The Greyhound bus had dropped them at the Brunswick bus station. Johnny had gone to the information desk and asked the girl for a decent, cheap hotel.
She was a pretty little thing with blonde curls and long, false eyelashes and she was helpful.
“You could call me biased,” she said, “but my uncle runs the Welcome hotel. It’s thirty dollars a day, everything included and the food’s wonderful. That’s for the two of you.” She fluttered her eyelashes first at Freda, then at him. “Honest, you’ll be happy there.”
“Okay and thanks,” Johnny said. “Where do I find it?”
“Third on the left up Main Street: it’s not far.” Carrying their bags and with Freda at his side, Johnny walked up Main Street. He was a little worried about the price. He had no idea how long they would have to stay at the hotel.
But when they were shown into the big room, with a double bed, two comfortable arm chairs, a shower room and a colour T.V. set, Johnny ceased to worry.
They both took showers, then got on the bed.
They had spent the rest of the afternoon in each other’s arms. Around 19.30, they went down to the restaurant and enjoyed a good meal.
Johnny was pleased to see Freda was much more relaxed and even gay. They watched T.V. until midnight, then went to bed. Neither of them spoke of the Mafia nor of the money, consciously enjoying this comfort, and desperately clinging to what they both knew was an interval free of danger.
The following morning, Johnny called Sammy. Freda, sitting up in bed, listened. When he hung up, they looked at each other.
“We’ll know this time tomorrow,” Johnny said. “Do you think it’ll be all right?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” He got back on the bed. “Baby, I
want my boat. Do you mind?”
“Of course not. I want it too.” She put her hand on his. “I want it for you because I love you.”
Later, as he was dozing off, she said, “They’ll never find us, will they?”
What was the use, after warning her, in telling her they could never escape? .What was the use of telling her they were buying time? But he couldn’t lie to her. In silence, he turned his hand to grip hers.
He felt her shiver and he knew she had got the message.
“Love me,” she said, pulling him on to her. “Make me forget.”
The day drifted by. They went down to the restaurant for lunch. They returned to their room and watched a ball game on T.V. They went down to the restaurant for dinner, then returned to their room. They watched T.V. until after midnight.
Johnny didn’t sleep much. He kept thinking of Massino. He was aware that Freda was having nightmares. Twice, she cried out, but by putting his hand on hers, he stilled her cries.
Soon after 07.30, he called Sammy.
“What’s happening?”
“I got news,” Sammy said, his voice excited. “Mr. Joe is sure you’re in Havana. He said he’s kissed you good-bye.”
Johnny’s heart gave a little jump.
“How do you know that?”
“I had to drive Mr. Joe and Mr. Andy up town. Mr. Joe was in a terrible mood: cursing and swearing. He told Mr. Andy this Mr. Luigi had telephoned. This gentleman said you were now in Havana and there was nothing more he could do. He said the money was gone.” A pause, then Sammy asked, “You’re not in Havana, are you, Mr. Johnny?”
“Never mind where I am. Look, Sammy, check the bus station. I must know if the boys are still there. Will you do that?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it.”
“I’ll call you back. When can I get you?”
“It’s my night off. I’ll be right here at five.”
“I’ll call you just after five.”
“And, Mr. Johnny, you still mean it about the six thousand bucks? I’m worrying about it: Cloe’s giving me no peace.”
“You’ll get it. I told you: it’s a promise.”
When he had hung up, he told Freda what Sammy had said. They looked at each other.
“You know something, baby?” Johnny said, smiling at her. “I think you’ve saved us. It was your brainwave to have told them I was heading for Havana. I’d never have thought of it. This could be our break. If the locker isn’t guarded and I’ll know this evening, then we can get the money.”
“Oh, God, Johnny! I prayed last night! I haven’t prayed for years. So what do we do?”
“If we get the green light this evening, we hire a car and drive back to East City. We can do it in three hours. We’ll arrive at the bus station around eleven o’clock. That’s a good time. Not many people around and it will be dark. We get the money and we get out.
“I can’t believe it!”
“It depends if the bus station is being watched. If it isn’t, then we go.”
“And Johnny, if they think we’re in Havana…” She paused to look at him. “Then no one will come knocking on our door.”
“That’s it, baby.” He pulled her close to him. “No one will come knocking on our door.”
As Sammy came out of the elevator; heading for Massino’s office, Andy appeared. He stared at Sammy’s grey, sweating face.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Sammy ducked his head in a servile bow.
“Just going to ask the boss if there was anything else for me to do. It’s my night off, but I just wanted to ask him.”
