Case File - Dog Eats Dog - 0

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Frank Atanacio
Contents
Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................... 3
Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................... 5
Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................. 12
Chapter 6 ................................................................................................................................. 14
Chapter 7 ................................................................................................................................. 16
Chapter 8 ................................................................................................................................. 19
Chapter 9 ................................................................................................................................. 22
Chapter 10 ............................................................................................................................... 26
Chapter 11 ............................................................................................................................... 28
Chapter 12 ............................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 13 ............................................................................................................................... 35
Chapter 14 ............................................................................................................................... 38
Chapter 15 ............................................................................................................................... 41
Chapter 16 ............................................................................................................................... 42
Chapter 17 ............................................................................................................................... 45
Chapter 18 ............................................................................................................................... 48
Chapter 19 ............................................................................................................................... 50
Chapter 20 ............................................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 21 ............................................................................................................................... 55
Chapter 22 ............................................................................................................................... 58
Chapter 23 ............................................................................................................................... 60
Chapter 24 ............................................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 25 ............................................................................................................................... 64
Chapter 26 ............................................................................................................................... 67
Chapter 27 ............................................................................................................................... 69
Chapter 28 ............................................................................................................................... 72
Chapter 29 ............................................................................................................................... 74
Chapter 30 ............................................................................................................................... 77
Chapter 31 ............................................................................................................................... 79
Chapter 32 ............................................................................................................................... 82
Chapter 33 ............................................................................................................................... 86
Chapter 34 ............................................................................................................................... 88
Chapter 35 ............................................................................................................................... 91
Chapter 36 ............................................................................................................................... 93
Chapter 37 ............................................................................................................................... 96
Chapter 38 ............................................................................................................................... 98
Chapter 39 ............................................................................................................................... 99
Chapter 40 ............................................................................................................................. 101
Chapter 41 ............................................................................................................................. 104
Chapter 42 ............................................................................................................................. 107
Chapter 43 ............................................................................................................................. 110
Chapter 44 ............................................................................................................................. 112
Chapter 45 ............................................................................................................................. 114
Chapter 46 ............................................................................................................................. 117
Case File: Dog Eats Dog
Chapter 1
She was wearing a light blue night cap, pulled back covering her weave that covered her forehead. Her night gown had a
flowery pattern, and she was wearing no bra. Her face was dark and filled with black botches. She had thin skin, and lots of
wrinkles. It appeared that she has had a rough life. Nevertheless she was Deacon Mike Brandon’s love. She was married to him
for almost forty years. She was a devoted wife, and a dedicated Christian.
She was tossing and turning in her queen size bed wondering why her husband wasn’t home yet. She glanced at the alarm
clock, but really couldn’t tell the time. Her vision wasn’t as good as it use to be. Besides, she wasn’t wearing her glasses.
She wasn’t the worrying type, but the deacon really gave her no reason to be the worrying type. It was late, she knew it, and
he never stayed out before. It wasn’t his character, and it certainly wasn’t his nature. He liked being home with her. She knew it.
“Baby, where in the world are you?” She whispered.
Brenda Brandon sat up and moved closer to the foot of the bed. She kissed her wedding ring and held it against her lips for a
few moments. The ring was almost embedded into her dark skin. It looked as if it was cutting off her circulation. She put that ring
on 39 years ago, and she never took it off since. She loved her husband, and keeping that ring on through everything they went
through was her testimony to that.
“Why don’t you call me,” she whispered as she rubbed her eyes. “Tell me you’re okay, baby.”
She never had to worry about him before. However, that night, she felt worried. She felt uneasy. She felt something she had
never felt before. She felt something was wrong.
“Oh my god,” she said as she adjusted her night gown..
Brenda was quiet for a moment as she reached for the lamp. Her huge breasts knocked over a water glass that was sitting on
the night stand next to the telephone, and a box of tissues.
“Oh dear,” she said as she stood the glass up immediately. “How clumsy can I be?”
She had forgotten that she rested the glass there and she knocked it over reaching for the telephone. She grabbed some
tissues and tried her best to wipe up the spill.
“This spill is going to have to wait until tomorrow morning,” she said as she picked up the phone.
She took a deep breath.
“Baby, where you at?” she said softly as she dialed her husband’s cell number. It rang three times and then came the voice
mail message.
You’ve reached the deacon, I’m praying for you, so while I do that, leave me a message.
“Baby, it’s Brenda, where you at honey? It’s late and I’m worried sick.”
She hung up, and dialed the number again.
You’ve reached the deacon, I’m praying for you, so while I do that, leave me a message.
She was quiet again for a moment, as if she wasn’t quite sure what to say next. Her big brown eyes looked sadden as she
hung up the phone. Her dark circles were almost black as she rubbed them with the back of her hands. She knew it was the
worrying that was taken its toll on her.
Brenda Brandon picked up the phone again and dialed my number.
Nick Barnum here, at your service.
“Nicky, pick up the phone!” she half shouted.
Hello?
“Nicky?”
Who the hell is this at 3 in the morning? Shit better be good!
“You just watch your mouth when you’re talking to me,” she said.
B B?
“Yeah, it’s me Nicky.”
Is everything okay?
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Frank Atanacio
“Mike isn’t home yet.”
It’s almost 3AM?
“That’s why I called you,” she said. “I’m afraid something has happened to him.”
Did you call his cell?
“Twice.”
That’s not like him.
“Well, he hasn’t been the same ever since his niece was murdered,” she started. “But he still never did anything like this
before. Nicky, I’m really worried.”
B B, I’ll get up and I’ll look for him.
“You’ll do that for me, baby?”
Of course.
She smiled.
Why don’t you just get some rest. I’ll call you when I have something.
“If it’s all the same, Nicky,” she said. “I’ll just wait by the phone.”
Of course.
“Thank you Nicky.”
Anytime B B.
Brenda Brandon closed her eyes and hung up the phone all in one motion.
Chapter 2
I sat at the foot of my bed with the phone still in my hand. I had taken off my clothes just a few minutes ago. I was barefoot,
wearing my boxers and a T-shirt. I had just finished a night of playing cards with Victor Cruz, and Alfredo Fuentes. It was a good
night for me, and I just wanted to sleep. I won over three hundred dollars, and drank a whole bottle of Southern Comfort. My head
wanted to explode, but I promised B B that I would look for her husband.
My footing slipped a bit from under me, and I caught the end of the bed to regain my balance. I knew it was the booze telling
me not to go out and look for the deacon. I had to regain my composure and settle myself. A promise is a promise, and I don’t like
going back on my word.
“Settle yourself, big guy,” I said to myself. “You need to go back out and do what you have to do for B B.”
My phone rang and it startled me for a moment. I had forgotten I still had it in my hand.
“Hello?”
Nick!
“Mike?”
Nick, you gotta help me!
“What’s up?”
You gotta help me.
I saw the empty bottle of Southern Comfort on my night stand and I picked it up and looked in. I didn’t know why I did that, but
I just did. Perhaps it was just to embrace me for something unexpected. Perhaps, I just wanted another shot.
I killed a man tonight.
“You what?” I dropped the bottle.
I killed a man tonight.
“Holy fuck!”
That’s what I said.
“And you’re wife is looking for you,” I said. “She called here tonight. She’s worried, and now you’re going to put her through the
ringer. What the hell happened?”
I don’t’ know.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” I asked. “You killed a man!”
It happened so fast!
“It still happened,” I said. “You’re going to have to turn yourself in.”
I can’t do that, just yet.
“Why?”
Because I told you, it happen too fast. I punched a guy out, and he fell over some tables. Bouncers threw me out of the joint,
and someone ran outside and told me that the guy I hit was dead.
“How did he die?” I asked. “With just one punch?”
That’s why I can’t turn myself in, just yet. I need you to meet me at Frankie’s diner off of Barnum Avenue. Can you do that?
“Now?”
It has to be now. I got nowhere else to go, and I got no one to run too either.”
“So you pick on me?”
You’re suppose to be at my service.
“Why don’t I call Vic and Alfredo to meet us there,” I suggested.
No cops for now!
“Okay deacon,” I said. “But you’re gonna have to call your wife, she’s worried sick.”
Frank Atanacio
I lost my cell phone.
“Call her from this damn pay phone!” I shouted. “You called me, now you call her!”
Don’t get so nasty, Nick. I’m the one who killed a man.
“I’m not so sure you believe that,” I said.
That’s why I wanna meet you at Frankie’s diner.
Calling me first was so not like the deacon. He had a strange way of putting all his little ducks in a row. He would never speak
to anyone on his duck’s list until he cleared it with B B. She was his anchor, his safe haven. Not calling her was simply not the
way he handled things. It just seemed so uncharacteristic of him. He didn’t even sound to convincing when he said he killed a
man. I’m sure there was a dead man, but I can’t be too sure if he was killed by the deacon. But stranger things have happened.
He was a good Christian, and killing someone would not be on his list at all. No matter what happened. I knew that and, I was
certain that the police would realize it as well.
So you’re coming, right?
“Are you close to the diner?” I asked.
Very.
“Are you going to call B B when we hang up?”
Nick, don’t be getting on my nerves. I don’t feel right tonight. I will hang up on you. You know me man.
“I do,” I said. “I’m just wondering why you don’t want to get Vic, or Alfredo involved. You’ve known them for several years. I’m
sure they’ll be willing to help you out.”
Right now I need you.
“Ok, even though I had a rough night, and I wanted to get some sleep,” I started. “I’m coming now.”
Thanks Nick.
“Just don’t jerk my chain,” I said. “You better call your wife, and you better have a good reason why you’re not calling the
police. I don’t want to get involved with a murderer.”
You know I ain’t no murderer!
“I know Mike,” I said. “Just trying to lighten things up.”
He did not respond.
“Hey Mike, you there?”
He had already hung up the phone.
“Damn.”
I dreaded every step I had to make that night, but a friend in need comes first. I could have told him that I was busy with a girl
or just made something up. A thousand lies raced through my mind, but none of them came out of my mouth. He wanted me to
meet him at Frankie’s diner, and that’s what I had planned to do.
“Damn, that man can’t call me when I’m sober,” I said.
Drinking so much was my idea, so I really shouldn’t be complaining about the condition. I am Bridgeport’s finest private
investigator, and one of Bridgeport’s finest man need my help. It was certainly a no brainer. The pleasure I received from the
bottle was about to cash in its chips.
“Stay up Nick,” I tried to calm myself. “Get focused.”

Chapter 3
I sat and drank coffee and ate pie waiting for Mike Brandon to show up at the diner. There was a older man seated three seats
down, and a small overweight truck driver seated in a booth behind me. However, I didn’t see the deacon.
There was a man coming toward me wearing rain boots. He also had on a heavy jacket, and he was using socks for gloves. It
was warm outside, so I didn’t understand why he was overly dressed. His boot thudded softly on the diner floor and he stood
about a foot in front of me. I thought he was going to ask for change, but he didn’t.
“Got the time?” asked another seated three seats down. He smiled and I noticed he was missing all his front teeth.
“4-am ,” I answered.
“In the morning?”
I nodded.
“Damn, where does the time go?”
I nodded again.
The overly dressed man turned and walked away when he saw the on duty manager walk out of the back room.
“Was he bothering you?” the manager asked.
“No,” I replied. “Not at all.”
He smiled and walked back into the kitchen.
“What’s your name?” asked the toothless man.
“Nick.”
“Hey Nick,” he smiled again flashing only gums. “I’m Terry.”
I nodded.
“I use to come to this diner years ago,” he continued as he tried to strike up a conversation. “Back in the 70's.”
“Nice.”
“The area was much nicer then.”
“I’m sure it was.”
“Peaceful,” he said.
I smiled.
“That’s why I’d come over here for breakfast,” he said. “There’s nothing like the service they had.”
“They treat you poorly now?” I asked.
“Not really,” he grimaced. “They just think I’m a bum. Oh, of course they’ll sell me coffee, but I don’t get no free refills, or
anything like that.”
I nodded.
“They think I’m a bum.”
“I heard you the first time.”
“No free refills,” he continued. “Can you believe that?”
“Did you ask for a free refill?”
“No, didn’t think I had to.”
“Maybe that’s why you’re not getting any.”
He looked away annoyed.
The deacon walked into the diner wearing a baseball cap with the brim very low as if he was trying to conceal his identity.
“Mike,” I called.
Frank Atanacio
The deacon had a barrel chest, and big arms. He was dark skinned and had a clean shaven face. He wasn’t dressed as your
typical deacon. He looked like he was running a marathon. His sweats were wrinkled, and his tee-shirt torn and covered with
dried blood.
“Hey Nick,” he said as he sat on the stool next to me.
The waitress came over wearing a black hair net and a stained uniform. “Coffee?”
“Black,” replied the deacon.
She poured him a cup and left him four creamers.
“Thanks.”
“So tell me what’s going on.”
“I was at this dog-fighting event...”
“Dog-fighting?”
“Let me finish,” he said. “I was placing bets and winning all night. I hit the big one, and the bookie didn’t have enough to pay
me.”
“So you killed him?”
“No,” he said as he sipped his coffee. “I grabbed him and pushed him a little. He took a swing at me and missed. I punched
back and busted his nose.”
“That’s the blood on your shirt?”
He nodded.
“But how did you kill him?”
“He came at me again and I kicked him over some tables,” he continued. “At that time One-Eye Froggy’s bouncers threw me
out of the club.”
“One-Eye Froggy?”
“Club owner.”
I nodded.
“I guess when they threw me out,” he started again. “Someone came out and told me that the bookie broke his neck and died.”
“So it was an accident?”
“No,” he replied. “They told me I broke his neck.”
“So you don’t really know?”
He shook his head from side to side indicating no.
“You’re going to have to be straight, and clear with me on this one,” I said.
“I’m trying, Nick.”
The waitress had poured us another cup of coffee. We drank it together without really saying another word. The look on his
face was that of confusion, and sorrow. Nothing matched. The deacon was not much of a gambler, and I couldn’t picture him at a
dog-fighting match. His dark eyes were darker, and his face seemed gloom.
He played the part of a guilty man on the run, and that was so obvious that it made a chill ride up my spine. I never expected
the deacon to be in this much trouble. He was always good for setting a good example. In fact, he was the best in that
department.
“So this Froggy is a bad man?
“Big time.”
“Business man?”
“Wants to be.”
“Never heard of him.”
“I did.”
I smiled.
“He’s really tough, Nick.”
“Tougher than me?”
The deacon nodded.
“So this Froggy is now in town, right?”
“He is.”
“You’re getting caught up in the wrong places,” I said. “And with the wrong people.”
“I am, but..” his voice was scarcely a croak. It rattled as if he was stuck in a freezer for about an hour. “I didn’t expect to be in
the wrong places with the wrong people.”
“Nobody expects it.”
He grimaced.
“Trying to make extra money for the church?” I asked.
He nodded slowly as if he wasn’t really sure if I had asked him a genuine question.
“Murder? I don’t know what to say,” I said. “But it feels more like an accident.”
“How much trouble am I in?” he asked quietly. “If it really was a murder?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can’t go to jail,” he said. “I just can’t. Whose going take care of my baby. She can’t live without me, and I can’t live without
her. That’s just the way it is.”
“Why don’t you talk to Captain Frank Roque, and tell him what happened,” I suggested. “Tell him that I’m looking into things,
and you’ll turn yourself in as soon as I find something concrete.”
“I hit the guy,” he said. “I broke his nose. How much more concrete evidence do you need?”
“For now,” I said. “Let’s just call it an accident.”
“You think he’ll keep me out of jail?”
“Talk to him,” I said. “I smell something rotten.”
He looked confused.
“Just tell the captain everything you told me,” I started. “Let me look into this and we’ll get to the bottom of this, one way or
another. You gotta trust me.”
“I do,” he said. “That’s why I called you first.”
“Did you call your wife?”
He nodded.
“Go to her,” I said. “Tell her what happened too.”
He nodded again.
“Do you want something to eat?” I asked.
“I’m not hungry,” he replied. “Just worried.”
“I understand,” I said. “I’m not going to lie to you. I won’t tell you everything is going to be alright. I need to walk down some
alley ways and come up with something tangible. I’ll pay this One-Eye Froggy a visit. I’ll see what really happened after you
clocked the bookie.”
“He’s a mean son of a bitch.”
“So am I.”
“He can come at you hard Nicky.”
“I learned to duck years ago.”
Frank Atanacio
The deacon had his eyes solely on me. The rattling of plates didn’t cause him to look away. He looked at me as if I had all the
answers. He had so many questions, and didn’t know how to ask. He just wanted answers.
“I’m going to do my best,” I said.
“You always do.”
“Go to your wife.”
“I disappointed her, you know.”
“She’s a big girl, Mike.”
“Thanks Nick.”
“Thank me when I’m done.”
He smiled.
“Go home to your wife.” I said again. “Really.”
“Yeah, I better.”
“She can be the comfort you seek.”
“She always was.”
I smiled.
“She always was,” he repeated softly.
He drank some more coffee, and I watched.
One-Eye Froggy?
Chapter 4
The next morning, the news ran with the story that the deacon had killed a man. They left out a lot of details, but murder was
murder nevertheless. I knew this wasn’t going to sit to well with the men on Congress Street. They liked the deacon, and they
respected him. He was a pillar of the community, and now he was a hunted man.
The Police headquarters located on Congress Street was buzzing. It was a large building with two floors. There use to be a
large plate glass window at the entrance, but it has been removed and replaced with strong glass doors. By removing the large
plate glass window, that police command center lost its panoramic view of the City of Bridgeport’s Westside.
They were all surprised about the reports, and they wanted to launch their own investigation. They couldn’t believe that Mike
Brandon was capable of murder. He was God’s soldier. He was a man everyone trusted. He was a visionary, and so much more.
Detective Peter O’Brien and I met for lunch on the patio at Danny O’s in Shelton. It was early afternoon, not too hot, with a
nice early morning breeze. I ordered a Mango Splash with a hint of rum, and O’Brien ordered a beer.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” I said smiling with my drink.
“Yeah, that drinks fits you like a glove,” he replied.
I smiled.
“Damn, that Mango Splash looks good,” said the waiter. “I think I’m going to order one too when I get off. I served so many of
them this past month.”
I smiled.
“No, really,” he said.
“It’s my first time trying it,” I added. “Looks even better on the menu cover.”
The waiter smiled as he left to help other customers.
O’Brien was a big man with a strong upper body. He was purposely bald and kept his head shiny. He was fair skinned and
always clean shaven. His appearance meant a great deal to him because he wanted the public to experience his professionalism.
O’Brien had a lot of peanuts on his plate, but he wasn’t eating any of them. He would occasionally break open a few, but fail to
pop them into his mouth. I had to think it was because of the deacon.
“So you’re asking me to ask Captain Roque to not pick up the deacon until you’ve completed your investigation?” asked
O’Brien. “Is that what I am to understand?”
I nodded.
“I don’t think Roque will be down for that,” said O’Brien. “The deacon killed a man.”
“But that’s my point,” I said. “I don’t think he did.”
“Papers got the news, and eye-witnesses.”
“I need to speak to those so-called eye-witnesses,”I said. “And you have to remember that they left out so much detail.”
“So the papers got it wrong?”
“No, Pete” I said as I picked up a few of his opened peanuts and tossed them into my mouth. “They were fed the wrong
information.”
“I don’t get it.”
“They never mentioned the dog-fighting, and the late night gambling.”
“They did say it was at the Frogger Club.”
“That club is known for Salsa Dancing,” I said. “But it has secrets. And those secrets are going to reveal itself to me.”
O’Brien huffed ever so slightly.
“I just need a little time,” I said. “I need you to keep the police away from the deacon until I check into this. I’m not asking for
much.”
“And we do owe you,” he said softly.
“Yes!”
Frank Atanacio
“Don’t push it,” said O’Brien. “It’s still not my call.”
“But you’re the man.”
O’Brien huffed again.
There was a thin young lady sitting two tables down from us. She was looking at us the whole time, and it was probably the
first time I noticed her. She had white skin, and matted brown hair that seemed to be pressed to the top of her head. Her face was
lusterless, and her eyebrows bushy. She was a very unattractive woman, but she seemed to be noticing us. I opened my jacket to
check to see if my gun was loaded. It was comforting to know that it was. Not because of the unattractive woman. It just made me
feel free.
“You see that woman looking at you,” said O’Brien.
“Why me?”
O’Brien smiled.
The woman stood up and walked toward us with a hopeful expression. I looked down at her and didn’t realize I was staring at
her extremely tight jeans that accentuated her crotch area. She had a sexual gait, but there was nothing sexual about her
appearance.
“Excuse me sir,” she said smiling.
I smiled back.
“I couldn’t help to notice you ordered that Mango Splash,” she said as she pointed to my drink.
“Yes I did.”
“I was thinking about ordering it,” she said still smiling. “But I wanted to ask you about the taste. Is it worth ordering, and does
it have enough booze in it?”
“Not worth the money,” I honestly replied. “And a little too fruity.”
“Really?”
“Sadly yes,” I said. “Pictured it looked good, but tasting it, I don’t know.”
“Not enough booze for the price?”
“Not enough anything for the price.”
“Just order a beer,” O’Brien added. “You can’t go wrong ordering a beer.”
“I think I’ll have my usual,” she said with a continuing smile. “Beer is not for me.”
“Have a nice day,” I said returning the smile.
“Thank you,” she said. “You saved my seven dollars.”
“That’s the only reason why I’m drinking it,” I said. “I don’t want to lose my money.”
She smiled, turned, and walked away.
“What?” O’Brien said curiously as I titled my head.
“She has a nice ass,” I replied.
O’Brien smiled.
“So you’re going to speak to the captain?”
“He’s not going to agree,” O’Brien replied. “But I’ll talk to him.”
“I’m sure you can convince him,” I said. “You talked me into buying this drink.”
“You did that all on your own buddy.”
I smiled.
“I’ll give him good conversation,” said O’Brien as he cracked opened some more peanuts and failed to pop them into his
mouth. “I will.”
“That’s all I want you to do.”

“But you gotta tell the deacon to keep in touch with us,” He added.” I don’t want him running a little too far. You know, it’s for
his own safety.”
“He’s afraid.”
“He’s needs to stay where we can get to him.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll get him to stay put. Just you make sure you speak to the captain. Get him to back down until I
finish.”
“I hope he can do this for you,” said O’Brien as he finished his beer.
“You’re his friend,” I said. “Try a little convincing.”
“He’s the captain.”
“I need some time, Pete.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“That’s all I ask.”
He smiled.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 5
There were five witnesses on the list that O’Brien gave me and each one of the witnesses didn’t seem to credible. I decided to
call on each one of them. The first one on my list was Margie Sanchez. She lived on Gregory Street off of Park Avenue and near
the University of Bridgeport. She lived on the bottom floor of a six family wooden frame house that was in dire need of repair. I
rang the door bell several times before a young woman opened it up.
“I’m looking for Margie Sanchez,” I said as the young woman just stared at me.
She was wearing tight Seven jeans and a white tank top with a black bra. She was a little darker than an olive skin. She had
full lips, and dark eyes. Her face was slightly angelic, and her attitude was worn on her sleeve. It appeared as if she had a chip on
her shoulder.
“Whatcha you want her for?”
“Just going to ask her a few questions,” I replied.
“Police been here.”
“I’m sure they were,” I said. “But I’m not the police.”
“Then who the fuck are you?”
“A private investigator,” I replied.
“What the fuck is that?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “It’s just a summer job I took because I knew I could handle it.”
“I’m Margie,” she said.
“The witness,” I said softly.
“What?”
“I need to ask you about the murder, and about the deacon that was accused.”
“Fuck man,” she said as she stepped out of the house. “Whatcha you wanna know?”
There is not really a way to force that young woman to stop swearing so much. It’s such a shame, because her mouth takes
away from her beauty.
“How did you see this whole thing play out?”
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“What happened?”
“This fat bishop...”
“Deacon,” I corrected.
“Whatever,” she was annoyed. “He came up to Carlos Rivera and started arguing. He threw the first punch and missed. Carlos
threw the next punch and it hit the bis... deacon and that set him off.”
“Mike threw the first punch?”
“Yep,” she replied. “The bis... deacon came at him with all he got. He punched Carlos in the mouth, and then kept punching
him until he broke Carlos’ nose. Carlos didn’t fight back, he just fell over some tables.”
“The deacon did all this?”
“Hell yeah man,” she continued. “The bouncers threw out the deacon...”
“Aww, you got it right.”
She rolled her eyes. “And then the bartender checked Carlos and said he was dead.”
“Neck broken?”
She nodded.
“Did you know why they were fighting?”
“I don’t know, don’t care.”

