Miscarriage Of Justice (25 page)

The ghastly sight was repulsive and sickening, but that wasn’t what weighed on Mariana’s mind. Her discovery now posed a much bigger and immediate problem than she’d had before—how to dispose of the body and leave no trail leading back to her. She certainly couldn’t just call the coroner.

Common sense told her she’d never be able to lift the corpse, even if she wanted to, which she definitely did not! Staring despondently at the body, she racked her brain for an idea, any idea.

Overcome then by the atrocious horror of it all, she suddenly bolted from the shed. Slamming the door shut behind her and leaving the car in its haphazard position, she fled into the house. Needing time to think, she paced back and forth in the kitchen. This had all become far more complicated than she’d anticipated. Too complicated.

At her wits end, she called the only person in the world in whom she could confide, the only one she could trust—Jessi. Relating the latest events in gory detail, she said in an exasperated tone, “I don’t know what to do, this is driving me crazy! And now I have a dead guy in my shed. How am I supposed to get rid of that?”

Jessi listened apathetically as Mariana talked, raved deliriously. Just listened, not saying a word.

“Ethan is still alive. And Frankie could tell what he knows,” Mariana wailed. “Either one of them has the power to ruin my career, and my life.”

An “I told you so,” would’ve been easy for Jessi, but valuing her friendship with Mariana, she wasn’t looking to score points in a tit for tat debate. Gently she said, “Yeah. You’re really between a rock and a hard place. Is there anything I can do?”

“No,” a discouraged Mariana answered. “I got myself into this, and it’s up to me to get myself out. I just don’t know how to do that.”

“I can still come down,” Jessi volunteered. “If you want.”

“Thanks,” Mariana said. “But I don’t want you in the middle of this. Now that things have escalated to this point, I think I am going to have to take some kind of legal action. That’ll probably seal my fate, but I’ve got to do something.”

“You could always turn yourself in,” Jessi gently suggested.

Mariana sighed heavily, but didn’t answer. She’d been thinking the same thing, but didn’t know if she was really ready to do that. Not just yet.

“It would seem to be the best choice and would get both Frankie and Ethan off your back,” Jessi urged.

“And create a whole new set of problems,” Mariana said. “Are you forgetting what you told me earlier about the treatment I could expect in prison?”

“No. But maybe you wouldn’t have to worry about it. They might send you to the country club prison.”

“I think there would be plenty of people there who are upset with me too,” the D.A. lamented.

“How do you know you’d be sent anywhere?” her friend asked. “You are assuming you’d be found guilty. All you need to do is hire a good defense lawyer and you could get off. It happens all the time. You should know that.”

“What defense attorney would represent me?” “We’re kind of on opposite sides, and I’ve had most of them pretty mad at me more than once.”

“I’m thinking that wouldn’t matter,” Jessi said dryly. “Wave some green stuff under their nose, and the past will be instantly forgotten.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Mariana remained unconvinced.

“You could always find an attorney from out of the area.”

“I could but...” Mariana fell silent again.

“What other choice do you have?” You can’t keep up this feud with Ethan. Sooner or later you’ll lose.” Jessi then tried a little lighthearted humor. “I suppose you could change your identity and move to the other side of the country.”

“Believe it or not,” Mariana said, “I’ve considered that. But these days it’s becoming extremely difficult to effectively disappear. Unless you’re in the witness protection program, it’s nearly impossible.”

“Yeah,” Jessi said. “So, I guess it’s back to turning yourself in then?”

“I suppose.”

They discussed the difficult situation until well into the evening and finally Mariana agreed a full confession was her only real option. Jessi offered to accompany her for moral support, but her friend declined, saying this was something she had to do on her own.

“So, you’re going down tomorrow right?” Jessi persisted, trying to get a commitment.

Mariana’s first inclination was to say yes, but then she stopped. “No. I need to resign as the District Attorney first. Then, I’ll have to write out my confession for the County Commissioners. So, it’ll probably be after the weekend.” She spoke in a quiet subdued voice. Jessi couldn’t help but feel sorry for her friend. Whatever mistakes Mariana had made, it was obvious she’d never meant for things to go this far. “All right,” she said quietly, careful not to push too hard. “Let me know how it turns out. And if you need anything, call me.”

