When the hole was finished, Johnnie and Zelda carried the body of John Hamilton as best as they could over to it, before carefully dropping him into it. It was then that Johnnie took out the acid and used it on Red's face and fingertips.
"It's so they can't identify him," Johnnie explained in a low murmur when he had finished. "He would have done the same for me." Zelda nodded, not quite sure why they didn't want to be identified if they were dead. Johnnie saw Zelda's look of confusion and felt the corners of his lips lift up for the first time in a while. "The reason we do this, doll, is to fool the G-men into thinking that we're alive when we're not. Think about it: if Melvin Purvis thought Red was alive, he might spend less time lookin' for me and more time lookin' for Red." He perked his brow. "Plus, it's one hell of a bargaining chip. Old Hoover wants all of us, you know. If he thinks I know where Red is, he might make me some sort of deal."
Zelda narrowed her eyes slightly, but it took a great effort to do so. Suddenly she had become exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, to forget for a moment that the entire nation was after them. "I know you, Johnnie," she said in a heavy voice. "And I know you wouldn't give Red's position up no matter what they offered you."
"I would do it in a heartbeat for you," he corrected her, his voice gentle but firm. He offered her his hand. "Come on, darlin'. You look exhausted, and I'm tired too. Let's take a nap in the car before we have to leave for Chicago."
"You're not worried that someone will find us here, completely defenseless?" Zelda asked, arching a brow.
"No," Johnnie replied, shaking his head as he did so. "No one's around for miles. No one knows we're here. They'll find out, of course. But not yet. Not yet."
Zelda nodded, too tired to argue, and she placed her hand in Johnnie's allowing him to lead her to the car. Normally, they would have situated themselves in the back of the car, but because John Hamilton's blood was still fresh, they didn't. Johnnie even made a mental note that as soon as possible, the couple would ditch this car and grab another one. Seeing Red's blood made it real when he just wanted it to be a forgotten dream.
The two were silent for such a long time – or was it, in actuality, a short period of time? Zelda couldn't tell – Zelda assumed Johnnie had been asleep. But in reality, Johnnie was lying awake, staring up at the car's ceiling, thinking. Thinking about life, about priorities, about what happened to Red and the chance that it might happen to him or even worse, it might happen to Zelda. He didn't even want to think about having to bury her in the same way he buried Red. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't allow himself to think that anything would happen to Zelda under his watch.
But there was always that chance. Until he got out of this entire bank robbing business.
"Johnnie," Zelda murmured in such a soft tone, hoping she wouldn't wake him if he was asleep. She needed to get this off her chest, if only for her sanity. "I'm worried that what happened to Red..."
"There's nothing to worry about, doll," he told her, slightly surprising her by being awake. He turned so he was facing her, his smoky grey eyes tracing her sharp profile. "I promise that I'm going to die an old man in your arms."
And it was a promise he intended to keep.
Chapter 29
It was late May when Johnnie and Zelda finally decided to settle in Chicago for the time being. There was an apartment owned by James Probasco, a known affiliate with gangsters, so Johnnie knew he could trust it. It also relieved him to know that at least someone in the criminal community still cared about him somewhat. The past month, Johnnie and Zelda had been traveling place to place, staying where they could, for however long they could. But a lot of people Johnnie had once called dependable friends were now wary of even having their name in the same sentence as Dillinger's. He was too "hot," they would say, which meant that too many people were looking for him and too many people were going to jail just for knowing him.
So, in essence, Johnnie and Zelda were truly alone.
Up until, of course, Johnnie happened to meet Probasco and arrange a deal so that they could stay in Chicago. Chicago was one of the safest places a criminal could stay only because the city was so corrupt. However, when it came to such a big name – John Dillinger – even the corrupt were willing to turn over one of their own for such a large sum of money. It was still the Depression after all, and Johnnie was worth fifteen thousand dollars, which was a comfortable sum to acquire simply for ratting Johnnie out. In fact, some people didn't have to work after that.
