Dollface

by Renée Rosen

  Sitting on one of the pink settees, I pinched open my pocketbook. “What was that all about?” I asked, reaching inside for my face powder.

  Basha turned to the attendant. “Give us a minute in here, will ya?” She dipped into her satchel and dropped a quarter in the tip jar. After the attendant left, Basha lit the cigarette sticking out of her gem-studded holder.

  “What’s going on?” I asked again.

  “One of Johnny Torrio’s men showed up, that’s all.”

  I remembered meeting Torrio when I was with Tony at the Four Deuces. I hadn’t liked him either. But the men’s reaction seemed like more than simple dislike. “Why’s that a problem?” I got up and set my lipstick on the ledge below the mirror.

  Dora shot me a look. “Do you know who Johnny Torrio is?”

  “Yeah, he owns that place—the Four Deuces.”

  “Girlie, you’d better wise up.” Basha gripped her cigarette holder with her back teeth. “Torrio owns a hell of a lot more than just the Four Deuces.”

  Dora pulled me aside. “Here’s the story. You got the north side of Chicago and the south side. Johnny Torrio and Al Capone run the south side, and Dion O’Banion and our boys run the north side.”

  Basha checked herself in the mirror and said, “The whole city’s in on it. Dion’s got the cops, the politicians, even the judges on the payroll.”

  “Don’t look so surprised.” Dora glanced at me. “It’s true.” She said the Meridian was a front for Shep, just like Schofield’s Flower Shop was a front for Dion. “But that’s not where they get their money from—not their serious money, anyway.”

  The Black Hand flashed through my mind. I got that woozy, detached feeling, like when a drink hits you too fast, too hard.

  “Schofield’s is the North Siders’ headquarters,” said Dora. “And the Four Deuces is the South Siders’ headquarters.”

  I almost lost my balance and stumbled, banging my hip into the ledge. The Four Deuces was Tony’s hangout. I closed my eyes and rubbed my fingers across my brow. My head was suddenly throbbing. Damn him! He didn’t just own a string of tobacco stores. He didn’t go to the Four Deuces just to gamble.

  Basha knocked her cigarette ash into the sink that the attendant had just cleaned. “The thing to remember is the North Siders and the South Siders hate each other’s guts. So when one of Torrio’s lugs shows up on Dion’s turf—like that punk out there tonight—it gets the boys cranky.”

  “C’mon,” Dora said, giving me a wink. “Let’s get back out there before they kill the poor bastard.”

  I snapped my pocketbook shut. I felt like such a fool. What did Tony take me for—some silly girl from the stockyards who let him have his way with her? And what about Shep? I believed him when he said he owned a nightclub. Now I find out it’s just a front. I couldn’t look at Basha or Dora. If what they said was true about the South Side Gang and the North Side Gang, I was in trouble. Real trouble. Somehow I had gotten myself in the middle of all this, and now I had to find a way to get myself out.

  I closed my eyes, willed myself not to cry and told myself to breathe. Just breathe.

  BEHIND ENEMY LINES

  “I did not lie to you!” Tony held my wrists back, pinning me to the wall in his hotel room the next afternoon when I confronted him.

  “Liar!” I strained to get free but he had a grip on me.

  “Calm down, Vera. It’s not the sort of thing you go around talking about.” He dropped his head to my shoulder and whispered, “I didn’t lie to you.”

  “I should have known the minute you took me to the Four Deuces. How could you have taken me in there when you knew I was dating Shep Green! How could you have put me in that position?”

  “That was before I knew about him. And I never took you back there.”

  “You told me you own tobacco stores.”

  “I do own tobacco stores.”

  I continued to struggle against the weight of him. “What kind of a fool do you take me for? You work for Torrio and Capone, you son of a bitch!”

  He moved in closer and had my back flush against the wall, his body pressed to mine. I could feel the heat coming off him, the warmth rising up inside me, but still I wanted to hit him, slap him, push him away.

  “C’mon, don’t be like this. Nothing’s changed.”

  “Everything’s changed.”

