Big Leather Couch

Barbara and Mary Stewart wanted for nothing growing up. Their father Gerald had followed his father’s footsteps and had a successful career in finance, eventually rising to Executive VP for Prudential Professional Money Management. His father Winston had made millions during his years at Prudential running their Strategic Partners Mutual Funds Group.

The Stewarts came to the Haverhill area of Massachusetts sometime in the late 1700’s. Alexander Stewart had been born in England and came across the Atlantic on his own as a 16 year old with one suitcase and £ 50 in his pocket. He began working at a local sawmill, saving his pay as best he could.

Marrying Charity Fowkes, the daughter of the Preacher, they lived a sparse, but satisfying life. Their son, Ballard was born in 1800. By the time he was 25 he had begun Stewart Shoe Company along the banks of the Merrimack River, using the river as a source for power.

The business took off in 1851 when Rowland H. Macy opened his first store in Haverhill. Ballard made a deal to be the sole supplier of men’s footwear to the man who founded the company that still bears his name.

Over the next 80 years Stewart Shoes grew under the watchful eyes of 3 generations of Stewart men. Ballard handed the reigns to his son Samuel. Samuel’s son Ezekiel then took the helm and guided the company through the early part of the new century.

It was during the time Ezekiel’s son John was running the company that the Great Depression hit. They tried to keep the company running, tried to continue to pay their workers, but eventually in 1937, Stewart Show Company closed their doors for the last time.

After dinner one evening John rose from the table, kissed his wife Sophie and daughter Sally who, as she was still unmarried at 27, lived with her parents, and announced he was going into town to check on the factory, now shuttered.

The next day Sally went into town to check on her father, who had not returned home the evening before. Walking into his office on the second floor she found the lights off. At first she thought he had fallen asleep, his head on his desk and had knocked over a mug of coffee. But she realized her mistake when she flicked the light-switch and saw the liquid all over the desk and floor was red – the blood of her father.

He had put his pistol to his head at some time during the evening and taken his own life. The entire family was devastated by the event, but Sally could never get the sight of her beloved father’s blood all over. Three years later at the age of thirty, Sally took her own life, tying a rope around the railing over looking the entry of their home and stepped over the rail and into thin air. Sophie ordered the home sold immediately and moved into Boston where she remained until her death in 1946.


Ann had married Alexander Pineford the heir to Pineford Mills when she was 18. They lived in a home overlooking the town. They asked Sophie to live with them, but she refused. Augustus had worked in the factory, paying his dues until it was time for him to step in and run it when his dad had retired. Well, that was the plan…now spoiled forever by a group of men on Wall Street who caused the crash, thus leading the nation into a period of severe financial hardships.

Augustus was 34 when the factory closed and his father took his own life. He had been married to Julie for twelve years and their son Wilson, (Gerald’s grandfather) was 11. For about a year he tried working at his brother-in-laws mill, but found he had no affinity for the lumber business.

With the little money he had, and his education in finance, he started a small company to help the local businesses track their earnings better. His son Wilson would sit and watch his father balance the books for his customers and seemed to have the same love and skill with numbers as did his father. If it was not for Augustus, the family factory would have closed 4 years earlier and many of their employees would have been much worse off then they were.

Wilson was an excellent student, graduating near the top of his class at Haverhill High School. There were whispers that Wilson was the inspiration for the character Reggie in the Archie Comic books. Wilson graduated with the creator of this popular comic series, Bob Montana.

Wilson was offered scholarships at many prestigious colleges, but chose Wharton University of Pennsylvania where he received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He joined Prudential right out of school in and his career track was outlined early on.

Incredibly bright and devilishly handsome, Wilson stayed single and worked hard over the next 4 years. Then, in early 1954 one of his female friends announced she was pregnant. Wilson and Missy were married a month later in a small private ceremony and Gerald was born 7 months later. This caused some talk in the halls of his company, but it all died down quickly as Wilson showed time and again his skills at investing money and making it increase up to ten-fold in a short amount of time.

Two years later Wilson was elevated to run the entire Strategic Partners Mutual Fund and from the outside looking in, everything seemed wonderful. The Stewarts had moved into a beautiful town home in Cambridge. Gerald, though an only child, had many friends and was attending the best private schools in the Boston area, eventually ending up at The Andover Academy, where he was 2 years behind Scooter Haverford. Gerald knew the popular Lacrosse captain but they were certainly not close.


When Scooter married Gerald’s sister-in-law; Alice’s sister Barbara, he had no idea who Gerald Stewart was, even having to be shown a yearbook with Gerald’s picture, because Scooter could not imagine not knowing someone who was at Andover when he was. In reality, Scooter was too big a campus hero to remember a skinny kid two years his junior.

Their relationship would change over the next few years and Scooter always wondered if, had he just lied and said he did remember Gerald, things would have turned out differently.

