Border City Blues 3-Book Bundle Page 17

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” said McCloskey.

  They made their way back along the line of cars. When they reached the Light Six, McCloskey told Locke what he saw at the back of the house. He speculated that Davies was diversifying his smuggling operation and might even be preparing to do battle with the coal strikers in Michigan.

  “So what do you think? Could you get some uniforms together and raid the place tonight?”

  “I don’t know, McCloskey.”

  McCloskey’s couldn’t believe it. “What do you mean? You saw the cases of liquor; you saw the boat. There were cars in the driveway that belonged to guys from my old outfit. What do you need? A written invitation? Permission from your mother?”

  Locke just sat there shaking his head, muttering Richard Davies’ name over and over again. McCloskey would continue poking until he hit the right nerve.

  “You’re telling me that since he has money, flies the flag, and looks good in a tux he should get off? What’s the matter, Locke? You only go after low-lifes like me? Does a little polish scare you?”

  The truth was that Locke was having difficulty reconciling these two sides of Richard Davies.

  “I’ll handle it myself,” said McCloskey.

  Locke snapped out of it. He wasn’t going to let McCloskey take control of this. “I’m going with you.”

  “All right, but don’t forget your badge and uniform. You’re going to need them this time.”

  — Chapter 29 —

  GET A WIGGLE ON

  Enjoy Some Hot Jazz Tonight

  Music! Oh, boy, hear the harmony when Johnnie Smith’s jazzy melody men play — you just have to dance — no resisting. Come on — bring your partner.

  There’s only one place to really enjoy dancing these summer evenings — that’s out in the cool lake breezes. You’ll feel you made a real discovery after one evening on the S.S. Rapids King.

  Charlie, Pearl, Pearl’s girlfriend Daisy, and Dexter, her blind date, arrived early so they could get seats on the top deck. Daisy and Dexter sat in the bench behind Pearl and Charlie. The girls were hanging over the side, cracking jokes and behaving like a couple of genuine jazz babies. Dexter pulled a flask out of his hip pocket.

  “Let’s get bent.”

  He unscrewed the cap, took a swig, and passed it to Charlie. Charlie almost choked.

  “Jesus, Dex, this is hooch.”

  “You’re spoiled, Charlie. You’ve been sampling too much of your boss’s liquor cabinet.”

  “Seriously, Dex, you don’t need to be drinking that stuff.”

  “As a matter of fact, I’m meeting somebody on the boat tonight that’s going to fix me up nice.”

  Charlie shook his head. Dexter was always trying to look like he knew his way around the block.

  “Hey, what’s all the boy talk? Ooh, can I have some?”

  Charlie handed Pearl the flask. She tilted it against her lips and made a face.

  “Euh — where’d you get the paint?”

  “All hail!” someone shouted.

  They were coming up on the corporate headquarters of Walker’s distillery empire. Everyone raised their arms and then lowered them toward the south shore. It was sacred ground over there.

  “God Save the King!”

  “The Maple Leaf Forever!”

  “Drink Canada Dry!”

  “Daisy, would you like a swig?”

  “No, thanks, Dex.”

  “She doesn’t touch the stuff,” said Pearl.

  Dexter’s face fell. The petals had just fallen off his precious flower.

  “She prefers her noodle juice.”

  Daisy nodded. Dexter shot Charlie a look. Charlie shrugged. Half a nautical mile into the journey and the evening was already a disaster. But Daisy sensed Dexter’s disappointment.

  “There’s other stuff I like,” she said.

  “Yeah, like what?”

  “Well,” said Daisy, “on hot, sunny days I like to sunbathe on the roof of my building and smoke reefer.”

  Dexter’s drink almost shot out of his nose. Good thing it didn’t; it would have killed his chances with Daisy. She had no time for men that couldn’t hold their liquor.

  Pearl could feel the music before she heard it. “The band’s started! Honey, I gotta dance.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Charlie got up and everyone got out of his way.

  “Daisy?”

  “Sure, Dex. Let’s went.”

