Ch.77

# May 24, 1929, 5:42 PM

Eastern Residential Area

Pollard City

Crayfield drove to the residential area in the eastern part of the city. It wasn’t a place he normally had reason to visit. Yet Crayfield navigated the streets with confident familiarity, turning at the right corners and slowing down before bumpy patches of road. While waiting at a traffic light, he lit a Camel cigarette.

“Look. I’m not trying to badmouth your lovely nun. But those clergy folk have such narrow vision.”

As the light turned green, Crayfield set the car in motion.

“Think about it. The police chief position is vacant right now. Josh Graham is serving as acting chief, but he’s barely managing to maintain the status quo. He can’t actively prevent the mafia conflicts. And in this situation, the nun wants to leave the island too? Assistant, I’m the type who needs proper sleep. One gunshot at night in Pollard City is enough. Two or three is unacceptable.”

After driving around for quite some time, Crayfield parked the car in a residential alley. He’d parked so close to the apartment wall that the passenger door couldn’t be opened. Crayfield had to get out first, and I followed through the driver’s side.

What was even more puzzling was Crayfield’s subsequent behavior. He stepped onto the car’s bonnet, climbed onto the roof, grabbed the railing of a second-floor balcony, and pulled himself up.

“No one’s home. Come on up.”

With Crayfield’s help, I managed to climb up easily.

“Fortunately, she hasn’t broken her habit of leaving windows open.”

I asked whose apartment this was. There wasn’t even a single photo frame inside. Instead of answering, Crayfield whistled and made himself comfortable on the living room sofa. I examined the interior.

It was an old, worn-down building. Fresh mold was growing around recently replaced wallpaper, and judging by the various colored patches, it seemed those sections had been replaced multiple times.

The furniture was limited to chairs, a table, a sofa, a bed, and a radio. Despite the apartment’s condition, the furniture appeared to be quite expensive.

“Notice something strange?”

Crayfield smiled bitterly. Just then, we heard the sound of a lock turning. Crayfield drew his revolver and leaned against the kitchen wall while I hid in an open room. The person who entered was Officer Cathy Slide in police uniform.

“Hello, darling?”

Crayfield jumped out suddenly.

“Holy shit!”

Thanks to ducking immediately after his greeting, Crayfield avoided getting his nose broken by Cathy’s kick. As she prepared to strike again, she recognized the unwelcome intruder.

“Crayfield? Are you insane? What’s with the gun? Going for some weird concept today? Want to roleplay cop and robber?”

Crayfield gave her a knowing look while casually waving the revolver’s barrel.

“Sorry, but I’m not in the mood to roll around with you today. Let’s just talk. With our mouths, not our bodies.”

Defiance flickered in Cathy’s eyes, but when I also drew my revolver and stepped into the living room, she finally gave up.

“Crazy bastards.”

Cathy sat on the sofa, roughly unbuttoning her uniform. Her chest was clearly visible, but she didn’t seem to care. Instead, she struck a seductive pose with her arm draped over the sofa. While I kept my gun trained on her, Crayfield brought two chairs from the kitchen. As soon as we sat down, Cathy unleashed her venom.

“Oh, right. Crayfield. Are you missing the taste of the whip, or is it the handcuff play you’re craving? Or did you bring your assistant for a threesome?”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes, Cathy. Depending on how you answer, your neck might or might not end up hanging in Washington.”

“Bullshit.”

“Since when have you been so chummy with Red-Haired O’Melie?”

Surprise flashed across Cathy’s face, quickly replaced by a sneer.

“You’re talking crazy. Got any evidence, Crayfield?”

“I do. I went to a place that serves french fries with vinegar sauce, and the owner, Allie Syphreed, called me ‘Premature.’ And among all the women I’ve met, only you have ever called me that. How exactly did you introduce me?”

An exaggerated sneer erupted on Cathy’s face, but her eyes wavered anxiously.

“Am I supposed to keep track of every woman you stick it in? How short was it for the ‘premature’ rumor to spread?”

“Choose your words carefully. I’m not in the mood for jokes either. You know the Federal Bureau of Security is tapping the telephone facilities, right? They caught your voice. Understand? It’s not me who has the evidence—it’s the FBS.”

Cathy bared her teeth.

“Fuck. I should have stabbed you in the back. Or ripped your balls off.”

Despite her words, she buried her face in her hands. Then she raised her head, seething with anger.

“Fine. Yes, I sold some information to Red-Haired O’Melie and got paid for it. So what? Am I the only corrupt one? Except for Josh, that bachelor, everyone lives like this! How many clean cops do you think are left in the Pollard City Police?”

