Silent Mercy

TWENTY-SEVEN

“WHAT do you want?” I hoped the feeling of panic that seized my chest didn’t show as obviously on my face. “Who are you?”

I thought of making a break for the stairwell, but I didn’t know if the man had a weapon in his hand or not.

“Keep your voice down, Ms. Cooper,” he said calmly. “My name is Vincenzo Borracelli.”

“You are so far off base, Mr. Borracelli.” I clasped my hands together to stop them from trembling. “Get out of here right now or I’ll call the police.”

“They’ve just left, Ms. Cooper, haven’t they? I’ve had to wait way too long as it is to get answers from you.” His accent was heavier than his wife’s. I kept telling myself that he had nothing to gain by becoming physically violent, but it was shocking to me that he had found a way to impose on my personal space in the middle of the night.

I raised my voice and shouted at him. “Get out!”

If I couldn’t rouse my good friend David Mitchell in the adjacent apartment, then perhaps I could get Prozac, his gentle Rottweiler, to start barking.

“Your voice, Ms. Cooper,” Borracelli said, holding a finger to his lips. “You gave my daughter your cell phone number, in case she wanted to contact you. That was a lovely courtesy. Uncharacteristic of you, as it turned out, but lovely.”

He withdrew his hands from his pockets, and they were empty.

“May we step inside for a few minutes? That’s all I need of you.”

“You must think I’m insane. Say what you want, right here. Then go.” It was no surprise that a well-dressed businessman had gotten through the concierge desk where our doormen stood. There was a steady flow of traffic in the large building, and I was certain Borracelli had used his charm to convince one of them he was attending a cocktail party or dinner.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Gina’s father.”

He laughed, and I sensed the same arrogance that Laura had when he left his message earlier that afternoon. “That, of course, Ms. Cooper. I mean, do you know—”

“How important you are? Is that what you’re trying to tell me, by trapping me here in a hallway tonight? Do you think I give a damn about whatever it is that you think entitles you to threaten and harass me?”

“Have I threatened you, young lady? That’s nonsense. You were rude not to return my phone call.”

“I had a bad day at the office, Mr. Borracelli. Two women are dead and—”

“And that’s reason to abuse my child?”

I took two steps back toward the swinging door in the service area. There was an elevator inside that was for the maintenance crew, although it was the slowest-moving piece of machinery in the world. I didn’t speak.

“I’m the CEO of a major international telecommunications company, Ms. Cooper. Once I had your phone number, it was easy for me to get the rest of your personal information.”

“Everybody seems to know how to find me. A house call really wasn’t necessary, Mr. Borracelli. I’ll be at my desk all day tomorrow. Now, press the down button by those two elevators or I’ll scream.”

“I don’t imagine you as a screamer. Just listen to me. Two minutes.”

I continued backing up, closer to the service area, and just a few steps away from David Mitchell’s door.

“Gina is my baby. She’s a very, very sensitive child. I know she has issues.”

“Issues” was one of those dreadful weasel words that didn’t begin to articulate what Borracelli referred to. Binge drinking, substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, and the ability to look someone in a position of authority straight in the eye while lying. Gina had more issues than her box of bad things could begin to contain.

“She’s trying to act like one of the big girls. You’d better rethink the whole ‘baby’ idea.” The law still protected Gina, but she had chosen to start playing with fire.

“There was an urgency to my phone call, Ms. Cooper. Anyone who works for me and didn’t return a call by day’s end wouldn’t have a job.”

“I apologize.” Days like this, I’d be willing to give up my job too.

“Gina has been talking to my wife about hurting herself. She’s distraught about having to face this boy at school. She said she has pills. She has razor blades,” he said, his anxiety apparent for the first time in this confrontation. “She says that she’d rather kill herself than face the embarrassment of seeing Javier at school.”

“That’s quite serious, Mr. Borracelli. I can get her a counseling appointment first thing in the morning.”

“And until then, Ms. Cooper? If she hurts herself tonight, it will be all your fault.”

I closed my eyes and took a breath. It wasn’t the kid’s doing that her father was a horse’s ass. “What is it you expect of me right now?”

So far today I was responsible for everything from the next Holy Wars to a teen suicide.

“I promised my Gina I wouldn’t come home until you telephoned. Until you apologized for your mishandling of the case, to keep her from hurting herself — with pills, or with something sharp. Gina has tried to cut herself before this. My wife is with her now, keeping watch. They’re waiting up for your call.”

This wasn’t the moment for me to stand on principle and defend my actions if a kid’s life was hanging in the balance.

“And for your promise that in the morning, you’ll speak with the headmaster and insist that Javier be expelled.”

Vincenzo Borracelli took a step in my direction and I recoiled.

“It’s just the phone I’m handing you, since you won’t let me come inside. No need to back away. Just press on it and it will dial Gina’s number.”

I took the handheld from him and waited while it connected. It went directly to voice mail. “Gina? It’s Alexandra Cooper, from the DA’s Office. I’m here with your father. We’re concerned about you, of course. I’d like to apologize for anything I said or did to make you unhappy. We can put this entire event behind you and get you on a safer path. I’d like you to meet one of the counselors we work with. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

I flipped the phone shut and handed it back to Borracelli.

“You didn’t say anything about the boy, Ms. Cooper. Something has to be done about the boy.”

Vincenzo Borracelli took another step forward and I reached for David Mitchell’s doorbell, pushing against it repeatedly. I had awakened a large, sleeping dog that began to bark fiercely and scratch at the door with his front paws.

“David!” I screamed for my friend and Vincenzo Borracelli turned to the two elevators and pressed the button between them.

I could hear David shouting the command to his dog to get down, opening up just as the out-of-bounds Borracelli disappeared behind the sliding elevator door.