"I know what the h.e.l.l started it and it goes to show that Tony should keep his fat mouth shut if he doesn't know all the facts."

Roberto saw the hatred dancing around in Carlos' eyes.

"I ought to go dig the son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h up and pump his rotting corpse full of holes. As far as I'm concerned, he and Tony are from the same fruit."

Roberto clearly understood his boss' rage. It would be a long, long time before he himself would forget the day Carlos found out the truth about his Under Boss, Salvatore Anastasia. The day he learned the truth was also the same day that Anastasia died.

Carlos' granddaughter, Melinda Belotti had come to see him later that evening after hearing the news. She told Carlos that she had been keeping a dark, terrible secret for years, and had lived in agony over it. She fell into his arms, sobbing, and he had comforted her. He rea.s.sured her that it was all right, that she could tell him anything. After some gentle prodding, he got her to open up.

She told him about a business meeting that had taken place at his estate late one night. She described the events in vivid detail. She said that later in the evening, a man had come into her room. He climbed into bed with her and placed his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. He whispered in her ear, and said that if she made a sound, he would kill her.

He pulled up her nightgown, removed her panties, and raped her. Afterward, he told her that if she ever said anything, he would kill her parents, as well as Carlos.

Although it was dark, she had recognized him by the smell of his cologne. It was Salvatore Anastasia. Melinda was ten years old at the time. Carlos was speechless, enraged, and for the first time in his life, he was powerless. All he could do was sit and listen to his granddaughter's anguish and try to comfort her the best way he knew how.

Roberto knew that Big Tony was in a lot of trouble. It was evident by the look on Carlos' face. Roberto pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. "What do you want to do about it?" he asked.

Carlos slammed his fist down on the table. "I want to kill the son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h. That's what I want to do. I don't care about the details ... and take care of Sonny, while you're at it."

Roberto pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. "I'll call Sammy."

Carlos held his hand up to stop him. "You know what? On second thought, let's hold off for a little while. I have something else in mind."

"Are you sure?" Roberto asked.

Carlos nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Chapter 15.

Rheyna couldn't believe how much time had gone by since Pandora's Box had begun, and the last couple of months went just as fast. It was frustrating, seeing they were still no closer to bringing down Castrucci then when they started. She was frustrated, as were the members of her team, but no one more so than Edwards.

The Deputy Director was on his back and getting restless. He wanted results and wanted them yesterday. The cost of the operation was mounting, and it took all of Edwards' energy to convince him they needed a little more time. So far, they had several hundred hours of useless surveillance tape and just as many photos, but nothing to link Castrucci directly to the killings or smuggling operations. Something had to give.

Her relations.h.i.+p-if you could call it that-with Caroline was growing, and so was Annie. She had long since had her cast removed, was sprouting up like a weed, and she and Rheyna were practically inseparable.

Rheyna continued with the ruse of running her photography business and her role in the operation felt more like that of a bystander. She and Laura concluded that surveillance alone was not going to cut it.

On most days, she was okay with her a.s.signment and on others; it took everything she had in her to fight off the ever-increasing guilt for deceiving Caroline and Terasa. She and Caroline were spending a lot of time together in between her days at Haven. She found herself looking forward to the long walks she and Caroline took regularly along the beach with Annie. They even took the boat out several more times, and Rheyna actually drove it.

She felt no stress when they were on the boat, and for a few stolen hours, Rheyna felt at peace. She tried not to think about the time when it would all have to end, because if she did, she would also have to think about Caroline and how Caroline would hate her for what she had done to her and her family.

The thought of Caroline hating her tore her up inside. She dreaded seeing the disappointment in Caroline's eyes, a disappointment she knew was sure to come. She pushed the thoughts aside and decided she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

After her fifth or sixth visit to the Castrucci estate, the guards no longer searched her. She came and went as she pleased and she took full advantage of her liberties, gathering whatever information she could by eavesdropping on Big Tony's conversations out by the pool.

