The comment about the Peter Gunn episode is an in-joke. The Paulie Walker character Alice refers to was played by Jimmy Murphy, who played Tony in the Alias Micky Dolenz episode of The Monkees.
~Startled eyes that sometimes see
Phantasmagoric splendor
Pirouette down palsied paths
With pennies for the vendor~
—from Daily Nightly by Michael Nesmith
Over the next few hours, Tony looked through everything he had about Barbosa's cases, trying to find out anything that would prove or disprove that the other police officer was involved with bribing Fontana. Throughout the years that Tony had been with the precinct, Barbosa had always proven himself to be one of the most successful cops—solving difficult cases and making many arrests of dangerous criminals. And there was not anything in the records that would indicate that Barbosa was, in any way, a dirty cop—though Tony did find something that was quite intriguing. It seemed that Barbosa had worked on the case in which Fontana had been charged and later mysteriously cleared. Tony narrowed his eyes, deciding that this was something worth looking into.
"Hey, Antonio?"
He started abruptly and looked up to see Marco standing over him. Either he had been so involved in what he was doing that he had not heard his partner approach, or Marco had deliberately been silent because he had been trying to read what was on the computer screen. Tony minimized the browser window and leaned back. "What is it?" he asked.
Marco sat down next to him. "I just wondered how you're coming with your end of the case," he said, not seeming to notice or care about Tony's actions with the computer. "I hit another dead end with mine. That Vivalene dame, wow, she really gets around. She never stays in one joint for long." He shook his head. "I don't know, it really looks like it's going to be hard to catch her, or any of the others."
Tony grunted. "Well, that's what you want, isn't it? To have a really difficult case to crack?"
"Yeah," Marco replied slowly and then sighed. "It's just that . . . it's so frustrating when I can't find anything out! Vivalene was seen at a lot of different places last night—a casino, a nightclub, a bar—but I couldn't ever catch up to her." He picked up a pen on the desk and idly began turning it around in his hands. "So I was hoping that you'd had more luck with things," he finished.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Marco, you made some progress. You can't expect to get her on the first try. You need a strategy." He leaned forward. "I've got a strategy, and I've already been putting it into action." With that he briefly informed Marco of what had happened at the casino the previous night, and of how Sherry Fingerhead was considering starting the gambling racket with him.
Marco slammed his fist on the desk. "That's what I mean," he exclaimed. "I want to go undercover like that and get into a lot of danger. I can just see me now, hanging out in some fancy casino with beautiful girls all around me and criminals everywhere who need to be caught by the long arm of the law!" He grinned. "Oh, wouldn't that be great...Didn't you ever want something like that, Antonio?"
Tony rubbed his eyes. Marco could be an extreme headache at times, and this was definitely one of those times. No matter how often Tony told him that being a police officer was not just all about the excitement and danger, and that the danger itself was not actually that much fun, the younger cop never seemed to listen. "Did I ever want the beautiful girls, or the criminals everywhere?" he retorted. "One girl is enough for me, and being surrounded by crooks never really sounded like an appealing proposition."
Marco shook his head in disbelief. "Why did you even become a cop, Antonio?" he asked. "You just don't seem interested in the work at all. It's like the whole thing is just a job to you and you never have any fun with it."
Tony shrugged. "It is just a job," he answered, not bothering to address Marco's question. After all, he did not think that his reasons for becoming a police officer were any of Marco's business. "I do it to the best of my abilities, but it's still just a job."
Marco sighed in mock sadness. "What am I going to do with you? It's a sad and lonely life you lead, friend."
Tony grunted. "I have Alice. I don't need anyone or anything else." Even though he knew that Marco was only kidding at the moment, it still annoyed him when the younger officer spoke like that. The last thing he needed was for Marco to tell him exactly how he should be living his life. And Alice was the only person whose teasing he did not mind. From anyone else it was a complete exasperation.
Marco looked at him in what Tony found to be an almost envious way, which surprised him. "Yeah," he agreed then. "Someone like Alice is all any man needs. Too bad there's not more of her to go around." Then he leaned over, looking curiously at the computer screen, much to Tony's irritation.
