Sweet Liar Part 19

Over the next months she and Mike met clandestinely in a cold-water flat that was a breeding pen for c.o.c.kroaches and rats. They made love, yes, but they also talked, telling each other all about their lives, for the first time each having a friend to confide in.

At the club they did their best to keep their growing love for each other a secret. They said all the right things. Mike still called Maxie an icy b.i.t.c.h; he still sneered at her, and Maxie still stuck her nose in the air when he was around.

But they didnat fool the women. For one thing, Mike quit making pa.s.ses at everything in skirts, even behaving himself on the dance floor. For another thing, there was that look in Mikeas eyes. Where once head looked at Maxie with eyes that glittered with anger, they now glittered with love. Not l.u.s.t, love.

Knowing that the women saw what was going on, one night Maxie tried her best to make them think that she and Mike still hated each other by tossing a gla.s.s of champagne in his face.

Mike ruined everything by grabbing Maxieas shoulders and kissing her hard on the mouth, and the girls recognized a familiar gesture when they saw one. When Mike walked out of the dressing room, there was silence until Lila said, aHoney, you oughta be real careful with a man like Doc.a Maxie could only nod.

35.

12 May 1928

M axie was sure shead never been so happy in her life as she was tonight. Everything about Jubileeas club was especially beautiful, from the mirrored ball overhead that flickered flattering lights across peopleas faces to the people themselves. Tonight the club seemed to be full of Docas men and even their crude manners couldnat dull Maxieas happiness.

It was difficult to sing the blues, difficult to sing about your man leaving you and no longer loving you when she knew that tonight she was leaving the city with Michael. Her bags were packed and ready, waiting for the last show to be over, then she and Mike were slipping away, going to the Midwest somewhere or to California, anywhere that was far enough away from Doc and his type.

As she sang, she saw Mike waltzing some woman with hair the color and texture of straw across the dance floor, her arm about his wide shoulders, her gum popping in his ear. As he pa.s.sed Maxie, he winked at her, then rolled his eyes skyward. The song of misery that Maxie was singing became a caressing love song.

When at long last it came time for Maxieas break, with Lila and the girls coming on stage next, Maxie could hardly contain her excitement through the introductions.

As she was rus.h.i.+ng toward the dressing room, in the darkened hallway, Jubilee stepped in front of her. aYou oughtnat to give yourself away like that, kid,a he said softly, and she knew he meant her singing and the way she had been smiling at Mike all through the evening.

Maxie was glad for the darkness to hide her blush. She felt bad for not telling Jubilee that she was leaving tonight, but she and Mike had agreed that their leaving had to be kept secret, and that meant telling no one, no good-byes to anyone.

Pretending she had no idea what Jubilee meant, Maxie went past him and headed for the dressing room, but Mike caught her in a shadow, pulling her into a dark doorway and kissing her as though his life depended on her.

aMike,a she said, trying to think, but his hands were all over her. aMike, we canat be seen.a Tenderly, he put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her gently. aHowas my kid?a aHealthy,a she answered. aSecure and happy, just as her mother is.a He kissed her again. aJust like his old man.a Quietly they laughed together over her calling the baby she carried ahera and Mike referring to it as a male.

Using what strength she had, Maxie pulled away from him. aThree more hours,a she said. aIn just three more hours weall be off.a Suddenly she was frightened, for it seemed that every person in her life had abandoned her. aMike, you arenata"? I meana"a Mike put his fingertips on her lips. aAm I playing with your affections? Have I impregnated you and now plan to abandon you to raise my kid on your own? The answer is yes, I want to spend the rest of my life waltzing brainless women around a floor, and I love spending my evenings with gangsters. Such stimulating conversation. aHey, Big Nose,a a he mocked. a aHow many you kill today? Only three? I got me four. You owe me ten bucks.a a Maxie giggled. aMike, youare awful. Now, go on and get out of here before someone sees us.a After another lingering kiss, he left her to go back to the dance floor while Maxie went into the empty communal dressing room to check her hair and makeup before she went on stage again.

A lipstick tube in her hand, she glanced into the mirror and at first didnat believe what she saw. A little boy about nine years old had silently pushed open the door and was standing there, tears slowly running down his cheeks.

Maxie turned to him. aWhatas wrong?a There was concern in her voice, true, but there was also fear; there was always fear about a place that was peopled with men like Doc.

aSomebody shot my daddy,a he said softly.

