and belts and shoes. You see that most of them have their mouths open. That
is the way
460 RAGE OF ANGELS
they relax. It is when they close their mouths that you must be careful."
They moved on to a tank with two enormous alligators in it.
"These are fifteen years old. They are used only for breeding purposes."
Jennifer shivered. "They're so ugly. I don't know how they can stand each
other."
Inspector Touh said, "They can't. As a matter of fact, they do not often
mate."
"'They're prehistoric."
"Precisely. They go back millions of years, with the same primitive
mechanisms they had at the beginning of time."
Jennifer wondered why he had brought her here. If the inspector thought
that these horrible-looking beasts would interest her, he was mistaken.
"May we go now?" Jennifer asked.
"In a moment." The inspector looked up toward the young girl who had met
them inside. She was carrying a tray toward the first tank.
"Today.is feeding day,." the inspector said. "Watch."
He moved with Jennifer toward the first tank. "They feed them fish and
pigs' lungs once every three days."
The girl began throwing food into the pen, and instantly it erupted into.
a churning, swirling mass of activity. The alligators and crocodiles lunged
for the raw, bloody food, tearing into it with their saurian fangs. As
Jennifer watched, two of them went for the same piece of meat, and
instantly they turned on each other, savagely attacking, biting and
slashing until the pen started to fill with blood. The eyeball of one was
torn loose, but its teeth were sunk into the jaws of its attacker and it
would not let go. As the blood began pouring out more heavily, staining the
water, the other crocodiles joined in, savaging their two wounded mates,
ripping at their heads until the raw skin was exposed. They began to devour
them alive.
SIDNEY SHELDON 461
Jennifer felt faint. "Please, let's get out of here." Inspector Touh put his hand on her anti. "One moment." He stood there.watching,. and after a while he led Jennifer away.
That night, Jennifer dreamt of the crocodiles clawing and 'tearing each
other to pieces. Two of them suddenly turned into
Michael and Adam, and in
the middle of her nightmare Jennifer woke up, trembling. She was unable to
go back to sleep.
The raids began. Federal and local law-enforcement
agents struck in a dozen
different states and in half a dozen foreign countries, and the raids were
orchestrated to take place simultaneously.
In Ohio, a senator was arrested while making a speech to
a women's club on honesty in government.
In New Orleans, an illegal national bookmaking operation was shut down.
In Amsterdam, a diamond smuggling operation was halted.
A bank manager in Gary, Indiana, was arrested on charges of laundering
Organization money.
In Kansas City, a large discount house filled with stolen goods was raided.
In Phoenix, Arizona, half a dozen detectives on the vice squad were placed
under arrest.
In Naples, a cocaine factory was seized.
In Detroit, a nationwide automobile theft ring was broken UP.
Unable to reach Jennifer by telephone, Adam Warner went to her office.
Cynthia recognized him instantly.
"I'm sorry, Senator Warner, Miss Parker is out of the country."
"Where is she?"
462 RAGE OF ANGELS
"The Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore."
Adam's spirits rose. He could telephone her and warn her not to return.
The hotel housekeeper walked in as Jennifer was getting out of the shower.
"Excuse me. What time will you be checking out today?'
-rm not'checking out today. I'm leaving tomorrow."
The housekeeper looked puzzled. "I was told to get this suite ready for a
party coming in late tonight."
"Who told you to do that?"
"The manager."
Downstairs, an overseas call was coming in at the switchboard. There was a
different operator on duty and a different man was standing over her.
The operator spoke into her mouthpiece. "New York City calling Miss
Jennifer Parker?"
She looked at the man standing next to her. He shook his head.
"I'm sorry. Miss Parker has checked out"
The sweeping raids continued. Arrests were made in
Honduras, San Salvador,
Turkey and Mexico. The net swept up dealers and killers and bank robbers
and arsonists. There were crackdowns in Fort Lauderdale and Atlantic City
and Palm Springs. And they continued.
In New York, Robert Di Silva was keeping close track of the progress being
made. His heart beat faster as he thought about the net that was closing in
on Jennifer Parker and Michael Moretti.
Michael Moretti escaped the police dragnet by sheer
SIDNEY SHELDON 463
chance. It was the anniversary of his father-in-law's death, and Michael and
Rosa had gone to the cemetery to pay homage to her father.
Five minutes after they left, a carload of FBI agents arrived at Michael
Moretti's house and another carload at his office. When they learned he was
not -in either place, the agents settled down to wait.
