With the dry run over, it was time to get ready for the meeting with Coletta’s wife.
16
Several weeks passed after the practice meeting with Jamie before Pisano called Wade again to meet at the Old Grill. Wade was on time, as usual. Pisano seemed a little late and hurried, like something was bothering him. Hanna hadn’t heard anything since the meeting with Jamie, so he was worried that Pisano’s look suggested there may have been a problem. But it turned out that wasn’t the case.
Pisano said, “I’m in a bit of a rush today. Look, the meeting with Jamie went well. She actually likes you, and she said the other girls in the beauty shop liked you and were also impressed. That means we’ve established, at least within the shop, that you are a good fit for Jamie and the other girls. We now have to set up the real meeting.”
Jamie became a beautician right after high school. She had hoped for a more professional education and a higher paying job, but her alternative career choices hadn’t worked out. Her family couldn’t afford to put her through more schooling after high school. But Jamie had talent and worked hard, and by the time Wade met her, she had become an excellent hair stylist with a growing customer base. Her most valued customer was Linda Coletta. Linda had been a regular customer of Jamie’s for over three years. Through Linda spreading the word about how good Jamie was, Jamie was able to pick up several new customers. She was as busy as any girl in the shop and always in demand. Linda would tell Jamie, “Don’t you get so busy you can’t take care of me.” To which Jamie would reply, “That’ll never happen.”
There was definitely a rapport and friendship between Linda and Jamie that went beyond hairdresser and customer, although Linda was older than Jamie by about ten years. Linda was also an excellent tipper. In addition to a big tip after a hair dressing, she would come around each Christmas with presents and cash. She tipped the other girls in the shop during Christmas as well. Linda liked a specific chair and work station in the shop, toward the back and side, and it was always made available to her. Her regular appointment was always at two o’clock on Thursdays. She was rarely late and never missed her appointment. Most of the time she came alone, but sometimes she would bring her young daughter, Mindy. Mindy was Linda’s daughter from a prior relationship; before Linda became involved with T.J. Coletta.
Linda was a tall, moderately attractive brunette with medium length hair. Before meeting Coletta, she worked at a night club as a waitress. She eventually became a bartender at one of the dive bars in the city frequented by various mob characters. She met T.J. in that setting and moved in with him, along with her daughter, after T.J. was released from prison. She had been with him approximately three years. She typically wore some flashy jewelry and would be considered overdressed for a salon appointment compared to other patrons. She drove a baby blue Cadillac Coupe DeVille that T.J. had given her as a present. She was expected by T.J. to always look nice and play the role of a mob boss wife whenever T.J. needed to be in mixed company.
By pure coincidence, Jamie seemed to have the right background for the role Pisano wanted her to play in his little drama. During high school, Jamie took and loved drama classes and appeared in several plays in a semi-leading role. She was perfect for this part and appreciated the fact that Pisano was helping out her brother.
Jamie’s younger brother, Mike, had a drinking problem and had gotten into trouble with juvenile authorities. At fifteen, Mike had already received several speeding tickets. His last speeding episode had resulted in an accident, and he was about to lose his license if the injured party pressed charges. Pisano thought he might be able to help. He agreed to speak with juvenile authorities and see what he could do.
Hanna wasn’t aware of it, but Pisano and Jamie had already met a couple of times in preparation for the Linda meeting. Pisano met with his contact in the juvenile prosecution division of the DA’s office to see what he could do for Mike.
He also promised Jamie he would speak to Mike and impress upon him the seriousness of his crimes and try to convince him he needed help with his drinking problem. Pisano explained to Jamie that he might be able to explain the number of tickets Mike had received, as well as the accident, to his drinking problem. In this way, it might be possible to get his license suspension reduced down to six months from the mandatory five years. He also thought he might be able to get the six-month sentence in a juvenile detention facility suspended if Mike promised to go into to an alcohol rehabilitation center. Pisano was up front with Jamie and told her he couldn’t guarantee any results but that he would try to get this done for her if she helped him.
Jamie was very thankful for Pisano’s efforts. Jamie knew Linda was the wife of one of the local crime bosses, but she didn’t know anything about T.J. Coletta or his organization. Pisano wanted to keep it that way. In Pisano’s view, the fact that Jamie lacked knowledge about Linda’s husband was perfect. All he was asking her to do was to pretend to be Wade’s boyfriend until Wade and Linda made a connection — and to let Pisano know if Linda ever expressed any problems at home when the girls talked. Pisano didn’t want Jamie having conversations with Wade outside of the planned meetings as they were set up.
Pisano described to Jamie how he wanted her to act and what he wanted her to say. He used role playing situations to get his points across. Pisano thought that Jamie’s drama training and experience would be an asset, and he approached her training as a director would approach training an actress for a stage production. His method worked; Jamie took to the preparation sessions like she was in rehearsal for a staring role in the opening night of a new play.
Pisano worked Hanna separately. While his work with Jamie went smoothly, he had more concerns about Hanna’s performance. Because of Hanna’s shyness, Pisano wasn’t sure how he would react if something came up unexpectedly. Hanna’s awkwardness showed through in practice. But he had been able to overcome his shyness in the warm-up meeting with Jamie and the other girls in the shop, largely because of Jamie. Her naturally outgoing personality provided a nice offset to Hanna’s shyness and uncertainty.
Pisano called a final get-together with Wade to make sure he was on track for the meeting with Linda. He looked at Wade and asked, “Well, are you ready for the big meeting?”
“I think so.”
“I’d like to go over a few things, and I want you to just listen.” Pisano began to describe the scene. “The meeting is going to happen at the salon next Thursday around 3:00. You’re in the area visiting your aunt May and dropping by to say hello to Jamie.”
“Jamie will have already told Linda a little about you and that you may be dropping by to say ‘hello’. Linda will be expecting to meet you, but you are not expecting to meet Linda. Linda will just happen to be in Jamie’s chair at the time you arrive. You’ll be surprised and won’t want to bother Jamie while she’s at work.”
“Jamie will lead the three of you in exchanging niceties, which might even include some ‘girl talk’. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable if the ‘girl talk’ happens.” Pisano asked, “Are you with me so far?”
Wade nodded.
Pisano continued, “You’ll smile and be nice to the other girls in the shop, but not get into any long conversations with them.”
Pisano set the next scene. “At some point while Jamie is doing Linda’s hair, she’ll excuse herself to go to the storeroom in the back to get some hair product. This will put you and Linda alone for a minute or two. In this short time, I want you to make light conversation and answer any questions Linda might pose. You’re not interviewing her; you’re just making conversation, keeping everything light and natural. You might get asked about your relationship with Jamie. You need to be ready to respond to that in a calm way. You’re just in the early stages of dating. You haven’t been out alone on a date yet. That’s the story Jamie has already told Linda. Your stories have to match.”