Judge & Jury

"No." What promises could I make that I hadn't already broken? We'd never caught the men who killed her son. We had nothing to tie it to Cavello."I thought maybe you'd want to come to the trial with me."

She took a step back."I don't know. I don't know if I can be close to that man."

"I understand." I lifted the trash bag out of her hand. I guess that was a decision. She smiled as if she could see right through me.

"Still the public servant, huh, Nick?"

I gave her a self-deprecating smile."Evolving."

She smiled.

"Hey, Pellisante," she called, catching me halfway down the stairs."Next time, you really should think about coming in."

Chapter 50

THE FOLLOWING MORNING I was at my desk. In my office. At home.

I was doing what I always did on the days I didn't teach. What I'd been doing every free day for the past five months: sifting through every piece of information I could find on the case. Every document. Every sliver of evidence.

Looking for some way I could tie the bus blast to Dominic Cavello.

If anyone saw my study, my disheveled desk, they'd probably think they'd stepped into the lair of some obsessive, pathological nutcase. Good God, I had photos taped everywhere. The blast site. The van. The juror bus. Thick binders of FBI reports on the explosive device stacked high. Interviews with people on the street who might've seen the two men in work clothes ru

More than once I thought I had caught a break. Like when the stolen New Jersey plates led back to some horse trainer in Freehold who had links to the Lucchese crime family. But that turned out to be coincidence. None of it led anywhere. None of it directly tied to Dominic Cavello or his people.

I was sipping my morning coffee, having to admit that my mind was drifting back to Andie DeGrasse, when the phone rang.

"Pellisante," I answered.

It was Ray Hughes, the agent who'd taken my place at C-10."Nick"-he sounded happy to catch me-“any chance you're free?"

Sometimes we'd have lunch, and Ray would pick my brain, or I'd pick his. I figured all he wanted was to go over my testimony for the upcoming trial."I'd hate to miss out onEllen, Ray, but I think I could find my way down to see you."

"Not here. There's a government jet waiting for us. At Teterboro."

If Ray wanted to grab my interest, he had it. The offer of a crummy sandwich at his desk in the Javits Building would have done the trick, too.

"A plane to take us where, Ray?"

The acting head of the Organized Crime Unit paused." Marion."

I stood up quickly from my desk, coffee spilling over my work notes.

Marion was the federal prison where Cavello was being held.

Chapter 51

ABOUT FOUR HOURS LATER, the government Lockheed touched down at the airport in Carbondale, Illinois. A car was waiting for us and drove us to Marion Federal Prison. Marion was a vast, depressing-looking redbrick fortress stuck in the middle of a marshland in rural southern Illinois. It was also one of the most secure federal prisons in the United States. Although Cavello had yet to be convicted, after what happened in New York, the government wasn't taking any chances.

Warden Richard Be

Ray Hughes and Joel Goldenberger remained outside and watched through the one-way glass.

Cavello was already sitting there when I came in. He was dressed in an orange jumpsuit, his feet chained together. He was gaunter and older than when I'd seen him last, and a thin, gray growth clung to his jawline.

He'd been informed the government was here to see him, but the government was here to see him a lot. When he saw it was me he did a double take. Then came a wistful smile, as if he had just found an old friend.

"Nicky!" He tilted back his chair."Is it a holiday or something? Who's minding the class?"

I sat down across from him, behind the protected glass, and didn't laugh."Hi, Dom. How's the jaw?"

"Still hurts." He laughed."Still think of you every time I brush my teeth."

Then he twisted around to the guard behind him."You watch this guy. Last time he came to see me in jail, I had to take my meals through a straw for months." He wheezed a laugh."This is the guy that should be in here,not me. Anyway, you're lookin' fit, Nicky. Playin' any golf? Retirement looks like it agrees with you."

"They let me come back, Dom, just for a day." I smiled thinly."To deliver some news."

"News, huh? Good, I don't get much news in here. Jeez, Nick, they got some special downward career spiral pla

I balled my fists tightly. I knew he was trying to make me react again. But this time I just let him go."I'm going to be sleeping just fine, Dom."

"And how's that gal doing? You know, the pretty one who was on that bus. I heard she pulled through. I tried to send a little money to some kind of fund." He shrugged."But my lawyer told me that when they heard it was from me, they sent the check back. Imagine. And for once I was just trying to do something nice. How's that for sour apples?

"Anyway, Mr. Messenger Boy, I'm doing all the talking. What kind of news you got for me? I'm all ears."

"We thought you'd want to know. The government's going to be adding two new indictments against you."

"Twomore? " He sighed theatrically."Who can keep track?"

"These you will, Dom. They're for the murders of Special Agents Ma

Cavello furrowed his brow."I'm trying to think, do I know them?"

"We have the murder weapon, Dom. A couple of clammers uncovered it. After all these months, there it was, buried in the sand. Ballistics confirmed it. It's the gun that killed the two agents. You're going down for it, Dom. It's a match."

The jocular grin slowly started to fade from Cavello's face, replaced by a look of serious concern. This was a capital offense, and the murder weapon sealed it."Clammers, huh? Imagine that. You look like you won the lottery, Pellisante. You wa

"The joke is I'm going to see you at trial next week, you piece of shit. And here's some other news. It's going to take place at Fort Dix army base in New Jersey. The trial will be closed to the public. Totally secure.

"The jury will be secret and sequestered on the base. This time, you won't be able to get to anyone. We've got you, Dom. U.S. Attorney Goldenberger is waiting outside with the indictments now."

It was my turn to smile. A smile I'd waited more than two years to give him."How's that for sour apples, Dom?"

Cavello just stared back at me. He scratched his chin."An army base, huh? Fort Dix. Isn't that where all the explosives are, Nicky boy? Could be a real blast!"