For whatever reason – maybe it was his overzealous confidence or maybe his confidence had turned arrogant – Johnnie trusted Probasco, and though Zelda wasn't too comfortable with the idea, he managed to convince her that this was a good idea. Especially when they really had nowhere else to go.
It was the first day settling into their new apartment that Zelda met the real Jimmy Lawrence, the one whose namesake Johnnie had stolen, at least temporarily. And Zelda had to blink twice in order to make certain she wasn't seeing double. She knew her Johnnie like the back of her hand, and yet, the similarities between the two men were striking. Johnnie was a little taller, his eyes a little smokier, but the build was the same, their hair color was the same, and they even had that masculine dimple resting in the center of their chin. It was kind of unnerving to see, if Zelda was being honest.
Apparently, Jimmy was staying in an apartment nearby, rented to him by a Romanian madam Anna Sage, who also happened to run a nearby brothel. He was dating one of the women who also happened to work for Anna as well while also working as a waitress at a nearby diner, a girl named Polly Hamilton. She was Zelda's age, and nearly just as pretty depending on preference. Polly's face was completely void of any distinguishing characteristics while Zelda had soft freckles. She, too, wore her dark hair in the style of the time, and while her cheekbones were high, they weren't as sharp as Zelda's. In fact, as Zelda continued to look at Polly, she realized just how much Polly looked like Johnnie's ex-girlfriend, Dolores Bernier, and such a comparison made her stomach jump.
Was Johnnie attracted to her? Zelda knew Johnnie preferred dark haired beauties and Zelda knew she had the hair color of wheat, as Stephanie Linder had told her a while back. Did he regret letting Dolores go? Jealousy was such a silly thing, but Zelda couldn't help it. Not when Zelda felt inadequate standing next to Polly.
Maybe she was just stressed about being on the run for so long. Yes, that was it. Johnnie would never leave her. Or, if he was, she would get some kind of feeling about it, wouldn't she? He was still wearing her ring, after all.
Johnnie and Jimmy were currently sitting in the living room of Jimmy's apartment – an apartment that also housed Polly and, sometimes, Anna Sage herself – discussing something Johnnie would probably tell Zelda about later on, while Zelda was left to make the acquaintance of Polly. She was definitely shy, but sweet as well, and by simply looking into her dark eyes, it was obvious that she was absolutely crazy about Jimmy.
Soon, Zelda felt herself relax, hoping that maybe Chicago was the kind of place they could stay in for a while. If the city was as corrupted as people thought it was, why not? It would be perfect for criminals, wouldn't it?
After another hour or so, Johnnie and Jimmy walked back into the kitchen, where the women were.
"It was a pleasure to know you," Johnnie said, tipping his fedora in Polly's direction before shifting his eyes to the only woman he actually cared about knowing, and offered her his arm. "Jimmy, I'll take your advice, and we'll see what we can work out."
"You got it," Jimmy said with a curt nod of his chin as Johnnie and Zelda headed out of the room.
"So," Zelda said, turning her head so her eyes could look at his profile. "Are we staying here?"
"I have a surprise for you, doll," Johnnie said, glancing at her with a mysterious sparkle in his smoky grey eyes and his notorious crooked grin. "But before we can actually get into it, I have to finish a couple of things here first."
"Can I help you?" Zelda asked, wantin
g to know just what the surprise was but not wanting to directly ask.
Johnnie chuckled, knowing Zelda's motive for her offer. "Just be by my side," he told her as though it was the simplest explanation. "Tomorrow I have an appointment with the doctor." Before Zelda could ask what it was for, Johnnie told her. "I need to erase my fingerprints, and I need to change my face. Jimmy recommended a good plastic surgeon – an underworld doctor – and that's that for tomorrow."
Zelda didn't have to tell Johnnie what she thought about the prospect of Johnnie going in for plastic surgery – the look written on her face said enough. Plastic surgery wasn't that popular, nor was it that common given its expensive price in this economic Depression. And though she understood just why Johnnie might need one, she was also slightly worried that the Johnnie before the operation and after the operation would be two different people. It didn't even really have to do with his new physical appearance (she would stay with Johnnie no matter what he looked like), but what if, along with his appearance, he changed?