"So," Marco said then, abruptly changing the subject, "what were you doing going through Barbosa's casefiles?"
Tony felt even more frustrated. He had hoped that Marco had not seen what he had been doing. Not that he supposed it mattered if his own partner saw, but this was still something that Tony wanted to investigate on his own, without any interference. He did not want anyone to know of his suspicions until he could confirm or disprove them. "I just wanted to see what was said in there about the Fontana case," he truthfully replied then. "Fontana used to be one of Ralph Adelardi's allies."
"Ralph Adelardi?" Marco repeated vaguely, looking confused. Then he snapped his fingers. "Oh! You mean the mob leader who was found dead last night in the middle of nowhere." He shook his head. "That's one weird case. Who could have done that?"
"That's what I want to find out." Tony was relieved as the screen saver came up, obscuring any trace of the browser windows. He glanced at the monitor briefly and then looked back to Marco. "But it was probably just some rival gang leader who got ticked off at him. Or maybe even one of the guy's men. People like him always have a lot of enemies."
Marco nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's true," he admitted. "Hey, do you think it ties in with the whole Baby Face thing?"
"It could." Tony propped himself up on his elbow. "For all we know, it could've been Baby Face who shot the guy. It'd be in character for him. This Morales is a cold-hearted killer."
"Yeah, he sounds psycho," Marco commented. "You'd better be careful, Antonio. When you do end up really meeting him, he'll probably try to kill you. He seems to go after anyone in his way, and you're definitely that." Before Tony could reply, the other young man stood up and pushed the chair back. "Well, I'll be on my way now," he declared. "I should get back to looking for Vivalene."
"You do that," Tony replied, feeling relieved.
"Good luck with sorting out the Fontana angle!" Marco called as he walked away.
Tony sighed and clicked on the window again, maximizing it. "I'll need it," he muttered as he resumed his search.
****
Today Vivalene had picked a local nightclub to visit. It was a location that frequently had mobsters and other criminals as patrons, and Vivalene felt amused as she caught sight of several people whom she knew. While she sat on a stool at the bar, drinking a goblet of wine, she overheard one of them speaking to a co-worker as they sorted out the contents of the trays. Ordinarily Vivalene could not have cared less about such a thing, but her interest was piqued as the blonde waitress told her story of running from an abusive boyfriend and being rescued by another mobster.
"Really?" the raven-haired girl whom she was speaking to exclaimed, her eyes widening. "I know Ralph always had a bad temper. The few times he came in here, I was always really tense. I thought that any moment he'd pull a gun and shoot someone he was mad at. He did that one time, remember? There was a big ruckus over it." She shook her head. "Ugh. I don't think we've ever fully recovered from that. Business still isn't the same as it was before." Then she frowned. "You say the guy who saved you is a gangster too?"
The blonde girl nodded. "Yeah, he is. He knew Ralph. He said that Ralph and his men had a shootout with him and some of his men." She shuddered. "It was awful...watching Ralph get shot." She looked down. "And yet I know that if it hadn't been done, he would've killed me." She picked up the tray, trying to weakly smile. "I guess it's funny, but I felt safe around the guy who shot Ralph. I don't even know his name! He just drove up in that tan Plymouth and nearly ran me down, but he managed to stop in time, and...I don't know, I think he does have a code of honor, even though he's a criminal."
Vivalene listened to this with great interest as she brought the glass of wine to her lips. Was it possible that this woman was speaking of Baby Face? He was certainly the only mobster she knew of with a tan Plymouth, and it would seem like too much of a coincidence if another gangster in Detroit had one as well. Baby Face had been gone for a long time the previous night. He had been furious over the shootout that he had gotten involved in, and though Vivalene had tried to use her charms to calm him down, she had only made him angrier.