  “Don’t say that.” He started to kiss me and I bit down full-force on his lip. He reared back and touched his mouth and his fingers came away red. His eyes moved from his fingers to my face. He kissed me again. I twisted and thrashed, trying to pull away but he kept kissing me. The metallic taste of his blood was on my lips and then my tongue. He had me and he knew it. As much as I tried, I couldn’t fight it anymore. In that moment, all I wanted was him—right there, against the wall, I gripped onto Tony while my body shook, trembled and surrendered.

  Afterward, the two of us sat slumped on the floor, our backs leaning against the closet door. A draft blew across our naked bodies. We shared a cigarette, and as I watched the smoke wafting above our heads, my mind began to drift.

  The night before, after we left the restaurant, Shep and I had gone back to his apartment. I was quiet and when pressed, I questioned Shep about Dion O’Banion and the North Side Gang.

  “Just how involved are you?” I had asked, hands on my hips, my toe tapping his plush Persian carpet. “Basha and Dora said the Meridian’s just a front.”

  “If all I needed was a front, believe me, there’s a hell of a lot simpler setups I could have gone for. Do you have any idea what it takes to keep that place going?” Shep removed his hat, passing it from hand to hand. “Vera, I don’t know what Dora and Basha told you tonight, but I do run a nightclub. And you can’t have a nightclub without serving liquor. It’s as simple as that. So yes, I bring in liquor and I can’t do that without the help of someone like Dion. Every hotel, every restaurant, every speakeasy in this town is doing the same thing.”

  “So that’s it? You buy liquor from Dion? That’s all?” It made sense. Or maybe I just wanted it to.

  He sat me down on the couch and cradled my chin in his hand. “Listen to me, Dollface. I’m crazy about you.” He paused and shook his head. “No, I’m not just crazy about you. I’m falling in love with you. Don’t you know that?”

  When I let my eyes meet his, I had to blink back the tears. I wanted to be loved. I wanted to be loved by him, but it was too complicated now. I felt torn. How could I love him back when I’d been cheating on him this whole time—and now I find out it’s been with a member of the South Side Gang.

  “And you don’t have to say it, Dollface. I know you’re falling for me, too.”

  A single droplet leaked from my eye. He stopped it halfway down my cheek with his thumb. “C’mon now, you’re supposed to be happy. You know the kind of guy I am. This has nothing to do with what happened to your father. You have to trust me on this.”

  He didn’t say the words, but he knew what I was thinking. If he was as involved in the North Side Gang like Dora and Basha said, then Shep could be just like the members of the Black Hand.

  “You have to trust me, Vera,” he said again.

  I looked into his eyes. They were warm brown and clear, with seemingly nothing to hide. How could I look into those eyes and doubt what he was saying?

  He got up, went to a cabinet and came back with a small velvet box. “I was going to wait and give this to you later,” he said, handing it to me.

  I held the box and looked at him.

  “Go on, open it.”

  When I lifted the lid, I saw a diamond drop necklace almost as big as the one Dora had. I traced my fingers over the smooth edges of the stone. For the longest time I just stared at it. No one had ever bought me jewelry before. I wanted the necklace, but I knew I didn’t deserve it. I’d cheated on him, and with his enemy. But what could I do, refuse it?

  “Well, turn around. Let me put it on you.”

  I hesitated for a moment and
then held my hair up off my neck while he fastened the hook. Reaching up, I touched my new necklace and turned back to face him. “I don’t know what to say.”

  He fingered the diamond at the base of my neck. “I’m always going to make sure you have nice things. But you have to trust me. You have to trust who I am. I have a complicated life. If you don’t want to be part of it, you have to tell me. I’ll understand, don’t worry. And even though it would break my heart, I have to tell you that if you can’t handle it, you should walk away now.”

  Something had caught in my chest when he said that. I didn’t want to lose him. I didn’t want to walk away. Shep loved me. He would look out for me, make sure I never wanted for anything. I wasn’t convinced I could say the same for Tony. I knew then that I had to end it with Tony. I reached up and stroked Shep’s face. He sat down beside me, covered my hand with his and kissed my palm.

