From the crowd of spectators, a single man slipped away. He ran his fingers through his hair and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Reporters and curious bystanders pushed past from all directions, so the lone man was lost in the throng. The police would never see him, and he knew that, so he let himself move at a slow pace and used the time to take in the scene. Of course the reporters would be pressing to find out which family was responsible and the detectives would be unwilling to tell them, but that didn’t matter.

He already knew.

“Vincenzo.”

Vinny turned at the familiar baritone, spoken softly enough that he barely heard it above the bustle of the crowd. Another man was approaching him from across the street. He walked with an odd gait, leaning a bit more heavily on his right side. It was the only visible sign of his previous injuries from the fight with [i]them[/i] so long ago. The man stopped beside Vinny and let out a low whistle when he observed the crime scene.

“He sure did a number on the guy, he did.”

“Yeah, we shouldn’t stick around,” Vinny murmured in reply, narrowing his eyes as he watched the police. Their close proximity made him uncomfortable. He shifted his weight, tipping his chin up slightly to mask his agitation. “Come on, Antonio. Let’s bounce.” He grabbed the other man’s arm and gently steered him away from the murder scene. Antonio got the hint. He was fairly new to the “family,” but he was learning the cues quickly. That was why Vinny liked him, he supposed.

“Vincenzo.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“Um, right. [i]Vinny[/i], you don’t think they’ll figure it out, do you? The murder, I mean.”

“I doubt it,” Vinny frowned. The two mobsters were now far enough away from the action that he felt a bit more comfortable discussing the scene in the open. “They usually can’t tell the difference between Campione and Addario crimes. Even if they got that right, they would have to narrow it down to one of us. And if, by some miracle, they get that, then we can just disappear. You remember what I taught you, right?” Antonio gave a small nod. “Good. It’ll come in handy if the police start getting too close.”

Antonio let his silence be the answer to that, and the conversation ended. The two walked in reticence for a while until they came upon a small coffee shop. It wasn’t very well known and received very few customers anymore. Vinny found the quaint little place to be very peaceful. The two stepped inside, ordered coffee, and found places to sit at a table in the far back corner. Vinny could tell Antonio had more he wanted to say, but he wasn’t in the mood to discuss mafia life with him. Instead, Vinny kept his eyes fixed on the coffee shop door. It didn’t get many visitors, this was true, but the few it did get were often amusing characters.

Perhaps someone interesting would come in today.