Watch Your Back

by Sherilyn Decter

  Howard stands, hands clasped, staring down at the headstone. “Well, I can’t think of anything more to say, except I’ll make sure she and Tommy are looked after. And I guess I’ll be seeing you soon.”

  Howard sets his hat back on his head, turns, and walks away.

  Chapter 53

  H ow am I going to tell Maggie? Frank is pacing in front of Maggie’s house. This will destroy her.

  After Sunday dinner, Maggie closed the living room drapes and spies Frank pacing on the sidewalk. She heads to the front door and opens it. Inspector? What are you doing outside? Won’t you come in?”

  “Maggie. Can you get your coat and join me on the porch? I need to talk to you, and I want to safeguard our conversation against interruptions.”

  With her coat wrapped around her, Maggie sits in the wicker chair across from Frank. “Brr, it’s freezing out here. You know, next time let’s use my bedroom if we need privacy. It’s warmer. What do you want to talk to me about?”

  “Maggie, is Tommy home?”

  “He’s in his room studying for a test. Why?”

  “I have news, and I’m not sure how to tell you, so I’m just going to blurt it out. I saw Tommy with Mickey Duffy at the warehouse. They looked quite chummy.”

  “Tommy? Mickey? Chummy? Surely you’re mistaken, Inspector.”

  “I’m afraid not. From the looks of it, they have quite an established friendship—“

  “Friendship? No, that’s not possible. They barely know each other.”

  “Believe me, Maggie. I followed them for quite some time. They spent Saturday together and, from the sounds of it, it’s not the first time. In fact, it sounds like a regular thing. I wanted to make sure before I told you.”

  Maggie shakes her head, stunned. “I can’t believe it. Why would Tommy and Mickey be friends? Sure, he knows Edith. She’s been here a lot, and gives him all these extravagant presents, but Mickey? And at the warehouse? Was Edith there, too?”

  “No, Edith wasn’t there. It was just Mickey and Tommy, and sometimes that Eddie Regan fellow that filled Bricker’s spot and seems to have taken over from Henry Mercer.”

  “Impossible. What am I going to do?” Frank waits while Maggie absorbs the news. “No wonder he’s been acting so strange lately. Mickey is a horrible, evil man. What should I do? If I confront Tommy, he’ll deny it. Do you think he’ll run to Mickey? Inspector, what if he runs away? No, I talk to Mickey. Have it out with him. Oh my goodness, Tommy hanging around with gangsters. And I was worried about newsboys. I’ll tell Mickey to leave him alone, but he’ll just laugh at me. He won’t listen to me.”

  “He will if you have something he wants more than Tommy. Don’t go see him without something to bargain with. You have something he wants: information. You know who stole his books. And he has something you want: Tommy.”

  “Yes. That’s exactly how I’ll do it.” Maggie is nodding, her chin tucked into her coat.

  “Of course, there are consequences.” Frank lets the word hang there. Maggie looks at him quizzically, realization dawning.

  “If I tell Mickey about Max Hassel, he’ll kill him. I’ll be responsible,” Maggie says in a whisper.

  “I think that there’s a very good likelihood that will happen.”

  “Maybe I can talk to Mickey and not mention Max or the theft. Maybe Mickey will listen to reason.”

  “Less of a likelihood, but certainly a good place to start. But be prepared to finish if you need to.” Frank waits and watches her work through this frightening dilemma.

  “I don’t see any way around it, Inspector. My loyalty has to be to Tommy. I don’t even know Max Hassel.”

  “Even the death of a stranger has consequences, my dear. Just be sure.”

  Chapter 54

  “H ow dare you?” Maggie glares at Mickey. For the first time, she’s in his hotel suite. When she had first arrived, her fist banging on the door, he had cleared the room. He knew this day of reckoning would come. What had started out as a bit of a mischievous lark has grown into something he values and wants to protect.

  “How dare you be spending time with Tommy.”

  “I don’t think I need to explain myself to you, Maggie Barnes.”

  “There is absolutely no way you can justify this. You are a corrupt devil, Mickey Duffy, and I won’t have Tommy anywhere near you. Everything you touch becomes contaminated. Infected.”

  Mickey winces. “It started when I stepped in and saved your boy from another beating. Don’t I get any credit for that?”

  “And I thanked you for it. But now it’s got to stop.”

  “He was hanging around anyway. He followed that Jimmy kid here. Jimmy is working as a runner for a bookie I know.”

  “You’ve ensnared Jimmy, too? What do you do, specialize in corrupting young boys?”

  “Hardly. Stop and sit for a minute. Your pacing and shouting is giving me a headache.”

  Maggie sits without a break in her poisonous glare at Mickey.

  “With Jimmy, I gave him a job and money in his pockets. A boy like him without an education, what else is he going to do? Work in the mills?”

  “Jimmy’s not in school anymore?”

  “You’ve lost touch. Jimmy never started school in September. He’s been working as a runner for me since summer. Tom hung around and I offered him a job on Saturdays. The first job didn’t work out. He’s not cut out for that life, but he’s a good kid, and a smart kid. I told him to stick with school.”