  Pearl led them down the stairs. “Get a wiggle on, sister!”

  There was a crush of bodies at the bottom of the stairs and then everyone paired off on the dance floor. It was a foxtrot, a fast one.

  “Check out those two leading the struggle.”

  “Yeah, he’s a regular Oliver Twist.”

  Bodies were writhing and kicking to the rhythm. The brass in the band was ear-splitting at times and the drum beat hard in your chest. The crowd worked itself into a frenzy and every once in a while the girls would spontaneously start screaming. It was sheer joy and nobody wanted it to end. At the end of the first set there was a roar of applause.

  “Charlie, it’s time I go see a man about a horse.”

  Charlie rolled his eyes. “I’m telling you, Dex.”

  “Come along and you can be my spotter.”

  “Okay.”

  Charlie thought that was big of Dexter. He informed the girls they had a rendezvous.

  “Don’t be too long,” smiled Pearl.

  The girls watched them walk away.

  “So, Pearl, where’d you find this one?”

  “He’s the boss’s new Big Six.”

  Daisy’s eyes went big. “Messing around behind the boss’s back is one thing, Pearl, but with his number one guy?”

  Pearl’s smile turned upside down and she shifted her gaze to the kids on the dance floor.

  “You can’t expect to be able to get away with this for very long. Someone’s going to find out. And then what?”

  “Oh, Daisy, why do you have to be so reasonable?”

  “Reason has nothing to do with it. What goes around comes around, honey.”

  Daisy watched her girlfriend’s face get longer and longer. She was getting tired of being Pearl’s conscience all the time. She was obviously smitten by this guy. Daisy decided to play along.

  “So, is he from around here?”

  “No — he’s from up north somewheres. Okay, so I love telling this story: the boss was visiting one of his lumber mills and happened to be in the local watering hole when a fight broke out between Charlie and a lumberjack and Charlie wiped the floor with him and when he went to throw the bum out Charlie missed the door and threw him through a wall.”

  “Goodness,” gasped Daisy.

  “Yeah, the boss admired his skill and technique so he brought him down a couple weeks ago to add a bit of muscle to his front line.”

  “Sounds like his boss thinks very highly of him.”

  Pearl smiled. She thought highly of him too.

  “Oh, Jesus, don’t look now.”

  Pearl grabbed Daisy’s arm but it was too late.

  “How’s tricks, Pearl?”

  “Everything’s Jake, Petey. You?”

  “Just swell.”

  “Go figure.”

  Daisy looked to Pearl for an explanation. Pearl turned around, stuck two fingers down her throat, and crossed her eyes.

  “What are the odds, eh?” said Petey.

  “Not high enough, I’d say.”

  “You alone?”

  “No, Petey, I’m here with someone.”

  “Oh, yeah? Who?”

  “You don’t know him. Look, I think you oughtta just scram, Petey. My new beau’s very large and very jealous, like Montana but with a temper.”

  “But Pearl …”

  Petey couldn’t take a hint. Pearl was losing it.

  “But nothing! I gave you the icy mitt months ago, so why don’t you just drop your torch and go chase yourself.�
�

  “Aw, Pearl.”

  “I mean it, Petey, or me and my date here are going to toss you in the river.”

  “Your date?”

  “Yeah. I was just kidding about Montana. I got me a Northern Belle.”

  Pearl grabbed Daisy’s face, pushed her mouth against hers, and proceeded to perform a tonsillectomy. Someone nearby dropped a glass on the floor.

  “Ain’t she the bee’s knees?” said Pearl and she slapped Daisy on the bum. Daisy giggled.

  “You’re crazy, Pearl.”

  “Don’t knock it if you ain’t tried it, Petey.”

  The two girls went away arm in arm and nearly bust a seam laughing.

  “Take it or leave it,” the man said to Dexter.

  “Jeez, that’s a lot of mazuma.”

  “This isn’t a one-off, pal. I’m selling you a way in.”

  Charlie didn’t like the sounds of that. Dexter’s pleasure craft was drifting into some rough waters.

