Family Secrets-Chapter Six

Monday morning, after Bill clocked in, he walked through the factory to the loading dock.  As he pushed open the large swinging metal doors leading to the receiving area, he heard two muffled voices having a heated discussion.  As Bill crept along the stacks of boxed furniture, he could tell the voices were coming from Peter’s office.  When he got closer, Bill crouched down out of sight and listened to Peter and Harry as they argued.

“This is wrong Harry, just plain wrong,” Peter said angry.

“We don’t have much of a choice here Pete,” Harry replied.  “This is what Carl wants us to do, and he runs the show.”

“Shipping out slot machines is one thing, but this…this is different.”

“So, are you telling me, after everything we’ve done, you’ve suddenly decided to grow a conscience?”

“Yeah, maybe I have.  Listen, Harry, when I was lying at home with a bullet in my leg, I had a lot of time to think.  And I have to tell you, I regret a lot of the things we did back then.”

“Well, Carl is still the boss, and after everything he has done for us, we owe him this.”

“I don’t owe him anything.  You’re the one that got me in the car that day back in Ohio, not him.  He would have left me to die in the street.”

“Okay, fine,” Harry said in a calm tone.  “Do this as a favor to me then.  After this shipment I’ll talk to Carl.  Maybe we can work something out.”

“No, we need to work this out now.  I’m telling you, if we get caught doing this we are going to prison for a very long time.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to prison… not for him.”

“You need to relax.  You know Carl has the local police in his back pocket.”

“I don’t care.  I just don’t feel right about this one.”

“Okay, fine, I’ll talk to Carl, I promise,” Harry replied frustrated.

When Bill heard footsteps coming toward him, he quickly stood up and pressed himself against a stack of lumber.  He held his breath as he watched Harry walk right past him.

“Carl left Peter back in Ohio”, Bill thought to himself.  “Could Carl be what John Dillinger changed his name to?”

 

Bill waited a few minutes before he painted on a smile and walked into Peter’s office.  Peter sat at his desk staring off into the distance.

“Good morning,” Bill said.

 Peter jumped then turned his attention to Bill.  “Oh…good morning, Bill,” Peter said in a somber tone. 

Bill began looking through a stack of papers, preparing to start his day, when Peter broke the silence.

“You seem like a bright guy, Bill.  Why do you want to get mixed up with your uncle and this place anyway?”

“Are you kidding?  This is a great opportunity for me.  I could end up running my own factory someday,” Bill replied.

“Yeah, but why do you keep asking about the slot machines and how all of that works?”

“I’m just really curious about how they work.   I’ve never seen the inside of one of them before.   It’s not like I’ll make them when I have my own factory.”

“When the Devil steals your soul, he doesn’t take it in one big hunk.  He takes it one small piece at a time.  You do that one job thinking that will be it.  But, once you do that first job, you’ve already given away that first small piece of your soul.  Then pretty soon the Devil owns you.  And when the Devil owns you…you have to do whatever he says, whether you like it or not.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Bill said as he patted Peter on the shoulder.  “I have a plan to get out before I get in too deep.”

“I sure hope so, Bill…I sure hope so,” Peter said.

 

Later that day, Bill was busy unloading a truck when Harry came to the dock.

“Where’s Pete, I need to talk to him?” Harry asked.

“He’s at lunch,” Bill replied.  “Just as he was clocking out this truck was pulling in.   So, I told him to go on to lunch and I would unload it for him.”

“Your grandpa sure would be proud of you,” Harry said with a smile.

“Uncle Harry…can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Bill, what is it?”

“Why do you think Grandpa left me his house in his will and not Mom or Uncle David?”

“He wanted you to find that photo you’ve been carrying around.”

 “But why?”

“David and his kids wanted nothing to do with our new furniture business.  Tommy and I only had girls, so that makes you the only grandson.  My guess is he wanted you to take over when we’re gone.”

“So why didn’t he tell me about any of this when he was alive?”

“I don’t know, maybe it was to see how bad you wanted it,” Harry replied.

 

For the rest of the day, Bill had to wonder if his grandpa would be disappointed in him.  Would he disapprove of him pretending to be interested in the business just to get a story?  Bill loved his grandpa. But he had no interest in his family’s illegal activities.  What will happen to Harry and Tom if Bill breaks this story?  Will he be able to live with himself if they go to prison because of him?  He began to wonder if this story was worth destroying his family like his Uncle David had said it would.

 

The next morning, as Bill arrived at the loading dock, he was met by Harry and another man wearing a tailor-made three-piece suit.   He had a medium build with gray thinning hair and pencil mustache. 

“Bill, I would like for you to meet Carl Hellman.  He’s a very important business partner of ours,” Harry said.  “Carl, this is my nephew, Bill Reeves.”

“Nice to meet you, kid.  Your uncle here has told me a lot about you,” Carl said.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hellman,” Bill replied.

“You don’t have to be so formal.  Because you’re Harry’s nephew, you can just call me Carl.”

“Yes sir Mr. Hell…um…I mean Carl.”

“So, tell me, kid, do you know how to drive that fork truck over there?”

“I’m still learning, but I think I do okay.  Why do you ask?”

“A week from this Saturday night I have a very important shipment that I need help with.  All you have to do is unload something for me.  Then I need you to load 10 different trucks.  And if you do a good job, I’ll give you 500 bucks, cash.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of money.  Thank you for the offer, Carl, but what about Peter?  He’s been here a lot longer than me.  Shouldn’t you be talking to him first?”

“I’ve already talked to Pete and he said he was busy that night.  So, what do you say, kid?  Are you interested?”

“Yes, sir,” Bill said as he stretched out his hand.