On one occasion, using a cool pair of sungla.s.ses with a built in camera, she was able to get surveillance photos of two previously unknown members of the Ma.s.sino crime family. She then pa.s.sed the information on to Laura.

She and Caroline had gone to dinner with Phil and Jesse several times since their first boat trip. After spending time with them, Rheyna realized just what Caroline saw in them. They were kind souls, but most of all, they were genuine. They were also lovers, as Rheyna had first suspected. They had been together for almost nineteen years. Jesse was the cutup of the two and was heavy into joke telling.

She really liked Phil but she enjoyed Jesse's company the most. He was a riot to be around and was sure to lift the dourest of spirits. She also loved that he liked to shop and the two of them had went on several shopping sprees in the specialty shops down in Palo Alto. She was grateful for the friends.h.i.+p they had so easily offered her. Her only wish was that it had happened under different circ.u.mstances.

Chapter 16.

Sonny looked at the shadowy figure standing in the recessed doorway. "You're taking a big risk meeting like this," he said.

"I didn't have much choice. The a.s.sistant Deputy Director's getting too close."

Sonny lit his cigarette and laughed. "Well, what do you want me to do about it? Kill him?"

"I don't know but you need to do something and do it fast. He has some hotshot programmer back in Was.h.i.+ngton running some new computer program. It's only a matter of time before my name comes up."

"Don'tcha think you're overreacting a bit? You're the last person on the planet they'd ever suspect of laying in bed with the mob," Sonny snorted.

"d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l. Do not tell me how to react! I'm telling you we have a problem and if they tie me to these hits, your a.s.s is going down right along with me."

"I thought you said you covered your tracks," Sonny said, unable to keep the agitation from his voice.

"I did cover my tracks."

"Then how the h.e.l.l they gonna trace it back to you?"

"They're not just looking at Scala's murder, they're looking at Vinci and Pisano and a few others, too."

"Vinci and Pisano?" Sonny asked, not understanding the meaning.

"Did I f.u.c.king stutter?"

Sonny leaned back against the doorframe, trying to place the names. After a few seconds, it dawned on him. "Vinci and Pisano. Jesus, that was over ten years ago," he said, taking a long drag on his cigarette. "Vinci and Pisano were killed in car accidents. Why are they looking at them now?" he asked.

"I don't know and I really don't give a rat's a.s.s. All I care about is me not being linked to them in any way, shape, or form."

"Can't you do something on your end to derail the program?"

"No, it would only make it look more suspicious. I'm too close to the investigation as it is."

Sonny dropped the cigarette b.u.t.t and stomped it out with his shoe. He nodded as he looked at the shadowy figure. "Well, you're right. We have to do something. You have any ideas?"

"Yeah, I do. I have one that just might work, but you'll have to move fast."

Sonny smiled and lit another cigarette. "I'm all ears," he said, exhaling the smoke.

Rheyna hit the speed dial again and waited for Laura to answer. It rang seven times and then went into her voice mail. "d.a.m.n it," she said, pressing the speed dial again. Once again, it rang seven times and then went into her voice mail. She decided to leave a message this time. "Hey, Laura, it's me again. I left you a voice mail earlier and I hope you're getting these messages. You know I wouldn't normally do this without any backup or a safety net, but I don't have much choice. This might be the only chance I get to check out Baysh.o.r.e. If you've listened to my earlier message, you'll know the details. Also, if you don't hear from me within two hours, send re-enforcements."

She hung up the phone and then made sure it was on vibrate, just to be on the safe side. She definitely couldn't afford for it to ring if Castrucci or his goons were around. She also knew that Laura wouldn't call until the two-hour window had pa.s.sed.

She tucked the phone inside her side pocket and then reached over to open the glove box. She pulled out a four-by-four-inch black case. She flipped the lid open, removed the wireless ear bud, and inserted it into her ear. She blew into the tiny microphone to test the receiver and cringed at the highly amplified sound that echoed straight through her brain. She wasn't sure if she would need these items tonight, but had packed them just in case.