Andy was sure Massino wouldn’t be able to control himself if he saw Sammy. Andy had tapped Sammy’s telephone and the conversation between Sammy and Johnny was on tape and Massino has listened to it.
“It’s okay,” he said. “You push off. Mr. Joe’s busy right now.”
Sammy nodded and got back into the elevator. Andy crossed to Massino’s office, entered and closed the door.
Massino was at his desk. Leaning against the walls were Toni, Ernie, Lu Berilli and Benno. On Massino’s desk lay a .22 target rifle equipped with powerful telescopic sight and a silencer.
“Sammy’s going home,” Andy said and went to the window. “Toni, get the rifle and come here.”
Puzzled, Toni looked at Massino who nodded. Toni picked up the rifle and followed Andy to the open window. Andy pulled up a straight-backed chair.
“Sit down. Look across the street. Look at the entrance to the bus station.”
Toni did as he was told.
“Now look through the telescopic sight,” Andy went on. “Focus on anyone.”
Looking through the powerful sight, Toni was startled. A taxi driver, lolling against his cab and enjoying the sunshine came into focus and Toni felt he could reach out and touch his head.
“Man!” he muttered. “Some sight!”
“Keep watching. You’ll see Sammy in a moment. I want you to get him in focus.”
Massino shoved back his chair and joined them at the window. They watched Sammy cross the street and pause to look around: His movements were furtive.
“Got him?”
“Sure. I can see the sweat on his mug,” Toni said.
They watched Sammy edge into the bus station and disappear. They waited. After a few minutes, Sammy came out, again looked furtively around and then walked away.
“Could you have killed him?” Andy asked as Toni lowered the rifle.
“With this beauty? Sure! A kid of six could have knocked him off.”
Andy looked at Massino.
“Maybe I’d better handle this, Mr. Joe. Maybe it would be better if you were out of town.”
Massino thought, then nodded.
“Yeah.”
Looking at the other men, Andy said, “So let’s get this operation set up. Sooner or later, Bianda will show.” He turned to Toni. “You and me are going to sit at this window until he shows. When he does, you blow his head off.”
Toni drew in a sigh of relief. He had been scared he might have to face Johnny in a gun fight, but now he knew he had only to sit at the window with a target rifle, he felt he could afford a grin.
“That’ll be a pleasure,” he said.
“You others stay out of sight downstairs. When Toni hits this bastard, you chase across the street, grab the two bags and come back here. It’s got to be done fast. I’ve fixed it the cops will be out of the way, but not for long, so work fast.” He turned to Massino, “You like it, Mr. Joe?”
“Yeah. You’re using your head. So okay, I’ll take a week off in Miami.” He stared at Andy. “When I get back, I expect the money in the safe and those three straightened out.”
“That’s my planning, Mr. Joe.”
“When you have the money, I want Sammy taken care of,” Massino said to Benno. “Take Ernie with you and smear that sonofabitch across a wall. I mean that. Smash him to bits! Take a can of gas with you. When you’ve finished smearing him, set him on fire.”
Benno grinned.
“Okay, boss.”
Massino turned to Toni.
“There’s the whore. You’re the only one who’s seen her. Take care of her. She’ll run, but keep after her. Make her suffer. You don’t work for me until you’ve found and fixed her, but you’ll get paid.”
Toni nodded.
“That’ll be another pleasure.”
When Massino had left the office, Andy said, “Okay, we can relax. Sammy gets a call from Bianda in another hour. In an hour’s time, Bianda could try for the money. We have to get this organized. Bianda may be cagey. He might wait a week… so, okay, we wait a week, but any minute of that week, he could show… so we wait.”
Waiting meant nothing to these men. They spent a third of their lives waiting.
Andy tapped Toni on his shoulder.
“When he shows, you have to nail him. Fluff this one and you get the treatment.”
Toni patted the target rifle. “A kid of six…”
The big, airy room with its double bed, its two armchairs and its T.V. set seemed to have shrunk. The traffic sounds coming through the open window seemed to have increased. Tension hung in the room like a black canopy.
In bra and panties, Freda lay on the bed, her arm across her eyes. Johnny sat by the telephone, his eyes on his strap watch.
“Can’t you call him now?” Freda asked, lifting her arm to look at Johnny. “For God’s sake! We’ve been waiting hours!”
“I warned you, baby,” Johnny said gently, “this is a waiting game.” Sweat was trickling down his face. “It’s only five to five.”