The woman narrowed her eyes as she set the goblet back down on the counter. It was pathetic, to hear this silly waitress talking about how she felt so safe around Baby Face. He would never give someone like her a second glance! Unlike Vivalene, she did not have any position or power, and she seemed sweet and somewhat naive. What Baby Face needed was someone on the same level as him, and Vivalene believed herself to be such a person. She could win him over—she just needed more time. And she certainly did not want this girl in her way, even though she believed that the waitress would not pose any threat.
"Excuse me, miss," she called, motioning to the blonde to come over to her after she delivered her tray.
The waitress blinked in confusion, but came. "What is it?" she asked nervously. "Is there something wrong with the wine?"
"Not at all, not at all, my dear." Vivalene smiled pleasantly, but anyone who knew anything about her type would be able to see the venom in that smile. "Come, sit down a moment." She gestured to the next stool. "I couldn't help overhearing about your harrowing experience last night. What's your name?"
Slowly the blonde lowered herself onto the stool, looking uncertain about this decision. "I'm Ruby," she said then, "and I really should stay working right now..." She glanced over her shoulder, as if expecting to see her boss suddenly appear.
"This won't take a minute." Vivalene leaned forward, looking intently into Ruby's blue eyes. "Let me ask you a question. What do you know about Baby Face Morales?"
Ruby looked back at her, stunned by the query. "I...I know that he's one of the most wanted criminals in America," she said slowly. "He came here to Detroit recently...No one's ever seen him close-up, but he's supposed to have a really bad temper...like Ralph, I guess." She sighed at the memories that were being brought up by this statement. She wanted to put Ralph and mobsters behind her. She knew that her family would be horrified if they knew that she had gotten involved with the Mob, and she was anxious to put that part of her life away and move on.
Vivalene smiled. "Yes...just like Ralph. Probably worse!" She leaned back. "Well, dear, I just felt it my duty to mention to you that he is known for driving a tan Plymouth. If the person who saved you last night was another gangster, the odds are that it was him. There aren't many cars around like that anymore." She gave a fake shudder. "You're lucky that you got away with your life intact! Why, if he'd become angry enough, he could have attacked you just the way you described Ralph attacking you. You poor thing." She shook her head. "It's quite amazing that you're still alive after encountering him. Wasn't he so terribly furious when he almost ran you down?"
Ruby swallowed the lump in her throat that had emerged upon hearing Vivalene's news. "Y-yes, he was," she admitted shakily, "but then he calmed down and told me to leave. And I was going to, I was really going to, but then Ralph came..." She did not want to believe what she was being told, and yet she knew that it most likely was true. Ralph had mentioned Baby Face several times and said how much he hated the other mobster, and the person whom Ruby had met had matched the brief description that always seemed to be given where Baby Face was concerned.
"And you're very lucky that Baby Face took out his anger on Ralph instead of you," Vivalene said firmly, patting Ruby's hand as she stood up. "It makes me happy to see someone who has actually survived a meeting with the `most vicious killer in America.'" She placed some money on the counter as she started to walk toward the door. "There's a tip for you in that, Darling," she called back with a wave.
Ruby stared blankly at it. She knew that what Vivalene said should not be a shock or a blow to her. After all, she had made up her mind to get away from everything to do with the Mob, even though she had felt safe around the man that she now knew was Baby Face. She gazed off into the distance, also remembering that she had felt such a strong connection to him. Why would that be? She certainly could not be around him. And she doubted that he would even be interested, anyway. He probably wanted someone worldly and seductive, such as the woman who had just left.
"Why, that hussy!"
Ruby turned in surprise when she heard her co-worker, Jan, speak. "What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly, watching as Jan walked back around the counter with an empty tray.
Jan shook her head angrily. "She works with Baby Face!" she declared. "She's been in here before, sometimes with some of the guys in the gang. One time Baby Face even came in with her." She narrowed her eyes as she came over to the stunned Ruby. "Some idiot was causing a ruckus that night and got mad at one of the waitresses. Baby Face told him to leave her alone and that if he had to beat her, it only proved how pathetic he was." She smiled a bit. "I think you're right, Ruby—he does have a code of honor. The guy you met sounds just him, now that I think of it. He really does have a bad temper, but I've never heard of him hurting a woman. Ralph was worse than Baby Face has been."