It didn't matter.
Zelda wanted to show her support despite her obvious opinion on the matter, and the next day, she and Johnnie, along with Homer Van Meter, traveled to an underground doctor in the middle of the night. Since
Homer wasn't as brave as Johnnie was, Johnnie was the first one to get his fingerprints removed, and from what Zelda witnessed, it was one of the most painful experiences anyone could ever endure. What the doctor did, exactly, was shoot each print with cocaine and then scrape the print off. Zelda couldn't watch the entire process.
Next up was Johnnie's actual procedure, and he was lying down as the doctor injected morphine in his system. He wanted to get rid of his moles on his face and the telltale dimple that rested in the middle of his chin.
Suddenly, there was a choking sound, and the doctor and his assistant looked at each other with worry in their eyes.
"What is it?" Zelda asked, looking between the two. "What's going on?" Homer wrapped his fingers around her wrist, hoping it would reassure her, but it ended up failing. Zelda was already tense, and the fact that this wasn't going well wasn't helping anything.
"He swallowed his tongue," the assistant explained, trying to keep his voice low.
"What?" Zelda shrieked, her eyes wide.
"No need to shout, miss," the doctor said, his whole body leaning over Johnnie, his arms moving but Zelda couldn't see what they were doing. "I've just retrieved it. He's fine. Just had a bad reaction to the morphine is all. Here, have a look for yourself."
Zelda pursed her lips and looked around the bulking frame of the doctor to inspect Johnnie as best as she could. The most important thing that she noticed, however, was the fact that he was still breathing. It was slower than normal, but his heart beat was there. How sad would it have been if the great John Dillinger was killed by a bad reaction to morphine?
It couldn't happen.
The rest of the operation continued without a hitch, and once Johnnie's procedure was finished, Homer finally decided to go through with his as well.
Johnnie was in and out of consciousness for the next three days, but Zelda was right there with him, feeding him, giving him something to drink, and just being by his side. On the fourth day, Johnnie was finally getting back to his usual self, as was Homer, and after removing the bandages, gave himself a good look in the mirror.
"Well?" Zelda asked, perking her brows. "What do you think?" His face was still bruised and swollen, and yet...
"Goddamnit," Johnnie said with a grunt. "I don't look any different save for the fact that I look like I got the shit kicked outta me."
Zelda bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling. It was true; Johnnie looked just like Johnnie, save for the removal of some of his moles. Even the dimple in his chin was still there. But Johnnie? Johnnie was Johnnie despite all of that.
"Come on," he said, turning to Zelda and offering her his hand. "Let's get the hell out of here."
Chapter 30
June twenty-second of nineteen thirty-four was also known as John Dillinger's thirtieth birthday. Johnnie had always loved to celebrate something – anything – that required going out and dancing, sometimes a movie, or everything at once. He loved being a part of any celebration since every day was a celebration to him – he was alive and he was with a woman he loved more than he thought was possible. Since this particular day was his own birthday, it really was no surprise that Johnnie wanted to do something special for it.
"I'm takin' you out, darlin'," he told her with a grin, his lips curled up as he regarded her with those smoky grey eyes.
"Shouldn't I be the one taking you out?" she asked him, blinking back the sleep as she looked up at him from the warmth their bed provided. "It is your birthday, after all."
"What did you have in mind?" Johnnie asked, wiggling his eyebrows in a teasing manner, causing Zelda to giggle and throw her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. His lips sought out her neck and began to place kisses up and down the column of her throat.
"Well," Zelda murmured, trying desperately to concentrate on what it was that she wanted to do with him. "I suppose I really don't have any sort of plan, although staying inside and doing nothing short of dirty was what was on my mind."
