CHICAGO
ALBANY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
FEBRUARY 1966
To say that Mimi was nervous would be a gross understatement. This was new territory for her, and she feared she would say or do the wrong thing, arouse suspicion and blow the whole operation. Vera Zielinski had known Mimi since she was a little child. Maybe Mimi’s nerves would betray her, and Vera would detect the subterfuge. Moreover, Mimi was not a liar, and she hated the duplicity. Finally, Vera was a good woman who didn’t deserve to have her world come crashing down because of her husband’s misdeeds.
Earlier in the day, Ryan had given Mimi a listening device the size of a small compact. “Keep it in your purse,” he said. “When you get the chance, hide it behind some books on a shelf. Remember, if the circumstances don’t allow you to be alone in the office, abort the plan altogether, have a nice visit and go home.”
Mimi’s phone rang at five thirty. “The coast is clear,” Eli said. “The congressman and Stanley have left the property.”
A dusting of fresh snow covered Albany Park like powdered sugar. The five short blocks between Mimi’s building and the Zielinski home seemed like a long way that evening. As she approached, she saw tire tracks exiting the congressman’s driveway. She hesitated, took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. After a moment, the Zielinski housekeeper swung the door open. “Oh hello, Mimi,” she said. “It’s so nice to see you again. I haven’t seen you since … well, since that dreadful time. Come on in and I’ll tell Mrs. Zielinski you’re here.”
Mimi waited in the foyer. Her boots were wet, and as she took them off, she glanced to the right. The congressman’s office was dark, and the door was wide open. No need to lock it up in your own home, Mimi thought.
“Mimi, darling,” Vera said loudly as she bustled into the foyer. “Come in, come in. What brings you out on such a cold night?”
Oh, I’m going to spy on you and plant a bug in your house, Mimi said to herself. She hugged Vera and said, “I was going through my closet, and I found this pretty sweater. It was Chrissie’s. I thought you should have it.”
The sweater brought tears to Vera’s eyes, and she pressed it against her cheek. “I remember seeing Chrissie in this sweater so many times. She loved it. I bought it for her at Lytton’s two years ago. Thank you, Mimi. It was so thoughtful of you to bring it to me.”
Mimi felt a pang of guilt. I wasn’t thoughtful, Vera, I was deceitful, and you don’t deserve it, she thought. “Chrissie always looked so pretty in that blue sweater,” Mimi said. “She was a beautiful girl, inside and out.” With that, the two of them gave in to their tears and held each other in a deeply felt embrace. Vera led Mimi into the living room and asked her housekeeper to bring them some tea.
They chatted for a while, with each one recalling what life had been like since the funeral. Days were long and filled with sadness for Vera. Nothing would ever be the same. Chrissie was their only child. They would never have a grandchild. All of Vera’s visions of the future had burst like a bubble. Mimi said that not a day went by that she didn’t think of Chrissie, and no friend would ever take her place.
Finally, Mimi decided it was time to carry out her mission. She asked to be excused to use the bathroom. “Don’t get up,” she said to Vera. “I know my way around.”
“You should,” Vera said, “you’ve been coming here since you were a little girl. Use the powder room off the foyer.”
The door to the office was faintly lit by the foyer light. Mimi ducked into the office, looked around, placed the device on a shelf and breezed out. The whole thing took very little time. She returned to the living room with a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Well, mission accomplished, Eli. I planted the bug behind the books on the third shelf. If there were accounting ledger books, I didn’t see them. They certainly weren’t on the bookshelves. They weren’t on his desk or on the table in the corner. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You did a great job, Mimi!”
She responded softly. “I did what you asked, but I feel like a shit. I deceived a very nice person. My presence in her home was a lie. I have no illusions; I was there for the purpose of destroying her husband and collaterally, her way of life. Vera’s a lovely woman, and she thinks of me as family. She’s lost her only child, and now I have betrayed her. She trusted me. I’m a deceitful rat.”
“Mimi, you were there to bring murderers and corrupt profiteers to justice. You were doing it for Christine. Witold Zielinski’s way of life is a lie. Mrs. Zielinski will understand when the truth comes out. This group of dishonest and unprincipled men betrays society’s trust. Christine was murdered because her existence threatened their shameful operation. They are no better than common street criminals, and they deserve no better treatment.”
“I know. But Vera didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m sure she knows nothing about her husband’s criminal activities.”
“In time you’ll feel better about this. Sooner or later, this was going to happen anyway.”
Mimi nodded unconvincingly and went upstairs to her apartment.
Three days later, Mimi received a call and an urgent request to meet at Eli’s apartment after work.
“Mimi, we need you to go back to the Zielinskis’. The device has stopped working.”
“I was just there three days ago. Please, Eli, I can’t do it again. I still feel terrible about the whole thing.”
Ryan stepped forward. “The bug worked perfectly for three days. We have hours of prime material. We have six executives on tape, along with Stanley and the congressman. It’s dynamite. Then suddenly the bug stopped working.”
“Don’t you have enough?”
“Enough for the ones on tape, yes, but there are three more contractors who have yet to meet with the congressman. Roland, Johnson and Locker have yet to cut their deals. Mimi, you don’t know what a tower you’re helping to bring down. It’s a bombshell, but we can’t let three of the country’s most corrupt contractors get away because of a broken device. We have to replace the bug.”
Mimi shook her head. “I can’t. I was lucky last time. Everything fell into place. No one saw me. I can’t use the same excuses again. Am I supposed to find another sweater? Am I supposed to pop in again unannounced? Am I supposed to have a bladder attack again and have to use the powder room in the foyer? It’s not going to work, Cliff.”
“It has to work,” Ryan said. “I want those three. The congressman is going to a community forum at seven tonight at the Albany Park Community Center. Please, Mimi, go over there tonight. You’ll think of something. Don’t let us down.”