The Gold Pawn

by L. A. Chandlar

  Out of the deep fog, far up ahead, a hooded form was standing very still. At first, he thought it was a figment of his imagination, but then the form started to walk toward him. Very slowly, almost floating. He staggered slightly as he was still reeling from the shock of what had just happened. But he was still Donagan Connell, for Christ’s sake! Men cowered before him. They obeyed him. Yes, he was still king. He could shake this off. He’d worked hard to build up his formidable empire, hadn’t he? Yes. He was all right.

  The figure walked slowly toward him, probably a prostitute looking for some action. He tugged his hat down over the side of his brow, pulling himself back together. Back in control.

  Just as he was about to make a crude comment telling the prostitute that he’d be a more than willing customer, he saw her hand reach into her robes. He grabbed for his gun—a mere second too late. With lightning speed, she shot him in the shoulder, just above his heart. His gun skittered across the stones and pavement. He grabbed at his shoulder in total disbelief. He reeled back, lurching to the side, then fell to the hard, frozen ground. He couldn’t move, the blood flowing out of his body, shock moving in fast.

  He awkwardly rolled his head to the side, the pain shooting down his shoulder, throbbing and deadly. The hooded figure came over toward him. It stopped only a couple of feet away; he could almost touch the edge of the robe. He looked up at the hood.

  White, ghostly hands came up with calculated deliberation, placed them on either side of the hood, and carefully pulled it down, revealing a white-blond mane of hair.

  He uttered, “Daphne?”

  She walked a step closer and gracefully sunk down to her haunches, like she was going to whisper a secret to him. Her eyes were wide and vacant. She held out her hand, a shiny gold pawn perched there, glistening and solid.

  She whispered to him, “You really thought he left it all to you? Sorry, but no. This is the last of the gold pawns.” And to his horror she quoted the very line from the slip of paper in the briefcase that Rex had left to him. The famous quote from Napoleon Bonaparte. “We are either kings or pawns of men, Donagan. And you were the final pawn. Now listen. Listen closely, sweetheart.” She looked around for a moment, her face lighting up from some strange fire within, then raised the gun so Donagan would get a good look at it. It was shiny, it was silver, it was Rex’s gun. The deep red scroll looked even more bloody than usual. She looked closely at that handle, then took a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment. Then they flashed open, focusing on him. “I showed Rex the ultimate loyalty. From the beginning. I’m the heir.”

  She stood up and grunted a soft, calculated laugh, the echoes eerily bouncing off the nearby buildings. “But I didn’t forget you. Here’s your share, Donagan.” She took out a large wad of hundred-dollar bills and slowly, slowly sprinkled them onto him.

  He grasped one bill in his clenched fist, fear and loathing oozing out of him along with his lifeblood. She looked at him, lucid and clear-minded. But then smiled a wicked grin, a weird vestige of insanity. He wondered dimly if she could summon it at will.

  He called up the last ounce of strength he had and croaked out his final words, “It can’t be you!”

  She pulled up the hood again, covering her long pale hair. She said in a calm, cold voice, “Yes. It can. And now for you, Donagan. As stupid and worthless as they are, you’re going to pay for going after my children.”

  She aimed the silver gun, kissed the air toward him, and pulled the trigger five times.

  Daphne cocked her head to one side as she looked closely at his lifeless form. A few of the bills were turning dark red in the moonlight. She took Rex’s last remaining pawn, tossed it in the air, and caught it without looking at it. With a flourish, she placed it on the blood-soaked hundred-dollar bills on Donagan’s unmoving chest. With a smile, she carefully put the silver gun back into the folds of her cape.

  From the shadows, Morgan watched this scene with dread as she had tailed Mr. Hambro and watched him slink off once it became quite clear that Donagan did not collect anything from Rex after all. She had decided to follow Donagan, keeping her watchful eye on that dangerous man. Heir or not, Donagan was a deadly force.

