Train to Anywhere

by David George Howard

  ***

  Later that afternoon, when McBride returned, the man with the brown hat walked into the front office of the real estate business. A woman sitting at a desk, punching away at a typewriter, asked, "Can I help you?"

  "I'm here to see McBride," the man said, not slowing down on his way to the door.

  "But, uh, sir," she tried to say as he passed by.

  He opened the door and walked straight into the office. McBride spun around in his chair, one hand holding a telephone receiver to his ear. The other was under his desk. "Can I call you back?" he said to the person on the phone. McBride hung up, and motioned to a chair on the other side of the desk.

  "I trailed your scrawny rat."

  "You got a lot of nerve, just walking in here like this," McBride said. His hand was firmly around the handle of the pistol he kept under the desk.

  "Get your hand off the heater. I'm not going to try nothing smart, Clarence."

  "Fine," McBride said, bringing his hand back. "Horace, I don't want you walking in here anytime you want, understand?"

  "What, you think there's something wrong with me now? You asked me to do a job and I did it. Pay me." Horace fidgeted, squirming around, and adjusting the position of the chair.

  "What did you do?"

  "Talked to the kid like you said."

  "Well?"

  "Kid acted like he had no idea what I was talking about. That rat thought I didn't know what was going on."

  McBride never liked Horace, but at times he could come in handy. He had known him since they were kids, and McBride had a habit of using people he was familiar with, even if they were at times cantankerous. "Did you ask if he had talked to the cops?"

  Horace thought about this and said, "Sure I did. You think I'm stupid? At first he acted like he didn't remember, but I made him remember."

  "Did you mess him up?" McBride asked. He knew it was too early in the game to start applying that type of pressure. It was not needed with this kid yet.

  "A little."

  "Didn't I tell you not to do that? Don't you listen?" McBride said, his voice suddenly getting shrill. "I told you to keep your hands off him. When we want to rough him up, I'll tell you when."

  "Come on," Horace said. A sneer swept across his mouth. "What is this? You think I don't know how to handle a scrawny kid like that? When you hire me, that's what I do."

  "Listen to me. When I ask you to do a job, you do exactly what I say. That's how it always is," McBride said. He was close to yelling, but held it in. Men like Horace were hard to teach.

  "Whatever. You gonna pay me or what?"

  McBride reached into the top drawer and pulled out four five-dollar bills, and shoved them across the table at Horace. "I shouldn't be paying you the full amount. You didn't do what I told you to."

  Horace stuffed the bills into the lapel pocket in his jacket. "I don't get it. Why keep this kid around anyway? Why not take him out? What good is he? I'll do it for $500."

  McBride slid the desk drawer closed, and said, "You don't need to know. I don't have to explain anything."

  "It doesn't make sense."

  "There's a reason why I'm running this organization, and you're walking around popping people in the jaw for twenty bucks."

  "Prick," Horace said, standing up fast enough to tip the chair over. He walked out of the room, slamming the door hard enough to emphasize the point.

  12

  Eddie recognized Gloria when she had come into the factory earlier that day. Everyone knew who she was, with the fancy clothes, makeup, and jewelry, much of which was bought by LaRue. Whenever she came in, the women whispered to each other, and the men watched and smiled, letting out a few low whistles, and then it would be back to work. Today, when she stopped by Aron's, everyone saw her but kept to their own business. Eddie was surprised, then, to find her waiting at the trolley stop when he left work. He had never pictured her as one to ride a city trolley, her tastes seeming to be more of climbing into the large dark sedan Mr. LaRue drove.

  She was an attractive woman, though he had not realized how young she actually was. In her brief visits to the factory, Eddie had never gotten anywhere close to her, and now he could see she was about his age. The look she was trying to project was of a lady five to ten years older, with her movie-star hair and clothes. Eddie thought her hat did not look right, though, as if it were too bright or large for her. Arnold had a nickname for girls, young women, like this, the ones walking in and out of hotels and clubs late at night. He called them "Dandy Girls," and if he saw her, that would have been what he would say: "Now there's a Dandy Girl." Eddie was trying not to be impolite, but she noticed him looking at her and smiled slightly.

  "Hello, did you just come out of Aron's?"

  Eddie was not sure if she had actually spoken to him, but there were only a few other people at the stop. An old man was sitting on the bench, and a woman with children was busily trying to keep them under control. Having stayed an hour after closing to clean up, Eddie was the only employee from the factory. "Oh, well, yes, I work there."

  "I thought you looked familiar," she said.

  "I've worked there for a few years. I saw you in there today."

  "So you know what happened? I mean, with Jackson and all?" she asked.

  "Yes. I worked that night, but I didn't see anything happen." Eddie was not sure how much he should say.

  "Jackson and I were close. I just stopped by today and talked to Mr. Aron. He said he had a few things that might belong to me, and the new man was trying to move into the office."

  Eddie looked away for a moment. "I'm sorry, I really am. He was very good at what he did."

  "Thank you. Oh, by the way, my name's Gloria."

  "Good to meet you. My name is Eddie Griffin."

  "What do you do there, Eddie?" she asked.

  He was about to answer when he saw the trolley coming. "Here's my ride."

  "Where you going?"

  "Home. Federal Hill area," he said.

  "What a coincidence! That's the same area I'm going."

  The two of them got on and sat together. They talked throughout the entire trip back to his neighborhood, with Eddie telling her what he did at Aron's. Her story was more obscure, and she seemed to have no occupation at all.

  As they were getting off, she said, "You know, I might be early. I don't want to walk all the way down there and find out they aren't home."

  "Do they have a telephone?"

  "I believe they do."

  "You can use mine. I just got it a few months ago."

