The next morning, the pair returned to Bryant Street with a list of follow-ups on the Goldman investigation. The first thing was to locate Jacob's brother, David based on the information that Beverly Isaacs provided. Another task was to check to see if Goldman's car was ever recovered.
"If David Goldman works for the Sotti family, that may be a break for us," Mike said as he pulled his glasses off, speaking to his partner from across his desk.
"I've not heard of that family," Steve pondered.
"You wouldn't. They went down in the early 60's, but some of them regrouped and came back through another family: The Luca's."
"I've heard of them. They don't traffic street drugs or people, but do have a taste for some of the finer things. Their clientele is basically a niche market."
"Fine art, jewelry, minerals, anything that our new jetsetters want, they get. The more exotic, the better. All done on the QT without us able to crack them," Mike commented as the frustration in his voice mounted.
"How do they do it?'
"For one thing, they are a small group. Their clients are wealthy and tight lipped - and they have never had so much as a jaywalking ticket issued against them. They run a very tight and efficient ship - and they also go under from time to time. There are no physical addresses for their operations - all done in vans and the vans are switched out. Special Investigations has tagged a couple of their people, but as soon as we have a clue who they are, they vanish."
"Are they knocked off?"
"I don't think so - I think they rotate elsewhere. This is a bigger operation than just our town. But I'll tell you, they are not known for violence - it's too messy for them. It complicates things. If Jacob Goldman was hit because of these guys, it doesn't make sense."
"So that goes back to the idea that David Goldman may have had something against his brother rooted elsewhere," Steve said as he grabbed his notebook. "I've got the address Ms. Isaacs gave me. I'll start tracking him down."
Mike chuckled. "You can't call her Beverly, can you?"
"No, I guess not. That's a habit too hard to break," Steve said as he got up and exited the office. "What she gave us was an apartment address, so I'll check with the landlord to see if he is still there. Given how long ago it is and the Luca's MO, I can't imagine he's still there. But that will be step one and then I'll work with the utilities to see what we can find out."