  She barely trusted herself to breathe, her lungs aching from the effort. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d heard of Daphne, supposedly locked away in the lunatic asylum, mother of Tucker and Eliza. She’d been part of Rex’s ultimate plan all along. Despite the relief of knowing that Donagan would now be incapable of going after any of her loved ones, a hot tear trickled down her cheek at the brutality of what she just witnessed. And she wondered what this ghastly woman would mean for their future.

  Morgan didn’t move a muscle, determined to be smart and safe before she ran off. She needed to get with Lane and the whole gang right away. She barely breathed as Daphne stood up, nodded her head in farewell to the dead man, and turned on her heels. With her hands clasped casually behind her back, she slowly entered the fog that almost instantly enveloped her figure. She whistled an eerie tune, making Morgan’s stomach clench in fear and disgust. For much longer than she was visible, the lonesome tune echoed off the pavement as she walked back to wherever she came from.

  “If this were much prolonged, the balance of my nature might be permanently overthrown, the power of voluntary change forfeited . . . I had gone to bed Jekyll, I had awakened Edward Hyde.”

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  This is a work of fiction with real history woven in. None of the character dialogs nor mysteries are real. Of the main characters, only Fiorello was an actual person in history. I included a lot of real history with him, but the storyline with the other characters of the book are entirely fictional.

  All the epigraphs were taken from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. I’ve always been enamored of the conceptual idea of Jekyll and Hyde. But I think most of us get our first ideas about it from cartoons like Bugs Bunny where the concept of morphing into another personality—one side good, one not so good—is merely a Halloween caricature of the original work. But one day, I picked up the small tome and was astounded at the depth. And the creepy, edgy nature of it.

  Although this is a work of fiction, here are some fun real-life tidbits. Penn Station was not the ugly monstrosity it is today. In fact, when it was torn down in 1963, it had been considered the most beautiful train station in the world. And it was only fifty-three years old when it was demolished—all in the name of progress. It hurts my heart. Bryant Park as described in The Gold Pawn is more indicative of what it is today. In 1936, they didn’t have the carousel yet nor the restaurants. The park was redesigned in 1933 as part of the Great Depression public works and it received its great lawn and surrounding iron fence. But I wanted to bring in some elements of the magic of the current New York City to help readers experience the city’s timelessness. The city has this way of always changing, yet always staying the same.

  Fiorello did not have the C3 storm categories, yet it is hilarious how often storm imagery was attributed to him. He did indeed have a Tammany tiger skin in his office and he most certainly “enhanced” his office chairs. He vehemently opposed Hitler before others barely knew his name. And the scene where he is angered about the little guy not being a suitable inspector happened, but the rest of that scene is fictional. Fiorello was indeed at most car accidents, crime scenes, and fires in the city. He was known for being everywhere at once, and often a first responder.

  The Hindenburg was often traveling back and forth across the Atlantic. I think most of us just think of its infamous crash, but it had been tooling around for quite a while. Miles’s journey was reminiscent of a special trip on October 9, 1936, the Millionaire’s Flight. The only fictional part of the journey, besides Miles himself, was that in December the dirigible wasn’t traveling to the States due to the weather turning toward winter.

  The guests at Thanksgiving were Albert Einstein and his wife, Elsa. He did always travel with his violin, Lina, an
d Mozart was his inspiration. Another notable guest was first known as Leslie Hope. He became known as Bob Hope. He was popular in films and on the radio beginning in 1934. Both Albert and Bob were often in New York at that time. Big Sam is Samuel J. Battle, and he did indeed become the first black officer in the NYPD on June 28, 1911. There had been other black officers in Brooklyn (including his brother-in-law Moses Cobb), before the Brooklyn police joined together with Manhattan as the official NYPD in 1898. But after the union, Battle is noted as the first black officer appointed. He personally stopped a riot in 1935 and he saved the life of a fellow white officer in 1918. In 1926, he became the first black sergeant, in 1935 the first black lieutenant, and in 1941 he was appointed the city’s first black parole commissioner by Fiorello La Guardia himself.