Ruby turned to look back to the door, hearing a couple of the men giving wolf whistles in Vivalene's direction. Her eyes narrowed as the whole picture became clear. She was not as naive as Vivalene believed her to be. "Then she thinks I'm...competition?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "But I didn't even know his name until she told it to me!" She shook her head. "I'll probably never see him again anyway." She gathered up her tip and looked back to Jan. "I promised myself that I wouldn't get involved with gangsters any more."
Jan shrugged. "Well, that vixen wouldn't know that. And anyway, who knows what'll happen." She smiled impishly. "I think he'd be a pretty good catch, myself."
Ruby shook her head. "You've always been attracted to bad guys," she remarked.
"So have you!" Jan pointed out. "That's what they say about us good girls." Her mischievous smile only widened. "We just can't stay away from bad boys."
Ruby looked at her in amusement. "Oh, you. He wouldn't give me a second glance, anyway." With that she headed back to the kitchen, while hearing Jan calling after her that stranger things have happened.
****
The next few days passed by in relative peace. There were not any heists or attacks from Baby Face's mob, or any other, and Tony was able to concentrate on his research. But the further he dug into the casefiles, the more mysteries he discovered. Fontana's case was not the only one that had mysteriously been closed. There were quite a few other such cases, and Barbosa had not always been the officer assigned to them.
Tony leaned back, his eyes narrowed. How would all of this get past the captain? Surely he would have recognized the oddity of the abrupt conclusions and questioned into the matter. But then again, perhaps the captain had never seen any of these. Suddenly getting an idea, Tony began to go over all the dates once again. There were certain times when the captain had been sick or on leave, and during those times, someone else had filled in for him. Some of the dates did correspond with such occasions, but Tony found to his frustration that not all of them did. The captain would have had to have seen some of them, and he must have not found anything strange about them. Tony ran a hand through his hair in vexation. He would have to ask him about this.
"So much for not telling anyone anything until I had proof," he muttered, collecting the printed copies and going to the older man's office. He knocked firmly, then heard the reply from inside that he could come in. Quickly he opened the door and stepped inside, then shut it behind him.
The captain looked up and blinked in surprise. "Oh...Detective Ferano. I wasn't expecting to see you." He closed a folder that he had been looking over and laced his fingers on top of it. "How's the case coming along? Have you figured out who shot Ralph Adelardi?" He shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised if Morales did it in cold blood, the way he's killed others. He would have had a motive. They used to be rival gang leaders in Chicago."
"It's hard to say, sir. He could have been responsible, but he's not the only suspect." Tony came over to stand in front of the desk. "I was trying to find some of the other members of Adelardi's gang, and I found this file on Giovanni Fontana." He set it down for the captain to look over. "It says he was cleared of the charges against him, but it doesn't say how it happened. And it's the same thing with these other guys." He indicated the other documents he was carrying.
The captain raised an eyebrow. "You don't say. Let me see those, Ferano." He reached for them, and Tony handed them over, then watched as the other man perused the contents. After a moment he looked up, shaking his head. "This is very strange. I don't remember seeing any of these men's files come across my desk before." He leaned back. "The cases must have been closed without my permission, during times when there were more pressing matters. That way, these were virtually forgotten about."
With a frown he got up and began pacing around the room. "It was good of you to bring this to my attention, but right now you should concentrate on the matter at hand of catching Baby Face. I'll investigate this personally." He stopped and looked over at Tony, his eyes burning with outrage. "I will find out who closed these cases and why, and if anything actually was done to officially clear any of these men of their crimes."
Tony nodded. "Should I leave the files with you, sir?"
A nod was his answer. "Yes, yes. I want to study them more closely." The captain returned to his desk. "Have you had any luck yet with the Morales case? I don't recall that you mentioned it."