Jennifer realized that she had neglected to make a plane reservation for
Stefan Bjork back to the States. She called Singapore
Airlines.
"This is Jennifer Parker. I'm booked on your Flight
OneTwelve leaving
tomorrow afternoon for London. I'd like to make an additional reservation.'
"Thank you..Would you hold the line, please?"
Jennifer waited and after a few minutes the voice came back on the line.
Was that Parker? P-A-R-K-1rR?"
..Yes."
"Your reservation has been canceled, Miss Parker." Jennifer felt a small shock. "Canceled? By whom?"
"I do not know. You have been taken off our passenger list."
"There's been some mistake. Pd like you to put me back on that list."
"I'm sorry, Miss Parker. Flight One-Twelve is full."
Inspector Touh was the one to straighten everything out, Jennifer decided.
She had agreed to have dinner with him. She would find out what was
happening then.
He picked her up early.
Jennifer told the inspector about the mix-up in her hotel and plane
reservations.
He shrugged. "Our famous inefficiency, I am afraid. I
will look into it."
464 RAGE OF ANGELS
"What about Stefan Bjork?"
"Everything is arranged. He will be released tomorrow morning.
Inspector Touh said something to the driver in Chinese and the car made a
U-turn.
-"You have not seen Kallang Road. You will find it most interesting."
The car made a left turn on to Lavender Street, then one block later a
right turn to Kallang Bahru. There were large signs advertising florists
and casket companies. A few blocks later the car made another turn.
"Where are we?"
Inspector Touh turned to Jennifer and said quietly, "We are on the Street
With No Name."
The car began to move very slowly. There were only undertakers on both
sides of the street, row after row of them: Tan Kee
Seng, Clin Noh, Ang
Yung Long, Goh Soon. Ahead, a funeral was in progress. All the mourners
were dressed in white and a three-piece band was playing: a tuba, a sax and
drums. A body was laid out on a table with wreaths of flowers around it and
a large photograph of the deceased sat on an easel facing the front.
Mourners were sitting around, eating.
Jennifer turned to the inspector. "What is this?"
"These are the houses of death. The natives call them the die houses. The
word death is difficult for them to pronounce." He looked at Jennifer and
said, "But death is only a part of life, is it not?" Jennifer looked into his cold eyes and was suddenly frightened.
They went to the Golden Phoenix, and it was not until they were seated that
Jennifer had a chance to question him.
"Inspector Touh, did you have a reason for taking me to the crocodile farm
and the die houses?"
He looked at her and said evenly, "Of course. I thought they
SIDNEY SHELDON 465
would interest you. Especially since you came here to free your client, Mr.
Bjork. Marty of our young people'are dying because of the drugs that are
brought into our country, Miss Parker. I could have taken you to the
hospital where we try to treat them, but I felt it might be more informative
for you to see where they end up."
"All that has nothing to do with me"
"That is a matter of opinion." All the friendliness had gone out of his
voice.
Jennifer said, "Look, Inspector Touh, I'm sure you're being well paid to-"
"There is not enough money in the world for anyone to pay me."
He stood up and nodded to someone, and Jennifer turned. Two men in gray
suits were approaching the table.
"Miss Jennifer Parker?"
"Yes."
There was no need for them to pull out their FBI
credentials. She knew
before they spoke. "FBI. We have extradition papers and
a warrant for your
arrest. We're taking you back to New York on the midnight plane."
When Michael Moretti left his father-in-law's grave, he was already late
for an appointment. He decided to call the office and reschedule it: He
stopped at a telephone booth along the highway and dialed the number. The
phone rang once and a voice answered, "Acme Builders." Michael said, "This is Mike. Tell-"
"Mr. Moretti isn't here. Call back later."
Michael felt his body tightening. All he said was
"Tony's: Place."
He hung up and hurried back to the car. Rosa looked at his face and asked,
"Is everything all right, Michael?"
"I don't know. rm going to drop you off at your cousin's. Stay there until
you hear from me.
Tony followed Michael into the office in the rear of the restaurant.
"I got word that the Feds are crawlin' all over your house and the downtown
office, Mike."
466.
SIDNEY SHELDON 467
"Thanks," Michael said. "I don't want to be disturbed."
"You won't be."
Michael waited until Tony walked out of the room and closed the door behind
him. Then Michael picked up the telephone and furiously began to dial.
