Lady Justice and the Ghostly Treasure by Robert Thornhill Page B
Authors: Robert Thornhill
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saved his. We parted on good terms.
Carmine was known to frequent Antonelli’s Italian Restaurant, so each time I wanted to talk to him, I tried there first.
I took a deep breath and handed my card to the maître’d. “If Mr. Marchetti is in the restaurant, I’d like to have a word with him, please.”
He left and a moment later one of Marchetti’s goombas appeared. “This way.”
As always, Carmine had a gorgeous woman on each side.
“Walt Williams! My favorite gumshoe. I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Nice to see you too, Mr. Marchetti. Sammy Saldano. I’m guessing he works for you. A friend of mine owes him some money and, well, you know how Sammy can be when he doesn’t get it right away. The man’s name is James Walker. He fully intends to pay, but will need some time. I would be very grateful if you could persuade Sammy to cut him some slack.”
“Ahh, a favor for an old friend. Of course. I’ll talk to Sammy. Consider it done.” He held up one finger. “Of course that means you owe me one.”
“I assumed as much. Thank you. I’ll let you get back to your meal.”
“If I need a gumshoe, I’ll give you a call,” he said, as I walked away.
Swell , I thought. James Walker is temporarily off the hook, but I’m back on.
I dropped by the hotel to give Mary and James the news.
Needless to say, they were both relieved.
Dominick winced as he wrapped his wrist in ice. “That old bitch! She damn near broke my arm.”
“Mine too,” Randy replied. “And she’s got my .380. What are we gonna do about it?”
“Do? We’re gonna even the score. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
“But Sammy said to lay off. Said it came straight from Marchetti. We don’t want to get crossways with the Don.”
“We won’t. We’ll just bide our time and keep an eye on Walker and the old woman. Our time will come. You’ll see.”
CHAPTER 6
The next day, Kevin and I were discussing how we were going to deal with Sammy the Shark’s two goons.
“You think they’ll really back off?” Kevin asked.
“I can’t believe they’d be dumb enough to disobey a direct order from Carmine Marchetti. He could make them disappear anytime he wanted.”
“I get that, but they have to be really pissed. They got beat up by an old woman with a bat.”
Just then, the phone rang.
“Mr. Walt! I need to see you --- now!”
“Mary? What’s going on? Did those two creeps come back?”
“No, nothin’ like that. I got something you need to see. I want to come over.”
“Do you want me to come get you?”
“Nope, James is just leavin’ for work. He’ll drop me off. Oh yeah, if the Professor’s home, ask him to meet with us. See you soon.”
“What was that all about?” Kevin asked.
“It was Mary. She was all fired up about something. She’s on her way over.”
“Want me to leave?”
“No, stick around. If I know Mary, this will be quite interesting. Hang tight a minute. Mary wants the Professor to attend our little soiree.”
Fifteen minutes later, the four of us were in my office.
“Okay Mary, what’s your earth-shattering news?”
She pulled the old leather-bound diary from a sack.
“I told you I’d been reading Momma’s diary, and I told you she worked in the old hospital. She wasn’t a nurse or anything like that. She cleaned, changed sheets, emptied bed pans. That kind of stuff. It was pretty boring reading until I got to this part,” she said, handing me the open diary. “Here, you read it.”
I took the book and started reading where she had pointed.
Monday. A new patient was admitted today. His name is Henry Sinclair. He was in a most agitated
Carmine was known to frequent Antonelli’s Italian Restaurant, so each time I wanted to talk to him, I tried there first.
I took a deep breath and handed my card to the maître’d. “If Mr. Marchetti is in the restaurant, I’d like to have a word with him, please.”
He left and a moment later one of Marchetti’s goombas appeared. “This way.”
As always, Carmine had a gorgeous woman on each side.
“Walt Williams! My favorite gumshoe. I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Nice to see you too, Mr. Marchetti. Sammy Saldano. I’m guessing he works for you. A friend of mine owes him some money and, well, you know how Sammy can be when he doesn’t get it right away. The man’s name is James Walker. He fully intends to pay, but will need some time. I would be very grateful if you could persuade Sammy to cut him some slack.”
“Ahh, a favor for an old friend. Of course. I’ll talk to Sammy. Consider it done.” He held up one finger. “Of course that means you owe me one.”
“I assumed as much. Thank you. I’ll let you get back to your meal.”
“If I need a gumshoe, I’ll give you a call,” he said, as I walked away.
Swell , I thought. James Walker is temporarily off the hook, but I’m back on.
I dropped by the hotel to give Mary and James the news.
Needless to say, they were both relieved.
Dominick winced as he wrapped his wrist in ice. “That old bitch! She damn near broke my arm.”
“Mine too,” Randy replied. “And she’s got my .380. What are we gonna do about it?”
“Do? We’re gonna even the score. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
“But Sammy said to lay off. Said it came straight from Marchetti. We don’t want to get crossways with the Don.”
“We won’t. We’ll just bide our time and keep an eye on Walker and the old woman. Our time will come. You’ll see.”
CHAPTER 6
The next day, Kevin and I were discussing how we were going to deal with Sammy the Shark’s two goons.
“You think they’ll really back off?” Kevin asked.
“I can’t believe they’d be dumb enough to disobey a direct order from Carmine Marchetti. He could make them disappear anytime he wanted.”
“I get that, but they have to be really pissed. They got beat up by an old woman with a bat.”
Just then, the phone rang.
“Mr. Walt! I need to see you --- now!”
“Mary? What’s going on? Did those two creeps come back?”
“No, nothin’ like that. I got something you need to see. I want to come over.”
“Do you want me to come get you?”
“Nope, James is just leavin’ for work. He’ll drop me off. Oh yeah, if the Professor’s home, ask him to meet with us. See you soon.”
“What was that all about?” Kevin asked.
“It was Mary. She was all fired up about something. She’s on her way over.”
“Want me to leave?”
“No, stick around. If I know Mary, this will be quite interesting. Hang tight a minute. Mary wants the Professor to attend our little soiree.”
Fifteen minutes later, the four of us were in my office.
“Okay Mary, what’s your earth-shattering news?”
She pulled the old leather-bound diary from a sack.
“I told you I’d been reading Momma’s diary, and I told you she worked in the old hospital. She wasn’t a nurse or anything like that. She cleaned, changed sheets, emptied bed pans. That kind of stuff. It was pretty boring reading until I got to this part,” she said, handing me the open diary. “Here, you read it.”
I took the book and started reading where she had pointed.
Monday. A new patient was admitted today. His name is Henry Sinclair. He was in a most agitated
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