"I've been following a couple of leads," Tony told him honestly. "I've made contact with one of his men by pretending to be running a gambling racket at a local casino. And Marco's found a few of the places where Vivalene likes to go." He paused. "I'm hoping that before long I'll be able to round up all of the gang."
"Good, good." The captain looked pleased, then frowned in concern. "You don't think that anyone suspects you're actually a police detective, do you?"
Tony sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "If Vivalene sees me, she'll probably recognize me. But I didn't have any close contact with any of the others at the museum. I know it's risky, sir, but I want to keep trying."
"Well, you never have been one to take risks without thinking them over first," the older man mused. "Yes, Ferano, keep at it." He picked up the first of the documents on his desk, studying it with a dark and thoughtful eye. "Is this all that you have to report right now?"
"Yes, sir, I believe so."
"Then let's both get back to work, shall we?" The captain never looked up from the file's contents. After a moment, once Tony was certain that there was not anything else, he turned and quietly left. The captain watched him over the top of the paper, and then quickly picked up the telephone when he was alone again.
****
It was late that evening when the report came through that there were people in the Martindale mansion. The owners were away, the husband having been called on a week-long business trip and his wife having gone with him, so it seemed obvious that there had to be burglars in the building. And Tony knew who he suspected. With an enthusiastic Marco in tow, he left the police station and went out to the unmarked car. When he arrived first and found a small piece of paper shoved under his windshield wiper, he glowered at it and snatched it up. This was not something he needed right now!
As he unfolded it, reading over the newspaper-letter words and discovering that once again Alice was being spied on as well as him, he felt a certain outrage coursing through his veins. This note actually included a thinly-veiled threat at the end, speaking of a possible future accident. Tony crumpled the paper in his hand, furious, and was reaching for his cell phone to call and check on Alice when Marco suddenly spoke up from behind him.
"What was that?" the young officer exclaimed, peering over Tony's shoulder.
Tony started and then looked up at him. "It was just...one of those flyers that people sometimes stick on cars," he answered after a slight hesitation. He did not know whether Marco had actually seen the real contents or not, but if he had not, Tony did not intend to tell him. Marco would not be able to help with the situation, and telling him would only serve to make Tony more nervous and upset than he already was—as Marco was the type who would try to be comforting but completely fail.
But Marco nodded, seeming to accept that explanation. "Oh. Well, it's strange that they didn't seem to put one on any of the others," he observed as he walked around to the passenger side of the car and got inside.
Tony did not make any reply and instead dialed his home number. He knew that they needed to get to the Martindales' immediately, but first he had to reassure himself that Alice was alright. And if she was planning to go somewhere, he decided that he needed to warn her somehow about making sure that her car was in good condition.
After what seemed an endless moment, the phone was picked up. "Hello?"
Tony relaxed, hearing her voice. "Hi, honey. I just wanted to call to tell you that there's a possible break in the case I'm doing. I'm going now to try to catch this Morales character." It was not something that he would have wanted to tell Alice, but she had previously insisted that she did not want to be kept in the dark about his cases, especially the Morales one. She had said that she would rather know what there was to worry about rather than just having to let her mind aimlessly wander over every possibility imaginable. And so he had reluctantly agreed.
He could tell that now she was smiling bravely even though she was likely terrified for his safety. "Well, good luck," she said warmly.
Tony hesitated before approaching the actual reason for his call. "How are things over there?" he asked casually.
"Oh . . . just quiet and normal," Alice answered, and weakly laughed. "I was watching a Peter Gunn rerun. It's about some guy named Paulie Walker who's disappeared, leaving behind a piece of paper with four names on it, and the first person on the list is dead. I really need that now, huh?" she added softly and ironically. It was one of her vices, along with other programs of the bygone era of the fifties and sixties, and she often wondered why she liked them so much when Tony was involved with crimes every day and she worried so much about him. Perhaps it was because in those shows the criminals were always brought to justice and the "good guys" were always alright in the end. It was a fantasy, but it was one that she would not mind having as reality.