“I’ll go crazy if we have to wait much longer. All my goddamn life, I’ve had to wait for something!”
“Who hasn’t?” Johnny wiped his face with his handkerchief.
“Everyone is waiting for something. Take it easy, baby. Think of the boat, the sea, the sun and you and me. Think of that.”
Her arm went back across her eyes.
“Sorry, Johnny. I’m on edge.”
On edge? Johnny suppressed a sigh. He looked at her, lying there, so desirable and to him, beautiful. On edge? He felt now the chill of fear. In spite of his warnings, she didn’t seem to realize what kind of jungle they were heading for.
They waited, listening to the traffic, hearing a police whistle and in the distance, an ambulance siren. The tension in the room built up. The minute hand of Johnny’s watch crawled on. Could a minute last so long?
“Johnny!” Freda sat up. “Please call him now.”
“Okay, baby.”
He picked up the receiver and dialled Sammy’s number.
Listening to the burr-burr-burr on the line, he thought of the moment when he unlocked the locker and pulled the two heavy bags out and he closed his eyes. All that money!.
Then Sammy’s voice came on the line.
“Who’s that?”
“Sammy? Johnny. You checked the bus station?”
“I checked it, Mr. Johnny. There’s no one there.”
Johnny leaned forward, his heart beginning to thump.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. I went all over it. The boys have gone.”
“Where’s Toni?” Johnny knew Capello was the danger man.
“I don’t reckon he’s back yet, Mr. Johnny. The boss sent him to Florida. I haven’t seen him.”
“Okay.” Johnny thought for a moment. The way south and out of town would take him past Sammy’s place. “Around midnight, I’ll look in with the money. Be there.”
“Six thousand, Mr. Johnny?”
“That’s it. Be there,” and Johnny hung up. He looked at Freda who had got off the bed and was watching him. “It’s okay. They really think we’re in Havana. We’ll leave here at seven-thirty. Let’s pack. I’ll fix a Hertz car.”
“You really mean it’s safe… you’ll get the money?”
Johnny put his fingers into his shirt to feel his St. Christopher medal: it was a reflex action, but when his fingers felt nothing but the sweat-coated hairs of his chest, he again heard his mother’s words: as long as you wear it nothing really bad can happen to you.
“We’re going to try, baby. Nothing in this life is safe, but we’re going to try.”
He picked up the phone book, found the number of Hertz-rent-acar and called them. They said they would deliver a car to the hotel at 19.00.
Freda pulled on her green trouser suit and she was doing her hair as Johnny hung up.
“The car’s fixed,” he said, then going to his suitcase, he took out his gun and harness.
Watching him, her eyes opened wide.
“What are you doing?”
“Just being careful, baby.” He smiled at her. “I don’t think we’ll need it, but one never knows.”
“You’re frightening me, Johnny.”
“Go on packing. This isn’t the time to be frightened… this is the time to look ahead… to the future. This time tomorrow, you and me will be worth one hundred and eighty-six thousand dollars!”
“Yes.”
While she was carefully folding her new clothes into the suitcase, Johnny looked out of the window at the blue sky and the white clouds. His fingers went to his shirt, then dropped away.
He saw the little plop of water as the medal had hit the lake. He knew he could be walking into a trap. Sammy might be betraying him. He knew that, but what else was there to live for? If he didn’t try to get the money, sooner or later, they would find him. So he had to try. He just might be lucky. He just might have the boat for a few months, but this he was sure of… they would never take him alive. He looked over at Freda as she shut the lid of the suitcase. She and he, he decided, must share this destiny. They could have luck. Again he thought of the boat. He thought of the medal. That was superstition. There was still luck left.
In less than four hours, he would know if luck meant anything.
The hours crawled by. The lights over the bus station were on. The crowds were thinning out. The big clock above the bus station read 23.00.
“I’ve got to take a pee,” Toni said. “My back teeth are floating.”
“Hurry it up!” Andy snapped and eased his aching muscles.
Toni put down the target rifle and went fast to Massino’s toilet.
As he laid down the rifle, Johnny drove into the parking lot of the bus station.
“Here we are baby,” he said, his heart thumping. “You take over. Now listen, if anything bad happens, drive away fast. You understand? Don’t wait… just go.” He took from his hip pocket the last of Sammy’s money and dropped the bills in her lap. “It’ll be all right, but I want to be sure. Go back to the Welcome hotel. You understand?”
Freda shivered.
“Yes… It will be all right, Johnny?”
He put his hand on hers.