Hanging up, Mariana resumed her nervous pacing. Off the phone only a few minutes, she began having second thoughts. Every argument Jessi had made was right on the money, but was she ready to give up everything for which she had worked so hard? Everything she had achieved over the past twenty-some years?

Sitting down at the table, she stared mindlessly out the window. There had to be another way. A better way. A way that did not destroy her whole life, while still effectively eliminating the problem. The problem now being two-fold with both Ethan and Frankie.

Determined to make every effort to resolve the situation before submitting her resignation, Mariana decided to pay Mr. Arimante one more visit, hoping it wasn’t too late to call off the hit. “Tomorrow morning.” She promised herself.

There was still the matter of the decomposing body in her shed, a matter she chose to ignore for now. Tomorrow was looking as if it would be a hectic day and she didn’t need to be saddled with the extra burden of a low-life thug who was already dead.

Up early the next morning, Mariana was on her way downtown to see Frankie by seven o’clock. From the looks of things when she walked into the restaurant, it appeared he’d been expecting her. As she entered the nearly empty dining area, he immediately signaled to the others nearby, whisking them out of sight. This time, remembering his manners, as Mariana approached his table, he greeted her pleasantly and politely slid out a chair.

Mariana acknowledged the gesture with a cool, “Thank you.”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news for you,” Frankie began without giving her a chance to start berating him as she’d done before. “But from the look on your face, I’d say you already know about it.”

“What I know, is that Ethan is still alive,” Mariana replied evenly. “And the guy you sent to take him out is dead.”

Taken by surprise by the last statement, Frankie shot the D.A. a puzzled look. “What makes you think my guy is dead?” he demanded.

“His bloated body is lying on the floor my shed,” Mariana said bluntly.

This was news to the man and his face showed it. He’d assumed something had gone wrong, it’d been two days since he had dispatched Lou to Ethan’s house and he had heard nothing. But he hadn’t imagined the man could be dead. Mariana’s claim of the body in her shed was shocking and disturbing. But, he was confused. How had she known so positively it was Lou and how had the body ended up at
her
house?

As if reading his mind Mariana said, “Ethan called me yesterday afternoon to let me know he’d left something for me in the shed.”

Frankie nodded. That explained part of it. He raised an eyebrow peering intently at the D.A. “And the body is still there?”

Mariana shot him of look of disdain. “
I’m
certainly not going to move it.”

“I’ll send someone over to pick it up,” Frankie promised. “And I’ll personally attend to Mr. Rafferty.”

“Don’t bother,” Mariana said, her tone turning placid. “You’ve proven yourself incompetent.”

Frankie was instantly enraged. “The guy killed one of my men. It’s no longer a matter of just a job. It’s personal.”

Mariana understood the sentiment. It was the criminal code of justice. She could even appreciate it. She noted however, the man seemed to display no signs of grief, no remorse at the news of his friend’s death. Apparently, he felt no anguish, only anger toward Ethan for having inconvenienced him. She knew then it was too late to stop the hit, though she was still determined to try. “I’ve changed my mind,” she said. “Our deal is off.”

“Nobody breaks a deal with Frankie Arimante,” the big man boasted arrogantly.

“The deal, was that Ethan would be out of the picture in a week,” Mariana stated looking him in the eye. “I didn’t break it. You did.”

Abruptly, Frankie’s demeanor changed. The easy-going, pleasant nature was gone, as was the smile from his face. In a throaty voice he rasped, “You want to keep your job? And avoid an investigation into past cases?”

Mariana may have been a novice in the game of high-crime and negotiation, but she wasn’t entirely stupid. The not-so-subtle threat wasn’t lost on her; she understood the implication perfectly. Jessi had warned her this would happen. At any time, Frankie could take her down with the information he had. Information, which ironically, she’d willingly provided. It wasn’t exactly a position in which she wanted to be. She hated the thought of someone else, especially someone so low and underhanded, having control over her. This was blackmail! But she also knew there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Shrugging nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal, she said. “If you get rid of him, I’ll still honor our deal.”