  “You offered him a job? So he’s not been down at the library studying like he told me he was?”

  Micky snorts. “Mothers. Gosh, you’re a gullible lot. No. every Saturday he’s here. He does odd jobs for me. Runs errands. None of the rough stuff. I make sure of that.”

  “I guess I’m supposed to be thankful for small mercies.”

  “Maggie, Tom’s growing up. He wants to be a man. You should let him make his own decisions.”

  “If this is the quality of those decisions, I don’t think he’s ready to fly the nest just yet. Will you send him away?”

  “No, I won’t. If he wants to go, then sure. But it has to be his decision. If he wants to be here, then he stays. It’s up to him.”

  Maggie shudders. She’s not going to abandon her boy to a man like Mickey Duffy without a fight. Closing her eyes, she says a brief prayer.

  Forgive me, Mr. Hassel.

  “Let me put my cards on the table, Mickey. I want you to tell Tommy to stay away. And I came prepared to make it worth your while.”

  “A bribe, Maggie? How extraordinary. What do you have that I want, besides Tom I mean?” Mickey leers, bending toward her.

  Maggie leans across the coffee table and slaps his face. “That’s for even thinking that, and for what you’ve done to Tommy.”

  Mickey grins, rubbing his cheek. “So, what do you have for me?”

  “I know who took your papers.”

  Mickey sits back, amusement wiped from his face. He regards her silently.

  “Do I have your agreement that you’ll leave Tommy alone?”

  “You expect me to believe that you, with all your high-and mighty ways, are going to turn into a snitch?” Mickey scoffs.

  Maggie stares back.

  “Those ideals you wrap yourself in don’t amount to much when it’s someone you love, do they?” he says.

  Maggie continues to sit stone faced.

  “And the information is good?”

  “Yes.”

  “Until he’s a grown man. And then he’ll make his own decisions.” Mickey waits for her decision. If he has to give Tom up, maybe it won’t be forever.

  Maggie extends her hand. “I want your word, Mickey Duffy. Shake on it, then.”

  The two stand, reaching across the coffee table to shake hands and cement their arrangement. A bargain with the devil.

  They both resume their seats. “All right, Maggie. Out with it. Who stole my books?”

  “Max—“

  Mickey
slams his hands down on the table. “I knew that bastard Hoff was behind it.”

  “—Hassel.”

  Mickey jerks his head up and stares at her. “What? Max Hassel stole my books? Why the hell would he do that?”

  “Because Monaghan had him in a bind. He was going to indict him and, with the tax issue he had last year, this would have sent him away for a while. And taken all his money. He needed leverage. They already had lots on Boo-Boo Hoff, so Max offered up you.”

  “That bastard. Skurwysyn. I’ll kill him.” Mickey gets up and walks to the window, hands gripped tightly behind him, staring at nothing.

  Maggie waits a minute, then gets up quietly and lets herself out. Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails, with salvation on one side and, in this case, Max Hassel stamped on the other. I tossed. He lost.

  Chapter 55

  A fter leaving Mickey at the Ritz, Maggie decides she needs exercise and distraction. Walking to the office will clear my head. It isn’t every day I condemn a man to die. But at least Tommy will be safe.

  Maggie, sitting at her desk at the office, immerses herself in paperwork. It’s totally absorbing. She’s trying to sort out receipts for one of her father’s clients who runs a restaurant. As far as she can tell, he’s got a lot of spoilage happening. Either that, or there’s food walking out the back door.

  Her father, Howard, knocks on the open door to get her attention, and then comes in and sits down. “How’s it going? Making any headway?”

  “He definitely has a problem. But I was thinking he should also make some long term supply arrangements for his staples and canned goods. He’d get a much better price, and it would help smooth out some of the fluctuations he has with fresh produce and meat. The market prices are killing him.”

  “Good thought. We can talk with him together. His wife is very involved in the kitchen. How about we bring her into it, as well? I’ll have Ron set something up for the four of us. Will you be ready for the end of the week?”

  Maggie eyes the stacks of invoices and slips of paper on her desk. “Maybe early next week. I’ve got a few things at home that I need to deal with as well as this.”

  “Anything I can help with?”

  “It’s Tommy, actually. He’s been hanging around with the wrong crowd. I want to make sure he’s kept busy.”

  “I remember that age. Not a boy and not a man. Keep him busy? That’s what fishing was invented for. It’s a little late in the season to enjoy a day on the boat. And it’s too cold for golf and tennis. How about I take him to the museum? Would he like something like that?”

  “That would be great. He loves natural history, ancient civilizations, and all that kind of stuff.”

  “Great. We’ll make a day of it. How about this Saturday?” Maggie smiles at him gratefully. “You know, Maggie, you’ve done a great job with him. He’ll make the right decisions. Not to worry.”

