Chapter 113
JUSTINE AND I had just arrived at the Atlantic Terminal for our flight back to LA when I got a phone call from a man I’d hoped I would never hear from again. I was wrung out from my night at Mountain View Hospital, but it was either speak with the head of the Noccia crime family or wonder what Ray Noccia wanted until he showed up at my door.
I chose the find-out-now option.
I stabbed the Answer button on my phone and said my name, then listened as Ray Noccia said, “It’s been a long time, Jack. A couple of years, right?”
“What can I do for you, Ray?”
Rain was starting to come down. Justine and I ducked into the closest hangar as the downpour began in earnest.
Noccia said, “I’ve got some business to discuss with you.”
“You know that’s not going to happen, Ray. I’m not interested in your business. I thought we’d been over this.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Jack. I want a conversation. That’s all.”
I told him I was working, that I’d call him after I checked my schedule.
“And, listen, Ray, I’ll pick the time and the place.”
I hung up, and, standing under a dripping overhang, I said to Justine, “Want to grab something to eat when we get to LA?”
She looked drained, but then, we were about to get into a plane again.
“What does Ray Noccia want with you?” she asked me.
I shrugged.
“Like always with the Noccia family. It will be what I least expect, when I least expect it.”