- Chapter 26
THEO
“I need to speak to someone in charge,” I said to the police officer behind the counter.
She didn’t look at me with the same urgency that I was looking at her, though. It was like she didn’t even care that I was there, standing in her police precinct, trying to turn in one of the most famous men in New York.
I was desperate to get someone to help me and felt so out of control at that moment. My body was buzzing with a need to save Abby, and I literally would have done anything I could to get her away from Aldo. For the first time in my life, I really knew what love was. As I stood in front of the police officer, I was totally willing to give up my fortune and my freedom if it meant that Abby would be safe.
“I am a police officer; you can speak to me,” she said, barely looking up from the paperwork she had in front of her.
“I have evidence against Aldo Gioacchino, and I’d like to talk to someone in charge.”
The mention of Aldo’s name was finally enough to get the woman’s attention, and she looked up at me. She eyed me over, and whatever she was looking for seemed to be there as she nodded her head in affirmation and went to grab someone. I didn’t really care who it was I talked to, but I needed to turn Aldo in. If that meant turning myself in, then so be it, but I couldn’t let him control Abby and threaten me.
Over the years, I had been present for many of the atrocious acts that Aldo had committed. I had watched him tell his guys to strangle a man. I had watched him in action when the Mayor’s daughter overdosed at his house and they had to bring her to the ER. I knew more about Aldo than he knew about me, so he should have been more afraid of me than he was.
“What’s your name kid?” A very official looking man in uniform said as he came to the desk.
“Theodore Stern,” I replied.
“Mr. Stern, you look like an upstanding citizen, and I can appreciate you want to follow the law and all, but are you sure you want to turn in information on Aldo Gioacchino?” The officer asked.
He didn’t look excited at all that I wanted to turn Aldo in; in fact, he seemed to be trying to talk me out of it. In my mind, I had thought that the police would be clamoring to get hold of a bigwig like Aldo. I had expected that they would have been following him for years and trying to find just the right time to arrest him.
But deep down, I knew that he had worked really hard to pay off a lot of the police force and that was how he had avoided jail for so many years. That was always why I had avoided investigations and jail over the years. But I still genuinely thought if they had an inside guy like myself, the police would have wanted to get Aldo and put him behind bars.
I understood Aldo wasn’t the kind of guy you wanted to mess around with unless you could actually catch him. The police weren’t going to go after him for some little thing that he was going to get off from. And they certainly weren’t going to go after him for something that they couldn’t prove. But I knew so much about Aldo, how could I not be helpful?
“I know him well sir, and I understand your concerns. He’s also got my girlfriend held up at his house right now, and I’m inclined to tell you everything I know about him over the last decade of working directly with him.”
“Let’s get a room,” the officer said.
I followed him to a small conference room and was prepared to put my entire statement on video or audio or something. I was even prepared to write it down if it took me all day. Whatever they needed to lock him up, I was ready.
“Is this room videotaped? You are probably going to want that in case something happens to me after I tell you all of this,” I said, thinking of the possibility that Aldo would actually kill me after finding out what I had done.
“Kid, there is no video or audio in this room. It’s just you and me. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Officer Reynolds,” I said as I looked at his nametag. “I think we need a video tape.”
“See right there, that’s how I know what you’re about to tell me is the truth. Only a man who really knew Mr. Gioacchino would understand the dangers of giving this information to the police. How about let’s start with why he had your girl.”
I tried to explain everything to him. I didn’t hold back. It was what I needed to do to get Abby out of his hands. The officer was kind to me; he didn’t make a big thing about me running an escort business or having feelings for a woman I had only known for a few days. He shook his head and listened to my story with empathy. I thought perhaps he needed to hear what it was I had to say before he brought me to a questioning room to get it all on tape.
“Mr. Stern, I sympathize with what’s going on with your girl. But I don’t think the New York police department is in a position to take on Mr. Gioacchino at this time.”
My body sat there stunned at what he was saying. Was he really turning me away? Did he really not want to hear about all of Aldo’s illegal activity, money laundering, murderers and everything else? How could a police officer not want to hear this information? But my gut knew exactly why the police didn’t want to hear what I had to say.
I didn’t know for sure if this officer was paid off by Aldo, but there were probably dozens of officers in that building who were. It surprised me that they didn’t want a chance to make a big headline, though.
“I’m not lying to you. I know where his illegal businesses still are. I know where he buried bodies. I know about the Mayor’s daughter overdosing at his house. I have a lot of information that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life,” I said emphatically.
“Mr. Stern, do you have proof of any of these things? Proof that Aldo Gioacchino is the one that committed the crimes and not one of the people who worked for him?”
