Dollface: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties (41 page)

I sat on the edge of the bed, resting my head against the heels of my hands.

“I mean it, Vera. The only reason I’m telling you is because I’m leaving town and I want to take you with me. And I don’t wanna scare you, but I don’t think you should stick around town anyway. Somebody connects the two of us and you’re as good as gone. You’re a traitor in their eyes. And it won’t just be the South Siders after you—the North Siders’ll probably wipe you out before Capone’s boys even get a chance.”

I couldn’t breathe. I started rocking back and forth, cradling my head in my hands.

Tony came over and crouched down before me, taking hold of both my hands. “I gotta take care of a few things and then we can go. I can pick you up in the morning and we’ll be gone.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t think.

“You gotta come with me. It’s the only way. We’ll get out of town and we’ll do it now.”

I pressed my fingertips against my eyes. They burned. My shoulders ached. Everything ached. I kept my eyes closed. I couldn’t look at Tony.

“Listen to me—Shep’s going down—you can’t save him. Shep’s got a hit coming, and that makes you a widow.”

“This is all happening too fast.”

“We don’t have a choice. So here’s what we’re gonna do. Tomorrow morning, when Shep leaves for the garage, I’ll swing by your house. I’ll come get you and Hannah and we’ll be on our way.”

I opened my eyes and looked away. How could I not tell Shep he was in danger? Yet if I said anything, if I even hinted, he’d know that someone had told me. Even if I didn’t serve up Tony’s name, he’d figure it out. The cigar man, hotel clerks, the Four Deuces barkeeper, Dora, even Evelyn—they all flashed through my mind. It wouldn’t take long to find the trail that led from me to Tony. I needed time to think but there was no time. I doubled over, feeling like I’d swallowed snakes. I covered my mouth with both hands. The chills took over my body as I rocked back and forth.

Tony grabbed me by the shoulders, trying to hold me still. “Say you’ll do it. Tell me you’ll come with me.”

I couldn’t answer. I could barely breathe. I didn’t know what I was going to do the next minute, let alone the next morning.

He asked again if I’d come with him. When I didn’t respond he said, “It’s gonna be okay. I promise you. You gotta trust me on this, okay? You do trust me, don’t you?”

I nodded. My head was spinning. If I told Shep about the hit, they’d kill Tony. If I didn’t say anything, they’d kill Shep. There was no way out of this.

•   •   •

W
hen I left the hotel, I was light-headed and shaky. People on the streets went about their business as if everything were normal, but I knew the world was about to end. At least, for me it was.

I walked nine or ten blocks in the bitter cold. I didn’t know if I could run away with Tony, but I did know that I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t warn Shep. I picked up my pace, flagged down a cab. I had him take me straight to Schofield’s.

“Shep? Shep?” I barged into the flower shop, panting as if I’d run the whole way. It was dark inside, and after the bright winter light outside I was blinded. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw a couple of the Little Pishers looking up from their card game in back. I couldn’t make out their faces.

“He’s not here,” one of them said.

“Where is he? Did he say when he’d be back?”

The boy shrugged. “I don’t know nothin’. Sorry.”

I raced home after that, but Shep wasn’t there, either. After I sent the housekeeper home, I telephoned Dora. “Can you watch Hannah for me?”

“What’s wrong?” Dora asked as soon as she heard my voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” I didn’t know what was going to happen when I told Shep, but I knew I didn’t want Hannah home to witness it. I cleared my throat, steadied my voice. “It would be a big help if Hannah could stay with you tonight.”

Before we left the house, I brushed Hannah’s hair aside and studied her face. She was so young, just four years old, the same age I was when my father was killed. I couldn’t let that happen to her.

When I dropped Hannah off, Dora stood in the doorway wearing an apron, holding a wooden spoon in her hand. “Is everything okay? You don’t look so good, Vera. Come inside and let’s talk. Something’s up, I can tell.”

“It’s nothing. Really.” I forced a smile. I couldn’t tell her. She already knew too much as it was. “I’m just in a hurry,” I said, pointing back to the cab idling at the curb. “The driver’s waiting for me.” I kissed Hannah and started to walk away.

“Vera, wait!”

I froze in place for a minute but couldn’t turn back. “I have to go. I’m late.”

