Should i fall, p.29
Should I Fall, page 29
“Ahhh.”
“Leo’s expecting you. He’s in his study. I presume you remember the way.”
“I do.” Frankel nodded. He started to take a step, then stopped. “I’m so sorry about Julia.”
“The whole thing’s just horrible. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” Sophia said. “But I’m glad to see they came to their senses about you and dropped the charges. I found it hard to believe any of the things they were saying about you.”
“I really appreciate that, Sophia.”
“I hear you’re getting married.”
“This weekend, actually. In London. We’re leaving first thing in the morning.”
“Some good news for a change. Congratulations.” She leaned forward and gave him a hug. “Don’t be a stranger. Bring her around some time.”
“I’d like that.”
Sophia gave Teddy another playful nudge. “Say bye-bye to John?”
“Bye-bye,” said Teddy, giving Frankel a toothy smile that would warm anyone with a beating heart.
Frankel raised a hand up in the air. “High five?”
The boy slapped it and giggled. “High five.”
Frankel lowered his hand for a low five and got one back. He took Teddy’s tiny hand and shook it gently. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
When the boy mimicked the words back in a high-pitched giggly lisp, Frankel thought he could die right there.
But he said goodbye again to Sophia and headed toward the study instead.
A few minutes later, he sat across from Leo Molinari, having declined the offer of wine and delivered his condolences for Julia.
The study was definitely a retreat for Leo; bookcases were lined with commendations and awards earned in business over the years and a ton of books that Frankel, knowing his former father-in-law, would wager he’d never opened.
Leo finished off his glass, placed it on a small table, and shook his head.
“I’ve gone over it countless times in my head since I heard what happened to her, wondering if there was anything I could have done to make things turn out differently,” he told Frankel. “She’d actually come here to see me the day she died.”
“That’s what I heard.”
“I keep telling myself that if only I hadn’t gone to work that day, or if I could have gotten home sooner, if I’d just been able to talk to her—maybe that would have changed things. But I suppose that woman would have caught up with her at some point, regardless.”
“Do you remember Caitlan?” asked Frankel.
“Of course. The girls were best friends for the longest time growing up and back in high school. But not so close after that.”
“Do you recall why?”
“I don’t really know.” Leo shrugged. “I’m sure it was the type of falling out that happens all the time with teenage girls. Someone says something that the other takes the wrong way, things get all blown out of proportion. Next thing you know, they’re no longer talking.”
“Does the date December 12th mean anything to you?”
Leo shook his head. “Not offhand. Why?”
Frankel explained the circumstances regarding Caitlan’s copy of her high-school yearbook. How she’d fetched it from her mother’s house on the same day that Julia had been murdered, how it had come into their possession, and what they’d found written inside it.
“I’m lucky if I remember my wife’s birthday, and you’re talking about something that happened almost twenty years ago,” Leo told him. “You think it holds some sort of significance?”
“Enough so that she marked it with a Polaroid picture of Julia and her newborn baby boy.”
Leo visibly reacted. “Really?”
Frankel nodded. “I presume Caitlan was the one who took it. Probably right after the baby was born. It’s the first proof I’ve seen that Julia actually had a child.”
“My grandson.”
Leo brought his hand up to his face and squeezed his eyes. Frankel could tell that his fingers were moist when he brought them away.
“I’m sorry,” Frankel said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s all right. I’m still trying to come to grips with the idea that I had a grandchild that I didn’t know about, even if he only lived a few months. Ever since Commander Grant told me, I keep kicking myself for not being there when the boy took ill. There must have been something I could have done.”
“You’re not the only one who has been beating himself up about it. Even though I don’t know if he was actually mine, I can’t help but feel that I lost something I didn’t even know I had.”
Leo reached over and gave Frankel a consoling pat on the shoulder.
“It would have been wonderful for Julia’s boy to grow up with Teddy, who would have been his uncle, right?” Leo stared off in the distance, as if musing on the possibilities of what would never come to pass. “I’d love to see that picture some time.”
“I thought of bringing it along, but didn’t want to be insensitive. Maybe when I get back from London—”
“That’s right. When’s the wedding?”
“Day after tomorrow. We’re taking the first flight out to Heathrow in the morning.”
“It would mean a lot seeing it.” Leo exhaled and shook his head once again. “Of course, I don’t even know if Julia would have let me back into her life. I was sort of hoping she’d come around after Teddy was born, but I think the whole concept of me starting a second family drove an even bigger wedge into our already fragile relationship.”
“I totally understand.”
“That’s why I was so happy she wanted to finally talk. Even though I suspect all she really wanted was for me to bail out her scumbag boyfriend from his gambling debts. But maybe that would have started some sort of reconciliation. I guess I’ll never know.”
“Did you ever meet Pablo?”
Leo shook his head, vehemently. “I made it quite clear that he wasn’t welcome in this house.” He nodded toward Frankel. “I know that you and I were never really close, but you always treated my daughter with respect and put her first, and that wasn’t lost on me.”
