Lethal Lullaby—Chapter 15
Love Song
Everything slowed down. Perry felt every cell in his body reactivate. He felt the chill as Della rushed up beside him, as she grabbed his arm. He smelled his own fear, and his nostrils flared. His eyes, normally deep, dark blue, were glowing with an intensity that turned the brown lenses black. The false scar on his cheek paled, then whitened. His fists clenched.
"He's a dead man." His voice, when he spoke, was harsh, dry, final. The verdict delivered, the sentence read.
Looking up at him in her own despair, Della nodded. "Do what you think is best. Just get her and Mae out of there without harm."
Perry wheeled from the screens and was ready to charge when he felt a grip of iron crash down on his hand. His stormy eyes met and held iron-gray ones.
"Easy mio figlio. There needs to be a plan to insure their safety," Salvatore counseled. "I know your choice is to bodily rip him apart. To go in like this, without any plan, is fool-hardy for you, and deadly for the ladies and Tony."
Della was holding Perry's other arm tightly, trying not to have hysterics at seeing the situation. But the steel in Salvatore's voice gave her some sense of calm.
"Perry, listen to him." Looking at his wife, he saw the fear in her eyes, but the calmness of her voice steadied him better than anything else. She wasn't panicking, so he didn't need to.
Turning back to Salvatore, he nodded. "Alright, but I don't want to spend a lot of time talking through this. That man might have an itchy trigger finger!"
Della slapped his arm. "Don't. Not now. Not about this."
He grimaced. "First of all, who is the man in the rumpled suit?"
"Dilly Spataro." The venom in the older man's voice caused Della to shiver.
"Well, obviously we now know Sinclair is one of his men." Perry frowned, and the urge to smoke and pace nearly overwhelmed him. He faced the screens, thinking hard. "How do I get in there? How do we neutralize the bastards without them firing on Katnip?"
Salvatore stood, turning to Della. "Mio caro, you will honor your word and stay here, yes?"
Della hesitated a moment, looking from Salvatore to Perry. Both men turned pleading eyes on her. She tugged on Perry's hand and he pulled her into a tight hug.
"Don't die," she whispered before giving him a deep, lingering kiss that conveyed every emotion she couldn't voice. Then she left his arms and came to Salvatore, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "You, either."
Salvatore demanded an answer. "Della? Your word?"
"Yes, I will stay here."
Salvatore returned Della's kiss. "Ottimo." He guided her to the desk chair. "Now you can see almost every room in the house."
Della looked at the screens and realized her bedroom was on one of the screens. She instantly blushed a bright red. "Oh, my."
Salvatore, seeing where her eyes were trained, gave a small laugh. "Not to worry, mio caro. I would never, how you say, 'spy' on you. It is only for when I have guests of whom I am suspicious."
Leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I would never hurt you, mia figlia. All of your secrets are safe with me."
Della smiled up into the sparkling gray eyes. "Grazie, Papà."
Salvatore turned back to Perry and Linc. "My friends, now we go get our family."
Perry walked to where Della sat, placing his hands on the arms of the chair. "You will keep your promise, right?"
She pulled his head down, claiming his lips, running her fingers up through his hair. When she released him, her eyes were shimmering. "Yes, my love."
Perry returned her kiss. "And I promise I will be careful, and I'll get Katnip and Mae out of this. Trust me." He straightened and joined the other two. "Ready."
Salvatore nodded and led the two men to the passageway which led to his office. Perry was amazed at the secrets the house held. Some other time, when his daughter's life was not in peril and when every second didn't count, he would have relished a grand tour.
Now Salvatore walked to what appeared to be a closet. Opening the door and pushing aside several clothing articles, he approached a shelf at the back. Reaching under the shelf, he twisted the middle support bracket causing the wall to slide open silently. They entered a dimly lit room. At the opposite end there were two doorways, both dark.
"Perry, you stay with me. Linc, I need you to head for the mirror exit."
The man nodded and hurried to the left doorway, flicking on a light.