  Meadow Brook Hall is open to the public. Go take a tour! They have some really great parties, too. It is part of Oakland University, in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The main big house was closed at the beginning of the Depression, but Matilda opened it up again in 1937. The pieces of art mentioned were taken directly from their guidebook and my many tours there. I tried to be true to my own impressions of the place—I love it—and my impressions of both Matilda and her husband, Alfred Wilson. I always admired Matilda and her abilities. The hall does have a hidden staircase, game room, ballroom, fountain, and a vault. The other specific places mentioned in Rochester and Detroit were around in the 1930s and I’d like to thank Judy Freeland, Carol Thorson, and Terri Miller for their memories and help with historic Detroit. And the Hilty Dilty cocktail mention! Michigan Central Station (which had the same architectural and engineering firm as New York City’s Grand Central, WASA Studio, founded in 1891 as Reed and Stem) is still around and has recently been reclaimed as it had been abandoned for decades. I hope they bring it back to life.

  The NYPD detective scene, where they have a “show” of all the arrested felons for the week, was true and taken from Hulbert Footner’s absolutely delicious 1937 tour book called New York: City of Cities. Annie, the Christmas tree saleswoman from Quebec, is based on a sweet friend who currently does sell the trees annually and I look for her every year. She is indeed from Quebec and wears a cute hat, but The Gold Pawn version of her is much sillier. I love them both.

  The amazing cars I mention were in fact real. And spectacular! Worth the Google. Especially Tucker’s car he gets for his date with Lane. Also, the cranberry red Duesenberg J was indeed super fast and it had been created for Mae West. She turned it down. She must’ve been out of her mind.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to my biggest supporter, my husband, Bryan. You are the kindest man alive. I still can’t believe you found me an edition of Jekyll and Hyde that was around when Lane was living in New York! You’ve helped me so much with tech issues and marketing, but most of all, you’ve helped me enjoy this whole journey. My favorite thing about Lane is that she soaks up life, and wants to take it all in. That’s the kind of thing you have inspired in me. I’ll love you forever.

  Jack and Logan, you’re the best kids a mom could ever have. I thank God all the time that I get to be your mom. You inspire me to live life well. You’ve been a huge help at signings, given me giant hugs of support, did extra chores when I was working late, and you’ve shown me the biggest support a teenager can show . . . you told your friends about my books. Wow! I’ll love you forever, too.

  Many, many thanks to my dear friends and family, who are a great source of encouragement and inspiration. You attended signings, put up with the faraway look in my eyes when I was distracted with a scene, encouraged me when I was down, celebrated my wins, shared this dream of mine with me, which made it better than I could have imagined, told your friends about my books, and overall made me feel like the luckiest woman. I truly hope you know, new friends and old, that even the smallest words and gestures have meant the world to me.

  Thank you to Joe Karlya who introduced me to his mother, Ann Theresa Higgins. Thank you, Ann, for your wonderful insights and fun stories about winning that medal from Fiorello La Guardia for your most excellent essay on fire prevention.

  Thank you to my cousin Jeffrey Claphan, for the fantastic books on the history of Detroit. They were amazing, and so are you.

  Thank you to Bruce Miller’s alter ego, Miles Havalaar, Nina Mittman, Eric Spry, and Cindy Hambro for letting me use your names. They were perfection.

  Thank you so much, Esi Sogah, my editor extraordinaire, of Kensington Publishing. Your enthusiasm for life and good storytelling is contagious. I’ve learned so much from you. Many thanks to my Kensington Crew: Lauren Vassallo, Paula Reedy, Carly Som-merstein, and Gary Sunshine. Your excellent work is very appreciated. And to my agent, Jill Grosjean, I hope you caught a few of my Amelia references and that they made you smile. Thank you so much for your hard work and encouragement.