By the time they married Scooter was the owner of an electronics company. Begun in the late 50’s by his father, Monty, Sr. as a 17 year old, the company built the transmitters used in VHF FM single channel military radio sets of that time. When the Vietnam War began Monty Sr. became a contractor for the US Military and the company grew by a factor of 6 in just 3 short years. When Scooter was 18 he joined the Marines instead of waiting to find out his draft number. He spent one tour at the end of the War “in-country” and came home to move right into a management position at Hingham Electronics. As the war wound down, so did the big contracts. The company began to struggle and some lay-off occurred. Scooter tried to attend college at night but got only as far as earning an Associates Degree.

Even without the formal education, Scooter knew how to see the future of things and evolved the company into Hingham Printed Circuit Board, getting in on the ground floor of an industry about to explode with the advent of the computer. The business grew once more and, by offering training to those who were interested, they were able to hire back 80% of the people who had been laid off 3 years before.

By 1983 when Scooter met Barbara “Babs” Stanton he had been named one of the Boston area’s most eligible bachelors three times. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Stanton, scions of Boston Upper Crust. The Stanton’s had links all the way back to the original Mayflower. Intimates of the Rockefellers and Kennedy’s, the origin of their family’s money was also shrouded in mystery.

Barbara’s younger sister, Alice, had been married for 5 years and had two beautiful daughters. Babs had not been in any rush to find a husband, instead enjoying working with the United Way and traveling around the world.

Scooter knocked her off her feet the night they met at a charity ball. Their romance was a whirlwind and they were married in a huge ceremony, held in the chapel of the Lutheran Church on Harvard Yard.

By 2000, Babs and Scooter had brought Scooter, Jr. and Muffy into the world and were living large. Trips around the world, the best private schools for the kids, even sending Muffy to a boarding school in Switzerland, two years before when she was 9, resulting in a period of pure rebellion and expulsion.

Gerald had been managing the personal account for Babs and Scooter since they had gotten together. Once Scooter was convinced Gerald knew what he was doing, he allowed him to manage even the company’s investment capital.


In 2001, Gerald noticed some things changing. Scooter was asking to have control of more of the company’s money; moving funds from his personal account to the company’s and his personal manner had changed also.

One night in early October of 2003, Gerald was working late at his office in the Prudential Tower when the security guard downstairs called. “Mr. Stewart, excuse me sir, but there is a Mr. Haverford here and he insists you know him and to let him up.” In the background Gerald could hear what sounded like a very drunk Scooter bellowing “Just let me by… do you know I was the most eligible bachelor in Boston THREE TIMES??? What is your name? Where is your supervisor???”

During a slight break in the yelling Gerald said “George, let him up, it is ok, he is my brother in law.”

“You sure sir?”

“Yes, just put him on the elevator and set it for express and I will meet him when the door opens.”

When the elevator door opened on the 48th floor, Gerald was first assaulted with the reek of a very drunk person and then the visual of Scooter, always so well kept, disheveled his shoes untied, shirttail hanging out, tie askew. Scooter stumbled off the elevator into Gerald’s arms.

“Whoa, what happened to you Scoot?” Gerald said using the truncated nickname he knew Scooter hated, but figured in his condition he would not remember in the morning.

Struggling, Scooter still outweighed him by 50 pounds; Gerald managed to get him into a chair in his office and closed the door. There didn’t appear to be anyone else on that floor, but Gerald didn’t want to risk someone seeing Scooter in this condition.

Walking to the wet bar in the corner of his office, he get a glass of water for Scooter and two aspirins. “Here, take these, they will help later. Sorry, there is no coffee made here now. How about you telling me what is going on Scooter, something has been strange for 9 months now.”

Scooter looked up at Gerald and tears rolled down his cheeks. “Ger, I didn’t think it was going to end up like this. I mean, I was just looking for another way to help the company grow. You as mush as anyone knows that business has been tough the last few years.”

“Well, not really Scooter, you have been cutting me out more and more.”

“I did that to try and protect you Ger, I didn’t want you to be involved in case something went wrong, and man has it ever gone wrong and I don’t know where to turn, I don’t know what to do. I can’t let them hurt Babs and the kids Ger, so how do I stop it?”

“Wait Scooter, slow down. Who is going to hurt the kids and Babs? What where you trying to protect me from, what has gone wrong? Start at the beginning.”

“I need a drink Ger, I really do.”

“Man, you have had plenty to drink already…”

“Look Ger, I am practically sober again, just thinking about this. I know you keep a bottle of Pinch in here somewhere, just a couple of fingers.”
Gerald went to the wet bar and poured Scooter a couple of fingers of Pinch and then, thinking about it, poured himself two fingers plus another two. Walking back toward Scooter who was sitting with his back to him, Gerald wondered if he really wanted to hear the story about to be told and took a big gulp, finishing off half the scotch in his glass.

