“Hey Sonny,â€? I said, offering him a stool with a gentle nudge. “Everything cool?â€?

“So what was the score?â€? he replied. “I missed the action.â€?

“Six guys,â€? I said, setting the scene. “Down on their luck, needing a big score. They watch a private school, rich folk stuff, waiting for an easy mark.

“‘Any kid from this school has rich folks and any kid will make a good ransom token,’ is what they think. But the second they snatched and grabbed, their lives were over; they had grabbed Louie’s kid.â€?

“That I knew,â€? Sonny said, his eyes darting around my face, defining my features. “But what about the explosion, the dead…â€?

“I’m gettin’ to that,â€? I said, politely interrupting him. “They realize who they’ve got, they know what their lives are worth. If they return the kid, it’s all over. They decide to go ahead with the plan, only two of them have another idea.â€?