“Good”, Carl said ignoring Bill’s offer for a handshake.  “Bring him by my house tonight,” he said to Harry before he walked away.

“I hope you don’t have plans tonight,” Harry said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and followed after Carl.

 

After work, Harry and Bill drove out of town for several miles down a long and winding road.   Harry continued to drive until he turned onto a paved drive with a large iron gate and a white guard shack beside it.  Once the man in the shack opened the gate, Harry followed the tree lined drive to Carl’s home.  Bill looked wide eyed at a limestone mansion with a large fountain in the center of a circle drive.

Once inside, Carl led Bill and Harry to the basement.  Along the walls of the basement were at least twenty oak cabinets with glass doors.  Each cabinet was full of guns of all shapes and sizes.  Including one filled with nothing but old Tommy Guns, the kind John Dillinger would have used to rob banks.  

Carl walked straight to one of the cabinets and removed a black .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun with a polished wooden handle.  He pulled back the slide and chambered a round before he handed it to an unsuspecting Bill.

“Come on, kid,” Carl said before he walked back up the stairs.

 Bill followed Carl outside to a cement patio that overlooked a sprawling manicured lawn behind the house.   Bill then saw several empty beer bottles, placed nearly in a row, on a wooden plank, that rested on cement blocks about 25 feet from the patio.

“Have you ever shot one of those before?” Carl asked, pointing to the gun in Bill’s hand.

Bill took a step to the edge of the patio and slowly lifted the gun with both hands.  He took a breath, and slowly squeezed the trigger six times, breaking three bottles.

“Hey, not too bad,” Bill said with a laugh.

Carl stepped up next to Bill and reached into his suit jacket.  He quickly pulled out his own semi-automatic pistol and held it straight out with one hand.  With no hesitation, he fired six times, shattering a beer bottle with each shot.

“We ain’t shooting for fun and games here, kid.  Not bad isn’t good enough. Now, I suggest you get some practice.  Harry, help him out,” Carl said before he holstered his pistol and went back inside.

 

Until the sun went down that evening, Harry, with the intensity of a military drill sergeant, gave Bill lessons on how to shoot.  As they went back inside, Bill attempted to return the gun to Carl.

“That one’s yours, kid,” Carl said.  “Just make sure you have it on you a week from Saturday, you may need it.”

“Why do I need a gun, I thought I was just driving a forklift?” Bill asked.

“If you work for me, you carry a gun.  Now, do you want the job or not?’

“Yes, sir, I do, but...”

“Good, I’ll see you then.”

 

 Harry drove back to the furniture factory where Bill’s car was still parked.

“Is Carl who I think he is?” Bill asked as they both got out of Harry’s car.

“Carl Hellman is Carl Hellman, and that’s all you need to know,” Harry replied with no emotion.

“But at one time was he John Dillinger?”

“John Dillinger died in July of 1934, that’s the end of the story.”

Bill opened his car door and pulled the photo from his glove box. “But I have a photo here that proves he didn’t,” Bill said with a smile.

Harry gave Bill a scowl before he snatched the photo from his hand.  It felt like someone sucked the air from Bill’s lungs when Harry ripped the picture into four pieces and tossed them into the air.  Bill could feel his heart shatter as he watched the pieces of the photo flutter to the ground.

“Forget about that stupid photo and forget about John Dillinger,” Harry said gruffly.   “Now, stop asking so many questions and do as you’re told.”

Harry quickly turned around and stormed off to his car.

The moment Harry turned around; Bill got down on his knees and scrambled to pick up the pieces of his most prized possession.  Fighting back tears, he stood up and looked in disbelief as the torn photo rested in the palm of his hands.   Bill slowly walked back to his car and gently put the four pieces back into his glove box.

That night Bill saw a side of Harry he had never seen before.  A side he never wanted to see again.  But judging by his reaction, Bill knew for sure who Carl Hellman really was.

 

Reviews

[SweetNutmeg]

Again, no typos or little mistakes. Good job proof reading!

I'm not great at giving substantial critiques, usually I just respond as an untutored reader, but I'll give it a try. It's important to know what you are doing right as well as knowing when you're off. And your development of Peter's nature was very well done. With two short bits of dialogue, you show a vivid picture of his philosophy and hard-earned wisdom. And you painted a chilling scene with marksmanship training. That was done economically, too. You convey a lot of information with very few words, which I find impressive.

Now, as a reader, I will say Peter is wise. Bill should heed his warning. He's getting in deep with following this story.

And Bill is thinking about the consequences of breaking a big story about a bunch of tough guys who happen to be his family. Finally!

I'm wondering how far in Bill will get and how he'll manage to get out. If he will get out. Maybe he'll get in so deep there is no getting out. I guess I will have to keep reading to find out!

[Gary]

Thank you once again for kind words.
My goal was to portray Bill as an act first think about consequences later type of guy. He is supposed to be driven but a bit naïve. I hope that explains how deep he is getting into Carl's world to get the story.

[SweetNutmeg]

You did a good job and achieved your goal. I definitely see Bill as driven yet naïve. I have a good sense of why and how he got pulled into Carl's world. This is getting more interesting with every chapter.

[Michelle Saldana]

Oh, man... Definitely a roller coaster of emotions!

First off, Bill's eavesdropping skills are on point, lol. The tension between Peter and Harry over Carl's orders has me completely intrigued.

Also, Carl Hellman's reveal is incredibly intense – his enigmatic persona has me questioning everything. The shooting practice scene with Bill and Carl is such an unexpected and thrilling twist.

And then, that moment when Harry rips up the photo – my heart SANK with Bill's. The characters are incredibly well-crafted. They really draw me deeper into their world.