“Why were you at the club?”
“I’m a fucking whore,” she said. “I do my business there.”
“Police know?”
“Told them.”
“Club owner know?”
“He didn’t throw me out yet.”
“You give him some money for soliciting there?”
“I got three kids to feed, I gotta do what I gotta do!”
I nodded.
“Don’t judge me, mother fucker!”
“Only God judges,” I said.
“Is that all the questions?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I think I got what I need.”
She turned around slowly.
“How much you charge?”
She stopped, but didn’t turn to face me.
“Difficult question?”
“Too much for you to afford,” she replied.
“That would be?”
“Five hundred dollars for three hours,” she said. “Cash up front.”
“What can I get for twenty bucks?”
“A kick in the nuts.”
“Ouch.”
She entered her apartment and slammed the door.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 6
The next witness on my list was Roberto Guzman. He owned Guzman’s Bodega over on the Eastside of town. It was located
on a small dead end street off of East Main Street. The place was busy, but I had to speak with him because he was next on my
list. When it came to lists I’d often follow the same pattern.
The small store had lots of stock and lots of customers. He actually did a bang up business. I didn’t think he’d have time for
me, but when I asked for him he immediately stopped what he was doing and came over.
“You the police?” he asked.
“No, a private investigator,” I replied.
“What do you want?”
Mr. Guzman was probably in his late sixties. He was bald on top, but had lots of gray hair on the sides. He also had a thick
gray moustache, and thick gray eye brows. His glasses were thick and he walked with a limp.
“I want to ask you some questions about the deacon at Froggy’s nightclub,” I said.
“Carlos Rivera’s death?” he asked.
I nodded.
“What do you want to know?”
“I wanna know what happened,” I replied.
He scratched the top of his head as if he was thinking about what to say. I stood there with my arms crossed waiting for him to
reply.
“The bishop..”
“Deacon,” I corrected.
“Whatever he was, “he said “He came up to Carlos Rivera and started arguing. He threw the first punch and missed.. Carlos
threw the next punch and it hit the bishop and that set him off.”
Where did I hear this before? I said to myself jokingly.
“He’s a deacon, not a bishop,” I corrected.
“Well anyways, the deacon came at him with all he had. He punched Carlos in the mouth, and then kept punching him until he
broke Carlos’ nose. Carlos didn’t fight back, he just fell over some tables. I don’t think Carlos wanted to fight this man. He was
clearly not thinking right.”
“I see.”
“That Bishop is a big guy,” he continued. “Like you, but a black guy.”
“I know him, and he’s a deacon,” I corrected him again. “I don’t understand why you guys can’t get that right.”
Mr. Guzman’s cashier was standing behind the counter. She wore small black-rimmed glasses low on her nose so that she
could check the prices better on the product she rung up. Her hair was dark brown with light highlights. The light highlights gave
her face such a wonderful glow. She was trying to get his attention, but he didn’t see her.
“Hi, “I said to her. “I’m Nick Barnum, at your service.”
She smiled.
Mr. Guzman turned around with angry eyes and shouted. “Get back to work, I don’t pay you to stand around and flirt with all
the guys that come in here!”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I wasn’t flirting, Mrs. Lopez wanted to ask something.”
“What does she want?”
“Credit,” she replied almost quietly.
“No credit!” he shouted with a vein sticking out of his neck. “I can’t give anyone credit this week. I need cash paying
customers! If anyone asks for credit, tell them I said no!”
“Relax Mr. Guzman,” I said. “She’s only the messenger.”

He grunted.
“She’s doing her job,” I added. “And if you ask me, very well too.”
“Nobody’s asking you,” he half shouted.
“All I’m saying is that you should relax. That’s all.”
“You don’t under...” he stopped abruptly.
“What don’t I understand?”
“Nothing,” he shot back. “Are you done asking me questions about the bishop, and Carlos Rivera?”
“Dea.. Forget it,” I said. “Yeah I think I got what I need from you.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m really busy today and I got to get back to work. Lots of bills to pay, and I need to stay ahead of the game.
I’m sure that’s something you wouldn’t understand. You’re not a business man.”
I smiled.
He turned around and walked toward the cashier.
“Mr. Guzman,” I called.
He stopped but didn’t turn around.
“What is it exactly, that I don’t understand?”
He did not reply.
“Business?”
He said nothing.
“If you need my help,” I paused. “Just ask.”
He still didn’t reply.
“I’ll leave you some of my cards,” I said as I tossed a few of my business cards on the floor. My name is Nick PT Barnum, and
I’ll be at your service if you need me.”
He was still silent.
“It’s my business,” I continued. “I do know a little about running a business.”
He rushed away.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 7
I met Detective Peter O’Brien at the end of my work day. He wanted to meet at Seaside Park so he could get his jogging in.
He wasn’t the type to just sit around and waste time. If he could fit in an activity, he would.
I started jogging with him as he poured bottled water over his bald head to keep him cool.
“You know I never need to do that,” I said.
“I guess you don’t run much.”
I smiled as I kept up my pace with him.
“So what did you find out?” he asked.
“I got the same bull-shit story line you guys did,” I replied. “They were coached.”
“That’s why Captain Roque is not taking in the deacon yet.”
“Good to hear.”
“But that dog fighting club doesn’t exist,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“We pulled a surprise shake down at the club that Froggy owns,” he paused as he caught his second wind. “There was
nothing but Salsa and Merenge.”
“You checked everything?”
“Top to bottom.”
“So this guy is clever,” I said.
“He’ll slip up, if he’s guilty. The guilty always do. You know that.”
“So do you think there is a dog-fighting ring going on?”
“I can’t say no, but we haven’t seen anything yet,” O’Brien replied. “If we don’t see one, it really doesn’t exist.”
“That’s a terrible way of looking at things,” I said.
“It’s got to be the only way,” he continued. “Can’t arrest people on hunches. But we can arrest people if we have witnesses. I
think the captain is going out on a limb for the deacon. But he understands the situation and he’s giving you the chance to square
him.”
“Good guy, that captain.”
“Bad witnesses,” O’Brien shot back.
“Those witnesses,” I continued as I too had to catch my breath. “Did they say anything about gambling?”
“You didn’t ask?”
“I thought I’d ask you.”
“No gambling,” he replied. “There was only Salsa and Merenge.”
I smiled.
“I had to take Mike’s wife to do some counseling,” he said. “She’s really not taking this too well.”
“Has the deacon been home?”
“She told me that he comes and goes,” he paused. “He doesn’t stay because he’s afraid that the captain is going to change
his mind and arrest him for the murder of Carlos Rivera.”
“I understand.”
“But he doesn’t,” he continued. “He should be home with B B. That woman is staying up late, and she’s not eating too well
either. I thought, maybe counseling would help her through this. I hope I’m right.”
“You’re all heart.”
“I’ve known her for a long time,” he said. “I really don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“Me too.”
“She was always a strong woman,” he continued. “I think over the years...”
“Go ahead, say it.”
“I think over the years, her strength was weakened by Mike Brandon.”
I nodded and didn’t say anything. I was pretty sure that Detective Peter O’Brien really didn’t mean to say it that way. He was
probably motivated by the events that played up to that statement.
“And..” O’Brien paused as he drank some warm bottle water. “She’s taking just a little too much. You know Mike wasn’t always
on the up and up.”
“I know.”
“God saved him.”
“I know that too.”
“But Brenda was always on the up and up,” he continued. “She was a true Christian woman.”
“She puts up with it,” I paused briefly as I caught my breath. “Because she loves him and she has always loved him. There
was never a question about that.”
“Do you think she’s weak because of it?”
“No, I don’t.”
“So he was always the one for her?”
“The one?”
“Yeah, the guy that makes your heart stop, and your feet sweat,” he explained. “You know, the one that you really can’t live
without. Like the girl you use to date. I remember you telling me that you think you found the one.”
I smiled.
“So?”
“Mike is the one for her,” I replied. “And there was no mistake about it.”
“And Zoraida was the one for you?”
“I thought,” I replied. “I put her and her son in harm’s way. She had all the reasons to dump me.”
O’Brien laughed.
“What?”
“You really loved her, you son of a bitch!”
“I’m not going to lie,” I said. “Yeah I did.”
“So it wasn’t just sexual?”
“At first, maybe.”
He laughed again.
“I’m telling you the truth, and you laugh?”
“You’re a funny guy.”
“She was good in bed,” I said. “Damn, I miss that.”
How good?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay,” he said as he stopped and bent over with his hands on his knees. “What are you going to do next.”
“My list goes on,” I said as I stopped next to him. “I’m going to pay Larry Bonilla a visit.”
“He’s going to be a tough one,” O’Brien warned.
Frank Atanacio
“Look at me, Pete,” I said. “I’m 6'2 I weigh 245 pounds, and it’s solid muscle, not fat. I can take care of my myself.”
He nodded.
“So bring tough on.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get it with him.”
“Tired of running?” I asked.
“I’m done,” he said as he stood up.
“I could have gone all day,” I lied.
He winced.
“Really!”
“I’m Pete, not your secretary, Janet.”
“Leave her out of this.”
He smiled.
“Thanks for the run,” I said as I began sprinting back to my truck.
“Good-luck!” he shouted.
I waved my hand above my head without turning around. I didn’t want him to see that I was almost out of breath.
Chapter 8
Larry Bonilla did business out of a store front located downtown Bridgeport. He sells dollar items in a 99 cent store. Didn’t
understand why he didn’t call it a dollar store or something of that nature, but who was I to judge?
The door was covered with Spanish cock fight promotions, and passed winners.
I went in.
The store had junk tossed into baskets that lined the walls. At the check-out, with long dark hair and wearing looping gold
earrings was a very attractive Asian young woman. She was talking on her cell phone and turned around when she saw me.
“Hello,” I called.
She ignored me.
“You know, I could steal.”
She turned around and slapped her cell phone shut. “Dollar shit?”
I smiled.
“What do you want?”
“Am I bothering you?”
“I was busy,” she replied.
“Too busy for customers?”
“People that buy this dollar shit ain’t customers,” she replied.
“That’s not very nice to say,” I said. “I was just going to by a tooth brush.”
“What do you want?” she shot back.
“I’m looking for Larry Bonilla,” I answered. “And I know you’re not him.”
“You must be a fucking genius to figure that out.”
“Well,” I paused. “I am a private eye.”
“Whose asking for him?” she asked ignoring my statement.
“Nick PT Barnum, at your service.”
“Wait here,” she said as she attitude her way toward the backroom. “And don’t steal nothing.”
I smiled.
It was June in Bridgeport, which normally means gang violence, and beautiful women developing bad attitudes. The first hint
of attitude gone bad was Margie Sanchez. The second sign was the attractive Asian woman. It was so patterned.
I kept looking at all the dollar items, and there were several things that I would have purchased. They were solid, and the price
was terrific.
The third witness kept me waiting longer than I expected. He wasn’t so eager to speak with me like the other two. Maybe his
story might be different. Maybe he had a change of heart, and will probably tell me the truth.
“Hey Ming Lee!” I called.
She stuck her head out of the backroom and shouted. “It’s Linh Le! Asshole. Get it known!”
“Get it known?” I whispered. “What does that mean?”
“My boss will see you,” she said as she walked passed me.
“In there?”
She nodded.
“Thank you.”
She did not reply.
Frank Atanacio
I walked into the back stock area and Mr. Bonilla was leaning against some boxes smoking a cigarette.
“Mr. Bonilla, I have questions, I may already know what you might say, but I have to ask anyways.”
He smiled.
“It’s about the deacon and Carlos Rivera,” I said.
He nodded.
“Just want to hear your side of the story,” I said
“I figure that,” he replied.
There was a sadness to the man’s eyes, it was as if he knew telling me the truth was out of the question. Mr. Bonilla was a tall
thin man, with an honest face. He had no facial hair, but he rubbed the bottom of his chin as if he were massaging a beard.
“Did you say deacon?”
I nodded.
“So that man wasn’t a bishop?”
“Nope.”
He tossed the cigarette to the floor and stepped on it.
“I thought he was a bishop.”
“Everyone thought that.”
He grimaced.
“Well?”
“The deacon,” he said slowly as if he was trying to think of the correct words. “Came up to Carlos Rivera and started arguing.
He threw the first punch and missed. Carlos threw the next punch and it hit the deacon and that set him off.”
“So the deacon went to town on him?” I asked sarcastically.
“Broke his nose, and snapped his neck.”
“You saw the deacon snap his neck?”
He hesitated.
“Mr. Bonilla?”
“No,” he replied. “The bouncers threw him out and later the bartender said that Carlos was dead.”
“Okay, something a little different,” I said.
“Listen man, I have a family, and I really don’t want to get involved.”
“Then don’t, tell me the truth.”
He hesitated for a long time.
“Truth?”
“I told you the truth,” he said as he took out another cigarette and lit it up. “That’s all I got.”
“I can help you,” I said.
“I don’t think so.”
“You’re helping to send an innocent man to jail,” I added.
“Nobody that hangs out there at the club is an innocent man.”
“Is there dog fighting?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”

He breathed in. “Yeah.”
“You know I really can help you,” I said. “I know something is bothering you, and I can get Bridgeport Police to help. I know a
few of those guys and they will stick their necks out for the right reasons, and for a good cause.”
His head fell to his chest.
“Think about it,” I said as I walked over to him and placed some business cards into his shirt pocket. “Remember one thing, I’ll
always be at your service.”
He smiled.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 9
The next day I had my first encounter with Froggy’s boys. It started as an all day tail. They followed me everywhere I went.
Perhaps they wanted to follow me to the fourth person on my list. The bartender at Froggy’s club, Jackie Reeves. He was the
fourth person I had penciled in, and I do follow my list religiously.
The tailing has become more obvious, so I decided to find out why the tail. I drove down Lee Avenue and parked at a corner
gas station that closed several years back. The building was boarded up and the pumps were stripped clean. Just the shells were
still in place. I hid behind a dumpster that was covered in graffiti as I waited for my tail to pull in. It was just a few seconds more
that went by when a light blue late model car with four doors pulled up behind my green Ford Explorer.
A heavy set Hispanic suit opened up the passenger side and stood behind the opened door visually combing the area. He had
his left hand on his hip and pushed his right hand into the breast pocket of the suit. I had to make my move so I quickly jumped
behind him and put my gun to his head.
“Hello, fat boy,” I said as I cocked the gun.
“What the?”
I smiled.
The driver did not hesitate as he quickly opened his door and pointed his gun at me from over the top of the car.
“Let him go!” he demanded.
“Can’t do that,” I said with a hint of smugness. “It’s not my style.”
“I’ll drop you, punk!”
“Not before I drop him,” I replied.
“Who cares,” said the driver. “He’s a fat piece of shit anyways.”
“Warms my heart to see such a loving family,” I said.
“Drop the gun!” He shouted.
“Like I said the first time,” I replied. “I can’t.”
The driver looked agitated. He was a well dressed Hispanic male in his mid thirties. His suit fit him like a glove. He had a thin
moustache and he wore stylish sunglasses.
“I’m warning you,” he continued.
“So you don’t care about your buddy?” I asked.
“He’s not my buddy,” the driver quickly replied. “Just an expendable associate. They come a dime a dozen.”
“Damn, dog eats dog world,” I said.
“Girl eats girl, it’s all the same to me, just semantics.”
I smiled.
“Last warning,” he issued.
“What you’re telling me,” I continued stalling. “Is that you don’t mind if I put a bullet into your fat associate?”
“Be my guest.”
I smiled.
He smiled.
I fired a shot through the inside of their car hitting the driver in the left thigh. He dropped to the ground in pain as he held his
bloody leg.
“Oops,” I said.
“It hurts, it hurts!” he screamed.
“It should,” I said. “I shot you.”
“Froggy is not going to like this,” said the fat guy.

“I don’t really care what Froggy likes or dislikes,” I said. “Now fat boy, why were you following me?”
“Fuck you!”
“I’ve been hearing too much swearing these passed few days,” I said. “Frankly, I’m sick and tired of it.”
“Froggy will hear about this!”
“I’m sure he will.”
I hit the fat guy in the back of his head with the butt of my gun and he dropped to the ground like a stone. I never realized how
weak the big guy was. I thought he had a little more fight in him, but I was wrong. He just had a lot of fat in him.
I waited for a few seconds to see if the fat guy would come to, but he didn’t. “Damn you’re weak.”
I walked around the car toward the driver. He was still on the ground holding his thigh wincing in pain. It was a beautiful sight.
“I’m bleeding badly!” he shouted.
“I can see that from here,” I said.
“I need help!”
“Mental or physical?”
“Damn you!”
“Well,” I started as I kicked his gun away. “If you don’t tell me why you were following me, I’m going to let you bleed to death.
And trust me, bleeding to death isn’t going to be pretty. When the end comes closer, you’re going to know it.”
“I can’t.”
“Of course you can.”
“Really, I can’t.”
“You know blood can easily drain out of two bullet holes very quickly” I said as I tried frightening him. “You’re going to go into a
deep sleep, and then die. It’s that simple, my friend.”
“Two bullet holes?” He looked confused. “You only shot me once.”
“Once?”
He nodded.
I shot him in the other leg.
“Damn!”
“Better?”
“You’re crazy!”
“And you’re going to bleed to death,” I said as I stepped on his designer sun glasses. “So, why were you following me?”
“I can’t say anything.”
“So you’d rather bleed to death?”
“Froggy will kill me anyways,” he sobbed.
I really wanted to know why they were following me, so I thought really hard about my next statement. I had to think about it,
because It was something I wouldn’t have done. It was something so out of the ordinary, that thinking about it first was my only
option.
“You know,” I started. “I know for a fact that you’re fat buddy there will tell me what I need to know.”
He looked confused.
“You’ll die. He’ll tell your boss that you told me, and he gets off Scott free,” I smiled devilishly. “Or, you tell me. Kill him, and
then tell your boss that you had to kill him because you overheard him telling me. Get it?”
The driver thought about it.
I smiled.
Frank Atanacio
The driver thought about it some more.
I smiled some more.
He wanted to, it was written across his face.
“Well?”
“One Eye Froggy wanted us to follow you because he needed to know that you got the information he wanted you to get. If
anyone told you something different, we had to kill the witness. It wasn’t just you we followed. We followed that fat cop...”
“O’Brien,” I said.
“It wasn’t anything against you,” he continued. “We just had to make sure you got what he wanted you to get.”
“So the witnesses were coached?”
He nodded.
“Mike Brandon didn’t kill that man?”
“That I can’t tell you,” he said. “I wasn’t there.”
“But why the cover up?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But the deacon did get into a fight with that bookie.”
I nodded.
“There must be some truth to what these witnesses are saying,” said the driver. “But Froggy wants them to use his words.”
“I see,” I pursed my lips a bit. “Is there dog fighting at his club?”
“That moves around,” he replied.
“So there is dog fighting?”
“All the time.”
“When and where is the next fight?”
“Chico on Wordin Avenue.”
“When?”
“Sunday after mid-night.”
“Damn, that late?”
He nodded.
“Well, thank you my friend,” I said. “You’ve been a wealth of information.”
“My gun,” he begged.
“I see, the deed.”
He nodded as I retrieved his gun.
“You’re going to call for help, right?”
“I always keep my promises,” I replied.
I took out my cell phone and dialed 911.
911 emergency.
“Hi, I’m calling from a closed down gas station on the corner of State Street and Lee Avenue. I need you to send an
ambulance right away. There’s been a shooting and two people have been shot. I think one is dead, but the other can be saved if
you come right away.”
Your name?
I hung up.
The driver smiled.

I smiled.
I jumped into my truck and turned right onto State Street and left onto Yale Street and then I heard two shots ring out. I didn’t
turn around nor did I look through my rear view mirror. Their family problems are their own business.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 10
Later that evening I walked into Froggy’s bar on Fairfield Avenue. I heard it was a jumping place, but that night there weren’t
too many patrons. In fact you couldn’t really get a good checker game going with the patrons there. Perhaps it was early, or
perhaps the murder of Carlos Rivera had something to do with it. I didn’t know and Frankly, I didn’t care. My job was to question
witness number four. Jackie Reeves.
The bartender was no more than 23 years old as he stood behind the bar wiping glasses. He was a thin Latino and African
American mixed. He had the olive skin with the black facial features. He had an Afro, but it was pulled upward and held together
with a rubber band. He looked like a Dr. Seuss character.
I sat directly in front of him.
“Yes?”
“Beer.”
“What kind?”
“Becks.”
“Five dollars,” he said as he placed the open beer in front of me.
I gave the bartender a ten and he walked toward the register and rung me up. He came back with five singles and slapped it
directly in front of me.
“Slow tonight?” I asked.
“It’s early,” he replied. “The crowd don’t kick in until 11pm.”
I nodded.
“Old folks like you don’t need to come.”
I smiled.
He walked away.
“Hey bar keep,” I called and he turned around. “I’m looking for Jackie Reeves.”
“Why?”
“Questions about the murder that happened here,” I replied. “I hear he was one of the witnesses.”
“You heard right,” he said.
“You’re Jackie?”
He nodded.
“So, “I started. “Can I ask you some questions?”
“I don’t think so,” he said as he walked back toward me. He leaned directly in front of me as if he was going to kiss me or smell
me.
“Not so close,” I said as I backed off just a little. It was at that time, I realized that there was a security button beneath the
counter, and he was simply reaching for it.
“I already spoke to the real police,” he said.
“Now you need to speak to me,” I threatened.
“I don’t think so,” he said as he grinned sheepishly.
“Why not?”
“Because of my insurance policies.”
“Insurance policies?”
He grinned sheepishly again.
I turned around and saw two mountain men standing on each side of me. They were big and stacked with muscles.
“Your policies?” I asked as I pointed to one of them.

Jackie nodded.
“Would you speak to me if I had your policies cancelled?”
“What?”
“If I cancel your policy,” I said slowly. “Would you speak to me?”
He looked confused.
“It’s a simple question,” I said.
He didn’t answer.
I hadn’t planned on fighting that evening, but a man had to do what a man had to do. I elbowed the man on my right in the
nose breaking it instantly. And I grabbed the man on my left and slammed his face against the bar not once, but twice. The pain
really didn’t register with him, so I banged it against the bar again, not once, but twice. He fell back and was out cold. The man
with the broken nose ran out of the bar. I was expecting him to attack me, and make this a real fist fight, but he was nowhere to
be found. It was the quickest fight I have ever been in. In fact, I was proud of myself. I was proud as hell.
I heard Jackie Reeves mutter something from behind the bar. It was unintelligible, but I understood the reason for his
incoherence. I just cancelled his insurance policies, and he had to deal with me.
“You have been a gracious bartender, and witness,” I said. “Unfortunately, given the position and circumstances you put me
in. I may simple just beat what I want out of you. You see, I didn’t come here to fight, but you got my juices flowing, and the fight
is over. I have this need to break some bones, and there is no one left to fight with. Well, except you.”
“I’m not a fighter!” he shouted. “I’m a lover!”
“So what do I do about my need to control my juices?”
“I’ll tell you what happened that night.”
“The truth?”
“No,” he said honestly. “I can’t tell you the truth.”
“The coached story?”
He nodded.
I grimaced.
The big guy stood up with his face covered in blood and looked at me with vengeful eyes. I had to hit him again because I
knew it was only a matter of time before he regained his full composure and was able to offer me a real fight. I had no juices in
me, I just said that to say it. Or perhaps to scare the bartender.
“Are you that afraid of Froggy?” I asked.
“You will be too,” he replied.
I nodded.
“You know he’s going to get you for this,” said the bartender.
“Will he fight me?”
“No.”
“I figure that.”
“But he comes with more insurance policies than me.”
“Remember who cancelled yours,” I said.
“I don’t think it’ll be that easy to cancel his.”
“Well,” I turned around to walk out. “I’m not looking for easy.”
“Then you’re screwing with the right guy.”
I nodded and walked out.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 11
Carolyn Lopez was the final name on my list. She was the only one to supply a phone number to the police and I had called
her and she agreed to meet me at a local restaurant located near my office in downtown Bridgeport.
Carolyn and I had dinner in Ralph and Richie’s next to the Barnum museum. It was a big, spacious place with excellent
service, and the food was fantastic. Plus, Carolyn knew the owner, so we got a nice table. I ordered antipasto for two and a bottle
of their best champagne.
“Thanks for meeting me,” I said.
“Thanks for lunch,” she replied.
I smiled.
I tried to look my best for her, because she was extremely hot. O’Brien had warned me earlier, and he certainly wasn’t kidding.
She smiled and I nodded. I felt sort of out of her league, but that didn’t stop me from trying to enjoy her company. Her black hair
was so thick and curly. Her eyes were rich brown, and her face a gentle light complexion. It was easy on my eyes. She had thin
perfect lips, and a body that made every man look. She was wearing tight slacks and a pretty pink blouse. She was dressed very
tastefully.
“So,” she said as she sipped her water. “This is professional, right?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“I’m not sure where to start,” I said. “I feel bad that I have to put you through this.”
“It’s your job,” she said.
I smiled.
“Why do men always say that when they’re talking to a pretty woman?”
“So you think you’re pretty?”
“Damn right.”
I laughed.
She laughed.
“Love your confidence.”
“Everyone does.”
I nodded in agreement.
“So this is about Carlos Rivera, right?”
“And the deacon.”
She looked down at the table cloth.
“I know what you’re going to say,” I said as the waiter placed our food in front of us, and opened the bottle of champagne.
“You were coached, and I fully understand why.”
She frowned still looking terrific.
“Go right ahead,” I said.
“The deacon,” she said slowly as if she was trying to remember the correct words to say. “Came up to Carlos Rivera and
started arguing. He threw the first punch and missed. Carlos threw the next punch and it hit the deacon and that set him off.”
I took a breath.
“Is that what the others were saying?” she asked.
I nodded.
“I’m not a good liar,” she said.
“Thank God,” I said.

