The note was written in a scrawl
12)
Joddie Rescue attempt, The Heart card
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A week passed before Maggie and River Boy saw each other again.
He knew places near Trinity down by the river where they could talk and resume passions.
She couldn't tell her friends, and the lies she told her parents had become unbelievable.
Maggie,
both imagining and fearing that her meetings with River Boy would turn
her into Joddie, created rules for any lust that might overcome her
character, discovering that each barrier was quickly getting crashed
apart.
With continual pressure from Maggie, River Boy had to find a way to help Joddie.
Maggie
told him that Joddie changed after the brother's death, but otherwise
he had no idea who the girl was, or what she was doing, or who she was
with, plus the uncertainty with Top Hat's payments.
Big trouble was coming to Blacktown.
Spade was pushing to take over Top Hat's gambling and rent.
River
Boy could see that delivering payments to Crooks Tail was dangerous but
Top Hat was his friend. It was Top Hat who first welcomed River Boy
after he arrived. It was Top Hat that protected Blacktown and the
people from violence.
Top Hat chose River Boy to deliver payments in
part because he was white, and less likely to get killed or stopped by
the police.
Nonetheless River Boy had to go back to Crooks Tail to
find this girl Joddie. He didn't tell Top Hat, figuring as long as he
didn't use his car, then it was a separate deal.
You have to understand the damnable history of man to understand the stupidness that people get involved in.
Rebelling
against normal urges that would tell anyone else to stay home, River
Boy saw Big Mak's car drive by one afternoon and asked him for ride to
Crooks Tail.
What's going on? You got Top Hat's car.
My girlfriend saw her sister in one of the rooms.
A performer?
Yeah. The bill said Cashew Lynn.
Oh ho ho ho, Mac laughed. That's the big show. She's Johnson's.
Who's Johnson?
Boy Johnson. You know, runs the place with Crackling.
River Boy knew the names.
So you going down sewer with that one eh?
No. I just want to talk to her.
Mac started laughing. You're taking Top Hat's payments? And driving his car?
Yeah, what's that to do with it?
Mak laughed again. I'll take you. I'll ask around, but you on your own down there.
Big Mak was always ready to play crazy odds, and good at doing it, so he agreed, besides he wanted to be close to the action.
Mak
wasn't hiding under a rock. He was fairly open about pushing illegal
whiskey, at least around River Boy, but barely revealed true purposes.
He was known around the state and made the payoffs but didn't get his head up tall enough they'd cut it off.
He
was very agreeable, very tough, survived on muscle and wits, and
destined to have a short life but knew how to spot the undercovers,
listeners, set ups, ripoffs. All the usual stuff.
He liked River Boy, seeing him as a younger version of himself. It wasn't like that, but that's what he saw.
Couple days later, Mak picked up River Boy on a road outside town.
The visit to Crooks Tail wasn't going to be social.
Big Mak checked both revolvers before putting them back in his pockets.
There were three streets that traveled the last mile down from civilized Lewiston to Crooks Tail.
They stayed off the main route.
River Boy saw Mak's eyes change. He was watching. Searching for anything that might alert danger.
The man in a car, did he turn his head? Did somebody duck out of sight? Did a bird fly up startled? Was there a sound?
Mac circled once then parked behind the old Lewiston Hotel, a place long forgotten by respectable people.
The Lewiston was where men went to imbibe themselves of matronly flesh and drink the hardest whiskey until happily numb.
River Boy got out of the car first. Big Mak was still wary and looking around.
He was large. Not overtly tall. Thickly built, maybe some fat. More like a beef patty than a hotdog.
He
wore a baggy brown jacket even in summertime, along with plain pants,
never colorful, but with plenty of personality to balance the style.
Before they went in, Mak said, you know they're going to kill Top Hat.
River Boy asked, why?
Mak was the type of guy who when he wasn't babbling nonsense said what he knew but didn't fill the blanks.
They went in the back door past the kitchen toward the bar.
River Boy followed.
Suave
Jinkins tended bar. You couldn’t miss him. He was the tall inky black
man walking through the room with a tipped hat and checkered shirt.
His twin brother played piano. The place was crowded and noisy.
His younger brother Lucius sat at a corner table with Crackling Green and Boy Johnson. It was rare to find them all together.
The table was dimly lit and let the occupants run deep in the shadows with a door where people came and went without being seen.
You could have stirred hell with an electric prod and not come up with a more devious pair than Cracking Green and Boy Johnson.
Crackling
was the killer. Boy Johnson kept a civil tone that carried the pair to
the top of Crooks Tail and under paybail to the Upstate Boys.
They collected the money, ran the tables, sold the whiskey, controlled the gaming and the girls.
Top Hat was afraid of them, same as any sane man who knew them.
River Boy and Mak sat at a table in the middle of the room.
River Boy had never seen Crackling or Johnson. He always handed the payment to someone else at different hotels each time.
Mak said, don't look at those guys. They know you're here.
