5. Unforeseen Consequences

McCall was on his way to the car when his cell rang.

"It's Jimmy."

"Yes, Jimmy."

"Mickey tried to call the girlfriend at work. They said she would be gone for a while, that she'd taken a leave of absence. He wants out of here."

"Where does he plan to go?"

"Her apartment, I think."

"Put him on, please."

"McCall, something's not right here. I know it. I'm worried about her," Mickey said.

"I have the same feeling. However, I have no idea what good you think you can do with those ribs. I shall handle this."

"How?"

"I'll check her apartment."

"Promise to call me as soon as you know anything."

"I shall."

McCall immediately called Vinny. "Anything unusual this morning at Ms. Cantrell's apartment?"

"No. At 7:30, she left the apartment building. I followed her on the subway. She exited, dropped off a bag of dry cleaning on the way to her office, and went in through security. I broke off then as instructed."

"Did she pass any dry cleaners on the way to the subway?"

"Sure, two or three. Why?"

"Why would you take your dry cleaning on a crowded subway if you can leave it close to home?"

"Guess she likes a certain dry cleaner. Is there a problem?"

"Go back and keep a watch on her apartment."

McCall called Jimmy back. "I need more personal information on her. You said the computerized file didn't go back all the way. What did it say about her background, when she started, where she went to school, etc.?"

"Let me think. The line items began when the computer system began to be used for personnel records in 1985. Before then, records were handwritten. Let me think a moment about the left panel of the file. Date of birth was 1956. Employment date was sometime in 1982. There was nothing on school. That's all."

"The year 1982 was the first employment date, you're absolutely certain?"

"Yes, I'm positive."

"See if Mickey knows where she went to college, please." McCall heard Jimmy yell out to Mickey.

"Yale."

"I'll be at least another hour, possibly longer. Do not permit Mickey to leave."

McCall called a friend at the Company. "I need an immediate background check on an FBI agent named Elise Cantrell. She should have graduated from Yale University around 1978. Call me with the information as it becomes available. Do not talk to Mickey about this."

McCall sat in the car for a while thinking. Ten minutes later, he received a call. Afterward, he got back out of the car and returned to Frank Woodham's apartment.

"Back again so soon?"

"Who is Elise Cantrell?"

"One of the finest agents I ever worked with. I already told you that."

"There was no Elise Cantrell who graduated from Yale during that period. Furthermore, her employment records do not support the assertion that she went to work for the Bureau immediately after college."

"Well, the records are mistaken."

"The college records too?"

"I'm sure it's just a mix-up."

"What years did you work with Elise Cantrell?"

"From the beginning."

"Who else would remember her from then?"

"Been a lot of change in personnel. I'd have to think about who is where now. I don't keep up too much anymore."

"I will ask you again, Mr. Woodham, who is Elise Cantrell? Understand that I will track this information down in other ways if you persist in lying to me. A friend of mine who cares about her deeply has been hurt, purposely struck by a car. I had assumed it was related to his work, but that assumption is being undercut by what I don't know about Ms. Cantrell. With or without your help, I shall protect my friend. Is there some reason you are averse to helping me do that?"

"I . . . I admire your loyalty to your friend. I understand that kind of deep loyalty. I don't want to see Elise hurt either."

"Mr. Woodham, Frank, if you checked me out, you will know that I am honest and discreet. I shall not use any information you give me inappropriately. Nor do I wish to endanger her."

"Then stop investigating her. If you continue, you will put her in danger."

McCall's cell phone interrupted. "Pardon me one moment."

"It's Jimmy. If she worked for the Bureau before 1982, there's no finding proof of it in New York. We'd have to rattle cages in Washington to see if there are paper files elsewhere. The computer records don't cross reference any. What do you want to do next?"

"Hold off for now, Jimmy. I'll call you back shortly. Frank, my associates have yet to locate any records relating to Elise Cantrell prior to 1982. However, they have extraordinary access to all kinds of records should we choose to dig deeper. In respect of what you have said to me, I have put their inquiries on hold. I will stop them entirely if you choose to share what you know with me."

Frank Woodham's eyes clouded over. McCall could see the man breaking down. "She was like a daughter to me. They already took everything from us once. I can't be responsible for it happening again."

