Chapter 25
Phil Bartoli had been pacing back and forth in the large interrogation room which was next to Olivia's office. The Captain figured it was a good spot to put the man, so he was out of view from anyone entering the bullpen, plus it was more comfortable than the small interrogation room, which was mostly used for perps. Amanda brought the man a cup of coffee, which he took gratefully.
"Where is Abigail?" The former Mob hitman wanted to know, holding the coffee.
"Elliot and Joe went to get her from work. They're bringing her car with them so that it'll be right outside the precinct. They should be here soon," the blonde told him.
"How is it possible that no one knew my lawyer was dirty?" Phil was nearing the end of his rope and the detective couldn't blame him. He plopped down on the couch and Amanda sat down next to him.
"We looked into him after speaking to Thomas Luling. His name ring any bells? Supposedly, Taglietti defended him along with all sorts of people. Your lawyer's name didn't pop anywhere in any NYPD investigations. Obviously, he was able to keep his connections secret and create a good reputation," she explained.
"Thomas Luling doesn't ring any bells. Who is he?" Phil wanted to know.
"He worked the car theft ring that stole Ron's car. He said that they never took vehicles with people in them. The guys who stole the car are dead, so we have no way to dispute that. Still Luling and his gang had no motive to do anything to Ron," Amanda said.
"Why would my lawyer?" Phil gave her a look.
"Well, that is the question. Could he be the source of the letters? Maybe they were aiming for you and got Ron instead? All we have so far is that someone is definitely looking for you, even breaking into Abigail's house to see if she had information on you," she told him.
"The only way they made that mistake is if they were going to try and hold him for ransom. As much as I liked the guy, he wasn't blood. Kidnapping the grandkids or my daughter would have made more sense," he pointed out.
"Yes, but they were harder to get at. Also, I know that most of the time, the Mob followed a code – no kids and no women, right?" Amanda asked. Phil frowned. They would have been harder to get at and the code was there.
"I broke the code. I ratted. Got some of their best assets caught. I'm not sure that they'd care who they'd take out after something like that. My guess is that they made him disappear after something went wrong with their plan," he said before finally taking a sip of the coffee he'd been given. There was a commotion out in the bullpen and Amanda went to the door.
"Abigail is here," she told him. He rushed to the door, dropping his coffee as he went. It made a mess, but he didn't care as he left the room and hugged the only family he had left. Amanda smiled slightly and then scooped up the cup. Throwing it into the trash can, she grabbed some tissues and cleaned up the liquid. Maintenance would have to do better but it wasn't like she could leave it that way.
Olivia gathered the group in the large interrogation room. They had to come up with a safe place to put Phil and Abigail until Taglietti and his crew could be rounded up. They had to figure out how many men were in this group. Something that had started out as a cold case disappearance had turned into a full-blown Mob case.
"So, what's the plan?" Fin asked.
"There are too many players that we don't know about. Even if we get Taglietti and his son, there have to be more people helping with this. Phil, did you let your lawyer know where you were living?" Olivia wanted to know.
"No. I told him that if I needed his services again that I'd call him. Promised to drop a check off at his office for his services. He said that I didn't owe him for that day. That the fact that I had given him a story to tell his grandkids someday was supposed to be enough," Phil explained.
"Uh huh. I think I'm beginning to see how our Mob lawyer kept himself clean. He never did any of the dirty work. Does he have a PI working for him? Who does his research?" Elliot wanted to know.
"Back in the old days, he had a guy named Luigi. I'm not making that up," Phil put his hands up.
"Luigi?" Jamie gave him a look.
"Swear on a stack of pancakes. I can't remember his last name though," Phil admitted.
"He wasn't an Italian plumber, right?" Bobby wanted to know.
"Hardly. Guy was big enough that he wouldn't have fit under a sink. All those stake outs led to a big waistline," the former Mob hitman said.
"Let's call Luling and see if he knows. Meantime, what should we do?" Joe spoke up.
"I want Phil and Abigail in a hotel with a protective detail. We have no idea what these guys want, how many there are, or how close that they are being followed. Jamie, Bobby, can you take the first shift? Joe and Amanda will take the second one. I'm going to call Sergeant Bell," Olivia told them.
To Be Continued…