The Golden Sparrow

by Samantha Latshaw

  I looked at him expectantly, still not speaking.

  “Why did you choose you in the first place?” he asked me and we stopped in the middle of the path. “Aren’t there loads more qualified more people?”

  Frankie didn’t need to know that I could do things, get closer to him, than any normal informant could. I didn’t want to know how he would react if he ever found out I had slept with Basso. He probably wouldn’t talk to me again.

  “I don’t know,” I finally said with a sigh and we started walking again. “I suppose it’s because I already knew about Basso. They didn’t need to bring someone new in and bring them up to speed on what was going on.” I watched Judd for a moment longer before I said, “Listen, I have to go. But perhaps we can meet up again next week or something? If Judd’s watching, we’re safe. He won’t tell Basso.”

  Frankie looked dubious.

  “You think he’s telling you the truth?” He laughed coldly. “He works for Basso. I bet you he’s telling him everything you say and do.”

  “Judd isn’t like that,” I said defensively. “He knew about Mimi and Leo and never said a word. We can trust him.”

  Frankie rolled his eyes. “So he says, Hazel.” But he shook his head and stepped back. “And anyways, Mam wants me and my brothers to do some repairs around the apartment when we’ve all got a day off. We’re bringing in decent money now that we’re regulars at Basso’s club. I hate that it’s his club we’re playing at, but money is money and we can afford to fix things now.”

  I pursed my lips, frustrated. But I begrudgingly accepted that I wouldn’t be seeing him for a while and watched him walk away, feeling some small part of me go with him. Then I stepped over to Judd, who lowered his newspaper at my approach, and said, “You don’t hide yourself very well.”

  I grinned as I sat down beside him.

  “I wanted you to know it was me,” Judd told me, folded up the paper and setting it aside. “I promise you I’ll always let you see me. If you don’t see me, then I’m not following you.”

  I nodded, swallowing hard. “Thanks.”

  Judd examined my face for a long time then said, “You know I kept Miss Mimi’s secrets, too. And she had a few. But she used to give me chocolates when I’d pick her up. Cherry filled ones were my favorite.”

  I smiled at his memory and dropped my eyes to my feet. That sounded like Mimi.

  “I’m telling you because I swear I won’t say a word,” Judd went on, his tone gentle now. “I’ve seen what he does to those who get careless. And I can tell you still care a lot about that Irish boy. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Miss Hazel, that’s all.”

  “Like Mimi.” I sighed heavily and looked out at the crowded park.

  There were families out for a picnic, children running around, laughing and giggling as they chased each other. Couples were snuggled together on benches and arm in arm as they walked.

  “Did... did he ever say why he got rid of her?” I asked. I saw Judd turn his face towards, his expression slightly alarmed, and I faced him. “I know he had her killed, Judd. And I know that she had to have done something incredibly stupid to have landed her in that position.”

  Judd looked ashamed and I laid my hand on his arm, quieting his worries.

  “I was there that night,” I reminded him, removing my hand. He glanced at me, looking genuinely surprised. “Frankie and I both were. Mimi had asked me to come, said she wanted to go with her just one more time. But I’d been with her when she’d been followed days before, so I knew something was wrong. I guess it must have been Al who’d been following her.”

  “It’s possible,” Judd said.

  “Well, I agreed to go,” I went on. “She was scared, Judd. I could hear it in her voice when she asked me. I think that’s why I agreed, because I knew she was scared. I think I wanted to keep an eye on her, but Frankie and I lost track of time. Mimi was gone almost as soon as we got to the club and we didn’t see again until hours later and that was it.”

  I paused, throat stuck. I hadn’t relived that night in weeks. At least, not out loud. I still saw her lying at my feet, throat cut, whenever I let my mind wander too far.

  “I wish I could have comforted her in those last moments,” I said softly after I recounted that whole nightmarish evening to him. “I hope she knew she wasn’t there alone.”

  “I’m sure she understood,” Judd said in an attempt to comfort me. “She probably knew you were there, looking for her. That might have comforted her, Miss Hazel.”