"I don't understand what you mean by 'it'."

"The more people who know, the greater the danger to her."

"I give you my word that I will use whatever you tell me to protect her to the full extent of my abilities."

"That's no guarantee."

"You and I both know that life comes with none. Tell me who was it who took everything from you?"

Frank Woodham's face looked drawn and pale. He did not seem well. "The mob."

"I see. I may presume then that Elise Cantrell is an alias?"

"Yes."

"Who was she before that?"

"She was my daughter-in-law."

"Is it Elise Woodham then?"

"No. When I met her, her name was Lisa Scarletti."

"Scarletti?" McCall's eyes widened. "Not related to . . ."

Frank Woodham didn't let him finish. "His daughter."

"You recruited John Scarletti's daughter to work for the Bureau?"

"Not exactly. She met me through my son. They were both at Yale. Frankie was on a full scholarship, finishing up a degree in sociology. He was going to go to law school and then save the world, starting with poor people first. Well, you can imagine my surprise when he brought home his girlfriend, Lisa Scarletti."

"Did he know she was the mob kingpin's daughter?"

"Yes. Lisa was very upfront about it. She knew what I did for a living and worried it would be a problem for me. For that reason, Frankie didn't tell me about her until he was ready to propose."

"Yes, that rather would raise some eyebrows at the office."

"It was a very awkward situation, even though Lisa really stayed away from her family as much as possible. But they were in love, and who was I to object? I liked her immensely from the beginning even as I worried about the situation."

"At what point did you ask her to turn on her family?"

"No, Mr. McCall, it didn't happen that way at all. Lisa was in her final term. They were planning to wed that summer. She was unsure about her future. Then one day out of the blue, she called and told me that she had interviewed with the Bureau."

"Did she tell you why?"

"When Lisa was seven, her father ordered the execution of her uncle. She witnessed it. It was only the beginning of what she saw. She didn't like any of it. So she decided to take that pricey education he bought her at the expense of drug addicts and terrorized shop owners and put it to a good cause.

"Wow. The Bureau must have been on cloud nine."

"Yes. They got married right after college. She went to training as Frankie started law school. They lived in a cute little house in the Bronx."

"Her family didn't know about any of this?"

"No. You know how it was with girls back then. Scarletti paid no mind to her. Didn't follow where she worked. Just wanted to know when she was going to get married and start with the bambinos. She kept her distance. The father kept his."

"Did he know about the marriage?"

"He thought she was shacking up, and he wasn't happy about it. He expected her to marry within the extended family."

"Wouldn't Scarletti have checked on your son, learned who he was?"

"Frankie went by his mother's last name, Solomon. We'd split up when he was young. The job, as I said. She felt he was safer that way. So did I."

"So how did she become Elise Cantrell?"

"What do you know about how Scarletti died?"

"He was executed mob-style. Everyone assumed it was the son who died that night or a rival. No one was ever tried for it."

"No one ever will be either."

"How does that tie in to Elise and your son?"

"Lisa insisted on using what she knew of her father's business to help the Bureau. After a number of concerns were addressed, she began spending more time with her family. Her father even took an interest in Frankie. He wanted to give him a job. Lisa wouldn't let him. Instead, Lisa used her brother, who was far from the brightest light in the family, to find things out about the business. In just a few months, she had amassed enough to nail Scarletti and his organization to the cross."

"I take it that something went wrong?"

"Yes. One of Scarletti's men saw Lisa copying documents. He reported it. Scarletti sent her a message to keep her nose out of the business. It was not 'women's business.'"

"What kind of message?"

"He arranged for Frankie to have a minor accident."

"For which she blamed herself?"

"It wasn't her fault. If it was anyone's, it was mine. I had no business letting her go after her father in the first instance. It was going to be the feather in my cap, the bust of a lifetime."

"So what happened next?"

"Scarletti started looking over his shoulder. He had people keep an eye on Lisa. He believed that Lisa, in spending so much time with Johnny, might actually be making a play to take over the business. He knew she was smart enough to do it, smarter than Johnny whom he groomed to do it. I should have pulled her out before then, but I was too concerned about blowing the indictment. I was padding the evidence. My waiting was the biggest mistake of a lifetime." Frank Woodham's eyes moistened.