As he took the glass, Scooter began to speak. “Look, you remember when we lost that contract in 1998, that was a full 15% of our business and it was a very lucrative 15%. I was on the road trying to convince some of our customers to up their orders so I could cover the loss. Well I was in Seattle and at the bar in the hotel one night. I had a few cocktails and was eating a burger when this beauty slid onto the barstool next to me. Now Ger, I was not looking for anything but a little conversation. The meeting that day had not gone well and I was feeling a bit down.”

“We talked about some movies that had just come out and her business, interior design she said and had a few more drinks. Well when I got up to leave I felt even drunker then I should have. The next thing I knew, I was in my room, naked with this woman next to me. I couldn’t even remember her name. That was scary enough, but then I realized there was someone else in the room. Sitting in the corner in the chair. When I reached for the light a voice told me to not touch it and to just sit back on the bed. The drapes were open a bit, but he was mostly in shadow. What I could see was the gun in his right hand resting on the arm of the chair.”


“Another?” And Scooter held out his glass. Gerald was glad he had, since his glass was empty also and he knew the worst was yet to come.

Returning with both their glasses containing double amounts, Scooter continued “I asked what he wanted and what he was doing in my room. And you know what he did? DO you Ger? He laughed! Yes, he laughed...and in that laugh was pure evil. And I could feel my body get cold. I even thought, for a moment, that I might have been dreaming it was so bazaar, and that is when I shook the lady in the bed next to me, and felt her skin…cold and clammy. He began to laugh with even more evil and I began to get up. His hand came up and the gun was pointed right at me. He just said SIT and I did. I asked what happened to her and he told me. And when he told me he actually sounded happy like he was telling about his favorite vacation.”

“She’s dead,” said the voice from the corner. Her neck has been broken. And under her fingernails is your skin. And the fingerprints on the necklace she is wearing, well they belong to you also. Your fingerprints are all over the room too. This is not your room, by the way, it is a room reserved in her name. Your fingerprints are on file, are they not? As a contractor for the military, so it will be easy for the Police to find out who the killer is.”

“But why did you kill her? What did she do? What did I do?” Scooter stammered.

Again, a soft laugh before, “She was just a prostitute we hired to do our bidding, a nobody who will not be missed. She was a weapon, used and discarded. As for you well you haven’t done anything yet. Actually your fate is based upon whether you do something for us.”

“Who is ‘us’? And what is it you want me to do?” asked Scooter, still trying to see more of the face on the man in the corner and to place the accent he heard in the words.

“Your company has been struggling, hasn’t it? And you have been making strides on new technology. Do not act surprised Mr. Haverford, do you really think your corporate secrets are secrets? We want that technology Mr. Haverford, and as long as we get it, your life will not change. But if you do not cooperate, not only will your life change but so will the loves of your entire family.”

Scooter looked up at Gerald, “What was I going to do? I mean, they showed me pictures. Pictures of me where I have my hands on her neck. They staged the whole thing. I would have gone to jail for the rest of my life, my business would have been shuttered, my family out on the street.” And the tears came again. Scooter buried his face in his hands and Gerald looked at him and considered how far the great Scooter Haverford had fallen. He immediately chided himself on taking satisfaction in his brother-in-laws pain.

“So, tell me Scooter, what happened next?”

“Well, he told me to get up and get dressed and keep my back to him the entire time. I did as he said and then he told me to leave and they would contact me. I looked in the papers, I watched the news and I never heard a word about the girl…damn, Gerald, I don’t even know her name. I am not sure I ever even got it. Well, I got on the plane the next day and came home. I began sending one of my salespeople to call on that client after that. I didn’t ant to go anywhere near Seattle.”


“Then, one day about three weeks later, my receptionist buzzes me and tells me there are two gentlemen asking to speak with me, a Mr. Anderson and a Mr. Tagahasi. I asked her what they wanted and she told me they had shown her badges and said they were from the government. I went out to the reception area and asked if I could help. Mr. Tagahasi spoke and said “We have to speak.” and my blood ran cold. Gerald, I KNEW…immediately, I knew it was the man from the chair. I opened the door without a word and we went to my office. Once the door was closed, the one who called himself Anderson slapped me with the back of his hand.”

“Don’t let that happen again,” said Anderson, pushing Scooter into his chair. His real name was not Anderson; it was Rafael Famosa, born in Republica de Cuba in 1952. At 18 he was recruited to be part of the personal security team for Fidel Castro. Then about 15 years ago, he was approached by a member of a North Korean contingency visiting Cuba.

The offer for employment with the added adventure of actually doing something other then sitting around waiting for a feeble old man to die, Rafael said yes and the North Koreans helped to smuggle him out when they left a few days later.

