Lethal Lullaby-Chapter 8

Mr. Sandman

When Perry and Paul arrived at the hospital, they found Tony very well protected. Giving his guards the phrase Salvatore had given him, Perry entered Tony's room to find him sitting up and looking much better than he had just hours before. The swelling in his face was still there, but had gone down. The bruising on his jaw was starting to be noticeable, but all the blood had been meticulously washed away.

Tony's head turned at the sound of the door closing. He managed a weak smile that was little more than a quirk of the lips.

"Hello, Mr. Mason," he gritted out, and Perry realized that his jaw was wired. "Is the boss okay?"

Perry chuckled. "Yes, Tony. No more worrying about him. You need to be more concerned about yourself. How are you feeling?"

"Better." Tony winced as he lifted a hand to his cheek. "But not ready to go another round with Joe Louis. Mr. Mason?" He shifted again, winced again. "Perry, are Della and the baby…?"

Perry pulled up a chair to the side of the bed. "Yes—thanks to your clue—they, along with Mae, are safely ensconced at the house. And right now, Paul Drake is making arrangements to have you moved there also."

Tony gave a weak sigh. "Thank goodness. I wasn't sure Della understood my meaning."

Perry's eyes cooled and there was no amusement in his smile. "My wife is very intuitive, Tony. Not much gets past her." There was a long moment of silence between them. "Now, do you think you can tell me what's going on?"

Tony grunted, trying to get more comfortable, and hissed through his wired jaw when his bruised ribs reminded him of his beating. "I know who killed Gavin Richards."

Perry nodded. "That tallies with what we know. Nate Donovan escaped from prison."

Tony's eyes widened in surprise. "What! When! Now you're really not safe."

The panic in the man's voice and eyes gave Perry a start. He leveled Tony with his piercing blue eyes. "Are you saying you think someone other than Donovan pulled the trigger? Are you, Tony?"

Tony grabbed Perry's arm. "I'm telling you, Perry. Nate Donovan didn't kill Richards."

PDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPD

Back at the estate, inside the secure room, Della listened raptly as Salvatore told her of Nate Donovan's escape. All of Perry's concern when he had come to the nursery made sense. Nate Donovan knew that Nicky and Johnny were family friends of Salvatore. And that Perry, at least, had gone undercover as Giovanni. He was the one in danger. He was the one who had taken the witness stand as himself, his identity stripped away. Now she understood why Tony had called her Nicky.

"Your Perry and Mr. Drake went to the hospital to talk to Tony. He will see to it Tony is moved here for his safety," he explained. "Della, I trust Perry. I know that you do. While I have no answers and only suspicions, please stay within the house or keep to the grounds."

Della grasped Salvatore's hand. "Thank you. Thank you for telling me. Lately Perry seems to want to keep me in the dark. I think he thinks I am in my dotage because of Katherine."

Salvatore patted her hand. "Mio caro, your Perry is only trying to protect you and the bambina. And I assure you I am doing everything I can to make you safe."

Two lines cut her brow as her mouth turned down. "I know all of you are only thinking of me, but I resent being left out of things simply because I'm now a mother. I would give my life for Katherine, same as Perry. But I am his partner, Salvatore. I am still a part of this team."

Salvatore threw his head back and laughed. "Heaven help Perry if the bambina grows up half as stubborn as her beautiful mother."

Della glared at him, started to say something, but her annoyance melted away when she heard his laugh. Slowly her lips curved up into her beautiful smile. A soft laugh issued forth, then transformed into outright belly laughs. Tears formed in her eyes.

When she had sobered, she admitted with a sniff, "She's already got Perry wrapped around her little finger."

"I can believe that." Then his voice turned serious. "But now I must show you something else. Come with me."

Standing and taking her hand, he led her to a wall opposite the desk. A magnificent tapestry depicting St. George slaying the dragon covered most of the wall. Next to the tapestry was a bookcase. Reaching up to the third shelf, he pulled a book from it. Fingering the gold letters on the cover, he smiled wistfully, a private memory dominating his mind for an instant before he pushed it out. Then he angled the book so Della could read the title. David Copperfield.

"Here." Then he pointed to the wall behind where he had removed the book. There was a small white button. "Press it."

Depressing the button, Della heard a sliding noise and felt a rush of cool air from behind the tapestry. Salvatore replaced the book then pulled aside the wall hanging, revealing a dark opening.

"Watch. Watch closely, Della. You might have to do this by feel."

Reaching his hand into the right side of the opening, he flipped a switch sending a flood of light down a long passageway.

