The Cornelian cherry trees bloomed in February, magnolias in the last week of April, and now the Callery pear trees blossoms were peeking through all along Washington Square Park. Spring in New York City was often rainy and cool with the occasional snowstorm every few years. Temperatures ranged from 40 to 70 degrees at any given time. Currently, the air was crisp with an undercurrent of heat rising to dance with the cool.
Traffic and people moved through the City as rapidly as the number of bodies in motion would allow. Yet in the midst of all the movement there was a sense that it was not as full as it should be. Many were out of town and the City felt it in a way the average person could not.
One place that should have been completely still was the District Office of New York City Public Schools. Surprisingly, it was very busy considering the Superintendent was out of town and not due back for two weeks.
Instead of sunbathing on the Jersey Shore like many others, Eddie Hunter was in between buildings across from the D.O. watching a stocky man in an expensive suit enter the building and disappear inside.
Five minutes later a slim blonde woman more casually dressed also entered the building.
Eddie put his hands in the pockets of his worn-out jeans, pushed away from the brick wall, and took off across the street with little concern for the honking horns and profanity lace shouts of anger he drew for disrupting the flow of traffic.
Once across the street, he didn't go into the D.O. but rather into the alley behind it.
Eddie had been keeping close tabs on his former associates since he was dismissed from his job without pay and he knew they were not inside because they were that dedicated to their jobs.
They were there for another purpose.
There wasn't much for them inside, he knew. Having done his own security sweep earlier, the building was locked tight from the outside. From a brief sweep a few weeks before he knew that Turner had the interior locked down just as tight.
The blonde, Tompkins, would have limited access to the Superintendent's Office, though.
Yancy should not have any.
Eddie settled in by the dumpster and waited.
Fifteen minutes later a sleek Rolls-Royce Ghost in English white pulled into the alley. It was an impressive vehicle and one that screamed "look at me".
Briefly Eddie wondered how much the parts would sell for on the black market as he backed into the shadows.
Yancy and Tompkins came out of the back door and promptly got into the car. As the Rolls-Royce sped off, Eddie stepped into the street and watched the direction it went in. His eyes locked onto the license plate, and he tucked away the number in his memory for future use.
Tipping his chin up, he cast a lazy look at the D.O.'s back door. A quick tug on the handle pulled the door open. He smiled to himself and stepped inside long enough to lock the door, then he stepped back out, and let the door shut behind him.
There was no reason for that door to be left open. Yancy had, after all, entered the building with a key and security code he should not have had. He could go back in whenever he wanted. Whether he left that door open to entice him or someone else into taking the fall for the break in, Eddie didn't care. He was going to sabotage Yancy's plans any way he could.
With a sly smile, Eddie put his hands back in his pockets and followed the path the Ghost took out of the alley.
On Wooster Street was SoHo's Gucci store.
This was far away from Eddie's typical place to get his clothes. He liked his clothes well-worn and never bought any on principal. It was only when it became necessary to have clothing opposite to his own tastes that he ever put down cash for clothes.
Unfortunately, the subject of his next con required the most expensive of taste. Westport snobs could tell a counterfeit brand from ten miles away. It was a sport for those people to guess the fake.
He absolutely despised those people.
It was, however, a small price to pay to up-end their lives in some way. Someone like him walking in and swindling them would certainly do that. And at any rate, he'd get the money back even if he had to rob the store to do it.
It was no surprise to him that he was stopped before he could get fully into the store. The disdain for him that rolled off the employees and their other customers was tangible.
He toyed with them for a while then presented a stolen Centurion credit card they wouldn't be able to trace until he'd discarded it. It was only then that the sales snots let him in and "forgave" his poor man's attire.
How Pretty Woman of them, he thought in disgust.
Eddie wasted no time gathering very specific items of clothing and accessories from his list and getting out as soon as possible. Then he headed to the Wall Street Hotel where he was staying to give his financial investor identity legitimacy.
He had one last stop for the day but before he could make the appointment, he had to change his appearance. After a shower he slipped into a silk-cotton polo shirt and pressed jeans that made his skin crawl with their clean, slick threads.
The Hugo Boss cologne made him want to vomit.
With his appointment was at one and an hour to kill, he decided to walk to the salon where he was getting his face and hair sculpted into a Westport acceptable state. As he neared West Broadway, he caught a glimpse of his haggard appearance in the mirrored windows of the building he was walking past.
He looked away with a repulsed snarl.
His face did not match his clothing. He looked like someone whose head was photoshopped on another man's body. He growled at his reflection and the people staring at him, then moved on with a vengeful stomp.
