Johnny Porno

Chapter 35

“He had a red hat and jeans and something was hanging around his neck,” the kid had told John. “Then he got in a brown car and drove that way, down that street.” The kid pointed at the cross street alongside the office building. “This towel was wrapped around the hammer.”

He knew who it was as soon as the kid mentioned something was hanging around his neck, but now he had the towel, too, a souvenir he’d like to ram down Nick Santorra’s throat.

John wrapped his right hand with the towel and lightly pressed on the windshield to see if it would give. It was loose but wouldn’t break through. He sat behind the wheel and could see enough of the road to keep driving. He fished a single dollar bill from his pants pocket and handed it to the kid.

“Thanks,” he’d told the boy.

That had been a few hours ago. Now he was barely able to see above the spider web of cracked glass and had three more stops.

It was getting close to six o’clock when he made it to Rockville Center, his next to last stop. They were showing the film in the basement of a karate school on Sunrise Highway. The guy in charge had decided to give another showing when he saw John was late. There were ten customers watching the movie.

“How much longer?” John asked.

“She just did the deep-throat thing,” the guy in charge said. “About forty minutes, I guess, but a guy Eugene called and said you should call the bar when you got here.”

“Alright,” John said. “You got a phone I can use?”

He was brought upstairs to the karate school office. He used the phone there and called the bar. He was put on hold when somebody strange answered the phone. John figured it was one of the bus boys.

A few seconds passed before Eugene was on the line. He said something that nearly stopped John’s heart. Then his heart was racing and he couldn’t stop asking questions. Eugene shouted at him to calm down and write down the phone number he was giving him. John did as he was told.

“She call the police?” John asked.

“She didn’t say,” Eugene said.

“Jesus Christ. She call back?”

“Not yet.”

“Tell her to stay put if she calls again.”

“Of course.”

“And do me a favor and call this number in case she’s there,” John said. He gave Eugene his ex-wife’s home phone number.

“You want us to send somebody your last stop?” Eugene asked.

“Yeah, please,” John said. “It’s Valley Stream.”

“Okay,” Eugene said.

John hung up and immediately dialed the number Eugene had given him. The line rang five times before Nancy answered.

“It’s me,” John said.

“Jesus Christ, you took your time about it.”

“Where’s Jack?”

“I don’t know. I think somebody took him.”

“What do you mean, you think? Where are you?”

“The bazaar I wanted you to take him to on Merrick Boulevard.”

“You call the cops?”

“No, I’m afraid to. He went in a big tent and hasn’t come out yet. I’m watching out front.”

“What?”

“Just come, John, okay? I’m scared shitless out here. I’m afraid to leave to make the call.”

“Didn’t you ask someone for help?”

“I can’t, god damn it! Just come, okay? We’re on Merrick Boulevard off Liberty, the bazaar in the park there. Hurry!”

John nearly dropped the phone when she hung up. He raced down the stairs where he was told there was still twenty-five minutes left in the movie.

John wasn’t hearing it. He didn’t bother counting the tally and stashed the money in the gym bag already stuffed with cash from his other stops. He was in the car a few minutes later, jumping the light at Sunrise Highway as he sped east toward Valley Stream.

He was thinking nothing made sense as he weaved in and out of traffic and finally had to slow down when he spotted a police cruiser on the opposite side of Sunrise Highway. Nancy had claimed she couldn’t call the police, yet she had made the call to the bar. Or had he heard her right?

He couldn’t think straight. He glanced up at the rearview mirror to make sure the police cruiser was still on the other side of the highway divider, then floored the gas pedal and went back to weaving around cars moving way too slow.

Today Louis had worn his ponytail tied up under a hat. He’d also had Holly draw pictures on his legs with a ballpoint pen that looked like tattoos from a distance. He wore an oversized long-sleeve shirt and high-top sneakers. A slim-jim was tucked down the back of his shorts.

Nancy had called the bar a few hours ago and was supposed to be outside the bazaar at five o’clock but wasn’t there yet. Assuming she dropped the kid off at the pool party, what she had said she would do, it might add another ten, fifteen minutes to her time before she was in position to meet Albano whenever he showed up. Allowing for an extra few minutes, she was still half an hour late.

Louis had already parked close enough to the bazaar so he could spot John Albano’s car when it pulled up to the bazaar entrance facing Merrick Boulevard. The trick would be keeping each woman from seeing the other. He had Holly lay down on the back seat just in case Nancy spotted his car. After fifteen minutes with no sign of his ex-wife, Louis became concerned Nancy had screwed something up. It was another ten minutes before he finally saw her in his rearview mirror.

Nancy paced back and forth underneath the welcome sign to the bazaar while Louis grew concerned Albano wasn’t going to show. Suddenly he saw Nancy step back closer to the entrance, her arms waving toward the street. Then he could hear Albano’s car before he could see it. He watched as the Buick stopped for a red light, then edged its way through the light and pulled up to the curb.

Louis thought he could see the windshield was shattered. Then Albano was out of the car and running around the front end toward the bazaar entrance. Louis grinned when he saw Albano wasn’t carrying anything. His grin widened when he saw Nancy waving her ex-husband toward the big tent.

“Finally,” he said.

“Everything okay?” Holly asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go. You’re driving.”

He had already scoped out the bazaar and knew the big tent was deep and wide with several rows of individual games of chance. In the farthest corner from the mouth of the tent was the goldfish toss. There was an exit behind the goldfish stand that led to a parking lot. Nancy was supposed to bring her ex to the goldfish toss, then out into the lot before she told him it was just a bet. Louis would only need a few minutes to boost the car and get out of there.

He ran toward the Buick as soon as Albano disappeared inside the tent. He spotted the gym bag at the base of the passenger seat and crowded up close to the door to hide his using the slim-jim. Ten seconds later Louis had the door open and immediately went to work on the ignition system. It took him less than a minute to start the car. Then Holly backed up alongside him in his car.

His plan was to take the money somewhere safe and hide until he knew Nancy had held her water. John Albano would have his hands full with the guys he worked for. The mob would assume the robbery was an inside job.

“Drive up a couple blocks and pull up to the curb,” he told Holly. “I’ll pull up behind you with this and then I’ll take over.”

Holly nodded and pulled away. Louis followed her in Albano’s Buick. One red light and thirty seconds later he checked and double-checked his side and rearview mirror before he grabbed the bag and got out. He’d left the Buick locked with the engine running.

Back in his car with Holly, Louis drove one block before he turned off Merrick Boulevard and used side streets to Conduit Boulevard.

“Where’s the money?” she asked.

“That bag at your feet looks about right,” Louis said.

Holly unzipped the top and peeked inside. “Wow, Louis,” she said. “There’s a lot of money in here.”

“Good,” he said. He looked to her and saw she was smiling. “See. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Actually, it was pretty exciting,” she said.

“That’s my girl,” Louis said. He was already thinking they might make a good team.