  I shook my head and closed my eyes, the image of Mimi at my feet blazing before my dark eyelids. I shuddered violently and opened my eyes again, feeling the warmth of the day seep under my skin and chase away the cold that had accompanied those memories.

  “Either way,” I said, getting to my feet, “she died and I couldn’t save her.” I shook my head again, feeling suddenly angry and bitter. But I wasn’t angry at Judd or even Basso. I was angry at myself for allowing myself to get roped in.

  Why couldn’t I have just let Emerson deal with it on his own? Why did I allow myself to get tangled up in the web Basso wove? What would I get out of it that couldn’t have been achieved by Emerson doing it himself?

  “You’re still a good person, Miss Hazel,” Judd said softly as we made our way back towards my street. “It don’t matter what Mr. Basso makes you do. You’re still a good person.”

  I gave him a rueful smile. “Am I?” Tears sprang to my eyes and I blinked them away quickly, startled by the sudden overwhelming and crushing sadness. “I don’t feel much like I am anymore.” I laughed harshly then, which seemed to surprise Judd. “I’ve watched him kill people. I’ve tortured people.” I shook my head vigorously. “I can’t take any of that back.”

  We walked the rest of the way to my house in relative silence, with Judd occasionally filling the silence with idle chatter that I wasn’t really paying much attention to.

  When we reached the house, I paused then asked, “You never answered me earlier.”

  Judd gave me a puzzled look.

  “About why Mimi was killed,” I explained and Judd looked suddenly very uncomfortable.

  “I don’t know much of anything,” he said quickly. “But I think she said something to the wrong person. It made Mr. Basso angry that she would talk like that.”

  “So he killed her,” I breathed and Judd nodded sadly.

  “There wasn’t anything anyone could do for her,” Judd said. “She could sometimes be a little reckless.”

  “Yes.”

  I turned away and left him standing on the sidewalk.

  Knowing that it was Judd who was watching me, I caught a taxi to Frankie’s apartment the following week. I was far too impatient to see him again and though I knew he would be busy, I couldn’t wait any longer. And with Judd knowing and keeping my secret, I was in less danger of being caught now.

  I spotted Liam outside the apartment building, a crate of vegetables in his arms as he made his way to the stairs when I stepped out of the taxi.

  I called his name as I crossed the street to him, but he surprised me by telling me to wait outside before he disappeared inside.

  Liam returned a few moments later and beckoned me forward.

  “I didn’t tell him who was here,” Liam explained to me as he led me inside and up several flights of rickety stairs. I could hear voices coming from everywhere, laughter bouncing off the walls and the occasional gramophone playing music.

  “And don’t let Connor catch you here,” Liam warned me as we reached the fourth floor. “He doesn’t like you very much and he’ll back soon.”

  My legs were burning and a stitch was forming in my side by the time we landed solidly on the fourth floor.

  “Why not?” I panted, following Liam as we moved off to the right towards a door three down from the stairs.

  But Liam didn’t answer me. He glanced nervously over his shoulder then opened the door and stepped inside.

  The apartment was
cozy and the smell of cinnamon and something cooking reached my nose as I followed him inside. Mismatched, ratty chairs were in the compact sitting room and there were photographs of younger versions of Frankie and his brothers littering almost every surface available.

  “Stay here,” Liam said before he stepped through the sitting room, through another door, and out of sight.

  I rocked back on my heels, feeling suddenly extremely anxious. Perhaps this was a bad idea. Frankie had clearly kept me away for some reason and there I was, pushing in where he didn’t want me.

  How stupid of me.

  I was just turning to go when the sound of a woman singing reached my ears.

  Curious, I peered into the cramped kitchen and saw a plump woman with the same blonde curls as her sons cutting up peppers. She turned, her back to me, and retrieved something from a shelf above the sink. Then she turned back around, caught sight of me, and stopped where she was, her singing breaking off mid-word.

  “Hazel?” Frankie asked just as the woman asked, “Who are you?”