"You must remember how to do this Della. This is an escape route. It leads to a garage at the bottom of the hillside where you will find several cars. Later, when Perry is here, I will take you both there and show you."

She watched, memorizing the details. "Oh, Salvatore, I know you are worried about us, but—I would hate to have to make that kind of escape. Would you escape with us? I am not the kind of person to leave you." Della put her arms around him, giving him a huge hug. "I know Paul and Mae and especially Hamilton Burger don't understand it, but . . . to me, you are like the father I no longer have in my life. I adore you."

Salvatore hugged her in return, choking back tears. "Anch'io ti adoro, mio figlia."

Then putting her away from him, he raised his hands to her face and cradled it, his eyes locked onto her eyes. "I have made an oath to Perry. Sulla Mia Vita, Della. This is not something I can change or take back. But even if I had not done this thing, I would not endanger your family. That day I walked into Nicky's dressing room, you walked into my heart. With no reason to trust me, and every reason not to, you made a choice to make me a friend."

The tears she had managed to keep from spilling now ran down her cheeks. "Salvatore, only Perry understands this, but—"

He used his thumbs to wipe her tears away. "Shh, now. I have done everything in my power to ensure your safety. But I need your solemn promise that if these precautions fail you will take Katherine and Mae and leave this house."

When Della would have refused, Salvatore dropped his hands and shook his head. "Your word, Della."

Seeing the fear in his gray eyes, Della stood on tiptoe, kissing his cheek. "I promise you."

"Thank you, mio figlia. Now let us go back upstairs and check on my goddaughter and your aunt."

PDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPD

At Tony's declaration, Perry stared hard at the man. "What do you mean? Of course, if it wasn't Nate…"

Tony shook his head vehemently. "No Johnny, not here, not now."

Perry looked around the room, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, turned back to the man in the bed. Maybe the beating and the drugs were playing havoc with Tony's mind. But Perry read only a clear but fearful expression on the man's face. Tony's eyes darted to the door and back.

Lips compressed into a tight line, brows knitted together in concentration, Perry stood and announced, "Very well. I'll get your release started. We'll have you out of here soon."

Tony nodded, relief clearly evident. "Thank you, Perry. I'll wait here, if you don't mind."

Perry smiled. "A little too soon for jokes, Tony." Then he stood and went in search of the doctor. On his way, he signaled to Paul.

"I want you to stay in the room with Tony. Paul," he paused, making sure he had his friend's attention, "no one but James Baxter or me in there. Do you understand?"

"Got it. Not even the guards."

After finding the doctor and handling the necessary business, Perry called Salvatore and set up an elaborate plan to get Tony out of the hospital and to the safety of the estate.

They arranged to have a hearse at the rear of the hospital. Then a man of Tony's same height, weight and coloring was to be brought into the hospital. Makeup and bandages would be applied to mask his identity. Tony would spend a little while in the hospital morgue before being placed in the hearse and driven to a funeral home. Wearing a disguise, he would finally be driven to the estate.

Returning to Tony's room, Perry broke down the plan.

Tony blinked twice, then managed a very pitiful chuckle that was more gurgle than anything else. "I'm not sure I like playing a corpse, but it sounds like a great plan. Just so long as no one calls me Mummy Dearest."

Perry's eyes danced. "I'll warn Paul. That's exactly where his mind would go."

"At least this way, I won't end up a real stiff. Hopefully. Thank you, Mr. Mason."

"It's been Perry this whole time, and now you decide to go formal? Tony, is there anything else I should know before we do this?"

Once again Tony flicked his eyes to the door and back. "Not now. For now, we just need to hurry this up."

The unreasoning fear in Tony's eyes still gave Perry pause. He had outlined the plan in part to assuage those fears. But something in the way the man fidgeted and looked toward the door made his gut churn. It was a familiar feeling, one he always trusted, whether in court or in the field investigating. It was the same feeling he had the first time he had seen Della. He had paid attention to it then, too.

Reason said that with Salvatore's own men here, Tony would be safe. But his gut overrode his reason. There was something wrong with this whole setup. Making a quick decision, he strode to the door and motioned Paul over.

"Perry, what—"

"You have that gun you keep in your shoulder holster?"

"Yeah."

"Pull it out."

"I don't und—" the strain in Paul's face bled into his voice.

"Just do it, Paul. Keep it trained on the door. The wrong face comes in, don't hesitate. Your adversary won't."

With that he hurried out of the room, in search of a pay phone.