Beneath The Surface (29 page)

“I remember.”

“Well, it turns out that he’s involved in an investment group that’s tied to Congressman Terrance Redding.”

“What does he have to do with this?”

“So much has happened while you were in Nassau,” Carmen said and told Black about how she found the newspaper clipping about the congressman in Tangela House’s room; and how Thaddeus Jones’s wife gave her the video of Crème being murdered, and his connection to Redding.

“The police took Finch in for questioning, but they had to let him go because they didn’t have enough to hold him.”

“Finch is dead,” Black said causally.

“I’m not even going to ask you how you know that.”

“Good.”

When they arrived in Atlantic City, Black asked Carmen where she wanted to start. Carmen had never been to Atlantic City and had no idea where she was going.

“I’m glad I showed up when I did,” Black said and told her how to get to the Bally’s on Park Place and the Boardwalk. When they got there, Black didn’t see anybody that he knew he could talk to about Yasir, so they left Bally’s and walked down to the Showboat. Black looked around and then to led Carmen to the bar, and they ordered a round.

“What are we doing here?”

“I’m looking for somebody,” Black said scanning the room; but he didn’t see who he was looking for. “Come on.”

Black made his way through the crowd with Carmen following close behind him. He stopped at a blackjack table and sat down.

The dealer smiled. “Well hello, Mr. Black. Long time no see.”

“How you doin’, Tess?”

“A little slow today, but it will get better. Last I heard, you got married and moved to the islands.”

“True.”

“Is this Mrs. Black?” Tess asked and dealt a hand.

“No,” Black said quickly. “This is Carmen Taylor. My wife is died.”

“I am so sorry to hear that.” Tess looked at Carmen. “But it’s good to meet you.”

“Good to meet you too,” Carmen said and thought about being Mrs. Mike Black, as she did all those years ago.

“I was lookin’ for Tommy Belletti, Tess.
You seen
him around?”

“Haven’t seen Tommy Boy in a minute. You might try the Trump Marina or Taj Mahal. But you know
what,
he just might be at the Borgata.”

“You heard of a guy named Hammdee Yasir?” Black asked.

“The name ain’t familiar. What does he look like?”

Black looked at Carmen. “He’s an Arab.”

“Look around, honey, and take your pick. There’re plenty of them here all the time.”

Black won the hand, finished his drink, and thanked and tipped Tess for her help. They left there and headed for the Trump Marina. Not finding him there, they went to the Taj Mahal. After asking around for Tommy and finding that nobody had seen him, Black and Carmen left there and headed for the Borgata. They found Tommy at a blackjack table with a pile of chips in front of him. Black sat down next to him.

“Private game, buddy; I’m sure you understand,” Tommy said without looking at Black.

“Suppose I just wanted to talk to you, Tommy. Would that be cool?”

“Mike Black. What the fuck are you doing here? Last I heard, you got married to some drug dealer and moved to the islands,” Tommy said, and Carmen rolled her eyes and waited for the next line.

“This is Carmen Taylor.”

“I was wondering if you were gonna introduce this beautiful lady. But I woulda understood if you didn’t. Anyway, Carmen, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Tommy Belletti. Anything you need in this town, you come to me and it’s done.”

“You got a minute to talk, Tommy?” Black asked.

“For you, I got all the time in the world.” Tommy cashed in his chips and they went to the bar to talk. “Hey, how’s Angelo? I haven’t seen that fuck in years.”

“Angelo’s good. He just has problems like everybody else. But you know Angelo. I’ll tell him you asked about him.”

“You tell him that I said he should get out of Yonkers some time and see the rest of the world.”

“You know that ain’t gonna happen.”

“I know, but you tell him I said it anyway.”

“I will.”

“Now what did you want to talk about?”

“You ever heard of a guy named Hammdee Yasir?” Black asked.

“What about him?” Tommy needed to know.

“What can you tell me about him?”

“He’s from Afghanistan. Father’s supposed to be some big-time tribal warlord.”

“Drug dealer?”

“Do bears shit in the woods?” Tommy laughed. “Spends a lotta time at the tables throwin’ around a bunch of money. You know how those guys are: makin’ a big show of it.”

“You know anybody he does business with?”

“That I couldn’t tell you,” Tommy said.

“What do you know about coal mining and mountaintop re
moval?” Carmen asked.

Tommy looked at Carmen and then at Black. “What I know about that is investment in coal is good for the union; and what’s good for the union is good for some friends of mine. If you know what mean.”

“I do.” Black turned to Carmen. “Write your number down.” Carmen dug in her purse for a pen. She wrote her number on a napkin and handed it to Tommy. “Do me a favor, Tommy.”