  Turning to see Frankie, I watched him rush through the sitting room and over to me, his eyes, not on me, but on his mother.

  “Mam, this is Hazel MacClare,” he explained quickly, coming to stand beside me.

  “Ah.” Understanding dawned on her aging face and she straightened up a little. “The rich girl who took a fancy to my Frankie.” She eyed me distastefully, her round cheeks a ruddy color.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” I said diplomatically.

  She snorted and went back to her chopping.

  “If you’re staying for dinner, I’ll need to know,” she said dismissively.

  “Oh no,” I said hurriedly. “No, I won’t be too long Mrs. Corcoran.”

  Frankie didn’t wait for his mother to say anything else. He grabbed my hand and began pulling me from the apartment.

  The last thing I saw before I was practically shoved back out into the hallway beyond was Liam watching us with open curiosity. And then I was back out in the hall and Frankie was slamming the door shut behind us.

  “Your mother seems nice,” I offered, but I could see anger burning in his green eyes and I fell silent.

  I could handle Basso’s rage, I thought as I slowly pulled my hand free from Frankie’s. But I could not handle Frankie’s. His was somehow much, much worse.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded. He glanced around, as if expecting to see someone watching us. “I told you I couldn’t see you this week, so why are you here?”

  “I wanted to see you,” I said, my voice small and sounding almost childlike with hurt.

  “You’re being followed,” Frankie said, as if I had needed reminding. “We’ll get caught and then my whole family will be in danger.”

  “It’s only Judd,” I told him. “He won’t say a word, Frankie, honest. He kept Mimi’s secrets, remember?”

  “Yes, and look what’s happened to her,” he said harshly.

  Dropping my eyes, I twisted my fingers around the straps of my handbag. I felt foolish now for coming at all. Perhaps I had overestimated his affection for me. Or perhaps I hadn’t considered that his fear of being captured and murdered for being seen with me outweighed whatever he felt for me.

  Whatever the cause, I certainly didn’t like the way it made him look at me, as if I was some nasty thing stuck on the bottom of his shoe.

  “I’m sorry,” I said stiffly. “I should have realized you would be far too busy.”

  I was saying it mostly so that he could understand just how hurt I was at his dismissal of me. But I could tell that it wasn’t necessary. Even just by glancing briefly at his face, I could see just how much it upset him to know he had wounded me.

  “I suppose I’ll see you around.”

  Turning on my heel, I started making my way down the stairs, but Frankie caught up to me and grabbed my arm, spinning me around to face him.

  “If you tell that detective you don’t want to do it anymore, then we won’t have to worry about being seen,” Frankie said, sounding slightly breathless. “We could do whatever we want.”

  I pulled my arm free and took a step further down.

  Anger that always seemed to be boiling just below the surface these days was beginning to bubble dangerously close the edge.

  “Don’t you think I haven’t already told him that?” I snapped and Frankie looked completely nonplussed. “I told him weeks ago that I wanted out. But I’m too far in, now, Frankie. I can’t just walk away, not without getting myself killed.”

  “They’ve got to be close to pinning him,” Frankie said, sounding desperate now. I had a feeling Liam had his ear pressed against the door, listening to us.

  “As far as I know, they aren’t.” I was keeping my voice low in case Liam was listening.

  “Hazel, come on,” he said, exasperated, “you know none of this makes sense. Why use you, someone who has no experience at all, to help the police pin down a gangster? They know he does it, so what are they waiting for?”

  I didn’t have an answer for him. I still didn’t know the full reason why they chose me, other than that I was a friend of a victim.

  But he was right. If Emerson had had men on the inside for years, then surely they would have enough evidence against him to arrest and convict him? It was as if he was waiting for something. But what?

  “So you’re going to stay?” Frankie asked me when I didn’t respond, his voice low.

  “I don’t have a choice,” I said flatly.

  Frankie was nodding slowly, his lips pursed slightly.