She smiled with a hint of flirtation.
“Why couldn’t Froggy just give you guys a different set of things to say,?” I said. “The police already know that you guys were
coached.”
“Froggy says the deacon was too pushy, and we might say the wrong things.”
“But if you go to court, everyone going to tell that you’ve been coached. It’s so childish.”
“Froggy says this may not go to court.”
“If it does,” I said. “You’ll be in hot water. And that’s when I doubt your good looks could bail you out.”
“Perjury?”
“Big time.”
“I didn’t want to do it,” she said. “But I had to.”
“Why?”
“We have problems.”
“Problems?”
“I owe Froggy a lot of money,” she replied.
“How?”
“Gambling debts.”
“You don’t strike me as a gambler.”
“I wasn’t, but my ex-husband turned me on, and I couldn’t shake it loose.”
“There’s help for that.”
“Yeah, a little too late.”
“So now you do favors for him?”
“I’m his waitress, and I don’t get paid, plus this.”
I slowly bit my lower lip.
“You know,” she paused briefly. “I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this. He would have my ass in a sling.”
What a beautiful picture, her ass in a sling.
“I’m here for you Carolyn.”
She smiled.
“Did the deacon start the fight, really?”
“He did argue with the bookie, yeah,” she replied. “It was weird though.”
“How so?”
“They were talking all nice and nice, and the bookie even bought the deacon a drink. I know because I delivered it to him.”
“So they were friends?”
“I guess they had dealings before,” she said. “I can’t really tell you if they were friends. That argument looked staged. Or at
least from Carlos Rivera’s side.”
“Staged?”
She nodded.
“So there is more to this story?”
“There is.”
“Then I need to get to the bottom of this.”
Frank Atanacio
She ate some food and I watched her chew.
“Are you going to be at the dog fight this Sunday?” I asked.
She glared at me.
“What?”
“How did you know about the dog fight this Sunday?”
“I got it from someone in the driver’s seat.”
“Paulie,” she said.
“Oh, you know him?”
“He tried picking me up,” she replied. “I guess he and Tito were hired to follow you, but you put a stop to that.”
I smiled.
“I heard about the fight at the bar too,” she said.
“I’m sure Froggy knows about it too,” I said.
“Of course silly,” she said. “If I know he definitely knows.”
I smiled.
“He’s really nasty,” she warned.
“I know, I heard.”
She smiled.
“He’s the one whose going to put your ass in a sling, right?”
She nodded.
Again, what a beautiful picture, her ass in a sling.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked.
“Ah, no.”
“Why the hesitation?” she asked.
“I had a girl, but she broke up with me.”
“Why?”
“My line of work.”
“Private investigations?”
I nodded.
“Good girl?”
“Hot, like you.”
“What’s her name?”
“Zoraida Saez.”
“Puerto Rican?”
I nodded.
“Me too.”
I smiled.
“Why do you keep smiling at me,” she said.
“Honestly?”
She nodded.
“I’m trying to picture your ass in a sling.”
She laughed.
I laughed.
“Too bad we’re not meeting under different circumstances,” she said. “I think you’d be a delight to get to know.”
“You can still get to know me.”
“Oh?”
I nodded.
“You have my number.”
“And I’m going to give you mine.”
She smiled.
“Now why are you always smiling?” I asked.
“Honestly?”
I nodded.
“Was wondering how you’d handle my ass in a sling.”
“Many ways, baby, many ways.”
She laughed.
I laughed.
We ate and drank champagne. And the afternoon went well.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 12
I had to meet with Mike Brandon, and he was very difficult to find. He had lost his cell phone so I had to track him down the
hard way. I found him hiding in the basement of his church. I walked in from the backside and he was sitting at his desk with his
head down.
“You okay Mike?” I asked.
He lifted his head up and I noticed it was covered with bruises. He had a black eye on top of a black eye, and dried blood on
his shirt.
“Did you ever change your clothes?”
He nodded.
“A new fight?”
He nodded again.
“What happened Mike?”
“Some punks came in here and tried to rob the church,” he replied.
I looked around and I noticed everything was in order, and nothing was thrown to the floor. “They came in here?”
“Yeah.”
“Beat you up and took the money?”
“Beat me up like this,” he said pointing to his face.
“You fight back?”
“Two of them grabbed me and the third punched the shit out of me.”
I didn’t believe the deacon because he wasn’t the type to just let anyone grab him. He was a fighter, and he was good at it.
“Mike, come on, it’s me,” I said.
“You don’t believe me?”
“No.”
“I know you think I can take care of myself,” he started. “I’ll give you that, but these past few days were really hard on me. I
can’t go home to my wife, and I know she’s worried sick. I can’t run my church, and I know those people need me. And the police
are ready to jump on me as soon as you finish your investigation. Why should I fight back?”
“Because you’re Deacon Mike Brandon. A kick ass kind of guy.”
He smiled.
“So what really happened?”
“I told you the truth.”
I nodded.
“I got no more fight left in me.”
“Then can I ask you a few questions?”
“Do you have to?”
I nodded.
“Okay, shoot.”
“Why were you really arguing with Carlos Rivera?”
“Money,” he said. “I won a lot of money and he refused to pay me. He said he didn’t have it.”
“But you didn’t give him enough time to get it?” I asked. “Sometimes bookies can’t cover the bets that same night.”
“He covered everyone’s bet, but mine.”

“Were you friends?”
“I don’t know him too well,” he said.
“Didn’t he buy you a drink?”
“That cat never bought anyone a drink!” he shouted.
“And you know that because?”
“He’s a cheap ass!”
“But you don’t know him that well.”
“I know him from the gambling only.”
“A waitress said she delivered a drink to you that was purchased by Carlos.”
“Everyone lies!”
“Even you?”
He glared at me.
“Come on Mike, give me something to hang my hat on.”
“Okay, that Latina waitress did bring me a drink purchased by that cheap ass,” he confessed. “But it was to get me to make
bets with him. You see everyone has a motive! It’s a dog eats dog world!”
“Yeah, dog eats dog, girl eats girl, it’s all semantics,” I said using the driver’s line.
“Don’t play with me, Nick.”
“You’re going to kick my ass?”
“I’ll do more than that.”
“So you do have a little fight left in you.”
“You, I can take!”
I smiled.
“I’m sorry Nick,” he said as he looked directly at me. “I just don’t want to go to jail. I’m sorry for what I did, and I didn’t mean to
punch that guy in the nose.”
“I know.”
“I’m just so sorry all of this started.”
“The loss of your niece kind of put you out there,” I said. “I understand the ramifications of death.”
“Yeah, you almost lost Zoraida.”
I nodded.
“I hit the dog fights big,” he started. “I went over to Carlos Rivera and asked him for my money. He said he wasn’t going to
pay, and he didn’t carry that much on him. I told him I needed the money and he told me tough shit. That just triggered something
in me so I called his mama a name. He swung at me and missed, and I swung at him and punched the shit out of him. It wasn’t a
fair fight, I could cleaned up the floor with his scrawny ass, but I didn’t.”
“You may not have even killed him,” I said.
“Really?”
“Just hang in a little longer and let me get to the bottom of this,” I said.
“Are you reporting this to the police?” he asked.
“Not until I get all my little ducks in a row.”
He smiled.
“Just want to make sure you’re on the up and up with me,” I said knowing that if he lied to stay out of jail would only come
back to bite him in the ass.
Frank Atanacio
He nodded.
I knew that there was more to his story, but I didn’t push it. Not just yet. Mike Brandon was filled with adrenaline. I’m sure he
felt the walls closing in. The reason I knew that he was lying to me was when he told the truth, you could hear the conviction.
There was no conviction. He was hiding something, and that would soon come out like dirty little secrets.
“Why don’t you go wash up,” I suggested. “Call the police and let them know you were robbed.”
“Robbed?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, yeah robbed.”
“I’m going to start keeping a close leash on One Eye Froggy,” I said. “Just want to see if his bark is worth than his bite.”
“Be careful Nick,” the deacon warned. “You’re going to be dancing cheek to cheek with the devil.”
“I like dancing.”
“This guy is tough, Nick,” he continued. “I thought I liked dancing too, and now look at me. Wishing I had stayed home.”
“Everything comes down to a boil for a reason, Mike,” I said. “You told me that once.”
“But dealing with Froggy is an over boil.”
I grimaced.
“He’s not a punk gang member,” he added.
“I know,” I said sincerely. “I just want to find out if killing Carlos Rivera and the dog fights go hand and hand. Maybe you were
just a scape goat. I need to find out if there’s a correlation.”
The deacon nodded.
“Keep in touch with your wife,” I said.
He smiled.
I left.
Chapter 13
I was pleased that Carolyn Lopez called me over to her apartment for a drink. It was out of the blue and certainly
unexpectedly. What really turned me on was the fact that she seemed a bit frisky over the phone. I realized she could have had
her choice of any guy she wanted, but she chose me. Nick PT Barnum. I was planning to give her a thorough background check,
but decided against it. I’ve elected to simply allow the chips to fall where they may. She was a pretty girl caught up in bad things.
Every stain can come out of dirty laundry. I had all the plans to get the stains out of her dirty laundry. Or at least pile them high on
the bedroom floor.
I knocked on the light oak wood door and Carolyn opened it up immediately. It was as if she was expecting me right at that
moment. Perhaps she was waiting by the window. She was wearing a New York Mets baseball cap, and a number 15 Mets black
jersey with tight white shorts. Damn, she was hot.
“Are you Nick PT Barnum?” she asked jokingly.
“I am.”
“I heard so much about you.”
“All bad I hope.”
“Most of it.”
“Good, I started those rumors,” I said. “I wanted to make sure it found its way to your front steps.”
She smiled.
“So, “I started as I looked around at her neat apartment. “Nice place you have here. Everything has a place, and there’s a
place for everything.”
“I make certain of that.”
She was so organized, but why couldn’t she get her finances straightened out?
“How do we start?” I nervously asked.
“Well,” she grinned. “You can rip my clothes off and take advantage of me right here, or you can simply ask for a drink, and
we’ll take it slow.”
“Is that a choice?”
She nodded.
“Then I choose to rip your clothes off and take advantage of you right here.”
She turned and smiled. “Come in, sit down.”
“Beer would be fine,” I said.
She quickly made a dash for the kitchen and came back with two cold bottled beers.
“A beer drinker,” I smiled. “My kind of girl.”
“You thought I’d be a fancy girl?”
I laughed.
“What, I can’t be fancy?”
I laughed again and she pushed me.
“You keep teasing me and I bet you won’t get lucky,” she said.
“You’re going to be the lucky one,” I joked.
How so?”
“Let’s just say I can play hockey without a stick.”
She laughed.
“Something funny?”
“Yeah you.”
Frank Atanacio
“I get that a lot.”
“I bet you do.”
I smiled.
“I thought I saw you in the newspapers once or twice before,” she said. “Did you have a moustache once?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“I would know that.”
“When was the last time you had hair on your face?” she asked.
“About two weeks ago,” I replied. “It was a terrific date.”
“Oh you are a pig!”
“Carolyn,” I started. “How did you start gambling?”
She looked puzzled.
“I’m asking as a friend who wants to help,” I said. “And who wants to keep on your good side so I’d be in your pants by the
night’s end.”
She smiled.
“Or you’d rather not talk about it?”
“I just want to spend some good times with a regular guy,” she replied. “No business.”
“That’s business?”
“For me it is,” she replied.
“I understand,” I said. “Now get undressed.”
“I’m not that easy.”
“I am.”
She laughed.
She sort of reminded me of Zoraida, but I had to block that out of my mind. I wanted to sleep with Carolyn that night, not
Zoraida.
“You’re laughing at me?” I asked.
“With you.”
“Is there a need to laugh?”
“None,” she said softly as she began to undress.
“Right here?”
“Problem with that?” she asked.
“No,” I answered. “I just didn’t want to break any of your furniture as I make wild and passionate love to you. When you’re with
Nick, everything goes flying, even morals.”
“Is that dirty talk?”
“You want more?”
“At least better than that,” she said.
“It’s the best I got.”
“Just make me your bitch, and take me.”
“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” she said.

“I’m sure you will, so take notes!”
She smiled.
I really had to pinch myself, because I couldn’t believe I was really here with her. It wasn’t that I wasn’t good looking. Hell, I’m
a great looking guy. It’s just that she was so attractive, and I’m not a stock-broker type. I bet I’d pale in comparison to the men
she’d usually date. Nevertheless, Nick PT Barnum needed no comparison, and certainly no Viagra.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 14
The next morning I had to visit Dr. Marcia Freeman at the Bridgeport Hospital Morgue. I was not to surprised that she was
touching a dead body on a table in front of her. Her job was to examine the dead, and my job was to find out how they got dead.
“Mr. Barnum,” she said not looking up. “Right on time.”
“I was trying to be fashionable late,” I started. “But there simply was no traffic to get stuck in.”
She smiled.
“Captain Camacho wanted me to give you my complete cooperation,” she said as she continued examining the body.
“She’s a good captain,” I said. “Got her trained.”
The doctor smiled.
Dr. Freeman was a tall slender woman, with a fit body structure. Her nose was long, but cute. She wore designer glasses, and
her blonde hair had sprinkles of gray. It appeared that her job kept her from keeping up with her appearance. She seemed well
rested, but her slight bags under her eyes told a different story, and the fact that she hasn’t any make-up on didn’t help either.
Nevertheless, she wasn’t here to attract me. She was here to answer some questions.
She nodded as I walked closer to her.
“Information gave me directions to this haunting room.”
She smiled.
“Can we talk away from the dead?” I asked.
“Sure,” she replied as we walked to a small corner office. “I hear that you cause a lot of these dead bodies.”
“Someone is telling you lies,” I replied.
“Jenny doesn’t lie.”
“Of course not.”
In her office was one of the few personal computers allowed by hospital administrators. There were programs that only their
computers supported, and there was access to the internet with medical ties. Personal computers were not allowed, and checking
personal information or email wasn’t permitted either. The hospital wanted to make sure their patients were never ignored.
“So you wanted some information on Carlos Rivera?” she asked.
I nodded.
She grabbed an old doughnut from the coffee counter and bit into it slowly. “We’ve determined the cause of death to be a
broken neck.”
“He neck was napped?”
She stared disdainfully at me.
“Listen,” I started. “I know you want to use medical terminology on me, but I’m a simple guy. Keep it simple, and I’ll be out of
your hair very quickly.”
“Yes, his neck was snapped.”
“Could it have been from a counter of table?”
“Do you mean if he could have snapped his neck by falling backwards on a counter or table?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“So a punch in the nose could have caused him to fall backwards,” I said mostly to myself. “And that could have killed him.”
“She nodded.”
“A broken nose couldn’t have killed him,” I whispered. “So it could be ruled out as an accident, right?”
“True,” she agreed. “But he didn’t have a broken nose.”
“Sure he did,” I said. “The deacon punched him in the nose. Even he admitted to that.”
“He was holding a Bloody Mary in his hand, and when the deacon swung, and missed the drink shot up and splattered all over
him,” she said. “Didn’t the police tell you this?”
“They kept it from me,” I said. “And the deacon drinking a Bloody Mary?”
“I’m kidding,” she smiled. “He did break his nose and he wasn’t holding the Bloody Mary, damn you’re slow. How did you ever
become Bridgeport’s greatest private eye? Carlos was holding the drink.”
“Well,” I paused. “I’m not really the greatest. It’s that play on words. PT Barnum is the greatest showman, and me Nick
Barnum, I had to have something great because I’m certainly no showman.”
“Yeah, I hear you’re a show off.”
I nodded.
She grinned.
“So he did bust Carlos in the nose?”
“Clocked him good.”
“Was Carlos drunk?”
“His alcohol levels were very high, and the only thing found in his stomach were the ingredients to a Bloody Mary. Lots of it.”
“So he could have been framed?”
She nodded.
“But why?” I asked myself as I turned away from the doctor.
“You know,” she started as I turned back to face her.
“Yes?”
“This Froggy guy,” she started. “I see his work come through this hospital often. He hates black people, women, and
homosexuals. He has this controversial way of handling these groups of people.”
“How do you know this?”
She looked levelly at me.
“People like that man avoid scenarios that will have him come into contact with these groups of people. He’d rather have
others do the work for him.”
“Again,” I asked. “How do you know this.”
“My ex-husband worked for him.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
“Do you know his business?” I asked.
“Not really sure,” she answered. “If I did, he would have changed that.”
“So you have evidence that could help free an innocent man,” I started. “The police knows it, but they’re not using it?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“My connections,” she answered. “They’re going to have another examiner supply them with the same information, and then
they’ll take it from there.”
I nodded.
“I was on duty when Carlos Rivera came in.”
“You know Carlos?”
“No.”
“But when you found it had something to do with Froggy,” I Paused as she bit into the doughnut again. “You decided to tell the
captain of police your history?”
Frank Atanacio
She shrugged, her eyes shifting away from me, glancing at the empty coffee pot. “Captain Jenny Camacho and I go a long
way back. I called her immediately and explained.”
“After the reports?”
“When I completed the reports is when all this came to light,” she replied.
“So the reports have no prejudices, right?”
“Even still,” she half shouted. “I would never jeopardize my job for anyone! I report the truth, and I stick with it. No matter
what!”
“Just checking.”
“I also know the deacon,” She said softly. “I’ve known him for a number of years through his wife.”
“B B?”
She nodded.
“So the other doctor who handed everything over to te police, is she on duty?”
“He, and no.”
I Nodded.
“I’m here and I believe the police wanted you to speak to me.”
“Because of what you found, and because of the ties you have?”
She pondered those questions for a moment and then answered, “I was the first to handle his corpse. I was the ideal person
to speak to. That’s all.”
I nodded again.
“Is that all the questions you have?” she asked.
“For now.”
“Good,” she said she took out a pair of surgical gloves from a box on the counter. “I have a great deal of work to do.”
“You’ve been a great help.”
“I wish it were under different circumstances,” she said.
“Me too.”
“Here’s a print out of the autopsy report,” she said as she handed me the paper. “I think Detective O’Brien wanted me to make
sure you get everything they got.”
I nodded.
“If you need anything else,” she paused. “Call the police.”
“Damn you’re a funny girl,” I said.
She smiled.
“Too bad your audience consists of dead people.”
“Sometimes it’s better that way,” she said warmly. “I could never have a bad night.”
“So you think.”
She smiled.
I handed the doctor my business card and she accepted it. She slipped it into her pocket and smiled at me.
“If you think of anything else I need to know, call me,” I said.
She nodded.
I walked out of her workplace and looked at the autopsy report. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I studied it like a
medical student would.
Chapter 15
Everything didn’t seem to be going the way I expected it. I couldn’t remember a case ever being so delicate. I kept thinking
about that word. When the deacon spoke to me, he lacked conviction, when O’Brien spoke to me, he seemed challenged. In my
line a work, there has to be no room for being challenged. It’s difficult rule to follow, but a rule nevertheless. When you allow
something to challenge you, it may cause you to lose your life. Everything has to be hit head on, and getting the upper hand is
what I always strived for. It lets me be me. Without being delicate.
Delicate?
My house came with a farm porch that stretched from one side of the house to the other. I took off my gun and laid down on
the sofa that I had stored there for dumping purposes, but I never got around to doing it. I knew my neighbors complained about
it, but they never approached me. They complained amongst themselves. They were always talking about the way I live, and how
I was never home. Again they talked amongst themselves. I guess they thought I was much too delicate to hear the truth.
Delicate again?
Tired and bothered as I was, I couldn’t get some much needed rest. I lay there thinking and my thoughts kept coming around
to Zoraida Saez. I’d had a few sweethearts since Zoraida, but she was the one I didn’t want to let go. O’Brien had hit it on the
head when he called her the one. B B had her one, and I had mine.
Funny how relationship works. She was afraid of what my job was going to do to her family. She was only trying to protect her
son, and I fully understood. She once said she didn’t want to let fear in the door, even a little fear. Because if you do, it’ll end up
staying over like an unwanted family member who has nothing better to do than to sponge off of you.
She wanted me to quit what I was doing once. I thought about it, and knew that I wasn’t trained to do anything else. I liked it,
and it’s all I knew. She told me to try an office job, but that was far too delicate for me.
Again with the delicate.
Zoraida was a whole package deal. I remembered everything we did together, I remembered her kisses, her laughs, and the
way she drove her sports car. Pushing her skirt way up high so that I could be teased unmercifully. Everything we did together
developed into a pattern that inked itself permanently in my consciousness. While the ripples were still spreading, and the
thoughts of that beautiful girl intensified, I fell asleep.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 16
Janet returned from vacation, frantic. Her favorite deacon was accused of murder, and she heard the news all the way down in
Florida. It was upsetting and she wanted to know what I was doing about it.
My door opened, and she stormed in like a woman on a mission. She had a sour look on her face and her expression was
clear, as if she owned the joint.
“Okay Nick, what the hell is going on?” she asked as she stood directly in front of me with her hands on her hips. “What’s up
with Mike Brandon?”
“Looks like the deacon is in serious trouble,” I replied without holding back any punches. “He got caught up in places he
shouldn’t be in, and he hung around people he shouldn’t be seen with. It has put him in a bad spot.”
“Don’t play with me Nick.”
Janet was visiting her favorite vacation spot when she first heard the news. It was frightening and unsettling. She couldn’t
continue to enjoy herself until she knew what was going on. She had left over seven messages on Mike Brandon cell phone, but
he has failed to return her calls. She didn’t realize that the deacon lost his cell.
“Janet, ask yourself,” I said. “When did you ever know me to play around about a serious situation?”
Janet worked for me for about five years. She started when she was in high school just doing some light filing. I got use to her
and she got use to me. So I decided to hire her as my secretary. She wasn’t very efficient, but she served her purpose. She was
always looking out for me, and I would always look out for her. She was steady, and knew how to handle people. That was a big
plus in this business. She was finishing up college, and I wouldn’t know what to do without her if she decided to leave. Things
would certainly not be the same. She was oddly my right hand man. She was a thin, pretty Latin woman with dark short hair. She
had olive skin and big brown eyes that often displayed a puppy expression. She had a nose piercing and a tongue ring. It was a
fashion statement for her, but she wasn’t at all wild. She was intelligent, and had lots of dreams. She set the bar high for herself,
but had planned to reach her goals. Knowing her, that wasn’t going to be much of a problem.
“I hope you’re doing something about it,” she said. “Can’t have my favorite deacon locked up.”
“Janet, I’m all over this.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
“I am.”
“What is B B doing about this?”
“She’s worried.”
“Poor mama. I’m going to pay her a visit. Maybe try and give her some comfort,” Janet said. “Damn you men know how to
screw life up, and drag us down with you.”
I smiled.
“You know I’m right,” she said.
I nodded.
“Hey,” she said giving me a curious look. “Why are you glowing?”
“Glowing?”
“Yeah, glowing.”
“Maybe I’m pregnant.”
“Don’t be an ass.”
“I’m not glowing,” I said.
“Yeah, you are,” she continued. “You haven’t glowed like that since Zoraida.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You got a girl!”
“Don’t be crazy.”
“You got a new girl, you pimp!”

“You can’t tell that by just looking into my face,” I said.
“Come on pimp daddy, spill the beans.”
I laughed.
“But damn Nick, Zoraida’s body isn’t even cold yet.”
“It’s been two years!”
“Aha!”
“What?”
“You said It’s been two years,” she said. “That means you are seeing someone knew, and you just admitted it.”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“Better looking than Zoraida?”
“I don’t compare girls.”
“Come on, Nicky boy.”
“No,” I smiled. “But she reminds me a little of her though.”
“You see Nick,” she started. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“You shouldn’t compare girls like that. Reminding you of Zoraida is only telling me that you wish she was Zoraida. Don’t live
with Zoraida through her. Let her stand on her own two feet and be her own person.”
“Damn,” I said. “You are college educated.”
She gave me the middle finger.
“That hurts,” I said.
“What’s her name?”
“I’m telling you Janet, it’s nothing.”
“Nothing? Strange name.”
“It really isn’t nothing,” I tried to explain. “We just met, and it went a little too far.”
“You had sex with her?”
“You said it,” I smiled. “I’m a pimp daddy.”
Janet laughed.
I smiled.
“So you’re telling me that this nothing, is just a booty call?”
“Booty call?”
“Yeah,” she chuckled. “I just can’t picture you a booty call type of person. But hey, people change.”
“Carolyn Lopez,” I said.
“Carolyn Lopez? Hmm,” she put her fingers on her chin. “I don’t think I know her.”
“Good,” I said. “Let’s just leave it at that.”
She smiled.
“What?”
“I’ll find out who she is,” she said.
“Why?”
“Got to watch my old man’s back.”
Frank Atanacio
I gave her my middle finger.”
She smiled.
“Just leave things alone,” I said.
She continued laughing as she walked out of my office and slammed the door behind her.
“Damn,” I whispered. “I think she will too.”

Chapter 17
Sunday came rather quickly as I hustled over to Chico for the dog fighting contest. It was held at the Chico Social Club in a
blue collar community. A community that had neighborhood watches, but failed to see this happening in their own back yard.
Nevertheless, I had to be there, and I had to keep digging. It was my job, and Mike Brandon was my friend.
There was a strip of stores on that side of the road next to Chico. They were closed of course, but the flower shop at the end
had a light on. I walked toward the light and noticed a sign beneath it pointing to the rear of the building. I knew that the sign was
meant for the would be gamblers. I followed the directions to the back of the shop and into a dark stairwell. The building was
situated just beyond the Fairfield town line and just short of the on-ramp to I95 South bound heading toward New York City.
A wooden trailer was parked in the back, about a hundred yards from the stair-well. It was partially covered, exposing some
dog crates. The smell of urine was strong as it hit me like a ton of bricks. The trailer was obviously used to transport animals. In
this case dogs used for fighting.
I knocked on the dirty gray metal door and a thin tall dark skinned Latino male opened it up. He gave me an up and down look
and allowed me passage. He did not ask me for identification, or he didn’t expect a password. He simply just let me in.
There was a small arena at the center of the room and two pit-bulls tied on each side of the arena. The pit-bull on the left side
had dried blood on his face that completely covered scars. The one on the right side of the arena had a missing ear. Both the
dogs looked like they just came out of a war zone. They had anger in their eyes, and fighting clenched teeth.
I saw Carolyn Lopez standing at the corner of the bar taking drink orders. She was handing the orders to the bartender and he
was quickly handing her the drinks. They were like a well oiled machine. I noticed that the gamblers were drawn to that particular
spot because of her. She was a very attractive woman and the men knew it. In fact, I found myself drifting in and out of reality.
Damn, I slept with that!
It wasn’t that hard to admit, but I too was drawn to her charm, to her natural beauty. She was the complete package.
Everything you wanted in a girl with the exception of the gambling debt. Behind her sat the bouncer. He was a bear of a man. He
had a thick beard and a full moustache. He wore farmer overalls and a wife beater tee-shirt. He had lots of curly hair on his
shoulder and upper arm. He also had exposed hair on his chest pushing up toward his neck..
“Nick!” Carolyn called.
My eyes went into puppy mode.
“Here!”
I knew where she was, but I played it off and looked surprised to see her.
“Working tonight?” I asked as I kissed her cheek.
“Yeah, but you know the deal.”
I nodded.
“You want a drink?”
“Scotch and water.”
“A beer?”
“Scotch and water,” I repeated.
“I don’t pay for beers,” she said.
“Oh, okay. A beer would be great!”
She smiled.
I smiled.
She handed me a draft.
I sipped.
She blew a kiss at me.
Oh baby!
“What are you doing later tonight?” I asked.
“Probably making love to you,” she replied.
Frank Atanacio
I smiled.
“Hey!” The bouncer called. “Leave the lady alone. She’s got work to do.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Come back again,” she smiled.
“After work, right?”
“Only if you wanna meet me between the sheets.”
“I know right where that is,” I said.
“Hey!” The bouncer shouted.
“I know, I know,” I said. “The lady has work to do. I get it. I’m leaving her alone.”
The bouncer growled, but did not get off his chair.
“How much?” a man in a light gray suit and a pimp hat asked me.
“How much what?”
“Are you betting, and what dog?”
I looked at the dogs in the arena and really didn’t want to bet on either one of them. They needed medical attention, and this
was probably their last night alive.
“The missing ear dog,” I said.
“How much? You asshole.”
“Ten.”
“Your name?”
“Nick.”
“Last name too, you asshole!”
“Barnum.”
“Damn, why do you bitches have to make this shit so difficult?” he said as he wrote my name in the book and walked away.
The excitement was just about to begin as the lights dimmed and everyone quickly ran toward the arena. It was show time.
There was a man standing next to the bouncer who really looked like a frog. He had a patch over one eye and his facial
feature and popped out eye had reptilian features. I couldn’t believe how ugly he looked, yet I wanted to feed him a fly.
He was staring sullenly at me.
I quickly turned to face the dogs as they went at it in the ring. It was a dreadful, and horrible spectacle. I couldn’t believe
people actually betted on these types of things. It was a total disgrace, and my heart ached.
Glancing around the club, I noticed the excitement in the patrons’ eyes. It was false gratification, but gratification nevertheless.
Froggy looked curiously at me as I tried not to stare. He turned and whispered something to the bouncer and returned his
glare toward me again. Perhaps he was attracted to my tall good-looking features. Perhaps he was wondering why I was here,
and how much I placed as a bet. That ten dollars wasn’t going to make him any money, but it probably did attract his attention. I
understood that I was violating his turf, but I had to be here. I was doing it for a friend.
The dogs in the arena were ripping at each other and all of a sudden there was a shriek, and then a calm. I looked toward the
arena and the dog with the missing ear was covered in blood and lifeless.
There was a small heavy set man standing in front of the dogs holding cash in both hands. He was studying the aftermath
briefly and muttered. “Holy-shit!”
Foggy turned toward the ring and then his eyes smiled in triumph. He was so excited with the outcome of the dog fight. He
knew that the house had made a lot of money. I knew that look. I saw it a million times. Thank God I only put down ten bucks.
The bouncer walked up to me with Froggy in tow. They stopped directly in front of me, and the bouncer smiled.
“Yes?”
“Pay-out time,” said the bouncer.