Tony half-smiled, satisfied that Alice would be occupied for the rest of the evening until he returned. He knew he needed to leave, so he eased himself into the car and slammed the door. "I'll be fine," he said firmly. "Don't worry. I'll be home soon." Quickly they said their goodbyes and hung up, and Tony immediately started the car.
Marco looked at him impatiently. "We need to go!" he exclaimed.
"We're going," Tony grunted as he backed the car out of the parking lot.
"Look, I know that Alice wants to know where you are and such, but I could've driven while you talked to her," Marco persisted. "Or it wouldn't have killed you, to talk on your phone while driving, just once."
"Who knows." Tony steered toward the freeway entrance. "But in any case, that's one of the things that the police department is trying to get people to cut down on. I don't think five more minutes is going to make too much difference right now. It's not like we're the only cops going there."
"Yeah, but I want to get in on the action!" Marco grumbled.
Tony rolled his eyes.
****
As it turned out, Tony and Marco still arrived before any of the other officers. There were still lights on inside, and Tony spotted the tan Plymouth from the museum heist, so he knew that they were on the right track. Wanting to surprise the gang if at all possible, he instructed Marco that they would split up once inside and proceed as quietly as possible until they found members of the gang. At that point, they would then try to keep them in the house while calling for backup. "You can't try to take them all on by yourself. Understand?" Tony gave Marco a stern look.
"Okay, okay," Marco sighed. "I won't." He walked silently over the lawn with Tony until they came to a side door that was ajar. "But hey, what if I just find one of them? Then can't I take him?"
Tony gave him another look. "You can't underestimate these people," he hissed as he cautiously stepped through the door. It seemed strange to him that it had been left open, and he was certain that Baby Face would not be so careless. He suddenly wondered if the action had been deliberate and if they were walking into a trap.
"Oh come on. If you found one of them, or even more, you'd probably try to take them by yourself, wouldn't you?" Marco retorted, also speaking quietly. He glared at Tony, seeing that he was not denying it. "You just don't trust me to handle things right!"
Tony was exasperated. "Well, frankly, I don't," he admitted angrily, "but this isn't the time to talk about it." With that he disappeared around a corner. He could hear Marco going in the opposite direction, and he sighed softly to himself. Marco could be a good cop, he felt, if he would not be so zealous and impulsive all the time. The problem was, Tony did not think that was likely to ever happen.
As he wandered down the long corridor, staying alert for anything that might occur, a door abruptly opened to his right and he whirled, his gun held high, and discovered Vivalene standing there. She smirked, leaning on the doorframe with her arm snaking up the side of it. She was wearing the trenchcoat again, but it was open, and underneath was the glittery purple dress that she had previously worn at the casino. "Hello, Darling," she purred in her typical, smoky voice.
Tony was not impressed. "Shouldn't you be robbing this place with the others?" he snapped.
She flipped her hair and moved toward him. "I would find it much more interesting to visit with you for a while," she smirked, grabbing the barrel of his gun. "I know that you were trying to convince `Sherry' to work with you on a gambling racket. You're very clever."
"And you probably told him the truth about me, didn't you?" Tony retorted.
She got behind him and reached around, stroking his cheek. "Maybe. Maybe not." She laughed softly. "I like short men."
Tony turned around, angrily shoving her away from him. "Let's get something straight," he growled. "I know your type. You'll do anything you can to get what you want, and then you get rid of whoever's unfortunate enough to be your victim. I wouldn't be interested in you even if I wasn't happily married." Women such as Vivalene disgusted him. They seemed to believe that they were God's gift to men, and they were completely selfish and cruel in addition to being extremely vain. And what disgusted him even more was that so many men would fall into their traps without a second thought, completely captivated by the vixens' beauty. The women would then begin to believe that they could snare any man they wanted. It was obvious to Tony that this was what Vivalene was thinking right now.
"Oh! You're married?" Vivalene cried in mock surprise.
