Page 87 of Feared

“I’M FINE, DOLL.”

Mary still felt so angry. “That was Machiavelli’s doing. Every time we think he’s hit rock bottom, he gets lower. So it’s not just the press he’s sending after us, it’s protesters. It’s an outrage.”

“I KNEW IT WASN’T JOHN’S REAL FRIENDS BECAUSE THEY WERE INSIDE WITH US. I’M JUST SO EFFIN MAD AT THAT BASTARD—OH, SORRY, EXCUSE ME.” Mary’s father glanced at the Hodges, but Mel waved him off with a polite smile.

“Matty, I’ve heard worse. We might be Minnesota nice, but I served in Vietnam. Now, whowerethose protestors? Why do they think Judy killed John? What conspiracy are they even talking about?”

Judy’s face reddened. “It’s so awful, it’s a fraud.”

William looked up at Judy, his head jittery. “Judy? Was thatreal?”

“No, not at all.” Judy frowned, patting his clenched fist. “They’re lying.”

Mary could see Judy was upset, so she took over. “William, it’s not real, and Mel and Susan, those people don’t really care about John. They don’t even know John. They were sent there by a lawyer named Nick Machiavelli. He must have paid them to make a scene, for the cameras.”

“Really?” Mel’s hooded eyes widened behind his trifocals. “Why would he do such a thing, at John’s memorial service?”

“Because he wants to make us look bad. He’s got a thing against us and our firm. He’s suing us, accusing us of John’s murder, and now he’s out of control, practically waging war against us.”

“HE TRIED TO PICK A FIGHT AND HE GOT ONE. HE ACCUSED MARY OF MURDER ON TV. I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES. WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE THAT LYIN’ DOWN. WE GOT A FAMILY NAME, AND IT STANDS FOR GOOD, NOT LIKE HIS.”

Feet snorted. “Hell, no. We’re not letting him get away with this. He picked on the wrong guys.”

Tony-From-Down-The-Block sipped his beer. “We’re already tryin’ to get him back from what he said about Mary. We’ve been diggin’ into him, big-time. Tryin’ to get the dirt.”

“You have?” Mary asked, looking over in surprise. Between them, The Tonys and her father knew almost everyone in South Philly and they could have turned up something useful. Or something ridiculous.

Bennie frowned at Mary. “DiNunzio, we shouldn’t talk about this now. I’m sure William and the Hodges would rather relax and eat something. Machiavelli and his proxies don’t deserve another moment of our time.”

Mel interjected, “It’s okay, Bennie, I’d like to know what’s going on. We’d rather not make small talk. We’ve thought of nothingbutwho could have murdered John. It’s shocking that this man is accusing Judy, or any of you, of being his killer.”

Susan nodded, her expression drained. “I go over and over it in my mind, asking myself how anybody could have done that to him. He was such an intelligent, gentle soul, like my sister. Bennie, do the police have any suspects? You’re not truly a suspect, are you? Or Judy?”

“Let me fill you in, briefly,” Bennie answered, then broughtWilliam, Mel, and Susan up-to-date on everything, ending with her theory of the burglar. Mary didn’t correct her to add Shanahan because that would upset William, nor did she say anything about her suspicion that Machiavelli was behind John’s murder because she didn’t have any proof. Mary knew from her own experience that speculating wouldn’t help William and the Hodges bear their burden. No one but a crime victim could understand what another crime victim went through, to endure not only a murder, but its aftermath.

Mary turned to Bennie. “Those protestors were the last straw, as far as I’m concerned. Machiavelli’s playing by his own rules, and we’re playing by Roger’s rules of Zen. And it’s resulting in what happened today. They ambushed us. I think we need to fire Roger.”

“I would normally agree with you, but we can’t fire him now. Your interview’s tomorrow with the Human Relations Commission. You can’t go in unrepresented.” Bennie’s phone rang in her pocket, but she ignored it. “That’s probably Roger calling.”

“Then we find somebody else overnight, it’s not impossible. Or we postpone. Because this isn’t working. We’re so civilized, we don’t fight back. We have to let them know that we’re onto them and that we won’t take it.”

“BENNIE, I GOTTA BACK MARY UP, NOT ’CAUSE SHE’S MY KID. MACHIAVELLI, HE DON’T PLAY FAIR. YOU ACT ALL NICEY-NICE AND HE’S GONNA TAKE ADVANTAGE.”

Judy blinked, dubious. “Mary, I agree with you but it’s not practical. Not with your interview tomorrow.”

Mel shook his head, the deep lines in his forehead buckling. “Ladies, I don’t know much about the law, but I know about war. You have to fight fire with fire.”

“I’M WITH YOU, MEL. THIS IS HOW THIS MACHIAVELLI FAMILY ACTS. BELIEVE ME, I DONE SOMEASKIN’ AROUND ABOUT THEM. EVERYBODY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S GOT A STORY ABOUT THEM. THEY CHEAT PEOPLE, THEY STIFF PEOPLE, THEY GOT NO RESPECT.”

Bennie’s phone kept ringing, so she slid it out of her pocket and checked the screen. “It’s Sanjay, not Roger. We should take this.”

Anne rose. “Let’s step away.”

Mary and Judy stood up. “Excuse us, everybody,” Mary said, touching Anthony on the shoulder, and they crossed to the wall, huddling around the cell phone, which they put on speaker.

Bennie said into the phone, “Hello, Sanjay, yes we’re fine, thanks.”

“Good.” Sanjay sounded relieved. “We were concerned for your safety. The crowd was out of control. It looked as if the older people got in harm’s way.”

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