“Don’t be scared. I’ll get the money and come right back. You take off as soon as I’m in. Head up street. It’s easy. At the traffic lights you turn left. Don’t drive too fast.”
“Oh, Johnny!”
He pulled her to him and kissed her.
“It’s going to work out.”
“I love you.”
“Those are the best words. I love you too,” then he walked into the bright lights and towards the luggage lockers.
Andy spotted him. He wasn’t fooled by his shaven head. He recognized Johnny’s walk, his square shoulders, his short, thick-set body.
“Toni!!”
Freda shifted across the seat and under the steering wheel. She stared through the dusty windshield, seeing Johnny disappear into the station. She sensed he and she were in danger. Her mind raced. Could she live on a boat? She hated the sea. Maybe once they had all this money, she could persuade him to give up this boat idea. Her dream was a luxury villa somewhere in the sun and to meet interesting people. With all that money, people would converge on them. There would be a swimming pool, a Cadillac and servants. Once a year they would go to Paris where she would buy clothes. That would be life! A boat! Who the hell but Johnny wanted a boat!
Her fingers gripped the steering wheel.
There was time… first the money. If he really loved her she could talk him out of this stupid idea of buying a boat.
Johnny reached the locker. He paused, looking right and left. The locker aisle was deserted. A voice boomed over the tannoy system: “Last bus for Miami. No. 15.” He sank the key into the lock, opened the door and dragged out the two heavy bags.
As he dumped them on the floor, his mind moved triumphantly to his dream: A forty-five-footer with shining brass work and he at the helm, steering out to sea with the spray against his face and the sun beating down on him. And in this image which flooded his mind, Freda took no part. It was he and the forty-five- footer and the rise and fall of the deck.
He grabbed up the bags and started back across the station towards where be had parked the car. He was still moving fast, within a few yards of the car, seeing Freda at the wheel, when his life exploded into darkness.
Freda saw him coming and she caught her breath in a gasp of relief. Then she saw a tiny red spot appear in his shaven head, the bags drop from his hands and his short, thick-set body fold to the ground.
She sat there petrified, watching a thin stream of blood flowing from Johnny’s head. She heard a woman screaming. Then she saw three men come fast out of the shadows, snatch up the bags and disappear.
She pushed the gear lever to ‘Drive’ and moved the car out of the parking lot.
Dry retching sobs shook her as she drove out of town.
Sammy prowled around his tiny room. He kept looking at his cheap alarm clock on the bedside table. The time was 01.30. Mr. Johnny had said he would bring six thousand dollars to him by midnight. Cloe had telephoned. She had said that she would give him until tomorrow morning and then she would ask Jacko to take care of her. Sammy said for her not to worry. He would have the money for her and she could fix an appointment with her doctor any time tomorrow.
Again he looked at the clock.
Mr. Johnny had promised. What was happening?
Then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and he relaxed, relieved and now happy. Here was Mr. Johnny with the money! How could he have doubted him? When Mr. Johnny made a promise… it was a promise!
A knock came on the door.
Six thousand dollars! He would take Cloe south after her operation. She had always wanted to see Miami. His goddamn brother would now be out of trouble! His mother would be happy!
Sammy danced across the room to open the door.
The fat, elderly man smiled at her. He was well dressed with dyed black hair and shiny white false teeth.
“Piss off,” Freda said. “Try someone else.”
The fat man grimaced, then walked down the long street to where other girls were waiting.
Freda leaned against the wall, trying to rest her aching feet. It was now two months since Johnny had died. The money he had given her had run out. She knew she had been extravagant, but she had to have some decent clothes. Nov she was back on the game but Brunswick wasn’t profitable. It was a town full of kinky, elderly men and she had promised herself she would never pander to perverts. But, she told herself, she would now have to save enough money to go either south where the men would appreciate her talents and looks or go north and get into the call girl racket again.
As she leaned against the wall she thought of Johnny: a sweet guy. She could have married him. He and his dream boat! Well, everyone had to have their dreams. All that money… so near… so far!
It began to rain. The street now was deserted. The other girls had called it a night. She opened her shabby purse and checked her money… thirteen dollars.
Well, money was money. She snapped her purse shut and started down the long street towards the tiny room she now called her home.
Toni Capello, who had been watching her for the past half hour, moved after her. His hand slid into his coat pocket and his fingers closed around the bottle of acid.
It was while Freda was undressing that she heard a knock on her door.
Wearily, she pulled on a wrap.
“Who’s there?” she called.
The knock sounded again.
Without thinking, she crossed the room and opened the door.