  “I just didn’t see it that way,” Dexter said.

  “I think we should forget it,” said Charlie.

  “Hey, why don’t you go take a flying leap?”

  “Let’s go, Dex,” said Charlie. He was trying not to embarrass his friend.

  “We’re not through negotiating,” said the dealer, grabbing Dexter’s arm.

  In a flash, Charlie grabbed the dealer firmly by the throat and threw him to the floor.

  “Yes, we are,” said Charlie.

  When Charlie saw him reach into his jacket, he grabbed the dealer’s wrist with one hand and the pistol with the other.

  “When you go back to Detroit, tell your boss he better ask for Jigsaw next time he wants to do business in the Border Cities.”

  Charlie threw the gun into the river and then he and Dexter calmly walked away. Pearl and Daisy found them stewing near the bow.

  “What’s eating you two?”

  “Nothing,” said Charlie.

  “C’mon, Daisy, let’s dance,” said Dexter.

  “Sure, sweetie.”

  “How about you, Sheba?”

  Pearl looked across the water at the Canadian shore. “I want to stay out here for a while.” She snuggled up against Charlie. “Isn’t that the boss’s place over there?”

  Charlie looked around and got his bearings. “Yeah.”

  Pearl ducked under one of Charlie’s arms and Charlie squeezed Pearl between himself and the rail. They gazed out at the big, sprawling house.

  “We could spend a weekend there next time he’s away on business. I get so bored at the Prince Eddie,” said Pearl.

  It was cool on the lake, so Charlie gave Pearl his coat. It was a small gesture but she was really touched by it. Fellows were always doing big things for her — whisking her away at the spur of the moment to exotic places, buying her jewellery, taking her to private clubs. It was fun and all, but these fellows seemed to forget how much a girl enjoyed the little things too, like holding hands, dancing on a river boat, or going out for Chinese food.

  “Charlie?” said Pearl, all teary-eyed.

  “Yeah?”

  “I think I’m starting to fall for you. Real hard.”

  Charlie gave Pearl a squeeze. He had been thinking about what Davies said to him earlier. Charlie felt that he himself was partly to blame for Pearl becoming a liability. He’d take her to his place tonight without letting on that there was trouble. Maybe by morning he would have a solution to their predicament. Right now all he wanted was this moment, the two of them adrift under the stars.

  “You ever heard the expression what goes around comes around, Charlie?”

  “Yeah, it means we all get a turn.”

  “Or people get what’s coming to them.”

  “That too. But I’m not worried.”

  “That means someone’s going down, though, doesn’t it?”

  Charlie knew where Pearl was going with that.

  “Baby, as long as you’re with me everything’s Jake.”

  “If you say so, Charlie.”

  “I say so.”

  — Chapter 30 —

  RECRUITING DRIVE

  10:28 p.m.

  McCloskey locked the door behind him and pulled out his revolver. The stairwell was pitch dark except for a tall sliver of light coming from the open door above. He ascended cautiously, listening. At the landing he eased open the door with his free hand.

  The light was coming from the windows facing the street, and the only sound he could hear was the drone of the ceiling fans. He made his way over to the Lieutenant’s office. The place had been frisked. There were papers everywhere, drawers pulled, pictures smashed on the floor, but no sign of Green. There was a noise on the roof.

  McCloskey ran out and stood motionless between two pool tables, waiting to hear it again. He noticed the door to the roof was also open a crack. He checked the windows along the alley and saw that one of them was propped open with a broken pool cue. He went over and lifted the windowpane just enough to free the stick then waved it around to see if he’d get a reaction. He didn’t.

  He slipped out the window onto the fire escape and then climbed the ladder attached to the side of the building to get a view of the roof. Green was standing behind a chimney, holding a gun and watching the door that led down to the pool hall. McCloskey threw the broken pool stick to the right of Green, who pivoted and fired. He looked nervous, dishevelled, possibly even drunk.

  “That you, Killer? I didn’t do it … it wasn’t me.”