It took Michael Moretti less than twenty minutes to learn that a major
disaster was taking place. As the reports of the raids and arrests began to
filter in, Michael received them with mounting disbelief. All his soldiers
and lieutenants were being picked up. Drops were being raided; gambling
operations were being seized; confidential ledgers and records were being
impounded. What was happening was a nightmare. The police had to be
obtaining information from someone in his Organization. Michael placed telephone calls to other Families around the country, and
all of them demanded to know what was going on. They were being badly hurt
and no one knew where the leak was coming from. They all suspected it was
coming from the Moretti Family.
Jimmy Guardino, in Las Vegas, gave him an ultimatum. "rm calling on behalf
of the Commission, Michael." The National Commission was the supreme power
that superseded the power of any individual Family when there was trouble.
"The police are rounding up all the Families. Someone big is singing. The
word we get is that it's one of your boys. We're giving you twenty-fours to
find him and take care of him."
In the past, police raids had always netted the small
fry, the expendables.
Now, for the first time, the men at the top were being pulled in. Someone
big is singing. The word we get is that it's one of your boys. They had to
be right. Michael's Family had been the hardest hit, and the police were
looking for him. Someone had given Them solid evidence, or they never would
have mounted a campaign this big. But who could it be? Michael sat back,
thinking.
468 RAGE OF ANGELS
Whoever was tipping off the authorities had inside information that was
known only to Michael and- his two top lieutenants, Salvatore Fiore and
Joseph Colella. Only the three of them knew where the, ledgers were hidden,
and. the FBI had found them. The only other person who would have had the
information was Thomas Colfax, but Colfax was buried under a garbage dump
in New Jersey.
Michael sat there and thought about Salvatore Fiore and
Joseph Colella. It
was difficult to believe that either one of them could have broken omertd
and talked. They had been with him from the beginning;
he had handpicked
them. He had allowed them to have their own loan-sharking operation on the
side and to run a small prostitution ring. Why would they betray him? The
answer, of course, was simple:. the chair he was sitting in. They wanted
his chair. Once he was out, they could move in and take over. They were a
team; they had to be in it together.
Michael was filled with a murderous rage. The stupid bastards were trying
to pull him down, but they would not live long enough to enjoy it. The
first thing he had to do was arrange bail for his men--who had been
arrested. He needed a lawyer he could trust--Colfax was dead, and
Jennifer-Jennifer! Michael could feel the coldness creeping around his
heart again. In his head he could hear himself saying, Get back as fast as
you can. I'll miss you. 1 love you, Jennifer. He had said that and she had
betrayed him. She would pay for that.
Michael made a telephone call and sat back to wait, and fifteen minutes
later Nick Vito hurried into the office.
"What's happening?" Michael asked.
"The place is still buzzin' with Feds, Mike. I drove around the block a
-couple of times, but I did like you said. I stayed away."
"I've got a job for you, Nick." SIDNEY SHELDON 469
"Sure, boss. What can I do for you?".
"Take care of Salvatore and Joe."
Nick Vito stared at him. "I-I don't understand. When you say, take care
of them, you don't mean-"
Michael shouted, "I mean blow their fucking brains out! Do you need a
blueprint?"
"N-no," Nick Vito stammered. "It's just that I-I-I
meanSal and Joe are your top men!"
Michael Moretti moved to his feet, his eyes dangerous.
"You want to tell
me how to run my business, Nick?"
"No, Mike. I-sure. I'll take care of them for you. When
-
"Now. Right away. I don't want them to live to see the moon tonight. Do you
understand?"
"Yeah. I understand."
Michael's hands tightened into fists. "If I had time,
I'd take care of them
myself. I want them to hurt, Nick. Make it slow, you hear? Suppilu
suppilu."
"Sure. Okay."
The door opened and Tony hurried in, his face gray.
"There's two FBI agents
out there with a warrant for your arrest. I swear to God
I don't know, how
they knew you was here. They-"
Michael Moretti turned to Nick Vito and snapped, "Out the back way. Move!"
He turned to Tony. "Tell them I'm in the can. I'll be right with them."
Michael picked up the telephone and dialed a number. One minute later he
was talking to a judge of the Superior Court of New
York.
"There are two Feds out here with a warrant for my arrest."
"What are the charges, Mike?"
"I don't know and I don't give a shit. I'm calling you to set things up so
that I'm bailed out. I can't sit around in the slammer. I've got things to
do."