"Take your time, Frank." Robert patted his back and handed him a tissue.

"Soon after that, Scarletti received information that our task force was preparing evidence to go to the grand jury."

"How?"

"He had to have had someone inside. Scarletti set Lisa up by giving Johnny some information that he told him not to share with anyone but Lisa. Lisa passed on the information. The informant reported back to Scarletti. Scarletti then confronted her with what he knew."

"I'm surprised he didn't just kill her immediately."

"No more than Lisa was."

"As I recall, Scarletti was known for his swift and clear retaliation. He was one of the bloodiest bosses."

"Retaliation has many forms."

"Indeed. You said you were shot to get at her."

"It was just the beginning of what Scarletti set in motion."

"Meaning?"

"After he confronted Lisa, he kept her -- under guard -- in his office. Not long after, Frankie left a message for her about my getting shot."

"Scarletti had discovered the relationship between you and your son by then?"

"Yes, that's how he let Lisa know that fact, by having me shot."

"I still can't fathom how she came out alive. Continue, please."

"She tried not to. She knew where it was all heading ultimately. She pleaded with her father. She promised not to go state's evidence. She asked him to kill her to make sure if he wanted, but she begged him to leave Frankie alone."

"I don't like the sound of where this is headed at all."

"No, Scarletti planned to terrorize his daughter before he let her die. He told Johnny, Jr. and two goons take Lisa back to the house in the Bronx. She was in the trunk tied up and gagged, of course. You have any guess what Scarletti's instructions to his son were?"

"Nothing pleasant."

"His exact words to Johnny, Jr. were these: 'Teach your sister a lesson that she'll remember in hell. Start with the boyfriend.'"

"Oh, my lord."

"They waited in Lisa's house. They tied Lisa up to the bed and left her there. A couple of hours later, when Frankie showed up, the goons took him into the bedroom and in front of Lisa beat him until he couldn't get up from the floor. Then Johnny had his goons haul him up to his knees and hold him as Johnny put a gun to his head. Elise thought he was going to fire. She was so frantic that she managed to break free from the bed post."

"Not for long, I imagine."

"No. Just long enough to touch her brother before she was tackled by the goons. Johnny apparently lost it then. He started to go after Lisa, hitting her as they held her. He screamed at her. 'No one fucks with Johnny Scarletti, Jr.. You fuck with me and I fuck you twice over."

Frank Woodham's eyes now teared freely. His body shuddered. "Mr. McCall, I really don't want to tell you the rest."

"I can understand why. However, I still don't see how Lisa Scarletti got out of there alive?"

"Alive is a relative term."

"Are you saying they just left her for dead without checking? That would have been insanely reckless."

"I can't go into the details, I just can't." Frank Woodham sobbed.

McCall sensed that what Frank Woodham said was not what he meant. "Frank, I can see you are in much pain, that you carry a great burden. I promise that if you tell me what happened, I shall not share it with anyone. I shall only use that information to help her and those she cares about."

Frank Woodham eyes ran freely. "I've never told anyone. It was all my fault."

""Whatever happened was not done by you. You therefore are not at fault."

"You wouldn't feel that way, not if she were like a daughter to you, not if your recklessness led to that."

"What are you saying happened? I don't follow."

"When Johnny said what he did to her, it wasn't just words."

"For Christ's sake, you don't mean . . . he actually . . ." McCall couldn't fathom it, let alone say it.

"In front of Frankie. Afterward, they must have let their guard down. Lisa managed to grab a gun from one of the goons. She rolled to the floor and shot the two goons. Frankie had set his gun down earlier. Caught, he held his arms up in the air, pleading with his sister for mercy. Lisa did as she was trained. She first made sure the two goons were down for good and secured their weapons. As she did that, Johnny dropped to the floor by Frankie, sobbing how sorry he was, begging her to please forgive him."

"Please tell me she put a bullet through his chest next."

