Read The Payback Game for Free Online

didn’t look too happy when she left.”
    Boff shrugged. “I guess she got irritated with me.”
    “What a shock.”
    “She’s going to set up a meeting with the dead cop’s partner for me and Cassidy.”
    “I’ll go along.”
    “No, you won’t. Hannah’s also coming, so it’s already going to be a crowd scene.” Boff pushed off the wall. “I hear my son whacked Mikey in the balls.”
    Cullen nodded. “Yeah, and he rabbit-punched him, too. Steven’s a dirty fighter. I can’t imagine who he got that trait from.”

Chapter 6
     
    Detective Eddie Galvani didn’t want to be seen with Boff at his precinct, so he told Hannah to go to the Prospect Park Bandshell and wait for him there. Boff, Cassidy, and the redhead arrived early and took seats facing the bandshell, where workmen were setting up sound equipment and lights for that night’s concert.
    Boff took out his phone and was about to call his wife when he saw a well-built man in his early forties wearing a loose-fitting suit heading their way. He had seen enough cops to know this was one. He put his phone away.
    Detective Galvani walked over and sat down closest to Cassidy. His face, Boff thought, looked tense and irritated. Gee, another hostile cop. What a surprise . In an attempt to lighten things up, he smiled cordially and said, “Well, detective, you picked a scenic spot for a meeting.”
    “I can’t be seen with you, Boff.”
    “Why not? I’m a law-abiding citizen.”
    Galvani ignored that and turned to Cassidy. “It’s a privilege meeting you. I was a big fan of yours. So was my dad. He was a sergeant in the 83 rd . Anthony Galvani.”
    “Name sounds familiar,” Cassidy said. “Galvani…Galvani….” He snapped his fingers. “Got it! The Bushwick tenement fire. Your old man heard screams coming from the building. The fire department hadn’t gotten there yet, so he raced inside and carried out two small kids. I wrote a good piece on that.”
    Galvani smiled. “Your story is framed on the wall in Dad’s den. He’s retired from the Force now. Works in corporate security.”
    The detective leaned over and shook Cassidy’s hand. Then he looked at Boff again. “I only agreed to meet with you out of respect for Mike. Hannah told me Mike hired you to find Nicky Doyle’s killer. She and Mike believe Doyle’s murder was related to my partner’s death. As I told her already, I have no reason to think Patrick was murdered. Or what you expect to find out from me. But for Mike, I’ll suffer your questions.”
    Even though Boff was used to cops giving him attitude, this guy seemed to be getting under his skin faster than most. He decided to set the detective up for a high, hard one. “How many years were you partnered with Maloney?” he asked.
    “Three in the 71 st . Before that, we were partners in Brooklyn South Narcotics for five years.”
    “Why’d you transfer?”
    Before replying, Galvani took out a pack of cigarettes, shook one out, and lit up. After inhaling and blowing smoke close to Boff’s face, he said, “You have any idea, pal, of what it’s like being an undercover narc?”
    “Actually, pal , I do. I knew quite a few of them in the DEA.”
    “Then you’re aware it’s the riskiest job a law officer can take. Every day you’re living a lie in the field. One slip up and you might buy the farm. The upside is it speeds your progress in becoming a detective.” He took another drag on the cigarette and this time blew it out in a different direction. “As soon as we got our gold shields, Patrick and I transferred to the 71 st .”
    “Did you see each other off the job?”
    “Yes.”
    “A lot?”
    “Yes.”
    Time to let my zinger fly . “Given how close you and your partner apparently were, I find it hard to believe you didn’t notice something was troubling him before he was killed.”
    Boff’s words had the desired result. Galvani snapped at him. “You saying I lied to Hannah?”
    Boff shook his head. “Not at