CHAPTER 23
ROMEO
“Thought you’d never show up,” I said. “Thanks for meeting me, Langley.”
“You did my family a solid when my wife was in labor. I’m glad to be able to repay the favor,” he said as he sat down.
“How’s your wife doing anyway? Did she recuperate nicely?”
“Thanks to the doctor you flew in, she did. And thanks for the therapist recommendation. It got her through her postpartum depression.”
“Watched my mom go through it with Antony. It’s no joke,” I said.
“We’re looking at adoption for the second one,” he said with a grin.
“Holy shit, congratulations,” I said. “Boy or girl?”
“We’re thinking another boy.”
“That has to make you proud.”
“We’re still in the beginning stages, but we think it’ll be a good thing. Here’s the info I promised.”
He slid a folder toward me, and I opened it. Langley was an old buddy of mine from my high school days. We ran the same halls and tormented the same teachers for years. No one wanted us in the same class together. The Dirty Duo, they called us. Langley went on to become a cop, married his high school sweetheart, and he owed me a favor.
He wasn’t working my case, so I had him do some digging for me.
“It looks like this entire case hinges on that damn ring,” I said.
“It does. But I can’t help but think a lot of biases because of your last name are going into this thing. If you can get it in front of the right judge, they’ll see that. Plus, they’re running into dead ends with the testing they’re doing. Flip to the last page.”
I turned the folder over and opened it, my eyes scanning all the red words.
“Negative. What tests are these?” I asked.
“DNA testing. To see if they could find your DNA in any of it. And right now, the only DNA on that ring is your father’s. Not yours. That’s kicking them in the ass right now, so most of what they have is circumstantial at best.”
“Are they going to be running any more tests?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I won’t know until they file it. But that’s the first snag they’ve hit since finding that ring,” Langley said. “And it’s a big one. A judge will definitely take that into consideration. But we both know the kind of damage this will do to your reputation and the target it will paint on you, even if a judge finds you innocent.”
“Yeah. I know,” I said with a sigh.
“If you want me to, I can make that ring disappear.”
My eyes slowly panned up to my friend, and I saw how serious he was.
“You have a family that needs you,” I said.
“You saved my family, Romeo. Had it not been for that doctor and his expertise, my wife would’ve died. No one would’ve caught the same defect in my son. You’re the reason for that. So if I can help get you out of hot water here, I’m going to do it.”
“I don’t want you compromising your integrity or risking your career. The offer is generous, but it’s not necessary. I’m not going to do things like my father did. But I do have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Does your evidence locker have a surveillance camera on it?” I asked.
“It does.”
“Is there any way you could find an excuse to review the footage?”
“I can actually. I have a case that’s coming up for trial and I can put in the request to make sure the chain of command with my evidence wasn’t broken. I can sneak a peek that way, ” he said. “What, or who, am I supposed to be looking for?”
“An Officer Johnson,” I said.
I watched Langley’s face grow stern as he sat back into his seat.
“You think he’s been messing with your case evidence?”
“I think I’m being set up,” I said. “Officer Johnson is on the payroll of who I think is pulling the strings. That break-in at my house a few days ago? You familiar with it?”
“The entire precinct is,” Langley said.
“Well I finally found out what they took, and you’re not going to believe it,” I said.
I watched as Langley nodded his head. “Let me guess? It’s silver and shiny and has your family crest on it?”
“Ding, ding, ding,” I replied.
“Fuck me. Johnson’s dirty and everyone knows it, but no one can catch him in the actt. You think Stefano Bianchi’s setting you up.”
“So you’re aware of his connections,” I said.
“Hell yeah. He’s a low-level enforcer for the man. Rumor has it Stefano pays him generously, too. But all the evidence Internal Affairs has against him is circumstantial, at best. They’ve been trying to nail that bastard to the wall for years. No luck, though.”
“My theory is that Johnson’s the one that slipped the ring into the evidence box. Because I know damn good and well it wasn’t at the crime scene. I didn’t even know where my father kept his family ring until I tore his office apart.”
“That could be the silver bullet to both bust this case out of the water and arrest Johnson,” he said.
“Will you take a look at that footage and see if you can find anything?” I asked.
“For a chance to nail that asshole to the wall? Hell yeah, I would. Let me see what I can do, and I’ll get back to you. It’ll take some fancy maneuvering this week, but I think I can get it done.”
“Let me know how things go, okay? And kiss that wife and boy of yours for me.”
“I’ll tell them Uncle Romeo is stopping by soon?”
“You do that,” I said.
I held the file in my hand as Langley got up and walked away. I quickly stuffed it into my briefcase, then stood and buttoned my coat. I looked around to see if anyone was watching us before I made my way to my car, then took the backroads in case there was a tail set to follow me. That was my way in. Johnson on that damn security footage. It was the only way I had of proving that ring was nowhere near the crime scene. Because even with the tests they were running on the ring, I wasn’t sure I would survive court. This city still operated under the assumption that the Martines were killers. Criminals. Drug lords and gun traffickers. And there was no way I was going to be able to change that image for good if I appeared in court for the murder of three men.
I hoped Langley would pull through. I didn’t have any other options if he couldn't.