The Gangster

1
Little Sicily, New York City
Elizabeth Street between Prince and Houston
The Black Hand Block
 
 
The Black Hand locked twelve-year Maria Vella in a pigeon coop on the roof of an Elizabeth Street tenement. They untied the gag so she wouldn t suffocate. Not even a building contractor as rich as her father would ransom a dead girl, they laughed. But if she screamed, they said, they would beat her. A vicious jerk of one of her glossy braids brought tears to her eyes.
            She tried to slow her pounding heart by concentrating on the calmness of the birds. The pigeons murmured softly among themselves, oblivious to the racket from the slum, undisturbed by a thousand shouts, a piping street organ, and the thump and whirr of sewing machines. She could see through a wall of wooden slats that admitted light and air that the coop stood beside the high parapet that rimmed the roof. Was there someone who would help her on the other side? She whispered Hail Marys to build her courage.
            . . . Santa Maria, Madre di Dio,
            prega per noi peccatori,
            adesso e nell'ora della nostra morte.
            Coaxing a bird out of her way, she climbed up on its nesting box, and up onto another until she glimpsed a tenement across the street draped with laundry. Climbing higher, pressing her head to the ceiling, she could see all the way down to a stretch of sidewalk four stories below. It was jammed with immigrants. Peddlers, street urchins, women shopping, not one of them could help her. They were Sicilians, transplanted workers and peasants, poor as dirt, and as frightened of the authorities as she was of her kidnappers.

Clive Cussler is the author or coauthor of over fifty previous books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA® Files, Oregon® Files, Isaac Bell, and Sam and Remi Fargo. His nonfiction works include Built for Adventure: The Classic Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt, and Built to Thrill: More Classic Automobiles from Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt, plus The Sea Hunters and The Sea Hunters II; these describe the true adventures of the real NUMA, which, led by Cussler, searches for lost ships of historic significance. With his crew of volunteers, Cussler has discovered more than sixty ships, including the long-lost Confederate ship Hunley. He lives in Colorado and Arizona.
 
Justin Scott s novels include The Shipkiller and The Man Who Loved The Normandie; the Ben Abbott detective series; and modern sea thrillers published under the pen name Paul Garrison. He is the coauthor with Cussler of seven Isaac Bell novels. Scott lives in Connecticut.

Praise for The Gangster

Cussler s thrilling ninth Isaac Bell adventure pits Bell against Antonia Branco, who s outwardly a respectable New York City businessman, but is in fact a ruthless crime boss . . . A fascinating and suspenseful plot. Publishers Weekly

As usual, the latest Bell thriller combines a vivid historical environment with a top-notch story and enjoyable, realistic characters. Bell, the detective whose nimble intellect often gets him out of tight situations, is one of Cussler s most engaging protagonists, and the series remains fresh and exciting. Booklist

Cussler has written another wonderful historical thriller. The action is fast and thoroughly enjoyable. Library Journal

Praise for the Isaac Bell Novels

Cussler and Scott have written another wonderful page-turner. This is historical action-adventure fiction at its rip-roaring best! Library Journal (starred review)

As always in this series, the novel is very exciting, with excellent pacing and some very well-drawn characters. Cussler is a perennial A-lister, popularity-wise, and his Isaac Bell novels are the pick of his prodigious litter. Booklist

The Isaac Bell series is a fun jaunt into America s past and the books are a wonderful examination of life in the early twentieth century. Associated Press

The Assassin is . . . action-movie-paced entertainment. Kirkus Reviews