Family Secrets-Chapter Nine

The next day, Bo drove his Uncle Joseph’s car to The Victoria Hotel hoping to interview the blackjack dealer he had spoken to before.  He knew he couldn’t go inside the casino, so he parked across the street from the hotel.  Bo remembered the numerous stories his uncle had told him about his long hours of surveillance during his time with the FBI, so Bo settled in for what he expected to be a long wait. 

With each hour that passed, Bo slouched farther down into his seat.  With nothing to see but people walking in and out of the hotel, he fought the urge to fall asleep.  Just as he rested his head against the window and closed his eyes, he was startled by the sound of a car speeding by him.  Bo grasped the steering wheel and pulled himself up as he curiously watched a police car pull into the parking lot of the hotel.  A moment later, two more police cars screeched to a stop in the alley where Bo had entered the casino.  Within a matter of minutes, over a dozen police cars had the building surrounded. 

When the last car arrived, the uniformed policemen exited their cars and swarmed the hotel.  Half of them ran through the front door while the others entered the door leading to the casino.  Without taking his eyes off the unfolding drama, Bo fumbled for the binoculars he had borrowed from his uncle.  Once he found them, he immediately put them up to his eyes and zoomed in on the hotel entrance.   After a very short wait, Bo watched the officers escorting people from the hotel in handcuffs. Casino workers were led out of the back door as scantily clad women were led through the front. 

 

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Later that same afternoon, Bill was sitting at Peter’s old desk when he received a call to go to his uncle Harry’s office.

“Close the door,” Harry said.

Bill closed the door and timidly sat down across from his uncle.

Harry lit a cigarette, tilted his head back and blew a stream of smoke into the air.  He leaned back into his chair and rested his elbows on the arms.

“Listen, Bill, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Bill fidgeted in his chair.  “Sure, Uncle Harry, did…did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that.   It’s about the job we’ve asked you to do a week from tomorrow.  It may be riskier than we first thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see, the local police chief is on Carl’s payroll.   So, normally Carl can do whatever he wants to in this town, and no one bothers him.  I mean, that’s why he does so much business here at this factory.  He knows he won’t get any interference from the local cops.”

Harry leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk.

 “I just got a call from Carl.  The State Police raided The Victoria Hotel today.  So, if anyone from that raid squeals, the cops will be coming after Carl for sure.   That means they may be watching his every move for a while.  And that could put the job a week from tomorrow in jeopardy.”

Harry took another drag from his cigarette and let out a sigh.

“Look, Bill, I’m going to be honest with you.  The only reason I suggested that Carl let you do this job, was because I didn’t think there was any way you could get into trouble for it.  But now…now I’m not so sure.   That’s why I called you in here.  You see, me and Carl…we aren’t afraid to go to prison.  We’ve both been there before and we both know we can handle it.  But I don’t know if you’re willing to take that risk.  So, I’m only going to ask you this once.  Do you still want to do this job?  If you don’t, I’ll understand.  All you have to do is just say the word and I’ll talk to Carl.”

Bill lightly rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.

“I still want to do the job.  But with the added risk, do you think Carl will let me come back to his place tomorrow so I can practice shooting?

A wide smile formed on Harry’s lips.  “I think that can be arranged.”

 

Early the next morning, Bill drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove back to Carl’s mansion.  He knew this was his chance to impress Carl.  But more importantly, he had an opportunity to get a one-on-one interview with him.

As he pulled into the circle drive, Carl was walking out of the door to meet him with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“So, you came back,” Carl said.

“Yes, sir, I was wondering if I could get in some more practice shooting.”

“It turns out, I can’t help you today.  But if you come back tomorrow you can shoot to your heart’s content.”  He pointed at Bill with a smile.  “I have to hand it to you, kid, you’re ambitious…I like that.”

 “Well sir, I just really want to do a good job for you next Saturday.”

“That’s good to hear.  We all have to be on our toes for this one.”

“Yeah, Uncle Harry said something about State Police raiding the Victoria Hotel?”

“That was all just a political move.  But don’t you worry about it, I have it all under control.”

Bill raised an eyebrow.  “What do you mean by a political move?”

“This is an election year.  So, Governor Goodwin Knight wants to show everyone how tough he is on crime.  But what he doesn’t know is… I’m tougher,” Carl replied arrogantly.

“Do you really think he might raid us next Saturday?”

“If he does, I’ll know about it ahead of time.  Always stay one step ahead of your competition, kid.”

“You’ll have to forgive me for asking this, Carl, but, how do you stay one step ahead of the Governor?”