He was half a block away from his destination when a white Rolls-Royce Ghost drove by. Eddie watched it pass, saw the license plate, then turned on his heel to follow it.
His memory was solid, almost photographic: that was the car Yancy and Tompkins were in.
The Ghost stopped in front of a restaurant and sure enough those two and a very tall older man stepped out.
Suddenly Eddie had something better to do than visit a salon.
It surprised him they went to Lumiere and not Principe, which was not too far down the block.
Principe was a place to see and be seen. Lumiere was a well-known front for a money laundering business. The owner allowed "customers" to cash substantial checks without requiring identification or filing currency transaction reports that were mandated by law. This allowed customers to hide income or get money for "under-the-table" payrolls. Eddie knew this because he had done a little work for the owners. Rumor had it that anyone who chose to eat at Lumiere knew it too. And given what Eddie knew about Yancy, the assistant principal had used their services before.
Multiple times.
There was an advantage to the educators choosing Lumiere over a place like Principe- Eddie's connections allowed him to walk in and do as he pleased without hassle. He followed them and took up a place in the corner by the host's stand.
When the trio sat down at their table, Eddie saw the tall man's face for the first time and recognized him as the doctor from Yancy's school when he was escorted out of the building after being "fired".
The tables near them were taken, but that didn't matter to Eddie. He pulled out chair out from a nearby table and joined a very startled hipster who was in mid coffee sip when he sat down across from him.
After taking an impossibly long time for the trio to order, the waiter finally left, and the conversation began.
"How is our dear superintendent doing?" the doctor drawled as he slowly tore open a packet of sugar. His tone was smug and sarcastic.
Katherine looked over her cup of coffee at him, blue- green eyes blazing. "According to Eli he's been in the hospital. It sounds serious."
"Good," the man smirked. His lips pulled back over large, too white teeth, making him look like a dog baring its teeth before a bite. "And he is recovering fully I hope. I wouldn't want to see anything happen to him before the news is leaked."
"Yes," Yancy replied. He was disgruntled compared to the other two. "I'm sure he's doing well. According to the information Edward brought us, his little wife managed to get a nursing degree during his first hospitalization. No doubt she'll be using that to tend to him."
Katherine rolled her eyes. "I still think that license is fake. There is no way she is a nurse."
The doctor's hazel eyes darkened. "She is," he said shortly, slowly pouring the packet of sugar into the steaming beverage in front of him. "I verified it through SLU. She's connected to Lennox Health here which is connected to the Community Hospital in Philadelphia. She isn't active but her license is."
She gave a grunt of disgust, folded her arms over her waist, and stared out the window.
"You have Eli under full control, correct?"
"Of course," she snapped. "Eli is as clueless as they come. I don't doubt a marriage proposal is in the near future."
"Yet you've gotten very little information from him."
She glared murderously at him to mask her guilt. "His guard is dropping. It will be down completely once we get to Philadelphia."
The doctor rolled his eyes. "It should've dropped already." He turned his sharp stare onto Yancy leaving her to fume. "And what about you, Stuart? Do you have the plan fully under control?"
"Of course, I do," Yancy said shortly, agitated. "Do you really think that I would be so careless with any details? Particularly now that we are so close to beating Jonathan and this school district?"
The doctor took a slow sip of his water and continued to stir his coffee, unphased by the other man's irritation. "Yes, well, forgive me for being skeptical. We were so close to ousting Feeny and having full control of the school board when you decided to bring Jonathan into our business venture."
Yancy tensed. "A decision you approved," he spat back, "You wanted to use to his popularity with parents and his sway with Feeny."
This conversation was remarkably interesting to Eddie. He knew Tompkins and Yancy worked together at Shawn's high school, but he did not know the third man did as well. He didn't even know who he was. The fact that there was a third, more powerful player in this messed up little game angered him, and he wondered what else they did not share with him.
It was also of interest that so much bitterness and antipathy laced their words and not just towards Turner.
These people hate each other, he realized with great delight. This information might prove to be extremely useful later.
"I also warned you about him being too rebellious to rely on."
"We had our roles," Yancy said defensively. "You played the bumbling idiot, and I played the sniveling suck up to keep Feeny away from what we were doing. How was I to know Jonathan's attitude wasn't an act too? Katherine," he shot the blonde a dirty look, "assured us it was."
Tompkins recoiled, offended. "It was when I was with him. The only thing he actually rebelled against was family life."
Yancy flattened his hand out on top of his napkin then slowly crumpled it into his fist without lifting it from the table. "And that proved to be an act since he set up house with his little student teacher as soon as he could get you moved out."
