Fishtown: A Jack Regan/Izzy Ichowitz Novel Read online

  “Hi Ms.Wells, I’m still on the fence. Thanks for asking. I’ll bring you your drinks when they’re ready.”

  Courtney had apparently not realized that the barista was Shona Cohen.

  “Do ya come here often ya seem ta know everyone,” Flynn asked her as they took a table near the front window.

  “I use a trainer down the block. I usually come here after my workouts. Bill Miller and his wife opened this place a few years ago. His wife passed away last year. Carrie’s been working here for a few months. Isn’t she adorable? I think that young man over there is giving her the eye.”

  She nodded in the direction of a customer who was in deep conversation with the girl. Shona laughed and returned to the counter to get their order.

  When she brought them their drinks, Flynn looked up and said, “Thanks Luv,” and turned away. Maybe she could lead him directly to Nooris. He figured he’d find out shortly if Shona and Nooris were still working together. There was something in her manner that made him think that was not the case.

  They drank their beverages both lost in their own thoughts. Courtney was right the tea was excellent. “Tea’s good,” he said raising the cup in her direction. “Ya said something about havin a talk.”

  She nodded and took another sip of her coffee buying some time. She realized when she saw him at the Parc the night before that she would end up in his bed. She remembered him from their momentary meeting nearly a year before outside of Ari’s condo. Why was she always so attracted to the bad boys?

  She thought back to last night. It was without a doubt the best sex she had ever experienced in her life. It exceeded all of her expectations. Beyond that there were moments of such tenderness that brought her close to tears. There was more to Michael Flynn than she initially assumed. She was determined to solve the mystery.

  “You expected me to come to you, didn’t you?”

  He looked at her and nodded.

  “You are a bastard.”

  He shook his head and said, “Listen to me. This is serious. Nooris is a dangerous character. I need ta make sure he doesn’t harm my son. I can’t be distracted from what I came here to accomplish.”

  “What about his mother Kate?”

  “She’s a good woman, and a good mother. But we were never meant to be together. She’s Regan’s wife now. From what I can tell he’s a good man and he’ll do his best for her and my son. But until I know Liam’s safe I have to remain vigilant.”

  “And me, where do I fit in?”

  He moved his hand across the table and placed it on top of hers. “Don’t ya think you’re getting carried away just a little?”

  She shook her head, “No I know you felt something too.”

  He looked at her and found himself lost in her eyes once more, “Maybe, but now’s not the time ta think of such things. I’ve serious business to take care of. Drop me off at my place, I’ll call you later. I need you to be aware of yer surroundings. Nooris will come callin on you and I need to be there when he does.”

  “Why are you so sure Ari will want to see me?” she asked.

  He smiled and replied, “Haven’t ya been listening to me, it’s what I’ve been telling you over and over. You’re a beautiful woman, and men like Nooris and me can never get our fill of you.”

  McElroy’s group had compiled a detailed history of the Kastanski family of Fishtown. Paul Sr. and his wife had emigrated from Poland to Philadelphia in 1899. The 19 year-old Paul was one of the tradesmen hired to build the St. Laurentius Church. To supplement their income, Cecelia, his 17 year-old wife would go to the purveyors on nearby Dock Street and purchase meats and produce and prepare lunches to sell to her husband’s co-workers. One day Kastanski was injured when the scaffold he was standing on collapsed. When he was unable to resume his craft rather than return to their homeland, Kastanski and his wife realized they could make a comfortable living selling sandwiches and snacks to the construction workers at the church and at other sites in the neighborhood.

  They gradually expanded their business and opened a small store on Frankford Avenue. Kastanski eventually learned that there was greater profit in selling the meats and produce wholesale to others who would sell them to the construction workers. As the years went by he built a larger property on Frankford Avenue for his butcher shop, and rented out the original store. As his butcher business became more lucrative he purchased vacant lots and other properties nearby.

  Since Paul and Cecilia Kastanski arrived in Philadelphia they had prospered beyond their wildest dreams. It seemed as if everything they did was destined to succeed. The only cloud on their personal horizon was their inability to have children. They consulted with specialists at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and traveled to New York and Baltimore. When all hope was lost Paul prayed for a miracle at the now completed St. Laurentius church where he had once worked as a laborer. In the fall of 1909 his prayers were answered and the first of his and Cecilia’s five children, a daughter, was born.

  Once again it seemed as if everything was perfect. Kastanski now owned a slaughter- house and a thriving real estate business. He had built half of the commercial properties along Frankford Avenue and a three-story house on East Berks Street near the church.

  In the early spring of 1918 an article in the Philadelphia Ledger reported the outbreak of a strange form of disease in Madrid. It was so far away that Paul gave little notice to the stream of news stories that described the epidemic that in a short time affected over eight million people and caused thousands of deaths in what became known as the Spanish Influenza. With the movement of troops across Europe and Asia the epidemic continued to spread. By the summer it hit the United States. In the six months since its outbreak, the flu pandemic had killed 30 million people, twice the death toll of the four years of World War I!