Since 1991 he had committed crimes around the world for the North Korean regime. He had been instrumental on getting technology which eventually helped bring their nuclear capabilities online.

The last 5 years he had worked exclusively with “Mr. Tagahasi”, who was actually Ki-baek Kim, a Sojwa ( Major in the US Army), in the Korean Peoples Army, Kim was an experienced operative having “immigrated” to the United States for 22 years. When he needed to be in North Korea he would fly into Thailand and then a private plane to the capital city Pyangyong for meetings with the highest levels of government.

Kim/ Tagahasi spoke next. “So, Mr. Haverford, my voice brought back the memories of a special evening did it not? Would you care to see the DVD we produced. We were able to enhance the details; you can not believe the technology available on the market today.”

And Scooter cringed as Kim laughed his spine-chilling laugh.

“Now, Mr. Haverford, here is what you are going to do for us…”

Gerald spoke. “What did they want?”

“They wanted me to build them some specialized printed boards. When I saw the blueprints, I was amazed, it was even more advanced then designs my engineers had been working on.”

Gerald’s eyes bugged out “So, you have been building some specialized circuit boards for some foreign country? DO you even know who they work for?”

Scooter looked down into his drink. “Well, I didn’t at first, but about a year later I was beginning to have second thoughts and one night on my way home I was forced off the road on my way home. There was Anderson and Tagahasi and three others. The others never spoke, but Tagahasi made his point. He warned me that if I started to make trouble or spoke to anyone about this, my family would end up in a prison in the jungles of North Korea and Muffy and Babs…” he broke into huge sobs “would be used as whores by the other prisoners. What was I going to do? I just couldn’t hold this in any longer. I needed to tell someone, I don’t know what to do. They came to me yesterday with a new design. My engineers will definitely ask questions about this series.”


At that moment the door to Gerald’s office opened startling both men. Scooter saw the two men who entered and jumped out of the chair “Look, he doesn’t know anything, I didn’t tell him anything. This is my brother-in-law, and we were just having a family discussion.”

Gerald’s blood turned to ice as the shorter of the two laughed. He knew this must be Tagahasi and Anderson, it could be none other.

“Sit down Mr. Haverford. Now, Mr. Stewart, it appears your brother-in-law has put you in a very dangerous spot. What are we going to do about this?”

“Now, wait one minute here,” Gerald said as he stepped forward. He never saw Anderson’s hand, only felt the pain as it connected with his chin and he crumbled to the ground.

That was the day Gerald Stewart became a spy against the country he loved.

They made him handle investments for them, turning their money, earned selling technology to countries that should not have it, into even more money that they then used to purchase items not available to the North Korean Government through legitimate channels.

Both men kept deluding themselves into believing that by cooperating their families would be safe.

Six months ago Gerald had thought about contacting the F.B.I. He went as far as going to their Boston headquarters. He never went past the lobby before chickening out and leaving. Then a week later, he dialed the number to Homeland Security in Boston. When the operator answered he hung up, feeling fear again.

He was panicked when, about an hour later two men knocked on the door of his Andover home. He told them he had misdialed and when he heard the operator just hung up without thinking. They appeared to believe him and left soon after.

That night as they slid into bed, Alice asked if he was feeling well. He had been “acting hyper, like you are running to catch something you can never catch.” He assured her everything was fine. And he believed himself when he said it.

On the morning of February 8th, Gerald was in his office his mind only on whether to suggest to one of his larger clients’ to move away from the automotive investments he was holding.

His assistant Janice buzzed and announced there was a call on line one, “They won’t say what it about sir only that it is of utmost urgency.”

Gerald felt a chill come over him and he picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“So, you love your daughter?”

Gerald looked at the pictures of Barbara and Mary on his desk, what was this about?

“Who is this?”

“Shut up and listen. You just don’t listen. ‘Don’t do anything stupid’ was that so hard to understand?”

The phone went dead as Gerald stared at it in his hand.

Across town another phone rang. “Hello?”

“Why do you think we are joking? DO you know where your little Muffy is?”

The phone went dead and Scooter Haverford went white.

In the Bronx, NY, a cell phone woke Joey “The Deuce” out of a sound sleep. “Damn, doesn’t anyone answer the phone around here?” he screamed and then realized the kids, Angelina, 11 and Joey, Jr., 9, would be at school and his wife MaryElizabeth would be out shopping.

He reached over and grabbed the phone, “This better be important or I’m gonna hunt ya down and brake an arm”

“Mr. Fabretti, your cousin Paul – he should know better.”

The phone line went dead and Joey Fabretti cursed out loud.



