Chapter 45: A Matter of Trust

December 16, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

We celebrated Jennifer’s birthday at dinner after the Rap Session, and after a quiet time in the great room, I followed Abbie to her room.

“That was a very interesting Rap Session,” Abbie proclaimed as we climbed into her bed.

“We’ve had a few really deep conversations over the years. That one got a bit personal, but I think, overall, it was very good.”

“It sure piqued Leslie’s interest!” Abbie smirked.

“So it would seem! But is that what you want to do right now? Talk about Leslie?”

“Oh, HELL NO!”

We let our bodies do all the talking for the next couple of hours, and after a warm shower, we changed the sheets on the bed, climbed in, and quickly fell asleep.

December 18, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“Steve, there’s a Katy O’Connor on the phone for you,” Keri announced over the intercom.

I had Keri put the call through and greeted Katy.

“The place is still available,” she said. “I put in an offer, and I’m waiting to hear back. My agent said they’ll probably counter.”

“Keep me posted,” I said.

“Are you going to come see the property before we close?” she asked.

“I probably should,” I said. “But it’s going to be tough with Christmas.”

“I understand. My offer was contingent on being able to arrange the financing, and my offer gives me thirty days to do that from the time the offer is accepted. If I can’t, then my earnest money is returned, and I’ll look for another place.”

“Just let me know, Katy.”

“I will!”

That evening, I called Bethany to let her know I was thinking of her. She seemed to be holding up reasonably well, and she said that she was looking forward to visiting after Christmas.

December 19, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

Elyse and I were watching TV on Wednesday evening. Jessica and Kara were giving the kids baths with some help from Abbie.

“Jesus, Steve!” she gasped. “You know some of those guys!”

CNN was reporting that the Department of Justice had obtained indictments from a Federal Grand Jury against First Ward Alderman Fred Roti; the head of the First Ward Democratic Organization, Pasquale Marcy; David J. Shields, formerly the presiding judge of the Chancery Division of the Cook County Circuit Court; Pasquale F. De Leo, a lawyer; and John A. D’Arco Jr., an Illinois State Senator.

There were multiple counts of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, bribery, and extortion in various attempts to fix a wide range of matters, including the results of civil bench trials, other criminal cases, zoning changes, and judicial appointments. It wasn’t clear from the report what each of them was charged with. I was sure that the Chicago Tribune would have all the gory details in Thursday morning’s edition.

“Well, yes, you know I met Alderman Roti in our offices and the Marcy guy, too. But you also know that my main dealings have been with Alderman Bloom, and you know his reputation is squeaky clean.”

That was true. His reputation WAS squeaky clean. But in reality, he was just as dirty as the others.

“Did the FBI talk to you about those guys?” she asked quietly.

“For what? All of this seems to stem from fixing murder trials! All I did was have one business meeting with two of the guys who were indicted. You know, like just about every other small businessman, I’m sure.”

“They mentioned mob and union ties,” Elyse said.

“They mentioned the FBI was looking into mob ties. There’s a difference. As for the unions, I’d be shocked if there wasn’t some linkage. Alderman Bloom is in tight with the unions in his ward, so it would be a huge surprise if Alderman Roti weren’t.”

I had no idea where this was going to lead, but one thing I was very sure of — I would hear from Theo very, very soon.

“You don’t think there’s any risk?” she asked.

“Risk of what?” Jessica asked as she came into the room.

“The Feds indicted some Chicago politicians. I had a business meeting with one of the Aldermen and a guy from his ward organization at the NIKA offices. Elyse was just concerned about it.”

“What were the indictments for?”

“Fixing a murder trial,” I said. “They got the judge, too. It spun out of Operation Greylord, I suspect. You know, where they busted a bunch of judges and lawyers here in Chicago.”

“Chicago could give Maryland a lesson in political corruption!” Jessica said ruefully.

“Hey, we haven’t had a Vice President of the US taken down on tax evasion charges!”

I was referring to Spiro Agnew, who’d been forced to resign as Vice President not long before Nixon was also forced from office. Agnew had been indicted on charges of extortion, tax fraud, bribery, and conspiracy but had been allowed to plead ‘No Contest’ to a single charge of tax evasion on the condition that he resign as Vice President.

“No, but fixing murder cases seems worse than not paying your taxes on time!”

“I suppose that’s true,” I said. “Though God help us if we ever have a Chicago politician elected President!”

December 20, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

The Tribune did indeed have all the gory details. An FBI investigation into political corruption that had grown out of the Operation Greylord investigation had led to five indictments. There wasn’t a hint about Alderman Bloom, but I wondered about that, given the warnings I had from the Outfit about the FBI snooping around.