She bristled, enraged.
Eddie snickered, delighted.
The hipster trapped at the table with him looked around the restaurant, silently pleading for help.
"None of that matters now," Yancy hissed. Droplets of sweat clustered at his temple. "What matters is that Jonathan is once again a hinderance to our plans and well-being."
The doctor narrowed his eyes. "You've assured me that he will be removed after Spring Break." His tone was quiet but the threat in his words was deafening. "You better not screw up this up, Stuart. I've got the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services breathing down my neck wanting to know who hired your people. If you think for a moment, I'll protect you from yet another screw up you're dead wrong."
Yancy stared at him. Before the conversation could go on the waiter interrupted to bring them their food.
Once they were alone again, he responded. "I have spent 18 years climbing to the top of this District. If you think I'll let Jonathan get away with stealing my superintendent position and go on being this City's darling, you're the one who's dead wrong."
The doctor shot him a murderous look. "Remember who you're talking to! I can end your career like that," he said with a snap of his fingers.
Katherine sat back and watched them in silence.
Yancy squirmed under the dark glare. "I hate him," he said bitterly. "I hate everything about him. The motorcycle, the looks, and the attitude. He even won Feeny over. And that man was an impossible snob!"
"He was also a hit with the female staff," the Doctor added bitterly. "Jonny this and Jonny that."
The men caught Katherine in a cross-glare. She ignored them both and ate her salad.
"I was always at the mercy of guys like him in high school."
"As was I."
Yancy resumed choking the fabric life out of the cloth napkin. "He was Mr. Showbiz. All flash and quick talk. The students adored him," he said in a mocking tone. "Once he took in Shawn Hunter the parents adored him too. Then of course he was given the very young Audrey who only increased his appeal."
"He never should have gotten her," the doctor said bitterly. He stabbed his fork into his pasta and gave it a violent twist. "He didn't have enough years of teaching to qualify to be a cooperating teacher. I did. But Feeny wouldn't even consider me. Jonathan just got whatever he wanted."
"Do you know who his parents are?" Yancy growled as though he had not heard the doctor's complaint. "Do you know that he never had to work a day in his life? That he was just slumming it with us poor people so he could feel superior? Just like he did when he was a kid."
The fabric of the napkin began to show signs of distress as he held it taunt in his hands and pressed his thumbs deep into the center stretching the threads to their limit.
The doctor rolled his eyes. "Is money all you can think about?"
"Don't act you're so superior to me!" Yancy gave a strangled cry. "Money is what you were about too! It just makes me sick that Jonathan had all of that at his fingertips and walked away from it."
This earned a snicker of reproach from Katherine. "Why don't you pay Mommy and Daddy Turner a visit then? I hear they're looking for a new son. Apparently, they tried to replace Jonny with Shawn, the stupid kid said no."
Yancy glared at her as though he'd like to do to her what he was doing to the napkin.
Eddie felt like doing the same to Shawn. Of course, baby brother would be handed the keys to a life of luxury and envy and throw them away. Hatred bubbled up, thicker and darker than before.
Katherine ignored the look and leaned into the table. "It was your greed that did you in," she gave each man a pointed look. "You two were so concerned with using Jonathan to climb the social ladder that neither of you paid any attention to who he really was. I told you he wouldn't participate in anything like the bribery ring you had going with the school board and parents. I told you he had a Superman complex and you both ignored me."
"How were we to know he'd go undercover for Feeny?" Yancy growled.
"He was Feeny's pet teacher. You should have seen it coming. Especially you," she said to the doctor, "You played poker with him and Feeny."
The doctor glared at her and began to add even more packets of sugar to his undrunk coffee. Then he turned his attention back onto Yancy.
"Feeny had been looking for a way to get rid of me since I was hired. I was a threat to his position," he groused angrily. "Finding out I was involved with you was what he needed to strip me of my position at the school and in the community. You weren't the only one who spent the past 18 years rebuilding. I will not protect you if you screw this up, Stuart."
Katherine watched the men argue over their egos as she continued eating.
Eddie noticed the calculating look in her eyes and knew she had a backdoor out in case their plan blew up. With the overinflated egos involved it was very likely it would.
Whether it happened before or after they destroyed Turner remained to be seen.
Once lunch and their squabbling were over, the three evacuated the premises quickly. Eddie lingered around making sure his tablemate was very uncomfortable while he put his earbuds in and reviewed the conversation he just recorded.
After several minutes, Eddie stood up and left, letting the man at his table pay his tab.
Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn wasn't exactly close to where Eddie needed to be to pick up the last of the supplies for his con. It was, however, where a contact's "business" was located in the basement of a condemned building. This detour would delay him, but it was necessary.