"Come, Perry. We need to hurry." And without a backward glance Salvatore hurried through the right doorway, hitting another switch just as Linc had.
The passage was a short one, ending at what appeared to be a dead end. But Salvatore removed a small, rectangular piece of panel at eye level. Perry could see that it revealed two eye holes.
Salvatore turned to Perry, whispering.
"This is the painting on the wall opposite from where Mae, the bambina and Tony are. Take a look."
Stepping up, Perry looked through the peepholes. He could see the back of Sinclair and the top of Spataro's head over the chair in which he sat. The grim but determined glint in Mae's expression was impossible to miss, as was the grit in the set of her mouth as she soothed his baby. Tony, prone but definitely awake, alert and furious, was stony. His eyes were hostile and sad, and the frustration he must be feeling was easy to read.
Stepping back, Perry whispered to Salvatore. "We're here. What do we do now?"
"We wait for Linc's signal. Notice on the far wall a large, full-length mirror. That is where the passage he took ends. The mirror swings forward into the room. Here where we are is a large painting that also swings forward. When Linc has reached the mirror, he will open it ever so slightly and light a match. Then we wait ten seconds and all of us will enter the room."
Perry thought for a moment, but then voiced his concern. "And if Sinclair fires at Mae or Tony first?"
Salvatore placed his hands on Perry's shoulders. Even in the dim light Perry saw his concern.
"Mio figlio, Linc is a crack shot. Sinclair's attention will be drawn to him and he will be eliminated. You and I will take care of Spataro. Trust me. All will be well."
Perry knew he had no choice. He sent up a silent prayer that things would go as Salvatore said.
Salvatore looked back through the peephole again. "Linc will give the sign any moment now."
Even as he said it, Salvatore saw the slight flicker of the match. Perry had his weapon raised and ready. Silently counting to ten, Salvatore pushed open the panel. Linc pushed open the mirror simultaneously.
Sinclair's head flew up at the sound of the mirror opening, raising his gun to fire. At the same instant Linc fired, Tony pulled a gun from under the blanket and fired. Linc's shot blasted the gun from the cop's hand, while Tony's shot caught the man between the eyes, dropping him instantly.
Salvatore and Perry barreled through the other panel. Perry, unmindful of anyone other than his squalling baby, left Spataro to Linc and Salvatore. Mae's wide eyes were fixed on him as he collected his daughter.
"If you know what's good for you, don't move," Tony gritted through his wired jaw, his gun trained on the balding man who had menaced them so ruthlessly. "I have no compulsion against shooting you."
The man tried to resist but then Mae stood. For some reason, that invoked a shudder. She nailed him with a look that would have made any man weep. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Mae," Perry cautioned, "Let Salvatore handle this. Please." Katnip's tears and cries were softening as he gently bounced her in his arms. "Take her out of here. Della's—"
Dilly Spataro was regaining some of his bravado. "On the subject of introductions—who the hell are you?"
Salvatore stood in front of his rival as Linc held him in a firm grip. "He's the man who's going to make sure you're locked in a cage for the rest of your life."
Spataro sneered up at Salvatore. "I don't think so. Nobody can do that."
Perry was about to respond when Salvatore doubled up his fist and knocked him out cold. "Wrong!"
Mae's eyebrows shot up as she whistled appreciatively. "Well done, Sal! Nice shot, but . . ."
At that moment Della came bursting into the room, running to where her aunt stood, embracing her tightly. "Mae, are you alright?"
Mae grimaced. "Just madder than a wet hen. I'm sorry, honey. They had me before I could do anything. Are you okay?"
Perry was at his wife's side, still bouncing Katnip gently, still pointing out things to her to calm her. "That bad man isn't going to hurt you anymore, Katnip. No, not ever again. Mommy and I are going to make sure you never, ever have to see his ugly face again!" He forced a smile, and to his surprise and delight, it worked. She immediately stopped crying. "Mae, are you okay?"
"Yes, Perry. And more than glad to see all of you."