“I certainly tried to, sir.”
“Though maybe to your own detriment, if you don’t mind me saying so. I wouldn’t have been upset if you’d gone over there and laid Pablo out on his ass and won her back.”
“The thought has crossed my mind more than once recently.”
Leo poured more wine and asked once again if Frankel cared for any. When he declined, Leo raised his glass in a solitary toast.
“Well, I wish you and your bride nothing but the best.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Leo sipped the wine and placed the glass back on the table.
“After all these years, you should at least call me Leo.”
“I appreciate that, Leo. And again, I’m sorry for your losses.”
“Both of our losses, John. You have my condolences as well.”
“He might not even have been mine,” said Frankel.
“It doesn’t really matter, does it?”
“Pardon?”
“In your mind, and I can tell you’ve already made it up, he was. It’s understandable that you’re grieving.”
The only thing John Frankel could do was nod.
“I hope that Rachel brings you the same happiness that I’ve found with Sophia. Not many people get a second chance. Make sure you remember that.”
Frankel told him he would.
A half hour later he was back on the GW Bridge replaying the conversation in his head. With all that had transpired the past couple of weeks and the regrets that Frankel would forever have about his relationship with Julia Molinari, he was just thankful that he’d been offered another opportunity at bliss.
He gave the accelerator an extra push, hoping it would get him back that much quicker to Manhattan and into the loving arms of his salvation.
Chapter 35
Teddy had happily prattled away the entire time, from the moment they left the Alpine house until they reached the FDR Drive on the east side of Manhattan.
Leo Molinari could understand the boy’s excitement.
It was the Fourth of July and the child was going to witness his first fireworks show. And not just any show. The biggest one in America, put on by Macy’s and this year occurring up and down the East River for everyone in New York City to see.
It had been all that Teddy had talked about for the past month, since seeing a commercial on television advertising the celebration; he’d stared incredulously at the massive bursts of color in the sky and told his parents, “I want to see that!”
And when it came to Teddy, Leo couldn’t deny him anything, even if it meant wading into the midst of a million New Yorkers crowding sidewalks to find a good place to watch the festivities. Leo had known better than to try and drive his family from Jersey into the city. Finding a place to park the car would have resulted in at least a half-hour walk to the East River and a massive headache in the process. So he’d hired a town car to pick them up after an early dinner and the driver dropped them on First Avenue in the upper forties, just north of the United Nations.
After helping the pregnant Sophia and hyped-up Teddy out of the back seat, Leo turned toward his son Tony, who had climbed out of the front seat on the passenger side.
“See if you can find us a good spot, huh?” Leo asked. He pointed toward the expansive green lawn on the north side of the United Nations complex.
“I’m on it, Pops,” said Tony. His son swung around to the back of the town car, popped the trunk, and pulled out three portable deck chairs. Seconds later, he had them tucked under his arm and was headed across the street.
Leo approached the driver, dug in his wallet, pulled out a couple of hundred-dollar bills, and handed them to the man. “You’ll pick us up in the same place afterwards?”
“Absolutely.” The two C-notes disappeared into his pocket in a smooth move that would do a magician proud. “Thank you, sir.”
Leo moved back to join his wife and Teddy.
“Up you go,” he said as he reached down and lifted the tow-haired toddler into his arms. “Ready Freddy?”
“Ready Teddy,” giggled the little boy.
Leo laughed, as did Sophia. Carrying the boy in his right arm, Leo swung his left around his wife, and the happy family crossed First Avenue together.
A few minutes later, they caught up with Tony, who had secured a prime spot on the river side of the park. Leo suspected some sort of cash transaction had taken place, as most of the crowd had been there a few hours already.
His son had learned well. What was the point of making a lot of money if you didn’t use it on things that made you happy?
And his brood definitely looked happy.
A nice change from the cloud that had hovered over all of them recently.
The quartet settled down on the lawn chairs, with Teddy sitting in his mother’s lap, babbling away about everything he expected to soon see shooting through the sky.
A half hour later, an anticipatory buzz was building through the crowd, as the sun had set and the darkness promised that the show was about to start.
Suddenly Leo reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He punched a button and the digital display lit up. He stared at it for a moment, then sighed.
“Something wrong?” asked Sophia.
“Problem at the flagship, it looks like.”
“But it’s a holiday—”
“And one of our busiest weekends,” explained Leo. “Give me a minute.”
He got up and moved off with the phone in hand.
He returned a few minutes later with a grim look on his face.
“I’ve got to go in there.”
“Now?” protested Sophia. “But the show’s about to begin.”
“Something’s wrong with the server and we can’t have the website down, not with the holiday sales and everything.” Leo motioned behind him. “The driver will take you home after the show—”
“But you—”
“—will never get back in time before it’s complete madness on the streets. I’ll Uber or Lyft back to Jersey later.”
He leaned over and gave her a kiss and nuzzled Teddy.