  Lastly, thank you to you, dear Reader. Thank you for coming along on the journey with me. I hope that I gave you a glimpse of the beauty, the art, and the indomitable spirit that came out of the difficulties of the 1930s. And that the friends, humor, love, and cocktails of The Gold Pawn will have increased your own delight in life.

  SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Abbott, Berenice, and Elizabeth McCausland. New York in the Thirties. New York: Dover Publications, 1939.

  Brodsky, Alyn. The Great Mayor. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2003.

  Detroit Free Press. Detroit Memories. Detroit: Pediment Publishing, 2017.

  Footner, Hulbert. New York: City of Cities. Philadelphia: J. B. Lip-pencott, 1937.

  Jackson, Kenneth T. The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1995.

  Jeffers, H. Paul. The Napoleon of New York. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.

  Jennings, Peter, and Todd Brewster. The Century. New York: Doubleday, 1998.

  Long, Meredith, and Madelyn Rzadkowolski. Images of America: Rochester and Rochester Hills, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.

  Lowe, David Garrard. Art Deco New York. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, a Division of VNU Business Media, Inc., 2004.

  Poremba, David Lee. Detroit: A Motor City History. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2001.

  Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1932.

  Stolley, Richard B. LIFE: Our Century in Pictures. Boston, New York, London: Bulfinch Press, 1999.

  Tauranac, John. The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark. New York: Scribner, 1995.

  Wilson, Matilda Rausch Dodge. A Place in the Country: Matilda Wilson’s Guidebook to Meadow Brook Hall. Michigan: Oakland University Press, 1998.

  A READING GROUP GUIDE

  THE GOLD PAWN

  L. A. Chandlar

  ABOUT THIS GUIDE

  The suggested questions are included to enhance your group’s reading of L. A. Chandlar’s The Gold Pawn.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. What were your favorite overall themes? Identify and talk about them, then take a look at mine. I have a few in this book. Of course, one of the overall themes is of good and bad commingling in all of us. What do you think about that? Are people all good or all bad? Why or why not? Do you think, like Robert Louis Stevenson, that there is a point of no return, where choice becomes forfeited?

  2. My favorite theme of this book, which will overarch into all of the books in this series, is from the Latin phrase that Lane discovers in her father’s study: pulchritudo ex cinere, “beauty out of ashes.” I think it sums up this era and the beauty that I wanted to highlight. What are examples of beauty coming out of ashes in The Gold Pawn? There are many!

  3. The other theme I enjoyed that stems from the two themes above: choices. What are examples of pivotal choices that were made by the characters? What impact did they have on the story?

  4. Had you read Jekyll and Hyde before? I didn’t want to reveal the title early on because of all my own prejudices I’d had before I actuall
y read the book. From movies like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and cartoons like Bugs Bunny, we get a more lighthearted and Halloween-y feel than the book merits. It’s much darker and grittier than that. What were your thoughts about the choice of that piece of highlighted art for this book?

  5. The scene where the limb is cut from Lane’s tree actually happened to me, just not with such a nefarious intent. Much of Lane’s house is taken from memories of my grandparents’ home. The dream Lane has that was almost real to her, of walking up the stairs and experiencing that home once again, was one that I had, many years after my grandparents were long gone. When I drove by their old home one day, I parked and just walked around the block. I came to their house, and the owners had cut off that limb from the purple maple. It honestly felt like I’d been sucker punched. I couldn’t believe it. It was certainly because it had become overgrown and just needed pruning, but I felt like I’d lost a friend. For you, what memories of your own childhood are your favorites? Do you have anything that was iconic for you, like my tree was for me? What place and time would you go back to if you could for just one day?

  Photo: Britt Dyer Photography

  L. A. Chandlar is an author and motivational speaker. She has been speaking for a wide variety of audiences for over twenty years on New York City history, the psychology of creativity, and the history of holiday traditions. Laurie has also worked in PR, is the mother of two boys, and has toured the nation managing a rock band. Her Fight to Keep Creativity Alive workshops focus on creativity and how it helps us work, play, and live more fully. Visit her at www.lachandlar.com.