21August 1993: ?
"Hey Vito, pass it over here."
Vito took a last glance at the poorly rolled joint and passed it to one of his buddies. He wasn't quite sure of where he was, but knew that the last place he wanted to be was home. His mother had died of fatal kidney failure. She died on a kidney that was supposed to save her.
"Dude are you alright? You look a little green around the gills." The rest of the group laughed while he looked off into the distance.
"I don't want to go home. Now or ever."
"Dude are running away?"
"No, but its just ... you wouldn't understand. Life is a sick joke and I keep getting knocked out by the punch line."
Nogard stepped out of his car, crumbling a small envelope. It only took him15 minutes to reach the Marble Side Hotel. The place had been made famous when a cult of 300 people all hung themselves. The place had since been abandoned. He called Frank and told him to meet up there. Of course he was late. Nogard also called Lenny's house but got a machine. He pulled a cigarette out and just as he lit up Frank pulled in.
"Nice of you to join me. What took you so long?"
"Do I look like the traffic god to you?"
"Well ... maybe if ... uh ... no."
"So this is the place, not too shabby to say the least."
It was 8 at night and the sun was far-gone. Neither of them wanted to make a move just yet so they decided to perch out front of the abandoned hotel. The idea was to tag or identify anyone coming out. A dim light could be seen from the outside, so they knew that someone was definitely inside. Nogard reached into the back of his car and pulled out a rather familiar looking box.
"I see you brought the sacred bread, but did you bring the holy water?"
"Of course I did. Coffee and donuts, meal of champions."
A Glock lay in front of him with only a single bullet inside. He wanted out but he wasn't sure that he wanted to pay that price. He could tell the cops, but he couldn't play the role of a rat. Even if what they were doing was horrible, he couldn't let them know what was going on.
"There's always that bullet." A voice from inside kept reminding him of his second option.
"I know the bullet's there. I don't need your help." He stared longer at the gun.
"Who are you talking to in there man? We are heading out, so hurry up."
"Be there in a sec."
The others had plans, but joining them would just make it worse. Killing again was not an option.
Frank and Nogard went through 2 boxes of donuts and 4 cups of coffee waiting for somebody to show. Not to mention 2 boxes of cigarettes.
"What time is it?"
Nogard looked at his watch and chuckled. "Well, if you would believe it, its 12:16."
"Yeah, I'd believe it."
The two sat in silence for another 15 minutes only to be interrupted by a gunshot, echoing throughout the area.
"What the hell was that?"
"Sounds like gun fire, but only one shot. It sounded like it came from the hotel. Do you think we should check it out? We are not on duty Nogard."
"Let's go. We've needed something for this case and now we're going to get it."
The two got out of his car and headed toward the hotel, both with pistol in hand. Neither knew what to expect from these people. They went up the stairs to the third floor where the light was coming from. The rustling of feet could be heard off in the distance, and then finally stopped. Frank and Nogard went into the room with the light. It wasn't pretty, but that was to be expected. A door on the far side of the room was cracked open, so they both headed over.
Inside they found the silhouette of a body on the floor, dead from a shot to the head. When they turned the body over, Nogard just stared shockingly while Frank left the room.
Lenny Topowitz lay dead on the floor in front of him. From the direction of the wound, he could tell that Lenny shot himself in the head. A sheet of paper stuck out of his pocket.
Frank reentered the room, unsure if he wanted to see the body again. This time he saw the paper. He kneeled next to the body, tempted to read what was addressed to the two of them.
"Nogard, we should read this man."
"I don't know. We probably shouldn't be here in the first place, but this is more important than that I guess."
Nogard grabbed the paper, unfolded it and began reading. A look of surprise could be seen on his face.
"What is it?"
"Frank, you're not going to believe this."
Wow, what a chapter, hope you like cliffhangers. Lenny's role with Vito will be explained in the following chapter. Until next time, have fun and don't join any crime organizations, they're bad for your health.