What she was about to do was the riskiest move she had made so far in the investigation, next to planting the pen in Castrucci's office. Earlier in the week, she had gotten the chance to affix a quarter-sized radio transmitter under the edge of the table by the pool where Castrucci conducted business. The downside to the device was that it had a battery life of about eight days.

She had thought her time had all but run out when she caught a break. Castrucci, Sonny, and Henry were having lunch when Sonny received a phone call. It was difficult to put it all together, since Caroline was talking in one ear while she was trying to listen in on the conversation at the table with the other.

The phone call was from someone named Charlie. She hadn't heard his name mentioned before and couldn't remember him being listed on any of her briefing reports. Castrucci had referred to him as Tuna. From what she could gather, Charlie had a package for them at Baysh.o.r.e, as well as a gift for Roberto. Those names she did recognize. Roberto was Ma.s.sino's right-hand man and Baysh.o.r.e was one of Castrucci's exporting warehouses down at the docks.

After consulting with Castrucci, Sonny confirmed that they would stop in at the warehouse later that evening. He told Charlie they had a previous engagement and would stop by around eight or nine. After Sonny hung up, she had said her goodbyes a few minutes later, leaving under the pretense of a photo shoot appointment. The only appointment she had was with Baysh.o.r.e, and she was hoping Castrucci showed up closer to nine. The later the better and nine o'clock meant that it would be dark enough for her to move around more easily. It would also lessen her chances of being discovered.

She went home and prepped her gear, grabbed a bite to eat and took Annie for a walk along the beach. Afterward, she slipped on a pair of black cargo pants and a matching hooded jacket with a drawstring and headed out the door. She arrived around seven-thirty and parked her Jeep in a crowded parking lot behind a warehouse located a little way from Baysh.o.r.e. She parked there because she couldn't risk Castrucci or his men recognizing her Jeep.

She glanced at her watch and then opened the car door. Her plan was to get there before they arrived and get inside the building to look around. She wasn't sure if the building had an alarm system, so she came prepared, bringing along a bypa.s.s switch and clip to override the alarm inside the main box. After seeing how the Castrucci estate was wired, she had no doubt that Baysh.o.r.e would be protected just as well. She made her way across the parking lot and through a field of tall gra.s.s that led to several more parking lots.

She heard voices and ducked down in the weeds. She watched several people from the warehouse closest to her file out the back door and head to their cars.

"Come on, d.a.m.n it. Not now," she swore under her breath. Two of the women from the warehouse stopped next to a red truck. They were having a heated discussion. The shorter of the two was upset and flailing her hands wildly in the air. The other woman nodded her head and patted the shorter woman on the shoulder.

"There's no way I can move. They'll see me" she whispered as she watched the women. Whatever the other woman said, it must have calmed the shorter one down. It was only a few minutes but it felt like forever before they finally got in their cars and backed out of the parking lot.

Bent in a half-crouched position, she quickly made her way across the parking lot. She pressed her back against the side of the building to avoid an approaching set of headlights. She dropped down behind a set of boxes, just as the car turned into the parking lot. The car slowed to a crawl, its searchlight moving up and down the back of the buildings. She held her breath and leaned forward so she could see around the boxes.

She watched the patrol car drive slowly by, and used the back of her arm to wipe off the perspiration beading on her forehead. From her position, she could see the corner of Baysh.o.r.e. She figured it was approximately fifty to seventy-five yards away. She waited for the patrol car brake lights to disappear around the corner and stood up. She waited a few more minutes to make sure he turned back on the main road before continuing toward the building.

The sun had set and it was getting extremely dark. She glanced at her watch and silently cursed herself. She had wasted more than thirty minutes getting across the parking lots. She couldn't believe how quickly the sun had disappeared, making it almost impossible for her to see her hand in front of her face.