His words sent chills through my body as I replayed all the important events that I had seen Aldo commit. It was true, Aldo always had someone else doing his dirty work for him. He always sent someone else to torture or murder someone. Even thinking back to what happened with Kimberly, Aldo ordered one of his guys to ‘take care’ of Rocco after the assault.
I shook my head in understanding. I saw what he was getting to. They weren’t going to risk going after Aldo unless there was hard, physical proof that Aldo himself had been part of a crime. It was only Aldo that they wanted, and if I couldn’t prove his involvement, they didn’t want to hear anything I had to say.
“So there is no way you will help?” I asked in dismay.
“We can put out a missing person’s report on your girl, would you like us to do that?”
“Technically she isn’t missing; I mean, I know where she is.”
The officer looked less than enthusiastic to be still dealing with me, and I decided it was time for me to think up a new plan. Certainly, the local police weren’t going to get involved. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that they probably got paid off with tons of cash by Aldo throughout the years. None of them were going to want to risk their bonus side money that he gave them.
“That’s all I can offer you for right now?”
“Okay, thanks,” I said as I got up to leave.
Officer Reynolds walked me out to the front lobby and then grabbed my arm to say one last thing.
“You should just forget about all of this. It’s not worth it, you know.”
“Abby is worth it,” I said as I turned to leave.
Reluctantly, I headed over to Jack’s house to talk with him and Isabella and tell them what was going on. Neither of them were going to be happy with me. Jack was certainly not going to like the idea that I had just gone to the police, and Isabella wasn’t going to like what I had to tell her about what was going on with Abby and Aldo. But they were the only two I could talk to about everything, and I needed their help. There was no way I was leaving Abby with Aldo, even if I ended up in jail, it would be worth it.
I had made the walk down Fifth Avenue many nights before, but on that specific evening, I paid more attention to the people around. The couples that walked together holding hands looked like they were in a world all of their own. Admittedly, I didn’t know if Abby and I would ever have such a relationship, but she was the first woman I had met who actually made me think about that kind of future.
When I arrived at Jack’s house, I prepared to tell him everything that had happened with the dinner and Aldo. He was a good friend; we had been close for so many years, and I had hope that in the end he would understand my choices.
“Hey Theo, what’s up?” Jack said as I got to his condo.
“Man, that dinner with Aldo was a trip. He threatened Abby or something and basically said he was keeping her.”
“Now, that’s some kind of shit. What did you do?”
“I tried to fight for her, but they pulled a gun on me. All over a girl. I can’t believe Aldo would go this crazy over a girl.”
“Isn’t it the same girl that you want to drop your entire life for?” Jack said with a grin.
It was the truth; I knew exactly why Aldo wanted Abby. She had the ability to make him feel good; not just physically good, which I hoped she hadn’t been doing. Abby had a way of making me feel like I was a good man, a good person, someone who could do whatever I wanted in my life. The way she could forgive and still care was remarkable. The way she could connect with anyone no matter what walk of life they were in; she had a gift that resonated with me.
“So what’s next?” Jack asked as we sat in the living room.
“I went to the police and offered to turn Aldo in and tell them everything I know about him.”
“You did what?” Jack said as he stood up. “Shit, you are going to get us killed!”
“Stop worrying. The cops wouldn’t even talk to me. They don’t want to arrest Aldo. They are just as scared of him as we are.”
“Theo, I’ve gone along with this game of yours, and if you want to blow up your own life, that’s your business. But you’ve just made life really dangerous; not just for you but for everyone involved with you. In fact, you might have just gotten Abby killed.”
“Jack, I’m trying to get her away from him. He’s taking her back to his house and has threatened her with something. I wanted to get Aldo arrested so I could help her, I’m not going to get her killed,” I said.
“The police didn’t want to deal with you because they are in Aldo’s back pocket, right?”
“Yeah, exactly. They aren’t going to go arrest a guy that is giving them payoffs and shit.”
“Then doesn’t it make sense that they would go and tell him that you showed up and were trying to have him arrested? That way they look like the good guys, and he’ll give them more payoffs.”
“Oh shit,” I mumbled as I realized what Jack was saying. “They have probably already called him and told him I was there. Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
“I’ve got an idea. But it means we all need to be okay with dropping everything and running away if it doesn’t work,” Jack said calmly as he sat down next to me.
“Anything Jack. I need to fix this.”
Jack took a minute and wrote down a name on a piece of paper and a phone number. He didn’t tell me anything else but just handed me the paper.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Only call that number if you’re ready to give this all up. I’m serious, Theo, like everything would be gone. I won’t work for you. The escort business won’t exist anymore. Everything,” Jack said with an unfamiliar serious expression on his face. “You should get back to your house now. If Aldo is looking for you, I don’t want him coming here. Have Mario at your front door for protection tonight.”
“You’re not going to tell me who this is?” I asked, standing up to leave.