Without another word, eyes wide, Maxie got up, went to the child, and offered him her hand. Taking it, the boy led her into Jubileeas office.

At first Maxie didnat see the man lying on the floor because he was partially hidden between the desk and a half-open closet door. It was Half Hand Joe, the man who followed Doc everywhere. At Maxieas first horrified glance he looked to be dead, for there was a bullet hole in the side of his head, an almost bloodless, neat hole at the edge of a forehead that already had several scars on it. But then Joeas eyelids fluttered.

Kneeling, Maxie went to him and gently pulled his head onto her lap.

aJoe,a she whispered, stroking his hair back from his forehead. Already she could feel the blood from the wound on the back of his head seeping into her dress.

Opening his eyes, Joe glanced at her, but then his eyes went to his son standing at his feet and silently crying. Maxie hadnat thought of Joe as having children; in fact she hadnat thought much of Joe one way or the other, as he was just a shadow that followed Doc, never saying anything, seeming to be content to be near his master.

aTakeacare of himafor me,a Joe whispered, looking at his son.

aBe quiet,a Maxie said. aIall get a doctor.a aNo!a Joe said, then closed his eyes and for a moment she thought he was dead, but he opened them again. aListenaa he said. aMust tell.a aYes,a Maxie whispered, leaning forward. Even she knew that with a wound like his he wasnat going to need a doctor.

aDoc killed me.a This statement was beyond the belief of Maxie, for if there was anyone Doc cared about it was this man. aNo, he couldnat have.a Weakly, Joe held up his mutilated hand. aUseless to him. Bad shot. Stupid.a Holding his head, feeling the warmth of his lifeas blood seeping onto her dress, Maxie still couldnat believe what he was saying. Joe started fumbling at his coat lapel and Maxie realized that he wanted something from his pocket. Reaching inside for him, she pulled out a zippered canvas bag, the kind the bank gives you to carry money.

aI knewaa Joe said. aI knew was coming. I tookamoney. Money marked. Donat spend.a Holding the bag, Maxie nodded. aNo, of course I wonat spend it.a aHelp my boy.a For a moment, Joe tried to lift himself, and his eyes were brilliant with their intensity. aSwear.a aYes,a Maxie said, and she could feel the tears running down her face. aI swear Iall take care of him.a Joe lay back down, his strength almost gone. aDoc doesnat knowaabout boy. Boy a secret. Money a secret.a aIall keep your secrets,a Maxie said. aAll of them.a In the next minute she knew that Joe was dead.

Tenderly, she lay him back on the floor, and turning to the little boy, she took him in her arms and held him for a moment while he cried, aI want my daddy.a By some instinct, Maxie knew that she didnat have time to comfort the child. Doc had said he wasnat coming to the club tonight, that he had other business to attend to and couldnat make it, and his absence was why she and Mike had chosen tonight to make their getaway. But now the hairs on the back of Maxieas neck were rising because she sensed that something horrible was going to happen. Something had made Doc lie to her and made him kill a man who had been his friend and bodyguard.

Abruptly, she pulled away from the child and stood. Time was at a premium now; she knew that as well as shead ever known anything in her life. She had to take care of this child, then get to Mike and both of them had to get out of this club. If she and Mike were going to get away, they werenat going to be able to wait until after the last show, they were going to have to leave now.

Pulling the child behind her, Joeas canvas pouch in her hand, Maxie went back to the dressing room. There, secreted under what looked to be a pile of clothes, was her fat little traveling purse, filled with things shead need for the coming journey, and hidden in the lining was an inch-thick stack of hundred-dollar bills, all the money shead been able to save from years of waitressing and singing. She didnat hesitate as she took the money from the purse and wrapped it in one of Lilaas rayon blouses that was hanging on the back of a chair.

aWho is your mother?a she asked the child, trying not to convey to him the sense of panic that was building within her, but not succeeding.

The child had no idea what she meant. His mother was his mother and no one else.

Maxie took the childas chin in her hands, maybe a little harder than she meant to. aTell me the truth: Is your mother a good mother?a Maxie had had too much experience with bad mothers to trust a woman just because she had the near-holy t.i.tle of amothera attached to her.

Again, the child didnat understand her.

Exasperated, Maxie said, aDoes she beat you? Is your house clean? Do a lot of men spend the night in bed with her?a The boyas tears started again. aShe doesnat hit me and sheas always cleaning and only my dad sleeps in the bed with her.a Feeling guilty and wanting to comfort the boy, Maxie knew she couldnat. Like bile rising in her throat, she knew that time was running out and she had to get to Mike and get out of this club.