POST CREDITS:
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EMBRYONIC JOURNEY: Hot Tuna; Composer: Jorma Kaukonen
ILLUMINATIONS: Carlos Santana; Composers: Tom Coster & Carlos Santana
HE WHO LIVES IN FEAR: Herbie Hancock; Composer: Herbie Hancock

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Customized: 2004 VEM

Paul Angelino grew up in the Bronx, NY. His family had been in the Bronx for three generations, ever since his great grandfather and great grandmother had sailed over on a crowded, filthy ship to find a better life in the “land of opportunity” in America in 1920. Nineteen year old newlyweds, sailing into New York harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty, Giovanni and Amelia Angelino held each other tight and cried tears of joy.

Paul had visited Ellis Island in 2002 to view their names on the “Wall of Honor” after having their names added the year before. It gave him chills to see his great grandparents honored with tens of thousands of other people who made their way to the United States over the years. He had never met either of his paternal grand-grandparents. They had both passed away before his birth, Amelia in 1980 after a bad fall, and Giovanni in 2005, after a fulfilling 104 years.

His childhood on Lurting Avenue was something Paul would not change for all the money in the world. His was a tight knit family. Paul grew up in an attached two family home just down from Morris Park Avenue. He lived with his mother and father, Maria and Salvatore and two sisters, Genevieve (who everyone called Jenny) and JoanRose. Paul was the middle child, with Jenny, two years older and JoanRose two-years younger.

Growing up, Salvatore’s parents lived in the other side of their home. In 2005, when Giovanni, Jr. passed away they moved in Paul’s maternal grandparents, Alfonzo & Mary Abunti. Both in their eighties, they were still able to care for themselves, though Maria and Salvatore had taken the car keys from them when they moved in.

Alfonzo & Mary had a difficult life, and their daughter Maria strived to make sure they were comfortable in their twilight years. Maria had two siblings. Alfredo, or Al as he was known, had been killed in action in Vietnam in 1965. Her sister Celia had married Joseph “Joey Smiles” Combino, which had upset the entire family. Joey Smiles was part of the Carlucci family in New York. A low level soldier, Joey had risen in the ranks over the years.

As the years went by, the tensions lessened some, as Joey took such good care of Celia. They had a home on City Island which looked out at Hart Island. Unfortunately their one child, Joey, Jr. had developed a drug habit and, in 1999 during an armed robbery of a bodega in Manhattan, had shot and wounded the clerk. Using the store security cameras and the testimony of the clerk, Joey, Jr. was identified, arrested, put on trial and was sentenced to a 20-life term in 2002. He was sent to Sing Sing with a possibility of parole in 2022 when he would be 49 years old.

Across the street, in a single family home were Aunt Annilynn and her husband, Vincent Costello. Paul grew up playing with his cousin MaryElizabeth, who was the same age as Jenny. His other three cousins were younger, Joseph who was four years younger would tag along when he was twelve and Paul 16, and Paul watched out for him on the streets. The other two cousins were Alex who was 6 years younger and Candice, who was 16 years younger then Paul. Paul could remember as a 15 year old, how strange he felt for his cousin MaryElizabeth when she told him she would be having another sibling as she turned 17.

As did his sisters and cousins, Paul attended St Xavier on Haight Avenue and then headed to Fordham Prep as his sisters attended St. Raymond Academy High School. During high school, Paul decided he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Salvatore was a chef and had worked in restaurants all over the Bronx as Paul was growing up. For the last 10 years, he worked at Frankie & Johnnies Pine Tavern on Bronxdale Avenue. The Pine was a popular spot for NY Yankees and teams coming into town to play the Yankees. The restaurant was packed with baseball memorabilia and also served some of the best food in all of New York.

After graduation, Paul attended the CIA, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY on the banks of the Hudson River. Paul graduated second in his class and began working at Il Incontro in Manhattan. Located on 46th street off of Second Avenue, when Paul joined the kitchen staff it became apparent quickly to the owners that their new hire had many more skills then their current head-chef. Within a year, Paul had taken over the kitchen, revamped the menu and turned a barely existing restaurant into one of the most talked about dining experiences in New York. Many other, more established restaurants came calling after Paul, but he was loyal to his first employers.

By 2000, Paul had established himself, at the age of 26, as one of the chefs for the new millennium. It was on the first day of the International Seafood Show in Boston, that he met Mary Stewart. They hit it off immediately and spent the rest of the show attending seminars and walking the exhibitor floor. At night, Mary showed Paul “her Boston,” even giving him a tour of the restaurant at Oceana where she was Day Executive Chef.

Over the next two years, Paul and Mary took turns visiting each other, trying to decide which city they would settle in. The answer was presented to them that year.

In January of 2002 the owners came to Paul and asked if he wanted to move to Florida and open a new restaurant with them in Miami. Paul spoke with Mary and could tell Miami was not in their plans. The new owners then gave Paul the option of buying them out.

