection racket here?"

"Vito Rossi."

"Rossi? Frank and Vito approached you?

"No, just Vito. Shawn and me live in New York. We were doing some jobs for one of the families."

"What kind of jobs?"

"Nothing big; collections, numbers running, maybe a little delivery work."

"Deliveries? You mean drugs?"

"Yeah, sometimes drugs but mostly money and info too important to trust to mail. Things that needed to be delivered in person."

"Go on."

"Anyway, we met Vito when we delivered the weeks take from our little numbers game. While we waited for the boss to join us, Vito started to talk to us. After a few minutes the boss came in and listened to Vito and us. Then he stepped out of the room and left us alone.

Vito told us about his idea for a protection scheme here in St. Louis. Vito said Frank didn't like doing protection so the money wouldn't have to be shared with him. It was just Vito and us; he said it would be a gold mine. Can I have a drink or something?"

Jessica brought the Daltons a beer. Riley drank his quickly while Shawn sipped his.

"Who was the boss in New York?" Rollie asked.

Riley hesitated before answering. "I'm more afraid of him than I am of Rossi."

"It's all the way or nothing Riley."

"The Feds won't go after this 'boss' just because you mentioned him," Tully said. "I'm no expert but him just being in the same room or building isn't a crime. They might look at him a little harder but they can't do anything without more proof than that."

"So who is this guy?" Rollie asked again.

Riley looked at Tully and then Rollie. He took a deep breath and answered, "It was Gino Valenti. I didn't hear them talking about it but I know Valenti was involved. He smiled when Vito first mentioned the racket."

"Go on." Rollie urged when Riley stopped talking.

"That's about it," Riley responded. "We came to town and started visiting different businesses. Vito said we could build it up. Said Shawn and me would clear at least ten thousand a month." Riley smiled and added, "We got four or five 'clients' that first week. It looked like Vito was right about the money. Things were going good until..."

"Until what?" Rollie asked when Riley stopped talking.

"Until Shawn went overboard with Ted Crowe." Turning to his brother he said, "I told you to take it easy but you just had to show how tough you are." Shawn leaned further back on the couch, recoiling from the anger that showed in Rollie's eyes. "That's when you guys got involved," Riley finished in a subdued tone.

"What about Jessica? Was it your idea to attack her?"

"Naw, that was all Vito. We were going to skip town but Leo said we should frighten you guys so you wouldn't testify against us." Riley snorted and gave Rollie a sad little smile. "Guess he was wrong about that too."

"Take it easy Rollie," Tully said. He could see his friend was about to explode. You can come after him but don't mess with Jessica or any of his friends, Tully thought. You wouldn't like the results if you did.

Rollie didn't relax until Jessica came over and put her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her, smiled, and nodded. "Okay, Tully will call the precinct and get the detectives out here to take these guys in. They'll take it from here."

"You said..." Riley began.

"We'll tell the D.A. that you cooperated," Rollie interrupted.

It was less than a half hour before two detectives from Precinct 16 came to collect the Daltons. One of the detectives, Frank Wends, was a friend of Rollie's. They had worked in the same squad before Rollie resigned from the Department.

"What'da you got Rollie?" Wends asked, as he shook hands.

Rollie explained the situation. "Tell the Captain Jessica will be in to sign a complaint tomorrow morning. Here's the recorder with their confession. I suggest you put it in a dated and witnessed bag to keep the chain of evidence."

"This ought to put the kibosh to Vito," Wends said with a smile. He put the recorder into an evidence bag, sealed the bag and signed and dated it. The two patrolmen took the Daltons away. "See you at First Squad in a couple of days. Good to see you Rollie, you too Sergeant and it's always a pleasure to see the beautiful Dr Talbert."

Jessica laughed. "Thank you Frank." Wends nodded and left the apartment.

********************

Captain Pete Mallory greeted his friend. He'd been Rollie's mentor, boss and more importantly his friend for years. "Nice to see you too Jessica."

"Hi Pete," Jessica replied and came around his desk to hug him.

"You can bring her back anytime you like Rollie." Pete turned to answer his phone, "Excuse me."

Rollie and Jessica left the office so Pete could talk in private. They heard the Captain yelling into the phone.

"What the hell you mean? You guys couldn't protect them in your own jail." Pete listened for a minute. "You all better get your resumes in order; somebody's gonna be looking for a job after this." He slammed the phone down on its base; almost breaking it in the process. "Well hell," he said with an angry voice.

"What's wrong Captain?" Rollie asked as he stepped back into the office.

"Somebody whacked the Daltons last night in the city jail. Stuck them with a shank so many times they looked like a pin cushion."

"What's a shank?" Jessica asked.

"It's a homemade knife; usually made by prisoners," Rollie answered.

"How could someone get knife making materials in prison?"

"They use what they can find. Sometimes they take a metal spoon and file the handle to a point using the iron bars in their cells or the concrete walls. Then they wrap a cloth or tape around the other end for a handle." Turning back to the Captain Rollie asked, "How did it happen? I thought the Daltons were going into protective custody."

"Some idiot put them in the general population instead of their own holding cell. Vito must have been tipped off that they had been arrested. I'll call the D.A. and see what he wants to do," Pete said. Rollie and Jessica listened to Pete's side of the conversation.

"Yeah, I heard John. What do you want to do?" Pete listened for several seconds and replied, "We still got the taped confession you know. Yeah, but..." Peter listened for a long period. "Okay, I understand. It sucks but I understand. Good bye."

Pete looked tired although it was still relatively early morning. "You know John Stamos, the D.A.?" Rollie nodded. "John says that the tape won't stand up in court." He held up his hand before Rollie could voice his protest. "I know Rollie. But John says Vito's attorney can claim the confession was coerced."

"But all three of us can testify that Riley told us on his own."

"It wouldn't fly. The attorney would say that since you and Jessica are in a romantic relationship and that Tully is your friend that you are all conspiring against his client. I know it sucks but that's how it is. John isn't going to indict Vito Rossi; at least now and not for this crime." Pete sighed and walked to the wall safe. He opened the safe, took Rollie's tape recorder out and tossed it to him. "Maybe you can use the recorder another time on another case."

Rollie was very quiet on the way home and Jessica didn't try to coax him out of his mood. She knew this wasn't something he could just 'oh well' and forget about. As they pulled up in front of the apartment they saw Tully's car in the driveway with Tully sitting on the hood.

"And what are you doing here Tully?" Rollie asked shaking himself out of his mood.

"I heard about the Daltons. Heard the D.A. won't file charges."

"So?"

"So what's our play?" Tully looked directly at Rollie. "I know you're going to do something and I want to be part of it."

"The news about the Daltons is too new and I don't have anything planned; at least not yet. But you're right; I won't let Vito get away with what he's done." Rollie put his hand on Tully's shoulder. "You can't be involved Tully. If it goes sideways you could be kicked off the force. I can't let you chance that."

"Ted's my friend too you know. If you don't let me in I'll just have to do something on my own. As far as the job goes, I can live on my military pension and the disability checks for this." He lifted his pant leg and pointed to his prosthetic leg.

"Ok Tully. When I think of something I'll call you." Tully stared at Rollie for several seconds and Rollie added, "I give you my word Tully, I'll call you."