She thrust the bundle of money into the boyas hands. It was everything she and Mike had, and she had no idea what she and Mike were going to use to travel on or to set up housekeeping with, but she couldnat think of that now. Right now she knew that the most important thing in the world was to get her and Mike out of here alive.

aGive this to your mother,a she ordered. aAnd tell her to get out of New York. Now run as fast as you can. Tell her she has to leave tonight.a After a few red-eyed blinks at her, the boy scurried out of the dressing room and ran out the back door of the club. For a moment, just a tiny moment, Maxie stood and watched him leave before she turned back to the dressing room.

But she didnat enter the room, because Doc was standing there, and in his hand was a pistol with a very large opening in the end of the barrel. Without saying a word, he motioned her into the dressing room.

It would be difficult to describe Maxieas feelings at the time. She didnat feel terror as she would have thought, only a dull heaviness, because she knew that her life was over. A man like Doc wouldnat allow himself to be cuckolded without punis.h.i.+ng the perpetrator, and she had no doubt that he knew about her and Michael. Maybe itas what she deserved, she thought, because she had agreed to his rules and she had broken them.

Silently, he stepped into the room behind her and locked the door with a big key that she hadnat known existed. Wanting to be brave, wanting to face death with her shoulders high, Maxie turned to him, her back to the long, garishly lit cosmetic counter and faced him as he took a seat across from her aHow did you find out?a With a little smile that made Maxie s.h.i.+ver, he shrugged, obviously not planning to enlighten her.

Heas enjoying this, she thought, looking at him. My G.o.d! heas enjoying this! Nothing else in life gives him pleasure or excitement, not s.e.x, not food, not people who love him, nothing pleases him but this, knowing that he is going to kill someonea"having absolute, life-and-death control over another human being.

Knowing that now she had nothing more to lose, she said, aWhy did you kill Joe?a Again Doc shrugged. aHe was too clumsy and he was of no more use to me.a aAs I am of no more use to you?a aExactly.a Taking a deep breath, her hands behind her, she braced her body against the edge of the countertop and felt Joeas blood drying on the front of her dress, stiff and loathsome. aYouad better get it over with. The girlsa act is almost finished and theyall be in here soon.a Docas smile widened. aNo they wonat.a It was as though the blood suddenly drained from Maxieas body, and her first thought was of Michael. She didnat know what Doc had planned, but she knew it involved Mike.

Without thinking what she was doing, she lunged for Doc. He was little and scrawny, but he was strong, and with one backhand slap, he knocked her to the floor.

Slowly, painfully sitting up, blood coming from the corner of her mouth, she looked up at him. aKill me,a she whispered. aDo it now.a Still smiling, Doc said softly. aNot yet. Youare going to die more than once tonight.a At first Maxie thought he meant he was going to torture her, but in the next moment she heard the first blasts of the machine guns and the accompanying screams. In terror, at first uncomprehending, Maxie bolted for the door, meaning to go to Michael, but the door was locked. For a moment tearing at the k.n.o.b, pulling frantically on it, she turned to Doc. aGive me the key,a she screamed, barely able to hear herself over the sound of the machine guns and the screams of both men and women coming from the ballroom floor. aIf you have any mercy in you, give me the key!a But Doc just sat there with that enigmatic little smile, watching her, as though he were fascinated with her actions, as though he were a scientist observing a very interesting species of animal.

The machine guns seemed to go on and on, while Maxie clawed at the door until she had no fingernails left, then crying great sobs that came from her belly, she slid to the floor, leaning back against the locked door.

It was while she was crying, when she thought the pain in her would never be healed, that she saw what she at first thought was a mirage. On her right was Lilaas big, overstuffed bag that she carried with her, full of clothes and shoes and heaven knew what else. Sticking out of the corner was a tiny pearl-handled pistol. Once, Lila had said that she carried her own bodyguard with her and when the girls had laughed, Lila had shown them the little two-shot derringer.

Maxie didnat think about what she was doing. With a movement as lithe as a snakeas, she grabbed the derringer and, still sitting, spun around and fired. Years before, shead made the mistake of aiming for a manas head; this time she went for his belly, quickly firing two bullets into the exact center of him.