At the same time, Mary heard about a small restaurant in an office building across form South Station in Boston that was coming available. The people running the place had decided to not renew their lease.

After a few trips up for Paul and negotiations on the lease, Paul and Mary had signed the lease and taken control of the space. After two months of redesign and staff review and hiring, the P&M Pub opened in June of 2002 and immediately received a good review in the Boston Globe.

The menu was American with a hint of Italian. Paul managed the kitchen as Mary took control of the main dining room.

The setup of the restaurant made for a bit of ingenuity. The main entrance lobby of the office building split the restaurant in two. To the left was the bar area and to the right, the dining room. Food was served on both sides.

The reviews continued to bring more and more customers to the P&M and sometimes reservations were closed out two weeks in advance. Paul and Mary watched the local restaurant scene and in 2004 when they saw that a 20-table bistro on Newbury Street had failed and they inquired as to the lease options.

Their financial advisor had told them that they would be stretching themselves to the limit trying to handle both establishments but Paul kept telling Mary they could make it happen. Mary finally agreed and on September 16th, Villa Maria opened.

Once again, the review from the food critics were better then could be expected. The Villa Maria was another rousing success for this new superstar team of the Boston culinary community.

What Mary was not aware of, is that Paul had gotten assistance in the financing of Villa Maria from his cousin MaryElizabeth's husband, Joey “Deuce” Fabretti. Joey was six years Paul’s senior, but Paul knew Joey’s sister Angelina growing up. When he would be over Angelina’s after school in the 7th grade, Paul would see Joey coming and going. Even then Joey was involved in petty thievery and small heists.

Over the years, Joey would have a new car each year, always wore the best clothing and had a different woman on his arm each night of the week. You could always find Joey in downtown Manhattan hanging at one of the numerous nightclubs operating at the time. During the day, Joey would sleep late and then get into his car and head into Manhattan around 6 pm. Each week he would receive a paycheck from Galliano Construction.

Joey was well connected into the Carlucci family. He was a longtime friend of Sal “Sallyboy” Carlucci, the son of the Boss, Don Vicente Carlucci. The Don was in his early eighties and it had been whispered that he would be stepping down soon and allowing his son to take the reigns of the organization.

Getting assistance from Joey was not as easy as it would seem. Joey had to get an introduction to the head of the Boston area Family Stevie Bunoccioco. Then he needed to request permission to make the loan. He explained this was a “family” favor and was in no way going to have anything to do with a restaurant in Stevie’s area.

Stevie gave his blessing to the arrangement only after an honorarium of $50,000 was made to his home Parish. Father Paul said a prayer to God the morning he found the satchel on the altar. Inside was the exact amount needed for repairs to the heating system. God did work in mysterious ways, Father Paul thought as he took the money to be deposited in the Church’s maintenance account.

Paul and Joey had a contract that would allow Paul to pay Joey back over 10 years at only 10% interest. When Sallyboy heard the terms he scolded Joey, “Family or no, you can’t be givin’ your money away..whattaya stupid or sumthin?? This isn’t even a real relative, it’s your wife’s cousin not yours” Joey explained that growing up, he knew that Paul was a good kid and then told a story few knew about.

When his sister Angelina was in ninth grade, she had a mouth that used to get her in trouble all the time. One day after school she was by herself walking down Morris Park Avenue when she was approached by a group of Latino girls from her school. One of them bumped into Angelina and Angelina began giving her lip. As the group began to circle in on Angelina, it was Paul, seeing this about to get ugly, who came out of the candy store on the corner and got in the middle.

Paul knew the leader of this group well, as he had helped her get through geometry the year before when they were going to the same school. Being six foot tall with black wavy hair, sparkling hazel eyes and a smile that would melt an iceberg did not hurt. He negotiated a truce between Angelina and the group and even made it possible for Angelina to become friends with the other girls.

Joey had heard about this from his sister a few years later when they saw a review of Paul’s skills at La Incontro. Paul himself did not know why Joey was giving him such a good deal, other then thinking it was as a favor to Joey’s wife, MaryElizabeth.

Getting the loan from Joey allowed Paul to not have to deplete the savings he and Mary had acquired and a year and a half later, after Villa Maria had been named “Best Of” by Boston Magazine, he asked Mary to let him show her something one Monday morning.

It was August and the day was warm as they walked along the Boston Common, holding hands and people watching. When they got to the townhouse on Charles Street, Paul stopped, turned and kissed Mary deeply. “And sir, what was that for?” Mary inquired. “I love you darling and you have made me the happiest man alive. Our restaurants are doing well, and I thought we should finally stop renting, what do you think?”

“Paul, you know I would love our own home, but can we afford that now?” “Mary, we can. Our credit is as good as it gets, the two places are booked solid every night and I found the perfect place for us to grow as a family. Turn around”

The gasp from Mary’s throat caused a man walking his dog to stop and look as he passed them. Paul just looked at the man and smiled.