There was a silence and the judge's voice said carefully,
470 RAGE OF ANGELS
"I'm afraid I won't be able to help you this time, Michael. The heat's on
all over and if I try to interferes-"
When Michael Moretti spoke, there was an ominous note in his voice. "Listen
to me, you asshole, and listen good. If I spend one hour in jail, rll see
to it that you're behind bars for the rest of your life. Fve been taking
good care of you for a long time. You want me to tell the D.A. how many
cases you fixed for me? Would you like me to give the
IRS the number of
your Swiss bank account? Would you-"
"For God's sake, Michael!"
"Then move!"
"I'll see what I can do," Judge Lawrence Waldman said. ttnU try toy--"
11"Try to, shit! Do it! Do you hear me, Larry? Do it!" Michael slammed
down the receiver.
His mind was working swiftly and coolly. He was not concerned about being
taken to jail. He knew that Judge Waldman would do as he was told, and he
could trust Nick Vito to attend to Fiore and Colella. Without their
testimony, the government could not prove a thing against him.
Michael looked in the small mirror on the wall, combed back his hair;
straightened his tie, and went out to meet the two FBI
agents.
Judge Lawrence Waldman came through, as Michael had known he would. At the
preliminary hearing, an attorney selected by Judge
Waldman requested bail,
and it was set at five hundred thousand dollars.
Di Silva stood there, angry and frustrated, as Michael
Moretti walked out of the courtroom.
Nick Vito was a man of limited intelligence. His value to the Organization
lay in the fact that he followed orders without question and that he
carried them out efficiently. Nick Vito had been up against guns and knives
dozens of times, but he had never known fear. He knew it now. Something was
happening that was beyond his understanding; and he had
a feeling that
somehow he was responsible for it.
All day he had been hearing about the raids that were
taking place, the
sweeping arrests that were being made. The street talk was that there was
a traitor loose, someone high up in the Organization. Even with his limited
intellect, Nick Vito was able to connect the fact that he had let Thomas
Colfax live and that, shortly afterward, someone had started betraying the
Family to the authorities. Nick Vito knew that it could not be Salvatord
Fiore or Joseph Colella. The two men were like brothers to him and they
were both as fanatically loyal to Michael Moretti as he was. But there was
no way he could ever explain that to Michael, not without get-
472 RAGE OF ANGELS
ting himself chopped into small pieces; because the only other one who could
be responsible was Thomas Colfax, and Colfax was supposed to be dead.
Nick Vito was in a dilemma. He loved the Little Flower and the giant. Fiore
and Colella had done him dozens of favors in the past, just as Thomas
Colfax lead; but he had helped Colfax out of a jam, and look what it had
gotten him. So Nick Vito decided he was not going to be softhearted again.
It was his own life he had to protect, now. Once he killed Fiore and
Colella, he would be in the clear. But because they were like brothers to
hunt he would see that they died quickly.
It was simple for Nick Vito to determine their whereabouts, for they always
had to be available in case Michael needed them. Little
Salvatore Fiore was
visiting his mistress's apartment on 83rd Street near
the Museum of Natural
History. Nick knew that Salvatore always left there at five o'clock to go
home to his wife. It was now three. Nick debated-with himself. He could
either hang around the front of the apartment building or go upstairs and
take Salvatore inside the apartment. He decided he was too nervous to wait.
The fact that he was nervous made Nick Vito more nervous. The whole thing
was beginning to get to him. When this is over, he thought, I'm gonna ask
Mike for a vacation. Maybe I'll take a couple of young girls and go down to
the Bahamas. Just thinking about that made him feel better.
Nick Vito parked his car around the corner from the apartment house and
walked up to the building. He let himself in the front door with a piece of
celluloid, ignored the elevator and walked up the stairs to the third
floor. He moved toward the door at the end of the corridor, and when he
reached it he pounded on it.
"Open up! Police!"
He heard quick sounds from behind the door and a few
SIDNEY SHELDON' 473
moments later it opened on a heavy chain and he could see the face and part
of the naked figure of Marina, Salvatore Fiore's mistress.
"Nick!" she said "You crazy idiot. You scared the hell out of me."
She took the chain off the door and opened it. "Sal, it's Nick!"
Little Salvatore Fiore walked in from the bedroom, naked. "Hey, Nicky boy!
What the fuck you doin' here?"
"Sal, I got a message for you from Mike."