“No, I told you the consequences of calling him; that’s all I can say.”
“Alright, I’ll think about it,” I said as I left.
It was odd the mystery that Jack had behind calling this guy. Jack and I had always been really open with each other. He had been my right-hand man and more than willing to step up and help out whenever possible. I didn’t think we really had any secrets between the two of us, but I figured maybe I didn’t know as much as I thought.
There wasn’t time to think about things, though, and I certainly didn’t want to think about what Aldo might do to Abby when he found out that I had tried to turn him in. I dialed the number as I walked toward my building.
“Hello,” the man on the phone answered.
“Hello, is Harrison Stone available?” I asked.
“Who is calling?”
The voice on the other end of the phone was calm, yet I could tell he was really interested in knowing who I was. Normally, I wouldn’t have been so willing to give my name to a complete stranger, but I didn’t have a choice any longer. Time was running out, and I needed someone to help me get Abby out of Aldo’s house.
I didn’t know what Aldo was going to do with Abby, but I knew he had no problem with killing people, and his wife had already pulled a gun on me and pointed it at Abby’s head. I was desperate for help, even if it came from some anonymous person I had called as a last resort.
“Theodore Stern, my friend Jack gave me this number. I have a situation. Who are you? What kind of work do you do? Can you help me?”
“Where are you? I’ll be right there,” the man said as if he knew exactly who I was and didn’t have a problem coming to meet me in the middle of the night.
“Um. I’m on my way home, I could …”
“I’ll meet you there in ten minutes,” the man interrupted and then hung up the phone.
I felt like a clandestine agent from some sort of spy movie. Who was this guy, and how did he know where I lived? Better yet, how did Jack know this guy? I picked up a pace as I hurried home so I could at least beat him there and talk to Kimberly before he arrived.
“Kim, you need to get your things together and go stay with one of your friends,” I said as I hurried into the apartment.
“What? Now?” she asked, bewildered.
“Yes, like now, this second now!” I said as I went into her room and started throwing her things into a bag.
“What’s going on?”
“Aldo is going to try and kill me, and probably Abby too; you need to get away from me.”
I didn’t feel like going into all the details about trying to turn Aldo in or the strange man who was coming to my apartment any minute. I just needed to get Kimberly as far away from me as possible, for her own safety.
Then there was a knock at the door.
“Now, take what you have here and go,” I said as I pressed the bag into her hand and pulled her toward the door.
As I opened the door, I pushed Kimberly out and past the strange man that stood in front of me. He wasn’t much older than I was, maybe in his early 40s. He was around six feet tall and had on an ominous black suit that matched his jet-black hair. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was straight out of one of those spy movies.
“Harrison?” I asked.
“Mr. Stone, if we are going to act we need to act right now. There isn’t time to think about anything if you want to get Abigail out of there safely. But you’re going to have to agree to cooperate fully and to testify.”
“Wait? Who are you? Testify … I went to the police, and they refused to talk to me.”
“The FBI has been following Aldo Gioacchino for the last ten years trying to make a case against him. He’s always smart about who he uses and how dirty his hands get. If you’ll agree to testify, we believe we can use the testimony in combination with the evidence we have to put him away for the rest of his life.”
“You’ve been following Aldo?”
“Yes.”
“So you’ve been following me too?”
“Yes.”
“Shit.”
“Mr. Stern, we really don’t have time for all of this. If my intel is correct, Mr. Gioacchino has already learned that you went to the police. It’s only a matter of time before he sends someone here for you. I also cannot assure the safety of Ms. Tessaro at all at this point.”
“Wow, you guys really do see everything. Why haven’t you arrested Aldo yet?”
“Originally, our case was centered on you until information gave us some good pieces of evidence that you weren’t the biggest fish and we should look more at Mr. Gioacchino. But it was a large amount of cash that you sent home to your family that first tipped us off all those years ago.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Everything. You’re going to have to give us every dirty detail of your business and your dealings with Aldo. Because we are in a time sensitive situation, I’ll take a sworn video statement of the basic information. Then we can work on more detailed information later.”
“Will I be arrested?’
“It’s possible if your information is good enough that we will be able to work out a deal, but I can’t guarantee it since we won’t have time to verify the information. I’ll be honest with you, Mr. Stern, you’re going to have to do this with the understanding that you might end up with charges and going to jail.”
I needed his help, and he was the only person in the world that was willing to go up against Aldo. There wasn’t anything for me to think about. I was going to be murdered and so was Abby if I didn’t make the deal. Life in prison sounded like a much better life than getting murdered.
“I understand,” I said although I certainly didn’t fully understand what was going on.
“Okay,” he said as he dialed a number on his phone. “Mr. Stern is on board, we are a go.”