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Ma
An eighteen-by-twenty-foot Oriental rug with blue and cream colors defined the seating area at the west end of the floor. Dark red velvet drapes covered a long set of double-paned windows at that end of the loft, lending warmth and privacy.
The rest of the space contained a large kitchen, a dining area with a rectangular oak table that could seat fourteen, and finally at the east end of the open space an office area where Beck’s custom-made desk sat holding his computer, printer, phones, and two monitors. Behind the desk, papers, books, and files were stored in floor-to-ceiling shelves.
Ma
“Yes.”
Ma
“I’m pretty sure Milstein gets it.”
“But not the other guy?”
“Probably not. Not yet.”
“Which is why you want to go see him.”
“Partly.”
“What’s the other part?”
“When was the last time you talked to Olivia?” Beck asked.
“Yesterday. After we talked, I told her you was coming up to see her.”
“You should have warned me.”
“’Bout what?”
“Her looks.”
“Easy, amigo, that’s my cousin.”
Beck smiled. “A cousin ain’t that close.”
“She is. Maybe the closest I’ll ever get to a daughter.”
“I know, I know. I get it.”
Ma
Beck lifted a rocks glass holding three fingers of Jameson, took a long sip and chased it with the same beer. Beck set his drink on the table and leaned forward. “Ma
“What do you mean?”
“Guy does violence like that to a woman like Olivia, it’s crazy. I want to know what kind of crazy I’m dealing with.”
“What do you mean? You think she had something going with this guy Crane?”
Beck shook his head. “Not exactly. I got the feeling she was very careful about how she deals with men in her professional life. But maybe Crane had some shit in his head about her. Maybe this started with more than just her getting into his business. I won’t know until I see him.”
Ma
Beck could see Ma
“Maybe. Maybe it’s part of it. Maybe not. Either way, I don’t want this asshole to think he can continue having anything to do with your cousin. No lawsuits. No blackballing. Nothing. And if he’s got some bullshit fantasy about her in his head, it stops. He stops even thinking about her. Not even in his dreams.”
Ma
“It’s a good question. I asked Olivia.”
“What did she say?”
“She said the guy’s a bit crazy to begin with. Wired up tight because there’s a lot of money at stake. Enough to make him reckless. Also, turns out he runs money for some arms dealer. Olivia doesn’t know much about him other than he’s got co
“An arms dealer? What the fuck is that? What’s that mean? Who is this guy? What’s he got going for him?”
“I don’t know. And frankly, I’d rather not turn over that rock. Let Crane and Milstein worry about their client. My guess is they’ll keep their mouths shut about this and pay the money to make this problem go away. Milstein gets it. Now I just want to make sure Mr. Crane understands he shouldn’t make the mistake of wearing someone else’s balls, or try to get in the way of this severance deal for Olivia.”
Ma
Beck shook his head. “No. Killing him now isn’t the right move. Too much chance it will rebound onto Olivia.”
“I bet she’d stand up.”
“Maybe. But what’s the point? We get rid of one problem and create an even worse problem for her. Your cousin is a civilian. What she wants is her life back. She gets associated with a murder, no one on Wall Street will come within a mile of her. Plus, we’ll have cops and investigators and parole assholes crawling all over you. It’s almost certain you’d go back inside until we beat it.”
“Comes to that, I can deal with it.”
“It’s not an option.”
Ma
“Not we. Not yet. Me.”
“You already told me he might be hooked up with some people.”
Beck shrugged. “I’ll make sure Crane gets the message to unhook himself.”
“Then bring Ciro with you.”
“Come on, Ma
Ma
“I know, Ma
Guzman shook his head. “He should already be dead.” He pointed a finger at Beck. “And don’t make any mistake, James. These high-and-mighty assholes with more money than they can count, they think they have all the power. They look at us like cockroaches. Fucking ignorant ex-cons. They think they can snap their fingers and the system comes down on us and we’re gone. Garbage taken out. Like we’re nothing. You think you can change that?”
“No. But so what. I only have to convince two assholes this is in their best interests. Olivia gets paid. Puts her life back together, and when the time is right, we do what we have to do. Or not. That’s all I’m saying.”
Ma
“You usually don’t have trouble being patient, Ma
Ma
“You want something to do, call Olivia.”
“Why?”
“I have to run this deal past her, obviously. I can’t see her not taking it. But she should hear it from me, with you in the room. So she knows you agree.”
“All right.”
“Plus, I’m going to brace this Crane asshole at noon. Maybe she can tell me something more about him. The more I know when I walk in there, the better.”
“Okay.”
Beck paused. “And as long as she’s here, talk to her about this arms dealer. How it works. Where he makes his money. His operation. Maybe we get Alex to do some research on him.”
Ma
Beck said, “What?”
Beck watched the wheels turn in Ma
Beck nodded, acknowledging that Ma
Ma
13
Milstein lay wide awake next to his softly snoring wife. But it wasn’t her snoring that had awakened him. A dream or a half-awake memory of his cigar being slapped out of his mouth jerked him awake.