I wasn’t really at risk, even if something happened with Alderman Bloom. I hadn’t been handling the envelope deliveries for some time because Theo and Little Jimmy had decided to change things up to keep me completely out of the FBI’s vision. I did pass messages, but that was either over coffee or lunch, and I could easily pass for business meetings.

The list of crimes in the indictments was impressive — multiple counts of racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, and extortion in various attempts to fix a wide range of matters, including the results of civil bench trials, other criminal cases, zoning changes, and judicial appointments. According to the paper, the shortest prison term if they were convicted on all counts was forty-three years for the state senator and potentially as much as 170 years for Alderman Roti.

Given where everything stood, there was nothing for me to do except wait to hear from Theo, which I was sure was going to happen. I kissed Kara goodbye, and she headed to work. Elyse went upstairs to get dressed, and I poured myself a second cup of tea.

“Do you have a few minutes before you leave for work?” Abbie asked.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“We never did get to talk about Leslie,” she said.

“I’m glad you decided to make good use of your time allotment!” I chuckled.

“I did!” she said saucily. “I talked to her yesterday afternoon. She’s intrigued. She thinks you’re a super-interesting guy, and I am absolutely sure that if you were to ask, she’d have her panties off and beg you to pop her cherry before you took your next breath!”

“You’re not pressuring her, are you?”

“No. I promised I wouldn’t. In fact, I didn’t bring it up. She did. She said you were exactly the kind of guy she’d want for her first time — smart, funny, interesting, and handsome.”

“And the fact that I’m married?”

“That’s one you’ll have to find out for yourself. I THINK I’m right about it, but it’s possible she was saying she wanted someone like you, but not you specifically.”

“With Christmas coming up, I don’t think it’s going to be soon,” I said. “It’s going to be pretty hectic for the next two weeks. Invite her to the New Year’s Party. I’ll dance with her, talk to her, and see how it goes.”

“So you’re interested?” Abbie asked.

“If virginity is on offer, Steve is ALWAYS interested!” Elyse laughed, walking back into the kitchen.

“I think it’s time to head to the office!” I said.

Elyse and I kissed the kids goodbye and headed out of the house.

“You’re going to take Leslie up on her offer?”

“There isn’t an offer. I asked Abbie to invite her to the New Year’s Eve party. I’ll dance with her, talk to her, and see if there’s an offer. If there is, I’ll decide if I think it’s a good idea.”

“There will be an offer. I saw her eyeing you like a hungry lioness eyes a zebra!”

“But that doesn’t mean she’d actually want to sleep with a married guy.”

“No, but it’s a strong indication!”

At the office, I checked my ‘In’ box, calendar, and e-mail and was pleasantly surprised to find I had nothing that needed attention. I pulled up the bug list, looked to see what was assigned to me, and got to work. We were close to having the ‘Beta’ release ready to go just after the first of the year. We had eight customers lined up to use the beta version, including Mario’s customer in Pittsburgh, and we were all confident we’d easily make the June release date.

At about 11:00am, Keri buzzed me over the intercom.

“Your friend Theo is here,” she said.

Right on schedule! I’d have been surprised if he HADN’T shown up about this time.

“I’ll be right out,” I said.

I grabbed my jacket and fedora and walked out to the reception area. I let Keri know I’d be gone for a bit and would probably eat lunch out. Then, without a word, Theo followed me outside.

“Lunch is a good idea,” he said. “We’re talking about the computer support you do for the unions.”

“Got it. Where?”

“Medici is noisy and busy,” he said.

We walked the few blocks to Medici and waited a few minutes to be seated.

“You heard, obviously,” he said.

“I did. Last night on CNN, and I read the paper this morning.”

“If we could get to that rat Cooley ... well, it’s too late, I guess, because they got stuff on tape. The problem is, there’s another rat. We have no idea who it is. And we’re worried about the mention of union connections. That’s the easiest way for the Feds to tie this all together.”

The waiter came by to take our orders, causing Theo to fall silent. We placed our orders, and when the waiter left, the conversation continued.

“When’s the last time you talked to the FBI or police?” Theo asked.

“For the Feds? About three years ago, I believe. That was about my Russian friends. The police? When I had my trouble with Margaret Lundgren and when my sister got into a bit of trouble in the past year. Why? Do you suspect ME of being the mole?”

“Nobody is beyond suspicion right now,” he said flatly.

“Theo, if I were going to rat you out, that thing in Lincoln Park wouldn’t still be a ‘cold case’.”

“Unless you already gave it to them as your way out,” he said.

“And all the other stuff I’ve done? Don’t you think they would have moved on the unions by now? Or Alderman Bloom?”

“It depends on who their target is.”

“It’s me not being Italian, isn’t it?” I asked.

“That’s part of it. You knowing what you know is another part.”