“Oh, of course,” I said as I handed him ten dollars.
“What the fuck is this?”
“I lost.”
“Ten thousand dollars you asshole!”
“Ten thousand what?”
“Dollars!”
“I didn’t bet that much!”
“The minium bet on this fight was a thousand dollars!” shouted the bouncer. “You placed ten!”
“Holy-shit.”
Froggy smiled.
The bouncer moved closer to me and his big belly was unpleasantly touching my arm. I wanted to push him away, but I had to
think. I had to think about the bet I had just lost.
“Well?” he growled.
“I don’t carry that much money on me,” I said. “Besides, I didn’t know there was a minimum.”
“Everyone who came tonight knew about the minium. The winners won twenty times the amount they placed, and the losers,
well the losers just pay.”
“Can I plead my case?”
“I can’t kill you,” said the bouncer. “It’s hard to collect money from a dead man. But let me tell you this. I’m giving you to the
end of this week to pay. If not, I’m gonna have to kill you so the others can see that we don’t play around.”
I gulped.
“Have our money!” he demanded as he pointed his finger into my chest.
“Barnum?” Froggy looked confused. “You’re that guy asking questions?”
“That’ll be me.”
“You took out some of my men,” he said.
“I su...” There was a quick thump and I fell to my knees. A flash shot right before my eyes, and my body ached. I didn’t
understand what was happening to me, but I just realized that someone had hit me in the back of the head with a blunt
instrument. Normally it would have taken several hits to knock me out, but whatever they used was heavy and precise. I saw the
room spinning. I saw Carolyn Lopez worrying and finally, I saw men shoes in front of me before everything went dark.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 18
When I came to I realized I was sitting in a dark alley way covered in garbage and smelling my own blood. It looked like they
took turns punching me around while I was unconscious because my entire body ached, and my face was covered in cuts. I
couldn’t feel my lips, but I knew they were bleeding.
“Damn, what hit me?” I said softly.
There were two canvas duffle bags laying about three feet away from me. It took some doing, but I managed to crawl toward
the first one. They were next to each other side by side, and I knew the bags weren’t garbage.
“I wonder what these monkey’s left behind?” I said as I pulled the first one toward me.
In response to some sort of private investigator’s instincts, I just knew that the duffle bags had something in them. Something
that wasn’t going into the garbage can. I looked for the zipper and it was dark outside, so that became a task in itself. Or perhaps
it was just the beating I got that made everything difficult.
I opened the bag up and at first I couldn’t recognize the stench. Perhaps it was because my nose was full of dried blood.
However, the smell from the bag was so strong I almost threw up. In the bag was the dog with the missing ear. It appeared that
he had his throat cut.
“What the hell did these animals do to this poor dog?”
On the ground next to my feet, lying on his side with his paw frozen with rigomortise was the dog that made me lose ten
thousand dollars. I would have given Froggy, that one-eyed punk the money if he would have guaranteed me the life of that poor
dog. His bloodied head motionless on the ground, and the other duffle bag next to it.
“Should I?”
I pulled the other bag toward me and it moved. I didn’t realize it at first, because I really couldn’t feel my legs, but I knew it
moved on its own because I wasn’t touching the bag at the time.
“Don’t tell me it’s the other dog?” I whispered.
I mustered enough strength to zip open the bag and out fell the other pit-bull. The winner of that contest, and this was his
reward. He was stabbed twice in the throat, but somehow survived it. I looked into his bloody eyes, and the dog looked into mine.
He tried to clench his teeth and growl, but couldn’t. He went into a whimpering frenzy, and then stopped almost as I put my hand
on his head. The dog too was looking for comfort.
“I know how you feel dog,” I said. “But if you owed them money, they wouldn’t have tried to kill you. Maybe you should have
gambled too.”
The dog whimpered again.
“It really is a dog eats dog world,” I said as the dog crawled closer to me.
The dog licked my arm.
“Of course we can become friends,” I said.
I noticed the dog had a very difficult time trying to keep its head up. He crawled closer to me and fell into my lap. He put his
bloody head on my lap and closed his eyes.
“You rest, my friend,” I said.
The dog was almost purring.
“We better talk about something to keep us awake,” I said. “I don’t think we should fall asleep. We may never get up.”
The dog continued purring.
“You like baseball?”
The dog didn’t answer.
“I like the Mets.”
The dog’s purr was quieter.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “You’re thinking that this is a Yankee town, right?”
The dog was quiet.
“You with me buddy?”

There was no sound coming from the dog at all.
“Buddy?”
I pulled the dog’s head toward me and realized he had died.
“Damn,” I whispered. “But at least he didn’t die alone.”
But at least he didn’t die alone? That wasn’t even comforting!
I kept patting the dog and my eyelids were getting to heavy. I smelled the rotting dog next to me, and I kept petting the dog on
my lap. It was just too much for me to take as I drifted back into the unconsciousness.
I hope I don’t die alone.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 19
I heard a great deal of commotion, and when I opened my eyes up it was still dark. I couldn’t believe it, until I realized that it
wasn’t darkness from the lack of sun. It was darkness from within a garbage dumpster. Someone had picked me up and tossed
me into a garbage dumpster like Tuesday’s trash.
“Hello,” I called.
There was still a lot of commotion.
“I’m in here,” I continued. “Someone threw me away, but I’m still good.”
I tried to reach for the lid, but I was far too deep. I didn’t have the energy to stand.
“Help!” I called.
It took several minutes before someone realized that I was in the trash. The plastic lid shot open, and someone peered in at
me.
“Nick?”
“God?”
“No you idiot,” said O’Brien. “It’s me, Pete.”
“Pete,” I smiled faintly. “Come in, I was just about to make some coffee.”
“What the hell are you doing in the garbage?”
“Someone threw me away,” I replied. “Can you help me out?”
“I should let you rot there!”
“It stinks so bad in here,” I said.
“Yeah, you too,” said O’Brien as he stuck his hand in for grabbing. “Grab my hand.”
“I really want to tell you that you’re a sight for battered eyes,” I said as he helped me out of the dumpster. “It was really touch
and go for a moment.”
“You shouldn’t be drinking,” He said as he helped me stand to my feet.
“I wasn’t.”
“Those women standing next to my police officers tell something different.”
“What?”
“They told them that you were here all night singing, carrying on with a prostitute, and making a spectacle of yourself.”
“Explain the beating,” I said.
“Their pimp, you didn’t want to pay.”
“What?”
“They’re given us a written statement.”
“What about the dead dogs in the alley?” I shouted as I pointed to the alley.
“No dogs, we checked.”
“The dog fight in Chico?”
He shook his head from side to side.
“Froggy must have cleaned up his act.”
“A whore Nick?” O’Brien looked disappointed.
“You know me!”
“I thought I did.”
“Those old hens were put up to it!”

“Let me take you home, you stink.”
“Pete, you know it’s a game he’s playing. Just like he’s doing to Mike Brandon.”
“You just had one too many,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to arrest you, but I should for being a stupid ass.”
“Pete, I came here for the dog-fight!” I pleaded. “I lost a lot of money and I didn’t pay. Or at least I couldn’t pay, and they took it
out on me and the dogs. They killed two pit bulls last night and must have taken them away. I’m telling you, it’s not what it looks
like.”
“Again Nick, those woman over there,” he said pointing toward some police officers and several woman standing next to them.
“Are given us statements. They said you were out here with a woman and she demanded payment for the sex you’ve had. How
can I believe you over them? There are several of them, and then there is just you. This would never fly if I really had to arrest
you. You know that.”
“Does that remotely sound like something I would do?” I asked. “I’m telling you, they were put up to it.”
He nodded.
“Let’s go.”
“Pete, check out the club!”
“Let’s just go so I can let these people go back to their homes.”
It just accord to me as O’Brien was helping me to his police cruiser. Froggy was a much more human presence than the
mayor. He was a genuine threat to the citizens of this city. I was just wondering if O’Brien knew it.
“Pete, we have to do something about Froggy,” I said as he helped me into the car.
“We have increased our investigation,” he said as he entered the car. “It came up empty. He does have a great deal of money,
but he can account for every penny. He’s the highest tax payer this city has, and he knows some important people.”
“That makes him honest?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“You were out here doing whatever,” he said. “You got caught up with booze and a prostitute. I can’t take your side on this.”
“Can I bribe you?”
“Don’t get cute or I’ll throw your ass back into the dumpster.”
“That hurts.”
“Listen, Nick,” he started as he turned to face me. “Let’s just leave this alone for now. We’ll work on something to help the
deacon out.”
“So you’re not making any progress?”
“We’re doing th best that we could.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“That you’re getting leads, and that the deacon will be okay.”
“Can’t say what isn’t true.”
“Then lie.”
“Let’s just get you home,” he said. “You’re really stinking up my cruiser.”
“Must be the lack of evidence.”
“No,” He grimaced. “It’s you.”
“Well, thanks for getting me out of that can.”
“I should have left your stank ass there.”
“But you love me.”
Frank Atanacio
He smiled.
“And the deacon continues to squirm.”
“For now, Nick,” he said. “For now.”
I grimaced.
Chapter 20
Detective Peter O’Brien lived his whole life as a bachelor. His never being married had something to do with being a police
officer. He had been doing it for over 30 years, and the hours were just too long. However, he was a good friend and he really
cared about me and the deacon. He would never actually say it, but he didn’t have to. He helped me into my house and made
sure I was cleaned up.
“Can I offer you a drink?”
“Enough with the booze,” he said.
I smiled.
“How many dog fights?” he asked.
“There were several scheduled,” I replied. “I just got to bet on the main event.”
He nodded.
“So you do believe there is dog fighting?”
“I believe you,” he said as he tossed me a dry towel.
“I’m glad.”
“We’re going to continue checking on that,” he said. “Can’t make you promises though. He is a well tight man.”
“Froggy?”
He nodded.
“I’d like to loosen him a bit with my fist for having those dogs killed.”
“I guess.”
“That place wasn’t just no dog-fighting backyard type,” I said. “The place had walnut paneling, and high ceilings that totally
whispered privilege. I should have realized that when the bets were a thousand dollar minium.”
“A thousand?”
“Something I couldn’t afford.”
O’Brien gave me a side-ways glance.
“What? I couldn’t.”
“If all this comes out,” O’Brien started. “And the deacon had his hands dirty, I don’t know how he could have waged a
thousand dollars a fight.”
“From his parishioners,” I said.
“What?”
“Gets the money from his church, I think.”
“Deacon Brandon wouldn’t stoop that low,” he said. “Not with B B standing over him.”
“Maybe she didn’t know.”
“Don’t put anything over on that woman,” he said. “I’ve known her for a long time. She’s no dummy.”
“Okay,” I restated. “Maybe she didn’t want to know.”
“She would have stopped it.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I can’t see Mike betting on those fights and she not knowing where the money is going. If anything, I
think the deacon thought he was helping the church. He would always look for ways to raise money.”
“He has a great deal of followers,” said O’Brien.
“Mostly poor.”
He nodded.
Frank Atanacio
“And Mike still manages to send needed kids to summer camps. He still finds money to send needy kids to baseball games.
He always comes through when basketball camps come around. Mike doesn’t want anyone going without. Maybe he had to do
what he had to do. Gamble in the name of God.,” I said. “It makes sense in a way. I’m sure he’s gambling for his flock. Certainly
not for personal gain.”
“Of course.”
“So we got to help him out of this mess.”
“And put him back on the straight and narrow,” he said.
“Which is what?” I asked.
“These days?”
“Right.”
O’Brien smiled.
Chapter 21
I was in my office with my feet up on my desk taking in a few moments of much needed rest. My face was still aching, but my
body seemed to have accepted the beating I sustained when Janet came in with an overweight black man wearing baggy shorts,
and a Malcolm-X tee-shirt. His hair was dark color with beads of gray. He wore oval shaped glasses with black rims. His eyes
were tiny, but his nose big.
I wasn’t really in the mood or the mind set to take on any new clients, but I didn’t want Janet to look bad.
“Rusty Miller,” Janet said. “This is my boss, Nick PT Barnum.”
“How do you do?” I said as I stood up quickly and shook his hand.
“Mr. Miller,” Janet started. “Was gambling with the deacon that night.”
“Sit down,” I said as I pointed to one of my client’s chairs.
He smiled.
“I’ll let you guys talk,” said Janet almost too professionally.
“I’m sorry for what has happened to the deacon,” he said.
“We all are,” I said.
“He is a good man.”
“Salt of the earth.”
“Yeah, that he is.”
“Mr. Miller, are you okay to talk?” I asked.
He looked at me quizzically. “What do you mean?”
“People find it too difficult to talk about what happened to Mike Brandon,” I started explaining. “They have this fear brought on
by Froggy. You don’t have that fear?”
“I don’t have any enemies,” he said.
“Do you owe Froggy money?”
“Yes, but not a lot.”
“So you have no financial problems with him?” I continued. “No big debts, not behind on any gambling debts?”
“I told you,” he said. “I do owe him a little money, but we’re good.”
“Are you behind?”
“No, “he said. “I’m paying on time.”
“So he made payment arrangements with you?”
Mr. Miller nodded.
“What do you do for a living?”
“I gamble.”
“Professionally?”
He nodded.
“And you’re debt free?”
He nodded again.
“Are you married?”
He nodded.
“Wife know you have no job?”
“She knows what I do.”
Frank Atanacio
I smiled.
“Hell, we make enough money to take a vacation every year around Christmas time.”
I smiled again.
“I told you, I’m a professional gambler. That’s how I make my money. That’s how I roll,” he said. “Whether it be the lottery,
scratch offs, dogs, ponies, jai-alai. I do it all!”
“Dog fighting?”
“Cock fighting too,” he said bravely. “But I didn’t come here to talk about my profession. I came here to talk about the deacon.”
“You like taking decent men to these places too?”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“I’m just wondering what attracted the deacon to something like this.” I reworded. “It’s a mystery to me. The deacon doesn’t
really hang around with such bad elements. It’s beneath him. And forgive me for saying this, but you’re beneath him too.”
“I’m a God loving man,” he snorted.
“If the odds are in your favor, right?”
“I came to help you,” he half stood and then sat back down. “There is no need to grill me like that.”
“Just trying to find out where you found Mike Brandon, is all.”
“He found me,” he said. “I didn’t find him.”
“I don’t think so.”
“That’s just a fact,” he said. “Whether you believe me or not. Mike, the so called deacon is not as honest as you think.”
“Yeah, he is,” I added.
The man shook his head slowly from side to side.
“Why are you really here?” I asked.
“To help.”
“How much are you really in debt?”
“What the hell?”
Rusty Miller was struggling with his confidence. I could hear him taking a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He really didn’t
expect me to believe he came here to help the deacon. He wanted some information from me. He wanted to pick my brain for
Froggy. He didn’t say it, but it was clearly written across his face.
“What does Froggy want with me?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. He doesn’t want anything from you.”
“But you don’t fear him?”
“Why should I?”
“Because you’re here.”
He was quiet.
“Tell me?”
“I came here to help my buddy out,” he replied.
“Which buddy?”
“Mike.”
“Which buddy?” I asked again. “And if you don’t tell me, trust me, debt will be the last thing you’re going to worry about.”
“He wanted to know how you found out about the dog-fighting contest.”
I smirked.
“He told me he’d knock my debt down if I got the information for him.”
I nodded.
“He suspected Carolyn Lopez,” he continued. “But she told him you already knew.”
“She’s telling the truth,” I said. “I already knew.”
He nodded.
“When was the last time you saw her?” I asked.
“I spoke with her last night.”
“How was she?” I nervously asked.
“Last night, she was fine. She was in good spirits, laughing...”
“What?”
“All that until she saw you get your ass kicked.”
I nodded.
“But otherwise, she was okay.”
“Good,” I said. “I want you to go back to Froggy and tell him that his goons he had tailing me told me where the dog fight was
being held. It had nothing to do with Carolyn Lopez. You make sure he gets this information.”
He nodded.
“One other thing?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you ever come by my office pretending you’re the deacon’s friend to pry information out of me. If I ever see you again,
I’m going to put a bullet into your fat ass. Do I make myself clear?”
“Definitely understand you,” he said as he forced himself off my client’s chair using my desk as a brace. “You will never see
me again.”
I smiled.
He walked out.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 22
I stood up from my desk and turned to face the window that over looked downtown Main Street. So many different stores
opened and closed on this street over the past few years. Some were here for the long haul. Rite Aid Pharmacy was on the
corner for almost twenty years, and now it’s gone giving way to another pharmacy. Furniture stores opened and closed, and
countless other stores. My office has been here through all that, and it’s going to remain here until my last breath.
“You okay, Nick?” Janet asked.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You think something’s going to happen to your new friend?”
“Carolyn?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “I’ve given that fat-ass what he wanted to know. I told him where I got my information from, and I
think that will satisfy Froggy.”
I crossed my fingers, tips touching my chin and thought about Carolyn Lopez briefly. I knew she wasn’t Zoraida, but she was
sweet, and she made me laugh.
“The deacon is out there alone,” said Janet. “I spoke to B B and she tells me that he is worried.”
“The deacon without a church,” I whispered.
“A man without a mission,” she spread her hands in a helpless gesture. “It’s the path he didn’t want to go down. Maybe he
preached paths like this, but now he’s experiencing it firsthand.”
“Mike had always dealt with difficult hands,” I said. “And he always came out of it on top.”
“Then maybe he’ll come out of this on top.”
I glanced at my secretary. “Getting smarter?”
She nodded.
“Could my intelligence be rubbing off on you?”
Janet tried to recall the lessons I’ve given her. It was like trying to remember good dreams. Some of my teachings were clear,
others were just bad experiences. “It’s not like that. You’re intelligence is a farce.”
I smiled.
“You should go home and rest,” she suggested. “You really look like shit.”
“I feel like it.”
“Trust me,” she said. “You look like it more than you could ever feel like it.”
“I’m too tired to argue.”
“I’m just stating a fact.”
“I guess you’re right,” I said. “But if I’m going home, you’re taking the rest of the day off.”
“With pay?”
“Of course.”
She smiled at that.
“Thanks, Janet.”
“Why you thanking me?”
“For being here.”
She smiled.
“Let’s go.”
I followed Janet’s lean figure toward the door. The last thing she felt when she closed the door behind her was my worried
expression over Carolyn Lopez. I didn’t have to be a mind-reader to know what she was thinking. She knew we weren’t a couple,
but the thought of her in danger troubled her a great deal. It was clearly written across her face. She wanted me to be happy, and
this wasn’t making me happy at all.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 23
I pulled into my driveway, and I noticed that my front door was opened. I didn’t remember leaving it that way, but everything
that happened to me over the past week could have left me a bit absent-minded. It had to be the only explanation. I wanted it to
be the only explanation, because I was too tired to think of anything else.
I looked toward the street and saw Detective Peter O’Brien’s unmarked police cruiser parked at the curb. His engine was still
running, and I was relieved to see him standing behind me. I didn’t hear him walking toward me, but nevertheless I was glad it
was him. I didn’t have the energy for another round of fighting. I’d certainly lose.
“How’s your day going?” I asked right off the bat.
O’Brien and I faced each other on my drive way. He looked at me and knew exactly what I meant. We had a conversation
about Mr. Rusty Miller earlier, and I had filled him in on what that man tried to do. O’Brien did a little research on him and told me
that he was also a deacon. He was arrested several times before in different cities for laundering money through his church.
“Been bad, Nick. That witness you’ve been seeing on the side. The one I told you to leave alone,” his eyes softened. “She
won’t be a witness for us anymore.”
“She changed her story?” I asked.
“She was murdered.”
“Murdered?”
He nodded.
“Carolyn Lopez?”
He nodded again.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, Nick.”
“Damn.”
“I came to pick you up,” he said. “We need you to identify the body for us.”
“But you know it’s Carolyn, right?”
He nodded slowly again.
“So why do you need to pick me up?”
“You were the last person we know who saw her alive,” he explained. “It’s what you gotta do.”
“That guy Rusty saw her last,” I said.
“We trust you.”
I bowed my tired head.
“I know,” O’Brien said. “I don’t like bringing bad news, but this one I had to bring to you.”
“Can’t you just tell them I looked at it already?” I asked.
“You need to identify the body for us.”
“Why, Pete?”
“They beat her up so badly,” he paused as if to catch his breath. “Her face sort of stripped away. Looks like she was punch
inside out.”
“What?”
He nodded.
“Those animals!”
“We need you just to take a small look,” said O’Brien. “Then I’ll bring you back.”
Guilt seeped through my numbed body. I was almost in a clear state of shock. It was unbelievable that this could have
happened to her. She looked like she was fitting right into that small group. Or was it me? Was she excited to see me at the club?
“Nick?”
“Was it Froggy?”
“Can’t say.”
“You mean you won’t say?”
“I’ll say if I knew, so I can’t say if it’s Froggy.”
I nodded.
“I saw a light on in your house so I thought you were home,” O’Brien started explaining about the opened door. “You did leave
the front door unlocked. That wasn’t a smart thing to do.”
My house was in a new sub-division in the North End of the city. The houses were built larger these days, and the extra rooms
were tedicously large. The neighbors were so quiet, break-ins and robberies were so rare. I really couldn’t recall the last time I
had seen a police car cruise through. Every now and again, Officers Victor Cruz and Alfredo Fuentes would stop by for a card
game or a sporting event. It was only that time you’d see a police car, and they were always off duty.
I took a deep breath as Carolyn Lopez’s face washed across my mind. The last time I saw her was when I was on the social
club floor. She adored me, and I knew it. Her eyes would light up in my presence.
“You can leave your truck here, Nick,” O’Brien broke my train of thought. “I’ll bring you back home. There will be no problem
with that.”
I smiled.
“I know it’s killing you,” He continued. “Janet told me that this girl reminded you of Zoraida. And everyone knows how much
you were into that girl. But remember, you just met her. I know she was cute, but now she’s been murdered.”
“That’s true, but Pete, she was so different in so many ways,” I said. “Maybe I could have had a chance in getting to know her
better.”
O’Brien grimaced.
“I’ll be with you, Pete,” I said. “Just let me get a quick drink. Lord knows I need one.”
“I’ll wait in the car.”
I nodded.
I watched O’Brien make his way to the car, and slowly back up into my driveway. He was a caring person, and a good man.
I walked into my front door feeling terrible about what happened to Carolyn Lopez. I walked toward my bar and poured a tall
glass of Johnnie Walker Black. Leaning against the bar, I shut my eyes for a moment and sipped. I didn’t know what I would do
when I saw the mutilated body of Carolyn Lopez.
Taking a bigger sip, I waited for the absolute quiet to begin easy my snarled nerves and hopes it washes away my worries. I
knew it wasn’t going to happen, but scotch whiskey usually helps.
“Damn,” I whispered.
I took another deep breath and another sip of scotch. I gean to dread meeting her, and actually making love to her. It wasn’t
planned, but it happened. She was murdered, perhaps for no reason. I sipped again as I permitted the scotch to ease my mind, or
at least take control of it for a moment.
Tonight was going to be a difficult night to deal with. I had so many things on my mind that I was already fearing it. I began to
dread going to bed, dreading the times Carolyn and I had. Her smiled would certainly invade my sleep, and her death would
certainly invade my dreams.
“Why was she killed?” I asked myself as I took a longer sip. “What can make men so cruel?”
The stillness in my heart was almost contained. The scotch was doing its job. I felt a little easier, and my mind began relaxing
the best way it knew how. I was ready to see Carolyn Lopez for the last time.
O’Brien blew the horn.
I finished my drink.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 24
The morgue had a distinctive odor, it was that stale stench of death. I waited by the entrance until a small thin man wearing a
white jump-suit rattled in a Gurney. The stretcher bumped into the door way onto a white tile floor almost spilling the black body
bag.
“Hey watch it!” Shouted O’Brien as he stood next to a metal table in the center of the room.
“What?” said the man in the white jump-suit. “She’s already dead!”
O’Brien waved me over as the man moved the body bag from the Gurney to the center table. He wasn’t very careful in doing
it, and that made O’Brien angry. “Listen you punk son of a bitch!”
“What?” the man shouted as he pulled away from O’Brien’s reaching hand. “If you saw the body I brought in yesterday you
wouldn’t be so touchy!”
“Just handle this one with care!”
“Yesterday’s body was another young woman,” he started as he unzipped the body bag. “The girl was hit by a train, she was
drinking and fell right onto the tracks. Damn there were pieces everywhere. Took several family members to identify her. Hell,
some even left this place not sure if it was their family member. Damn thing was a freaking mess.”
“That’s that, and this is this,” said O’Brien.
“You got that right,” he said as he stepped to one side so I could get a good look at the body.
I turned my head directly toward a morgue office as I watched a security officer sitting at his post with his feet up watching
monitors on the wall. I needed to look away because the body in front of me was indeed Carolyn Lopez.
“It’s okay Nick,” O’Brien tried to comfort. “It’s okay to look. She’s dead, and we will find out who did this. Just identify her, and
we’ll be on our way.”
“That’s Carolyn Lopez.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep, that’s her.”
“Zip her up,” O’Brien ordered.
“Ye sir,” said the attendant.
I turned away and closed my eyes. It was that stale air that came from death that invaded my nostrils. And part of that stench
came from Carolyn Lopez. That woman that I made love to. That woman who really liked me, and I really liked her. It was odd to
see her on the stretcher lifeless. No meaning, no direction, only death.
“She was beaten to death,” O’Brien said in an almost whisper. “They kept pounding away at her until she stopped breathing.”
I nodded.
“Cowards.”
“She worked for Froggy for no money,” I said. “She owed him a gambling debt, and he took it out in trade. She was a waitress
at those dog-fighting contests.”
“Allege,” O’Brien corrected.
“No,” I said. “I’ll prove that they do exist.”
O’Brien nodded.
“They made their first mistake,” I said.
“Killing Carolyn?”
“Not killing me when they had their chance,” I said. “Now I’m going to fester and then make them wish they had killed me.”
“They still can.”
“They can try.”
O’Brien nodded.
The attendant was having a difficult time zipping up Carolyn’s body. He kept pushing her torso forward and her hand kept
slipping out. I really didn’t want to see her again so I started looking around the room. I was scanning the walls, the sink, the top
of the counters. I didn’t see dirt or smudges of any kind. They kept the room spotless, and I wondered why. It was a room for the
dead who were violently murdered. I just wondered why anyone would go through a lot of trouble to keep a room like this clean. It
couldn’t have been for contamination, but I wasn’t a doctor. I was also really not interested. I just wanted my mind to drift until the
attendant was able to secure the body into the bag. He did, and I was happy.
“Ready to go?” O’Brien asked.
I nodded.
“Is that all?” asked the attendant.
“Looks that way,” said O’Brien. “Don’t you think?”
“Don’t get nasty,” he said. “I was just trying to help you cops.”
“I’m not a cop,” I said.
He nodded.
O’Brien was holding the door with his foot until the attendant was able to push the Gurney forward and out the room. I glanced
at the stretcher for the last time, and slowly closed my eyes.
“Let’s go, Nick.”
I nodded.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 25
I walked into my downtown office and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Everything was turned over as if someone was frantically
looking for something. They ransacked the entire place and left everything like a disaster area. I steered toward Janet’s desk and
noticed blood stains on a place mat. My eyes fell into a curious rhythm as I scanned the area. I couldn’t stop looking until I...
“Nick!”
Relief!
I looked back to my private office and Janet was standing by the door. Her clothes were torn a bit, and her face covered with
welts, and bruises.
“What the hell happened?”
“Damn bill collector,” she said as she limped toward me. “Came here collecting.”
“A bill collector?”
“Yeah, Nick,” she said as she sat down at her desk. “Came in looking for money you owe them. Damn, tried to take it out of
my skin.”
“They beat you up?” I asked. “Or did you try to stop them?”
She glared at me for a moment.
“What?” I asked.
“I was caught off guard,” she replied through clenched teeth. “Those bastards worked me over and then they hung me out of
your window and threatened to drop me. They wanted to, but I was to warn you. That’s the only reason they kept me alive.”
“What?”
She nodded.
“They’re on my shit list!”
“Those bastards followed me into your office, sat down, and barked out demands,” she continued. “I managed to get a few
licks in before they got to me. Damn they punched me around like I was a man.”
“Did you get a good look at them?”
“Yeah,” she said with her eyes closing just a bit. “One was a big guy, like O’Brien with front missing teeth, and long dirty hair
tied back into a pony-tail. Man stunk like dog shit.”
“I’m sorry Janet.”
“Hey,” she said. “It comes with the job.”
Janet stood up and walked toward the filing cabinet. She took out the petty cash lock box and showed me that it was empty.
I nodded.
“Greedy punks even took my lunch!”
Janet walked back to her desk, sat down, crossed her long legs, and huffed. I noticed her rolling her head, so I stood behind
her and gave her a shoulder rub. She was extremely tensed.
“Janet, you need a doctor?”
“I need some Southern Comfort,” she replied. “Straight!”
I smiled.
“Those punks told me that the next time they come here,” she winced a bit. “They’re going to kick my ass again, and drop me
from the window. They’ll wait until all the blood seeps out of my body.”
“Sick,” I half whispered.
“I know, right?”
“You’re brave Janet.”