Johnnie smiled through the kisses he was currently placing on Zelda's neck. "You know, I like the way you think," he said as he kissed her, the words causing his lips to vibrate on her skin. "Maybe we can throw somethin' together that has the best of both worlds, hmm?" He perked his brows up, tilting his head back so he could look at her with his eyes.
"You are the birthday boy," she told him with a smile. This time, it was Zelda who craned her neck up, her lips seeking out his own skin, and when they found it, she began to place chaste kisses on his jaw line. "You... can have... anything... you want."
Johnnie's grin turned mischievous as Zelda placed her head back on the pillow, her velvet green eyes growing even darker than normal as she looked at him expectantly. "Anything?" he asked her in a low, husky voice.
Zelda's lips curled up, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Anything," she assured him, and just as the word left Zelda's mouth, Johnnie pushed his head down and claimed her lips as his own.
It wasn't until the early evening did Zelda and Johnnie finally emerge from their bedroom, both dressed to the nines. Johnnie wanted to test his new face out – to see if he truly looked any different than how he had previously – and what better way to do that than to go out to a night club? Zelda, upon Johnnie's request, extended an invitation to both Jimmy Lawrence and Polly Hamilton, and the two couples met up at the entrance of the night club.
Because it was Johnnie's birthday, Zelda refrained from saying what she truly felt about the entire situation; that it was dangerous for Johnnie to be in such a crowded place for fear of being recognized by somebody, anybody, and that wouldn't exactly be the best birthday present, now would it? In fact, Zelda refrained from allowing her worry to even show up on her face. She was committed to giving Johnnie the best birthday she could – she refused to acknowledge that it was quite possibly his last – and wouldn't let her own thoughts decide how she was going to behave on this day.
The French Casino Night Club was always crowded with all sorts of people. Wealthy businessmen and their wives (or mistresses) were normal occupants as well as gangsters and whatever woman was currently on their arm (though it should be noted that the businessmen had no clue that gangsters shared the same pleasures as they did). There was a dance floor, a bar, and a room in the back where one could gamble. Taxi dancers also served as prostitutes if it was desired, and jazz music played thanks to the live band.
It was easy for the four to find a table probably due to Johnnie's influence (whether he wanted to admit it or not), and it wasn't long before Johnnie and Zelda were on the floor, dancing.
Johnnie had never had more fun in his life. He adored Zelda, the way she moved when she was dancing, the way she looked that night – like a piece of valu
able art who only had eyes for him – the way everything else fell away and he was living in this moment. He didn't think it was possible that he could love Zelda as much as he did, but even more than that, that the love he did have for her only exceeded beyond his expectations. In this whole world, she was all he had, and he knew for a fact that she would never leave his side, that she would always be with him unless somebody forced apart. And Johnnie was adamant that that never happened.
Even if it meant giving up this life of crime.
What he got out of bank robbing was much different than what he got out of Zelda. There was this exhilaration that filled his body, knowing that he could die, that he could get arrested, that life as he knew it would be over. And that was fun. For a while. Now that he had Zelda and wanted to start a life with her, bank robbing and everything along with it wasn't as appealing as it used to be. Yes, easy money was always desired, but at what cost? Zelda was too precious for him to give up, and that was that.
"How do you like your birthday party so far?" Zelda asked, a genuine smile touching her features, and surprisingly enough, given the circumstances, it reached her eyes.
"One of the best days of my life," he told her, his smoky grey eyes shining in that special way they normally did when they were looking at her. "After meeting you, of course. And kissing you that first time. And bedding you. And dancing with you."
"Johnnie," Zelda said, feeling herself flush.
"What?" Johnnie asked, perking his brows. "Now, darlin', what have I told you about looking like what I say regarding my affection for you surprisin' you? It's merely fact. You know I wouldn't lie to you."
"I know," Zelda said, nodding her head, and then quickly changed the subject. "I should probably tell you that the Bureau of Investigation also got you a birthday present." Johnnie perked his brow but said nothing, knowing she would continue. "They have named you Public Enemy Number One. Congratulations on being the most wanted man in the country."
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