Gennaro and Alvarado burst through the
door.
A foul odor
permeated the basement shop. They spotted Marie Rinaldi hanging motionless on
the closet door, most of the clothes torn from her body. Then they saw why.
Luis staggered to his knees. The sight
of two cops aiming guns at him caused him to break into a wide grin. "I
din' hurt her that bad. Your cop, she still alive." Then he meekly raised
his arms.
The sight and words filled Frank Gennaro
with such malice that his mind released its control over his body and let it do
what no law permitted --- the killing of an unarmed man. His index finger
squeezed the trigger of his 9mm Glock 19 Auto Pistol. It didn't let go until he
had emptied half the
magazine, eight rounds, into Rinaldi's assailant from point-blank range.
The spent shells landed noiselessly on the floor, cushioned by a thick layer of
sawdust.
Alvarado bent over to examine the body.
"This piece of shit
won't be bothering anyone
any-more." Then, he eased Detective Rinaldi's weapon toward Luis's hand
with the toe of his boot....