Minh was upset at seeing the detective and Charlie Pellecchia visiting with Jerry Lercasi. He wondered what their conversation had been about at the construction site. He wondered if the Italians were giving him up.
He let off the gas pedal as he followed the cop and Pellecchia back to the Bellagio. He called one of his men and instructed him to drive another car to meet him. He would exchange cars and retreat to a hidout for the rest of the day. He would leave one of his men behind to follow Pellecchia.
When his cell phone rang, Minh was surprised to hear Jerry Lercasi’s voice.
“Time to back down,” the Italian gangster said. “I don’t need -”
“Fuck you,” Minh said.
“Hey!” Lercasi yelled, but Minh killed the connection.
Beau knew he was a fugitive. Now he had to think like one.
He brought his car to an auto body shop in Laughlin. He asked for the car to be painted bright yellow over the original navy blue. He paid an extra hundred dollars for the garage to forget about the paperwork.
The big man behind the counter joked with Beau. “You rob a bank or something?”
Beau shook his head. “I got a wife chasing me for back alimony,” he said. “Crazy woman left me for another man and wants me to pay for it. Put a damn private dick on my ass. They chasin’ me from Alabama, if you can believe it.”
The man grunted. “How much you owe?”
“Six months,” Beau said. “But it’s not like she’s a cripple or nothin’. Damn woman works. So does her boyfriend. I don’t see why the hell I have to pay them.”
“I feel your pain, buddy. I’m paying alimony, it has to be eight years now.”
“Yeah, well, I’m hoping the new color will throw her off the chase.”
The big man nodded. “I hear ya.”
Beau counted the money in his wallet. After the paint job, he would be down to fewer than seven hundred dollars. The last few weeks had been expensive. Beau had a credit card with him, but he was afraid to use the card while he was in Nevada.
Beau guessed he had more than enough cash to make it out of the state. He figured Canada was the best place to hide for a while. At least they could speak English in Canada.
“I’ll still need the registration,” the big man said. “I’ll leave it off the receipt, but I’ll need it for our records.”
“What, your boss against makin’ cash or somethin’?”
“I gotta have it. It won’t show on your paperwork, but I can lose my job, I don’t take it down for our records.”
Beau handed the big man his registration. “How long you think this’ll take? The paint job, to dry and all?”
“End of day,” the big man said. He copied the registration number onto an order form and handed the card back to Beau.
Cuccia examined his bruises in the mirror. He was a mess all over again. He touched his swollen lips with his fingertips. He touched his mouth where he felt the gap in his teeth. He sucked air from the pain.
He was obsessed with rage for Charlie Pellecchia. He remembered how Pellecchia had pushed his way into the hotel suite. He remembered how Pellecchia had spoken to him. He remembered how Pellecchia had kicked him in the face.
And now his jaw was broken again.
Cuccia splashed water on his face around his bruises. He combed his hair with his hands. He figured he had one last chance to kill Pellecchia, and he knew he would have to do it himself.
First he would have to escape the DEA agent on the other side of the bathroom door. Then he would have to find a gun. Then he would have to find Pellecchia.
He needed to move fast. He needed to get hold of some money. He needed to find Anthony Rizzi.
Samantha set the flowers on top of the television in the living room as she read the card.
Carol said, “I don’t think they would dare do anything about your job after what happened.”
“It’s policy,” Samantha said. “We’re not supposed to get involved with guests staying at the hotel. I know girls who were fired for it.”
“Duh, you were shot,” Carol said.
“How are you doing?” Samantha asked. She lowered herself onto the couch, felt something hard under her leg, and moved to one side. She started to reach between the couch pillows when she was distracted by Carol’s sniffling.
“I’m so sorry, Sam,” Carol said. “I should’ve known Beau would find me there sooner or later. I tried to get him to follow me. I found him online, I think.”
“Forget it,” Samantha said. “He’s probably hiding in Canada someplace now. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m in California,” Carol said. “I’m heading to San Diego tomorrow and then I’ll decide whether to move farther north.”
“I want you to stay in touch.”
“Of course I will. Any word from Charlie?”
“Please, I feel like an ass about that.”
“You shouldn’t,” Carol said. “He’ll call as soon as he feels it’s safe.”
“Unless that was his excuse to blow me off.”
“I’m sure he was just concerned about getting you more involved. He’s trying to protect you.”
“And maybe I moved too fast,” Samantha said.
“You did what comes natural,” Carol said. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“I’m not so sure,” Samantha said.
“He would’ve run away before he got involved with you, baby.”
“Maybe,” Samantha said. “And maybe I’m what he’s running from.”