  In less than 4 weeks the ‘Spanish Lady’ passed through Philadelphia with the force of a hurricane that overwhelmed the city and its inadequate resources to deal with the epidemic. Forty-seven thousand cases were reported and over 12,000 were dead. By the end of October the disease vanished leaving devastation in its wake. Among the dead were Paul and Cecilia’s two daughters.

  Paul’s grief and sense of loss over the children he adored was paralyzing. He blamed himself for not taking the children away from the city to the Jersey shore, or some other less populated area, away from the reach of the disease. No matter how she tried, Cecelia could not break through the shroud of depression that consumed her husband.

  He never truly recovered from the loss and no matter how she tried Cecelia could not convince him that their daughters’ deaths were not his fault. Paul’s depression left more of family’s business on her shoulders. Through her strength of will, the Kastanski family of Fishtown would survive.

  Chapter 27

  December 1981

  Aron Heilman signed the lease on the Frankford Avenue property that had formerly housed the Kastanski Brothers butcher shop. He paid the three months security in cash. The property had been vacant for a number of years after Paul Kastanski Junior retired and his three children, who had all gone to college and had no desire to continue to run the butcher shop left him no heir to continue the core business that had enabled the family to prosper for several decades.

  Jerry was waiting outside the building when the new tenant drove up in a beat up fire engine red Cadillac convertible with the top down. He wondered what the new tenant must be thinking driving around in a snowstorm without the top up but made no comment.

  After introducing himself Jerry asked him what he planned to do with the property.

  “I’m going to open a church.”

  Kastanski could have cared less about the tenant and his plans. All he was truly interested in was collecting the monthly rent. “Mr. Heilman…”

  “Call me Brother Aron.”

  “OK. Brother Aron, the rent is due
in full on the first of the month. I’ll be by to collect it. Remember any renovations to the building must remain when you leave, or else you’ll either have to restore the property to its original condition, or you’ll lose your security deposit.”

  Despite the tenant’s bizarre appearance, he was only wearing a torn and faded Grateful Dead tee shirt and jeans and open toe sandals even though it was 28 degrees and snowing, according to Jerry’s uncle the credit check revealed that Heilman had the resources to pay the rent.

  “Why don’t you let me show you where the thermostat for the heater is?”

  Heilman nodded and unlocked the door. Kastanski smiled as he inhaled the stale odor of the butcher shop when he walked inside. He had spent the better part of his youth hanging out there and helping his uncle by running errands and cleaning up. For a while he thought Uncle Paul would teach him the trade. But try as he could, Jerry had no talent for the work.

  After his father ran off, Jerry and his uncle had grown very close. They shared a secret that Jerry had promised he would guard with his life so that neither his uncle nor his mother would get in trouble. Kastanski showed the tenant how to turn on the heat and suggested that they go down to the cellar where the fuse box was located. It had been several years since he had been in the cellar. For as long as he could remember, Jerry hated going into cellars, the dark, the musty smell, all of it frightened him. But he was 23 years old now. He was the man of the family despite what his mother said, and he could not allow childish fears to interfere with his responsibility. He showed Heilman the fuse box and the main water cut-off valve. When he was getting ready to leave Heilman pointed to a door at the east end of the cellar. “What’s in there?” he asked.

  Kastanski could not force himself to walk any further. He watched as the tenant tried to open the door.

  “It’s locked. Do you have the key?”

  Kastanski shook his head.

  “I guess I’ll have to get a locksmith.”

  “Guess so.”

  Chapter 28

  The Present

  “When are you and Liam leaving?”

  “I have to check with the doctor to make sure it’s OK for me to fly. Assumin it’s alright we can get a flight tomorrow night.”

  Jack took her in his arms, “You know I was so worried about you and Liam, I never thought about the baby.”

  “What will we do if I can’t fly?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll figure something out. But we have to get the two of you someplace safe. I’ll join you as soon as I can get myself out of this damn trial.”

  “OK,” she looked up and could see the tension etched across his face. “Since ya mentioned it, how’s the trial going?”

  He reacted to her question with a pained expression, “I never thought I’d have to play an active role. Now all the newspapers are referring to me as the prosecutor who’s the champion of the right to life movement! I’m the toast of the town on the conservative talk radio programs, and the devil incarnate on the other side. And the judge seems to be siding with Vito on his evidentiary rulings. So if I lose I’ll have both groups, the right to life and the pro-choice people, on my case.”

  “I’m sure you’ll see that justice is served.”

  He shook his head, “I’m just a lawyer. Justice is the last thing I’m worried about.”

  “How can ya be so cynical?”

  “We’ve talked about this many times. You know where I stand.”

  She paused momentarily contemplating whether to continue. Finally she said, “Ya know, I don’t really understand how ya can side with what he did.”

  “It’s not Martison I’m siding with. I just don’t believe the government should be so fixated on women’s reproductive rights.”

  She decided to change the subject to avoid another argument and asked, “How’s your colleague Mark comin along?”