“For you, Mikey, anything.”

“Ask some of your friends if they do business with this guy.”

“Anything I should know about this guy?” Tommy asked.

“At this point, Tommy, you know more about him than I do. I’m just tryin’ to get up to your level.”

“If I hear anything, I’ll give the pretty lady a call.”

“Thanks, Tommy,” Black said and stood up. “Now I promised this lady dinner and a show.”

“Check out the Resorts. The food is great and I hear they got Brian McKnight tonight.”

Brian McKnight put on a good show at Resorts and when it was over, Carmen drove Black back to the city and, per his request, dropped him off at Cuisine. “Thanks for the ride,” Black said.

“Thanks for dinner; and Brian McKnight was great. And I want to thank you again for all of your help. I was just gonna waste a day in Atlantic City and wouldn’t have found out anything.”

“Well now you know.”

“Know what?”

“Tommy Belletti. You want to know about anything in AC, you ask Tommy Belletti,” Black said and smiled at Carmen.

“And where would I have met a guy like Tommy Belletti?”

“Trust me, Carmen, guys like Tommy Belletti walk up and talk to women that look like you, all the time.”

Carmen looked at the front entrance to Cuisine. “She in there?”

“Hold on, let me see,” Black said and stared at the front of the building. “Damn, my X-ray vision ain’t workin’.”

Carmen took a playful swing at him. “You know what I mean. I just thought maybe she’d be waiting for you.”

“Carmen, it is after two in the morning; she’s probably asleep. She ain’t sittin’ in there waitin’ for me to show up at Lord knows what time.”

“I would be; standing in the doorway waiting for you.”

“You never did like sleeping,” Black said and got out of the car. He closed the door and stuck his head in the window. “So what’s your plan for tomorrow?”

“Congressman Redding is working out of his office in the city tomorrow. I’m going to see if I can’t get in to see him.”

“What time?”

“What time what?”

“What time you pickin’ me up?”

Carmen smiled. “Be here around three. I’ll pick you up then.”

The following day Carmen picked up Black and they went to Congressman Redding’s office. When she got there, Carmen was told that he had a full schedule, and that she should make an appointment for an interview.

One again, Carmen went away without having talked to Redding, but she was able to schedule an exclusive interview for a day the following week. “Exclusive?” Black asked when Carmen told him about it.

“Not that there were a lot of other reporters trying to interview him, but the word
exclusive
made his secretary feel better about it,” Carmen said.

“What now?”

“It’s getting late and I was thinking about inviting you to dinner,” Carmen said as the congressman’s entourage came out the front door. “On second thought, I was actually planning on following Congressman Redding.”

The pair sat and watched as most of the congressman’s entourage went one way, and he walked off alone with Josh Fillmore. When they got in a car and drove off, Carmen followed.

They drove out of the city, across the Tappan Zee Bridge, and continued along the New England Thruway for another hour before getting on the road and eventually stopping at a restaurant. But neither Josh nor the congressman got out of the car. Carmen and Black waited and watched for over an hour, until another car pulled in the parking lot.

Josh got out of the car and came around to open the door for the congressman. They walked to the door together and stopped to talk to the man who had just arrived in the other car. “Let me see your camera,” Black requested. He zoomed in on the man that Redding was with. “I know that man.”

“Who is he?” Carmen asked.

“Geoffrey Canfield. Congressman Geoffrey Canfield.”

“That’s a picture to take,” Carmen suggested. Black took a few shots of the two congressmen shaking hands, and then going in the restaurant. Carmen got out and followed them in and Black, armed with a camera, followed her. Carmen remained out of sight and watched as the two talked over a steak dinner. After dinner was over, the two congressmen went their separate ways. Once again, Carmen followed Redding’s car.

As they got closer to the city, Carmen asked Black, “How do you know Canfield?”

Black glanced at Carmen. “Congressman Martin Marshall is a business associate of mine. I met Canfield at one of Martin’s parties.”

“Do you know if this is Canfield’s district?”

“Are we in Brooklyn?”

“No, we’re not in Brooklyn.”

“Then this ain’t his district.”

“Why would two congressmen meet all the way out here?”

“Maybe the food was good,” Black said.

“I wish I knew; I’m hungry,” Carmen wined.

“You should have ordered something from the bar.”

“I really need to know what these guys are talking about.”

“Let me use your phone,” Black said. Carmen handed him her phone and he dialed a number. When the call went to voice mail, he left a message. “You know who this is, or at least you should. Call me back at this number.”