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These particular crews that need instruction are out East, nudging up against Castellani territory, and so there’s always a bit of tension there, but the boys haven’t been standing their ground so much as conceding it. It’s time to find out why. The Capos out there, Loopy Delpino and Mario Palumbo, are just about quaking in their boots to see me, but it’s not my style to knock heads first when a friendly chat might do more.
At first, anyway.
In this case, I understand the problems they’re having. Johnny Jacopo, that smiley piece of trash the Castellanis like to send out to take care of problems, happens to run the crew on the Castellani side of the line, and our men are scared of him.
The docks incident didn’t help. It was Jacopo who took out Brunello that night. I’m pretty sure that was the Castellani aim from the start, and they got what they wanted. Our hold is weakened on the port.
That means we have to hold fast everywhere else.
“Forget about Johnny Jacopo,” I tell Loopy and Palumbo over a beer. “You don’t work for Johnny fucking Jacopo. This part of town has been Bernardi territory for decades. Should be a piece of cake to keep things in order.”
“Ever since Legs Liggari got moved on,” Palumbo grumbles, “it’s gotten harder and harder. Jacopo’s a demon, Leo. You don’t understand. He’s not so easy to deal with as Legs was.”
“You give me any more excuses, and we might have a problem here,” I tell him casually, drinking down the rest of my beer. “I don’t care who’s on the other side of that line. You push back, and you keep the line. Understand?”
They mumble their agreement, and then they change the subject. Common tactic when the Bernardi Enforcer pays a visit. Only this time, I’m actually interested in what they have to say.
“You heard the rumor about Vinnie Esposito?” Loopy asks in a hushed voice.
“What about him?”
“They say it was him they found dead the other night in that alleyway, with his eyes pulled out.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I laugh. “Vinnie Esposito wouldn’t get himself jumped in some back alley.”
“I don’t know about that,” Loopy says, “but that’s what some of my boys came in talking about this morning. Anna-Vittoria’s gonna get vicious if it’s true. He was her brother, wasn’t he?”
“Cousin,” Palumbo corrects him.
I stay quiet as Palumbo and Loopy argue between themselves as to the exact nature of Vinnie Esposito’s relationship to his Boss. Normally I wouldn’t give a fuck what’s going on with the Espositos—they mind their business and keep out of ours. They’re one of the only Families in town who told old Ciro Castellani to sit and spin when he tried to Godfather himself, and for that reason I’ve always felt neutral to positive toward the Espos, when I’ve thought about them at all.
But according to my father, Julian Castellani was fucking with the Esposito Enforcer.
And according totheseguys, the Esposito Enforcer is now dead.
* * *
I head over to Dad’s house, where I find him in crisis talks with Monkeys, AJ and Gino. It stings that I wasn’t included, but I shrug it off. Ever since my father and I had a disagreement about who I prefer to sleep with, he’s punished me with a thousand paper cuts. This is just one more.
“Leo,” Father says when I knock at the billiard room door and stick my head around. He likes to meet with people while he plays a round. Says it helps him think. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard Vinnie Esposito got whacked.” AJ doesn’t acknowledge me, but Monkeys gives me a nod, and Gino looks pleased to see me. “So it’s true?” I say, coming into the room. “The Esposito Enforcer isdead?Who the fuck got the jump on him?”
Dad looks straight at me when he says, “We’re still waiting to hear. But what wedoknow is that Julian Castellani was seen having a fight with him at some dirty fuck club downtown.”
I stare blankly back at my father, trying to work out whether he knows something I’d rather he didn’t.
“Rumor is Castellani killed him,” Monkeys says. “They say he cut Vinnie’s eyes out, then used his blood to paint the wall. Not sure if that’s true, though,” he adds meditatively. “Maybe they’re just saying it.”
I shrug. “Could be true. Castellani’s a fucking psycho.”
“But why?” Gino asks. “Why would he kill—“
“Because he’s a fucking psycho, like Leo says,” our father snaps. “This better not affect my meeting with that bitch,” he goes on, pointing at Monkeys. “You sure she’s gonna show up?”
“La Contessa?” Monkeys says. “Sure, she’ll turn up. She hates Julian as much as the rest of us. She ain’t gonna let anything interrupt business, and negotiations are going well.”
La Contessa is in town? I don’t know much about her, except that recently she’s allowed it to be known she’s Alessandro Castellani’s mother—and that she’s been messing with our imports from the European side.