“You don’t get to be as successful as I am without some good connections.” Carl shot Bill a crooked smile.   And let’s just say I have a very good connection with the President of the Local Labor Union.  He meets with the Governor every Friday, and then we get together almost every weekend, so I know what’s going on in the political scene.”

“So, how did you…” Bill said shaking his head.

“How did I go from public enemy number one to rubbing elbows with politicians?” Carl interrupted.

Fear shot through Bill as he froze and looked at Carl wide eyed not knowing what to say.

Carl slapped Bill on the back.  “Relax, kid, your Uncle Harry told me how you found that photo of me and your grandpa.”  He gave Bill a wink with a sly grin.  “I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with how you figured it all out.”   Carl then paused for a moment and slowly shook his head.  “Your grandpa was a good man.  I’m really sorry to hear about him passing.  He was like a second father to me.”

A smile slowly came across Bill’s face.  “Sir…if you don’t mind me asking, what were your parents like?”

“My mom died just before my fourth birthday and my old man was a “spare the rod spoil the child” type of guy.  One day he would beat me and lock me in the house all day, then the next day he would give me money for candy and let me stay out until dark.  But he spent most of his time at his grocery store, so I spent a lot of time at your grandpa’s house.”

“Is that why you stayed with him when you needed a place to hide out?”

“Yeah, but your grandpa wasn’t the only place we would stay.  We had safe houses all over a four-state area.  We had a really good thing going there.”

“Then why did you stop robbing banks?”

“The G-men were getting smarter all the time.  So, it was getting harder and harder to stay one step ahead of them.  I mean, by that time they’d already got Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, so I figured it was just a matter of time before they got me too.”

“Is that when you decided to fake your death and retire?” Bill asked.

 “Oh no… I knew I couldn’t retire,” Carl said with a chuckle.  “I ain’t the type of guy to go the straight and narrow.  I robbed banks, and once you get a taste for that kind of excitement, you can’t just stop.  I did a few jobs with Jimmy Gillis…you probably know him better as Baby Face Nelson…anyway, he told me about how he used to work for Al Capone and all about how Capone did business.  So, I thought to myself…that’s what I’m going to do…I’m going to be the next Al Capone.  But bigger,” Carl said wide-eyed.

“Why did you come all the way out here to California?”

“After Melvin Purvis killed some poor sucker walking out of a movie theater, I stayed with some friends in Chicago to learn some more about how they did business.  They already had connections with the east coast rackets, and I didn’t want to muscle in on them.  So, In May of 1935 I got all of my old gang members together and we all moved out here and into a fleabag apartment building downtown.”

“How did you do it?  How did you go from living in a rundown apartment building to…to this?” Bill asked as he pointed to Carl’s mansion. 

“I’ll tell you how.  We all worked our tails off.  The first thing we did was rent an old warehouse and open a Freeman’s Furniture store.  We built furniture in the front, and we put a tiny casino in the back room.  Then when we weren’t making furniture, we were collecting protection money.  If the local business owners paid us, nothing bad happened to them.  Then we started to take out the local competition.  And let me tell you, kid, they were no match for our experience and our Tommy Guns.  It was just like when we robbed a bank.  We swooped in.  We took them out.  And then we got out of there before the cops could show up.  And of course, there were no witnesses.  No one was that brave.”

“How long did it take to…take out the competition?”

“I would say within a year we had complete control of the downtown area.  From there, I knew the sky was the limit. So, I kept working night and day until I got to where I am today.  But let me tell you something, kid, it’s hard to stay on top.  Someone is always gunning for you.  That’s why this deal next Saturday is so important.”    Carl looked at his watch then looked back at Bill.  “Listen, kid, I have some things I need to attend to.  So, I’ll see you tomorrow…right?”

“Yes, sir,” Bill replied.

“Oh, kid,” Carl said as he put his arm around Bill and gave him an icy glare.  “I know I don’t have to tell you this, but this little conversation we just had.  If you breathe a word of it to anyone, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.  It’s nothing personal.  It’s just business.  You understand…don’t you, kid?”

Bill swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.  “Um…yes, sir,” Bill said nervously.

 

Reviews

[Michelle Saldana]

Seriously.. another gripping chapter!

The sudden police raid at the hotel during Bo's stakeout added so much tension and intrigue to the story.

It's heartwarming to see Harry's concern for Bill, but it's equally heartbreaking to realize that Bill can't protect his uncle from the trouble he'll face with the police due to his entanglement with Carl and the criminal world.

And goodness, the details about Carl's past and his rise to power were eye-opening. It must be incredibly challenging for Bill to be against someone like Carl while having to act as if he's for him, just to get closer and gather information. The internal struggle he must be facing is truly palpable.

The dynamics between the characters are becoming more complex, and I can't wait to see how everything comes together in the upcoming job.