“Paul, how can we ever afford this?” “It has been on the market for a while, and the realtor told me they would accept an offer that we could afford. Do you want to see inside?”

Mary Angelino was looking at the most beautiful town home she had ever seen. What will her mom and dad say when they come to visit? They always worried she would not be able to afford something like this. In school, growing up in Andover, Massachusetts Mary was always the dreamer and never the studier like her older sister Barbara. Barbara was very artistic growing up, but also had a mind for math and science. Mary on the other hand was more the athlete and not very good in math and sciences.

What she also did very well is cook. Beginning as a six year old, while Barbara was coloring or out playing with friends, Mary would watch her mother, Alice, and her mother, Sarah in the kitchen on Sunday after Church. In the beginning her Granny Sarah would give her a small piece of dough to knead and turn into her very own biscuit. Then she was helping make the vegetables and then, when she was 16, the two women came to Mary on a Monday and told her, she would be in charge of the following Sunday’s meal.

It was like you had told her she had won the lottery. All week she planned. Developing and then throwing out meal after meal until she finally settled on a roast with roasted rosemary red potatoes, a corn soufflé, snap peas sautéed in butter and her special biscuits. Mom told her she could shop and gave her the funds to do so. On Thursday, Mary asked Barbara for a ride to the store and the two girls went off shopping.

That Sunday, Mary could not sleep and was up at 5:00 am tinkering around the kitchen. As usual it would be the four Stewarts, Granny Sarah and Grandpa Ben, who lived across the street and Aunt Barbara and her husband Montgomery “Scooter” Haverford and their two children. Babs and Scooter had married in their thirties, and their children Scooter, Jr. and Margaret (who everyone called Muffy), were 10 years younger then their cousins. They lived in Cambridge, and would drive the 45 minutes to Andover for the family meal each Sunday.

The meal was a complete success and Mary was amazed at the satisfaction she felt cooking for others. It was on that day that she announced she was going to be a chef and own her own restaurant someday.

This was not what her parents had in mind. They expected her to go into business like her father who was an Executive VP at Prudential in the Professional Money Management division. Finance was the legacy of the Stewart family. Her paternal grandfather Wilson Stewart retired after 30 years running the Strategic Partners Mutual Fund at Prudential. Now in his eighty’s he and his wife of 60-years, Granny Missy, lived in Boca Raton, FL.

But Mary had made up her mind and during her junior year of college she applied to a number of schools and finally selected on The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia, where she concentrated on degrees in Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management.

Mary graduated at the top of her class and had offers from restaurants around the country and even a few in Europe. She accepted an offer to work at Oceana on State Street, overlooking the Boston Harbor allowing her the security of being in a city she knew intimately.

She rented a small apartment on Summer Street and began spending time with family and old friends once again. Then, six months later, at the International Seafood Show she met Paul Angelino.

Once they began dating, Paul made the trip to Andover to meet Mary’s family. The reception he got was a bit chilly especially from her uncle “Scooter” who kept asking questions about the Mafia and the show The Sopranos.

Paul’s family was a little warmer to Mary, though his Grandma Mary kept asking anyone who would listen “why the blonde was so skinny?”


When Mary turned to Paul, he was on one knee holding a beautiful 2-caret marquis diamond ring. She immediately began shaking her head and saying yes and the entire stadium erupted in applause, even though the groom-to-be was wearing a Yankee cap.

They were married on August 9th, 2003 at the Chapel at Andover Academy and then a large reception was held under tents in the Stewart’s backyard. Both families mingled during the wedding and it was written up in the Boston Globe.

For the last 3 years they had been living in a rental at the Back Bay Concierge on St. Alphonsus Street. It was small, but with two restaurants to run they didn’t spend a lot of time at home.

Now, standing in front of a Town Home that could possibly be theirs, shivers made their way up Mary’s spine. At that moment the front door opened and Paul introduced Mary to Chandler Wilkins the realtor. They toured the home and Mary was hooked.

The Town home was three stories. The front door was three steps up off the street. Once inside the outer front door you were in a small entry. The inside door opened into the first floor with a hall to the back of the home and the stairs to the second floor straight ahead.

The living room was to the left. It was 12’ x 20’ with a Bay window looking out onto the street. To the right was the formal dining area. It was approximately the same size as the living room and also had a large bay window allowing for plenty of light. They were happy to find out the sellers were including the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Further into the home was the kitchen. It was large, had plenty of windows along the back wall of the house looking out onto a small backyard. It had an open layout spanning the entire width of the home. The current owners had a small seating area to the left with a plasma TV hanging on the wall and the everyday table and chairs.

