Chapter 2: Little Tony, Part I

July 2, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Welcome home! How was your honeymoon?" I asked Bethany as she let herself into the house just after dinner.

"Wonderful! We actually got in last night and decided to crash at the hotel at O'Hare. We spent the day getting the new house ready. I came to get some things. We'll get the rest on Sunday."

"Have you talked to your parents?"

"Yes. I called as soon as we got in. Ed's in the Hamilton County Jail pending trial. He couldn't make bail because of the charge. Steve, the police say that the gun they found in his car was the murder weapon!"

"Do you know how they knew it was him?"

"From what they called a 'Confidential Informant'."

I carefully controlled my emotions. That revelation certainly lent credence to my thought that Ed was set up in some way. It didn't have to be the case, but it certainly seemed like it might be. The problem was, I didn't know what I could do about it because nothing in the world would make me work for Anthony Cicilioni.

"What does Ed say?" I asked.

"That he didn't do it, of course!"

That didn't add any information, because Ed would certainly deny having done it to his family no matter what, and his attorney would advise him against talking to the police.

"I assume the attorney that Ben van Hoek recommended is working the case?"

"Yes. I'm not sure I like the idea of Becky being involved, even tangentially, but at this point, if you fucking her would clear Ed's name, I'd go to Kara right now and demand that she allow it."

"What does Nick say?" I asked.

"That we have to wait and see what happens, but the gun is pretty damning. They searched his room the next day but didn't find anything."

"I wonder how they knew that the gun was in the trunk of his car?" I said.

"The same anonymous tipster."

Everything seemed just too neat and tidy. They get an anonymous tip that Ed did it, and a tip that the gun was in his car. They get an arrest warrant and show up at the banquet hall, and find the gun in the car. If I was a betting man, I'd have to say that he was framed by Anthony for the express purpose of getting to me. The only question in my mind now was how to prove it. I absolutely needed to talk to Joyce.

"Let me know if I can do anything. Are you going to need help on Sunday?"

"Nick's bringing Howard and Pete. That should do it, really."

"I'm going to miss you living here," I said. "But I'm very happy for you!"

"You and Nick are becoming very good friends, so we'll see each other quite a bit. And you can always call me! You're going to have your hands full with kids and wives and your business!"

"True. But I'll still have time for you if you need me."

"I will, just in a different way than in the past. We both have obligations to our marriages that have to come first."

I nodded, and she went up the stairs to the room that she shared with my sister. So much had happened to us since we first met nearly ten years before. I'd made plenty of mistakes, and so had she. And yet, despite it all, we had both found happiness. But there would always be that thought of 'What if?' that would always be with me. I waited until she came down, and then walked her to the car where Nick was waiting. He got out, and we greeted each other and shook hands.

"See you two on Saturday for the party," I said.

They drove off, and I went back into the house.

July 4, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"The grill is ready to go," Pete said. "Jamie, Karl, Nick, and I will take turns."

"So pretty much as usual!" I grinned.

The guys started cooking burgers and brats, and I went to stand with Elyse, Jennifer, Josie, and my boys.

"Happy that your mom is gone?" I asked Elyse.

"More than you could possibly know!" she said. "You take good care of me, and all my mom did was annoy me."

"A little too much parenting advice?"

"You could say that," she said. "But she's gone as of yesterday!"

"Still planning to come into the office for a few hours a day, starting on Monday?"

"Yes. I figure it will be easier to get my work done. Kara and Kathy are here, so I'm OK with leaving Matthew for a few hours."

"Just keep whatever schedule works for you. Every hour that you're in the office will be a huge help to Julia. We've been working on that major proposal for DP Engineering, and Julia really needs more time."

"She told me about that," Elyse said. "It's pretty ambitious. And some of the stuff he wants probably isn't possible."

"I agree. That's why Julia is spending so much time on our proposal and making sure that Jamie reviews it thoroughly."

"Kathy and I are planning to stay at the house tonight when the gang goes to Grant Park for the fireworks. We can see them decently enough from here, and we both think the babies are too little for all that noise."

"That's certainly up to you," I said. "Jesse was there, but that was Josie and Jennifer's decision."

