Letters From Al
Authors: Kathleen Pieper
Letters from Al
By
Kathleen Pieper
Letters from Al
Smashwords Edition Copyright 2011 Lee Emory
All rights reserved.
Cover design and Layout
Copyright 20011 by Lee Emory
Photo of Aunt courtesy of Kathleen Pieper
All rights reserved.
Photo of Al Capone: Courtesy of Public domain stock
WhoooDoo Mysteries
a division of
Treble Heart Books
Sierra Vista AZ
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
The characters and events in this ebook are fictional and any resemblance to persons, whether living or dead, is strictly coincidental.
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-936127-48-1
1-936127-48-2
To my computer technician, my husband David, and to Heide Aken, my web mistress, and, of course, to my Great Aunt Sophia 1902 - 2004.
Chicago, 1925
The damp pavement reflected the slight figure of a lone young woman walking down Carroll Street. She hurried, glancing over her shoulder fearfully at the fast darkening sky.
"Late again, Edna's going to fire me for sure." She said to herself, looking for courage in the shadows that moved around her.
She passed darkened buildings on deserted streets, wishing she could see in as an occasional door would quickly open and close. The sound of clinking glasses and laughter accompanied by music slipping out from the illegal Chicago clubs known as Speakeasies always secretly fascinated the young woman.
She tried to get a glimpse in, only to be met with furtive glares from sinister eyes. The exciting stories she read in the newspapers of Chicago's reputation for murder and mayhem made for big headlines and dubious fame. It also made her heart beat faster at the hint of mystery and excitement going on.
For over a year she had hidden, living on her own. Her money soon ran out and she got a job as a waitress by day while she dreamed of studying art in Paris by night. It was a scandalous plan for the times, one her relatives did not approve of. It had been the turning point of her decision, to run away.
Madeline took a deep breath. The night air was crisp and cool. An excitement and eagerness filled her with anticipation at the thrill of being young and on her own. Finally free of that stuffy mansion on the hill, full to the brim of bossy, snobbish relatives always telling her what to do.
That was then. Madeline gave a little skip and continued down the street becoming aware of shadows darting in and out from the alley across the street from the diner. Quickly she shrank against the damp brick building. Ducking behind the trash bins with her heart pounding, she heard static whispers.
"He's in there, I tell you. Let's just get it done." The voice whined.
"No. I told you we got to do it right. We don't want no witnesses and we don't want no
coppers
. We can't be sure about some of them in this part of town." The second man was cool and collected. The first man cursed under his breath and looked around nervously.
"Damn. We're going to a lot of trouble to get rid of Capone. With that scar on his face, anyone could pick him out of a crowd and ice him."
"Quiet. There. There, that's him all right, at the back of the diner. We'll get him when he comes out. Let him eat his meal, his last meal. Now shut up and get across the street, we'll get him in a crossfire. Mr. Moran will like that." The laughter was pure evil. When they moved, Madeline realized they would see her.
There was no time to think. With dry lips, she managed to blow what she hoped sounded like a casual whistle and started walking down the street. There was more movement in the alley but she pretended not to notice. Passing near a large trash can, she kicked it over and knocked the lid to the ground where it rattled noisily.
"Ouch." She feigned a soft cry and bent over. The two men stepped out of the shadows but their menacing scowls turned into lusty grins when they saw a young pretty woman, her skirt high showing off a pair of shapely legs. A red mark she made with her fingernail only seconds before came across nicely as a scratch from the lid.
"Darn it, all. I'm just so clumsy, but you startled me." Giving a wide-eyed, slightly scared look, she smiled a pouty smile she learned from the cinema. Licking her lips reddened with lip rouge, she batted her eyelashes innocently at the two thugs, hoping it worked as well for her as it had for the heroine. They looked surprised but smiled back.
"I'm just on my way to work and I think I'm late." She lied and smiled sweetly at them although shaking like a leaf on the inside.
"Well, you shouldn't be out here all alone, pretty thing like you. Never know what's waiting for you in the dark. Best you get going."
"Thanks, mister." She let her skirt drop and looked coyly over her shoulder, giving a flirty wave.
