Mid-morning, Fred O'Connor came by, ostensibly out for a stroll, casually asking for the list of newspaper subscribers. Dean gave him the list but informed him the case was closed. Fred was unperturbed. He would continue until he was satisfied. It was shortly before 11:00 when the federal visitor from Philadelphia arrived, heralding Dean's return to legitimate police work.

Leland Anderson buzzed Dean from his office. A very tall, per­fectly proportioned black man, looking like the front page of a fashion magazine, smiled and held out his hand. Everything about him was perfect, from the glass polish of his black shoes to the knife-like crease in his thousand-dollar suit. He stood ramrod straight-a movie star, not a government employee. The guy exud­ed confidence to the point where Dean felt as if he had just dropped a plateful of mashed potatoes in his lap while this tall, dark stranger was toasting the queen. Major League, good guys team, Philadelphia franchise, Dean thought to himself, as he held out his hand.

"Jonathan Winston, meet David Dean," Leland announced. After handshakes and a brief chat, the pair left in Dean's pool car for the motel where Vinnie Baratto awaited.

The two men chatted amiably on the trip from Parkside. Winston was most personable and seemed genuinely interested in the small town and surrounding countryside. He had spent his career in the city, the last seven months investigating the crime family as a part of a special task force.

"Other than a nice drive in the country," Dean said, "I suspect today's going to be a waste of time for you."

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"I'm not so sure," Winston said. "I'm interested in these Wassermann guys. Tell me about them."

"They're a pair of fat, stupid, nasty punks who got in over their heads."

Winston paused before answering. "They've been running errands for the family for quite a few months now. The word is, they've been on the fringes of some deals. The fact that they're stupid makes sense. The family likes the stupid ones; they're too dumb to pull a double cross and if they overhear something, chances are they won't know what's being discussed."

"So why snatch them?" Dean found himself wanting to say "scoop."

"That's the intriguing part and what I hope Vinnie Baratto will tell us. Something's happened over the last few weeks. I don't know what it is, but it stirred up the soup. It's not business as usual. The whole distribution system broke down. Baratto could be helpful. If he is, I want him out of that motel. If the boys sent Alfred Nota looking for him, they want this guy very badly."




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