He nodded ruefully. “Women have been my ruination.”

“Is there any wine left in your bottle?”

The wino lifted the bottle and looked at it forlornly. “Alas. Non.” Our breaths were fogging in the cold night air.

“May I have it?”

He placed the bottle carefully on the sidewalk. “My world is yours to share.”

I picked up the bottle and wobbled across the street.

The two guys in the Mercedes and the guy standing on the top step watched me, but it was the guys in the Mercedes I was worried about.

I leaned against one of the trees for a while and pretended to drink, then continued along the sidewalk until I came to Sal DeLuca’s. When I got to Sal’s, I sat on the bottom step.

The guy on the top step said, “Beat it, rummy.” He was a little guy with a squinty face.

I mumbled something and hugged the bottle.

“Hey, asshole, I said beat it.” He pounded down the steps and grabbed me by the back of the jacket and tried to lift me. When he lifted, he pulled me to him and I pushed the Dan Wesson into the soft flesh beneath his ribs. I said, “If you give it away, you die first.”

He stopped moving and stared directly into my eyes.

I said, “Take me up the steps. Walk like you’re helping me. We’re going inside. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Is Sal DeLuca in there?”

“Yes.”

“Is Charlie DeLuca in there?”

“No.”

“Who else is in there?”

“The old man. Vito and Angie. The staff.” I didn’t know who Vito and Angie were, but it didn’t seem to matter.

“Let’s go.”

We went up the steps, walking close so that the gun was hidden between us.

Halfway up, the passenger side of the Mercedes opened and one of the guys got out. “Hey, Freddie.”

I dug the gun into Freddie’s side a little harder. “Tell’m you’re getting me something to eat.”

Freddie told him.

The guy at the Mercedes laughed and called Freddie an asshole.

We went up the rest of the way and Freddie let us into a long marble entry with a high ceiling and ornate stairs. The house was quiet. I said, “Take me to Sal.”

“You gotta be crazy.”

“If I was crazy, I’d have said take me to your leader.” I gave him another prod.