Doing Time In Texas, Book 2

by James E Ferrell

  A few minutes later Willy ushered them in the back of Sam’s cab and winked at Sam across the top of the cab. Sam drove along Chicago’s streets, all the while Bonnie and Alice asking questions excitedly.

  “Sam, where are you taking us?” Bonnie inquired quizzically.

  “You will have to get that information from the man paying for this ride,” Sam answered with a smile.

  “Okay, everyone be quiet,” Willy said, looking back over the backseat. “We are almost there.”

  The cab moved along a busy street in the heart of Chicago. “That’s where I work…are we going to the grocery store?” Alice asked.

  Sam turned the cab onto a car lined street with several apartment buildings and pulled the cab to the curb. Willy said, “Here we are folks, your new home!” No one said anything. They just sat looking at the building. In the apartment they walked silently from room to room.

  “There are two bedrooms with a large living room and kitchen. I had it repainted and the smell of paint is very strong. Well, say something; you were all chirping like a bunch of birds before we got here!” Willy said with anticipation.

  “Willllly…this is…is…is for us?” Billy stuttered.

  Willy replied, “It’s close to where Alice works and there’s an automotive shop down the block where Billy can learn about cars. I have already talked to the man running the shop. Billy starts to work Monday,” he added. “There are two bedrooms. One for Alice and Billy and one for you, Bonnie,” Willy added.

  “Willy, you must be doing very well to be able to help us like this! Are you doing that well?” Bonnie questioned.

  “Alice and Billy are both employed now, and I made a good deal on the apartment. I don’t see how the three of you will have a problem paying the rent. It’s paid up for the next two months. That should give you time to get on your feet and be able to pay when the rent comes due,” Willy said.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Willy,” Bonnie stated.

  “The answer is, yes. I am doing well at my new job,” Willy said.

  Summer came and went and the three had settled down in their new apartment. Bonnie found work in a dress shop within walking distance. Willy came and went almost daily; sometimes it was very late when he arrived. There was always the cloud of mystery around just what he was doing. He used Sam’s cab less and less but kept Sam busy taking the three anywhere they wanted to go. Willy had truly become their guardian angel. Sam took it upon himself to explain the workings of an automobile to Billy and when he found time was teaching him to drive.

  The weather was changing, and Bonnie wrapped her shawl tightly about her shoulders as she walked home. She was downcast, and the fall season made her melancholy. She had made a habit of stopping by the market where Alice worked and the two walked home together.

  “Willy hasn’t come by or called me all week! Alice, I’m worried about what he is doing. He always has money, new clothes and now a car!” Bonnie exclaimed.

  “It’s not a new car, but it is a big one,” Alice replied.

  “Obviously, he has an apartment somewhere! He asked me to move in with him the last time I saw him,” Bonnie said.

  “So! That’s what has been bothering you! Why haven’t you told me this?” Alice asked.

  “Because…he didn’t ask me to marry him, he just wants me to move in,” Bonnie said.

  “Men!” Alice said with disgust. “What was your answer?”

  “Alice…he knows I have lived with another man, why would he want to marry a girl like me?” Bonnie asked dejectedly.

  “Bonnie, you know living like that is unacceptable. You are the best thing that has ever happened to him. You should be treated better. You have to bring him up to God’s standards not let him bring you back down to the world’s standards!” Alice replied.

  “I feel that will be the only way I will ever have him…maybe someday he will decide to marry me,” Bonnie said.

  “If not, you will be right back where you started, just older and not a bit wiser. You must work on his good traits and hold him to higher standards. If you don’t, what is good in him will soon disappear. If you move in with him, you are taking the Lord out of the equation. You will be in direct rebellion against God and his help is essential in bringing Willy back from the dark side,” Alice said.

  “Do you think he is mixed up with the mob here in Chicago?” Bonnie asked.

  “I don’t know, Bonnie, but he is into something and it’s dangerous!” Alice added.

  “Something is wrong in his past. He is always having those bad headaches and sometimes he is so distant. He has a locked trunk in the closet in my room. I asked him what was in the trunk; he said it’s his getaway trunk,” Bonnie stated.