“Vera—Vera, come back here.”

I heard her footsteps on the sidewalk coming after me, but I kept walking and was back inside the cab before she could stop me.

When I got home, Shep still wasn’t there. I poured myself a drink and smoked a cigarette, rehearsing what I’d say when he came through the door. I knew Tony said there was nothing I could do to stop Capone, but Shep was smart—he’d find a way out. But he had to know what he was walking into.

The sun had gone down and daylight had left the room hours before. I sat in the dark, hardly stirring at all. Even after I’d spilled half my drink down the front of my dress, I sat and finished what was in my glass. I didn’t get up again until it was time to fix myself the next drink, light the next cigarette. At seven o’clock I called Schofield’s but they still hadn’t seen Shep.

“Will you tell him I need to speak with him? Tell him it’s important,” I said.

A few hours later I called again, but the line was busy. I telephoned every five minutes until I finally got through, but there was no answer. The phone just rang and rang.

I turned on a lamp and looked at the clock. It was half past eleven. Where was Shep? And what was I supposed to do now? I knew that as soon as I told Shep about the Capone hit, my life would never be the same. Shep had a better chance of dodging his killers than I had of saving my marriage. There was a good chance he’d throw me out of the house. What would I do then? Get Hannah and then what? Where would we go? Would I call Tony and tell him to come get us? Could I really do that? Run away with Tony? Forever?

I went upstairs to the bedroom and sat on the side of the bed, thinking that I should have had the housekeeper turn the mattress. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had her do that. With everything else on my mind, turning the mattress became a concern. It was a problem I knew how to solve.

I slipped out of my dress and slung it over the back of the chair. I wandered into the bathroom, going through the motions as I slathered cold cream onto my face, deliberately not looking in the mirror. I couldn’t bear to look into my own eyes. I crawled into bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling, rehearsing what I’d say to Shep. The hardest part was knowing where to start.

I dozed off and when I opened my eyes it was half past three. Shep still wasn’t home. The sheets were cold when I slid my hand over to his side. Most wives would have worried that their husband was with another woman, but not me. I never doubted Shep’s fidelity. Shep Green was a good man and I couldn’t have said that for the others, even his beloved Dion O’Banion. Sometimes I thought Shep should have let Dion take his sins with him to his grave. I knew I was being superstitious, but I wished Shep had never eaten that sin cake. And I wished I had never been involved in Izzy’s murder.

A tear trailed down my cheek and landed on my lips. I rolled onto my side and begged God for forgiveness. Then I prayed for a miracle.

MY VALENTINE

W
hen I woke up the next morning, the sheets on Shep’s side of the bed were still untouched. His robe was hanging on the back of the closet door. He never made it home last night, and all I could think was,
It’s already happened. Shep’s dead. Capone killed him.

I looked at the bedside clock; it was half past eight. I threw off the covers and reached for the same dress I’d worn the day before. It was where I’d left it on the chair. I got dressed and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked like hell. A crease had formed across my cheek from the pillowcase. My dress was wrinkled and stained from the drink I’d spilled on it.

As I reached for the door, Shep surprised me, coming into the bedroom with his hands behind his back.

“Oh, you’re home! Thank God!” I splayed my open fingers across my pounding heart. I went to throw my arms around him and he presented me with a bouquet of roses.

“For you!” he said.

“For me? Why?” I looked at him, confused.

“Valentine’s Day, Dollface. Today’s Valentine’s Day.” His tone was off. Or maybe it was me who was off.

I thanked him and mumbled something about putting the flowers in water. I headed out of the bedroom with him close on my heels, following me down the stairs and into the kitchen. I knew I had to tell him about Capone, but I didn’t know where to start. I still didn’t know what those first few words should be.

“You were out all night,” I said, keeping my eyes on the roses. “That’s not like you. I was worried. Where were you?”

“You really want to know where I was all night?” He leaned against the counter, watching me reach for a vase. His tone of voice was odd. “I’ll tell you where I was. I was out looking for your boyfriend.”

I nearly dropped the vase. “My
what
?” The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I was ashamed that my first impulse was to deny it.

“Your boyfriend. Liolli. Tony Liolli.” Shep had thunder in his voice.

