Missing You(88)

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m still breathing.”

Cozone smiled at that. He had small peg teeth that looked like decaying Chiclets. His face was the kind of smooth that suggests a chemical peel or Botox. “Let’s see how our conversation goes first, shall we?”

He collapsed into the cushioned teak and patted the seat next to him.

“Please sit.”

As she did, a shiver passed through her. She could smell his cologne—something cloying and overly potent. The two chairs faced the ocean rather than each other. For a moment, neither of them said anything, both staring out at the churning surf.

“A storm is coming,” he said.

“Ominous,” Kat said, aiming for sarcasm and falling a little short.

“Ask the question, Kat.”

She said nothing.

“You’ve waited nearly twenty years. So here’s your chance. Ask me.”

She turned and watched his face. “Did you have my father killed?”

“No.”

He kept his gaze on the water.

“Am I just supposed to believe you?”

“Do you know I’m from the old neighborhood?”

“Yep. Farrington Street near the car wash. You killed a kid when you were in fifth grade.”

He shook his head. “May I share a secret with you?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“That story about me and the hammer is an urban myth.”

“I talked to someone whose brother went to school with you.”

“It’s not true,” he said. “Why would I lie to you about that? I like the myths. I’ve even had a hand in cultivating them. They’ve eased my way, to some degree. Not that it was easy. Not that my hands are clean. But fear is a wonderful motivating tool.”

“Is that a confession?”

Cozone put his wrists together as though waiting for the cuffs. She knew that nothing he said here would be admissible or even helpful, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to stop talking.

“I knew your father,” he said. “We had an understanding.”

“Are you saying he was crooked?”

“I’m not saying anything. I’m explaining to you that I had nothing to do with your father’s death—that we were from the same world, he and I.”

“So you never killed anyone from Flushing?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

“So what exactly are you saying?”

“Over the years, you have caused several of my enterprises to, let us say, interrupt services.”

She had busted the heads of any “enterprise” even rumored to be connected to Cozone. She had, no doubt, cost Cozone money.

“Are you trying to make a point?” Kat asked.

“I don’t want those days brought back again.”

“So you thought by telling me that you didn’t kill my father, it would all end?”

“Something like that. I thought—or rather I hoped—that we could come to an understanding.”

“An understanding.”

“Yes.”

“Like the one you claimed to have with my father.”

His eyes stayed on the surf, but a smile played with the corner of his lips. “Something like that.”

Kat wasn’t sure how to react to that. “Why now?” she asked.

He lifted his drink and brought it to his lips.

“You could have told me this years ago, if you thought it would lead to”—air quotes—“‘an understanding.’ So why now?”

“Things have changed.”

“In what way?”

“A dear friend has passed away.”

“Monte Leburne?”

Cozone took another sip of his drink. “You’re tough, Kat. I’ll give you that.”

She didn’t bother responding.

“You loved your father dearly, didn’t you?”

“I’m not here to talk about me or my feelings.”

“Fair enough. You asked why I told you this now. It is because Monte Leburne is now dead.”

“But he confessed to the killing.”

“Indeed. He also said that I had nothing to do with it.”

“Right, but he also said you had nothing to do with the other two hits. Are you going to deny those too?”

He turned his head toward her just a little bit. His face hardened. “I’m not here to talk about the other two. Not in any way. Do you understand my meaning?”

She did. He wasn’t confessing, but then again, as opposed to her father, he wasn’t denying it either. The message was clear: Yeah, I did those two, but not your dad.

But that didn’t mean she had to believe him.

Cozone wanted her off his back. That was the point of all this. He would spin any tale to get his way.

“What I’m going to tell you now is confidential,” Cozone said. “Are we clear on that?”

Kat nodded because, again, it didn’t matter. If he gave her information and she needed to use it, her quasi promise to a prominent killer wouldn’t stop her. He probably knew that too.

“Let’s travel back in time, shall we? To the day Monte Leburne was arrested. You see, when the feds nabbed Monte, I was somewhat worried. No reason to talk about why. Monte had always been one of my most loyal employees. I reached out to him immediately.”