  “But if you stay, no more questions. You understand?”

  I leaned over and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. With his lips still touching mine, I said, “I understand.”

  • • •

  “What are you thinking about?” Tony asked, grinding out his cigarette.

  His voice brought me back to the present. I reached for my necklace, remembering I had come here to end it with Tony once and for all. So what the hell was I still doing with him now? Was I that weak? That attached to him? Or was this my way of saying good-bye? “My head’s all over the place. I’m confused.”

  “It’s like I said, nothing’s changed. You and me have a good thing going. You see what happens when we’re together. What we have is special.”

  “But I can’t keep doing this. Not now.”

  “Then dump him. Get rid of him.” Tony gave the ashtray a shove, knocking cigarette butts across the floor.

  “I can’t. He’s falling in love with me.”

  “And what about you? Are you falling in love with him?”

  When I didn’t answer, Tony got up and hoisted his trousers up on his slim hips. With his back toward me he said, “I don’t suppose my feelings enter into this at all. It doesn’t matter that I love you.”

  I looked up at him, stunned. I had no idea he felt that way. What was I supposed to do now? I thought this was just fun and games for him. I didn’t know it was love. Tony had shown me a side of myself I never knew existed. He had freed something in me and I discovered I was bold and sensual and powerful enough to render a man like him helpless.

  “Don’t you get it? I’ve never felt this way about a woman before.” He looked at me. “But that doesn’t matter, does it?”

  “That’s not fair, Tony.”

  “Fair?” He turned around with fire in his eyes. “You want to talk about what’s fair? I’m the one in the shadows here. I’m the one who’s second best.”

  “That’s not true.” I got up and looped my arms about his waist, kissing his chest and neck. “I didn’t know how you felt. I didn’t know you loved me.”

  “Then you need to figure this out. I do love you, but I’m getting tired of playing this game.”

  I kissed him full on the mouth and slipped his unbuttoned trousers down off his hips. I knew I was complicating matters but he loved me and that blurred everything.

  An hour later, as I started to get out of bed, Tony said, “No, not yet.”

  “Five more minutes,” I said, lying back down with him, surrendering.

  He leaned over and grabbed a cigarette, reaching for his lighter on the nightstand. “Just stay here with me.”

  “It’s tempting,” I said, reaching for his cigarette and taking a deep drag. I glanced at the clock and passed the cigarette back to him before resting my head on his chest. I could hear his heart beating, his skin smooth beneath my cheek.

  I couldn’t have found two men more different and their true natures came out when they made love to me. Tony was a ravenous lover, like he couldn’t get enough of me. He took charge of me. He took me and turned me weak, whereas Shep was soft, tender and full of feeling. He would kiss and touch me like I was fragile, breakable. I couldn’t make Shep see that I wanted to be broken, and broken by him. While I’d thrash and buck beneath him, he would only cup my face in his hands, hushing me, saying, “Just relax. It’s okay. Relax. . . .”

  It was clear to me. Tony Liolli was my lover. Shep was my protector, my keeper.

  I rolled onto my side and looked again at the clock on the nightstand. It was a quarter to four. I should have been home an hour ago. Tony ran his fingers from my hip up to my neck and I squeezed my eyes shut. All I could think about then was Shep.

  “Tony, I have to go.”

  “No, c’mon.” There were his fingertips again, grazing down the length of my body. Those same fingers that had thrilled me moments before now felt like razors on my skin. All pleasure was replaced with confusion and guilt. I couldn’t breathe.

  “I have to.” I shrugged off the covers and sat up in bed, scanning the room for my clothes. “I have to go now.”

  He reached for my arm but I pulled away, grabbed my dress off the floor and hurried into the bathroom. Over the sound of the running tap, I heard Tony talking about some horse race and some beef he had going with Capone, but I wasn’t listening. With one foot planted on the edge of the sink, I soaped up a washcloth and wiped away the traces of Tony between my legs. I glanced again at the clock in the outer room. If I left in the next few minutes, I’d have time to bathe properly before I had to meet Shep.