Frankie continued staring, giving her the silent treatment. That was more like it, he thought. Then he nearly laughed out loud. This was too easy! Negotiating with an inexperienced female was like taking candy from a baby! Of course, in this instance, he did hold all the cards, but the perky little D.A. was the one who had dealt him his hand.

Mariana slid back her chair as if she were ready to leave. Frankie, feeling smug, now that he had won their dispute, once more assumed his hospitable air. Smiling a plastic smile, he thanked her for coming in and promised to have the body removed from her shed immediately.

“Do you need an address?” Mariana asked.

“We know where you live.”

She wasn’t sure his candid reply had simply been an answer, or yet another veiled threat. Standing, Mariana nodded to the man, and without another word walked out of the restaurant.

With the stench of cigar smoke permeating her clothes, she drove to work, hoping no one at the office would notice. If they did no one mentioned it.

The day slowly dragged by, each new case steadily creating more concern and a growing anxiety. Mariana’s mind was far away, consumed with fanciful thoughts of Ethan, Frankie, and the rotting corpse in her shed. This was like living with a time bomb, ticking away. At any moment, she expected it to blow up in her face.

Not being able to stand the suspense any longer, at ten minutes until three, Mariana locked her desk, told Rachael that she had an appointment with Judge Bernstein, and drove home.

Pulling into the driveway, she saw more evidence of Ethan’s latest antics; at least three envelopes were wedged into the jamb on her front door. Climbing from the car, she walked directly to the shed and cautiously cracked the door, peeking inside.

The body was still there, looking even more disgusting than before! The swarming flies and hoards of maggots eating away the face of the dead man nearly caused her to gag. The acrid smell was horrendous, burning the inside of her nose and turning her stomach. Choking back a sudden urge to throw up, Mariana pushed the door shut and gasping for breath, ran into the house.

What had happened to Frankie’s men? Why was the decomposing body still there stinking up the place? She didn’t know, but she definitely intended to find out.

When she could again breath normally, Mariana slid into her car and made a quick trip to town. Mr. Arimante was about to discover how difficult she could make things for him. She was still the District Attorney—at least for a few more days.

Nearing the outskirts of the city, a gnawing and sinking feeling in her gut told her something was wrong. And whatever it was, she was sure she wasn’t going to like it.

Parking on the curb, a block away, she hurried down the walk to the small restaurant. The door didn’t budge when she tried to enter and looking through the glass, she could see the inside was dark. That was odd. The restaurant never closed as far as she knew. Where was Frankie?

Then, she remembered the man had said something about taking care of Ethan himself. “He must be doing just that,” she told herself, walking back to her car.

Despite trying to get the man to cancel their deal, the idea that Ethan may soon be pushing up daisies pleasantly appealed to her. And if the pictures he claimed to have in his possession turned up, she’d fight the issue in court, where she was comfortable and stood a better chance to win.

If Frankie was indeed on a mission of death, it looked like the man in the shed would be staying another night. She shuddered. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, but if she stayed in the house, maybe the putrid smell wouldn’t be too unbearable. She made a face, curling up her nose. Just thinking about it was enough to bring the awful smell to her nostrils. “Ugh,” she grunted shaking her head.

As Mariana opened the car door, her cell phone, which she’d purposefully left in the vehicle, started ringing. Answering the call, Mariana listened in stunned silence as her secretary informed her she was urgently needed back at the office, and then explained why. A certain Frankie Arimante had been arrested that afternoon along with four others. All five were being held temporarily in the county jail. According to Miss Gooten, the sheriff wanted to speak with her as soon as possible.

All sorts of thoughts raced through Mariana’s mind as she broke every traffic rule in a frantic effort to get back to the office. What had Frankie been arrested for? Which agency had made the arrest? And more importantly, had her name come up? The only thing she knew for sure was that Frankie was not busy stalking Ethan as she had supposed. “Unless, that’s why he was arrested,” she wondered aloud. In a near panic, Mariana turned pale. “I’m dead,” she told herself. If Frankie believed she’d had anything to do with his arrest, anything at all, he’d be squealing like a stuck pig.