"Come here, Katnip," Della said, holding out both arms. The baby looked at her in puzzled half recognition. "Oh, it's Mommy! This wig is just for pretend! Like Daddy's funny face."
Contented in the explanation, the baby gurgled happily as she was transferred to her mother's arms. Now Salvatore joined the little family, wrapping an arm around Mae's waist and smiling at the baby. He planted a sweet kiss on the older woman's cheek.
"You are okay, amore mio?"
Mae looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "Yes, Sal. Now that you're all here and safe."
Salvatore kissed her cheek again. "Then all is well. Now we wait for the authorities."
At that moment, police sirens were sounding outside the house. Perry looked at Della, who nodded. Tragg, followed by several police officers, could be heard as they stormed through the front doors.
"If you want to keep some of your secrets," Perry said calmly, "you may want to close the mirror and the painting. No need to confuse the police at this hour."
That task done, Salvatore was back by Mae's side as Tragg burst into the room. Taking in the scene before him, he just shook his head.
"Honestly, Mason! First Della and now Katherine! Is no one safe from a crime scene with you?" He shook his head again. "Mr. Burger is going to love and hate this." Then he turned to his officers. "Might as well stand easy, boys. Looks like we're late again."
Perry smiled at the lieutenant. "You might want to call the coroner for the guy on the floor and get some handcuffs on the unconscious guy in the chair."
Tragg looked at the two people in question. "Want to tell me who they are? Or should I start guessing?"
From the bed Tony grunted, "Your man, Sinclair, is the Cyclops."
Perry put a hand on Tragg's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. He was in the employ of this man. Luciano "Dilly" Spataro."
Tragg frowned at Perry. "Okay. Short version again, please."
"In a minute." He looked over at his wife and daughter. "Darling, please return Katnip to her nursery. I'll—we'll wait for you."
He took out his cigarette case, offered one of the contents to the cop, who declined. Then Perry lit one for himself. Della smiled sweetly at Tragg before she disappeared. Perry smoked in silence for a few minutes, allowing Tragg and his men to do what needed to be done to secure Spataro. Della returned within a few more minutes, standing beside her husband, ready to weather the storm together.
"Okay, spill it, Counselor."
"When we got back to the house, we knew something was wrong. We were able to approach without arousing the attention of the intruders. On security screens, we were able to see Sinclair holding a gun on Tony, Mae and . . . Tragg, your man was pointing his gun on my daughter." Anger roughened his voice. "Thankfully, Salvatore had another way into this room. Linc, ah, disarmed Sinclair and Tony shot him. Spataro got mouthy and Salvatore decided to shut him up."
Tragg just shook his head. "Mason, I don't know how you get yourself into these messes but I—I . . . guess—"
"Look at it this way: Richards's murderer is dead. You have the man behind it in handcuffs, and you're rid of one dirty cop."
Tragg started to say something, but again just shook his head. Turning to his officers, he gave the orders to take Spataro out and book him. Just as he was about to follow them, Hamilton Burger walked in.
"What's going on?" His eyes were wide and his lips pursed. The ginger curls on his head were a mess, as though his fingers had been through them a few hundred times. A five o'clock shadow was noticeable on his jaw, and he looked haggard. No doubt called to the restaurant scene, it was no surprise he had followed Tragg when the call came in.
Della glared at him. An uncontrollable anger shook her. Never in the course of knowing the man had she ever felt antipathy toward him. If anything, she was often moved to compassion. But that was gone now. Seething with rage, she left Perry's side and walked deliberately to stand in front of him.
"I will tell you what's going on, Mister Burger. Perry and Salvatore have just managed to clean up the mess you initiated by abusing our friendship. The only thing left for you to do is find Nate Donovan and get him back in prison."
Tragg stepped over. "Della, we fished Donovan out of water this morning," he said gently. "He must have been Andropov's second hit after Richards."
Della turned back to Burger, her blue eyes icy and cold. The man actually shivered when she looked at him.