  I came out of the bathroom and scampered around the room looking for my stockings as I smoothed the wrinkles from my dress. Tony was still going on about Capone. I didn’t say a word. I just wanted to get home. I reached for my earrings on the dresser and as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, fixing my hair and applying my makeup, I couldn’t bring myself to look at Tony. I could hardly look at myself.

  • • •

  As soon as I left Tony’s hotel room, I rushed home, grabbed the bottle of Lysol and the coiled syringe from my bottom drawer and sneaked into the bathroom down the hall. After I had used the douche, I had just enough time to bathe before Shep picked me up.

  When he held the car door open for me, I barely offered him a peck on the cheek before I slid into the passenger’s seat.

  My head was spinning while he told me about a new act he’d booked for the club. I didn’t even know where we were going. I didn’t care.

  “You’ll love this band,” he said.

  “Sounds great,” I said, staring out the window as we turned onto Harrison Street, distracted by how I’d left things with Tony. I’d gone to his hotel room furious, ready to end it with him. Now I felt like I’d just gotten myself in deeper.

  Yes, Tony loved me, but now that I wasn’t in his arms and could think clearly again, I could see that he wasn’t good for me. Not for the long haul. He was restless and impulsive—two traits that didn’t bode well for a gambler. There was no reasoning with the risk taker in him. He was drawn to the excitement, and at times I wondered if that explained his attraction to me. Was I just another wager, a pretty prize wrapped up in dangerous stakes?

  So I knew he wasn’t good for me but that didn’t make me want him any less.

  “They’ve got this one song,” Shep said, “and as soon as I heard it, I thought to myself, ‘I can’t wait to get Dollface on the dance floor for this.’” Shep reached over and placed his hand on mine. I flinched at his touch, as if he had acid on his fingertips. I couldn’t stand the feel of him so fresh on my skin after Tony had just been there.

  Shep frowned, pulled his hand away and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

  I stared out the window, the silence between us growing. I knew that someone would get hurt in all this, but I always assumed it would be me. I never realized that I had the ability to hurt Shep or Tony, or both of them. These two virile, powerful men—gangsters, no less—were now at my mercy. It was an unexpected shift of power, and one that I hadn’t asked for. Or had I? Whatever t
he case, I didn’t want it. I was going to have to end it with one of them, maybe both of them. It was too much responsibility, holding someone’s heart in your hands.

  We pulled onto South Federal Street and up to Fontaine’s, a new restaurant Shep had been wanting to take me to. You could tell from the uniformed doormen, the velvet rope out front, the men with their top hats and walking sticks and women in their gowns and fur stoles that it was an elegant place to dine. I looked over at Shep and the thought of giving him up made me want to cling to him all the more.

  Before he opened his car door, I scooted closer to him. “Wait!” I leaned over and looked into his eyes. “I do crazy, stupid things sometimes,” I said, reaching up to touch the diamond necklace he’d given me. I kissed him first on the cheek and then on the lips. “I’m sorry. Forgive me?”

  “What’s there to forgive, Dollface?” He kissed me back. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  THE INDOCTRINATION

  By the time spring arrived, Basha and Dora had taken it upon themselves to indoctrinate me into their gun moll club. I had introduced them to Evelyn right away. They thought she was swell, though they couldn’t understand what she was doing with Izzy Seltzer.

  “He’s plenty handsome to look at, but honey, keep your eye on him, ’cause he’s watching every skirt that walks by,” said Basha one afternoon, when we were on our way to meet Dion O’Banion’s wife, Viola, and Vincent Drucci’s wife, Cecelia. Both were regarded as something of gangster gal royalty.

  Viola O’Banion was not what I was expecting. “Pleasure to meet you both,” she said, in a soft, quiet voice. “I’m so glad you could join us for lunch.” She was petite like Basha, but had mousy brown hair and unremarkable eyes that seemed all but lost on her face. The whole time we spoke, she never once looked me in the eye.