She slowly made her way across the back of the building and thought she was doing pretty good to keep quiet, considering the stabs of pain shooting through her legs each time she b.u.mped into a wooden skid, or whatever else was stacked on the ground. I'll be covered in bruises this time tomorrow, she thought when she finally reached the edge of the building. She peered around the corner and looked into the small alley that stood between her and Baysh.o.r.e.

She listened to make sure she didn't hear anything and then quickly made her way over to a tractor-trailer backed against Baysh.o.r.e's dock door. She ducked under the trailer and walked toward what vaguely resembled a set of steps that she a.s.sumed led into the back of the warehouse. She missed the first step and stretched her arms out to break the fall. She swore under her breath as pain shot through both kneecaps. She stood up, dug the small pebbles out of her palms, and then continued up the steps.

As she ran her hands up the side of the door, she found the bundle of wires. She traced the wires up the long edge of the door, finding that they terminated at the top.

The building had an alarm system and not just any alarm. It was an elaborate, state-of-the-art setup. She looked back at the dark parking lot, finding it odd that there were no lights affixed to the outside of the building, considering the length that Castrucci had went to with the alarm system. She was grateful for his lack of insight, but it made her job a h.e.l.l of a lot harder. She felt like a blind person stumbling around in the dark.

Carefully, she descended the steps and used her hand to trace the wires along the bottom edge of the building. It was imperative that she find the main box in order to disarm the alarm system. She had brought a penlight with her, had it in her pocket, and didn't want to risk using it, but the lack of lighting gave her no choice. She could tell by the amount of wires in the bundle that she would have no room for error when it came time to clip them. If she screwed up on the termination, she would set off the alarm instead of disarming it.

She was about to turn on the penlight when the sound of gravel crunching stopped her dead in her tracks. The minute she saw the headlights, she dropped to the ground with a thud. She scooted across the ground on her stomach, ignoring the pain as various objects dug into her skin. She slid behind something solid and took a deep breath to quiet her nerves. She looked up in time to see a pair of glowing red taillights pa.s.s by. The car came to a stop just a few feet away from the back steps.

The driver, no doubt Tommy, turned the headlights on bright, illuminating the back of the parking lot. Rheyna glanced around and realized that she was crouched next to a large trash compactor and a bunch of wooden crates. She wedged herself between the compactor and the crates, figuring that if she couldn't see the men in the car, they couldn't see her. She heard two car doors open and shut and peeked around the edge of the crates.

Sonny rapped his knuckles on the pa.s.senger side window and Tommy rolled it down. "Leave the lights on a minute so we can see what the h.e.l.l we're doing here," Sonny said before turning to follow Big Tony and Henry up the steps.

"I'm gonna run up and fill the tank. Be back in a few," Tommy yelled before rolling up the window. Sonny shrugged him off with a wave of his hand.

Big Tony flipped the alarm code box open and punched in the code.

"We really need to do something about the lighting back here," Sonny said as he and Henry followed Big Tony inside.

"Have Charlie take care of it tomorrow," Big Tony said, flipping on the light switch.

Rheyna waited for the limo to disappear out of the parking lot before coming out from behind the crates. She looked up at the row of windows located across the back of the building. There was no way she could get in the building using the door, even if it was unlocked. With her luck, it would squeak.

She glanced up at the windows again and decided that was her best option. She was glad to see they had turned on a few of the lights inside the building. If Castrucci, or whoever, had turned all of them on, she would have had to sc.r.a.p the whole mission. It would have been too risky for her. She also counted her blessings that one of the windows was located directly above the trash compactor. She needed to move and move fast. She had to get inside the building before the limo returned. Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible for her to do so without being seen.

