Jerry set the pencil down and leaned toward his brother, needing to make his next point clear. “We have to plan everything down to the last drop of whisky. We have to get it right the first time. While we were gone, people around here have been honing their businesses. Like Willoughby. We might hate it, but we gotta take him seriously. He’s a kingpin these days. Guys like him will take us out at the knees if we’re not prepared.”
John’s mouth twisted to the side. “Don’t worry about Witless. You and me will watch out for each other like we always do. We’ll be fine. We always are.”
So began months of dedicated work. First, they visited Uncle Henry,who agreed to move the original still to his unassuming pig farm and help them build three more.
“But I won’t be part of the business beyond that,” he told them. “I won’t bring that kind of risk into my home.”
“That suits us fine, but we’ll pay you rent for the space,” Jerry said, looking around. “Where’s Walter today? I got a question or two for him.”
The minute they mentioned their plan to Walter, their cousin took the risky step of walking out on Willoughby’s burgeoning enterprise. “I’d rather work for family,” he said. Charlie had wanted in too, though he admitted his role would be limited due to his disabilities. There was never any question in Jerry’s mind, though. Besides being family, the boys had a wealth of information between the two of them that only someone who’d been living the rumrunner’s life for a while could know. Right away, Walter and Charlie helped the brothers hire the right men for the job, ensuring the business would flow as smoothly as the whisky itself.
Over the next two years or so, the business had come neatly together. Jerry and John had produced hundreds of casks of whisky that were just now coming of age. With the cars from the Frenchman, the final detail was in place.
Jerry shifted gears, accelerating the Ford. Both brothers were eager to get to the warehouse; Jerry could feel John’s excitement sparking in the air.
Today was inauguration day.
“Nice work on the cars,” Jerry said.
“Thanks,” John replied. “And I have something else for you. Just finalized it yesterday. You remember our old friend Tuck?”
“Of course.” They’d grown up going to school with Tuck, but Jerry hadn’t seen him since the war.
“Well, he’s a policeman now.”
“Okay,” Jerry said slowly.
“Nope. It’s the opposite. Tuck knows us. He knows what kind of men we are. He says he has bigger fish to fry than us, and he’ll help us out. Give us the heads-up when he can.”
“Well done,” Jerry said, giving his brother a smile. “You don’t get all the news though. I’ve got some of my own.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I’ve set up our first American buyer: The Two Way Inn in Detroit. The owner’s ready to buy anytime we’re set.”
“It’s really coming together, isn’t it?” John said thoughtfully. He lit two cigarettes, handed one to Jerry. “You ever think about how lucky we are? I mean, did you think we’d make it back here?”
Jerry took a deep drag. “I didn’t,” he admitted.
“What was the best day of the war for you?” John asked. “Besides the day it ended. Can you think of one?”
“Sure,” Jerry said without hesitation. “The day the Krauts tried to slice my face off.”
John barked out a laugh. “That’s your best day? Shit, Jerry. The others must have been worse than I thought!”
“Yeah, that was the one good day.”
A smile crept over his brother’s face. “Oh, I know why. That dame. That nurse. Naughty boy. She was a nun.”
“Nah. She told me she wasn’t.”
“You ever see her outta that stiff blue dress?” John teased.
Jerry felt an unexpected flare in his chest, offended for her, but he knew deep down John meant nothing by it. “When would I have had a chance to do that?”
His mind went to the night of the hospital bombing, when she’d run into the inferno in her nightgown, her blond hair falling loose down her back. Then later in the rain, after she’d lost her friend. Not without her gown, but yes, he’d seen her without her veil. And without her guard up. He hoped she had survived the war. He knew a number of nurses hadn’t.
“She’s probably forgotten all about me anyway,” he said. He’d asked around Windsor for the first few months, seeing if anyone knew her, but no one did. Grudgingly, he’d given up the search, but he’d never forgotten her. “Still, that was the best day. I never thought I’d meet someoneso nice out there. She was all class. Even with blood all over her, she was graceful. Girls are amazing that way.”