  “Thanks, Father. I do worry. Consequences of making bad decisions as he gets older are bigger, especially if he starts running with the wrong sort of people. I want him to go to Boys’ Central High School next year, and it’s really tough to get in.”

  “I know a few people over there. I can make some phone calls. I’m a legacy student, so that should count for something.”

  “There is an issue about a suspension on his school transcript that could cause some problems.”

  “Oh pish, not to worry. I play tennis with the Superintendent. I’m sure we can get them to overlook it.”

  “It would mean a lot to Tommy, too. We went and toured the observatory when it first opened. He was so excited by the science. I’ve never seen him like that about school before.”

  “It’s the best school. And graduates walk through open doors to all the best universities. Leave it with me, and we’ll make sure he’s there in the fall.”

  “Thank you, Father. For everything.”

  “And thank you, Maggie. For everything. I want you to know what a good job you’re doing here. Your accounting skills are excellent and the clients adore you. And trust you, which is even more important.”

  “Why, thank you, Father. Remember when I used to sit in your office while you worked? You’d give me columns to add, and I felt so important. There is something very satisfying about bringing order to chaos.” Maggie gives her desk a sweep of her hand, taking in the piles of invoices and receipts.

  “I never think of it like that. I think accounting is like music. Lots of notes that need to be organized into a melody.”

  “Father, I had no idea you were so poetic.”

  Howard chuckles. “Neither did I. Now, I’ll let you get back to it. There’s a mountain of paperwork to scale there.”

  Chapter 56

  “W hatcha gonna do about Hassel?” Henry, sitting on the couch in Mickey’s suite at the Ritz, leans forward. Since he arrived, Mickey’s been pacing back and forth, teetering on the edge. Henry is totally focused on Mickey, willing him to retain control. He doesn’t acknowledge Eddie, sprawled in the chair, looking like a giant spider hungry for lunch.

  “This guy doesn’t carry a gun, right? How about a hit? A drive by? Cement overshoes in the river? We could throw a stick of dynamite in his car while he’s driving.” Eddie rolls off a shopping list of possible assassination methods. Henry stares him down, disgusted that he seems to be urging Mickey on.

  “How about we take the brewery?” Mickey says, stopping.

  Henry feels like standing and cheering. A rational thought. Yes. “It is a nice little operation, and you’ve always wanted a brewery,” Henry says, nodding.

  “And then we rub him out?” Eddie asks.

  Henry turns to Mickey, watching to see how he’ll react.

  Mickey considers the options. He comes over and sits down with Henry and Eddie.

  Henry is tired of the bloodshed. He’s seen Chicago and what happens when the king goes mad. He reinforces the merits of the brewery idea, desperate not to lose the Mickey he knows. “You paid off the judges, right? Monaghan and the Grand Jury are no threat right now. What about if you take the brewery, but get Hassel to run it?”

  “When do we knock him off? Aren’t we gonna’ knock him off?” Eddie looks between Henry and Mickey.

  “Remember that time back in Gray’s Ferry? You got that kid who was always knocking over the old soldier who’d lost his legs. You cornered the punk and made him get the old gaffer a cart and pull him around in it. A win for the old guy. And what about that other time? Jackie Dolan was stealing apples. You trained him up to be a pick-pocket. The kid had a gift. Ya got him working for us. He knew the territory. He knew the marks. He made us a nice chunk of change, Mick.”

  Looking at Henry, Mickey smiles. “Those were the days, eh? We were a couple of dangerous fellas. Kings of the neighborhood.”

  “Still are, Mick. Still are. Hassel knows the business. He’s like Jackie Dolan—he could make us a pile of dough. And he has other breweries you might be interested in.”

  “Aw, come on, Mickey. That would be for dopes. He stole a bunch of papers from ya. He gave them to the cops so that you’d go to jail. We need to plug him.” Eddie is leaning forward, eyes glittering.

  Henry also leans forward. “More useful to you alive than dead, Mick. Remember the kid and the vet. There are other ways to make things right. There’s a lot of profit in breweries. Prohibition won’t last forever. You could be sitting pretty. And he does have those other breweries. And customers. Maybe you get more than one. He does owe ya.”

  Sitting between the two of them, Mickey’s head swivels back and forth. His shoulders relax. He smiles. “Yup, we were a couple of wild ones all right. But we were smart ones as well. Always thinking two moves ahead. No sense getting rid of something that could be an asset. Let’s go have a chat with Mr. Hassel. See about coming to some kind of understanding about a brewery or two.”

  Eddie shrugs and pulls on his coat. Henry feels more relaxed. The three men head out.

&nb
sp; On the way to Reading and the brewery, Henry and Mickey talk quietly in the back seat. Henry, who has an in-depth understanding of the operational side of the business, suggests approaches that Mickey might want to use when ‘discussing’ the beer business with Max. Trucks, delivery, ingredient suppliers who were skittish during prohibition, customers, brewing, bottling: there was a lot to think about. Together, they sketch out a rough agreement. Henry wants to leave with something in writing if Hassel goes along with the idea.