"Well that just leaves one final thing to take care of, doesn't it?" She caught Hamilton in the jaw with a solid right hook, causing the district attorney to fall back into the chair Spataro had lately occupied. "If you ever put Perry, Mae, my child or me in this kind of danger again, a sore jaw will be the least of your worries. Do you understand me?"
Hamilton's jaw was turning an immediate shade of eggplant. He rubbed it, staring at Della wide-eyed. Tragg and Mae had turned away to hide their laughs, but Perry's eyes were just as serious and deadly as his wife's. Salvatore immediately started applauding. "Brava, mia figlia! Brava!"
"Perry, you deal with him." Having delivered her parting shot, Della spun on her heel and left the room, heading up the stairs.
Instantly regaining his composure, Perry started after Della. "Tragg, you deal with him. I think if you have any more questions, someone here can help." Looking at Mae, he smiled. "Mae, I would appreciate it if you would find some ice for Mr. Burger."
Taking the stairs two at a time, he was slightly out of breath when he reached the nursery door. Della was sitting in the rocker, holding Katnip again. Perry stood for a moment taking in the sight before crossing to kneel in front of her. Taking her right hand in his, he kissed the knuckles which were already starting to bruise.
"Is Hamilton going to press charges?"
Perry chuckled. "I doubt it. Eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable. Many of them saw Hamilton trip. Besides, he had it coming."
"I'm sorry. I'll apologize later."
"You'll do nothing of the sort. Mrs. Mason, if you don't have the right to stand up for yourself and your family, you don't have rights at all. Hamilton is smart enough to know your anger won't burn forever. And he is wise enough to never put us in this position again. He did just make a vow before God and witnesses to bring Katnip up right. Even he isn't going to risk eternal damnation for his pride."
Perry took the sleeping Katnip and put her in the crib. Then returning to Della, he picked her up in his arms, carrying her into their room. He set her on her feet, just watching her, smiling in an enigmatic way she couldn't exactly read.
"Don't you dare apologize to that man," he repeated, then added, "Besides, I should thank him."
"Thank him for what!"
Slowly Perry started to undo his necktie. Then he took a purposeful step toward her. When he reached her, he caught her face between his hands, fingers sinking into the blonde hair. His mouth closed over hers. The fierce, hot urgency emanating from him made her tremble in response.
"Well," he confessed when his mouth released hers, "I've been able to make love to a fiery redhead and now a delightful blonde, and my wife will never be jealous of either."
His mouth crushed down on hers again. His kiss was compelling and demanding. It transformed the tingles of awareness into snapping, arcing, sizzling electrical impulses. Every nerve in her body lit up. She hoped she was not actually glowing.
"Per—" Her words were cut off as he kissed her again and again. Then pushing against him, she created enough space to breathe. "Which one do you prefer, Sir?"
His smile was the one she loved best. "All of them, because all of them are you."
Then Perry's mouth worked the kiss, tasting her, wooing her, summoning the response he wanted—no, needed—from her. His powerful hands moved down her back. Finding the clasp to the dress, he lowered the zipper and slipped the garment off her shoulders. It fell to the floor, pooling at her feet. Her hose and garters were next.
When she was naked, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, holding her so tightly she could scarcely move. Excitement flooded through her veins. With a soft little murmur of pleasure and anticipation, she clung to him, her fingers biting into his sleekly muscled shoulders. Her breasts were crushed against his chest.
"This is only fun if we're both naked," she murmured silkily, and laughed outright when he pulled free and devested himself of his clothing in an instant. Then they melted together again. He carried her to the bed, and his hands started to roam, causing delighted sighs.
"Oh, Della, let's not go into the nightclub or restaurant business. Let's stick to murder. Far less messy."
Her hands found his hair and her fingers worked their magic. "Deal." Her lips found the spot behind his ear and lingered there. "And Perry?"
"Mmm?" Coherent thought was fleeting.
"When Katnip's sibling comes, I'm picking the nickname."