“Almost none. The problem is that you’re the only idiot who got caught with evidence.”

“Ha. So what do you want? Should I strip naked and get on all fours like a dog?”

“Information.”

Cathy roughly tore at her shirt. Buttons fell to the floor, exposing her undergarments.

“Hey, fuck it, why don’t we just shut up and all three—”

“Tell me everything you know about the Kingsport incident. The FBS knows you’re communicating with the mafia, but they don’t know which faction yet. But I know which side you’re on. Henry Paine would be very pleased.”

“That fucking cowboy bastard!”

Cathy brushed back her fallen hair.

“Fine. I thought you were just premature, but now you’re a snitch too. What’s next, Crayfield? Going to become a bitch? What do I get if I tell you?”

“I’ll prevent the federal agents from crucifying you and sending you to Washington. The FBS doesn’t just have Henry Paine, you know.”

Cathy moistened her lips with her tongue. She clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to calm her anger.

“Alright. Let’s start from the beginning. The White Hand has changed its policy to aggressive expansion. Giovanni is just a figurehead. Aurora Savio has taken real power and is acting tyrannically. What’s even more infuriating is that she’s forming a coalition. When her plan is complete, the Italian mafia will completely dominate Massachusetts. Red-Haired O’Melie has been driven to the brink of collapse, which is why he tried to join hands with the Alto Family in Kingsport.”

“The Alto Family? Never heard of them.”

“They’re a new organization. White racist scum with remnants of the KKK at their core. Quite pathetic… Their main stage is Kingsport and Arkham, mostly transport union workers. After the White Hand’s old boys fell, the KKK remnant officials bought up warehouses while control over the Kingsport warehouses was weakened.”

Crayfield took out his notepad and scribbled busily.

“And then?”

“From what I hear, half of Kingsport belongs to the White Hand, half to the Alto Family. Alto doesn’t particularly like Aurora, but they know Kingsport is relatively safe because it’s part of Aurora’s smuggling route, so they don’t provoke her. Aurora’s side also didn’t want to touch Kingsport because disrupting it would stretch her smuggling routes. But then O’Melie offered to join hands. If O’Melie and Alto joined forces, they’d have allies to watch each other’s backs.”

“What about the meeting at the warehouse that exploded? Was it between O’Melie and the Alto Family?”

“I don’t know that much. I just know the mafia gathered there occasionally. The exploded farm warehouse served as a kind of stopover. It was a huge logistics hub connecting the port and inland while distributing goods throughout Massachusetts. For mafia use only, of course.”

Cathy smirked.

“Henry Paine, that lonely sheriff of the wilderness, hit the right weak spot. I was honestly impressed. He read the patterns of the mafias and violent groups, then attacked at the most painful timing. The operation briefing said mafia executives would be secretly gathering that day.”

“Did you pass on that information?”

“Stop talking crazy. Why would I?”

“Didn’t you just say the Alto Family and O’Melie were discussing an alliance?”

“Crayfield, I’m not a major executive. I don’t know O’Melie’s internal affairs. And I swear I didn’t pass on that information. And fuck, use your head! If it were me, I’d just run away—I wouldn’t fry federal agents like popcorn!”

“Right. That’s exactly the point. Why attack at all?”

“Fuck, that’s what drives me crazy! The Alto Family might be a bit dim-witted, but they’re not crazy enough to attack the police!”

Cathy Slide sighed resignedly.

“Even if you stick that hard revolver against my ass, I don’t know what I don’t know. I don’t understand what happened either. The Kingsport police station incident? What kind of lunatic plants a time bomb in a person’s body?”

My eyes met Crayfield’s. This was exactly what Michael had mentioned.

“Tell me about that. The man who ‘exploded’ in the interrogation room. Who was he?”

“Max Ashton. 38-year-old white male. Originally from Alabama, with a record of illegal gambling dens, assault, gambling, prohibition violations, and such. He’d been in and out of jail quite a bit. Eventually drifted to Kingsport.”

“How was he caught?”

“He was lurking around when the warehouse exploded.”

“Did he light the fuse or something?”

“Ha. Today’s the day for exposing everything, huh? Let me tell you from the beginning. Federal agents, Massachusetts state police, and armed officers from Pollard, Kingsport, and Arkham entered the warehouse. It was a sealed warehouse, but there was nothing inside. As soon as they entered, flour sacks hanging from the ceiling all tore at once, powder flew everywhere, and an electrical short caused sparks that triggered a dust explosion. Several people died. We determined Ashton was the one who flipped the electrical switch.”