“Yeah,” she said. “But to be honest with you, I was scared as shit. They told me that it’s not a warning for me, it’s a promise. I
guess I really must have pissed them off because the skinny guy wanted the fat guy to drop me. He even begged.”
“I don’t know what to say, Janet.”
“How much do you owe those suckers?”
“Ten thousand.”
“Dollars?”
I nodded.
“How in the hell can you owe someone that much money?”
“They tricked me into owing them that much,” I started. “Thought I had a ten dollar bet, but they twisted the lingo, and bam! I
owe them ten thousand dollars.”
“Now you playing with the big boys, pimp,” she said.
“I gotta straighten their ass out,” I said.
“Well,” she started. “You really only owe them Nine thousand eight hundred and twenty two dollars. Remember they took our
petty cash.”
“How much did we have in petty cash?”
“After I did my nails, about a hundred and seventy eight.”
I smiled.
“They also had the nerve to call our petty cash, a pity cash,” she said. “But they still pocketed it.”
“Then, looks like they’re going to get a pity ass-kicking.”
“You go boy!”
“They’re pushing me too hard,” I said almost quietly. “First Carolyn, now you.”
“Carolyn?”
“Yeah, she’s a corpse now, and you’ve been threatened.”
“Nick, I was caught so off guard,” she insisted. “I thought they were paying clients and I completely turned my back on them.
Maybe if I knew what they wanted I would have thrown one of them out the window.”
“Yeah, not maybe, for sure.”
She smiled.
“I didn’t mean for you to get involved in this.”
“Hey pimp, I like the adventure.”
“Just don’t want you to end up like Carolyn Lopez,” I said.
Janet looked at me, looked around the office, covered her mouth with her palm, and began to cry. I sat down beside her and
patted her gingerly on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed.
“Let it out.”
She jammed her fist against her lips, stopped crying, and looked at me. “I feel better now pimp.”
“You should stay home until all of this is over,” I said. “Don’t want to come to work one morning and find me useless secretary
splattered all over Main Street.”
“Kiss my ass.”
“I’m serious, maybe you should just stay home.”
“Not on your life!” she shouted.
“It’s not my life that I’m worried about,” I said.
Frank Atanacio
“They got me once,” she said as she rubbed her knuckles. “They won’t get me again. I’m staying, and I won’t be pushed
around.”
“It’s dropped that I’m worried about.”
“Funny pimp got jokes,” she said.
I looked at her and she smiled.
“First time I ever saw you cry,” I said.
“Those tears?”
I nodded.
“I had to release my anger,” she replied. “It just filled me up and had nowhere to go but through tears.”
“I understand.”
“Besides, pimp, the punches hurt.”
“I bet.”
“They really worked me over like I was a man. Those bitches!”
“But you took it like a man,” I said.
“Damn straight.”
“I’m glad you are okay,” I said honestly.
“Me too,” she said. “I’m too pretty to be scattered all over Main Street.”
“That’s true.”
She smiled.
It was hard to imagine this office without Janet. I realized that someday she would move on and begin her own life, but I really
didn’t want to be the cause of her leaving. She was much to valuable to me and my office. She was the main switch that kept
everything running. I knew it, and she knew it. One Eyed Froggy was playing too close to my candle flame. He struck a nerve with
Carolyn, and he struck a bigger nerve with Janet. I had to react with force, and that was my next move.
Chapter 26
I found myself hurrying to the club that night in spite of the warning. I smiled at that. I knew that Froggy wasn’t going to like it,
but I had to make a statement. I had to send him a message. The message had to be loud and clear.
The club was crowded and there was Salsa music beaming out of the speakers on the walls and ceiling. The disc jockey was
sitting high above the dance floor looking down at the dancers who were moving in sequence. It was almost an art form as they
danced to the Latin rhythms.
The bartender, Jackie Reeves recognized me right away as he turned to the seated bouncer and whispered something into
his ear. I knew it had to be about me because the bouncer quickly glanced my way. It felt nice to be popular, or at least to be
recognized.
“Hey,” shouted the bouncer. “Looking for trouble?”
“Not really.”
“You don’t belong here?”
“I guess I don’t,” I said. “But I’m here anyways.”
“We are ready for you,” shouted the bartender. “You’re not going to beat us done easily this time.”
“Hey, I do what I do.”
“And we do what we do.”
“It’s all part of living Jackie,” I smiled. “And death.”
“Well, you have to do your job,” he said as he turned to the bouncer again. “Get rid of this joke.”
“You!” shouted the bouncer.
The bouncer was a big burly man with no facial hair. He had long hair tied into a pony tail and he had missing front teeth. His
face was flushed and his eyes angry.
“You want something from me?” I asked.
“You’re not allowed in here!” He shouted.
“I’m a paying customer,” I replied.
The ape stood directly in front of me. I was almost shocked when I realized he smelled just like shit. The odor was that clear. I
wanted to explore my rational way of thinking, but it wasn’t the right time. I needed to express myself differently. I came to make a
statement, and rationality had no place in it.
“I’m telling you,” he snarled. “You don’t belong here.”
“Just come in to buy a beer.”
“Bar’s closed for you.”
“Open it up,” I tried snarling back.
“You don’t get it!”
“Of course I don’t,” I said. “You said it’s closed. But I want you to open the bar up, and maybe I will get it.”
“We refuse to serve you!”
“You smell like shit,” I said. “Janet was tight.”
“The skinny bitch?”
“My secretary,” I said. “She said you smelled like shit when you were dangling her from my office window. I don’t think that’s
the right way to treat a lady, my co-worker, my friend.”
“It is in my book.”
“Then you should be reading the Bible,” I said.
“What for?”
“The eye for an eye.” I whispered.
Frank Atanacio
The bouncer cracked his knuckles and moved closer to me.
“Maybe I should have dropped her ass out of the window,” he said. “Jackie over there was begging me to do so. He wanted to
see her splat.”
“Why, Janet kicked his ass?”
“She made it tough for him,” he replied. “And I’m going to make it tough for you.”
I looked toward the bartender and he smirked.
“Don’t you turn away from me!” shouted the bouncer. “It isn’t him you should be worried about, it’s me. I’m the one whose
gonna break every bone in your body. Yet keep you alive so you can pay off your debt. It’s going to be painful for you, but a whole
lot of fun for me.”
“I’m not worried about him,” I said. “I’m not even worried about you. I just want to see his expression when I kill you.”
The bouncer laughed.
“You find something funny?”
“Your empty threats!”
I hit the bouncer in the neck with my fist and he quickly fell to his knees. There was a tile missing on the floor and the
bouncer’s blood filled the void. The floor was measured nicely with blood. It covered all the nooks and crannies.
“Froggy’s not going to like that!” Shouted the bartender. “You are already on his to do list!”
“I want you to tell him what I did,” I said.
“You’re going to pay!”
I took my gun out and shot the bartender in the chest. “You know what, Jackie? I think I’ll tell him myself.”
The bouncer reached for me as he bloody hand touched my shirt.
“I can’t breathe,” he gargled.
I put my hand on his head and pushed it down facing the floor. I put my gun to the back of his head and shot him twice. I knew
after the first bullet entered, it had killed him instantly. The second bullet was simply an insult.
The crowd of Latin dancers quickly rushed toward the exits like cockroaches do when someone turns on the lights. They
scurried and scuffled as the music continued to play.
Dog Eats Dog, I thought.

Chapter 27
O’Brien wanted to meet me at the Flyer Diner on the corner State Street and Fairfield Avenue. There had to be some
explaining to do, and he wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
The Flyer Diner was great during the afternoons, when there weren’t so many people there and it was quiet. They
had Becks in bottles, and the hottest wings in the city. I ordered some and it arrived just in time. My beer was still cold and my
craving for the wings have just expanded. Explaining what happened just got easier.
I took a bite of one of the wings and looked around the diner. It had paneled walls in a light oak. A throw back to the late
1970s. There were some old pictures of the City of Bridgeport’s old Landmarks. There was the Barnum Museum, Casco Factory,
Harvey Hubbell, and several old department stores that use to grace the downtown portion of the city. Stores like Gimbles,
Reads, Sears, and Woolworth. The diner was also still using the 1970 style register. Behind the counter mirror, with wines stored
in front of it, back lit, gave it a classy look for a truck stop.
The diner was around for more than forty years, and it survived the city’s many changes.
O’Brien ordered a coffee and a piece of Boston Creme pie.
“Pete, these wings are off the hook,” I smiled using one of the lines Janet would use.
“My pie is fine,” he said as he took a sip of coffee.
“Your loss.”
“So, what happened at Froggy’s place?”
“Bartender attacked me,” I replied biting into another wing. “He came at me with a knife, so I had to put him down.”
“Are you telling me a lie?”
“Now why would I do that?”
“How about Douglas Fowler?”
“Who?”
“The bouncer.”
“He got cute,” I said. “You know how much I hate cute.”
“I’m being serious Nick.”
“I’m being serious.”
“Damn it Nick!” he slammed his fist on the counter top. “There are witnesses saying that you just came in and shot up the
place! They saying you walked in looking for a fight.”
“Froggy put them up to it,” I said.
“Nick, it’s getting hot,” O’Brien warned. “Things are hitting the fan left and right. Captain Roque is getting on everybody’s back,
and I don’t like to deal with him when he’s pissed.”
“You know all this is a set up,” I said. “Just like with Mike Brandon.”
“Don’t bring him up,” he said.
“Why?”
“We got to bring him in for murder,” he replied.
“I’m still trying to prove he didn’t do it,” I said.
“Another person.”
“What?”
“A witness.”
“A witness?”
“He tried to get one of the witnesses to change their story,” he explained. “He offered him a great deal of money, and when he
refused, he killed him.”
Frank Atanacio
“How do you know.”
“The prostitute witness.”
“Margie Sanchez?”
He nodded.
“She works for Froggy.”
“She gave us a written statement,” O’Brien said. “We match the finger prints on the money envelope that came straight from
his church. He’s guilty.”
“You believe that 500 hundred dollar whore?”
“500 dollars?”
“Yeah, I asked how much.”
“Of course we don’t,” he replied. “But I think the captain is bringing him in for protection. He didn’t say it, but I know that’s what
he’s doing. I know the captain. He’s not going to let the deacon fry.”
“So how did this all happen?” I asked.
“Mike went to Margie Sanchez first,” he started explaining. “She declined to change her story, so he went to Mr. Roberto
Guzman. He gave him a hard time and they fought. He then beat him to death.”
“Mr. Guzman?”
O’Brien nodded.
“He’s an old man.”
“Now he’s a dead old man,” O’Brien said.
“We gotta stop this mess,” I said. “The Frog is getting a little too violent.”
“And the witnesses are slowly falling off.” O’Brien added. “First Carolyn Lopez, then you took care of Jackie Reeves, and now
Roberto Guzman.”
“Two left,” I whispered.
“Yep.”
The waitress came over and poured O’Brien another cup of coffee, and she slapped down another beer for me. I smiled, she
smiled, and O’Brien stared.
“So what do we do now?” I asked.
“Stop killing Froggy’s men,” he said. “Let us do our job.”
“They’re looking for it,” I replied.
“The captain think it’s for revenge.”
“Revenge?”
He nodded.
“For Carolyn?”
“For Janet.”
“What?”
“Janet called Fuentes, and Cruz down to your office and gave them a full statement. She told them how they came looking for
you and how they threatened to throw her out of your window. She told me that made you a little upset,” O’Brien started. “Don’t
think that the captain is stupid, Nick. He knows how you think, and he knows you’ll protect your people with your own life. I’m just
asking you to let us do our job. Stop killing his men.”
“I’m working to clear the deacon, is all.”
“Do that,” he said. “Don’t pull the trigger on your gun anymore.”
I nodded.
“Now finish up your wings before I take them.”
I smiled.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 28
B B approached me as I sat at my desk. She looked frail and I could see it in her eyes that she felt like her knees were going
to collapse. She steadied herself as she reached to brace herself with one of my client’s chairs. I felt my stomach curdle, like I
was going to hear some unwanted news.
She sat down and looked around my office.
I smiled.
Janet had done a wonderful job cleaning up the mess. She put everything back in it’s place and didn’t change a thing. I liked
that about her.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as if she was trying to catch her breath.
“Are you okay, B B?” I asked.
B B forced a smile, “Yeah baby.”
Janet walked in with a cup of coffee for B B. She placed it down in front of her and stood next to me with her arms folded.
“Hey Janet,” I said. “Can you excuse me and B B for a moment. I think she needs some time with me alone.”
B B nodded slowly.
“No problem,” Janet replied as she winked at the deacon’s wife and walked out of my office.
“She’s a good girl,” B B said.
“When she’s a sleep.”
“You can’t mean that.”
I nodded as my eyes fell on her worried face. She looked like she hasn’t slept for days.
“They arrested Mike this morning,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“But he’s not guilty.”
“I know that too.”
“What do I do baby?”
“You wait,” I said. “You wait until all this is cleared up. You wait until we find out why One Eye Froggy has it out for your
husband.”
She looked at me intently.
“What?” I asked.
“Mike has been taking money out of the collections to pay for his gambling debt,” She said. “He says it’s for horse racing, but I
know he’s been going to those dog fighting events. I ain’t stupid.”
“Collection money?”
“Oh yeah, he’s going right to hell.”
I took hold of B Bes hand. How lifeless and thin her skin felt as tears started to blossom as they streamed slowly down her
face. I opened my top drawer with my other hand and handed her a box of tissues.
“Thank you, baby.”
“I know it’s not going to be easy for you,” I tried to comfort her. “But things will come out in the wash for the better. The deacon
will bounce back and continue his good work. You know he’s a good man.”
“He’ll always be the love of my life,” she sobbed.
“I know.”
“You will help him, right?”
“I want to help where I can,” I said. “It’s going to take some time, but I know I’ve rattled some cages.”
“Some witnesses have died,” she sniffled.
“That’s a shame.”
“They’ve been punished,” she said.
“Yeah, I know,” I agreed. “I had to punish one of them myself. He got a little carried away.”
“Revenge?” she asked.
“I believe in an eye for an eye.”
“Should have just turned the other cheek,” she said. “I don’t know if God will forgive you for that.”
“There are so many things I know God wouldn’t forgive me for,” I said. “But I’m sure this is the exception to the rule.”
She smiled.
“And I think God will forgive Mike,” I added. “He has too many good points. It really outweighs the bad.”
“Your lips to God’s ear,” she said.
“O’Brien told me that you were very fond of one of the witnesses,” she said. “Is that true?”
“Carolyn Lopez.”
“I’m sorry baby.”
“Me too.”
She forced another smile.
“I’ll do my best for Mike,” I said. “And you know I will.”
The response put B B at ease. There was no pretense about my promises. I had always tried to fulfill my promises, and with
Mike, there had to be an extra push. Regardless of the circumstances it puts me in.
“Try and get some rest,” I said. “I don’t want to worry about your health.”
“Of course.”
“I mean it B B.”
“I’m sorry I took up your time,” she said as she stood slowly from the chair. “I just wanted to know that you’re still helping out
my Mike. I came here probably to get some reassurance. I didn’t mean to make a spectacle out of myself by crying.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I understand.”
“Thanks Nicky.”
“I got his back.”
“I believe you.”
“Janet will see you out,” I said.
“Don’t bother that poor child,” she said. “I know my way out.”
I nodded.
“Be very careful Nick,” she said.
There was a sadness to B B’s eyes, a sadness that went beyond the loss of her husband’s good name. It was a sadness that
of nowhere to turn. It was like watching a trapped animal in a cage.
“I will B B.”
She walked out.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 29
The next morning I drove down to Seaside Park near the diamond six area off of Iranistan Avenue. It was pretty early for any
baseball to be played, but the day was going to be a terrific one.
It would have been a perfect day for a double header. Baseball was invented in this country, and it’s considered America’s
favorite past-time. I think.
Willie the Greek had asked me to meet him here because he had some information he wanted to share with me. I couldn’t
understand why he didn’t tell me over the phone, but nevertheless, I was here bright and early.
Where was he?
I looked over toward a flashing billboard and noticed that the Power-ball Jackpot has reached seventy five million dollars. It
was at that time when a late model four door sedan pulled up slowly and parked behind my truck. Three young Latino males
came out of the car wearing baseball caps, and team logo jerseys. The colors were black and white, but it wasn’t a major league
team. They were carrying baseball bats, but that was it. Neither one of them had baseballs or gloves, so I suspected the worst.
“Looking for a pick-up game?” I nervously asked.
They stopped five feet in front of me and three feet apart from each other.
“I guess a pick-up game is out then?”
One of the three swung his bat in my direction.
“Hey,” I said as I stepped back a bit. “You could have hit me with that thing.”
He smiled.
“I’m serious!”
“We are here to do just that?”
“Did Willie the Greek send you?”
“Nope,” the middle man replied. “He was ordered to ask you to meet us here.”
“Willie, ordered?”
The middle man nodded slowly.
“Froggy wants his money,” he said.
“Froggy can kiss my ass.”
“You have no idea who he is,” said the middle man. “He will get his money.”
“But not from me.”
“We come here to beat it out of you,” he continued. “And I think I’m going to enjoy it. I like watching people squirm.”
“Me too.”
“Don’t get cute!”
“Cute is my middle name.”
The middle thug grunted.
The Park was lined with small freshly planted trees running toward the bathhouses. The grass was cut recently, and the white
lines that marked off the foul-lines were untouched. It was at that moment that I reached for my revolver and pointed it at the bat
swinging thugs. They looked at each other only for a brief moment and then dropped their bats. I suddenly realized that they too
were holding their guns at me.
“Fist fight going to become a shoot-out?” I asked.
“Looks like that,” replied the middle man. “And we out gun you.”
I felt an imaginary noose around my neck as they pointed their guns directly at my head.
“You know,” I started. “I’d prefer an ass-kicking. Do you guys mind picking up the bats again?”
“Too late for that,” smiled the middle man. “You had your chance.”
I promised O’Brien that I wouldn’t be involved in anymore shootings with One Eye Froggy’s men anymore. It’s probably a
promise I wouldn’t be able to keep. They have me pinned to the wall.
“It’s never too late,” I said.
“We’ve changed our position now,” said the middle thug. “We came here to just work you over and try to collect the money you
owe our boss, but you took it to another level. You took it to a level you can’t turn back from.”
“There’s always turning back,” I said.
“Not this time.”
I felt the imaginary noose around my neck getting tighter. I had to think of something, and it had better be quick.
“Okay,” I said as I pointed my gun to the thug on my right. “I’m going to tell you this. I will not die alone today. In fact two of us
will be dead, and it looks like it’s going to be me and you.”
The thug on my left stared at me, shock and bewilderment riddled his eyes.
“What’s your name?” I asked. “I do like to know who is going to die with me today.”
“Sammy,” he nervously replied.
“Sammy,” I said. “Two will die today, and the way things look now. I think it’s going to be you and me.”
“I don’t want to die!” He shouted as he turned toward the middle man.
“Just shut up!” demanded the thug in the middle. “He won’t kill you!”
“Yeah, I will.”
“You see?”
I smiled.
“Sammy.” started the middle thug. “He won’t have a chance to get a bullet off. He’s just bluffing. It’s three against one. We
have the upper hand. Don’t be stupid and don’t let him get to your head!”
“No Sammy,” I continued. “I will take you with me. I will get a bullet off and there’s nothing you can do about it. Oh yeah, they’ll
kill me, but I won’t die alone. I’m taking you with me. Do you hear me? You and I will die. Understand that.”
Sammy peered at the middle thug. A frown wrinkled his forehead. He wasn’t ready to die and he wanted his partners to
understand that. He wanted all of this to end without bloodshed. It was clearly written across his face.
“Sammy, it’s me and you,” I continued.
“Don’t listen to him!” shouted the middle thug. “He’s trying to get into your head. He’s not going to shoot you.”
“But I am,” I smiled. “Two people will die here today. I’m not going alone.”
“Froggy just wanted us to beat him up,” Sammy shouted. “He didn’t want this!”
“Don’t be stupid,” said the middle thug. “Let’s just take him out.”
“Sure, go ahead. Take me out,” I continued grinning sheepishly. “But Sammy, you’re coming with me. I have no intentions of
going alone. So lets do this.”
Sammy knew that there was truth in what I was saying. He believed that I would shoot him instantly, and he wanted no part of
death. He was afraid, and it showed in his eyes. He wanted all of us to put down our guns and walk away. He wanted no deaths
today. He realized that they had made a mistake in trying to approach me. The thought of him being shot in the head tormented
him. He wanted to end this without him losing his life.
“We have to stop this,” he said.
“Too late!” shouted the thug to my left. “We can’t turn back now.”
“I don’t want to do this!”
“Sammy!”
Sammy pointed his gun toward the man in the middle.
“Let’s put down our guns,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Don’t point that gun at me!”
Frank Atanacio
“I don’t want to die.”
Sammy was willing to shoot one of his own in order to save his own life. It was just what I had planned. It was working like a
charm. Two against two, the odds were even.
The thug on my left swung to the left to face Sammy. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Put that gun down, now!”
“I’m telling you,” he sobbed. “I don’t want to die.”
“We can’t shoot each other!”
“We don’t have to,” he continued. “We just leave him alone and come back another time. We don’t need to do this.”
“Froggy’s not going to like this,” said the thug in the middle. “You know he’ll come down on us.”
“I don’t want to die.”
“Make up your minds fast,” I said. “I have a very itchy finger, and I want to scratch it so bad. So what’s it going to be?”
Vengeful eyes stared back at Sammy, but that didn’t make him put down the gun. He kept it pointed toward the middle thug
and he had no intentions of dropping it.
I looked briefly at the billboard flashing the seventy-five million dollar lottery prize. It was a great deal of money. If I had it I
wouldn’t have to be chasing down cheating spouses, or getting into gun fights. I’d be on the beach in Florida sipping all kinds of
exotic drinks with brown skin females. I’d be playing cards every night, and dancing with women half my age.
Sammy leaned forward as he tried to get a bit closer to the middle thug. That’s when I made my move. An epiphany unfolded.
I turned and shot the man on my left in the head and Sammy shot the middle thug. He didn’t do it on purpose as blood splattered
all over him. My shot made him react, and he did so without realizing it as the middle thug fell quickly to the ground.
I looked back at the billboard and briefly began to dream about what else I would do with that windfall. It would really mean a
new life for me. Go some where warm. Escape this city and its cold, relentless winters. I’ve always longed for the sun and the
glistening sand off any beaches in the Carribean.
“Don’t shoot me!” Sammy shouted as it snapped me out of my day dream. “I don’t want to die!”
“What did I say when all this first began?” I asked.
He looked confused.
“I told you that only two of us was going to die.”
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“Nope.”
“What do I do?”
“Run back to your car and drive away.”
“You’ll shoot me in the back,” he half whispered.
“I am a man of my word.”
He looked confused.
“Go before I do change my mind!”
He ran. I laughed.
Seventy-five million flashing above me as I saw it through my peripheral vision.