If they want to meet, they'll let you know.
If not we have to leave.
Mak added, they'll read you like a book. If you not straight they'll see it. They'll kill you.
The waitress brought whiskey to the table.
Leave it Mak said. I don't drink what I deliver.
River Boy thought that must be wicked brew if Mak didn't drink his own product.
A
girl stopped by and sat down. She was topless and her heavies hung down
against the table. It was funny having large brown nipples staring at
your hands.
Big Mak cracked open a peanut and threw the shell on the
floor. She offered him a situation so he got up and went into the back
with her.
She was shapely and had extra meat hanging on the reverse side.
River Boy got a twitch. Grandpa told him about men getting the rot from those girls.
Still he wanted to have a peek.
He
watched the piano player until another girl came over. She was white
and topless. Pretty in a way. Her nipples were pink and didn't whack
the table when she sat down. At least his eyes had a place to rest.
A minute later Big Mak came back.
River Boy considered that was kinda quick for a robust sportster like Big Mac.
Pink nipples got up and left.
Mac said in real low tone, damn that place. They got it on the walls and on the doors. Damn.
It
was the dirtiest haikute brothel he'd ever seen, and that was claiming
a lot for Big Mac who traveled the low trade since he was eight.
River Boy wondered about the chair he was sitting on. No wonder Big Mak didn't drink the product.
A rough-looking Negro nodded toward River Boy.
Mak said, it's you.
River Boy followed the man and after a search for weapons, they went up a wide stairway. The building smelled old.
The carpet was worn down to wood.
The
stairs ended at the third floor. There was a long hall. The Negro
pointed to a door at the far end. River Boy had to pass three unlit
hallways from the side. Anybody could be hiding in those holes. He was
scared but couldn't go back.
He knocked on the door. No answer. Knocked again. Still nothing. He turned the oversized knob and slowly stepped inside.
Joddie
was sitting there in a long white satin dress. She was beautiful. And
expressionless. It was hard to resist looking at her face.
The room
was brightly lit and had a jovial air with a large mirror on the
ceiling. Off to the side, there was a table with whiskey bottles and
glasses. A piano in the corner. Pictures with ornate frames hung on the
red walls. There were gold circus curtains along one side with four
table lamps with glass shades and bright bulbs.
Are you Joddie? Of course she was, but he had only glimpsed her once while she was spread on a table.
The girl didn't answer.
River Boy asked differently, Cashew Lynn?
That got her eye but still no answer.
Look, your sister Maggie wanted me to come.
What for?
She wants to help.
You better run home.
It's a favor for her.
So you're the one fucking her. Maybe she should save herself.
A
side door opened and a heavy, thickly built dark Negro walked in. It
was Boy Johnson. He was hard-eyed on River Boy and went over to his
girl and pulled a kiss off her lips before sitting down in full display
of his power.
River Boy was surprised to see somebody else, and assumed it was Boy Johnson from Big Mac's description.
At this point, he figured he better weigh carefully to avoid getting thrown down the stairs.
He
started with his rehersed pitch that Joddie should go back to her
family. It was an emotional approach that sounded tinny the more he
spoke except Johnson liked watching this boy play over his head,
then said, naw, I gonna keep this one, laughing with his big head
barely moving and never taking eye off River Boy.
Joddie snapped out, I don't need to be saved by your stupid ass.
River Boy asked, is that what I tell her?
Joddie was lost to own carelessness and hadn't given it a thought, but that wasn't what she wanted her sister to hear.
Joddie knew her case was bad, as if anything River Boy would think about her might be be true.
Boy Johnson hadn't changed expression.
It was true nobody could outdeal Johnson, and he was looking through River Boy to see Top Hat and Blacktown.
He
knew not to make the mistakes that Top Hat made. It didn't matter, but
Johnson was impressed by the boy showing up. That was dangerous enough,
but River Boy seemed to have a clear mind even under risk, unless he
didn't understand, but then why would Big Mac risk himself on a bad
gamble if the boy had no quality?
That's why Johnson agreed to
meet. He wanted to see who Top Hat chose, and when Mac asked around for
the meeting, it caused Johnson to wonder what the boy could be used for.
Johnson
was not disappointed necessarily, but couldn't make sense why River Boy
seemed so intent. Of course he didn't know Joddie's sister saw her
performing.
Joddie was laughing.
River Boy had to try something else.
Maybe nothing was better than something.
He was trying to impress Maggie who might not even like him.
And what was the return?
Some
damn whore of a girl laughing at him? Her fate was already chosen and
River Boy exposed a weakness that Boy Johnson's mind wormed into.
Grandpa
was endangered by River Boy taking Top Hat's payments. The whole of
Blacktown could explode if those guys killed Top Hat.
He could see that Joddie was more than a bag of money to Boy Johnson. Why else was he sitting there and letting her talk?
Then River Boy remembered something.
Instead of retreating like instinct demanded, he walked two steps forward and sat down in a chair.
