She turned and watched his face. “Did you have my father killed?”
“No.”
He kept his gaze on the water.
“Am I just supposed to believe you?”
“Do you know I’m from the old neighborhood?”
“Yep. Farrington Street near the car wash. You killed a kid when you were in fifth grade.”
He shook his head. “May I share a secret with you?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“That story about me and the hammer is an urban myth.”
“I talked to someone whose brother went to school with you.”
“It’s not true,” he said. “Why would I lie to you about that? I like the myths. I’ve even had a hand in cultivating them. They’ve eased my way, to some degree. Not that it was easy. Not that my hands are clean. But fear is a wonderful motivating tool.”
“Is that a confession?”
Cozone put his wrists together as though waiting for the cuffs. She knew that nothing he said here would be admissible or even helpful, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to stop talking.
“I knew your father,” he said. “We had an understanding.”
“Are you saying he was crooked?”
“I’m not saying anything. I’m explaining to you that I had nothing to do with your father’s death—that we were from the same world, he and I.”
“So you never killed anyone from Flushing?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
“So what exactly are you saying?”
“Over the years, you have caused several of my enterprises to, let us say, interrupt services.”
She had busted the heads of any “enterprise” even rumored to be connected to Cozone. She had, no doubt, cost Cozone money.
“Are you trying to make a point?” Kat asked.
“I don’t want those days brought back again.”
“So you thought by telling me that you didn’t kill my father, it would all end?”
“Something like that. I thought—or rather I hoped—that we could come to an understanding.”
“An understanding.”
“Yes.”
“Like the one you claimed to have with my father.”
His eyes stayed on the surf, but a smile played with the corner of his lips. “Something like that.”
Kat wasn’t sure how to react to that. “Why now?” she asked.
He lifted his drink and brought it to his lips.
“You could have told me this years ago, if you thought it would lead to”—air quotes—“‘an understanding.’ So why now?”
“Things have changed.”
“In what way?”
“A dear friend has passed away.”
“Monte Leburne?”
Cozone took another sip of his drink. “You’re tough, Kat. I’ll give you that.”
She didn’t bother responding.
“You loved your father dearly, didn’t you?”
“I’m not here to talk about me or my feelings.”
“Fair enough. You asked why I told you this now. It is because Monte Leburne is now dead.”
“But he confessed to the killing.”
“Indeed. He also said that I had nothing to do with it.”
“Right, but he also said you had nothing to do with the other two hits. Are you going to deny those too?”
He turned his head toward her just a little bit. His face hardened. “I’m not here to talk about the other two. Not in any way. Do you understand my meaning?”
She did. He wasn’t confessing, but then again, as opposed to her father, he wasn’t denying it either. The message was clear: Yeah, I did those two, but not your dad.
But that didn’t mean she had to believe him.
Cozone wanted her off his back. That was the point of all this. He would spin any tale to get his way.
“What I’m going to tell you now is confidential,” Cozone said. “Are we clear on that?”
Kat nodded because, again, it didn’t matter. If he gave her information and she needed to use it, her quasi promise to a prominent killer wouldn’t stop her. He probably knew that too.
“Let’s travel back in time, shall we? To the day Monte Leburne was arrested. You see, when the feds nabbed Monte, I was somewhat worried. No reason to talk about why. Monte had always been one of my most loyal employees. I reached out to him immediately.”
“How? He was in isolation.”
He frowned. “Please.”
He was right. Cozone would have his connections. It was also irrelevant.
“Anyway, I promised Monte that if he continued to be the loyal employee I knew that he was, his family would receive a generous compensation package.”
A bribe. “And if he didn’t stay loyal?”
“We don’t need to go into hypotheticals, Kat, do we?”
He looked at her.
“I guess not.”
“Besides, even with strong threats, many employees have sold out their bosses to better their own lot. I hoped to discourage Monte Leburne from doing that with a carrot rather than a stick.”
“Seems you were successful.”
“Yes, I was. But it didn’t work out exactly as I had planned.”
“How so?”
Cozone started to twist a ring around his finger. “As you probably know, Monte Leburne was originally arrested on charges involving two homicides.”
“Right.”
“He asked me for permission to confess to a third.”
Kat just sat there for a moment. She waited for him to say more, but he suddenly seemed exhausted. “Why would he do that?”
“Because it didn’t matter. He had a life sentence.”
“Still. He didn’t confess for the fun of it.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“So why?”
“Let me explain why we haven’t talked before. Part of my arrangement with Monte Leburne was that it would remain between the two of us. I won’t hand you a line about honor among thieves, but I want you to understand. I couldn’t say anything because I was sworn to secrecy. If I did, I would be betraying a loyal employee.”
“Who might in return change his mind about not implicating you.”
“The pragmatic is always a consideration,” Cozone agreed. “But mostly, I wanted to demonstrate to Monte and to my other employees that I am a man of my word.”
“And now?”
Cozone shrugged. “He’s dead. The agreement is therefore null and void.”
“So you’re free to talk.”
“If I wish. Naturally, I would prefer that you kept this between us. You’ve always believed that I killed your father. I am here to tell you that I didn’t.”
She asked the obvious: “Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Leburne have anything to do with it?”
“No.”
“Do you know why he confessed?”
He spread his arms. “Why would anyone?”
“Money?”
“For one thing.”
“What else?”
“This is where it gets trickier, Kat.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was promised favors.”
“What kind of favors?”
“Better treatment in prison. A better cell. Extra rations. Employment help for his nephew.”
Kat frowned. “Who provided him with that?”
“He never told me.”
“But you have your suspicions.”
“It does me no good to talk about hypotheticals.”
“So you’ve said. What kind of job did the nephew get?”
“It wasn’t a job. It was more getting into a school.”
“What kind of school?”
“The police academy.”
The skies opened up as though on cue. The rain began over the ocean, swirling the current. It slowly moved over the yard and toward them. Cozone rose and stood back a little, so as to stay fully under the roof. Kat did the same.
“Leslie will give you a ride back to your car,” Cozone said.
“I have more questions.”
“I’ve said too much as it is.”
“And if I don’t believe you?”
Cozone shrugged. “Then we continue as we have.”
“With no understanding?”
“So be it,” he said.
She thought about all he had said, about honor among thieves, about understandings and agreements. “Understandings don’t matter after someone dies, right?”