Chapter 30
I parked outside a small club near Ogden Street off of Noble Avenue on the Eastside. I was told that Froggy owned that club
too. He was getting on my nerves and we really never met face to face. Of course I saw him at the club, but his goons clocked me
before I really made myself known. He wanted to collect money from me that I really never owed. It was a complete
misunderstanding, but he wouldn’t back down. Killing Carolyn Lopez hurt, and it did hit a soft spot. He had to pay for that. He also
had to pay for shaking up Janet, and keeping Mike Brandon on the tip of an iceberg. That man has done so much to piss me off.
An enthusiastic crowd had packed the entrance before the bouncers permitted them to enter. They were gearing up for some
late night Salsa dancing. The music of Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe was being pumped out of the club and the crowd were
dancing as they walked into the club.
No matter what Froggy’s been doing, he always managed to make money from it. He collected bad debts, and he threatened
people who owed. I had to confront him. I had to let him know that I really didn’t owe him a dime. He keeps sending thugs my
way, and I keep knocking them off. It’s a pattern that would soon get me killed if I don’t stay on my toes.
“Hey buddy,” Someone said as they knocked on my window.
I looked and noticed that it was one of the bouncers from the club.
“Can’t park here unless you’re going into the club,” he added.
“I’m waiting for a date,” I lied.
“Still can’t sit in the car,” he continued. “The boss doesn’t like anyone sitting in their cars. He thinks they’re spying on him.”
“Your boss is insecure,” I said.
“No, he really isn’t. He just likes everything to stay neat and clean,” he said. “Too many people owe him money, and he
doesn’t like to be watched. I know you ain’t watching him, but it looks like it.”
I smiled.
“Do me a favor and move on, or come into the club and wait for your date there.”
“Okay,” I replied.
He looked at me, confused. When he recognized me his eyebrows crashed down. He didn’t know what to do, and I think he
was waiting for me to make the first move. I could smell liquor on his breath as he stood up-right very quickly.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said.
“You owe froggy money?”
“It seems everyone does.”
“You can’t come into the club,” he said looking worried. “I’m sorry, you’re going to have to take your date elsewhere.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t want any trouble from you.”
“I said I wasn’t going to hurt you.”
He nodded quickly.
“You better go before your boss sees you talking tome,” I warned. “You might end up dead, like Carolyn Lopez.”
He looked at me with suspicious eyes.
“What?”
He didn’t say anything.
“You know damn well that your boss had her killed.”
“My boss isn’t a murderer,” he half shouted.
“Then why are you so afraid.”
“Of you,” he admitted. “I’m afraid of you.”
“You shouldn’t be afraid of me,” I said. “But your boss better.”
Frank Atanacio
He didn’t answer.
“I owe him,” I continued. “But he owes me too.”
“You killed Carolyn,” he blurted out.
“What?”
“Nothing, just go.”
“Be careful buddy,” I warned. “Your boss is no angel.”
He nodded and ran back across the street.
“Idiot,” I whispered.
Chapter 31
Confronting your enemy had to be a top priority, and I had ignored that rule long enough. I had to meet with Froggy face to
face again. I was hoping this time someone wouldn’t hit me from behind. I simply had to try to convince him that the money I
owed him was all a misunderstanding. I just wanted to clear the entire matter up once and for all. He keeps sending thugs to kick
me around, but they all end up dead. That was something that O’Brien wanted me to avoid.
I walked into an ground floor office near the Trumbull Mall, on the Bridgeport side. It was in the center of a brand new plaza on
the left-side of Main Street. The office was clean and had a graceful selection of colors on the walls. It looked like one of those
offices you see on HGTV.
There was a miniature waterfall fountain in the center of the spacious waiting area. It had fake lilies floating in the well, and
fake frogs sitting on the edges.
Near the fountain at the center of the office stood two security guards and a thin woman dressed in a long silver dress. It was
a form-fitting tube dress, but it made her look so hot. The woman’s hair fell unconstrained around her oval face. Her eyes were
slightly slanted, but she wasn’t of an Asian decent.
“Welcome,” she said in a soft sweet voice. “Can I help you?”
I walked up to her with a puppy expression, and the guards walked away. “I’m Nick.”
She stuck her hand out for shaking and her perfume was so nice. I sniffed the air appreciatively. There was a spicy, floral
scent that invaded my nostrils. It was a welcomed invasion, and a welcomed sight.
“I’m Stacey,” she smiled. “How can I help you, Mr. Nick?”
“Just Nick.”
She smiled.
“I’m here to see One Eye Froggy,” I said. “Willie the Greek arranged this meeting for us.”
“Mr. Newsom,” she corrected. “I’ll tell him that you’re here.”
“It has a real name?”
Repressing a smile at my question, she escorted me to a chair. “Mr. Newsom does have a real name.”
I nodded.
She walked slowly away and I couldn’t keep my eyes off the beauty of her backside. It was like two kittens and a sack trying to
get out.
A tall thin man came out of a corner office wearing a black eye patch over his left eye. He was sharply dressed in a light tan
suit, and had a walking cane with a gold tip. He walked over to me and the two guards followed suit, but he waved them away
with his free hand.
“Nick Barnum?” he asked. “I see that the swollen bump on your neck went down.”
“At your service,” I replied. “Cowards hit me from behind, but I do understand you hire nothing but cowards.”
“We could have killed you that night,” he said.
“But you didn’t,” I replied. “Big mistake.”
“You come to make a payment?”
I smiled.
“Well?”
“What do you do here?” I asked.
“I deal in everything.”
“Drugs, prostitutes?”
“This is a legitimate business.”
“Like your dog-fighting business?”
“I have no such business.”
Frank Atanacio
“So, then that means I don’t owe you any money,” I said.
“I said I don’t own it,” he growled. “I just participate, like you did.”
I smiled.
“So, did you come here to pay off your debt?”
“Yeah, about that.”
“I don’t need excuses.”
“I’m not planning to give you any excuses.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
“I came to tell you that we have a misunderstanding.”
“How so?”
“When I made that bet, I thought your bookie understood that all I wanted to bet was ten dollars. I had no intentions to bet way
over my head.”
“Minimum bet is a thousand dollars, Mr. Barnum,” he said with a thin smile. “I’m sure a great detective like you could have
deduced that.”
“Whether I could or can’t,” I started. “It was all a misunderstanding. I’m tired of killing your men who come after me looking for
money. I’m sure you’re tired of sending men. So lets do each other a favor and call this whole thing off.”
“You don’t get to tell me what I should or should not do,” he said firmly. “I am in charge of this situation, and you will pay me
my money. You shouldn’t make wages that you can’t pay.”
“And I didn’t make wages I couldn’t pay,” I said. “But if you keep sending men my way, I’m going to kill them and then come
after you and shove that cane up your ass!”
He smiled.
“I’m glad you think I’m funny.”
“You don’t really know who I am.”
“One Eye Froggy.”
“My money will be paid to me by this Friday,” he said as he slowly turned around. “If not, Nick PT Barnum will be murdered on
Saturday.”
“I’m tired of killing your men!” I shouted.
“Lightens my payroll,” he shouted back as he walked into his office and slammed the door.
The two security guards walked toward me and stopped in front of me.
“I know,” I said. “I should leave.”
They nodded.
The tall thin woman in the silver dress walked over to me. She wrapped her hands around my upper arm and again her
perfume almost had me in a trance.
“Mr. Newsom is a dangerous man,” she warned. “If you want to try and win your money back. There will be a dog-fight at the
old glue factory behind Wentfield Park on Railroad Avenue.”
“When?’
“Tomorrow night, 1AM.”
“Are you going to be there?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll be there.”
“Just to let you know,” she said. “My husband wouldn’t want me to fraternize with deadbeats.”
“Oh good,” I said. “Because I’m no deadbeat.”

“Your opinion,” she said as she escorted me to the front door.
“My opinion also thinks you have a nice ass.”
“That’s not your opinion,” she said as she stood at the front door with her hands on her hips. “That’s a fucking fact.”
I smiled and walked out.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 32
I found myself hurrying to the holding cell in spite of the fact that Mike Brandon wasn’t going anywhere. He had turned himself
in, and the police got him a safe jail cell at the North Avenue Correctional Center.
I knew Mike Brandon’s case was a tough one to crack, only because he made it a mystery. He had a little something extra that
he didn’t want me to know. The serious voice in my head wanted to shout and take apart the deacon for withholding information.
It wanted me to pound the whole truth out of him. He was hard at the core, but for some strange reason, this whole situation
made him soft.
He was sitting at a long conference table shackled like an animal. He had on prison rags, that just didn’t look right on him. He
was a respected deacon that slipped through an evil crack. It took him down some serious dead end streets, and his rational mind
wasn’t biting.
I sat down across from him and folded my hands on top of the table. He did not look up at me.
“Mike?”
He nodded.
“It’s me.”
“I know,” he mumbled.
He knew I was coming, but his greeting was cold, and unreceptive.
“Mad at me?”
“Look where I am!” he half shouted.
I nodded.
“Captain Roque says this is best for my safety.”
“He’s right.”
“I’m not a criminal,” he whispered.
“You’re not a murderer, either,” I said trying to comfort him. “Hell, I shot more men in the passed few days then I have ever
done in my whole life.”
He finally looked up.
“It’s a damn dog eats dog world,” I said. “Or Frog eats Frog. He’s a tough son of a bitch, and I don’t think he’s afraid of
anyone. I hear he’s got Willie the Greek running errands for him. You know Willie. He’s always been Mr. Independent.”
“So what we going to do?”
“I want you to stop telling me lies.”
“What the...”
I raised my hand.
“I don’t know,” he said somberly.
“Well, you better know. I need to hear it right from your mouth,” I said. “I understand things didn’t go right for you while you
were gambling on the dogs. Hell, they didn’t go right for me either. I owe Froggy some big time money.”
“I heard.”
I nodded.
“I also heard you were tapping one of the witnesses.”
I smiled.
“I don’t think that’s funny.”
“Me neither.”
“How can you do that to me?”
“What?” I looked confused. “She was cute, and I liked her.”

“They killed her.”
I nodded.
“She got what she deserved.”
“Hey!” I started. “Death isn’t what people deserves. I know you didn’t mean that.”
He shrugged his shoulders as his shackles made a clinging noise.
“I’m serious Mike.”
“Me too.”
“I’m going to another dog-fight,” I said. “I’m going to rattled cages even harder now that I know you’re in here safe.”
“I don’t like it in here,” he replied.
“I know you don’t.”
“And what’s the girl’s name again that you were tapping?”
“Carolyn.”
“What, she owed Froggy money too?”
“She did,” I replied. “And she couldn’t do anything about it, so she had to work it off.”
“Damn Froggy got everybody by the balls.”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry about Carolyn,” he said.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Why did you pick her?” He asked.
“She was hot, I was horny, she’s a woman and I’m a man,” I replied. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.”
“That’s messed up,” he said.
“Why is that?”
“You taking advantage of her too.”
“No,” I said. “I liked her.”
“She’s no Zoraida,” Mike added.
I nodded.
“So what are you up to next?” he asked.
“Getting Froggy for everything,” I replied. “But when you’re cleared of all this shit, you have a reputation to mend.”
“Brenda told you?”
I nodded.
“It’s been difficult,” he said. “I walked in betting above my head. I didn’t know the minium bet was a grand. They caught me off
guard, and I couldn’t pay. I wasn’t going to pay, but they started beating up on my congregation. They were hurting, and mugging
my friends. All this was not going to stop until I paid them.”
“So what really happened that night?”
He looked at me with sunken eyes.
“The truth,” I said.
The deacon looked at me again. His eyes were rimmed with red. For a second my gaze connected with a female correction
officer making her rounds. She peeked into the conference room and smiled at me. I didn’t get the chance to smile back. Then I
returned my attention back to Mike Brandon.
“It was that night that really stirred me up. There was a rough edged wind blowing raindrops around. I fought through it and
made it to the dog-fight. I knew it was late and I hoped Brenda wasn’t waiting up for me. She hated when I came home late. Every
Frank Atanacio
time I did, she would read me the riot act. Sometimes I felt like making love to her, strangling her, kicking her around the room,
but then I realized that she was doing it all for my own good. She was the rock in my heart that kept me stable. If I had gotten her
involved before all of this started. Well, I wouldn’t be here in jail, and she wouldn’t be home, alone.
I stood in the raised entryway of the club looking down at the dogs fighting. There were so many people there, smiling,
laughing and having a good time. I even saw Carolyn Lopez there wearing a tight skirt, running orders to the bar. As many times
as I’ve been there I really haven’t seen a familiar face. That was odd. Don’t get me wrong, I met some people there, but I wouldn’t
have recognized them out of the club. Or at least my mind wouldn’t allow me to recognize them.
Well, anyways, the dogs were going at it and my dog took a bite out of the other dog’s throat, and ripped it apart. I never seen
a dog just die without whimpering, or making death noises. The dog just died!
The sad part about that, Nick. Well, I didn’t care about the dog’s condition. I had won and I wanted to collect my money. I
pushed across to the bar and tried to settle my face in front of Carlos Rivera. I remember that night clearly as the mirror behind
the ranks of bottles of booze stood at such attention. It was odd that I remembered that. I saw Froggy in that mirror putting his
fingers to his neck, and then making a cutting motion. I didn’t realized it then, but he had signaled to Carlos not to pay me the
winnings.”
“How much was your take?” I asked.
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“Wow.”
“I was so excited and nervous. The other Mike Brandon would have needed some strong drinks in order to turn his back on
the darkness. He would have needed it to wipe away the image of that dead dog, and that image would have tangled with his
heart until it hurt. The other Mike Brandon wasn’t there. It was me, hunger in my eyes, and greed in my heart.
Carlos told me that the other dog was disqualified and no one was getting any winnings. Nick, that hit me like a ton of bricks. I
couldn’t let that settle, and I couldn’t walk away.”
“So you hit him?”
“I deck that son of a bitch!”
“Did he get up?”
He paused.
“Well?”
“He got up, but some bar backs held him back.”
“So you didn’t call his mama names, and he didn’t throw the first swing?”
He shook his head back and forth indicating no.
“He didn’t say he didn’t carry that much money on him, and that he wasn’t going to pay you?”
“No.”
“And are you sure you saw him standing back up?”
“Now that I think of it,” he paused briefly. “I am certain of it.”
I smiled.
“Why you smiling?”
“Because this makes more sense to me then that made up crap you told me when all this started.”
“I was scared.”
“I got your back.”
He smiled.
“This time I believe you because I can see the conviction in your eyes,” I said. “There is something delicate about how you’re
telling me what happened.”
He nodded.
“What about the robbery at your church?” I asked.
“There was no robbery,” he replied. “And you knew that.”

“I guess he wanted you to give him some money with your prints on the envelopes so that he could set you up.”
He nodded.
“He’s got you turned every which way,” I said.
The deacon nodded again.
“I got until Friday to pay him back.”
“He’s a cut throat.”
“He’s making me a cut throat too.”
“Just stay clear of him,” warned the deacon.
I nodded.
“You got something planned, right?”
“Not yet, but I bet something will fall in my lap,” I replied.
“Just watch Janet.”
“She can take care of herself.”
“Too much confidence in that skinny girl.”
“She’ll be fine, trust me.”
He nodded.
She’ll be fine, I hope.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 33
I had called Detective Peter O’Brien to meet me at Corners Bar and Grill on Boston Avenue. I wanted to tell him what Brandon
told me, and I wanted to let him know that there was another dog-fighting contest brewing. I wanted simple to keep him in the mix.
I sat at the bar and it was the first time I ever got one of the cushioned stools. It was a rare treat for me, so I basked in the
pleasures.
“Becks,” I called out to a bartender. “Bottle only.”
He nodded.
“That’s my seat,” someone said from behind me.
“What?”
“You’re sitting in my seat.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I was here first, and I’m not giving it up to anyone. So please take your sorry ass out of my face.”
“Tough guy?”
“Very tough,” I replied.
The bartender caught my attention and pointed to the beer he placed in front of me. I put down twenty dollars, but the
bartender didn’t grab it right away. He just looked at us, expecting a bar room brawl.
“Get off my stool?”
I laughed.
“You think it’s funny?” he said flatly.
“I think you’re funny.”
He stared at me for a second, as if he didn’t understand my reply.
“Listen,” I started. “I don’t want to fight. You want the stool. You can have it.”
The man took a swing at me and I expected pain. There was no pain. The man had soft hands. He hit like a child. I pushed
him and he immediately fell to the floor.
“I didn’t even hit you,” I said
The crowd surrounded the man on the floor, body guards, and bar backs, scores of patrons all wanting to be witnesses to a
bar room scuffle. It wasn’t much of a scuffle, but the people reacted differently. They saw a man down and came rushing over.
I had gallantly offered to help the man up, but he pushed my hand away. It almost made me regret my chivalry. Two bar maids
helped him up to his feet and he shot me a side ways glance. He came toward me moving slowly, his knees occasionally
buckling. He clung on to one of the women and forced his way toward me. I watched his progress with a mixture of confusion for
taking my shove like a man, and pity, for trying to take my shove like a man.
“Hey, you’re not going to start with me again, are you?”
“I still think I can take you.”
“Go lie down, will you?”
“No, I’m not going to lie down,” he said. “You were looking for a fight, and I’m here to give you one. Just because you’re bigger
than me, you think you’re tougher?”
“Yeah, I do.”
He snarled.
“Listen,” I stood closer to him. “I don’t want to fight, you win.”
“No! I’m in a fighting mood,” he shuddered, attempted to throw a punch, and failed.
“Really?”
“I’m going to take you down!”
“Oh boy,” I sighed. “Here we go again.”

The bar maid that helped him sighed, wondering if it was crueler to allow him to fight me. Or should she have left him on the
floor. She nodded, looked down as the man throw up on her new sneakers.
“Fuck!” she shouted.
The body guards had seen enough. They walked over to the man and tossed him out of the bar. That’s when Peter O’Brien
walked in. Always never around when you need one.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 34
I managed to slip into the club without any of the bouncers seeing me. I must have cut my arm on some wire mesh they used
to block the back entrance. My arm was bleeding, but I didn’t remember cutting it. Nevertheless I was in the club.
It was well after 1: AM, but I promised Stacey I’d show up. I didn’t tell O’Brien about the dog-fighting contest, but I got my
camera phone in my back pocket. I had plans to record what I can. It was my plan to take down the big frog.
“Mr. Nick?”
I turned and saw Stacey standing in front of me with a drink in her left hand. She wore a long shiny red dress that was clinging
to her body, just right.
“Stacey.”
She smiled.
“Are you setting me up?”
She smiled again.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I would have come anyways.”
“I’m setting someone up,” she smirked, “But it’s not you.”
“Oh?”
“My husband,” she added.
“Oh, how so, and why?”
“Let’s step into that back room,” she said as she grabbed my arm. “I’ll explain why.”
“Where is your husband?”
“He’s coming for the main event.”
I nodded as I allowed her to escort me into a back room.
I turned toward the fighting area and I saw two dogs getting ready to put on a display. The pit-bulls were damaged. One had
an empty eye socket, chipped tooth, and the other had a torn ear that was sewn back together by a non-professional.
The management were grooming the dogs for fighting as they were taunting the poor animals. I heard the bell ring and then
Stacey closed the door behind me.
“You’re going to miss the dog fight,” I said.
“That’s not the main event,” she replied.
“Those dogs look beat.”
“They all are.”
“Damn shame.”
She nodded.
“So,” I started. “How are you going to get back at your husband?”
“He had Carolyn Lopez killed,” she said.
I nodded.
“She was my best friend.”
“Mine too for a short while.”
“Froggy treated her like a welcome mat,” she said softly. “Never gave a chance to pay him. He treated her ex-husband like shit
too. I think that’s why he really never gave Carolyn what she deserved.”
I nodded.
“She liked you,” she said almost in an eerie calm. “She really liked you.”
The announcer’s voice from the next room filled the office. “Listen up, everybody. This is your chance to hit it big with the main
event coming up early this morning. Minimum bet has been dropped to five hundred dollars, so everyone could get in on the
action. Make sure you make your wagers early!”
“Well,” she started as she sat down in a small sofa. “The main event will make him lots of money. I want to make sure he
loses.”
“How?”
“He’s going to take heavy bets on the dogs, and when he looks at the odds he’s going to drug one of them so he’d be
guaranteed to win. That’s where you come in.”
I titled my head sideways.
“I get all the betting slips and I calculate his winnings,” she continued. “I hand them over to Malone and he does his thing. Little
will he know I’ll hand him your betting slip after he counts out the advantage. He will then wink at the dog handlers, and they’ll do
their thing. You’re going to win, because I’ll make sure of it.”
“What should I bet?”
“Fifty thousand,” she smiled.
“Dollars?”
“Of course, ten times the amount.”
“Wow, I’d have to sell my ass for cash if I should lose.”
“Trust me,” she grinned sheepishly. “No one would buy that ass for cash. Not even in prison.”
“And you know that how?”
“Carolyn said you had a flat ass.”
“Even the dead lie.”
“Just bet that amount.”
“And my dog will win?”
“You’ll get ten times the amount.”
“Ten times, boy that sounds pretty.”
“That’s why people bet on the dogs,” she replied.
“Damn, if I didn’t love animals so much, I’d be here every night. Now I understand what was going through the deacon’s mind.
Or Carolyn’s mind. It seems like easy money, and ten times the amount is great.”
She nodded.
“But folks can get hooked.”
“They all do.”
I smiled.
“That’s probably the reason the guards let you in,” she said.
“I snuck in.”
“We saw you on camera,” she smiled.
“You voyeur you.”
She smiled again.
“All that for nothing,” I said. “I even cut my arm trying to come in undetected.”
“Your fault,” she said. “Should have come in with everyone else. Trust me, you wouldn’t have been stopped.”
“Says you.”
“Of course,” she replied. “I’m Froggy’s wife.”
“Bad taste you have,” I added.
Frank Atanacio
“I had no choice,” she said. “Long story, and I don’t want to talk about it. I just wanna make sure the gambling information I
give you goes our way.”
“So you’re giving me a hot tip?”
She nodded.
“My dog will win, right?”
“It’s not the dog that will win,” she explained. “It’s the prize. You figure he’ll deduct what you owe him, and give you the
difference. Then you take that money and pay off Carolyn’s share, and the deacon.”
“What about you?”
“I get to watch him squirm.”
“You know he is not an honest man,“I said.
“Big house,” she replied. “He can’t afford not to pay you.”
“He’ll figure a way.”
“Crowded room,” she continued. “He won’t like it, but he’ll have to pay.”
“How do I know you’re not doing this so I could owe him more money?”
“You can tell him what I had planned,” she replied. “When you tell him of the drugged dog, he’ll believe you.”
“Now,” I continued. “What makes my dog the winner?”
“The amount of money you’re betting on,” she answered. “He wouldn’t know the amount because I’m not going to include it
until everything’s counted. I have a dummy bet on the dog you don’t chose. So you see, the fix is in.”
“I like your style, getting me all hot and bothered.”
“Just pick a dog, someone will hear the dog you choose and they will bring it to the dummy bettor. He will then place a bet on
the other dog for half as much, you understand?”
“I’m just picturing you naked, repeat it all over again.”
“Just do your part.”
“Okay, okay.”
She smiled with the urge to laugh at my stupidity.
“Trust me Stacey, I can handle it.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
“With flying colors,” I replied.
“Good,” she said as she began removing her clothes. “Do you think you can handle me?”
“With flying colors.”
“Take off your clothes,” she ordered.
I smiled, and obeyed.
“I hope you can handle this because all I hear from you is a lot of talk.”
“Then let my actions speak for me,” I said.
She smiled as she stood there completely nude.