  “What does that mean?” Alice asked.

  “I have no idea,” Bonnie said.

  Willy did not call or communicate for weeks. Winter blew a cold breath on Chicago and people stopped complaining about the summer heat and started complaining about the cold. Not seeing Willy for a whole month weakened Bonnie’s resolve to stay on the straight and narrow. On a cold overcast evening, Alice and Bonnie walked home from work to find Willy’s car sitting in front of the apartment. Bonnie charged up the stairs and fell into his arms sobbing. “You’ve been gone so long, I was afraid I would never see you again,” Bonnie cried.

  “I’m glad I was missed so much. I’ve had business down south. Sorry I couldn’t get in touch with you. I promise it won’t happen again. From now on, I will make sure you hear from me no matter what,” Willy promised.

  One cold Saturday morning Willy and Sam moved Bonnie’s belongings across town to his apartment. Willy walked down the steps carrying a large box of Bonnie’s things when he spotted Alice standing at the end of the porch. Handing the box to Billy, Willy walked back on the porch. “Alice, are we still friends?” Willy asked.

  Alice stood looking at the two cars being loaded in front of the apartment. “You know you will always be my friend; but this is not right,” Alice said.

  “Come sit by me on the swing. You think I’m doing Bonnie wrong by not marrying her before she moves in with me,” Willy stated knowing Alice’s thoughts.

  “You are wrong to do this, and God cannot bless your relationship when you do not follow the standards he has set for men and women. You are cheapening Bonnie and that is the worst thing you can do to a woman. We’ve had this discussion before and back then you agreed. A woman looks to her man to set the standards they will live by in their relationship,” Alice said.

  Willy was thoughtful for a long time. “I agree with what you have said, but there are things that you do not know. It may be best that Bonnie is not tied to me at this time. It would have been better if I had not met the love of my life at this point in my time. All I can say is, I will always love her and if things change, I promise you, I will make things right between us,” Willy said.

  Alice noticed Bonnie standing in the doorway listening to them. “Bonnie, tomorrow is Sunday. I guess Billy and I will have to walk to church without you. Please don’t do this, we are doing so good here and growing spiritually…I will miss you going with us,” Alice said sadly. Bonnie turned away from Alice and walked back to her room.

  C6 - A Cold Winter

  In Chicago mounds of snow piled high against everything. On Clermont Street a large row of warehouses lay blanketed under frigid snowbanks. Vehicles were identified by the antenna that quivered in the cold north wind. The numbing wind howled and cut the faces of those who ventured outside. Two men were cursing the inclement weather as they made their way along the street. Deep boot prints in the snow gave testimony to their passing.

  Despite the cold, Phineas Stewart was jubilant. He had worked for months to arrange the meeting between the two mob bosses. Finally, he had convinced his competition that they could make a lot more money by working together. Stewart had made a lot of concessions to appease Walter McDonald. Ambition had lifted Stewart’s hope for a position of greatness in the mob. He
was willing to make a deal with the devil himself.

  Today, all his hard work and compromise had paid off; a truce had been established with McDonald. The rest of Chicago’s crime families were watching what happened between these two old rivals. Stewart had a gift of reasoning with people like McDonald. He would soon have the power to yield the strongest voice within a fractured organization and lay to rest years of feuding. Diplomacy would establish for him a prominent place in the leadership of Chicago’s crime families. His way of handling problems among brothers and rivals in the mob had earned him the nick name of ‘Phin the Smooth.’ A thinker…that was what he was and could reason with the Prince of Darkness himself. Politics would be his next move. Power and influence would then be at his fingertips. One day he hoped to be a senator instead of just owning them. His influence would control all the families through his wise council and leadership.

  Walking into a garage on the lower east side of Chicago, Phineas Stewart shielded his face from the harsh wind. Fighting the cold with his head down, he listened intently to the chatter of Smitty, The Mechanic, McDonald’s right-hand man. Smitty McGuire, also bent over from the cold wind, had Stewart’s complete attention as they entered the garage.