  “He’s going to be released from the hospital this week. He’s lucky to be alive.”

  “That’s good ta here. Oh by the way, Izzy came by the Grape the other day. He was askin after you. He seemed pretty excited about some case he’s been working on,” she paused. “I thought he was supposed to be retired.” She could tell from Jack’s expression he was still worried about the trial, so she took another tack. “And O’Malley’s been acting kinda strange of late, but he won’t tell me what’s in his craw. If you can, why don’t you drop by the Grape and see if he’ll open up to you. I’ll be seein the doctor for a check up on our baby and find out if he’ll let me get on an airplane.”

  “Do you want me to take you? I can pick you up after court.”

  “Nah, your sister Annie is going to drive me to his office.”

  As he left he kissed her and promised to stop at the Grape Tavern after court. He realized that his sister was playing her part in the Regan family’s private security plan. From the day Nooris and Rabinowitz were released from prison and posed a potential threat to Kate and Liam, the entire Regan clan had quietly mobilized to provide constant cover to both of them. He loved his family all the more for their concern.

  Flynn waited in front of the El stop, across the street from the coffee shop. Since the Perfect Cup was only opened for breakfast and lunch he figured Shona should be leaving soon. He stood at a conspicuous spot where she would notice him when she walked out. If she wanted to make contact she would; if not he would find out if she was still working with Nooris. Either way he was ready to play it out.

  He watched as Shona and the shop owner walked out. He could tell she saw him. She hugged the old man who owned the shop, crossed the street and walked up to the steps to the train platform without acknowledging him. He followed and waited for her to lead the way. They got on the west bound train and ignored each other as the elevated train descended and entered the tunnel and sped towards Center City. She stood up as they approached the 11th Street subway stop. He exited the train and kept her in sight as she moved with the crowd.

  He was impressed by the subtle way she checked for a tail as she walked north on 11th Street towards the heart of Chinatown. After studying the menu on the window of Lee How Fook she went in and took a table for two against the rear wall where both of them could watch the door. She smiled as if he was an old friend when he took the seat opposite her.

  “The hot and sour soup they serve here is supposed to be the best in Chinatown,” she said by way of greeting. Flynn nodded and waited for the waitress to finish pouring them tea.

  When the waitress walked away she lowered her voice and asked, “What are you doing back in the States? I thought you left for good after you shot Ari and Rabinowitz.”

  “Are you aware the eejits released them from prison?”

  She nodded.

  He studied her silently trying to decide how to play it out. “It’s a pity I didn’t finish them off when I had the chance. I had to come back ta make certain they do no harm to my son.”

  Her face gave nothing away as she subtly swept the room before returning her gaze to him, “How did you find me?”

  “Dumb luck.”

  She gave him a skeptical look.

  “I know; but it happens.”

  Now it was her turn to decide how to proceed. “So you’re with Courtney Wells.”

  He could feel his face flush, “I wouldn’t exactly say we’re together.”

  She rolled her eyes, “From the way she looks at you it seems to me she thinks you are.”

  “Whatever,” he said dismissively. “I need ta know if ya’re still in league with Nooris?”

  She took several moments before responding. Finally, “When they took them to Cuba I thought I could make a new life for myself. But now that he’s out, he’s not going to let go of me.”

  “Do ya want ta be free of him then?”

  Again she paused, contemplating her response, “It’s not that easy.”

>   “I’ll help ya, if you’ll let me.”

  She laughed, “You’ll help me? Why would you help me?”

  “We can help each other.”

  “But that would mean we’d have to trust one another and I don’t trust you.”

  “Nor I you. But, if ya want ta be free of him what other options do ya have?”

  “I could kill both you and Ari.”

  “That ya could, but I’ve got a better plan.”

  She searched his face looking for a sign of deception. He looked back at her showing nothing. Finally, she asked, “So what’s your plan?”

  “Can ya get in touch with him?”

  She nodded.

  “Good, tell him ya saw me with Courtney.”

  “But if I do that he’ll come after you. He’ll try to kill you.”

  “Isn’t that part of what ya wanted?”

  “Sounds like a pretty shitty plan to me,” she replied.

  “So, what do ya say?”

  She gave him a wicked smile, “I’ll think about it. Here comes our soup. You might want to make sure it’s not poisoned.”

  Nooris needed a place to execute his plan and remembered Shona’s obnoxious real estate agent. After showing Nooris a number of vacant storefronts on Frankford Avenue, Kastanski took him to a corner property that was separated by a vacant lot from the rest of the block. It was his uncle’s butcher shop. It was the perfect for what Nooris had in mind.

  “Mr. Kastanski, as I told you we’re planning on starting production in a few weeks. We need the site for about 6 months. We have to keep this project under the radar, so we’ll pay you in cash. Is that alright?”

  Kastanski tried to stifle a laugh as he accepted the envelope. Ten thousand dollars in cash for renting the butcher shop! These Hollywood guys have their heads so far up their asses, it’s un-fucking believable he thought as he pocketed the envelope.