I was suddenly becoming very uncomfortable. I had no way to prove my loyalty. I could promise all day long, but not being Italian created a significant impediment to anyone accepting my claims of proper allegiance.

“So now what?” I asked.

“Little Jimmy wants you out at least until the heat is off. Nobody but ‘made’ guys for the foreseeable future. It’s a matter of trust.”

“And our support contracts with the unions?”

Those mattered because they provided a good, steady monthly income, as well as quite a few referrals every year.

“Those don’t change. We still need computer support.”

They did, and I wondered if they would find a firm run by Italians to replace us. That would hurt, but it certainly wouldn’t be the end of NIKA.

“OK,” I said.

“When we find the rat, he’s going to wish he never lived,” Theo said fiercely.

“Of that, I have no doubt,” I agreed.

I wondered where all of this would lead. Was I in danger? I didn’t think so, but with the Outfit, one could never know for sure. I couldn’t do anything to change the situation at this point. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. All I could do was keep my head down and not betray their trust in me.

Our food arrived, and we ate in silence. I wasn’t sure what to say to Theo at this point, and I didn’t know that he could say anything else to me. I was being cut out, and there really wasn’t anything more for Theo to say. When we finished, he paid for our lunches, and we walked out of the restaurant.

“Keep your head down and your mouth shut,” he said.

“You know I will,” I said.

He nodded and turned without a word to walk back to the union hall while I walked back to the NIKA offices. I wondered if Elyse had seen Theo or if Keri had told her that he’d been there. I actually laughed out loud because I knew Elyse would know. Somehow, she would know. I’d have to say something to her, and I needed to decide what that was. As if on cue, she was in my office two minutes after I returned.

“What did he want?” she asked quietly.

“I’d say he was looking for information to see if I knew anything about the indictments. You know the aldermen are really close to the unions, and you know Chicago unions are corrupt as well. Remember what I said — other than a couple of business meetings, everything I’ve done has been with Alderman Bloom. And remember, I turned him down for a contribution and refused to serve on his campaign committee.”

She nodded, “Is this going to affect NIKA?”

“I specifically asked that question, and he said there were no changes to our support contracts.”

“I think you’re playing a dangerous game, Steve.”

“There’s nothing going on. I’m not working for the union or the ‘wiseguys’ except for the support contracts, and I haven’t personally done any work for the union in a long time.”

She looked me directly in the eyes, “That’s the truth?”

“Absolutely,” I said, not breaking eye contact with her.

And really, it was basically true. Other than a bit of computer work, I hadn’t done anything other than deliver messages. The ‘bad stuff’ was years and years before — back in Ohio and when I first came to Chicago. I still owed them a favor, and I was sure that at some point, they were going to collect. But that wouldn’t happen until they found the mole or they were sure that it wasn’t me.

“Just be smart, Steve.”

“Trust me, I am.”

December 24, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“I am SO glad you don’t have to work today or tomorrow!” I said to Jessica when we woke on Christmas Eve morning.

“And I’m glad you’re taking today off!” she replied.

“It was a half-day, anyway,” I said. “We give everyone the afternoon off today and on New Year’s Eve. We get a volunteer to work the phones for those four hours in exchange for a full day off next year.”

“Did you speak with your Russian and Swedish friends?” Jessica asked.

“I spoke to Vanya, and he invited me to visit his home in Saint Petersburg. He said Dima is based in Moscow now, working on the logistics to move the bulk of the 1st Guards Tank Army back to Russia. I also spoke with Karin, and she and Kristian said they’d be happy to have us visit. Jesse and I can stay at her parents’ apartment, if we want to. Barney is trying to work out the best options for flights, and once I have those details, I’ll figure out the exact itinerary. We’ll probably stay in Stockholm three or four days, then a week or so in Saint Petersburg.”

“Why do you call Leningrad ‘Saint Petersburg’?” Jessica asked.

“My Russian friends in the US all use that name, and honestly, I agree with what Svetlana said about ‘Leningrad’ being an ugly name for what I hear is a beautiful city. Hell, even the Soviets knew that ‘Stalingrad’ was a horrible name and changed it to ‘Volgograd’, though I’d prefer the old name — ‘Tsaritsyn’. The Soviets would never go for that, but if the Communists lose power, it could happen.”

“When would you go?” Kara asked.

“Probably sometime between March and July,” I said.

“Kara, did you get information about places to stay in the UP?” Jessica asked.

“Yes, I found a place that has three bedrooms, but there isn’t any place bigger. We can manage with that, I think. I talked to Jennifer and she has no problem with us taking Jesse if we want to, and Elyse said she’d like to go. And Abbie will take her vacation that week. Jennifer and Josie will watch the house for us.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” I said. “When?”

“The last week in May looks to be best for all of us. Jess, would you please ask for that week off at work?”