  Just inside the door of the warehouse the two men continued talking while they stopped, removed their hats and brushed the snow and ice from their clothes. From behind the door a shadow reached out and placed a noose around Stewart’s neck.

  Phineas “The Smooth” Stewart was not a violent man and a little too trusting in his fellow man. He was not a good fit to be a gangster. He finished his criminal career on this cold Chicago morning. Outside his footprints quickly filled in with fresh snow bringing to mind that no one knows when or where they will leave their last footprints down life’s path.

  A few blocks east of the warehouse Walter McDonald moved his ink well to the corner of his desk. His forehead wrinkled, and he drummed his fingertips on his desktop. He had waited for over an hour to hear from his most trusted men, Smitty ‘The Mechanic’ and his associate, Val. Of all his men, McDonald confided in only these two keeping his inner circle small. It had been a productive week and money continued to pile high on his desk like the snow drifts outside. Even with this good fortune he seethed with anger. His bookie operation was paying off better than it ever had due to the efforts of one man, Willy Baker. Walter had a real liking for Baker’s craftiness and creative ways of making money. Baker had streamlined Walter’s operation and the increase from his gambling was very impressive. Now just when he had begun to trust Willy, the bad news came. Baker had been cheating the Irishman, skimming money from practically every operation McDonald had. A knock on the door brought Walter out of his thoughts as Smitty came in with Chubby Hawkins, a small-time thief and sometimes drinking buddy of Smitty’s.

  “Is the business with Stewart taken care of?” McDonald inquired.

  “The Smooth came around to your way of thinking boss,” Smitty said with a grin. “Stewart said he was taking a long vacation now that you two had buried the hatchet.” McDonald rolled the cigar between his fingers and looked at Smitty.

  “Good, now that Stewart and I have come to an understanding, how about our friend Willy? He has been working way too hard lately,” McDonald said.

  Smitty emptied a small valise onto the desk and several bundles of cash fell on to the desktop. He said, “This is the take from the laundry on Sixth. Willy sure had a winning idea there. The laundry is a gold mine.”

  Puffing on his cigar McDonald gathered the large stacks of money in front of him. Leaning over, he put his ear close to the piles of money as he ran his thumb along one of the stacks. “You hear that sound, Hawkins?” he asked.

  “Why, yes Sir, Mr. McDonald…I surely do,” Hawkins said. Being in the presence of the kingpin himself, Hawkins was unsure of what the gangster expected him to say.

  “Well! That’s the sound of success, my boy,” McDonald said with a laugh. He stood and walked around to the front of his desk all the while looking at the end of his cigar. “Smitty, now what about our friend Willy? I want to show my appreciation for all the good work he has been doing.”

  “Why don’t you send him on a vacation boss?” Smitty stated.

  “That’s a good idea. Why not? I think Willy and his girlfriend would really enjoy a vacation. A long cruise to Europe,” McDonald said.

  “Consider it done; I will make the arrangements right away,” Smitty said. He had been waiting for an opportunity to remove his competition for the boss’s favor and this would be a pleasure. He had kept a close eye on Baker and had reported his suspicions to the boss. They had finally paid off.

  Leaving the office, Smitty pulled his coat collar up around his ears. “Hawkins, I’ll see you later! I have business to take care of,” Smitty stated and went to a local bar to collect Val and be about the arrangements his business required.

  Down the street from McDonald’s office, Willy Baker stood in the corner grocery and fish market watching snow blow across the street. “If this snowstorm doesn’t let up, traffic will come to a standstill and the city will be frozen in for weeks,” Willy said.

  The butcher finished wrapping a pound of meat for Willy and stepped over to him and said, “Mr. Baker, the weather here in Chicago, you learn to tolerate…or head to a warmer climate. That’s basically your only two options.”

  Willy sighed; the confinement amplified his restless spirit. Looking for a break in the weather he drank a soda and looked out the window. Suddenly Chubby Hawkins happened to round the corner. Upon seeing Willy through the plate glass window, Hawkins waved and turned to enter the store.