“You’ll tell me what I missed when I see you later?”
“Fireworks!” cried Teddy.
“Yup. You’ll see plenty!” Leo told him.
Tony sidled over to his father. “You sure this isn’t something I can handle?”
“You just look after Sophia and your brother. Okay?”
“Will do, Pop.”
Leo started to apologize but it was lost in the first fireworks blast going off in the sky high above the river.
Teddy squealed with delight, pointing upward.
Leo flashed a smile at the family he would do anything for, then turned around and headed for the street.
Knowing that trying to hail a cab would be futile, Leo decided to walk to his destination. It would take him less than twenty minutes to get there and it was a warm summer evening.
Framed by the technicolor extravaganza taking place in the night sky, he turned and headed west.
The deeper he moved into Midtown, the celebratory mood he had felt with his loved ones slipped further away. He was increasingly overcome with the melancholia that had practically suffocated him for the past couple weeks.
As he walked along, he thought about his conversation with Frankel the previous evening. He found himself envying the man, knowing he and his new family had landed in England by now, probably fast asleep on the eve of the day he would begin a new life with his hopes and dreams intact.
As opposed to Leo, who knew that no matter how much money he made or even the any-minute-now addition of a baby girl to the family, he would never be able to replace what he had lost.
Julia.
He had meant every word he’d said to his former son-in-law. The regret they shared in Julia’s loss was more than palpable for Leo; it was all-encompassing. It had taken everything in his being to carry on and be strong for Sophia while remaining ever present for Teddy. Leo didn’t worry so much about Tony—he knew his eldest would never come close to filling his shoes, but the good news was that he didn’t aspire or need to. Tony would be just fine, with an already healthy salary and what he would inherit once Leo was gone. The Molinari store franchises were cash cows that even his high-school dropout of a son couldn’t fuck up.
As he reached the intersection of East Forty-Eighth and Lexington, he checked his coat pockets.
Everything seemed to be accounted for.
He pulled out the cell phone he’d just pretended to receive a text and make a fake call on and checked the time.
Just past nine thirty p.m.
Most of Manhattan was still wrapped up in the Fourth festivities and the streets were nearly empty.
He returned the phone to his pocket and kept walking.
But instead of moving straight ahead toward Midtown and the Molinari’s flagship store, he turned left and headed south on Lexington Avenue.
Down toward Murray Hill.
The last time he’d been at the apartment building, Leo had arrived in a blind panic—having finally reached Julia on the phone and gotten her to tell him where she was staying. But she’d refused to let him enter after he had persistently rung the bell, so he had resorted to punching other buttons, mumbling “delivery” to the one that finally answered and subsequently buzzed him in.
This time, he just waited until there was no one in the vicinity of the building, crossed the street, and dug into his pocket for the set of keys he now possessed.
The ones that had belonged to John Frankel.
Leo quickly unlocked the front door and moved inside the lobby.
He crossed to the opposite wall and moved into the building’s stairwell. He climbed one flight of steps, then slowly creaked open the door to the second floor and peered out into the hallway.
Empty.
This figured, seeing how it was still too early for people to return from wherever they were spending the Fourth, or they were inside their apartments, having decided to stay in and avoid the insanity outside.
He moved out of the stairwell and approached Frankel’s apartment, still holding the set of keys.
He quickly slipped one inside the lock, turned it, and heard the tumbler click.
Leo opened the door and stepped inside the studio apartment.
And found John Frankel, Austin Grant, and his daughter, Rachel, waiting there for him.
The embattled detective gave Leo a casual shrug.
“Change in wedding plans,” Frankel said. He held out his palm, indicating the keys still dangling from Leo’s fingers. “I believe those are mine.”
Leo didn’t resist as Frankel delicately took hold of them by the ring and slipped them into a clear plastic baggie he’d pulled from his pocket.
Grant stepped forward. “Fingerprint evidence,” said the former Scotland Yard man. “Since no one else has probably touched them since you took them off your daughter’s body.”
Leo shook his head and was finally able to mutter a protest, albeit a mild one.
“That isn’t proof—”
“Coupled with this it will be,” said Grant.
He pulled a maroon book off the desk that was lying beside his cell phone. He showed it to Leo, who looked like he was going into shock.
“I presume this is what you came here looking for,” said Grant.
He pulled something that was sticking out of Caitlan Hill’s Passaic Valley yearbook.
And showed Leo the picture of Julia and her newborn baby boy.
“I noticed it the moment I saw the picture,” said Grant.
“I-it?” questioned Leo. “W-what are you talking about?”
“The baby’s birthmark,” replied Grant, pointing to the tiny reddish spot on the side of the child’s throat. “What did you call it? A raspberry?”
Leo could only stand there.
“Your son has the exact same one,” explained Grant. “Only Teddy isn’t your son. He’s your grandson. Julia’s baby boy, who you paid Caitlan Hill to give to you. And when your daughter finally found out about it—you killed her.”