I tried but couldn’t look at him. My heart raced and my hands shook as I stuffed the roses inside a vase that was too small. Some of the petals came off, falling onto the counter.

“You want to tell me why Knuckles knows about this and I don’t?”

Dora!
I squeezed my eyes shut. I knew it. My worst fear: Dora had told Knuckles. Shep moved in closer and I flinched, blocking my face with my hands.

“What’s the matter, Vera? You scared of me? You think I’m gonna hurt you?” He was back in control. His voice now had an eerie calmness to it.

“Shep . . .” My chin trembled. I was already crying, looking at him through a blur of tears.

“Oh, I’m not going to hurt you—you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about that.”

“Shep”—I was panting as I spoke—“you’re in trouble—Capone’s after you.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Like tell me what the hell’s going on with you and that scumbag Liolli?”

I took a deep breath and went over to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. It was time to come clean. I told Shep
everything
, beginning with the news that Capone was planning to murder him.

“...I don’t know all the specifics,” I said after explaining all that Tony had told me. “But I do know that Capone’ll kill you if you go to that garage today.”

“Well, that would be very convenient for you and Liolli, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh, Shep, you have to believe me. It’s a setup. I swear it is.”

“I don’t give a damn about Capone right now. What I want to know is what the hell’s going on between you and Liolli?”

I tried to warn him again about Capone but he wasn’t hearing me. He just kept asking about Tony and me. So I started from the beginning. As I was talking, I heard this voice coming from me, but it didn’t sound like it belonged to me.
“...I met Tony before I even knew you. . . . And then you were away for so long. . . .”
It was as if someone else were telling the story. There was no emotion. I was tapped out.
“...We’d meet at his hotel room. Twice, sometimes three times a week . . .”

Shep was standing, leaning against the counter next to me. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

“...I don’t know what I was thinking,” I said. “It was a mistake from the start. I was just so lonely when you went away, and even after you were back home, you were never around and I was scared and I know it was wrong. I just couldn’t figure out how to get out of it. . . .”

Shep’s jaw stiffened. He twisted his wedding band and clenched his fist.

“Shep . . .” I reached for his hand but he pulled away from me.

“I’m not sure I want to know the answer to this,” he said, “but I have to ask you—is Hannah even mine? Is she my daughter?”

“Of course she’s yours.” My eyes glassed up. “You’re her father. I swear it. You have to believe me—”

Shep held up a hand to silence me. “What makes you think I could ever believe anything you say to me again?”

“Because I love you, and you have to believe what I told you about Capone or else he’s going to kill you. I’m telling you the truth, Shep. They’re coming for you at the garage on Clark Street later today—he said there was nothing I could do to stop it. He told me we had to go away and start over. He wanted to take me to Mexico. But I’m not going. I’m not. I couldn’t.”

“You wouldn’t get too far anyway,” he said, checking his pocket watch, “because I’ve already got a tail on your boy Liolli. Did that as soon as Knuckles told me what was going on. I’m watching every move that greaseball makes. If he hadn’t been hiding out at the Four Deuces all night, I would have finished him off by now.”

“Oh, God!” The knots in my stomach pulled tighter.

Shep reached for his overcoat and shrugged it on. “I’m late. We’ll finish this when I get back.” He set his fedora on his head and made his way to the front door.

“No, Shep, please! You can’t go down there. They’re waiting for you at the garage. I swear it. They’re going to kill you there.” I chased after him, squeezing my way between him and the front door, blocking him from leaving. “No, Shep—please.” With my body still pressed against the door trying to stop him, he reached for the knob, and when he pulled the door open I lost my balance and fell in the corner. I was stunned for a moment and when I looked up, Shep was already heading out the door.

“Shep!
Shep!
” I ran after him out the front door, a rush of freezing air stinging my cheeks. “Shep, wait.”

Shep stopped. I stood frozen too. A new panic rushed through my veins. There was Knuckles, standing outside the front gate with his pistol drawn, pointed at Tony Liolli’s back. Tony’s gloved hands gripped onto the black finials of the gate for support. He didn’t speak but I could see his breath against the frigid air, coming out fast and hard. His car was still running, idling at the curb. Knuckles’s car was right behind his, doing the same.