  Green fired another shot. This time the bullet whistled right over McCloskey’s head. He needed to find a better way to get a read on Green. He made himself a moving target, travelling back and forth along the length of the fire escape.

  “Did what, boss?”

  “I didn’t give the order,” said Green.

  “I know. And this, tonight, Jigsaw set it all up.”

  Green popped his head over the edge of the building, gun in hand. McCloskey threw himself crashing through the nearest window and fell tumbling onto the pool hall floor. More shots were fired and plaster started raining down. McCloskey looked up and saw Green occupied with trying to spy him through the skylight, so he took the opportunity to run up the stairs to the roof.

  “Hey, boss.”

  Green jerked around. McCloskey already had his revolver fixed on him.

  “Whoa — you still got those quick hands, don’t you, Killer?” Green steadied himself. “So … how much?”

  “How much what?”

  “How much do you get for bumping me off?”

  McCloskey took a small step closer. “I’m not here to take you down, boss.”

  “What am I worth? C’mon, what’s Davies paying you?”

  Green pulled a handful of loose cash out of his pocket. It fell on the roof and some of it blew away. McCloskey took another step closer.

  “You must have the right blood flowing through your veins, Killer. Not like me. Though frankly I can’t see it. What are you? Half Irish and half … what?” Green laughed. “Polish? That won’t do. I’d watch my back if I were you.”

  Green rubbed his eyes and stumbled a bit. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He was starting to fade.

  “Let’s you and me go have a drink downstairs, boss, just like old times.”

  “There ain’t no more old times, Killer.”

  “I know you tried to save Billy and my pa. And I know why you sent me to Hamilton.”

  “Didn’t do any good. When you came to the house after Billy got shot, Davies telephoned to say he was coming. He told me there were going to be some changes. He told me he was going to clean things up. I knew what he meant.”

  “We could go into business together, boss, buy another couple of pool halls, maybe a hotel. We could build that oasis you used to talk about.”

  McCloskey inched closer and Green sprang to attention.

  “Not so fast, Killer.”

  “Boss, I’m only trying to —”

  “You’r
e not taking me without a fight. I’m gonna do something I was supposed to do a long time ago.”

  In the split second before the hammer hit the shell, McCloskey reacted and fired his own gun, grazing Green’s hand. Green’s gun went off and he stumbled backwards into the skylight, shattering it, and landing with a great deal of commotion onto the pool table directly below. Feeling a sudden chill in the air, McCloskey looked around the rooftops. He guessed Jigsaw had made arrangements for the cops to pick up whoever was left standing at the pool hall. He threw himself down the fire escape and hit the alley running.

  When he reached the British-American he telephoned Locke and told him he had no choice but to organize a raid on Davies and his black-tie bootleggers. In turn, McCloskey said, he would assemble a team to take down Jigsaw and his gang.

  “Meet me here in an hour.”

  McCloskey started his recruiting drive at the British-American. He cornered some fellows in the bar and knocked on a few doors upstairs but had no luck. Anyone that was willing to talk claimed loyalty to Jigsaw. That included Twitch, an old infantry buddy.

  “Otherwise, you’re nuts.”

  “That so?”

  “Yeah. Jigsaw’s tight with the Captain. If you were smart you would be too.”

  “Guess I ain’t so smart.”

  McCloskey went over to the Crawford, where he heard the same line from a variety of other characters. Ditto at the Imperial and the International. He had shown his hand. There was no turning back now. Not knowing exactly why, he returned to the pool hall.

  He was surprised to see Green’s body still lying on the blood-soaked table. The framework of the skylight was twisted under his body, forcing it into a hideous contortion. McCloskey heard shoe leather on broken glass and swung his revolver towards a shadow in the corner.

  “Take it easy, Killer. It’s me.”

  McCloskey lowered his gun and took a deep breath. “Jesus, Shorty, I thought it was Jigsaw.”

  “Jigsaw’s already been through here with a couple of uniforms. I was at the Imperial when you came by.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “How could I?” Shorty gestured at the pool table and the body. “This your handiwork?”