Mario Scalino's house reeked of the fortune the man had made over the years from anything involving prostitution, illegal gambling, money laundering and drugs. And just as eloquently as he sat there rolling the dice over a game of craps, had the young mobster managed to stay out of prison for the last couple of decades.
Steve glanced around the green table, noting the large amount of bets being made. A couple of the annoyed faces shooting up at them were familiar, but a few of them he had a hard time placing. Hopefully Mike would be able to fill in the gaps later on.
Nodding at the doorman in gratitude, as the skinny chap scurried out of the gambling room they had unceremoniously barged in on, Steve positioned himself behind Ed Barbarino and his brother Doug. In the meantime, Mike approached Mario as he finished rolling the dice, before smiling victoriously.
"Well, wouldn't you know it? I roll a game of box cars and who comes walking into my house looking for trouble? The 5-0. What do you need, Stone?", he asked brusquely and ran a hand down his dark blue tie before adjusting his black three-piece suit. Between the lightheartedness with which he talked about death and the greasy hair combed back and turned into a short pony tail, Steve remembered the chills Mario's presence always sent down his back.
Undoubtedly, he was a very dangerous man. One who wouldn't hesitate to kill them if there was something in it for him. Luckily though, he seemed to have enough respect for Mike to keep that Italian temper under control for the time being.
From his position, the Lieutenant briefly glanced up at him, signaling that he'd be spearheading the conversation. It would give Steve ample of time to take in the scene, possibly note anything that would help them push their case farther ahead.
"Mario, we're here on some family issues. We're wondering if we can talk to you alone for a minute.", Mike sounded as understanding as possible, when he put his hands behind his back, the black overcoat enveloping his strong arms like a cascading shadow.
Steve subtly glanced around the gaming room, noting a large glass cabinet that held several small board games, while a massive poker table in the back was illuminated by three green chandeliers. The walls were covered in dark wooden paneling, but he could practically sense hidden doorways and secret compartments beneath every inch of the wall.
From his position, he could overhear Eddie mumble something to his brother, but he was unable to make out the words. The two must have sensed that he was eavesdropping and fell quiet again, as all eyes turned to the conversation ahead.
Steve casually put his hands on his sides, looking over at Mario as the man hesitated at Mike's words. As a matter of fact, for a brief second, he swore he saw an ounce of humanity in the mobster's eyes, before they once again turned ice cold.
"Come on now, Lieutenant. Everybody on this table is family. Why don't you spill it and let us continue with our game?"
"Alright. Then let me ask you this…when was the last time you saw your brother Eugene?", Mike asked straight to the point, his eyes fiercely focused on the younger man ahead.
At the mentioning of his brother's name, Mario looked up at Steve for a second, his dark brown eyes seemingly penetrating his. If he didn't know any better, he swore that Mario recognized him from one of his previous drug busts- one of the few that got a little too close for comfort for the mobster, even though they never did manage to make any charges stick.
Stoically maintaining eye contact with Mario, Steve tried to remember if his brother ever crossed his path but couldn't be sure.
"You mean, before he met the wrong end of a backhoe?"
Moving his focus back to Mike, Mario smiled coldly, showing off his immaculate teeth.
"Word gets around fast, I see.", the Lieutenant answered, never skipping a beat as he leaned forward onto the gambling table, before shifting toward the mobster, "You tell me who would have had a reason to murder him and his bodyguard."
"Reasons? Now give me a break, Lieutenant. You came here to ask for my opinion? Everybody can come up with the right reasons to murder somebody. You out of all people should know that."
Pursing his lips at his opponent's argument, Mike smiled briefly and let his eyes drift across the table to all the other attendants.
"Maybe so. But why crush him to death? Who did he cross to cause this sort of hostility?"
Steve could tell that Mario was getting increasingly perturbed by the interview. With his jaws clenched tightly, his eyes had turned into thin slots, hiding what exactly the mobster was looking at.
"You're asking the wrong man, Lieutenant Stone.", Mario growled, annunciating every word, before leaning back in his wooden chair, "Me and Gino went our separate ways many years ago. We only met over the holidays to appease our father. So why don't you make yourself useful and find his killer for me."
"You know, for the first time in twenty years I actually believe you…", Mike responded facetiously, earning himself another angry stare as he straightened back out to address the group, "So here's my take on this. We believe that Ginos's murder was a deliberate hit to cause chaos in town, allowing for a new guy to enter the drug market and shake things up a bit. We don't know who this hired assassin works for at the moment but we have witnesses who saw him. And we will find him. Until we do, I suggest you all be very careful about how you…conduct your business. Because we have reason to believe that this…this killing spree might not end with the Scalino family. I am going to leave my number here just in case you can think of anything that might help us in our investigation."
Smiling mirthfully, Mike let his business card drop on the craps table, before motioning that it was time to leave. Steve didn't have to be asked twice and released a long-held breath as they exited the large colonial mansion unharmed.
"Did you just…did you just tell a bunch of mobsters about our investigation?", he asked incredulously, only to see Mike nod in satisfaction as they got back into the waiting Galaxy.
"It worked great, didn't it?"
"What do you mean? What…Mike, do you know what they're going to do now?"
"You bet your expensive suit I do…they're going to start asking around. Hopefully we made them nervous enough.", Mike said with a broad smile and got into the car before reaching for the receiver, "Inspectors 8-1 to headquarters. I need three unmarked surveillance vehicles on the southeast corner of Greenwich and Leavenworth. The address is 487 Leavenworth. Follow and report any vehicle leaving the residence. I also want to prepare for a trace on the pay phone on the corner of Jones and Greenwich."