Tony glared at her. "I know you realized it," he said coldly. "You've been looking at my ring ever since you showed up here." And it would not surprise him if she had noticed it at the museum several weeks earlier. Jezebels such as Vivalene could not care less whether their targets were married or not. In fact, for some, they probably preferred it, as it presented more of a challenge.
Vivalene smirked again and moved closer to him. "You've got me," she purred, and leaned in to kiss him.
Instantly Tony struck out and slapped her, his eyes flashing. "I'm not going to put up with this," he informed her, and promptly held the gun over her heart. "You're under arrest."
"You know, I really should let you cart her off."
Tony turned in surprise at the unfamiliar voice. Coming toward them was a young man wearing a dark blue suit. A gray fedora hat with a black band was perched on his head, cocked to the side, and his brown hair was neatly combed into place, though a few stray bangs were falling across his forehead. In his hand the man held a gun, and Tony knew instantly that this had to be Baby Face. The moniker was highly appropriate, as he looked to be six or seven years younger than Tony himself. That would place him at about nineteen or twenty, far too young to be a notorious killer. But Tony knew that it was not impossible for such a thing to be.
What disturbed Tony the most was the criminal's hazel eyes. They were dark and cruel, hardened over the years, and could have easily been the eyes of someone three times his age. They were familiar, somehow, and Tony was at a loss for words. There would not have been any place where he could have met this person, but he could not shake the feeling that they knew each other.
"She's not much good to me, anyway," the mobster continued, stopping in front of Tony and keeping his gun pointed at him. "Sure, she can distract people, but she goes overboard chasing after all these different guys. It gets annoying pretty fast. I could easily find someone to replace her."
Vivalene gave a mock pout as she walked over to him, though Tony thought that he caught a flicker of genuine anger in her green eyes as well. "Oh, you don't mean that, Darling. I'm crushed." Now she smirked. "This is Baby Face Morales, if you haven't guessed. And Baby Face, this is . . ." She stopped, placing her hands on her hips. "You know, I don't even know your name."
Tony glowered at her, not about to reply, and looked back to Baby Face. "The reports I've heard were right—you're really young," he said in a clipped tone, still trying to get over the feeling that they had met and talked with each other before. But the sensation would not leave him alone. He recognized those eyes, filled with hatred and malice.
Baby Face shrugged. "The years have been good to me," he answered sarcastically. He truly was as young as he looked, but the hatred and heartlessness that he had endured all of his life had rubbed off on him and had been the major contributing factor in his turn to crime. He looked searchingly at Tony. "I already know who you are," he grunted. "I have my ways. You're Detective Tony Ferano, twenty-six years old, and married to a woman named Alice." And he, like Tony, was having the strange feeling that they had met in the past, even though he knew that it was impossible.
Tony was not pleased with Baby Face's knowledge. "So you investigated me?" he realized. "Why?"
Baby Face smirked. "I like to know who's after me," he replied smoothly. "You wouldn't believe some of the idiots out there who've thought they had a fighting chance. Most of them are dead now."
"Yes," Vivalene put in, "they're people such as that partner of yours, Tony darling." She flipped her hair, starting to sashay towards him again.
"Oh, he's not as stupid as you think," Baby Face answered, looking from Vivalene back to Tony. "Actually...he's the kind of person you need to watch out for."
Tony was growing frustrated and angry with this entire conversation. "I don't believe you," he said coldly. "You're just trying to distract me while the rest of the gang gets off with the loot. That's it, isn't it?" He certainly would not believe that Marco was in any way not what he seemed to be. The thought was absurd. There was not any reason for him to pretend to be someone he was not.
"Actually, no," Baby Face replied. "I've got the loot right here." He half-turned. "I'm just giving you a friendly warning. Marco's not really your friend, Tony. He's been working against you all this time, and he'll show his true colors soon enough."
Tony continued to hold his gun on him. "Don't move!" he ordered harshly. He was normally an even-tempered person, but Baby Face was quickly pushing him to his limit. Not only was he making preposterous accusations, but the more he talked, the more Tony found him familiar. And it was impossible to tell if Baby Face felt the same way, so Tony was left to assume that he was simply going mad.
