The Dirty City by Jim Cogan Read Free Book Online

you doin’? How come you don’t come down here no more, eh? We miss you.”
    “I’m a busy guy, the business for me is up there, not down here.”
    “I’ve always said, a guy like you – with your talents - you’re in the wrong God Damn business!” Marcio gave me a trademark grin. “Anyhow, I’m assuming it’s business that’s brought you here today, right?”
    “Sure is. Missing person. Looking to trace him.”
    “Shit, he ain’t down here!” He smirked.
    “I know that, asshole! But someone’s got him, and I need to find out who and why.”
    “Well then, you better buy us some drinks.”
    Mack supplied us with something that at least resembled good bourbon. I paid for the round and cut to the chase.
    “So this is the kid.”
    I dropped the photo of Anton on the bar. Marcio tried not to show a reaction but I could tell he knew something.
    “You ain’t been down here in a while, Johnny, you’ve missed a few, how shall we say - developments .”
    “Well, you better fill me in.”
    “Gianni Vitalli is now pretty much the defacto number one in this city. The other families, they’ve either agreed to work under his banner or they’ve gone.”
    I’d never met Gianni Vitalli, only heard stories. He was young for a mob boss, only twenty four when his father passed away, leaving him in charge. Anyone looking to exploit the situation, do a subtle bit of empire building in the transitional period, were to be sadly disappointed. The kid showed the same ruthless streak his father had, but he had a canny head for the business side of things too.
    “It’s not unusual, someone always rises to the top.”
    “But not like this. Sure, the Vitalli family had been generally the most influential mob on the block for a while, but the real change has come about in the last six months. For years, stalemate, compromise, cordial agreements. The actual city territories were split almost evenly. Then six months ago, Gianni hooks up and strikes some secretive deal with some crew from out of town – no-one really knows the details, but suddenly, boom! The rival gangs business’ start failing, they get busted all the time, their top people either start switching sides or winding up burned, before too long, Gianni becomes the top dog.”
    “Who are these outsiders?”
    “No idea, word is there is some chick involved, goes by the name of Valance. Shelly Valance. She apparently runs the show and has got this big team of people around her, everyone assumes it’s them doing the dirty work to destroy the other families. And, word is that she is the one responsible for bringing in all the heroin. Seriously, Gianni is rolling in the stuff.”
    “Okay, but how does this link back to my missing person.”
    “That’s Anton Jameson, right? Son of Richard Jameson, the lawyer. A man of some considerable influence.”
    “Right.”
    “And as I’m sure you know, little Anton ain’t exactly the model son, now, is he?”
    “You got that right. I saw him two nights ago at a drug den, smacked up out of his eyeballs.”
    “Yeah, he had a habit, but he also witnessed some stuff. Stuff he shouldn’t have seen, and definitely shouldn’t have started shouting his mouth off about.”
    “What stuff?”
    “Like I’m going to know that. But word is, Gianni has set Valance up in the warehouses out at the old dockside. Anton had been snooping around. And you know what curiosity did for the poor cat, right?”
    “But who is going to believe the ramblings of a heroin addled teenager?”
    “Well, possibly his daddy, the hotshot, influential lawyer?”
    “So, is he dead?”
    “Honestly, I don’t know. Gianni had some guys pick him up, they passed him over to Valance’s guys.”
    “How does a guy get in contact with this Valance broad?”
    “He doesn’t. Only Gianni deals with her, their meetings are private and behind closed doors. Always after dark, usually somewhere out at the docklands. Gianni keeps the details from even his