Jonas Saul - The Kill

“Rosina’s not here.”

“Yeah, right. Stop fucking around and put her on, or I’m hanging up.”

“I’m serious. She’s not here. She was moved to a safe house.”

“A safe house? Where?”

“You know I can’t tell you that or it wouldn’t be safe now, would it?”

“I’m her husband, asshole. You can tell me where she is. In fact, you can tell me where she is right the fuck now, or I will assume you dickheads are the enemy because taking a woman away from her husband and not telling the husband where she is really is kidnapping now, isn’t it?”

“Darwin, tell us about your connection to the Gambino family. Tell us everything and we’ll put you both in the program somewhere in the states. Help us out here and we can help you.”

“The program? Gambino family? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“The witness protection program. We can keep you safe. Protect you and your wife. You can live a long life together. Safe. What do you say? Come on in.”

“Are you mad? Have all of you gone mad? I don’t even know the name Gambino? And talking about safety, I sure was safe last night in a car with a Federal Bureau man. Sure, I was real safe. You guys have a knack with keeping folks safe.”

“That was an accident. We can fix this. Just tell us about your connection-”

“Fuck you!” Darwin screamed into the phone and slammed it down.

He hustled away from the pay phone before he tried to tear it off its mount. He had to get to the Chapters in Mississauga.

“Fucking credit card.”

He’d left it in the phone slot. He ran back, grabbed it and then used the phone to call a cab.

Ten minutes later he was in the backseat of a cab, heading to Mississauga to meet with Rosina’s mother.

On the way there, he had the driver stop and wait at an Army surplus store. He needed a weapon. One that wasn’t sharp or had pointy edges. One that wouldn’t be lethal, but one that would still be effective enough to repel attackers.

He found exactly what he needed and ran back to the waiting cab.

Rosina woke with a splitting headache. She rolled off the bed and got up slowly. The bed had been comfortable, the pillow amazing, but it was the first night since she got married in Rome that she’d slept alone.

That’s enough to give any woman a headache, she thought.

She spied the bathroom door. The house was gorgeous. She remembered not being able to appreciate it as she entered through the front door earlier that morning, Alfred holding her up, as exhaustion had finally won her over.

He’d explained how the house was on a normal city street, surrounded by normal neighbors. She remembered asking him to define normal. He’d ignored her and went on to explain how there were hidden cameras everywhere. There was even one hidden in the clock on the wall.

“Where?” she had asked.

“At the bottom of every number, there’s a little black dot. On the six, that dot is a camera. We’re surrounded by them outside too. In the back, the house is on environmentally protected land. It’s a ravine. If the worst happens, and we’re under attack, we leave through the back and there’s always a car parked for us in a driveway two streets over. We have everything covered.”

“Are we going to be attacked?” Rosina asked. Then she held her hand up. “Wait. Don’t answer that. You said you have everything covered. Did you guys have my husband covered?”

Alfred hadn’t answered her. His phone had rung and he moved away to answer it. She had wandered through the house and fell asleep in the room on the top floor that had an en suite.

Inside the bathroom, she couldn’t find any Advil.

She used the toilet and went downstairs to find Alfred.

He sat in a lounge chair, staring out the front window. He got up when he heard her coming.

“Ahh, you’re up. How did you sleep?”

“Not good. I need Advil and coffee.”

“On it,” he said, and slipped past her.

“Some of my colleagues are coming by soon. They have news and they want to talk to you about stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” she mumbled, afraid to raise her voice for fear of the throbbing in her head.

“What’s that?” Alfred asked.

She waved him off.

A minute later, the coffee machine in the kitchen sputtered along. He brought her three Advils, and after taking all three, she told Alfred she’d have a shower, and then be down for coffee.

Fifteen minutes after that, she came down the stairs, headache almost gone, ready for a couple cups of coffee when she heard voices. Three men stood in a semi-circle around Alfred.

“Rosina, these are the men I was telling you about. Get a coffee and come join us.”

She tried to determine if they were the kind of men who come to tell you personally that your spouse had been killed.

She took her time preparing her coffee, dreading to hear the news if it was bad.

Finally, she dragged herself to the living room and took a seat, looking for any sign that this would be bad. One man sported a stupid bushy mustache. The other didn’t know how to tie his necktie. It hung too low with the knot askew. The third man seemed nervous, his leg bouncing up and down.

She decided she didn’t want to know their names. She would call them, Tie, Leg, and Stache.

“Rosina, the information we are about…”

Rosina held her hand up for him to stop. “First, is Darwin dead? That’s all I want to know. We can talk for hours if you want, but first, tell me about my husband.”

Stache looked at Leg and Tie in turn. Then he looked back at her. “No, Darwin is not dead. We have confirmation he’s alive. He talked to one of our agents about an hour ago.”

“Ohhh, what a relief,” she said as she set her coffee down on the table by her knee. She bent at the waist and leaned over, holding her stomach.

No one spoke, giving her a moment to digest the news.

When she sat up, she collected herself, adjusted her blouse and took a sip of her coffee. Everyone in the room remained quiet, respecting the moment she needed.

“How did you receive confirmation?” Rosina asked.

“He called your hotel room at the Quality Suites,” Leg answered.

She raised an eyebrow. “My room at the hotel? Why would he do that? He knew I wouldn’t be there. We were supposed to be transported in separate vehicles to this safe house.” She eyed them all and then asked. “What’s really going on?”

“Well, Mrs. Kostas, that’s what we’re here to talk to you about.”

She set here coffee down. “Go ahead,” she said. “I’m listening.”

“Rosina, have you-”

“Mrs. Kostas, please. That’s my name now.”

The men all looked at each other. Tie pulled a folder out of a briefcase beside him and turned to her.

“Mrs. Kostas, do you and your husband ever watch adult movies?”

“Excuse me? What the hell kinda question is that? How dare you?”

“Ma’am, calm down, please. We have our reasons. We will explain. Bear with us. We have to get through our questions first.”

She pulled her legs up under her and sat with her arms crossed.

Can this circus get any worse?

“Have you ever heard of a man named Frankie Gambino?”

“No. Should I have?”

Tie disregarded her question and asked another one of his. “Have you ever shopped at the,” he stopped to refer to his notes. “Adult Emporium and Toys on the corner of Dundas and Dixie in Mississauga?”

“What the hell is this? Why did you come all this way to ask if I use adult toys? Are you insane? My husband is in trouble and you’re asking how kinky we are as a couple? I’m appalled.”

“Ma’am, please take a look at this photo and tell me if you recognize anyone in it.”