Baby Face smiled calmly. "It's gonna be a Mexican stand-off, eh, Tony?" he remarked, turning back to him with his own gun. "We're both gonna die. Is it worth it?" He walked over to him, his gait and expression steady and showing that he was not at all worried of the outcome. "You've got Alice to think of. She's waiting for you."
Tony glared at him. "Shut up," he growled, but he knew that Baby Face was right. He wanted to stop the vicious killer who had been terrorizing Detroit, but he did not want to put himself in unnecessary danger in order to do so. Avoiding death himself was one of his goals. He would try everything he could think of before entering into the "Mexican stand-off," but if in the end it came to that, then so be it. His duty as a police officer came before everything else, including what he and Alice desired personally. He pulled the trigger quickly, wanting to get the shot in before Baby Face could fire as well.
The criminal barely managed to dodge, but he hissed as the bullet grazed his arm. He fired as well, knocking the gun out of Tony's hand, and abruptly tackled him to the floor as the lights all went out. They struggled, wrestling desperately as they tumbled across the floor. First one was on top, then the other.
"You're pretty tough for a small guy," Baby Face commented as he was pinned to the floor. He soon reversed things and forced Tony down.
"You're stronger than I thought you'd be," Tony retorted, "when you don't seem to have much in the way of muscles."
Baby Face laughed. "I've surprised a lot of people that way." He kicked upward, catching Tony in the stomach, and shoved him away while he was dazed. Then he grabbed up his gun, pointing it at the police officer as he slowly got to his feet.
Tony looked up at him darkly, knowing that for now he was beaten. "Just tell me one thing," he demanded. "What do you claim that Marco's involved with when you say he's working against me?" The thought went through his mind that Baby Face might be about to shoot him dead, but something told him that he was going to be allowed to live. Baby Face did not seem to be in a killing mood tonight.
"You're going to find out soon enough," Baby Face replied as he began to walk backwards, still pointing the gun at him. "I'm not lying to you, Tony. The time's going to come when you'll regret ever having met him. Just stay on your guard. You're already starting to uncover the truth now, and people get nasty when truths are found that they want to keep hidden."
Tony started to get up. "Why are you even telling me?!" he cried in confusion.
Baby Face shrugged. "Well, remember when I talked about the idiots who've tried to catch me in the past? You're not one of them." He smirked again. "Nope, you're not an idiot at all. And I'm willing to help out someone like you now and then." With that he kicked open a panel with his foot and disappeared into it.
Angrily Tony ran over to it and banged, trying to get it open. But now it would not budge, and he knew that Baby Face must have placed something in front of it on his side that prevented it from being opened again. He leaned against it in frustration, slowly taking out a box that he had hidden in his coat. At least he had managed to get the loot away from the mobster. This was one home from which Baby Face would leave empty-handed.
Abruptly his cell phone rang. Replacing the box, he reached for the device and pressed the Talk button. "Hello?" It suddenly occurred to him that Vivalene had disappeared during his conversation with Baby Face, and he glowered at the opposite wall. He had allowed himself to get too involved with what the gangster had told him, and yet he did not actually believe any of it.
"Mr. Ferano?" said an unfamiliar female voice on the other end of the phone. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but there's been an accident."
Tony gripped the phone tightly. "Who is this?"
"I'm Nurse Rogers at Detroit Community Hospital," was the reply. "Your wife was in a car accident. She's shaken up, but otherwise seems to be alright. She didn't want us to call and tell you what had happened, but we felt it would be best."
"Tell her I'll be right there," Tony answered, and hung up the phone without saying goodbye. He was furious at himself. He had assumed that Alice would be staying home watching television, and so he had not even bothered to mention anything about not going out. Part of it was, of course, that he had not wanted to worry her by having to bring up the threatening notes. But he knew that he would have to tell her now.
Clutching the phone tightly in his hand, he went to find Marco. The mobsters had probably all fled the abode by now, and at this point Tony was not interested in catching them. Duty or no duty, he was worried about Alice.