That
could've been seen as agressive, but it told Johnson that River Boy was
not simple ... maybe brave, maybe stupid, but not simple.
River
Boy spoke directly to him and said, I heard that Bob stole from the
Upstate Boys, and they're looking for him. If she's home with her
family, she won't get hurt if something happens.
Maggie told River
Boy that Joddie spent a lot of time with Bob. If that was true, and
Joddie happened to be with Bob when the men struck, then she might get
hurt too. Mostly River Boy was just guessing.
Boy Johnson shot up on that, and demanded, who say that?
I heard it in Blacktown.
From who? That fool Top Hat told you this shit. I know him. It won't work. That's why you're here.
You wanting to protect him.
But
it was true. The Upstate Boys were after Bob, and River Boy looked down
and shook his head. It's not about Top Hat, it's about the girl.
Turns
out that Top Hat's precious girlfriend Molly Princess was also
Churchail's special love mistress. Molly heard from one of Churchail's
house maids that the men were talking about Bob Steward robbing a poker
game and they had to kill him. They were worried about the election
since he was married to Joel Winston's daughter. Molly told Top Hat and
one of the men in town told River Boy since he was known about with
Maggie Winston.
It turned into a mild exchange after that, Boy
Johnson eager for River Boy to reveal who was giving him information.
Besides, there was Crackling Green to consider.
If the Upstate Boys were going to kill Bob, it might fall to Crackling and his men.
In any case, Crackling would kill Joddie like a tomcat on a kitten.
First
misstep and that girl was gone no matter what because Crackling didn't
like the shit she talked or her influence over Boy Johnson, so there
was a reason for Johnson to listen to River Boy who might find a route
to set her free.
It was for love.
The only love in his life. Hard to tell how Joddie felt in return about Johnson, but he had to decide, not her.
River Boy didn't know any of that, and kept pushing the Bob story until Boy Johnson just couldn't stop laughing.
You tell me this. Why? Why you want this girl?
Because I love her sister.
That set Joddie ahowl, she knew her sister Maggie didn't love this dirty Negro boy who looked white.
Johnson motioned for River Boy to leave, so that was it.
Johnson liked River Boy and he earned respect showing up as a favor to Joddie's sister, but things were bigger than that.
River Boy would live for now, but Top Hat was going to die.
River
Boy left without a word and cautiously walked down the stair to the
first floor where a group of Negroes blocked the way. He was trying to
get past when they pushed him against the wall. And then a large man
came from the side real fast.
It was Crackling Green.
Boy
Johnson was a mound of muscle. A man who would stalk inside your
mind while you thought he was happily talking about himself.
Crackling Green was different. Stark, tall and thickly angled with sharp evil eyes. He was murderer plain and simple.
He
poked a finger into River Boy's chest that felt like a metal spike.
River Boy looked into the blue black flashing steel of Crackling's
eyes.
You and your Grandpa playin' a big game. You stay outta it.
Those eyes. Crackling's eyes. They were the same ones staring at him from the dark hall the night he and Maggie saw Joddie
Legs shaking all the way out to Mac's car, it was hard for River Boy to believe he got out of there alive.
Mac said nothing, looked around warily before heading back to Trinity.
Back upstairs, Joddie asked Johnson, are they going to kill Bob?
I dunno. He does stupid shit. What do you want?
She couldn't answer. She loved Bob, but he wasn't right.
You can stay with me. Both knew it wouldn't happen. She was too white and his life was already taken. He had a wife and 2 kids.
She wanted more. She wanted a family. Neither could solve it now.
Two
days later, Boy Johnson found a note written in brown ink lodged in a
split on the back of one of the legs of his whiskey table.
Strange.
He knew exactly who put it there, but wasn't sure. Maybe it fell off
the table. The brown scribble looked old. He thought of his father when
he read it.
He only met his father once when he was 7. That dirty
ass sharecropper married a Mexican and they had 3 kids. He worked the
mules for some rich guy all day in the hot sun and had nothing to show.
Johnson hadn't remembered it for years and it made him angry.
The
visit with his father that one time changed him. After that he decided
he would never be a dirt man. He was too smart for those guys anyway.
No matter how hard he tried to divert himself, the note kept coming back.
The
more he touched it, the angrier he got. It was about his father, or
about his life but there was no way to draw a sight on the reason.
He
had a choice. He could have chosen blood or revenge at that moment to
mirror his own life, but his heart forced him to pick carefully. He
chose to control the people he victimized instead of killing them.
That's why he needed Crackling. Then he remembered how Joddie changed
him inside. After that, he threw the note away and felt better.
Theirs
was a tawdry duplicitous relationship, Boy Johnson and Joddie Winston,
loving and hating that woman enough to whore her out to every
long-seeking thruster in the state in exchange for the money, and then
suckle her womanhood at night feeling safe like a small child. Yeah he
chose her. He chose the Heart card because women made him weak, and
that's why Crackling wanted to kill Joddie.
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