Vinny's Luck

“What did you do?” Vinny could not take his eyes off of the scene before him.

Carl ignored the comment. “Just get the book.”

“I ain’t touching him.” Vinny continued to stare.

Eddie laughed, though the faulter in his smile showed how nervous he was. “You afraid of a little blood Vin?”

“Nah, but that’s Manny lying there…or it was Manny anyway.”

Carl turned to Eddie. “You get it then.”

Eddie’s smile dropped. “Why can’t you get it?”

“Because I’m the one that killed him.” Carl held up the still bloody knife before walking over to the kitchen counter and grabbing a dish towel. His eyes narrowed. “Don’t make me ask again.”

Although Carl’s voice stayed calm and soft, it shook Eddie to the core. He had just killed their friend in cold blood, who’s to say he would stop at one?

“Alright, alright. I’ll get it.” Eddie hesitated, but crept his way towards Manny’s corpse.

Vinny still stood frozen, trying to piece together the events of that night.

Eddie reached down and opened Manny’s bloodstained green jacket. There in the inside pocket, was Manny’s black leather-bound notebook. Its contents holding the motive for his murder.

“Sorry Man.” Eddie looked at Manny’s lifeless brown eyes for a moment before handing the little book over to Carl.

Snatching the book from Eddie’s hand, Carl walked to the other side of the room flipping through the pages. He knew Manny often acted eccentric. He talked a lot and always had a scheme going on, but Carl had no idea that annoyance would translate into his writings. As he flipped through the book, he grew more frustrated.

“What is it Carl?” Vinny took his eyes off of Manny for the first time.

“I can’t make sense of this crap.”

Eddie put his hand out. “Lemmie look at it.”

Carl handed the book back and swiped a hand through his greasy dark hair.

Vinny clenched his fist. “Don’t tell me you killed Manny for nothing.”

Carl’s attention went back; eyes landing on Vinny’s. “No, now you listen here. We’re finding that twenty-grand.” He walked closer. “This ain’t gonna be a problem for you is it?”

“Don’t threaten me, Carl. I’m not letting you get my blood on your hands too. I think one is enough, don’t you?”

Carl continued to glare, but stepped off.

“It’s here.”

Carl and Vinny looked over at the blonde wide-eyed man.

“What do you mean? Manny never kept cash in his house. He didn’t want something like this to happen, not with the enemies he’s made.” Carl shook his head.

“So instead, his best friends knock him off. That’s irony there isn’t it?” Vinny huffed.

Carl ignored that. “Where is it then?”

Eddie scanned the pages. “Not sure exactly, but here he says he’s keeping this one close. How close could he get unless it’s here somewhere?”

Carl grabbed the book back. “And that’s it, nothing else?”

Eddie shook his head.

“Well gents let’s start lookin’ then.”

They began to tear the apartment apart. All the while Vinny could not help but look back at the bloody mess on the floor. The events of the night replaying in his head…

“Who wants a beer?” Manny shuffled his friends in with a look of glee on his face.

“You sure look happy Man, finally get lucky?” Carl grabbed a beer.

Manny sat down at his squeaky kitchen table, but jumped right back up again. “You bet your ass I did. Finally picked the right horse, the right fight, and the right game. Can you believe it?”

“You tellin’ me you won three bets in one day?” Eddie leaned forward at the tan table.

“Twenty big ones, fellas! I finally made it!

“Well damn Man, good for you.” Vinny held up his beer to cheer him. “What are you planning to do with all that cash?”

“Finally get myself outta the city for a while. Find a nice tropical island to kick up my boots, maybe find an island girl, and maybe never come back.” Manny laughed.

“Twenty-Grand could do a lot for the right person.” Carl had a look that Vinny wished he recognized at the time.

The man’s dark features seemed to grow darker. Vinny could tell gears were turning in the man’s head, but he had no idea what thoughts swirled around. He had no idea at the time that in a few minutes their friend would be dead on the floor. Vinny wished he would have thought harder on that look, but if he were honest; would knowing have made any difference? Vinny wondered if he would have had the guts to stand up and stop Carl. To let Manny leave town forever with his winnings, living in paradise while the rest of them suffered through their mundane lives. A few thousand dollars each could really help them out. Vinny had a family, he could pay on his mortgage, maybe buy the girls some nice things. Carl was divorced and in debt; his ex took everything and now he had to pay child support. Eddie…Eddie owes a lot of people a lot of money, that would help keep a couple of those guys off his back. Out of all of them Manny was the best off. He was single, and pretty lucky when it came to bets. He rarely bet more than he had, and he almost always won a little. A man of simple means, but a little paranoid, which let to why he tended to squirrel his money away. Hiding his winnings in random places. He was not rich, but he did not need that money like the rest of them did. So maybe Vinny did notice that look. Maybe he saw what Carl was planning the whole time, and maybe he sat back and let it happen.