Chapter 35
I knew there was no reason to hurry as we had sex for about an hour, but I felt that I had to. She was calm and relaxed and I
was tapping a married woman. How much dangerous could it get?
“Ready?” she asked.
“Another round?”
She laughed. “No, it’s time for the big show.”
“I thought you were getting the big show.”
She giggled.
“What?”
“The other big show.”
We got dressed and headed for the door. I pushed the door out her hand and walked out first. I thought she was going to stay
behind, but she didn’t. She followed me right out the office. I expected a lot of eyes on us, but they were all too busy gambling
and getting drunk. It was just too easy.
“Bets,” said a man as he stood in front of me. “This is the main event.”
“Yeah, fifty,” I replied.
“Fifty?”
I nodded.
“Which dog?”
I looked over to the two dogs in the fighting area. I didn’t know which one to pick, but it didn’t matter. Stacey said that the dog I
picked was going to win. “I’ll take the one with the scar on the right side of his face.”
“Dingy?”
“I guess.”
“Your name?”
“Nick Barnum, at your service.”
“Just give me your freaking name!”
I smiled.
Stacey walked over to me and stood there with her arms crossed. “Well?”
“Dingy,” I said. “I thought someone else was going to over hear my choice.”
“Just making sure,” she said. “Two heads are better than one.”
“Not if you’re just getting my... never mind.”
She smiled and walked away.
“Damn, she didn’t even wish me luck,” I whispered.
“Mr. Nick Barnum,” someone called from behind me.
I turned to face Froggy and two bouncers.
“Mr. Frog with one eye.”
One of the bouncers laughed, and Froggy looked embarrassed.
“Don’t get cute,” he said. “Did you come to pay me my money?”
“I did,” I said. “But first I’m going to try to win some of it back.”
“Oh, you are?”
I nodded.
Frank Atanacio
“What dog did you bet on?”
“The black and white younger looking dog,” I lied. “He looks like he can take a licking and keep on ticking.”
“For your sake,” he grinned. “I hope you lose. It’s not going to be about the money anymore.”
“No?”
“It’s going to be about how many ass-kicks you can take before you die.”
“Well,” I replied. “If I win, and you don’t pay me. I’m going to kick your ass everyday until I get paid. I’m going to turn the tables
on you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” I replied. “And I’m going to get a few bouncers and body guards of my own. Just to keep your body guards busy while I
beat the shit out of you.”
“You are aggressive,” he said.
“I just know I can back my shit up.”
“Let’s see about that.”
“If you’d like,” I started. “I can give you a taste of things to come.”
He looked confused.
“Ass kicks,” I said. “I’ll give you one now. You know, to help you get use to them.”
“Boss, can we shut him up for you?” asked a bouncer.
“No,” replied Froggy. “Let him brag all he wants. The proof would be in that ring.”
“And when I win,” I said. “You better pay me.”
He smiled.
“Funny now,” I said.
“You’re a funny guy.”
“I try to be.”
“Until you get killed,” he said. “And Mr. Barnum, it’ll be my pleasure to serve you.”
“Yeah whatever.”
“Good luck on your wager,” he said.
“How about you, how much did you wager?”
“I don’t gamble,” he replied as he turned and walked away. “Gamblers are losers.”
“So is your momma!”
So is your momma? I simply had nothing else to say to him.

Chapter 36
The pit-bulls dreaded every step into the center of the ring. There was no chance of either one of them to live. There was no
good life, no better life, and no neutral life. It was going to come down to this fight, and then their lives would be done.
“Damn,” I whispered as I took a seat on a white plastic picnic chair. “I really don’t want to see this.”
The fight began and I struggled with wave after wave of cruelty to animals being displayed right in front of me. It was misery
for the dogs, pure and undiluted.
I got a look at Stacey as she turned away from the fight. She was sitting next to her husband, and he had a hard expression
on his face. He was actually enjoying the fight. Their was a hint of jubilee in his eyes.
“I wonder what’s going through his sick little mind,” I whispered.
“Winning?” Someone asked from behind me.
I turned to look and noticed Rusty Miller breathing heavy behind me. “I just placed a bet on this main event.”
“Big money,” he said as he sat down in an empty plastic seat beside me. “I got five hundred bucks riding on this Dingy dog.”
I smiled.
“Damn look at all that blood,” he added.
I looked into the glowering face of Rusty Miller, a lost gambler, and felt very sick to my stomach.
“This is action,” he continued. “This is why I come here. To see violence the way it should be displayed. By animals, not
people.”
I couldn’t help but to notice all the blood. It was just a sickening sight. I had a difficult time wondering why humans were so
savage like. We enjoy watching other species ripped a part and we bet money on it. Rusty Miller said animals should rip each
other apart, not people. Where does anyone get off by making such a statement?
“Cops should arrest everyone here,” I whispered.
“Even you,” said Rusty Miller. “I see you got money on this fight.”
I nodded slowly in agreement.
“Anyways,” he continued. “If my dog wins, I’ll be out of the red.”
“You’ll win my friend.”
“Your words to god’s ear.”
“Not god’s ear,” I whispered.
“Doesn’t matter whose ear,” he smiled as the dogs continued fighting to the end.
“You will win,” I said softly.
He nodded.
“Look,” I pointed as Dingy put the final blows on his opponent. The fight was over and my dog won hands down. I turned to
face the crowd and there were so many sad faces. They weren’t sad because a dog died. They were sad because they lost a
great deal of money.
“Yes!” Rust Miller shouted. “My god I can’t believe I finally won. It feels so good.”
“Congratulations,” I said. “You win, the dog dies.”
“I don’t give a shit about the dog,” he said. “It’s just an animal.”
“It’s a life!” I half shouted.
“Hey man,” he started. “Never mind.”
I grimaced.
“Anyways, did you win?” He asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why aren’t you happy?”
Frank Atanacio
“A dog just got killed.”
“Fuck them,” he said as he stood up. “As long as I get mine.”
“Someday you will,” I said.
The crowd was stirring around the bookie as they were paying their losses. I walked up to the bookie and handed him my slip.
The bookie was a small roundish man with red cheeks and balding jet black hair. He had tired eyes, and smelly breath. I didn’t
have to stand to close to smell it. He reeked.
“What’s this?”
“I come to collect,” I replied.
“This can’t be tight,” he said as he looked toward Froggy.
“It’s right,” I said. “And I want my winnings.”
Froggy came racing over with his body guards in tow. “What seems to be the problem?”
“I can’t pay this man,” replied the bookie.
Froggy looked at my slip and realized it was genuine.
“There’s some kind of mistake,” he said. “I don’t think this bet was legally taken.”
“None of these bets are legal, you ass!”
“I mean,” he started feeling the pressure as a bigger crowd surrounded us. “I mean this bet wasn’t factored in.”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “It was taken properly, and I expect to get paid.”
“You know what I’ll do,” he said. “I”ll tear up the note you have with me and we’ll call it even.”
“Nope,” I said. “Deduct what I owe you, plus the interest you require. I also want you to deduct what the deacon owes, and
What Carolyn Lopez owed.”
He was agitated.
“I’ll give you one week to come up with the rest of my money,” I said.
“How dare you dictate!” he shouted.
“If I don’t get my money,” I warned. “I’m going to kill you and your two bouncers. I promise you that.”
“Did everybody hear the threat?” he shouted.
“Yeah,” I said. “Call the police, tell them to come down now and arrest me for threatening your life.”
He was angry. I saw it deep in his eyes.
“What do you want me to do?” one bouncer asked as he stepped in front of me.
“Let him go for now,” Froggy said.
“I want my money,” I said. “I don’t want to tell you again.”
“Don’t threaten me!” He shouted.
I grabbed the bouncer in front of me and shot him twice in the foot. I pushed him toward the other one as he fell to the floor.
His partner failed to catch him. In fact, he just moved to one side as the wounded man fell passed him.
“That’s my warning,” I said as I holstered my gun. “Let that be a lesson.”
“You don’t get it,” said Froggy.
“I get it,” I said. “Or at least I better get it in one week.”
“Man you’re looking for ugly,” he said as he pushed his way toward me.
“I think I found it,” I smirked as he was almost in my face.
Froggy grinned mirthlessly. “Hey, you must think I’m a push-over. You think I’m the type to allow anyone to insult him like this?
You’re barking up the wrong tree, Nick!”
“Let’s go home,” Stacey said as she made her way through the crowd.
“Stay out of this,” he growled.
“Too many people,” she said. “You’ve never been caught up in such turmoil.”
“I said, stay out of it.”
“Please,” she said as she touched his upper arm.
Froggy turned to her and punched her in the face as hard as he could. The blow knocked her on her ass, and blood shot out
of her nose. She wiped the blood away with her hand, but didn’t make a sound. It was probably a direct insult toward her
husband. She didn’t even blink as she grinned. I wanted to jump on him, but that would have made him suspicious.
“Never touch me again.”
She smiled almost sheepishly, and again It looked like an insult.
“One week,” I said as I just watched on helplessly.
She stood up and moved slowly toward the door, knees occasionally buckling in several places. She was clinging to the bar as
she forced her way toward the exit. I watched her progress with a mixture of admiration for standing up to her husband, and pity,
for taking a punch like man.
“Let’s go,” Froggy said to the other bouncer as he ignored the other one on the floor.
“One week!” I shouted.
He stopped, but did not turn around.
“I said one week!”
He stormed out pushing everything and everyone out of his way.
Little bitch.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 37
I wasn’t surprised that O’Brien knew about what I did last night at the club. He had received my photo text messages I sent to
his computer and had now believed that there was dog-fighting was a reality. We met at a coffee shop on Pennsylvania Avenue.
It was a small coffee shop, but it served good coffee and cake. We sat at the counter talking about what transpired last night.
“So you placed a big bet,” he frowned. “You know that’s illegal?”
I nodded.
“But you did it anyways?”
I nodded again.”
“Captain Roque says he’s going to overlook this, because you were just trying to help out the deacon.”
“Good,” I smiled. “I hope you guys go to his office and pick his stank ass up.”
“We did..”
“What?”
“He was quickly released on bail.”
“I hope you guys have someone watching him,” I said. “That man can be very dangerous. Hell, he even has Willie the Greek
on his payroll.”
O’Brien nodded.
“Who do you have watching him?” I asked.
“The captain sent Victor Cruz and Wilfredo Fuentes to keep a tale on him.”
“Good guys,” I said.
“Yeah,” he replied slowly. “But we want you to keep out of this now. We can take it from here.”
“I’m out,” I said. “But he owes me a great deal of money. I gave him one week to pay.”
“He’s not going to pay, and I strongly advice you not to take the payment if he offers it to you.”
“Come on Pete,” I started. “Do you really think he’s going to pay me?”
O’Brien smiled.
“What?”
“You’ll make him pay you,” he replied. “And that’s what I don’t want to happen. Do I make myself clear?”
I just stared at him.
“Nick?”
“He rattled my cage for his payment,” I said. “Why don’t you just let me rattle his cage for a little bit. I won’t take the money, but
I promised him I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine.”
“He might hurt the people around you,” said O’Brien.
“He has already hurt the deacon, broke into my office and stole my petty-cash. He has murdered Carolyn Lopez.”
“We can’t prove that,” said O’Brien.
“I can.”
“How?”
“His wife.”
“What?”
“His wife Stacey told me that he took care of Carolyn Lopez, and they were best friends.”
“Why would she go back on her husband?”
“Because that marriage is a farce.”

“And she will testify?”
“I don’t know.”
“If she doesn’t, you need to talk to her,” he said.
“I plan to.”
“Just stay away from Froggy,” he warned. “We’ll take care of him.”
I nodded.
“I’m serious Nick.”
“I said okay!”
O’Brien was eating a doughnut and I looked at him with curious eyes. I knew he wanted to protect me, and I knew that he
knew I wasn’t really going to stay away from Froggy. He just had to say it, and I just had to agree. We got that all out of the way
as I sipped my coffee.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 38
I couldn’t bear to sit at my desk. I had to move around so I could distract myself before I lost my composure. By the time Janet
punched in 911, the thugs had gotten to her. They beat her up and almost left her for dead.
O’Brien came to my office and looked around. He had heard about what happened to Janet and he too was enraged. She was
struck several times and it was the first blow that fractured her ribs, and as she cowered in stunned pain, she was calling my
name.
My mouth was so dry that I had to take several sips of coffee before I was able to ask,” How is she doing?”
“She’ll live,” he replied. “But they took her down a notch. I can’t believe they would do something like this.”
“He’s gotten my attention,” I said.
“We’ll handle it Nick,” he said. “Too many people are getting hurt because you’re sticking your nose in way too deep. I told you
at that coffee shop to stay away from Froggy. This time I mean it. Do you understand me?”
“Pete, look around you.”
“I know, but you have to let us handle this.”
“He’s pushing me.”
“Because we arrested him,” he said. “So let him start pushing us.”
“He keeps touching my spots.”
“Okay, now let him start touching ours.”
“I can’t believe Janet would just lay down without a fight,” I said knowing damn well that she was probably caught off guard.
“Did you hear what I said?” he asked.
“I heard, I heard.”
“Leave this one too us.”
“You’re going after him for this too, right?” I asked.
“We’re going to try and get everything in,” he replied. “Even the murder of Carolyn Lopez.”
“I hope so.”
I sat tensely, looking hard at O’Brien. I knew he meant well, but I had to pay Froggy a visit. It’s what Janet would have wanted
me to do. That Froggy wanted to send me a message, and I received it loud and clear. It was my turn to send him a message,
and he was most certainly going to receive it just as loud and clear.
“Consider your investigation closed, okay Nick?”
“Deacon?”
“We’re going to release him when this is all finalized.”
“How about B B?”
“I have Eggy watching her.”
I nodded.
“Everything is going to go down well,”He said. “This one will not slip through our fingers. You can trust me on that.”
“I hope so.”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
I looked around my office again and shook my head from side to side indicating no.
“Good,” he said. “Now clean up this mess and go visit your secretary in the hospital. I’m sure she wants to know that you’re
okay.”
I nodded.
Chapter 39
I found Janet’s mother in the waiting room outside the intensive care unit. She was weeping quietly, the tears running down
her cheeks. Her painted lips were clamped together tightly, as though she was afraid of opening her mouth because the screams
would just come pouring out. She had on her night gown and a blue knitted sweater covering her up. Her hair was in a net, and
she had it pinned up. It was obvious that she just ran out of her house as fast as she could.
“Nick,” she sobbed.
“I heard.”
“She’s my baby,” she continued sobbing.
“Mine too,” I replied softly.
“Why did they do this to her?” she asked while trying to catch her breath.
I didn’t want to answer that question.
“She’s a good girl.”
I nodded.
Janet’s mother seemed suddenly flustered.
“It’s nothing you did, right?” she said abruptly. “You do work with dangerous people.”
“Mama–“
” Nick,” she laid a gentle hand on her lips. “I don’t want to know. I just want you to pray for my baby.”
I nodded.
The doctor came out and walked over to Janet’s mother. He didn’t have a worried look on his face, so I knew the news was
going to be positive.
“Hi, are you the mom?”
She nodded.
“Janet suffered some broken bones and same and muscle bruising,” he said as he tried looking into her eyes. “But other than
that. She’s going to be just fine.”
“Thank God,” she screamed.
I too felt relief entering my body.
“We’re going to keep her here a little longer than expected just watch some vital organs,” he said.
“Is there a problem with her organs?” I asked.
“You are?”
“Ahhh..”
“Her husband,” Janet’s mother blurted.
He looked at me with a sideways glance. “Nothing to worry yourself. We just want to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
I nodded.
“Did you want to fill out paperwork for your eh wife?”
“I let my dear old mother in-law do it,” I said. “But make sure all billing goes to Nick PT Barnum, her boss.”
“That’s noted on her files,” he said.
“What?”
“She said it while they wheeled her in here.”
“Even near death, she tries to squeeze me,” I whispered.
I looked over toward Janet’s mother and saw the look of pain washing over her face. She was worried sick, and I was thinking
about my checking account. That just wasn’t right.
Frank Atanacio
“Mama, whatever it takes to get her back on her feet is okay with me,” I said. “I don’t care how much it cost, just do what you
got to do.”
She smiled.
“I’ll check on her when they move her to recovery,” I said. “Tell her I was here.”
“Okay Nick,” she said.
I smiled.
She smiled.
She looked better.

Chapter 40
The evening was getting tougher to accept when I drove to Froggy’s office on Main Street. I had noticed the sign in front
stating that the office is closed, but I saw a tall thin man walking out. It was probably closed to the public, but that didn’t stop me. I
went inside.
I went by the security desk, and noticed that it was empty. The water fountains were off, and the lights were dim.
“Nick?”
I turned and I saw Stacey standing behind me. Her face was covered in bruises, and she was wearing a tee-shirt and black
jeans.
“What the hell happened to you?”
“He had to put me in my place,” she replied as she walked over to me and kissed my cheek. “That bastard worked me over
last night when he got home.”
I nodded.
“Everything went as planned,” she said as she tried smiling.
I heard a toilet flush. The security guard on duty emerged from the back door wiping his hangs on a paper towel.
“We’re closed,” he shouted.
“He’s with me Arnold,” she said.
“Isn’t that...?”
“I said, he’s with me.”
“But Mam,” he continued. “I have orders.”
“I’m okay, and he will not harm you.”
“I’m suppose to harm him,” he replied.
“Trust me Arnold,” she said. “You won’t be able to, and I’m just saving your life.”
“Mam, I gotta try.”
“No you don’t,” she replied. “That’s an order.”
He nodded and walked over to his security desk.
“I come here to pay Froggy back for what he did to my secretary,” I said. “Where is that little weasel?”
“He’s out hiring the best lawyers the state has to offer,” she replied.
“He’s trying to get off?”
She didn’t answer.
“Stacey?”
“He has three men on his payroll that’s going to take the fall for everything that happened. He’s going to hire the best lawyers
to defend them even if it takes a lifetime. He will keep them out of jail, and pay them well.”
“What?”
She nodded slowly.
“And you know this?” I asked as a rhetorical question. “Why don’t you go to the police?”
“Stacey?”
“Look, Nick,” she paused briefly. “Froggy can have me killed in a minute. I’m so surprised that he hasn’t had you killed yet.”
“Oh, he’s tried.”
“And he’ll keep on trying,” she added.
Frank Atanacio
“Where is he searching for these god sent attorneys?”
“Fairfield,” she replied. “They’re going to meet at a restaurant on the Post Road. Diamonds, I think.”
“I know the place.”
“I don’t know the time or what day,” she said. “He is keeping me out of the loop now.”
“Not because of my bet, right?”
“No,” she replied. “He blamed his bookie.”
“Poor sap is going to end up dead.”
She nodded slowly.
“I’ll find out the time and date,” I said mostly to myself.
“Nick,” she said as she grabbed my hand. “You can’t keep making trouble. He’s going to kill you.”
“I’m just going over there to ask for my money,” I replied. “He didn’t pay me yet and I want to keep him honest.”
“He’ll pay you, Nick,” she said. “If it means keeping you off his back, he’ll pay you.”
“I don’t believe you for one minute,” I said.
“I just want you to be safe,” she said. “That’s all.”
“Did he clear the deacon, and Carolyn Lopez?”
“Stacey?”
“No,” she replied. “He said he wasn’t clearing deadbeats, even if they’re dead.”
“Funny guy.”
She grimaced.
“He will clear their names.”
“Nick,” she held both my upper arms and looked directly into my face. “I’m just saying that you’re pushing this just a little too
far. Consider yourself a winner. You beat him in his own game.”
“What about the deacon, Carolyn, and Janet?”
“War causalities,” she replied.
“Then this war isn’t over!”
“Nick you can’t mean that,” she said while holding me back. “I won’t let you do it.”
“Whose going to stop me?”
She slapped my face and stood directly in front of me waiting for me to slap back.
“Hit me,” she said through clenched teeth. “Hit me!”
“I’m not going to hit you.”
She slapped me again.
“That hurts!” I shouted.
The security guard stood from his desk, but did not say a word. He just watched on as if he was awaiting instructions.
“Stacey, stop hitting me.”
“You asked whose going to stop you!”
“I didn’t mean you,” I said. “I meant Froggy.”
“Just let it go,” she said. “When his men turned themselves in, it’ll all be over.”
“For him, not me.”