"He was a bit older. These two are barely a month old now."

"As I said, it's fine. It's not an issue."

"Looks like a good turnout," Elyse said. "Did you invite everyone from NIKA?"

"No, just the people who were friends before they joined the company. With our usual group of friends, plus our new Navy friends, it's already crazy, so I didn't want to add too many more people. We'll have separate parties for the NIKA staff, like the one we had last month. I also invited Carol so that Jesse could be with Francesca."

"Those two are quite the item for being under two!"

"Carol seems to have calmed down a bit about the whole thing."

"I think Carol is so horny that at this point, if you said that black was white, she'd agree in a heartbeat if it meant you would fuck her. That's what I think!"

"I think that's not happening for a host of reasons," I said.

Elyse smiled, "She's only a few years older than we are, she's cute, has a nice body, and small boobs. What's not to like?"

"The drama that would come with it. Not to mention that I'm not what she needs."

"You're exactly what she needs — a nicely sized hard dick attached to someone who really knows how to use it!"

"There's more to it than that, and you know it!"

"Oh sure, you can fuck for any reason you want, but girls can't," Elyse said, sounding exasperated.

"You know I don't believe that for a second! But what I do believe is that Carol would form an emotional bond that could only lead to problems down the road. The last thing I need is another girl like Becky."

"You really think that's what would happen?"

"I do," I said. "Can we drop this, please?"

"Sure," she said.

I gave Elyse a quick kiss, kissed Matthew on the forehead, and then walked over to the grill where a large group of guys had congregated. I knew Elyse was playing her role, providing a counter-balance to the pressures of life that threatened to unbalance me. I'd made an effort to try to 'have more fun' as they put it, but the constraints on my time were such that I'd only managed to go skydiving once so far this Summer, and that had just been a couple of refresher jumps because I'd been away for a year.

And things were about to get crazier and less predictable. On Monday morning at 5:00am, Jessica would start her first thirty-six-hour shift. That was going to play havoc with our time together, and make her even more irritable than she had been. On the plus side, she was here, not in Indianapolis, so Kara and I would be here for her, and we'd get to see her for lunch and dinner. She'd have anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours off in between those long shifts, depending on the hospital schedule. The key for me was to keep my frustration level as low as possible so that I could support Jessica. I knew that Kara would help as well, and the wisdom of Jessica's solution was even more apparent than it had been.

I listened to the guys talk, and watched as Jesse and Francesca played together, while Frankie ran around like a maniac, seeking attention from anyone who would give it. He had some success with Tasha and Penny, though I saw Ned roll his eyes more than once. Karl's two kids, Ken and Lou, played with Frankie a bit, but also spent a lot of time kicking a ball back and forth. My kids weren't quite big enough for that yet, but Jesse soon would be. The conversation between the lawyers was mostly about the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, and the vow of several Democrats to defeat the nomination on purely ideological grounds that had nothing to do with his qualifications.

Soon enough, the burgers and brats were ready, and everyone loaded up their plates with food and found a place to eat. I sat with Jessica, Kara, Jennifer, Josie, Jesse, Elyse, and Matthew on a blanket in the shade of the house. Kathy, Kurt, and Kristin were nearby with Nick and Bethany, and Karl, Ginny, and their kids. Everyone else found spots either in the yard or in the house.

As we had the previous year, we took the South Shore line into the city, and then walked to Grant Park for the fireworks display. We also had a portable radio so that we could listen to the musical simulcast from the band shell. The weather was nice — in the upper 60s with light clouds that wouldn't interfere with the display. I put one arm around each of my wives, and we lay back and waited for the show to start.

Chicago always put on a fantastic fireworks show, and this year's display was in keeping with tradition. Skyrockets and aerial bombs filled the night sky, and explosions echoed around the park. Jesse jumped every time one of the bombs exploded, but he was laughing and enjoying the show. Josie had tried to put earplugs in his ears, but he would have nothing to do with them.