They watched her cross the street and gave each other an uneasy glance, melting back into the shadows.
A scar. The man said he, Capone, had a scar on his face.
Madeline reached the diner feeling as if she had a bulls-eye painted on her back. But no bullets whizzed by her.
Now what?
Taking her coat off and glancing out the large plate glass window, she debated on what to do next. Should she tell Edna or approach Capone?
The infamous gangster, Al Capone sat reading a menu with another man in the last booth in the narrow diner. Frowning at her being late again, the cook nodded for her to take their order. Taking a deep breath Madeline looked around at the innocent people in the diner and knew what she had to do. Deliberately dropping her pencil, she bent down beside the gangsters. The words came spilling out.
"There are two men with guns across the street waiting for you, if you're Al Capone." A strange expression crossed the man's face and he straightened up. The round-faced man indeed had a distinctive scar on his face. Eyes wide, his companion flinched, glaring at her.
"She could be lying, Al." The other man kept his hand in his pocket, a menacing look on his face. Al Capone lit his cigar and looked over at her again.
"Are you lying to me, girly?"
Madeline shook her head emphatically. "I do not lie. I just don't want to see anyone get hurt."
"Well, you got an honest face. Okay, girly, just keep smiling. Is that the back door?"
Madeline nodded, her knees quaking.
“
What’s your name?” Capone paused while his companion looked around nervously.
"Madeline, I mean, Mary. Mary Morris." She suddenly realized she didn't want a well-known gangster knowing her real name.
"Mary or Madeline, then, thanks. I'll remember your good deed." He tipped his hat to her.
"There's no need in that, Sir." She answered stiffly, frightened by even being this close to a gangster. How silly she had ever been to think this life exciting.
"Oh, but there is," he said and winked before disappearing out the back door.
The feeling of dread never left her after that. It even overshadowed the fear of discovery by her family. The next day she was walking home when the man who had been with Al Capone was waiting in front of her building.
"I've got something for you, Miss Morris." He was acting nice but his eyes were cold and suspicious. He put a manila envelope in her hands.
"What's this?" She said primly.
"This is just a ‘thank you’ for your help the other night. Mr. Capone always pays his debts in full." He turned to go.
With shaking hands Madeline opened the envelope and found money, lots of money. "Wait." She called out, "I can't take this. Here," she thrust it back at him.
Present Day
"Well? Shall we set the date?" A peck on the cheek and it was business as usual. "After we're married maybe we can take a little trip to see the place."
"Larry, you just can’t just dismiss me like this. You think what I want is ridiculous. That means you think I’m ridiculous. How can you say that?" Maddy Morris felt her cheeks grow hot and stubbornly refused to be pushed this time. "I want to go back to Nebraska. When I got the letter about Aunt Madeline, it made me think back about things. Family things I hadn't thought of for a long time."
“
What do you mean? You have your Uncles, they tell me they’re very fond of you.”
"What do my uncles have to do with this conversation? When have you talked to my uncles about me?" Maddy flared back, warning lights going off in her head. She did not want her uncles knowing her business. The resistance grew, trust of Larry didn't.
"Well, they're sort of my bosses' now, I told you I've moved up in accounting and they, well, they came to me to help you with the shares your parents had and things. The annual stockholders meeting is coming up and they thought you might be confused about how to handle your shares."
"What business is it to them? They never came around before my father died unless it was to get his proxies. They think I’m so dumb I can’t vote properly? What is going on, Larry?"
"Maddy, they never said you were dumb. I just think you need some help managing your money. My goodness, what are we arguing about anyway, they only want to help and so do I."
"Look, Larry, I don't like the things I'm hearing
about you and my uncles. I can't marry someone I can't trust, the engagement is off. I'm going to Nebraska and that's all there is to it. I think you should leave."
She needed space. The Nebraska letter was perfectly timed, and she needed to go. A neat, curt note again declining his cavalier offer of marriage lay on the hall table the next morning with the ring. Her roommate, Marie would be sure to give it to him. Larry wouldn't be able to change her mind this time. Allowing she didn't have much money, she felt good about her decision as she drove out of town.