Chance Encounters
Chapter 32
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Angie was charged with obstructing the course of justice; aiding and abetting a felon, resisting arrest and assault of an officer of the law.
While the three boxes were being taken to Rangeman to be sorted with all that incriminating evidence, Robin and Eddie had the pleasure of arresting her. She wrestled angrily and was able to thump one of the officers and push her off her feet, such was her anguish with all that had ensued in her own home. This was a distressing time for Angie Morelli. She had only just recovered, but not quite come to terms with her son's arrest and incarceration. She was in denial, deep in denial. If she was hoping things would settle down and that they couldn't possibly get any worse, she was gravely mistaken.
As she was escorted outside to the police vehicle, her eyes locked with someone walking towards her on the footpath … Helen Plum. She shook her shoulders from Robin's grip and gave Helen a cold, bitter, hard stare. To say it was hostile, was only close.
"This is all your fault Helen Plum. You, and that puttana bitch of a daughter, Stephanie, did this to me, to my family and my Joey. It's all on you!" she shrieked. (whore)
All of a sudden there was a hush from the gathering neighbourhood gawkers. There was a pause before the police opened the car door for Angie Morelli as she was struggling to get into Helen's face. Prudently, they had cuffed her because they were not taking any chances with this irrational, hysterical woman, and this volatile situation proved them justified. Her face was red with rage, and embarrassment, her disheveled hair revealing a prominent blood vessel pulsing on her sweaty forehead. If only her hands were free she would have had the satisfaction of some choice Italian gestures, which she was certain Helen Plum would understand. Alas, she was only able to mentally enact those.
Helen Plum stood her ground, seemingly unaffected by her former ally's screeching words. She waited a moment, and spoke firmly.
"No Angie Morelli. You made your own bed. Now you can sleep in it. Your precious Joey did this and you enabled him. You empowered him. Stephanie had nothing to do with this, and you know it. Joseph Morelli is a big boy and he did this all by himself. He got greedy and nasty. He obviously inherited more than just his father's cursed alcohol-fueled violent streak and womanising. Bad blood on both sides it seems. Sucks to be you, Angie."
Helen's voice was cold and bitter, barely showing any emotion. But there was contempt, contempt in spades!
With that said, Helen stepped aside, politely saying, "Excuse me," to the police officers, and continued on her original path, thereby dismissing Angie so blatantly. She just walked away, carrying her shopping bag with fresh bread and smallgoods from the deli at Giovincchini's, seemingly unaffected by Angie Morelli's accusations and invective.
After the initial buzz and obvious surprise at Helen's instant cold and calculated rebuke, the neighbours were agog, and hopeful and hungry that more shrieking was to come. Gasps of dismay, and disappointment, were heard in Helen's wake. But Angie was livid, vibrating with rage. She spat at the ground near Helen's feet but was briefly lost for words, before she started screeching nasty vitriol and invective in Italian to Helen's retreating back, as she was shoved hastily into the back of the police car. The car door was promptly slammed shut.
The crowd dispersed soon afterwards, since the confrontation fizzled into nothingness. Cameras and phones were being activated to share the showdown. All the vehicles disappeared from the scene, leaving a void of shock and awe, and some gleeful cackling at Angie's demise.
Somewhere deep-down Helen knew it wasn't actually Stephanie's fault. Defending her daughter in public was an exceptionally rare occurrence. She just was not going to let Angie get away with that sort of remark and pass the blame onto her and her family. But, alas, her misery and bitterness could not completely let go, since in her twisted warped mind, it was Stephanie who had brought all this trauma and misery into her ordered life. Stephanie had defied her. Stephanie deliberately refused to be a good Burg girl. She had it all worked out.
Alas, in Helen's mind, it was all about her, what she wanted. Stephanie's needs and wants were secondary to hers.
Helen Plum had walked briskly away, her head held high, and turned at the next corner into her street, until she reached the house with the scorched façade and the blackened front lawn, and those sad charred rose bushes. She must send Frank to the hardware store for some of that soot removal cleaner, and replace the damaged siding, and some new paint.
Despite her responding to Angie with such utter disdain and contempt, the unexpected encounter had actually shaken Helen to the core. Once inside, she dropped her bags at the kitchen door, and immediately found the hidden bottle in the cupboard to pour a large mug of Jack … for strength and courage. Her hands were shaking and she had to stop pouring lest she spilled the precious amber fluid. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she welcomed the subtle burn as she took a hefty swig from the mug. Only then did she put her groceries away before she sat down at the kitchen table to contemplate her hollow existence, sipping quietly in the gloom.
Seeing Angie Morelli in such a disheveled state when she suddenly appeared on the footpath in front of her as she happened to be walking home was the first shock … but it came with a deep sardonic satisfaction. Initially, she hadn't seen the handcuffs but was thankful they were there. Secondly, Angie's scathing words hit hard. How dare she blame her for everything that had happened recently. Shaking her head of those horrid thoughts and connections of what could have been, she steadied herself by pouring another glass, before she set about preparing lunch. To think that she had actively encouraged Joseph Morelli and had welcomed him into her home was conveniently denied and forgotten. She would not knowingly be involved with a criminal. Oh no! (insert sarcasm)
Meanwhile, a squad car was dispatched to Anthony Morelli's home to arrest Bella. That did not go too well. Bella refused to comply, constantly feigning not understanding, and subsequently collapsed. Bella was in denial. She had a stroke while she was being arrested. The officers were very distressed since they had tried their best to be gentle but she was repeatedly being uncooperative. She had to be rushed to St Francis by ambulance. Anthony Morelli was given a severe warning and told to keep his hands to himself or he would also be facing charges. En route to the hospital, Bella Morelli's heart went into cardiac arrest and they were not able to revive her. She was DOA, dead on arrival. A very distraught Anthony stepped out of the ambulance, obviously very distressed and in tears, sad but also angry tears. There was nothing they could do for her. He mentally cursed his brother, Joseph.