When the display finished, we walked to the trains and joined a huge crowd trying to get home. Fortunately, Metra was on the ball, and had extra trains running, so it didn't take too long to get back to Hyde Park, where the party resumed with drinking, dancing, and playing pool. I spent most of my time with the guys in the basement at the pool table, though I did go upstairs and dance for a time.

The party finally broke up about 1:30am, and nearly everyone headed home. Tasha was staying in one of the guest rooms so that she wouldn't have to drive out to the suburbs at that late hour, and Kathy and Kurt were staying as well. My housemates helped clean up a bit, and then everyone turned in.

July 5, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

I cooked breakfast for our housemates and overnight guests, though most of them weren't up until after 10:00am, so I turned it into brunch. When everyone had eaten, Kathy, Kurt, and Kristin headed home, though Tasha decided to stay for the afternoon, as she'd already missed church. Everyone ended up relaxing in the sunroom, including me, because there was no race on TV. It had been run on Saturday, and the party had taken precedence. Mid-afternoon, I excused myself so that I could call Stephie.

We spoke for a few minutes, and she said that there hadn't been much change. She was still doing OK and still able to do everything for herself, but she got tired easily and the pain could get pretty severe at times. After we hung up, I took the opportunity to call Joyce. I'd tried to call her earlier in the week, but hadn't been able to get in touch with her.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that it's a setup," I said. "An anonymous tip? The search while everyone was at the wedding? The gun in Ed's car? And the arrest timed for the wedding? It just seems too neat and pat."

"I asked Connie about it and she laughed at me," Joyce said. "I'm not sure what that means."

"I'd say that's even more evidence that it's a setup. Especially given she said that Anthony could help Ed if I was willing to play along. I'm not. But I need to find out if Ed did it or not."

"How?"

"I need to talk to him, and the only way that's going to happen is if I come down to Cincinnati."

"He could lie to you," she said.

"I know. I'll just have to decide if he's telling the truth or not. Bethany was there on Friday and he told her that he didn't do it, which is the same thing that he told his parents and his attorney."

"And if you believe him?"

"Then I will deal with Anthony and put an end to this once and for all."

"Steve, killing him won't solve any problems, and will land YOU in jail."

"I'm not going to kill him. I don't need to."

"Steve, be careful. You have no idea what you're getting into."

"That's where you're wrong, Joyce. I know EXACTLY what I'm getting into. That little prick tried to threaten Becky, but I made him back off. I guess I wasn't clear that he wasn't supposed to mess with ANYONE. Now I'll make it clear. And he WILL get the message."

"Promise me that you won't do anything stupid!"

"No. I'm going to do something very, very smart. And this WILL end. I'll talk to you later, Joyce."

"OK," she said with a sigh.

We said 'goodbye' and hung up. I had a plan in mind, but I needed some help to put it in motion. The plan wasn't fully formulated, but I had some time. Yes, it meant Ed had to sit in jail a bit longer, but if what I was thinking worked, then he'd be out and could go back to Ohio State in the Fall, cleared of the charges. Or at least I hoped that was the outcome.

The first step was getting some help. I picked up the phone, consulted my address book, and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Hi. This is Steve Adams. I need the favor you owe me."

"Of course. What do you need?"

"Come see me on Monday at the office," I said. "I'll be in by 5:30am. Come early."

"Will do."

I hung up and went back to the sunroom.

"Is everything OK? You were gone longer than I expected," Jessica said.

"Yes. No real change with Stephie, but I want to go to Cincinnati to see Ed."

"Why?" she asked. "You guys weren't close."

"No, but he is a friend, and he's Bethany's brother. I want to talk to him. I'll only be gone one night, and I'll go while you're on one of your long shifts. I can see Joyce and my dad, too. And I'll see if Ben van Hoek wants to have dinner."

"When will you go?"

"I'll figure it out tomorrow. Probably later in the week. Your next shift starts on Wednesday morning, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll probably leave on Wednesday morning and come back on Thursday afternoon."

"Kara, are you going?" Jessica asked.

That would create a problem, because I didn't want her involved at all.

"No. I need to watch Jesse and Matthew. I just saw my mom when we were there for the wedding. Is that OK, Snuggle Bear?"

Chapter 3 »