He needed to know everything there was to know about all the players involved in this game.
A dark, stormy night seemed to surround the former apartment building even though it was a sunny afternoon. He ducked under the tape that blocked off the entrance that was covered by half a door split down the middle. Dust and drug paraphernalia clogged every space he looked. Eddie pulled his shirt up over his nose and mouth to block out the grime and decaying smell as he descended into the bowels of the building.
At the bottom of the stairs was a metal door.
He took his phone out of his pocket and sent a text. A moment later a rectangular opening in the door slid open. Swollen blood shot eyes with dilated pupils stared unblinkingly back at him.
"You got the goods?"
Eddie patted his jacket pocket then pulled back his lapel open so the man could see that there was a small package inside.
The window closed and the door opened with such a scream it almost made Eddie wince.
Almost.
The man scurried away from the door once it was closed and went to a desk that was surprisingly clean and tidy. An impressive looking PC and monitor system set on top.
"I'm surprised you're here," Eddie said looking around at the bleak surroundings. "You were in a Mid-town high rise last time I employed your services."
The man sniffed and rubbed his swollen nose. "Landlord didn't care for my habit. Had a few friends over who didn't clean up after themselves."
"That's pretty careless of you."
"I've always been a responsible employee. What I do in my free time is my business."
Eddie sniffed, trying not to actually breath any of the air in. "Still seems like you could do better than this."
"I got into some financial trouble after that. Why do you care?"
"I don't." Eddie circled the room. It was in much worse decay than the ratholes he stayed in. In one corner came a pungent smell like rotting liver and feces. He recoiled in disgust and turned on the man. "How do you live with that smell?"
"What smell?"
He stared at the hacker for a moment then raised his brow. Blood was smeared from under his nose to his right cheek.
Bloody nose, can't smell a dead animal, and those dilated pupils. Dude's got a bad coke habit, he observed.
Eddie walked back over to the table, opened his jacket, and took the package out of his pocket. "You can't OD before I get my information."
The man looked insulted. "You say that like I've got an addiction or something."
Eddie stared at him. The hacker stared back.
Casually, Eddie took his phone out and pulled up some pictures he'd taken earlier. "I want everything you can find out about this man."
The other man took the phone, studied it, then he handed the device back. "Send it to me. I can get you the information in an hour. Two at the most."
Once his business was concluded, Eddie got away from the condemned building as quickly as he could. He had an appointment to reschedule but first he had to head back to the Village for one final matter.
Located between the famous Bleecker and Hudson Streets, West 10th Street was home to a rich, colorful history and, among other things, apartments and townhomes built in the 1880s.
Eddie navigated his way there via the back alleys. The main streets were too crowded, making it take too long to get anywhere. And slow people took issue with being pushed out of the way.
When he reached his destination, he slipped into the light of the sidewalk that ran in front of the brick homes that lined that section of West 10th. He studied one particular home with a critical eye, looking for places of vulnerability. He knew that the locks and security codes had been recently changed and would require a little extra work to disable. After a short examination, Eddie headed to the back of the house.
Getting in was simple enough; the new locks weren't enough to guard against a professional lockpick and his tools. Once inside the garage he went straight to the main access panel of the alarm system. After removing the AC power to the console, he used a small screw to unlock the system's backing. The quick disconnecting of the wires attached to the system's main battery had the house completely unarmed in a matter of minutes.
Pleased with himself for getting into a highly secure home so quickly, Eddie took his time wandering through the home.
So, this is where baby brother sleeps at night?
He really wasn't visiting the Turner home for Shawn's sake- he'd planned on doing that later. He was there because, to make his con believable, financial records were necessary.
After all, what investor didn't have access to his client's finances?
Eddie's eyes took in every detail of the home. He noted that, unlike a lot of expensive homes in the Village he'd broken into before, this one actually looked lived in despite everything being clean and organized for a vacationing family.
Most of these places looked like small museums.
In the kitchen he took inventory of the food. The refrigerator was nearly empty, but the pantry was fully stocked with nonperishables. When he emerged from the room with an arm full of goods, he backed into a wall that had not been there before.
Hot breath like a furnace scalded the back of his neck.
Apparently, he wasn't the only one visiting while the Turners were out of town.
Eddie turned his head slowly to look at the man behind him.
Angelo.
He wasn't surprised.
Angelo didn't look surprised either. He just looked angry.
"What're ya doin' Eddie?" he hissed a menacing growl in his ear.
"Grocery shoppin', bud," he replied with intentional laziness. "Gotta eat sometime."