The kitchen had an oversized stainless steel refrigerator/freezer, an island with a prep sink, a stove with 5 burners and a grilling area. There were also 2 wall ovens and a deep fryer unit built into the counter. There was even a pass-thru into the Dining Room to help with serving. A perfect arrangement for two chefs.

The second floor had a den and three decent size bedrooms. The top floor was the master suite with matching walk-in closets and large bathroom which included a spa tube and shower with 12 jets built into the walls.

Later that evening they discussed the finances and Paul promised they could swing it. The next morning they made an offer a million below asking and it was accepted by mid-afternoon.

They closed and moved in on August 1st, 2006 and held a cocktail party two weeks later that was attended by over 100 friends and business associates.

Both the restaurants continued to do well and Paul was able to make his payments to Joey without a problem. The holidays were a special time as Paul and Mary found out a week before Christmas that Mary was pregnant and due in August of 2007. They celebrated with Mary’s parents and aunt and uncle and Paul’s mom and dad also flew up along with his sisters and their husbands and his niece Amelia who is seven and was worried Santa would not find her.

They were both disappointed that Mary’s sister, Barbara would not be able to make it home from California. Barbara and Mary had a falling out five years ago and had been circling each other since then. A few months ago Barbara called and something in her voice kept Mary from hanging up.

Mary could tell immediately there was something wrong with her baby sister, but Barbara was holding back. All she would say was that there had been a man in her life, but he turned out to be different then he appeared. Mary was not happy that she would have to wait a few months to find out the whole story, but also did not want to lose her sister again.

February 6, 2007 began like any other Tuesday for Paul. He was up at 4:00 am. to go down to the docks to pick out fish for the restaurants. On his way, he noticed a car behind him for a number of blocks but it turned just before the docks and headed toward the tunnel to the airport. After making his selections he headed over to South Street and the P&M Pub. There was more traffic on the roads now, but Paul could have sworn the silver Escalade he noticed in his rearview mirror was the same he saw earlier.

The day and evening went by quickly and Paul was exhausted at the end of the dinner service. On Tuesday’s Mary worked at Villa Maria, but they spoke on the phone a few times.

Now Paul got into the car and drove back to their new Town Home. When he pulled into his spot he saw a silver Escalade parked down the block.

Mary was home when he walked in and, as was their custom, they made a small drink and sat on the couch and discussed their day before heading to bed.

The next day, Paul spent most of the day on Newbury at Villa Maria going over the new menu with his head chef. That evening, Paul and Mary were due to visit Aunt Barbara and Uncle Scooter for dinner at their home. They normally did not stay away from the restaurants during the week, but this was Babs and Scooters Anniversary and was a do not miss event.

On the drive over Paul turned to Mary “I have to tell you, everywhere I look I see Silver Escalades. I am beginning to think maybe it is a sign that we should be buying one.” Oh Paul, why would you want a huge SUV in the city? I certainly have no interest in driving one,” Mary stated. They dropped the subject and had a great night at the party.

On the way home Mary yawned and then laughed. “What’s so funny gorgeous?” “Well, now I am being haunted by your SUV premonition, there is a Silver Escalade right behind us.” Paul had not noticed, but when he glanced in his rear view mirror a shiver went up his spine.

The Cadillac made a turn a few blocks later and Paul kept glancing in the mirror but saw no sign of the car again.

When they got home, they entered their home and went right up to the third floor and prepared for bed.

“Paul, I need some juice, do you want anything?” “No babe, I am fine, but you know, we really should have a small fridge up here for moments just like this.”

Mary laughed as she went down the stairs. Paul stood at the sink and brushed his teeth and washed his face. As he scrubbed the soap off, he heard a foot step on the stairs and rinsed the soap off.

He took the towel and dried his face. As he lowered the towel he looked in the mirror to see two masked men behind him in the bedroom. One was holding a gun to Mary’s temple and there was blood from a cut somewhere under her hairline. She was white and shaking and small sobs were muffled by the duct tape covering her mouth.

Paul turned, feeling even more powerless because he was standing in his boxer briefs and nothing more.

The intruder who was not holding the gun to Mary’s temple was also holding a pistol, which was pointing right at Paul’s belly.

“You don’t want to do anything stupid; your pretty wife here wouldn’t appreciate it.” With that his left hand flew out and slapped Mary across the mouth. Her head flew backward and her cries grew louder through her gag.

Paul moved forward quickly, but not quick enough as the gunman’s right hand with the gun came flying out catching Paul at the bridge of his nose. Blood spurted from his nose covering his chest and the floor where he had collapsed.

“I told you not to be a wiseass.” That was the last thing Paul heard as the gun came down on the back of his head and the world went dark...

An Original Work Of Fiction Copyright 2007 - V.E.M.
Any resemblance to actual people living or dead is purely coincidental.


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