Chapter 27

After River Boy talks to harold chapt 26
After latchy and wilkerson organize fishing tourney

Big Mac and Tony Mute showed up again, half on the run but quietly back to selling whisky. The market, eager as usual was keeping them alive, but folks in Blacktown were still wary of the war in Crooks Tail, and the murders, afraid of both the spies and the Klan, even of their own Mayor because he a white boy, but hell with that, it was a joke. It didn't matter, all were stepping careful now.

Mac and Top Hat met in the back room at the billiard hall, and both had their guns on the table, until Mac said, shit now, we just threw Spade in a hole together, resulting in a shared dark and worried laugh. Nobody else was in the room. The girls were long gone and there was still blood on the billiard table. Damn mess.
Mac told him that Crackling's gone. He's completely gone. Nobody even says his name, and you know how those guys were always saying, Crackling this, and Crackling that. Nothing. And I saw that guy Junior, you know Crackling's man. The fat one. He was running up the street trying to get a ride out of town with anybody before they caught him. He said, Boy Johnson's in charge now.

Top Hat asked about the payments, but Mac hadn't heard. Nobody knew what they were going to do with Blacktown. Maybe it was over, maybe just burn the billiard hall and go to Chicago. Top Hat knew some people, but he was just another slick shoed bastard without a hustle. And it was cold.
Naw. Forget running. I got whiskey. And get a couple girls right off, maybe from Abbeywille. We'll pull it back. There still good men around.
Good thing Top Hat squirreled his money when times were good. Lord knows all those he helped would be deaf and broke when he asked for help in return.

Word spread fast that Harold was the snitch. Top Hat wasn't surprised. Look how stupid he was. I never trusted him and that's why he knew nothing, but it also meant that the white fella who came in now and then was the law. If he stops coming, then that will say for sure, but then they'll just send another. It's better if you know, and just angle around them, feed ''em the shit you want.
After that Harold disappeared. Who knows where? Somebody said they saw him walking toward the river. His mama was asking, but the stone faces said the truth, and she spent that night screaming, until a few people set her to console.
It was no use though, everybody was dead inside. Scared and dead. People ready to move out.
That was until Thursday night when Banging Gypsy showed up and said to throw them damn church doors wide open ... and that night the whole town poured out into those pews and once filled, they sat outside ... all them, singing and dancing and praying as hard as they could until the devil shrunk down to a skinny rat running ahead of the cats wanting to tear him to shreds.

Old content
Mac agrees to tell Gypsy, and fast as lightning, a carload of shine and two white boys head east to tell Banging....