Carl downed his beer, and Manny being the good host, noticed. “You want another one?”

A curt nod was all Manny got and when he got up to go to the fridge, he did not notice Carl get up after him. He did not notice the big man make his way to the kitchen counter where he grabbed the biggest knife Manny had. It was sitting on a towel. Just sitting there out in the open. He held the object in his hand for a moment, it felt heavy in his hands, but when Manny turned around, he barely had time to react.

“What are you-”

The knife went in fast and hard. Right in the sternum at an upward angle. It happened so quick no one could do anything but stare in shock. Manny most of all. The beer bottle slipped out of his hand and shattered onto the floor. A gasped gurgle made its way out of Manny’s throat. The only sound able to escape as his best friend betrayed him. Eddie and Vinny just watched, not sure what they were looking at yet. Carl never let go of the knife, and when Manny fell, the now blood-soaked weapon was visible in his hand. Manny bled out faster than the others had time to help, his blood mixing into the brown carbonation all over the floor. Not that they really tried, they stood frozen wrapping their heads around what had just occurred. They stared at the scene for too long. Vinny spoke first.

“What did you do?”

What were they doing? They were looking through all of Manny’s things to try and find his cash. As Vinny rifled through Manny’s books, he stopped, knowing they had no right to do this. Vinny sighed, the whole endeavor was pointless anyway, Manny never kept cash at home. He hid his stashes all around the city. Random lockers, safety deposit boxes, anywhere the average person could not just find. He was too paranoid to keep anything at home. He had been robbed before; three thousand dollars gone. He kept his little black book with him wherever he went. Inside were the locations and amounts of everything he had, but they were all written in a code only he understood. The twenty-grand was the only one different. The only one with no details. It had to be there, somewhere.

Vinny remembered once when they were drunk at the bar. Manny had won six hundred dollars at the track, and he celebrated by spending a good chunk on drinks for anyone that happened to show up that night. When things were dying down the two were talking at the bar, both drunk, but still with it.

“I think you spent your winnings on everyone here, Man.” Vinny laughed.

Manny shooed it off. “Nah, I still got enough to get me by until the next win.”

From his pocket, Manny pulled out his little black book.

Vinny tried to focus his eyes on the small book, but could not make it out. “Whatcha writing Manny?”

“Gotta remember where I put what’s left, or else I’ll forget by tomorrow”

Vinny laughed again. “Where you gonna hide cash from that race if you get it?”

A sly smile spread across Manny’s face. “Sometimes Vin, it’s best to keep things close. Particularly some place that no one wants to go…speaking of which, I gotta take a piss.”

Vinny’s eyes widened. That’s it. Manny made his way to the bathroom and shut the door. He stood there for a moment before checking the cabinets, vents, and the light fixtures. He almost gave up when he stopped and looked at the toilet. A place no one wants to go. Vinny moved the small objects off the back of the toilet, A crossword with a pencil on top and a candle that had never been lit; a candle his mother made him put in the bathroom for “aesthetic”. Oh God, Manny’s mother. Who would tell her that her son has been murdered? Shaking away those thoughts, Vinny took off the lid of the tank, careful not to draw attention from the others. He knew finding the money there would be a long shot, but before he even sat the ceramic lid down, he saw it. There in the water sat an envelope wrapped in plastic, sitting in another plastic bag. Grabbing a towel, Vinny took the bag out of the water and dried it off. He ripped open the plastic and there inside the envelope was Manny’s winnings. Twenty-Thousand dollars. His heart pumped heavy in his chest. He found it.

“Vinny! Where’d you go?”

Carl and Eddie had ransacked the entire apartment, with no luck. Carl never saw where Vinny went, but he stood close to the bathroom when the sound of the toilet flushing caused him to turn. Vinny came out drying off his hands, but stopped when the two stared.

“What? When you gotta go.”

Carl rolled his eyes. “Any luck?”

Vinny shrugged. “I don’t think it’s here. Like we said, Manny never kept his cash here. I think it’d be better to try and decipher that book. Figure out where he hid all his cash around town and hope to find it on the way.

“Yeah, maybe…” Carl looked at the book again.

“You’re gonna do it without me though.” Vinny glanced at the kitchen. “I can’t be a part of this Carl. This is where we part ways, and of course I ain’t saying nothing about this to no one, but I can’t be around you anymore after this. I hope you find that dough, I really do, at least then it’ll all be worth it…at least I hope it will be. You killed our best friend tonight, and all you care about is that money. Have a good life.”

With that, Vinny turned around and walked out the door. He patted his coat pocket and smiled a little.

“Thanks for this Manny.”