“You thought that, but?”

“He was a living, walking human bomb.”

Cathy wrapped her arms around herself.

“Fuck… if I think about that happening to me… Listen. Ashton didn’t say a word. He only opened his mouth after Henry Paine entered the interrogation room. Do you understand what I’m saying? That crazy human bomb deliberately got caught to blow up Henry Paine! The very idea is mind-boggling, but the fact that it was possible is even more insane! This isn’t the kind of scheme poor white trash would come up with!”

“Is that your speculation or the investigation results?”

“I stole a look at that bob-haired federal agent woman’s report. It was passed to Josh Graham.”

“You really are a bitch, you know that?”

Cathy growled.

“So what? What do you want me to do about it? Should I piss on the floor like a dog? Or mount your legs like one? Fucking eunuch. This is all I know. Find out the rest at the Kingsport police station.”

Crayfield bit his lip. Then he removed the drum from his revolver, took out one bullet, and placed it on the table.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“That’s what I want to ask. You haven’t said a single word that’s unfavorable to O’Melie. Did it feel good to screw over Josh like that?”

“And what you did to the Irish was justified?”

“Look who’s become a humanitarian. A little more and you’ll be a human rights activist. Let me give you a warning, Cathy. First, stay away from Josh. Quit the police or transfer to another department, that’s up to you. If you’re still at headquarters in a week, you’ll see what a eunuch can do. Second, feed misinformation to O’Melie. Right now. In front of me. Tell him to lay low for a while.”

“What are you plotting?”

“None of your business, Cathy. What matters is that I can put a scratch on the LP record with your voice on it. How about it? Isn’t it better to cooperate?”

“I should have ripped your cock out that day.”

She gritted her teeth, but she had no choice. She dialed the phone, mentioned a strange flower name, then recited some numbers.

“It’s me. Oberon. The FBS is trying to sweep Pollard clean, so it might be better to lay low for a while. That guy Henry Paine isn’t dead. Hang up.”

Cathy looked at us with a tired face. Crayfield put away his revolver. We headed for the front door.

“Let’s never see each other again, Crayfield.”

Cathy muttered, leaning against the wall. Crayfield waved from the doorway.

“It was filthy being with you, Cathy.”

* * * * *

May 24, 1929, 6:52 PM

Italian Restaurant “O Sole Mio” in the Downtown Area

Pollard City

“LP record? That was a bluff, right?”

Despite his words, Crayfield kept lighting Camels.

“It’s a shame though. That woman has amazing legs. When she wraps them around your waist and pulls you in, you can’t move at all. Remember when I called her the Spider Woman? How did I know she was an informant? I told you. She was the only woman who dared call me ‘Premature.’ When that word came out of an O’Melie executive’s mouth, I finally realized Cathy’s betrayal.”

The car approached another intersection. This time our destination was the downtown area.

“Let’s stop talking about it. It’s over now. It’s not like there’s only one woman like Cathy. Anyway, O’Melie’s side will lay low for now. The problem is the White Hand, but I’m not friendly with them at all. So I’ll have to leave that to you.”

Crayfield parked the car in the lot of an upscale Italian restaurant. His plain Ford supply car looked truly as small as a matchbox among the other flashy vehicles.

“Please, Assistant, do me a favor. Don’t tarnish the reputation of John ‘Legendary Casanova’ Crayfield. Consider yourself lucky. I’ll teach you a thing or two today, so watch and learn.”

As expected, we were stopped by the bodyguards at the entrance.

“Tell your lady, you beefcakes.”

Crayfield blew cigarette smoke in their faces.

“Tomorrow my assistant is getting married to Sister Abasina, and we’d like that pretty lady to be a witness.”

The two bodyguards bent over laughing.

“You’ve finally gone mad, Crayfield. A nun getting married?”

“She threw off her habit this afternoon, but I see the news travels slowly. Well, do what you want. Assistant, let’s go. Oh, and the wedding is at the Southern Cathedral.”

“Wait.”

One of them stopped us, while the other went inside to make a phone call.

Before long, a Rolls-Royce Phantom glided into the restaurant parking lot like a silent ghost. Aurora Savio, still in men’s formal attire that couldn’t hide her voluptuous figure, slammed the car door shut.

“What kind of crazy stunt are you pulling, Crayfield?”

“Nice to see you too, noble lady. I’d like to have an elegant conversation.”

Aurora ignored Crayfield and grabbed my shoulder.

“The wedding, it’s not real, right?”