"Plenty of cheap food at Paulie Gee's."
"Yeah, but that's in Brooklyn and this is free."
A sudden burst of light flashed in his eyes as his head forcefully hit the pantry door. White hot pain shot through his neck as it snapped against the wood panel.
Eddie held his lips tight against his teeth to prevent a groan of agony from escaping. He wasn't about to let Angelo see any weakness in him.
"Why're you here?" Angelo's teeth were pressed against his ear. Images of Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson at MGM Grand Garden Arena played through his mind.
"I could ask you the same thing," he said as flippantly as he could with his face pressed against the door.
"I'm house sittin'."
Eddie choked out a laugh. "Yeah and what're you takin' as payment?"
"Nothin'."
He laughed again. It was a shrill deranged laugh.
"Me an' you are the same, Angelo," he said still chuckling. "You ain't here outta the goodness of your heart."
Angelo lifted him and slammed him against the door again.
Eddie couldn't control the groan that emanated from him this time.
"Jon's my friend. You know that."
"I know you turned over on him for a bag of blow." He turned his head as much as he could and threw the man an irreverent smirk. "Shawn's my baby brother. You know that."
"I know you hate him and want to see him suffer."
Eddie shrugged as nonchalantly he could in his position. "So we're both have the tendency screw over close family and friends. Me an' you oughta be in business together."
Angelo swore at him, released him, and slapped the back of his head hard.
Eddie stumbled back as tingling nerve pain momentarily paralyzed part of his upper body. Angelo allowed him space and once he regained mobility, he took the opportunity to put the kitchen island between them.
Angelo advanced slowly on him. "What are you doin' here?" he demanded.
"Checkin' out the hood where Shawnie is livin' the high life," Eddie said sarcastically while glaring defiantly at the other man. He saw no reason Angelo should know that he was really looking for his buddy's financial records. "Ain't that why you're here? Livin' Jonny's life while he and the fam are outta town?"
Fury sparked in Angelo's dark glare. "I'm watchin' the house and keepin' it clean of lowlife scum like you."
Eddie threw back his head to laugh. He regretted it as pain seared through the right side of his body.
"You ain't better than me."
"Get. Out."
"Nah," Eddie ran his hand slowly over the granite tabletop as the pain subsided. "See I don't wanna. I have more right to be here than you do anyway. Shawn's my brother and I haven't screwed him over. Yet."
Angelo's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Eddie shifted to the left so he could get a view of the kitchen exits without tipping the other man off by moving his gaze.
Angelo saw this anyway and countered.
"Get. Out."
Eddie squinted at him. Angelo was an irritating obstacle he hadn't planned for. If he couldn't get the records he needed from Turner's office now, he'd have to delay his trip to Westport. Delaying his trip might give Yancy an edge. He was not going to fall behind.
Not this time.
"Name your price, Geo. You want blow? Molly? Ice? Percs? A sampler pack? What'll it take to make you forget about Shawnie and Jonny?"
Angelo visibly twitched.
Eddie grinned. The man was still using but hadn't had a hit in some time. He was weak.
"I'm not askin' again," Angelo hissed, advancing again.
He snickered. Then, with one swift sudden movement, Eddie darted to the left. When Angelo jumped around to grab him, he vaulted over the island. He made it as far as the stairs leading up to the floor the office was on.
Angelo moved faster than a man his size should have been able to. A blow from behind knocked Eddie teeth first into the wooden stairs. He spat blood and half a tooth out with a whimper as he was roughly thrown onto his back.
The blade of a baselard pressed into his jugular.
"Okay," he conceded by putting his hands up in surrender. He was furious he now had to get the tooth fixed before meeting with the senior Turners.
Angelo pulled him to his feet and escorted him to the back door with the tip of the knife pressed against his throat and his left arm twisted painfully behind his back.
The last thing Eddie remembered seeing was the Turner's empty garage.
He woke up sometime later in an alley in the Bronx. Cursing Angelo, Yancy, Turner, Shawn, and everyone else he'd ever crossed paths with, Eddie pulled himself together and stumbled back to where he was staying some hours later.
The next morning, while a business associate repaired his tooth and stitched up his forehead, a text came in from the hacker with a habit.
He now knew the doctor's name: Darryl Sorrell.
And he was no doctor of any kind.
Next: Maya finds out her mother and Shawn are at odds, and she fears for her future. Audrey struggles with when to tell Jon what's been going on. Shawn, Jon, and Audrey head back to the apartment to face the moment that ended their family in 1995.
If you're enjoying the story, have any questions, or just want to say hi, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks so much for spending time with me.