She wasnat a doctor and she couldnat be sure, but from the way Docas legs collapsed under him, she thought she hit his spinal cord. While uttering a high-pitched scream, Doc slid from the chair, the .38 dropping from his hand to the floor.

Maxie had no thought for Docas gun, for her only thought was to get to Michael. The guns had stopped now, but she still heard screams and moans of both pain and terror.

While Doc looked up at her from the floor with eyes that blazed with pain and hatred, she rummaged in his pockets until she found the door key, then with shaking hands, she unlocked the door.

Docas voice made her pause at the doorway, her back to him. aPlease,a he whispered. aPlease help me.a For a moment the humanity in her hesitated, but then she kept going, running toward the front of the club.

She was not prepared for what she saw: blood and more blood. People with limbs missing. Lila was lying in a pool of her own blood, half of her face perfectly made up, the other half gone. Maxie saw three other girls, all three of them dead.

Already the place was filling up with hospital people and Maxie knew that in order to get here this fast they had to have been notified before the ma.s.sacre. Docas idea of compa.s.sion, she thought bitterly.

Stepping around the people, ignoring the way her shoes stuck to the floor, she searched for Mikea"and when she saw him a white-gowned man was pulling a blood-soaked sheet over Michaelas beloved face. Running toward him, the orderly caught her shoulders.

aHeas dead and I donat think you should look at him. They blew the bottom half of him away.a Twisting hysterically, Maxie tried to get away from the man and go to Mike.

aEither you calm down or I give you something to knock you out,a the man said. aWe have enough to deal with here without the uninjured going crazy on us.a For a moment Maxie could only stare at him. Uninjured? she thought. She was far from uninjured.

aThatas better,a the man said when Maxie stopped struggling. aWhy donat you go home?a Go, she thought. Thatas what she should do, because if she stayed here she wouldnat be allowed to live another forty-eight hours. Right now she cared nothing for her own life, but she cared a great deal about Michaelas child that was growing in her womb.

Mechanically, she turned away from the people writhing on the floor, looked away from all the blood and went back to the dressing room. Without so much as a glance at Doc lying on the floor, even though she could feel his eyes on her, she picked up her purse and the bag Half Hand Joe had given her. Somewhere inside her she knew that she should pick up Docas gun and kill him, but she couldnat. She couldnat put him out of his misery as one would do for a beloved pet; she wanted him to stay alive and suffer as she was going to suffer.

Her eyes straight ahead, she walked out the back door of the club.

36.

1991.

S amantha awoke as though coming out of a hypnotic trance, and suddenly she was no longer Maxie but herself and it was no longer 1928 but 1991. She had thought Mike was going to train someone to play Doc, but he hadnat, for in front of her was the diminutive man himselfa"and he had that knowing little smile on his face. Everything had been played out as it had happened, nothing had changed with the pa.s.sage of time.

On that night in 1928, Maxie had shot Doc and severed his spinal cord, yet for two years head managed to keep secret the fact that he was crippled before he told the world that he had been hurt in a car accident. Maxie had taken away his mobility and shead taken away all the money Half Hand, acting under Docas orders, had stolen from Scalpini. Doc, already eaten with hatred of Maxie for betraying him, made it his lifeas quest to kill her and anyone who knew anything about her. In 1964, when head seen the photo of Maxie with her granddaughter, apparently happy, head nearly gone berserk. His mistake had been in calling her to threaten her. By the time he sent a killer for her, she had already left Louisville.

By 1975, his days of power were on the wane so head sent a man to Louisville to find out if Maxieas family knew anything about Half Handas missing moneya"his money.

Now, knowing all of this, Samantha found herself standing in front of the shrunken man sitting in his wheelchaira"and there was a gun in her hand. At this range, whether the gun was loaded with blanks or live bullets, if she shot him, shead kill him. Up until now shead seen him as an old man, but now she saw the man who had mowed down a nightclub full of people to get to the man whoad impregnated ahisa girl. She saw the man who, in order to gain control of illegal liquor sales, had killed his own men, blaming it on another mob boss.

aYou killed a man who loved you more than he loved his own life,a Samantha whispered, speaking of Half Hand. aYouave murdered anyone who has ever tried to care about you. Has it been worth it? Now you sit here, an unloved old man, alone and lonely, and there isnat a person in the world who cares about you. You were crippled by your own greed. Has all the money been worth the pain?a Doc laughed at her as though she were a simpleton. aYou stupid child. You think everyone is like you. Yes, itas been worth it. I have never been bored a moment in my life. Iave taken anything I wanted and Iave won every game Iave played. There is nothing more to life than that. I have won.a aMy mothera"a she whispered.

