Alone at the Elias home (if you don't count servants), Walter reflects on the day's events over a glass of good whiskey. He wishes he had had more of a chance to talk with Aunt Kate. There's a lot of things he wanted to say to her about Jackson, and about his Mom. Well, when this is over, there'll be time for many long chats. Do them both good.

Meantime, he's glad she's clear of this stuff. He can't figure out why the cops don't just raid that JuJu House place and clean it out. They have no problem rousting other people on thinner evidence. Huh!

He finishes his whiskey and gets to his feet with a grin, then briefly scans a business directory. "Avery, get me a cab!" he calls, as he goes upstairs to his room. He gets out his .45 Colt and puts on his coat and tie, slipping the big pistol into his pocket.

Back downstairs, Avery helps him into his overcoat and hands him his hat. "I won't be too late," he tells the butler, seeing the cab pull up. Outside the door, he shifts the Colt to his overcoat pocket, then hurries down the steps and gets into the cab.

"Take me to 116th and Lenox."

As the cab pulls away, Bo scans the street behind him to see if any car is following. "Say," he looks at the hacker's license, "Say, uh, Julius. Let me know if you see the same car in your rearview too much."

The cab reaches 116th and Lenox and Bo directs the driver to pull up in front of the drugstore on the corner.

"Wait here for me, Julius," he says, handing the man a buck, "Won't be a minute."

He goes into the store, glancing around at all the dark faces that are looking at him. He ducks into the phone booth and closes the door. Dropping his nickel and dialing '0' for the operator, he turns his back to the store and puts his handkerchief over the receiver. Using a low, gruff voice, he asks to be connected to the local precinct, which only takes a moment.

"H'lo, policemans?" He's heard a lot of black voices while living in New Orleans, not to mention East Africa, and puts his speech into the cadences he recalls, knowing that the desk sergeant on the other end isn't going to have too many doubts on his end.

"Yeh, lissen, dat sumbitch Silas what run dat JuJu Shop tryna screw my sistah. Tha's right. No, I know you ain' gone arres' his ass fo' dat. But he's runnin' horse out dat joint an' he jus' got a big shipment this aftahnoon. You raid th' joint an' you got him fo' sho. Do it quick cuz he gonna move it t'night.

"My name? Haw! I ain' dat much a 'bama!" He hangs up.

Grinning a bit, he walks out to the cab: "Cotton Club, Julius."

The cab pulled up at 142d & Lenox. Bo gets out and passes the driver a couple of bucks: "Thanks for the ride, Julius. Keep it. If you don't have a fare in an hour, swing by, I'll probably be headed back downtown."

He crosses to the doorman and slips him a quarter as the guy pulls the door open. Inside, Owney Maddens boys give him the once over. He mentions a certain name they all know and they let him keep his .45.

Upstairs, he's shown to a small table across the aisle from the stage. He orders a double rye wi8th a ginger ale chaser. He sits back to enjoy the show.

After enjoying the show at the Cotton Club for almost an hour, Walter settles his tab and heads downstairs to the street entrance. As the doorman advances to the curb to summon a cab, Julius appears in his taxi.

Getting into the back seat, Bo pats the cabby on the shoulder: "Glad you waited. Let's go to Ransom Court."

There's a police car parked at the end of Ransome Court, as Julius pulls up nearby. That's it, no other activity. Disappointing.

Peering closely, Bo sees that the car held two cops in the front seat and a man in the back, who could be a Negro. He slips off his overcoat and rolls it into a ball with his pistol inside. He stashes it in a corner of the backseat.

"Listen, Julius, wait here," he says, loosening his tie, "If I get pinched, call this number and let them know." He passes one of Uncle Leo's business cards to the driver.

He gets out of the cab and walks somewhat unsteadily to the police car and knocks on the rear window: "Scuse me," he drawls in his best Big Easy voice, "Scuse me, offisah. C'n y'all direc' me t' a place name a Small's?"

He leans in close to the window, peering at the man in the back seat.

The Negro man in the back seat stares at him with undisguised malice, so fierce that Walter blinks and takes a staggering step back. At the same time the uniformed cop in the passenger seat opens the door and steps out.

"Whadda youse want, pal?" he asks gruffly, gripping his nightstick in both hands.

"Lahk I said," Bo drawls, "Ah'm lookin' fo' a nightclub name a Small's. I'm Brad Walters? F'um Noo Awlins? My buddy Stan Bishop tole me when Ah's in Noo Yawk I hadda see Small's, but tha' dumb cabbie cain' fin' it?"

He steps in closer and lowers his voice in a drunk's whisper, "Who's tha' angry jigaboo you got there? Dang'rous gangstah? He a murderah?"

The uniformed cop gets out from behind the steering wheel and takes Bo roughly by the arm: "Lissen, pal, yer about faw blocks from Small's Club. Dis here neighbahood's bad news fer a white man after dark, get it? Get back in yer cab an' beat it before I run youse in."

Bo sags against the cop as he's hustled up the street and a buck appears between his fingers, nudging gently against the cop's tunic. "Ah jes' wanna story fo' t'tell mah buddies back home. Jes' tell me th' boy's name."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:08, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

The cop easily slips the single into his hand, something that he's done before by the apparent ease with which he takes it. "Ain't no story. Just some drunk hump we picked up off the street. His name is John, that's all we could get outta him. Now get movin'."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:48, Thu 26 Mar 2015.

Bo stumbles the last few steps to the cab and gets in.

"Okay, Julius, take me home."

Bo pays off Julius and takes a card from him in case he needs a car again in the coming days. As he climbs the stairs to Leo's front door and rings the bell, he feels altogether weary.

The butler takes his hat and coat and promises a nightcap will be brought to his room. Walter has drunk his nightcap and is asleep in bed by the time the others return.