  Eddie walked up the steps to his apartment building, knowing he was being watched by the landlady. Although he was supposed to be on his own, Mrs. Galati kept an eye on all of her tenants. If she disapproved of how they were behaving—this included bringing home friends, male or female—she had no hesitation in kicking them out. He opened the door and cringed when he saw he had not cleaned the apartment in the past couple of weeks. Clothes were scattered around, though the kitchen was very clean.

  "Have a seat," he said, clearing a few business books off the table.

  "Thank you," Gloria said, taking a seat.

  "The phone is right here," he said, handing it to her. The cord was rather short, so it only reached to where she was sitting.

  Gloria picked up the earpiece and waited a moment. She looked up at him and smiled, then said into the phone, "Yes, I need Harbor 9-3390. Thank you." She put her hand over the mouthpiece. "If you have something you need to do, don't mind me."

  Eddie went into the bedroom, put his coat away, and changed his clothes. When he came back out, Gloria was hanging up the phone. "Were they there?"

  "No, no answer. I'm kind of early. Thanks again."

  "Is there anything else I can get you?" Eddie was not sure what to do.

  "No, that's fine. I'll just do some shopping to pass the time. Would you like to join me? You'v
e been very kind letting me use your phone."

  He was surprised at the invitation. "I only have a few minutes. I can walk you down to the corner." Again he looked at her and considered the clothes and jewelry she was wearing, and he wondered if she was truly out of his reach.

  "Sure," she said, crossing her hands in front of herself. "I'd like that."

  Eddie could feel his face begin to flush. He was not sure exactly what was going on, but Herman and Arnold would really be impressed.

  Gloria put out her hand and Eddie helped her from the chair. "I really appreciate it," she said as they stepped to the door.

  It only took them a few minutes to reach the corner. "You familiar with the area?" he asked.

  "I've been here before. Sure you don’t want to window shop with me? I have about an hour to kill," she said.

  Before he knew what he was doing, he said, "Maybe another time."

  She smiled a small, mature smile. "That sounds grand. I really does. It's been a difficult few days, and it would be nice to spend time to relax."

  "How can I reach you?" he asked.

  Gloria opened her small purse and produced a pen and scrap of paper. She scribbled down her phone number and handed it to him. "Aren't telephones great? How did we ever get along without them?"

  "Absolutely. Oh. Thanks. I, uh, will give you a ring," he said.

  Gloria held out her hand. "It was nice meeting you, and I look forward to it."

  Eddie shook her hand, and then watched her turn and walk away, and then remembered he needed to head off to class.

  13

  Gloria came into McBride's front office as she had been asked to do. It was only a few years earlier when she had first met him, when she was a worker in one of his saloons. It was the only job she had been able to get, since her mother was incapable of taking care of her. She had, for the most part, moved away from the dried-up hag and her garbage-strewn apartment by the time she was twelve. Gloria had been living with friends and other people, doing whatever she could to stay fed. Though the temptation for the easy money was always there, she had not resorted to prostitution, knowing that was a quick dead-end.

  The lady at the front desk said that Clarence was with a customer and would be ready in a few minutes. Gloria did her best to make herself comfortable in an empty chair. The thought of what he had done a few days before was clear in her mind, and she felt lucky to still be alive. She had been skimming a small amount of money every few weeks from what she was taking to New York. It was easy to do, since nobody kept really close watch on the accounting, and they did not miss a few dollars here and there. She and Jackson were getting set to leave in a few weeks. Gloria had turned twenty-three not long ago, and she wanted to live in Paris. Jackson knew he could make a living with his skills as a designer, and he often talked to her about his time there. She had pictured herself going to parties with the cultured people that Jackson knew, drinking well into the night and getting up late to lounge in a café until lunch. Her grimy background would be left far behind, and she would disappear into her new life. That would have to wait for a few months, now, until she was square with Clarence. At the moment, she could not run, since she knew he would track her down.

  Jackson must not have known that she had taken the full amount she was supposed to carry to New York. Something had gone wrong, though, and she was not sure what. Clarence had that portion back, but he probably did not know about the rest. There still might be enough for her to go alone. That might work. Why not? Once she took care of whatever Clarence wanted her to do, she could skip town and start over. She looked over at the door and saw a man walk out, and then Clarence motioned her to come in.

  "What's this all about?" she asked. For some reason, she had no intention to sit down, and apparently neither did Clarence.

  "I talk, you listen. That kid you met, you going out anytime soon?" he asked.

  "Sure, we're going to the Valent Friday night." Eddie had called her and asked her out the day after she had gone to his apartment. There was no feeling on her part for him; he was too young and wouldn't be able to give her what she wanted. Still, he was a nice, decent young man.

  "Good. I want you to be seen by the people there. Sit in the bar beforehand. Let the bartender see him come in and meet you." Clarence went back to his desk and picked up a sheet of paper.

  "No problem, but listen, I'm not doing anything with him. He's not my type, understand?" she said, testing him.

  "You go out, you be seen with him. Parade him around. What you do after that is your own damn business."

  "What's this about?" Gloria

  His voice got quiet and he stood very close to her and lightly grabbed a handful of hair. He pulled it to get her attention. "Remember what I said. No questions. You do as I say."

  Gloria jerked her head to the side and pulled his hand away. "Fine. I got it. Should I buy a convertible and run it screaming through the streets?"

  McBride began to laugh, as he must have realized how silly his request was. He backed away a few steps and said, "No, just be seen with him. But it is very important that you do this. Sorry about getting tough with you."

  She fixed her hair and checked how she looked in a mirror behind his desk. "You can't hurt me, you know that," she said.

  "You do this and there's $500 in it for you," he said.

  "$500? A girl can use $500," she said before walking out of the door.