“Of course not.”

Crayfield snorted beside me.

“They’re already married and going on their honeymoon tomorrow. The destination is Kingsport. Interested in being a bridesmaid?”

Aurora’s eyes blazed with anger.

“Follow me.”

Aurora led us to her car. The bodyguards tried to follow, but Aurora made such a fuss that they hurriedly returned to the restaurant.

As soon as she sat in the car, Aurora inhaled from her asthma inhaler, which allowed us to have a somewhat calmer conversation. But I was the one who had to explain.

“The Kingsport incident.”

Aurora frowned.

“I can tell the Assistant anything, but not you, Crayfield.”

“You’ll have to tell me too, Aurora. I’m not here for fun.”

“Give me one good reason why.”

“Because then I can help your beloved Assistant.”

Aurora’s face flushed bright red.

“W-what?”

“This is driving me crazy. What is it about my assistant that you like so much? I had my suspicions, but it’s true. Why did you mess with the Federal Bureau of Security?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Why would we touch him? What do you know about Henry Paine? You don’t provoke a mad dog. You ignore it and walk away. And the Kingsport explosion wasn’t our doing. I don’t know why those Alto gang bastards did it either.”

“What about the intelligence that mafia executives were gathering?”

“What?”

Aurora’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Why would they meet there? It’s just a logistics warehouse—why would executives gather there when there are perfectly good establishments? Do the Alto people meet there?”

“So there was no meeting at the abandoned farm warehouse in Kingsport?”

“Whether others meet there or not, it’s not my concern.”

Aurora waved her hand dismissively.

“But I’ve never been there.”

“What about O’Melie? Has he been there? You should know.”

Aurora stared intently at Crayfield, then at me, before letting out a long sigh.

“I’ll answer only what I know. At least they didn’t meet at that warehouse. The warehouse is on such a remote road that even one observer would be noticed immediately. O’Melie may be a bastard, but he’s not stupid enough to fall for such an obvious trap.”

“Thanks for the answer.”

Crayfield pulled the door handle, but it wouldn’t open.

“What’s this?”

“The price for making fun of me.”

Aurora pointed her revolver at Crayfield’s forehead.

“Did you think you could deceive the Left Hand of the White Hand and live?”

“Ask your beloved Assistant where he’s going with Sister Abasina tomorrow.”

I told her that I really was going to Kingsport with Abasina tomorrow morning. Aurora blinked and put away her gun.

“Assistant, why are you going to Kingsport with the nun?”

Aurora’s voice trembled with anxiety. I was about to say something, but Crayfield secretly poked my arm, so I kept quiet.

“It’s a real date. They’re leaving tomorrow morning. They’re meeting at our office. I believe he’s even made hotel reservations? A three-day stay. One room.”

“Please. Stop this nonsense. With a nun?”

“She’s not just any nun. I’m just letting you know, Aurora Savio.”

Aurora glared at Crayfield as if she wanted to devour him. Then she unlocked the driver’s seat. There was a click, and the door locks were released. As we got out, Aurora shouted loud enough for the distant bodyguards to hear:

“Thanks for doing what I asked, but I need more! So go out there and do it perfectly, you morons! Don’t even think about getting anything from me with just that pitiful information!”

Crayfield winked at me and smiled. The bodyguards looked at us with menacing expressions.

“Living such a tiring life, aren’t they? That’s always the case with middle management. But this is curious. Where did the story about mafia executives meeting at that warehouse come from? It’s clear that the O’Melie Family didn’t meet the Alto Family there. So did the Alto Family meet with someone else? Was there a meeting at all? I don’t think the meticulous Henry Paine would make a mistake, but it’s strange. It’s as if someone deliberately set a trap.”

Crayfield started the Ford. I couldn’t understand what he had accomplished.

“By the way, I overestimated your abilities. Before learning how to charm women, you need to learn to read the room. I guarantee that tomorrow morning, Aurora will be pacing in front of our office. Whether she has feelings for you or not doesn’t matter much. What matters is that she’s the type of woman who can’t stand seeing someone else take what she thought was hers.

So get a good night’s sleep. I wish you happiness on your date with two strong-willed women. What’s the problem? We’ve used Cathy Slide to block O’Melie’s activities, and the Left Hand of the White Hand will be leaving the island briefly tomorrow. I doubt the young members of the White Hand will listen to Giovanni. You sacrifice yourself and enjoy a date in Kingsport with two beautiful women. In the end, it’s all about love, Assistant. Isn’t love what rules everything?”

The Ford roared as it left the parking lot.