His brown skin faded to ash. “What?”
“Gallo killed Houdini.” A sob worked its way into her throat, and she covered her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming.
Ezekiel scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “Jesus Christ.”
“I don’t understand.” Her voice was shaking. “Why did you bring him here tonight?”
Ezekiel rubbed his head, turning his processed waves into messy curls. “He’s our banker for the policy business. Archie insisted he join us, Honoree.” His words drifted into the air. He seemed as stunned by what had happened as she. “I suspected Gallo was involved in Houdini’s death. I knew it, but I never thought he’d do the deed himself.”
The missing pieces of Ezekiel’s story started to turn from Jell-O into a solid form. “You were in business with Gallo before Houdini was killed. The envelope was why Houdini died. You and Gallo are in cahoots. Did you come to me that night for the envelope or to kill me?”
“Goddamn it, Honoree. I would never hurt you. I was trying to protect you.”
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare yell at me!”
He grabbed her shoulders. “You lost your mind? God. Keep quiet. Someone could overhear you. That envelope is still missing. Houdini didn’t have it. Gallo still wants it, and I still want to keep you away from this entire mess.”
The strength left him like a balloon had popped in his chest. His arms dropped limply to his sides. “You blame me—but I swear I didn’t know.”
She checked around. Had anyone joined them in the hallway? “I’m afraid to believe you.”
He shut his eyes for a second. “My business with Archie and Gallo goes way back, Honoree. Back to the night I had to leave town. The contents of that envelope were going to help me get back some of what I lost that night.”
“The envelope, Houdini, and Gallo.” All connected. The sinking feeling would bury her. “I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true. It was my fault Houdini died.”
“Don’t talk crazy. If anyone got him killed, Honoree, it was me.”
Her throat closed, and she pressed her lips together. The world needed to shut its mouth.
“Give me a few days. You said Gallo never saw you that night. He doesn’t remember you. So you’ll be okay.” His hand reached for her chin but paused as the distrust entered her eyes. “All I need is a few days. I promise, Honoree, and I’ll set things right.”
CHAPTER 36
HONOREE
Friday, December 11, 1925
The police station was on Twenty-Sixth Street in the Second Ward. Honoree stood at the front desk, clutching the handle of her box purse and avoiding anyone who walked too close.
Christ, she hoped no one had followed her. If only the patrolman behind the counter would stop shouting into the receiver and ask her what she needed. She could say her peace and be on her way. Until then, she remained rooted to the spot, despite her body trembling.
“The mayor’s office is fighting a war,” the man shouted into the receiver. “The commission cares only about taking down Capone and his Outfit. Every other crime in the city can wait.”
The bull-size man, his scarred bald head glistening with sweat, sorted through a stack of paper as he talked on and on. “What do you want, girlie?”
Finally, he looked at her, and every bone in her body wanted to take a step back. The same hideous gashes and raised mounds that scarred his head covered his face. The aftermath of a long-ago battle with smallpox.
“Is Officer MacDonald here?”
Contempt covered his face as he eyed her dress and bobbed hair. Anytime she left her neighborhood, or ventured too far away from the Stroll, this judgment was what she got.
“Someone else can help you.”
“Is he here?”
“He’ll be here for his shift. You can wait over there and stay out of the way, understand?”
“Yes, sir, but may I ask what time his shift begins?”
