Page 74 of Rules of Engagement

The name rang a bell. Solomon listed his name as one of his trusted contacts. "No, he didn't exactly, but I know who you are."

"What do you know about me?"

"I know you're rumored to be dead," I said, thinking back to when I asked Delgado about O'Malley. "You also are, or were, a crime lord here."

"That's nice and even complimentary," said O'Malley. "Usually, I'm called a lot worse."

I decided against telling him it wasn't supposed to be a compliment since I didn't know the extent of his crimes. All I could assume was that crime lord inferred an empire and a crime lord empire went hand-in-hand with gratuitous, merciless violence. "You're also on Solomon's list of most trusted people. Why is that?" I asked.

"Solomon and I became friends a very long time ago. No, he doesn't invite me to poker night at his house and I probably won't be invited to your wedding either, but we are friends in every other description," began O'Malley. "We ran into each other many years ago and he helped me out of a little bind. Nothing illegal, before you ask. A couple of years later, I was able to do the same for him and we've been friends for more than a decade. You're probably wondering how Solomon and I can be friends when we're such very different people."

"I am."

O'Malley laughed softly. "We ask ourselves that too and quite often. But here's the thing, hard friends are good to come by and we have strong boundaries. I don't implicate him in anything, and he doesn't ask. I don't request any favors from him, and he doesn't offer any. Plus, I'm a special kind of criminal."

"I prefer not to know. This is lovely, but you know Solomon is right down the hall in a freaking coma and I would rather be with him."

"I'm sure you would. I heard they got the shooter but he turns out to be just a poor apple that fell from a very rotten tree."

I nodded. "Nice analogy."

"So, it's true. What can I do to help? Anything you need, I will make it happen." O'Malley spread his arms wide.

"Actually, there is something I need," I said, wondering what I was getting into. Ask a favor of a crime boss and where would it end? Solomon might never have asked him but he did trust him and he also left me a note with a list of people he trusted. That had to be for a good reason. Would I end up paying for it? Did I care if it got me what I wanted right now?

"What is the cost?" I asked, hoping the small print wasn't anything terrible.

"Cost? Your money is no good with me," said O'Malley.

I remembered the check Solomon gave me. I hadn’t cashed it, but I could. "I can pay whatever you ask," I said. "If you could find some information out for me."

"Like I said, I don't want your money. I came to help my old friend's fiancée. I would have been a little more obvious about it but I didn't want to scare you off, and, like you said earlier, I’m supposed to be dead. There is no charge for my assistance and there won't be any comeback on you. I am a man of my word. Is that right, Donny?"

"Yes, sir," said Donny.

"Okay, then. The shooter is a loser called Mikey Gibbs. He was approached by a man named Mooch who frequents a bar in Frederickstown on Ninth Street."

"I know it," said Donny. "It's not a very nice place."

"Mikey says Mooch was asked to find someone to shoot Solomon as a warning."

"A warning? For what?" asked O'Malley.

"He didn't say and he doesn't seem to know."

"Who hired Mooch to hire Mikey?"

"He didn't know that either. My brother..."

"Lieutenant Graves?"

"Yes." I nodded. "How did you know that?"

"I know everything. Your brother is a good man. And a good cop."

"Thanks, I think. Anyway, my brother wanted to set Mikey up with a wire tap but he's always wasted so that's a no go. I need to find out whatever Mooch knows."

"I'll get that information and relay it back to you. Does that work for you?" asked O'Malley.

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