Chapter 20 #2
Angie put her hand on Ben’s arm. “I’m not just another pretty face. I didn’t know the details, but I could tell when he was nervous about money, even if I didn’t have the checkbook.”
Ben walked to the back and took one of the boxes down from the top.
“Vinnie told me that you should look at the three boxes marked For Angie’s eyes only.
I have no idea what’s in there, and he made it crystal clear that there was something important and potentially dangerous if these boxes got in the wrong hands.
” He placed the box in front of her. “I’m going for a short walk.
Take your time. I’m going to speak with the manager here; I want to be sure the storage facility has my credit card so we can leave things here until you decide what you want to do with everything.
” Ben headed out as Angie was opening the first box.
There were manila folders neatly organized by year.
She pulled out the first folder marked 2007, the year they were married, thinking how their eleventh anniversary was just around the corner.
She flipped through the paperwork, which looked like a bunch of work orders from the city, “Confidential” stamped on every one.
Now Angie was the one glancing up to be sure no one was peeking inside the storage unit.
I have no idea what this is all about, but I’ll figure it out—hopefully.
She read the first two pages and saw a dollar amount jotted down in Vinnie’s hand.
After sorting through a few more files, she took a pen from her purse and started to record the amount from each.
There was $10,000 for one job, $25,000 for another, and three more $10,000 line items from three more files.
She totaled the amount: $65,000 so far. She recalled Vinnie always grumbling about competitive bids from contractors coming in for city jobs; there were always late-night calls after the bids were open, but she had never paid attention to what Vinnie was saying.
Vinnie had explained to her that the city always had to go for the lowest bid to show the taxpayers the city was being careful with their money.
Angie paused. Hmm, then where did this extra money come from?
I can’t pretend to understand how the wheels turn at City Hall, but my hunch is that some of these contractors told Vinnie they would give him a kickback if he guaranteed them he would present them to the city as the lowest bidder for the job they wanted.
Vinnie had written where the money had gone: half to an alderman of project X and the other half to Vinnie himself.
On several payoffs, Mario’s name and the amounts he had received were written.
Angie finished thumbing through the rest of the boxes, and as she took out the last file, she found a savings account booklet at the bottom of the box.
On the inside was a folded piece of paper with her name on it.
She opened it and saw a note from Vinnie.
Angie, my love, if you’re reading this, I am gone. All of this is for you; tell no one. If this gets in the wrong hands, you will be in grave danger, which is why I deliberately left out who was paying us under the table—so if you were asked, you could honestly say you didn’t know.
She flipped to the last page of the bankbook and let out a loud gasp.
“One hundred and eight thousand dollars!” The last time Vinnie had put money in the account was the day before he died.
She placed the booklet in her purse and quickly jotted down Mario’s name as well as the names of the various aldermen.
If someone did come after her, at least she had this information, even though she didn’t know who the mystery payoff person was.
Angie’s hands were shaking, and when she tried to stand up, her legs were too wobbly.
Startled by a knock, she looked up and saw Ben standing outside the locker. “Okay to come in?”
“Not yet, just a minute.” She mustered up all her strength, stood, and put the lid on the last box. “Come on in, I’m done for now.” I have to think about when and how I’m going to destroy all this paperwork.
“You look white as a sheet. You okay, Angie?” Ben made his way to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Not really, I need to go. Would you put this box on top of the others and take me to my apartment?” Angie kept thinking about all that money Vinnie had squirreled away.
Her annual salary with the city was about $24,000 and included health care.
Her rent was $1,500 a month, and then she had other expenses, of course.
At least this money can help me get on my feet until we get this catering company off the ground.
That Vinnie, he could have gotten arrested or killed if the wrong people had found these files. No amount of money is worth that.
Ben did as she asked. They locked up the storage unit and drove to their building without any conversation. He parked and opened the car door for Angie. “You sure you’re up for packing?”
“I won’t be packing today. I need to think about what I just saw. Thanks for your concern.” She patted his arm.
As they walked toward the entry, a loud honking noise distracted them.
As they turned around, they saw Beatrice’s town car pull up.
She lowered the window. “You don’t scare me, Angie.
” Her shrill voice sent shivers down Angie’s spine.
She gathered all the energy she could find and walked right up to Beatrice.
“How much did Vinnie owe you, you miserable bitch?”
Angie watched Beatrice’s face, her mouth wide open and her eyes wide.
“Well, how much?” Angie demanded. “What will it take so I never have to see you or hear from you again?”
“He owes me thirty thousand dollars.”
“You’ll get your money, unless you call or talk to anyone in our family, in which case you won’t see a dime. Are we clear?” Angie didn’t wait for a response before she turned around and walked into the building with Ben. She’ll be lucky if I give her twenty thousand.