aShe was nothing. Half Hand was nothing. Maxie was nothing except that she almost beat me. I had been told shead taken a lover but I never knew she was pregnant until I heard from your muscle-bound boyfriend. I knew you werenat related to me and I never would have seen you if it hadnat been for the money.a It was difficult for Samantha to understand reasoning such as his. Maybe he was right and she did believe that everyone was just like her, but shead always thought that everyone in the world wanted love and friends.h.i.+p. But if thatas what all people wanted, there wouldnat be people like this man.

aI hate you,a she whispered.

He smiled at her, a soft, smug little smile, as though he knew every thought that was in her head, and it was at that moment that Samantha knew he wanted her to kill him. Trying to look at him without hatred clouding her vision, she saw an old, frail man, and worst of all, she saw a poor man. Mike had said that, from what they could find out, Doc had no more money, that protecting his own life had taken everything. Who would take care of him if he had no money to buy caretakers? she wondered. Would he spend the rest of his life in a nursing home with overbearing nurses calling him Tony?

Looking again at him, she knew that if she shot him, head go to h.e.l.l thinking head won the final round, for head made her go to prison for killing a murderer.

Moving her hand slightly to the right, she fired the pistol, all six rounds, into the wall behind him.

The next thing Samantha knew, Mike was holding a snifter of brandy to her lips. aDrink it,a he ordered and she did, but Mike had to hold her hands as she was shaking too badly to hold the gla.s.s herself.

aHowaa When her voice was trembling too hard to speak, she had to start again. aHow did Michael Ransome survive?a

12 May 1928

When the orderly saw the body of Michael Ransome, he knew without a doubt that the man was dead; n.o.body could lose that much blood and live. There had to be at least twenty bullets in the bottom half of him; his legs looked like ground meat.

But when the orderly bent over him, the man opened his eyes, and instantly, the orderly yelled, aHey, this one is stilla"a With the little bit of strength he had left, Michael clutched at the manas arm and said, aIf you have any kindness in you, donat let them know Iam alive.a The orderly was sure the man was going into shock and had no idea what he was saying. aYouare bleeding to death.a aIf they know Iam alive, Iall bleed more.a At that moment some man walked up, a big man with a bulge that could only be a gun under his coat and looked down at Mikeas mutilated body. aHowas this one?a The orderly knew that this was a gang killing, but this time there were several women dead. In fact, all the women in the chorus had been mowed down. One uninjured man, who had seen everything, said that the women were the first to go, as though the men with the machine guns had been told to kill them first, as though they had a grudge against the women. The man had also said that three machine guns had aimed specially for this man under the sheet who should have been dead but wasnat, and for some odd reason, theyad shot him only below the belt.

The orderly covered Michaelas face with the sheet. aHeas dead.a At that, the big man nodded and walked away, looking as though he were satisfied.

When the man was gone, the orderly leaned over Mike and whispered, aIall do what I can to keep anyone from knowing youare alive.a Later, he felt bad when he had to tell the woman that Mike was dead, but if head told her the truth, she would have given the secret away. The minute the orderly had a chance, he went backstage and tried to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. In what was obviously the womenas dressing room the orderly saw a pool of blood, but there was no body.

The orderly had to wait until all the people who were officially alive had been removed until he could get the man under the sheet to the hospital. At the hospital the doctor yelled at him for leaving a bleeding man for last and had even told the orderly it was no use trying to patch him up, that this man was beyond hope and he had others who needed him more. But the orderly had nearly begged and so, with a sigh, the doctor sent Mike to the operating room.

Two days later, it was the orderly who came to Mikeas room and told him he had to get out. aTheyare checking the hospital and I think theyare looking for you.a In a haze of drugs and pain, Mike asked the orderly to take him to a telephone, saying that he had to call someone.

Mike called his war buddy, Franklin Taggert, a man whose life head saved. Afterward, in the hospital, Frank had told Mike that if he ever needed anything at all, all he had to do was ask.

Now, Mike asked his friend for help.

Within two hours a barrage of police cars appeared and took Mike away to a waiting plane, and Mike was flown to Chandler, Colorado, to the home of his friend, where he was given the best of medical care. When he was well, his friendas family became his family.