She nodded and backed away slowly.
“Is everything alright?” asked the security guard. “Is this monkey giving you a hard time.”
“Everything is fine,” she said.
He glanced at me, but didn’t say another word.
“Don’t call me a monkey if you can’t back it up,” I said.
“He’s just doing his job,” Stacey said.
I smiled.
“Arnold, go back to your duties,” she said as she pulled me into the nearest office.
“Listen Stacey,” I started. “I don’t want your husband to get away with what he did. He started this whole thing, and I plan to
finish it.”
“I know you want to, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“How do you know I can’t handle myself?” I said as I looked into her battered face. “Look what he did to you. Don’t you want
some type of justice?”
She looked down.
“And why did you marry him?”
“To pay off...”
“This is a gambling debt pay-off?”
“I was loyal to him,” she said. “That was part of the agreement.”
“His debt was paid in full,” I added. “You can’t put up with him anymore.”
She nodded slowly.
“Let me go take care of him.”
“Be careful,” she half whispered.
I kissed her bruised lips. “I will.”
“Please.”
I nodded and walked out.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 41
At noon the After Cafe on Edna Street roared with business. It was a place where families came in and enjoyed a very good
meal at very low prices. The waiter came to me and handed me a menu. I opened up the menu and notice almost everything on it
was under five dollars. I couldn’t believe that they’d still be in business charging these low prices. I suppose I shouldn’t be
complaining and take advantage of the bargains.
O’Brien walked in and sat across from me. He sighed heavily, but didn’t speak. He didn’t even say hello.
“I’m buying,” I said.
He half smiled.
“Something bothering you?” I asked.
“Froggy,” he replied.
I nodded.
The waiter came over quickly and handed O’Brien a menu. He didn’t stop to ask if I was ready to order, but at these prices, I’d
give him a pass.
“What’s good here?” he asked.
“BLT,” I replied.
“Sounds good.”
I smiled.
“So you’re not going to ask me about Froggy?”
“I already know,” I said as I took a sip of my water.
“What do you know?”
“You have confessions,” I replied. “And Froggy isn’t one of them.”
He shot a glance my way.
“Right?”
“They confessed to everything,” he said. “Froggy’s people are going to issue a statement and they’re going to fire all of those
involved.”
“Of course you know this is all bull shit, right?”
“You said Stacey had different information, but she wasn’t going to spill the beans.”
“She’s afraid.”
“We would have protected her.”
I smiled.
“Come on Nick, give us a break,” he said. “If she would have come forward and gave us Froggy, we wouldn’t have taken those
sworn statements.”
I nodded.
“What we have will stick.”
“I’m sure it will, but that doesn’t do anything for me,” I said. “Froggy still walks.”
“It’s better than nothing,” said O’Brien.
“It is nothing!”
“It’s going to satisfy the State,” O’Brien added.
“What about Carolyn, and those dogs that died?”
“It’s all on paper,” he said. “They’ll do hard time.”
“Ready to order?” asked the waiter as he stood by us waiting to jot down our order.
“BLT,” O’Brien said.
“Me too.”
“Orange soda,” he added.
“Coke.” I said.
The waiter quickly picked up the menus and hurried off to place our order.
“Did you check up on Janet?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Better?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “But she’s pissed. She wants me to get back at Froggy.”
“Just tell her this is all resolved.”
“I’m telling you Pete, you shouldn’t stop right here,” I said. “He’s in it up to his eye balls. Don’t let him get away with this.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Tell the captain that the investigation is still incomplete, and that we can prove that he’s been involved,” I said. “We just can’t
roll over and look the other way. He’s taken down some good people. He’s taken down the good deacon, he’s taken down those
poor witnesses, and it seems everybody owes him money.”
“Including you,” said O’Brien.
“No,” I smiled. “He owes me money, and I plan on collecting.”
“I told you before, Nick,” he said. “You weren’t betting. You did nothing illegal, remember?”
I nodded.
“Just let it go,” he said. “We have him right where we want him. He knows that the dog fighting in this city is over. He’s
watching over his shoulder now. It’s not going to be easy for him. That’s going to take a big bite out of his gravy train.”
“He’ll climb back on top,” I said.
“It’s a stat for us,” said O’Brien. “Deal with it.”
“I don’t think it’s going to help,” I said. “Too many people owe him. Even Willie the Greek owes him money. That can’t be good
because Willie hates owing anyone anything. Yet, he’s not putting up a fight against Froggy.”
“Willie knows better.”
“You don’t even mean that,” I said. “You know Willie. He always wants to be king of the hill.”
O’Brien nodded as the waiter brought over our food and drinks.
“Froggy wins,” I said.
“The city wins.”
“How can we win when Froggy hasn’t got a mark on him?” I half shouted. “You gotta give me something better than that.”
“He’s going to be extra careful now. It’s not going to be easy for him.” said O’Brien as he took a bite out of his sandwich. “Trust
me on this.”
“Sure he’ll be careful,” I said. “But he’ll take more people down with him. And don’t you think he’s given up on me either. I
shook his cage, and he knows that. The man will not stop until he gets what’s his.”
“You do shake cages too hard.”
“And he’ll remember that.”
“Then that’s when we make our move.”
“A little too late,” I said.
“Better late than never.”
I nodded.
Frank Atanacio
“You said it before Nick, it’s a dog eats dog world.”
“More like Frog eats dog,” I said.
“Eat, the sandwich it’s good.”
I lost my appetite.
Chapter 42
Froggy dreaded every step I took when I walked into the eatery. A thousand reasons for him to get up and walk out raced
across his mind. He knew I knew it too. He was having dinner with three suits. They were his salvation, but I wanted to make sure
I put a crimp in it. That’s what I do best.
“Nick Barnum,” he said without looking at me.
“At your service,” I replied.
“What brings you into an expensive place like this?” he asked again without looking at me.
“Just wanted to see how the criminals live.”
“Hey! You can’t say that!” shouted one of the suits.
“Shut up or I’ll kick the living shit out of you,” I snorted back.
“It’s okay,” Froggy said. “I’ll handle this one.”
I smiled.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Barnum?”
“You can pay me the money you owe me,” I replied.
“You know the guys running the dog fights confessed,” he said with a smirk on his face. “All debts are off.”
“Even the people that owe you?”
“No,” he continued smiling. “Just for the last fight.”
“I want my money,” I said. “If I don’t get it...”
“A threat?” he looked annoyed.
I nodded.
“Who told you I was here?” he asked.
“I walked by and saw your pretty face from the window.”
“Was it Stacey?”
“Who?”
“My damn wife!” he shouted.
“Something would marry you?”
“You don’t have to take this,” said another suit.
“Yeah he does,” I added.
“My wife is in hot water,” he half mumbled.
“It wasn’t your wife,” I said.
“No one else knew I was here,” he said.
“I told you, I walked by and saw you,” I said. “I figure in public you wouldn’t sick your dogs after me. It was a great chance to
collect what you owe me.”
He grimaced.
“So, how are you going to pay me?”
“With my foot in your ass if you don’t get out of here. Do I make myself clear?”
“Hey, as long as you give me what you owe me, I don’t care if you put a foot in my ass. All I want is what you owe me.”
“You don’t get it.”
“I’m going to punch you in the face in a few minutes if I don’t see you writing a check.”
Frank Atanacio
“How dare you?”
“I’m serious.”
“Let me get rid of him,” said the third suit.
“Sit down or I’ll beat you silly.”
“I’ll sue!”
“And I’ll shoot you dead,” I said. “Then I’ll drive to your house and kill your family.”
“Those threats can land you in jail!”
“But they will be carried out before I go to jail.”
“Mr. Barnum,” Froggy started. “You’re just a thug. A low-life.”
“I don’t see a check book,” I said.
“And you won’t!”
“You don’t think I’ll punch you in the face, right?”
He blinked.
“I’m going to count to five,” I said.
“You’re crazy!”
“One.”
“Mr. Barnum, you better know who I am!”
“Two.”
“I’m serious!”
“Three.”
One of the suits picked up his cell phone and dialed the police.
“Four.”
“I called the police,” he said.
“Five.”
“Wait!”
“Checkbook?”
“I said I wasn’t going to pay anyone for that past fight,” he said.
“Did you collect your winnings?”
“Huh?”
“Did they pay you?”
He did not reply.
I slowly walked over to Froggy and punched him in the face knocking him off his chair. The suits stood up but they all backed
away. Froggy tried to stand, but I kicked him in the face. Blood spat everywhere. He touched his chin and growled.
“The kick was extra,” I said. “No charge.”
“You’re in deep shit.”
“In that case,” I said as I kicked him in the face again. “I’m going to get all my licks in. If that’s okay with you.”
“Someone stop this bully!” Froggy shouted.
I flexed my arms, and fought to relax them. It was a cramp that shot through me, or perhaps it was the urge to continue kicking
the shit out of Froggy.
Froggy looked up at me. His eyes were red with anger as he waited for another kick. I didn’t let him down as I kicked him
again.
“Leave him alone,” a waitress said softly. “Please, you’re going to kill him.”
I looked at her and winked.
“Please,” she begged.
I smiled.
Froggy stood up and tried not to be so tall. “You’ll get your money,” he began, speaking slowly,” I’ll give you your damn
money!”
“You see how simple that was?”
Froggy’s head dropped into one hand. He was feeling the pain. “Oh, please, Nick,” he sighed. “Kicking my face wasn’t
necessary.”
“Yeah, it kinda was.”
He grimaced as the Fairfield police rushed into the restaurant.
“That one!” shouted one of the suits.
The Fairfield Police quickly tackled me to the ground and handcuffed me. I didn’t put up a fight, because they were just simply
doing their job.
“I’ll see you later, for my money,” I said as the police hauled me away.
The Fairfield police led me through the narrow, cramped rows of dining tables of the very upscale eatery, away from the
waiters and waitresses as they tried to gear in closer for a look at me. The police were headed for the main cruiser parked right
outside the door.
Froggy just stared at me as he resisted the temptation to berate me for my actions. It would have been unproductive because
the suits would have definitely saw right through him.
“My money!” I shouted back.
Froggy nodded.
“What an animal,” said another suit as he helped Froggy to a seat. “Bastard is going to pay for this.”
Always careful of what he says in front of other people, Froggy watched me as the police did their job. He was particularly
concerned that he had nothing to do with my capture. He wanted to be in control. He wanted to bark out the orders. It was
suppose to be his way or the highway.
Froggy took a breath. This part was over. Now all he had to do was wait for me to try and get revenge. He was banking on it.
“Those type of guys don’t pay,” Froggy said quietly. “They got to be put out of their misery.”
“Maybe the cops will do that.” said a waiter as he stood next to the suits. “These guys can be tough.”
“I don’t think they have dealt with people like Nick before,” Froggy said.
“I’m sure they have,” said the waiter.
“He wasn’t remotely afraid,” Froggy whispered.
The suits sighed.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 43
This was just the sort of meeting that usually put Detective Peter O’Brien to sleep. They wanted to talk to him about my
release, and my actions at the restaurant. It was something they wanted no part of, and I was a Bridgeport citizen causing havoc
in their town. They wanted to explain all of this to O’Brien. It was their way of sharing things with sister towns.
O’Brien sat at the head of the table as the captain was pacing in a command sort of way. This gave O’Brien the urge to just fall
to sleep.
In fact, he’d nearly dozed off on two separate occasions, when the captain had his back toward him. O’Brien snored silently,
but managed to snap himself out of it when a question was shot his way. He also remained alert enough to follow the
conversation.
“In many ways,” said the Fairfield police captain, stroking his brown thin chin beard,” we must watch out for our own people,
and help you watch out for yours.”
O’Brien nodded.
“He is an animal, but I heard many good things about this Nick PT Barnum.”
O’Brien hadn’t been particularly fond of the captain, but he didn’t have to like him. He just respected the position.
“I’m bringing the animal to you,” said the captain. “I hope you put him in his cage.”
O’Brien sighed, not bothering to hide it. In his uniform days, he had watched captains come and captains go, but he had
always hid his dislike for them. This time, he was obvious.
“Something I said?” asked the captain.
“What?”
The captain silently groaned.
“Captain, I just had a long night,” O’Brien added. “The last thing I wanted to do was come here to pick up Nick Barnum. You’re
right, he’s an animal, and I will make sure Captain Frank Roque takes care of him.”
“I hear your captain is tough,” he said. “No wait. I think he’s good friends with this Nick character.”
An embarrassed silence descended over O’Brien’s face. He knew that the captain was speaking to him like an undisciplined
child.
“Am I correct in my assumption?” He asked.
“I don’t get into my captain’s business,” O’Brien replied as he leaned back in his chair. “He does what he does and I don’t ask
questions. I’m also sure you wouldn’t want your men to question your friends or what you do, right?”
The captain made no effort to match O’Brien’s soft, polite tone. “My men will never be put in the position you’re in. They will
handle the obvious and overlook the unobvious.”
O’Brien nodded.
A thin female police officer knocked at the door.
“Come,” the captain barked.
“I have the prisoner,” she said.
The captain turned to O’Brien. “Do you want him in cuffs or not?”
“I’ll take the obvious,” O’Brien replied with a hint of sarcasm.
The captain shrugged. “Well,” he replied, stroking his beard again. “With respect to your captain, I will release this animal to
you without handcuffs. Will that be to your satisfaction, Mr. O’Brien?”
“Yes sir,” O’Brien replied as he stood up. “It will be.”
The captain cleared his throat in satisfaction. He knew he played O’Brien, and he knew he poked fun at the Bridgeport Police
Department. He did it because he knew there would be no serious social repercussions
O’Brien smiled as he cursed under his breath.
“Hey Pete,” I said. “What a sight for sore eyes!”
“Your friend too?” said the captain as he removed the handcuffs.

O’Brien felt a chill.
“Just get him out of here.”
“You have clean holding cells,” I said.
The captain grimaced.
“Come on Nick,” said O’Brien. “Let’s get out of here.”
I nodded.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 44
O’Brien was hungry so we stopped off at The Flyer Diner on State Street next to the truck stop area and McDonalds. We
hurried in and ordered a turkey club and two diet colas. O’Brien began tapping the counter with his fingers and he realized that I
was annoyed.
“What?”
“Do you have to keep tapping the freaking counter?”
“Are you angry?”
“Damn straight.”
“I’m the one who should be angry,” he huffed. “Coming into Fairfield to bail your stank ass out of jail because you couldn’t
leave Froggy alone!”
“I shook him good.”
O’Brien smiled.
“What?”
“He called the captain and asked the captain to put a leash on you,” O’Brien replied. “The captain told him if he had to put a
leash on you he’d tie you up at his office.”
I laughed.
“Froggy called the captain a pig,” O’Brien continued. “And the captain called him a fly eater.”
I laughed again.
“Yeah you did rattle his cage,” said O’Brien. “But I think you should just let things be for now. The deacon is back home, and
the men he sold down the river is doing time for everything that has happened.”
“It’s still not him,” I said.
“It has to be enough,” said O’Brien.
“How can you say that?” I said as I sipped on my soda. “He got the deacon tied up in knots, he killed Carolyn, and he almost
killed Janet. Besides, I’m not even including the dogs he killed, and the cruelty to those animals. That man is getting away with
everything. Including murder!”
“He’ll pack up in leave,” he said as he finished off his soda and ordered another one without speaking. “Besides, we have
confessions to everything. That has to be good enough.”
Damn,” I shouted almost abstractedly.
The waiter stopped in front of us with our meals, but he didn’t place them down. I guess I made him nervous, and he simply
lost his train of thought.
“It’s okay,” O’Brien said. “His bark is worse than his bite.”
The waiter smiled and continued doing his job.
“I just don’t like the way this played out,” I said as I took a small bite of my club. “It shouldn’t end this way.”
“We got our man,” said O’Brien. “Leave it alone.”
“Pete, nine times out of ten I’d agree with you. But not this time. I know he’s getting away with too much,” I continued. “It can’t
just end here. Not like this. I know deep down inside you agree with me. I can feel it.”
“Even if I do,” he paused. “Even if I do, what can I do about it. We have written statements, confessions, everything the court
needs to make the charges stick. It’s all right there with no exceptions. The men will serve a great deal of time. So again, there is
no exceptions!”
“One,” I said.
“No exceptions,” he growled.
“That Frog managed to produce Patsies!” I half shouted.
O’Brien looked straight into my eyes and said to me, “As you may recall from past incidences, Willie the Greek produced some
Patsies. It was okay with you then. Why is this so different?”
“He’s a killer!”
“Willie killed people too!”
“Drug dealers! And other gang members!”
“It’s all the same!” O’Brien shouted. “Innocent people die because of it!”
“And because we’re turning a blind eye on Froggy, more innocent people are going to die,” I said. “We have the chance to
stop him.”
“How?”
“Kill him.”
“What?”
“You heard me Pete,” I said. “We need to kill him.”
“Now you’re talking murder,” said O’Brien. “You’re talking murder and I want no part of it. Let’s just change the subject.”
“You know I’m right.”
His face was tight, his eyes hard with restrained emotion. “Nick, listen to what you’re saying. You’re not making any kind of
sense.”
I sighed.
“You can do some serious jail time Nicky boy, for doing what you think is right,” O’Brien continued. “Two wrongs...”
“Don’t even say it,” I interrupted.
O’Brien smiled.
“You win,” I said softly.
“I don’t win!” he shouted. “I’m just telling you that there is nothing we can do about this situation. Froggy wins!”
“But he doesn’t have to win!”
“Don’t go there Nick.”
I fought the urge to raise my voice, so I spoke slowly and calmly and hoped the effort did not offend O’Brien. I knew where he
was coming from, but I also knew he didn’t really share in that belief. He knew I was right, and as cruel as my intentions were, it
just had to be done. Froggy had to die.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I realized we were just arguing in circles, and nothing was being accomplished, but I
just had to say my say.
“Regardless of what you believe my intentions are,” he spoke. “I can’t do anything about it. I’m just like you. A spectator in life.”
“Dog eats dog world,” I whispered.
“Yep.”
I grimaced.
Frank Atanacio
Chapter 45
I stopped for a light on Boston Avenue and East Main Street when my cell phone buzzed. I didn’t have my head piece on so I
picked up the phone and place it to my ear. “Nick here.”
Nicky, it’s me.
“Stacey?”
Nick, I think Froggy is going to hurt me. He’s on his way to the office and he told me not to leave.
“Didn’t he already hurt you?”
This time he sounds crazy. I can’t make him out. I think he’s gone off the edge. The man is not thinking like he use to. Maybe
I’m dead this time.
“I’m coming down now,” I said.
Be careful.
“You be careful,” I said as I slapped the cell phone shut and tossed it into the passenger’s side.
I didn’t really have the time to think it over. I was going to see Stacey, and I didn’t even care if I was being baited. Fate was
stepping in, and I had my chance to put an end to Froggy. It was either going to be him or me.
In a flash I had realized that I had just stumbled upon my first substantial opportunity to get at Froggy. I thought about Stacey
for a moment, but really didn’t care. In order to take down the beast, sacrifices had to be made. It wasn’t my normal way of
thinking, but I had no choice. I couldn’t let Froggy move on. He had to be stopped. Froggy was a maggot in my book, and he even
smelled like one.
“Should I call Pete?” I whispered.
I thought about it as I turned onto Route eight and was heading for the Trumbull Mall. I wasn’t going to give it too much
consideration because I knew O’Brien would just talk me out of it. He would have urged me to mind my own business. It was
something I couldn’t do.
Route Eight consisted of a catalogue of highways, which broke into several different avenues. It connected to I95 North and
South, it connected to Fairfield Avenue which became the Old Post Road, and it connected to Route 25 and the Merritt Parkway.
However, the only exit I wanted was exit 7. I wanted to make sure I didn’t get caught on the ever lasting construction on Boston
Avenue. I wanted to avoid the build-up on East Main Street, and I wanted to avoid The entrance side to Beardsley Park. It was
Exit 7 that I wanted, and it was what I took.
Although North Main Street has many buildings dating back over a hundred years, Froggy’s office was not one of them. It was
newly built with the permanent paint siding. It was built on the spot were an old building once stood.
Out of a window in front of the office I could see silhouettes pacing. Shadows that didn’t expect me. Or did.
I was trying to find out what was going on in the office. I knew that Stacey would have been relieved if she knew I was outside.
However, I wasn’t ready to enter. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t setting me up. I wanted someone to peek out the window,
but that didn’t happen. It wasn’t a step up, she genuinely needed my help.
I walked to the front of the office and slowly turned the door knob. It was one of the old fashioned gold knobs. It gave the new
building character. To my surprise, the door was unlocked. I couldn’t believe my luck, but then I remembered that Stacey was
expecting me. I touched my back pocket to see if I had my cell phone with me. I knew I had tossed it on the passenger side of my
truck, but I didn’t forget to bring it with me. Age hasn’t caught up to me yet. I still had all my wits. Thank goodness for that.
I slowly walked into the office and was shocked to see a woman’s body on the floor next to the security guard’s desk.
“Please don’t be Stacey,” I said under my breath.
I walked over to the body and noticed a choker collar around her neck. She was strangled to death with that choker.
“Damn Stacey,” I said as I knelt down before her and removed the choker from her lifeless body.
I took out my cell phone and called O’Brien. I had to let him know what was going on. A woman was dead, and Froggy struck
again.
O’Brien.
“Pete, it’s me.”
Don’t tell me you’re locked up again?

“Stacey’s dead,” I started. “She was choked to death with a choke collar. Why don’t you head down to Froggy’s office. I may
need your help.”
Stay put, I’m coming down!”
O’Brien hung up the phone.
Stacey had a condo at the old Warner Cost Factory off of Myrtle Avenue and close to Seaside Park. She wanted me to see it,
because it was the first step she made toward leaving her twisted husband. She was proud of that purchase, and she was proud
that it went unnoticed. She told me it had a modern captain’s galley kitchen, and a big living room with a fireplace and a picture
window that looked out to the Long Island Sound.
“Stacey, I’m sorry I didn’t get to see your new condo,” I whispered in her ear as I kissed her cheek. “You would have made it a
fine home.”
“Touching, Mr. Barnum,” came a voice from behind me.
“Mr. Newsom?”
“Of course,” Froggy replied.
“Is this your handy work?”
He smiled as I turned and looked up to face him. There he stood with a chrome 38 special beaming down on me. His fingers
were twitching, and I knew he wanted to pull the trigger. He hated me, and I hated him. We wanted each other dead. There was
no mistake about it.
“Stay on your knees,” he growled.
“Sure thing,” I said. “Anything for a murderer.”
Froggy paused and stared at his office for a moment.
“An accomplice, or a fall guy?” I asked.
He stood closer and then just smiled at me.
“Well?”
“You’re something,” he said. “Now shut the fuck up before I plant you next to my whore of a wife.”
I smiled.
Then he looked for a moment as if he were going to pat my shoulder. But he didn’t. Instead, he lifted the gun up over his head
and brought it down with such a thrust he knocked me over onto the body of his dead wife.
“Damn that hurt,” I said loudly.
“Punk!” he growled.
I tried to gingerly remove myself off of Stacey, but was brutally helped by Froggy as he kicked me in the stomach.
“You ass, you’re not going to hurt her,” he said. “She’s already dead!”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
He grimaced, but I was the one in pain.
“Why did you kill your own wife?” I asked.
“I enjoy it.”
“Enjoy it?”
“She showed me up,” he paused briefly. “And then paid for it.”
“You’re sick.”
“How did it feel?” he asked.
“What, the kick to the stomach?”
“Making love to my wife.”
“What are you talking about?”
Frank Atanacio
“I have cameras everywhere,” he replied. “Some she didn’t even know about.”
I nodded.
“You’re not the only one,” he said. “There were many, Nick. She was a whore and she got what she deserved.”
“She was trying to keep your stench off her body!” I shouted. “And the only way to do that was to sleep with other guys!”
Froggy kicked me in the face turning me completely over onto my back.
“You don’t get to say that!” he shouted. “Only I can judge my wife.”
“And murder her?”
“Damn you!”
From the office, a security guard poked his head out. “Bring him in boss.”
“Get up!” Froggy demanded.
I did as I winced with pain.
“Do as I say, and just maybe I’ll kill you without making you suffer.”
“You’re all heart.”
“Punk,” he said as he pushed me toward the office.
“Yeah, you keep calling me that and I’m going to show you my punk.”
Froggy wasn’t impressed as he pushed me forward.

Chapter 46
The security guard grabbed me and pushed me face first into the wall. “Stay put! Don’t give me a reason to knife you.”
“I won’t.”
“I’m so glad,” he said sarcastically.
I noticed that the office was completely a mess. Everything was turned over, and all the draws to the file cabinets were tossed
onto the floor as if someone was looking for something.
Carefully, Froggy was taking money out of his safe and stuffing it in a duffel bag. It crossed my mind that he was planning on
setting me up, but was he going to leave me dead or alive?
The office was made up to look like a robbery. I was also assuming that Stacey was caught in the cross-fire. She was killed
because she walked in on me robbing the place.
“Nick,” Froggy said. “It was very nice knowing you.”
“Oh yeah, sure,” I replied.
“Let me shoot this idiot,” said the guard as he took his gun out of his holster. “I didn’t like him when he first came in to speak to
you. He thinks he’s mister tough guy.”
“I can kick your ass any day of the week,” I said.
“Boss?”
“Wait, just a few more minutes,” said Froggy. “I need to make sure this all goes as planned. I can’t have anything go wrong.”
The guard nodded.
“You’re going to shoot me, and blame this all on me?”
He smiled.
“How do I get shot?”
“The guard walks in on you after he discovers the body of my dear wife,” Froggy started explaining. “He catches you with this
bag of money and he shoots you dead.”
“This guard?”
“Yes!”
“I’m going to snap his neck before all of this is over,” I threatened.
“Boss, let me at him!”
“In time,” Froggy smiled. “In time.”
“He’s getting on my nerves!”
“Arnold, I know you’re angry and worried about this whole thing, but trust me,” Froggy continued. “You will get your reward.
You’ll also get to shoot Nick PT Barnum.”
The guard smiled.
“Don’t smile,” I said. “It’s not a good thing to do when you’re going to die.”
He smiled even harder.
I shook my head slightly from side to side.
“Okay, do it,” Froggy instructed.
The guard walked over toward me and made one mistake. One big mistake.
He stuck the gun in my face giving me the chance to knock it away. I grabbed his neck and forced him up against the wall. It
happened too fast as I snapped his neck and threw him toward One Eyed Froggy.
Froggy didn’t know what was happening as he scurried toward his gun. He had left it on the desk when he was filling the duffel
bag with money.
“Arnold!” he screamed.
Frank Atanacio
“He can’t hear you,” I said. “His neck is broken.”
We scuffled for the gun as I pushed him to the floor. It was an easy win for me because Froggy was a weak man. He had no
strength. He was simply a weakling with money.
“Damn you Nick!” He shouted as he crawled to his feet.
“Now I have the drop on you,” I smiled. “See how nice this all played out for you. The only sad thing is you killing your wife.
She didn’t have to die like that.”
“She wasn’t all upstairs!” he shouted as he pushed his index finger against his temple. “She was a retarded whore.”
“That’s not nice,” I said as I aimed the gun at him. “She was your wife. I don’t know why she married you, but she got the raw
end of that deal.”
“I have money, Nick, lots of it!”
I smiled.
“In that duffel bag, take it!”
“I can kill you and take the money,” I said smiling.
“There’s more, lots more, and I’ll even pay off your winnings!”
“Can you bring Stacey, or Carolyn back?”
He bowed his head.
“I didn’t think so.”
Froggy gazed into my eyes. He was trying to see if I was the type to kill a man in cold blood. He didn’t know me, but he knew I
was a man of my word. I always tried to carry out my threats. That’s just the way I roll.
“Do it then!” He demanded.
“Oh, trust me, I will.”
He closed his eyes.
“Do you want a blind fold instead?”
“Fuck you!”
I smiled.
“Freeze!” Shouted Detective Peter O’Brien as he stormed into the office with his aimed directly at me.
“Pete?”
“Drop it Nick.”
“Let me do this,” I said.
“Drop it or I’ll have to drop you.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He nodded slowly. “Can’t let you kill a man. That’s murder.”
“But Stacey, Carolyn.”
“I know.”
“Pete?”
“Drop the gun, now.”
I did and Froggy smiled.
O’Brien approached me and kicked the gun away. He knew what he was doing had no meaning, but he had to follow the
rules. He felt like his knees were going to collapse. He steadied himself, and he grabbed my arm.
“Get out of here,” he said.

“Listen, detective,” Froggy started. “That man was caught in here by my wife and my guard. He killed them both. He just
snapped their necks and then he came after me looking for his winnings. He won a great deal of money from me and I wasn’t
going to pay.”
O’Brien just looked at Froggy.
“This will stick,” he said. “I can produce many witnesses, and people will testify that he threatened my life.”
O’Brien nodded.
“Cuff him!”
“Nick, just wait for me in the other room,” he said. “See if you can cover up Stacey’s body or something.”
I nodded and walked out of the office.
“Don’t let him get away!” Froggy shouted.
“Just calm down,” O’Brien said. “Tell me the whole story from the beginning.”
I couldn’t believe O’Brien was going to listen to that crazed killer. I couldn’t believe he didn’t let me put that Frog out of his
misery. I should have done it quickly. I blamed myself.
Stacey’s body was on the floor and I looked around the office to find something to cover her. There was nothing. She lost her
life, and the man who took it is getting away with it.
Suddenly, a shot.
Followed by another.
“Pete!”
I ran back into the office and I saw Froggy on the floor with two bullet holes in his chest. O’Brien still had the smoking gun
pointed upward.
“He came at me with a knife,” O’Brien said as he finally holstered the weapon.
I looked to the floor and I saw a knife just two feet away from the body. “He came at you?”
“He came at me and I shot him once,” O’Brien explained. “That didn’t stop him so I had to shoot him again.”
“Froggy?”
“That’s my story!” O’Brien shouted.
I nodded.
“Back up is on their way,” he said. “You better go.”
“Hey, can I take Deacon Mike Brandon’s duffel bag?”
“He had Mike’s bag?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, go ahead, and get out of here.”
I grabbed the duffel bag and walked quickly toward the door.
“Nick,” he called.
I stopped, but I did not turn to face him.
“That is Mike’s bag, right?”
“My word.”
O’Brien smiled.
I left.
THE END

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www.bibliotastic.

“Baby, where in the world are you?” She whispered.

“Oh my god,” she said as she adjusted her night gown..

She took a deep breath.

She hung up, and dialed the number again.

Brenda Brandon picked up the phone again and dialed my number.

Nick Barnum here, at your service.

“Nicky, pick up the phone!” she half shouted.

Who the hell is this at 3 in the morning? Shit better be good!

“Yeah, it’s me Nicky.”

“Mike isn’t home yet.”

It’s almost 3AM?

Did you call his cell?

That’s not like him.

B B, I’ll get up and I’ll look for him.

“You’ll do that for me, baby?”

“Thank you Nicky.”

Nick, you gotta help me!

You gotta help me.

I killed a man tonight.

“You what?” I dropped the bottle.

I killed a man tonight.

That’s what I said.

I can’t do that, just yet.

“How did he die?” I asked. “With just one punch?”

“So you pick on me?”

You’re suppose to be at my service.

“Why don’t I call Vic and Alfredo to meet us there,” I suggested.

No cops for now!

I lost my cell phone.

“I’m not so sure you believe that,” I said.

That’s why I wanna meet you at Frankie’s diner.

So you’re coming, right?

“Are you close to the diner?” I asked.

“Are you going to call B B when we hang up?”

Right now I need you.

You know I ain’t no murderer!

“I know Mike,” I said. “Just trying to lighten things up.”

He did not respond.

“Hey Mike, you there?”

He had already hung up the phone.

“Damn, that man can’t call me when I’m sober,” I said.

“Stay up Nick,” I tried to calm myself. “Get focused.”

“In the morning?”

“Damn, where does the time go?”

“Was he bothering you?” the manager asked.

“No,” I replied. “Not at all.”

He smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

“What’s your name?” asked the toothless man.

“Hey Nick,” he smiled again flashing only gums. “I’m Terry.”

“The area was much nicer then.”

“I’m sure it was.”

“They treat you poorly now?” I asked.

“They think I’m a bum.”

“I heard you the first time.”

“No free refills,” he continued. “Can you believe that?”

“Did you ask for a free refill?”

“No, didn’t think I had to.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re not getting any.”

He looked away annoyed.

“Hey Nick,” he said as he sat on the stool next to me.

“Black,” replied the deacon.

She poured him a cup and left him four creamers.