Nick Vito raised a.22 automatic with a silencer and squeezed the trigger.
The firing pin slammed into the.22 caliber cartridge, sending the bullet
out of the muzzle at a thousand feet a second. The first bullet shattered
the bridge of Salvatore Fiore's nose. The second bullet put out his left
eye. As Marina opened her mouth to scream, Nick Vito turned and put a
bullet in her head. As she fell to the floor, he put one more bullet in her
chest, to make certain. It's a waste of a beautiful piece of ass, Nick
thought, but Mike wouldn't like it if 1 left any witnesses around.
Big Joseph Colella owned a horse that was running in the eighth race at
Belmont Park in Long Island. Belmont was a one-and-one-half-mile track, the
perfect length for the filly that the giant was running. He had advised
Nick to bet on it. In the past, Nick had won a lot on
Colella's tips.
Colella always put a little money on for Nick when his horses ran. As Nick
Vito walked toward Colella's box, he thought regretfully about the fact
that there would be no more tips. The eighth race had just started. Colella
was standing up in his box, cheering his horse on. It was a large-purse
race and the crowd was screaming and yelling as the horses rounded the
first turn.
Nick Vito stepped into the box behind Colella and said,
"How you doin', pal?"
474 RAGE OF ANGELS
"Hey, Nickl you got here just in time. Beauty Queen's gonna win this one.
I put a little bet on it for you."
"That's great, Joe:"
Nick Vito pressed the.22 caliber gun against Joseph
Colella's spine and
fired three times through his coat. The muffled noise went unnoticed in the
cheering crowd. Nick watched Joseph Colella slump to the ground. He debated
for an instant whether to take the pari-mutuel tickets out of Colella's
pocket, then decided against it. After all, the horse could lose.
Nick Vito turned and unhurriedly walked toward the exit, one anonymous
figure among thousands.
Michael Moretti's private line rang.
"Mr. Moretti?"
"Who wants him?"
"This is Captain Tanner."
It took Michael a second to place the name. A police captain. Queens
precinct. On the payroll.
"This is Moretti."
"I just received some information I think might interest you."
"Where are you calling from?"
"A public telephone booth."
"Go ahead."
"I found out where all the heat's coming from."
"You're too late. They've been taken care of already."
"They? Oh. I only heard about Thomas Colfax."
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Colfax is dead."
It was Captain Tanner's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about?
Thomas Colfax is sitting at the Marine Base in Quantico right now, spilling
his guts to everybody who'll listen."
"You're out of your mind," Michael snapped. "I happen to
SIDNEY SHELDON 475
know-" He stopped. What did he know? He had told Nick
Vito to kill Thomas
Colfax, and Vito had said that he had. Michael sat there thinking. "How sure
are you about this, Tanner?"
"Mr. Moretti, would I be calling you if I wasn't sure?"
"I'll check it out. If you're right, I owe you one."
"Thank you, Mr. Moretti."
Captain Tanner replaced the receiver, pleased with himself. In the past he
had found Michael Moretti to be a very appreciative man. This could be the
big one, the one that could enable him to retire. He stepped out of the
telephone booth into the cold October air.
There were two men standing outside the booth, and as the captain started
to step around them, one of them blocked his way. He held up an
identification card.
"Captain Tanner? I'm Lieutenant West, Internal Security
Division. The
Police Commissioner would like to have a word with you."
Michael Moretti hung up the receiver slowly. He knew with a sure animal
instinct that Nick Vito had lied to him. Thomas Colfax was still alive.
That would explain everything that was happening. He was the one who had
turned traitor. And Michael had sent Nick Vito out to kill Fiore and
Colella. Jesus, he had been stupid! Outsmarted by a dumb hired gunman into
wasting his two top men! He was filled with an icy rage. He dialed a number and spoke briefly into the telephone. After he made a
second telephone call, he sat back and waited.
When he heard Nick Vito on the phone, Michael forced himself to keep the
fury he felt out of his voice. "How did it go, Nick?"
"Okay, boss. Just like you said. They both suffered a lot."
"I can always count on you, Nick, can't I?"
476 RAGE OF ANGELS.
"You know you can, boss."
"Nick, I want you to do me one last favor. One of the boys left a car at
the corner of York and Ninety-fifth Street. It's a tan
Camaro. The keys
are behind the sun visor. We're going to use it for a job tonight. Drive
it over here, will you?"
"Sure, boss. How soon do you need it? I was going to-"
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