Chapter 16
Ralph was having dinner at home alone when his cell phone rang. The screen said private number and he picked up reluctantly, hoping it wasn’t Rebecca using someone else’s phone.
“This is Ralph.”
A man’s raspy voice answered. “Ralph, an attorney friend of yours called me and said you may need some help with someone at City Hall.”
“Who am I talking to?” Ralph asked.
“I don’t discuss anything on the phone. Meet me at the McDonald’s on Rush Street in twenty minutes. I’m tall and dark-haired. I’ll be wearing a black leather jacket.”
“See you there.” Ralph hadn’t expected such a quick response to the call he put out to his friend.
McDonald’s was a quick four-block walk from his house and was crowded as usual. He saw the guy sitting at a table in the back, facing the front entrance, eating french fries. He walked over and sat across from him.
“Before we get too far,” the guy said, “I need to know who exactly at City Hall you’re having issues with.” The guy put a bunch of fries dripping with ketchup in his mouth.
“Mario Longetti,” Ralph said.
The guy stood up and wiped his face with a napkin.
“Can’t help there, pal. Have you heard of his family?
Half of them are in prison for murder, and the other half make it a point never to be made.
You need to import someone from Vegas if you’re going after Mario.
My advice? Forget about it and figure something else out.
” He pushed his fries over to Ralph. “You can finish these.”
After the man left, Ralph sat there shaking his head. Now I get why Mario is such a blatant asshole. He’s well protected.
Ralph looked down at the cardboard box in front of him. McDonald’s does make the best fries, he thought as he dipped some in ketchup.
It was a perfect fall evening—as Ralph strolled lost in thought—and the streets were packed with the convention party crowds that frequented Chicago.
The next morning, Ralph went for his usual run, hoping he could figure out a way to work around Mario and get Angie her pension—or maybe he couldn’t help her.
He usually wasn’t one to give up, but risking his life seemed like pretty high stakes.
Once he got to the office, Ralph spent the morning returning calls, answering emails, and attending meetings.
Eunice knocked on his office door. “You want lunch? I’m bringing in Chinese for the staff today.”
“No, thanks, I’m heading down to a jobsite, then over to City Hall; I need to get a master list of all my projects from the building department.
But thanks.” Ralph took a car to the jobsite, and Barry from the building department was waiting for him out in front.
“Your job is officially on hold. Your architects gave the contractor shit drawings, and we don’t have time for that crap. ”
“Oh, Barry, what do I need to do to get this back on track? Just tell me and I’ll do it.”
“Too late for that, I have Mario up my ass. He’s riding me like a racehorse, and if he says jump, I say how high. And he’s definitely no fan of yours. If I were you, I’d steer clear of him. Work with his second-in-command, Dennis. If anyone knows how to handle that hothead, it would be him.”
“Thanks for the heads-up; I’m heading over to City Hall now. I’ll see if Dennis can meet with me, and we can get things back on track.” Ralph shook Barry’s hand and noticed he still hadn’t showered.
City Hall was bustling as usual. There was a protest out front by some labor union. Ralph wanted to support unions, but if he honored every picket line at City Hall, he would have no jobs to give to his union tradesmen.
He took the elevator up to the building department and was greeted by a young, curly-haired woman at the reception desk. Looks like another temp; just when I warm up one assistant, they leave.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, is Dennis available? I’m Ralph Conti. I have several projects with the city.”
“Just a minute, I’ll see if he’s in. Sometimes he sneaks out the back door.” She picked up her phone and dialed his extension. “Hi, Dennis, you have a visitor here, a Mr. Ralph Conti.”
Ralph studied her face as she listened to whatever he was saying. She kept saying, “Oh, okay, all right. I’ll tell him.”
She put the phone down. “He has meetings all afternoon. He can see you at four thirty for fifteen minutes.”
Ralph checked his watch; it was three. “I’ll be back here at four thirty sharp. Thanks.”
He headed to the records department and received a warm welcome from Misty at the front desk. “Hello, Ralph, what a nice surprise. I didn’t see your name on the meeting agenda today. What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping I could get a master list of all my projects under construction and their status. I think the planning commission is meeting tonight, and I want to make sure someone from my team is there and up to speed.”
“Funny you should say that, because Mario just asked me for the same thing yesterday. I made copies for the commission and I have a few extras.” She took out a file and handed him one.
“He’s taken Vinnie’s place temporarily. He’ll be at the meeting tonight.
” Misty leaned in toward Ralph and whispered, “If you ask me, I think he’s counting on getting the job, but he’s not Vinnie and he has a short fuse.
He yells and swears at everyone. I’ve suffered his wrath more times than I care to count. ”
“He’s probably under lots of pressure since Vinnie died. Any inside scoop on who will be making the final decision on who replaces Vinnie?”
“I’m not sure, but there is a hiring committee that Cookie Cunningham leads. You may want to ask her.”
The desk phone started ringing; Misty picked it up and waved at Ralph as he left.
Ralph headed to HR and was greeted by Bud, the assistant. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I need to see Cookie. Is she available? I’m Ralph Conti.”
Bud called Cookie and told her she had a visitor. “She said to ask you to wait; she’s finishing up a meeting in ten minutes. You’re welcome to take a seat.”
Ralph elected to stand, browsing the reading rack and glancing at the latest city newsletter.
The door opened behind him and he turned to see Angie, wearing a cleaning uniform, walking in with a stack of papers.
At the sight of her, he forced a smile, which she did not return, as the corners of her mouth turned down and she looked at the floor.
Ralph cleared his throat. “Fancy meeting you here. I didn’t know you were working at City Hall.
No grass grows under your feet, huh?” When she didn’t answer at first, he thought, God, I’m so embarrassed for her.
I can only imagine how much she wishes she hadn’t just run into me.
Finally, she spoke. “A gal has to do what a gal has to do. I need a job until Vinnie’s pension check starts coming in and likely after that. Good to see you, Ralph—can’t talk, I’m on the clock.”
“Hi, Bud, good to see you.” She handed the stack of papers she’d found during her second day on the job over to him. “Here you go, I wrote down the floor and office I found them in. Not sure if there’s anything important but Lorna told me to drop these here.”
Bud took the papers and placed them in a bin on his desk. “I’ll make sure Cookie sees these. If there’s any confidential information, I feel sorry for the person who left them. Cookie gets upset about such things. Will you be cleaning our offices today?”
“You’re next after I finish the bathrooms. Please let Cookie know I didn’t read them. I’m just doing my job,” Angie said, and turned to leave.
“See you Monday?” Ralph asked.
“Yes, but we’ll need to make it an early evening. I have to be up by six for work.”
“No problem. Take care, Angie.”
As she left, Ralph watched her pushing the heavy cleaning cart down the hall. She so reminded him of Alice the other night when they had cocktails. Now she was mopping floors. I respect her for doing what she needs to do, but there must be a way for me to help her out.
Cookie came out into the reception area. “Hey, Ralph, let’s go for a walk.”
As they were leaving the office, he glanced down the hall to see Angie briskly pushing her cart, her shoulders hunched and head down, and his heart sank.