She used the stack of crates to climb onto the compactor and peered through the window. She could see all three men. They were standing on the other side of the warehouse near a row of tables stacked with boxes. She tried to lift the window but it didn't budge. A close look at window revealed an old slide-type lock. She pulled out her pocketknife and wedged it between the panels. Using both hands, she slid the knife sideways, pus.h.i.+ng the locking lever to the side. She crammed the tip of the blade between the sill and the window and pushed down on the handle, raising the window just high enough to get her fingers under it. She closed the knife and dropped it into her pants pocket.

She clenched her teeth as she slowly raised the window, silently praying that it wouldn't squeak. So far, so good, she thought as she continued to raise the window high enough for her to fit through it.

She took out the small microphone boom, and clipped it to the front of her jacket and then hoisted herself up on the ledge. As she crawled through the window, she heard the men talking. She adjusted the ear bud but was unable to hear their conversation clearly-she needed to get closer. With a deep breath, she slowly lowered herself down onto a four-by-four foot stack of skids. She sat there for several seconds, looking around to get her bearings.

The warehouse was larger than she had imagined. She noticed that the skids, like the one she was on, were stacked every two or so feet apart and that she could reach almost any place in the building by hopping from one stack to another.

Along the back wall, she saw three sets of double overhead doors and to the right were two more sets that opened into the side parking lot. She looked down and felt her stomach do a flip-flop-she was standing a good thirty feet off the floor. She hated heights.

She looked up and instantly regretted it when her head began to swim. She grabbed the windowsill to steady herself. She closed her eyes for a moment and then forced herself to look up again.

Approximately five-feet above her head was a metal, corrugated catwalk that stretched across the entire warehouse. Just like the Castrucci house, she thought as she noticed several offshoot pa.s.sages leading off the walkway, which led to large platforms that were used as storage s.p.a.ce for spare equipment and boxes. She noticed a ladder, surrounded by a protection cage, attached to the catwalk in the middle of the warehouse. It stretched all the way to the floor. It reminded her of the ladders on the outside of giant water towers. It made her hands sweat just looking at it.

She could hear bits and pieces of the conversation as the men continued to talk. She decided that now was the time to move. Not only did she need to hear what they were saying, she wanted to see what they were doing. She kept reminding herself not to look down as she stepped across the gap and onto the next stack. She repeated the process several times and with each step, her legs shook and she continued to remind herself not to look down.

One wrong move and she would end up a b.l.o.o.d.y pile on the concrete floor below-or worse, if she survived the fall, there was no doubt in her mind that Castrucci would finish the job. She wondered if Laura heard her messages as she stepped onto the next set of crates. She felt an instant rush of adrenaline as the stack began to rock violently. Dropping to a crouching position, she tried to steady herself in the middle of the stack. I can't cross the entire warehouse on these, she thought, wiping the sweat off her face. She glanced up at the catwalk and made her decision.

She was vaguely aware of the men talking below as she slowly stood up. I can't believe I'm about to do this, she thought as she wiped her hands on the front of her pants to get the sweat off. She looked up at the catwalk again and decided that it was her best option. She reached up, wrapping her fingers around the side rail, hoping that it was strong enough to support her full weight. She took a deep breath, clamped her jaws tight to keep from grunting, and then pulled herself up with as much strength as she could muster. She could feel her muscles scream under the full weight of her body.

She let out a silent sigh when she finally felt her knees touch the metal platform. She fell forward, lying on her stomach for several seconds in order to catch her breath. I really need to start working out again, she thought as she slowly pushed herself up on her knees. She glanced out across the warehouse. From her position, she could see the top of Castrucci's head and she could clearly hear their conversation.

Sonny lit a cigarette.

"What was that?" Henry asked.

"What was what?" Sonny asked.

Henry held his hand up. "Shh ... listen. I thought I heard something."

Big Tony shook his head. "You're hearing s.h.i.+t again. Why don'tcha try cleaning your ears out?"

Henry ignored him and walked toward the stack of skids.

"Get back over here, Henry. I don't have time for this s.h.i.+t. I haven't had dinner yet and want to get this done," Big Tony yelled.