  “Oh great,” Baker muttered, not wanting to talk to Hawkins.

  With his hat cocked back and a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth Hawkins said, “Hey Willy, how you doing? Guess what I just heard the boss tell Smitty?”

  “What’s that, Chubby?” Willy asked uninterestedly.

  “You and the misses going on a trip.” Slapping the snow from his overcoat Chubby realized his mistake and said, “Oh, I forgot it’s supposed to be a surprise! Don’t tell the Irishman I told you!”

  “Ok! I promise, but you got to finish explaining now,” Willy urged.

  “Well! The boss and Stewart finally buried the hatchet,” Hawkins said.

  “They what?” Willy asked.

  “Yep! Smitty said Stewart left a happy man. Said he was going to take a vacation. That gave the boss an idea, says you and Bonnie deserve a good vacation for all the hard work you are doing for him. It’s supposed to be a surprise so don’t let on you know. That McDonald is quite a guy!” Hawkins said admiringly.

  “You don’t say?” Willy asked. Buttoning up his overcoat he realized Stewart had been done away with. He was probably already at the bottom of Lake Erie wearing concrete boots.

  “Thanks, Chubby! You are a lifesaver! You better not tell the boss. He will be mad at you for spoiling his surprise,” Baker said as he headed out the door.

  “What’s the hurry? You want to have a beer with me?” Hawkins said.

  “No time, Pal. I really need to go, see you later!” Willy said.

  Hurrying through the snow, Baker made his way down the slippery sidewalk until he came to his apartment. He looked along the street for a car belonging to Smitty or Val while he caught his breath. Confident that all was clear he ran across the alley and entered the back door taking the stairs two at a time.

  Apartment 201 had been their home for the last six months. Willy had moved twice trying to keep his personal life distant from the mob. Somehow Val and Smitty always knew where he was living. Bursting into the apartment he scooped up Bonne’s coat and held it up for her to slip into. “No time to pack, Bonnie! Leave everything as it is. Cut the stove off and let’s go,” Willy said.

  “Willy, I’m frying chicken, what’s the big hurry?” Bonnie inquired. Willy reached around her and cut off the stove.

  “You don’t understand; our lives are in danger!
Do as I say,” Willy said.

  Bonnie grabbed her purse as they quickly left the apartment and headed down the back stairs; her high heels made the stairs difficult to traverse.

  “I’m not dressed for this cold. My feet are freezing, and all my stuff is back there. My goodness, Willy! What have you done?” Bonnie asked.

  “Just come on, you still have your skin, be thankful for that,” Willy said.

  “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” Bonnie asked.

  “I got greedy and McDonald caught me cheating him. Smitty and Val are on their way over to kill us,” Willy explained.

  “What? Oh, this is just great! Now I know why you always parked your car a block away from the apartment!” Bonnie said.

  The car was finally beginning to warm when Willy pulled into a warehouse. “We are going to change cars here, Bonnie,” Willy said.

  “Change cars? I was just beginning to get warm!” Bonnie exclaimed.

  “Just go get in that car! We need to stay ahead of this snowstorm, or we will be snowed in here. McDonald will be looking for this car all over town.” Willy moved a bag from the trunk of his old car to a shiny new car with Texas plates. This didn’t surprise Bonnie; she was used to his cautious ways. Sitting in the new car Bonnie admired the leather upholstery. “Why don’t you just pay McDonald back? You don’t need to be working for a man like that anyway,” Bonnie said.

  “It doesn’t work like that. A dirty old crook hates to be stolen from. He probably thinks…I’m a crook,” Willy chuckled.

  “Can’t you ever be serious? Where are we going?” she questioned.

  “We just had a change in plans, a little bit earlier than I anticipated. We are now going to plan B. Now be quiet while I run this over in my mind and make sure I have all the bases covered.” Bonnie started to speak but seeing his wrinkled brow she decided against it. Willy was focused, and she knew better than to break his concentration. She sat quietly watching as he navigated the snow-covered streets.