  “Right,” he said, eyes wide as he stared unblinkingly at the stair under my feet, “then I reckon we don’t need to keep sneaking around anymore.” He lifted his eyes to mine just as I felt my heart stutter and my blood fill with ice. “If you won’t leave him, then I can’t do this anymore. I’m not putting myself or my family in danger for you. And I cannot tell you how sorry I am for that.”

  “Frankie,” I began, but he just shook his head.

  Lifting a hand to my face, he gently caressed my cheek. His expression was pained and I could hear the repressed emotion in his voice when he spoke. It was breaking his heart, too.

  “I don’t think I ever said it,” he said, his voice breaking slightly and I closed my eyes, tears beginning to fall down my cheeks as my lower lip and chin trembled, “but I do love you. I think I always have, from the moment I first saw you at the Golden Sparrow. But this....” He trailed off and then pressed his forehead against mine. “It’s too dangerous. You’re too dangerous. I’m risking more than myself when I sneak around with you. I won’t play games with Basso. I wish you’d leave him, but I know you won’t or you can’t.”

  He pulled away and I could feel a part of myself going with him as he stepped back.

  “When this is over,” Frankie said quietly and I slowly opened my eyes, “I’ll be right here, waiting for you. But until then... stay away.”

  Frankie turned his back on me and I watched him disappear back inside.

  I understood, of course. If the roles had been reversed, I was certain I would have walked away, too. If it would be what kept me and my family safe, then I would do it in a heartbeat. I couldn’t blame him, but that didn’t make the pain go away.

  Brushing at my eyes, I made my way down only to be stopped by Connor, who blocked the whole stairwell.

  “Let me go,” I pleaded.

  “Why are you here?” he demanded.

  “It doesn’t matter.” And I shoved past him and continued down the stairs until I burst out into the street.

  I took several long, deep breaths, wiped away the last of my tears, then flagged down a taxi.

  When I safely back in my room, I allowed myself to cry. But tomorrow, I told myself firmly, I wouldn’t shed another tear until it was all over.

  Chapter 19

  Lounging on the red sofa, sidecar in hand, I watched with detached fascination as Robert beat a man to the brink of un
consciousness.

  It was almost a daily thing now, watching interrogations. They were almost always for one of Basso’s clients. Sometimes, they were men who got too close to the warehouse or was spying or stealing. There had even been one, a few days before, who had actually tried to assassinate Basso at his warehouse by driving by and shooting at those standing outside. It just so happened that Basso was on the second floor while those standing outside were guarding the door.

  None of those men survived and I could see the rage in Basso’s eyes whenever he thought about it. James had been among the victims and, next to Robert, had been one of Basso’s most trusted men.

  That took one of the main men that would have to been taken care of before Basso was captured out of the picture. Though there were many, there had only been three that he trusted implicitly. Now there were two, Al and Robert. My eyes flicked to Judd, briefly sizing him up.

  Not a threat, I concluded. He would be easy to take out and all it would take would be a simple blow to the head. And I doubted his loyalty was that strong anyways. Men will turn on anyone for the right price.

  I sat up straighter, setting my sidecar aside as I realized what I was thinking. It disgusted me to realize that I could think about harming anyone at all, no matter who they were, without batting an eye. What was Basso turning me into?

  Basso settled down beside me, taking my free hand in one of his.

  My eyes shifted to our joined hands and lingered on the gold ring on his pinky.

  I had noticed it before, of course, but I was now seeing it in the same sort of way you notice a suddenly vacant lot on a street full of buildings. But now I was staring right at it and was able to see the detail of it.

  It was a simple ring with an onyx stone gleaming under the candlelight. It looked old and worn, as if it hadn’t been taken off for anything since it was put there.

  “Where did you get it?” I asked, running a free finger over it.

  Basso looked, first at me, then at where I was looking.

  “A friend,” he replied shortly. “It was for my twenty-first birthday.”

  I could tell that that was all he was prepared to say, so I let the subject drop and, instead, huddled up to his side. I had one hand in his, so I rested my other on his shoulder near his collar. My knees were pressing against his leg and I let my head just rest on his arm so that I could watch the proceedings.