That night, I slept like a baby. And when I woke up, the secret cell was ringing.
“Tyrell’s talking,” Kessler said. “Whatever you did worked.”
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. This wasn’t a dream. Diamond Tony was going to get put away for Prescott’s murder. Finally he would get what he deserved.
“I’d like to pick up Walker as soon as possible,” she said. “Word could get out that Tyrell talked, and I don’t want Tony skipping town. Can you locate him for me?”
I checked the clock. It was 9:05 a.m. “He’s probably still at his crib. I think only Marcus knows where it is. Odds are Tony’s going to want to meet with his executives at some point today. I’ll keep you posted.”
“I’ll be waiting for your call. And, Darren—thank you. Ed was right about you. You’re a good kid.”
“Thank me once Tony’s locked up.” I didn’t feel much like a kid anymore. Hadn’t for a long time.
* * *
Less than an hour later, I walked into the China place. Only Tony and Marcus were there. Tony paced the room like a restless cat.
When he saw me, he took off his sunglasses. His eyes were red, as if he hadn’t slept. “Tell me about your meeting with Tyrell.”
Obviously the text I’d sent Tony last night hadn’t reassured him. That suited me just fine. I’d called Kessler minutes ago with our location. The cops would be here any second.
“I told him everything you wanted me to. He knows he’s dead if he opens his mouth.”
My pulse was going crazy, but by now I’d learned to appear ice cold no matter what was going on inside me. I kept expecting the door to get kicked in at any moment. I was ready to hit the floor with my hands behind my back.
“He wanted me to tell you that he’s no snitch,” I said.
Tony stopped pacing. “I bet they’re leaning on him hard.”
I spread my hands. “I told him you’d have his back and take care of his family if he kept quiet. But he was stressed out. I can’t tell you a hundred percent that we can count on him. I don’t know.”
Tony’s jaw flexed. “We can’t have him talking.” He flashed Marcus a look. “You got someone?”
Marcus gave a nod. “I have a couple of possibilities.”
“Possibilities? I need someone who can do the job and not fuck it up. You got someone or not?”
“Yeah. When do you want it done?”
“Yesterday.”
Marcus got on his phone.
Holy shit. Tony really wasn’t going to take any chances. I guess I’d done Tyrell a favor by getting him to talk. If he hadn’t been transferred out of the city yet, it would have to happen right away. I’d tell Kessler as soon as I got out of here.
Where the hell were the police, anyway?
Tony was muttering—to me or to himself, I wasn’t sure. “I wanted one job done, one easy job. Now I have to deal with fuckups like Tyrell. I’m not going down. No way I’m going down.”
“Tyrell will be out of the picture soon,” I assured him. “Marcus is on it.”
“He might’ve already talked. They could have a taped confession by now!”
“I don’t know how it works, but if he can’t testify in court—”
“Cops! Cops!”
The shouts came from the back porch. Ashtray ran in. “We spotted the cops a block down. Get out—now!”