"No, by the time she got there, Johnny had pulled a knife, which he held at Frankie's throat. Johnny ordered Lisa to drop the gun or he would kill Frankie. She dropped it. Johnny hauled Frankie to standing and used him as a shield as he backed out of the bedroom door. Then Lisa saw a sea change on Frankie's face. She dove for the gun, grabbed it and shot Johnny as Frankie fell away. She blew off Johnny's knife hand. Afterward, with nothing between her and her brother, she shot him in one leg, and then the other. She went to shoot him again, but the cartridge had emptied. She grabbed the knife he'd killed Frankie with. It took dental records to confirm the identify of what was left of John Scarletti, Jr."

"Then Lisa called the authorities?"

"No, she left."

"Scarletti, the father, was still alive at the time?" McCall asked.

"Yes. She went back to her father's house and killed him. She called me shortly afterward."

"What did she say?"

"'They're all dead. I couldn't save Frankie. I tried. I'm so sorry. I'm going back home now to be with him.' I persuaded her to go to a safe house instead. I called my superior and filled him in. He discovered there hadn't even been a police call yet. All the guns had silencers. Later, the neighbors thought it had been a bit rowdier than normal, but no one noticed the whole damn massacre. In the end, that was Lisa's salvation. My team added a body to the report, Lisa's, and even carried out an extra body bag stuffed with pillows. The coroner wrote up her death without ever seeing a body."

"Thus Elise Cantrell was born?"

"After a very difficult year, yes."

"Her past was simply erased?"

"Erased, avoided. She spent the next dozen or so years away from New York. I discouraged her from ever returning."

"Do you have a picture of her when she was Lisa Scarletti?"

"Yes." Frank Woodham rose unsteadily and plucked an album off the bookshelf. He opened to a wedding picture of Lisa and Frankie.

"I would hardly recognize her as the same woman."

"No. When she left, she was just a girl. She changed her hair color and style and her body changed too."

"Indeed, so much so that one wonders if anyone might recognize her from then?"

"Most of her family is gone now, but there's always a chance."

"What about your team? They knew you'd faked her death at the scene."

"Only one's still alive. He's retired, living in Arizona. He never told a soul, I'd stake my life on that."

"One wonders if someone did recognize her at this point, would anyone attempt to retaliate for her betrayal -- assuming anyone could even piece together the truth of what happened?"

"No, it's so long ago. It's irrelevant now."

"Family business has been known to hang on for generations. What about the leak at the Bureau, was it ever discovered?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"So there is someone who might recognize her and fear being discovered?"

"Lisa never knew the leak; she presents no direct threat to him or her."

"The leak might worry otherwise, be concerned that she's alive, back and maybe investigating the past, or the leak might see an opportunity to cash in by selling the information of her survival to the family."

"One thing Lisa is not doing is investigating the past or the family. That's strictly off limits to her and she knows it. As for the leak visually recognizing Lisa, I can't see how. You have to understand that Lisa herself never worked out of the office. That would have been too crazy dangerous to have the mob boss' daughter at the FBI office."

"Other agents knew her, though."

"Not really. She reported directly to me and my superior; that's it. Even my friend in Arizona never saw her. He only knew she was our agent inside."

"She went to the Academy. She was seen and known there."

"Not by her family name, though. She went as Solomon then and it wasn't like pictures of Lisa Scarletti were a dime a dozen. The newspapers of the day knew to steer clear of the women in the family."

"Somewhere out there, Frank, I fear there is someone who has recognized her, someone who poses a threat to her and those around her."

"If so, then history may repeat itself."

"Not if I can help it. I appreciate your sharing all this with me, Frank. I apologize for making you relive those times. I know how hard it is to lose a child. I lost my daughter when she was young."

"It never leaves you, not for a moment, what you missed, what you did wrong, what you wish you'd done better, the times that might have been."

"Yes, all that and more.

"Do you sincerely think that your friend getting hurt might have anything to do with Elise?"

"It's a possibility that has to be considered, especially given Elise's sudden disappearance. If you think of anything else, please let me know."

"It's so hard to think back and, well, after so long, it seemed over forever."

"I hope you are right. Stay in touch, please."

"You'll let me know if you find out anything?"

"Of course, but I'll not say a word of what you told me to anyone, I promise."