He scrubbed his face in despair and sat down heavily in a quiet section of the hospital waiting area not even realizing how he got there. They ushered him inside a small room and started explaining the protocol. But he was not registering any of it. He was in a daze of shock. He didn't know what to do. Usually his mother took care of things, or his big brother always stepped up. Pffft. Stupid fucker. But neither was available. This was so fucked up, he thought.
Angie Morelli was bailed, using her house as the only means she could put up for collateral. She was a bitter woman and her overnight stay had not calmed her any. When she was released, and given back her personal possessions, she was taken into a small room and told about the death of her mother while being arrested. To say she was shocked was an understatement. Utter disbelief. Devastating grief. How could this be happening to her? Wailing and keening loudly, she caused quite a commotion. Pacing with wild gesticulations followed as she began to rant her grief in Italian. Shattered, Angie sat down heavily on the nearby bench, rocking and wailing harrowingly. All the recent traumatic experiences, which she had so resolutely tried to control, hit her together in an overwhelming tidal wave of grief. The flood gates were open and she lost control. Eddie rang Anthony to come and get his mother and explained that she had only just been told about the death of her mother. A doctor was called in with Anthony's permission, and she was given a sedative.
Sometimes, in the many roles of a police officer, they encounter these helpless situations of family grief and trauma, and it was never an easy task to deal with. It was a thankless job.
Just over a week later, Joseph Morelli was to be brought before the court for further charges relating to ongoing investigations of bribery and corruption, fraud and money laundering, and extortion. He was not required to appear in court but was represented by a court approved defence lawyer. His sentence was increased to a maximum of thirty years, without parole.
There were only a few people in the gallery, one of whom being a Trenton Times reporter, eagerly recording every detail for the next day's edition. Anthony had reluctantly brought his mother at her insistence, of course, wearing traditional mourning black, in the hope of being able to see Joseph one last time. They left the courts bitterly disappointed and shocked at all the additional charges of which he was found unequivocally guilty. She looked at her second son, put her hand to his cheek and silently thanked him. Reality had just hit her hard, when calculating the thirty years of incarceration, she might never see him again in her lifetime … unless she visited him in prison. She already knew that wasn't going to happen. Anthony knew he was not the favourite son, but he would do his best for her. He was not going to be like his brother and he wasn't allowing her to still have Joseph up on that proverbial pedestal which he had detested his entire life. Yes, he was bitter about this, but he was determined to not be anything like his inglorious asshole of a brother.
Gary Gaspick had his day in court, facing multiple charges of complicity and being an accessory on many counts. Aiding and abetting; fraud; cyber espionage; endangerment; conspiracy to commit murder with a known felon; committing a crime with an illegally procured, unlicenced firearm; and attempted murder, were the main charges. Internal police charges had already been activated but the criminal charges took precedence over internal consequences and penalties at the TPD. He was sentenced to nineteen years of imprisonment, a sentence slightly reduced because of the vital incriminating evidence he had brought to light with regard to Joseph Morelli.
Ranger handed over their findings to the Chief of the TPD who then passed on the three boxes of incriminating evidence to be shared among the other agencies according to their domain and expertise. Internal Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS), and the FBI were very interested in the evidence collected and had a veritable field day with everything that Gaspick revealed. The bank account was easily traced, Caymans of course, and all the evidence in the thoroughly documented notebooks kept them busy tracing more concrete paper trails for other known felons. Any other assets owned by Joseph Morelli were seized. Many charges would be pressed in the upcoming weeks after they had thoroughly processed all that data.
The Chief congratulated Ranger and his forensic cyber specialist on a superbly successful investigation. He wrote a letter to the Mayor, commending Rangeman on their efficiency and their professionalism in handling all the very delicate and incriminating evidence and information. Ranger was happy to be acknowledged but expressed a desire to keep a low profile for Rangeman's involvement, citing the wonderful team work and dedication of members of the TPD for being so thorough and impartial in dealing with corruption to this extent with some of their own.
Three months later, a small article appeared in the Trenton Times about deaths in custody. The report expressed concerns about the nature and variety of causes of deaths in the last month especially at the prison. An investigation into procedures and protocols was found to be satisfactory, despite two questionable deaths. Regrettably, these types of deaths at the hands of other prisoners were not a usual occurrence but did happen occasionally. There were no specific details about who was involved or who had met their fate at the hands of the cruel prison justice system. The report was simply to declare that it had been satisfactorily investigated.
The death notice for Joseph Anthony Morelli appeared two days later with details for a private funeral. His body was not released immediately because of the autopsy and the coronial enquiry which followed. He was buried in the same plot as his father and Grandma Bella. Three days later a death notice appeared for Garrick Michael Gaspick. There was only one family member present at his private funeral. He was cremated.
Angie was still recovering from the death of her mother, and now her eldest son as well. She was totally devastated. She had to sell her house to pay costs which included court costs, fines, her mother's funeral and now Joseph's funeral as well. She had to serve sixty days of supervised community service as part of a suspended sentence. The women's refuge and the women's homeless shelter were enforced upon her. With the church, she worked nights in the soup kitchen and serving homeless people.
Because there was very little affordable accommodation for widows on their own without assets, she moved in with her son Anthony. As the oldest son, he won that privilege. After trudging through her sixty days of community service, where she heard more about the despicable behaviour of her deceased son, Angela Morelli decided to use some of the money from the sale of her home, to cover a family vacation, away from Chambersburg, Trenton, away from New Jersey.
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TBC
The fallout has serious consequences and impact. Misery loves company.
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