‘Are you Joseph Romano?’ Her voice was shaky.
‘Yes. What can I do for you?’ He had an easy, engaging manner. No wonder my mother was taken in by this man, Tracy thought.
‘I – I’d like to talk to you, Mr Romano.’
He studied her figure for a moment. ‘Certainly. Please come in.’
Tracy walked into a living room filled with beautiful, burnished antique furniture. Joseph Romano lived well. On my mother’s money, Tracy thought bitterly.
‘I was just about to mix myself a drink. What would you like?’
‘Nothing.’
He looked at her curiously. ‘What was it you wanted to see me about, Miss –?’
‘Tracy Whitney. I’m Doris Whitney’s daughter.’
He stared at her blankly for an instant, and then a look of recognition flashed across his face. ‘Oh, yes. I heard about your mother. Too bad.’
Too bad! He had caused the death of her mother, and his only comment was: ‘Too bad’.
‘Mr Romano, the district attorney believes that my mother was guilty of fraud. You know that’s not true. I want you to help me clear her name.’
He shrugged. ‘I never talk business during Mardi Gras. It’s against my religion.’ Romano walked over to the bar and began mixing drinks. ‘I think you’ll feel better after you’ve had a drink.’
He was leaving her no choice. Tracy opened her handbag and pulled out the revolver. She pointed it at him. ‘I’ll tell you what will make me feel better, Mr Romano. Having you confess to exactly what you did to my mother.’
Joseph Romano turned and saw the gun. ‘You’d better put that away, Miss Whitney. It could go off.’
‘It’s going to go off if you don’t do exactly what I tell you to. You’re going to write down how you stripped the company, put it into bankruptcy, and drove my mother to suicide.’
He was watching her carefully now, his dark eyes wary. ‘I see. What if I refuse?’
‘Then I’m going to kill you.’ She could feel the gun shaking in her hand.
‘You don’t look like a killer, Miss Whitney.’ He was moving towards her now, a drink in his hand. His voice was soft and sincere. ‘I had nothing to do with your mother’s death, and believe me, I –’ He threw the drink in her face.
Tracy felt the sharp sting of the alcohol in her eyes, and an instant later the gun was knocked from her hand.
‘Your old lady held out on me,’ Joe Romano said. ‘She didn’t tell me she had a horny-looking daughter.’
He was holding her, pinning her arms, and Tracy was blinded and terrified. She tried to move away from him, but he backed her into a wall, pressing against her.
‘You have guts, baby. I like that. It turns me on.’ His voice was hoarse. Tracy could feel his body hard against hers, and she tried to twist away, but she was helpless in his grip.
‘You came here for a little excitement, huh? Well, Joe’s going to give it to you.’
She tried to scream, but her voice came out in a gasp. ‘Let me go!’
He ripped her blouse away. ‘Hey! Look at those tits,’ he whispered. He began pinching her nipples. ‘Fight me, baby,’ he whispered. ‘I love it.’
‘Let go of me!’
He was squeezing harder, hurting her. She felt herself being forced down to the floor.
‘I’ll bet you’ve never been fucked by a real man,’ he said. He was astride her now, his body heavy on hers, his hands moving up her thighs. Tracy pushed out blindly, and her fingers touched the gun. She grabbed for it, and there was a sudden, loud explosion.
‘Oh, Jesus!’ Romano cried. His grip suddenly relaxed. Through a red mist, Tracy watched in horror as he fell off her and slumped to the floor, clutching his side. ‘You shot me … you bitch. You shot me …’
Tracy was transfixed, unable to move. She felt she was going to be sick, and her eyes were blinded by stabbing pain. She pulled herself to her feet, turned, and stumbled to a door at the far end of the room. She pushed it open. It was a bathroom. She staggered over to the sink, filled the basin with cold water, and bathed her eyes until the pain began to subside and her vision cleared. She looked into the cabinet mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and wild looking. My God, I’ve just killed a man. She ran back into the living room.
Joe Romano lay on the floor, his blood seeping onto the white rug. Tracy stood over him, white-faced. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said inanely. ‘I didn’t mean to –’
‘Ambulance …’ His breathing was ragged.
Tracy hurried to the telephone on the desk and dialled the operator. When she tried to speak, her voice was choked. ‘Operator, send an ambulance right away. The address is Four-twenty-one Jackson Square. A man has been shot.’
She replaced the receiver and looked down at Joe Romano. Oh, God, she prayed, please don’t let him die. You know I didn’t mean to kill him. She knelt beside the body on the floor to see if he was still alive. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing. ‘An ambulance is on its way,’ Tracy promised.
She fled.
She tried not to run, afraid of attracting attention. She pulled her jacket close around her to conceal her ripped blouse. Four blocks from the house Tracy tried to hail a taxi. Half a dozen sped past her, filled with happy, laughing passengers. In the distance Tracy heard the sound of an approaching siren, and seconds later an ambulance raced past her, headed in the direction of Joe Romano’s house. I’ve got to get away from here, Tracy thought. Ahead of her, a taxi pulled to the curb and discharged its passengers. Tracy ran towards it, afraid of losing it. ‘Are you free?’
‘That depends. Where you goin’?’
‘The airport.’ She held her breath.
‘Get in.’
On the way to the airport, Tracy thought about the ambulance. What if they were too late and Joe Romano was dead? She would be a murderess. She had left the gun back at the house, and her fingerprints were on it. She could tell the police that Romano had tried to rape her and that the gun had gone off accidentally, but they would never believe her. She had purchased the gun that was lying on the floor beside Joe Romano. How much time had passed? Half an hour? An hour? She had to get out of New Orleans as quickly as possible.
‘Enjoy the carnival?’ the driver asked.
Tracy swallowed. ‘I – yes.’ She pulled out her hand mirror and did what she could to make herself presentable. She had been stupid to try to make Joe Romano confess. Everything had gone wrong. How can I tell Charles what happened? She knew how shocked he would be, but after she explained, he would understand. Charles would know what to do.
When the taxi arrived at New Orleans International Airport, Tracy wondered, Was it only this morning that I was here? Did all this happen in just one day? Her mother’s suicide … the horror of being swept up in the carnival … the man snarling, ‘You shot me … you bitch …’
When Tracy walked into the terminal, it seemed to her that everyone was staring at her accusingly. That’s what a guilty conscience does, she thought. She wished there were some way she could learn about Joe Romano’s condition, but she had no idea what hospital he would be taken to or whom she could call. He’s going to be all right. Charles and I will come back for Mother’s funeral, and Joe Romano will be fine. She tried to push from her mind the vision of the man lying on the white rug, his blood staining it red. She had to hurry home to Charles.
Tracy