A Drink with the Deacon

"Let me assure you sir. Nothing has ever been taken from our parking lot. There is a fence and a watchman."

"Very well let me park the truck while Rachel goes to the room." I parked the truck then took the two duffel bags with me into the hotel. I left them in the lobby while I went into the manager's office.

"So Mr.?" He made it a question.

"Burke, Deacon Burke," I replied.

"So how much hootch do you have?"

"Right at forty gallons," I admitted.

"That is a great deal of whiskey. It is going to take you at least a couple of weeks to sell it all." He looked like a man with a plan.

"Yes it is going to be a bit of a bother. I suppose you have a better plan."

"I have indeed. Since our mutual friend stopped selling his products up here, I have begun to buy from another source. His product is inferior to our friend's product. I suggest you supply directly to him."

"Why doesn't he just go down and get his own?" I asked it because I figured they would want to buy it for peanuts."

"The man is a local distributor of beer and wine. He has little or no interest in whiskey. He would be doing the deal just to have a reliable source of good liquor."

"I will listen to his offer. If it sounds reasonable, we can deal."

"Good, why don't you go to your room clean up? Hell, come have dinner on me. I will call the room when Thomas arrives."

I didn't knock on the third floor room, instead I used the second key to unlock it. I found Rachel stretched out on the bed. She wasn't asleep, she was just there. I went into the small room on the left. I found it to be a bathroom complete with a tub. While the water ran in the tub, I shaved the five-day growth of beard. I made a few more adjustments in the water temperature then lowered myself into the tub.

I washed the dirt and the smell from my body, it took only a few minutes to accomplish. I should have hurried to be ready for the manager's call, but I did not. Instead I leaned back in the hot water to enjoy the feeling. My eyes closed. I suppose I was on the edge of sleep when she spoke.

"Come on Deacon make room for me. No sense wasting the water." I looked up to see her standing naked over the tub.

Rachel was a natural redhead. I had never doubted it. She was also the owner of a body far from perfect. Her breasts were too small. Her hips were slightly too large and her tummy wasn't at all flat but she was till very attractive. Her skin was as pale as chalk with stark red spots here and there. Her hair, her lips, her nipples, her pubic hair and a birthmark on her hip. The birthmark I noticed when she turned her back to me as she climbed into the tub.

She was actually quite safe in the tub since her back was to me. I could not have assaulted her even if I had wanted. The maneuver would have been impossible for a normal man. Maybe a midget, but I somehow doubted Rachel would have been in the tub with a midget.

I sat with my body push hard against the rear of the tub. In that position she had barely enough room to wash herself. It was so tight in the tub she asked, "Would you help me?" With those words she handed me the wash cloth.

I first washed her back. Then the cloth slipped around to the front. I washed her breast. The soapy cloth glided over her nipples. Rachel responded with a moan. The cloth moved farther down her body while she continued to breath hard. We were both being lulled into a fog. The fog was created as much by lack of sleep as by sexual desire.

The phone saved one of us or maybe both of us. I left Rachel soaking in the tub while I went to answer. "Hello," I said it into the mouth piece while I held the earpiece against my head.

"Mr. Burke, I have the meeting set. Mr. Severs will be in the dinning room in fifteen minutes." I recognized the manager's voice.

"Fair enough, I assume you will be there?" It was a question that needed asking.

"Of course," he replied simply.

"Red, get a move on we need to get downstairs right now." I suddenly heard the words of the old man at the still ringing in my ear. The cops will lock you up, and the gangs will kill you.

I dressed quickly while Red did the same. I got to watch her slip into the cotton drawers she wore. The petticoat looked worn but clean. Over it all she slipped a shift dress just like the one she had taken off.

"You know anything about guns?" I asked it not expecting much.

"I done some hunting with my dad before he run off." She didn't seem anything but curious.

"In that case you get this." From the duffel bag I had not previously opened I removed an ugly little automatic pistol. It was a Mauser with an eight shot magazine. I stripped a clip into the piece then handed it to her. I quickly showed her where the safety was located.

"What is wrong Deacon?" Rachel asked it with a frightened look on her face.

"I think we are about to be highjacked and maybe killed. We are going down first to move the truck. Then we are going to that meeting, but we are going to be ready for a fight. All you have to do is make noise. You don't have to hit anything. You can point it at the ceiling for all I care. Just get behind something and make some noise.

We slipped down the three flights of stairs at the rear of the building. Once on the street I found my way back to the parking lot. The guard didn't seem concerned at all when I drove the truck away. I parked the truck two blocks from the hotel, then we walked.

The dining room was more or less empty. The one other couple seemed to be finished. They sat quietly smoking while drinking coffee. The manager sat with a man a few years older than either of us. They both kept an eye on the door. It was not a good sign, I decided. Rachel and I crossed the room to sit with them.

I removed the .45 from my belt while Red diverted their attention. The pistol was hidden from view by the long tablecloth. The two men waited until the waiter had come and gone before Severs spoke.

"So Deacon," he seemed very confident. He might not have been so confident had he known the .45 was aimed at his belly. "Thomas here tells me you have 50 gallons of whiskey for sale. He also tells me you can get more."

"Let's take care of this 35 gallons I got right now first thing," I suggested. I could tell he didn't like the idea of me trying to steer the conversation. Nobody spoke again until the waiter deposited our food onto the white table cloth.

Rachael followed my lead as we tore into the roast beef. We both ate it and the mashed potatoes while we watched Severs and the empty dining room.

"You seem hungry," the manager said.

"Well we haven't had all that many good meals lately. By the way this is excellent." I said it as I reached for the coffee cup.

"Glad you like it. Now about that whiskey." Severs was beginning to tire of the game. I knew we were about to find out how the play would go down.

"What about it?" I asked.

"How much for the whiskey?" Severs asked.

"How much of it do you want?" I asked.

"All of it of course," he replied.

"Two hundred bucks and I will throw in the extra two cases." I was fully prepared for what happened next.

"I don't think so," he suggested.

"Well then, I will just be forced to sell it myself." I smiled at him.

"I can't let you do that. I distribute all the alcohol in this area."

"Well, it is only a few cases, I expect the buyers will be back buying from you within a week. It really ain't enough to die over."

"You don't understand. I can't let you do that."

"Then buy the whiskey for the two hundred bucks." I watched as his eyes got hard.

The man who walked up behind me didn't count on Rachel. She had the gun pointed at him before he could get his up. I had mine on Severs. I expected the others were across the street trying to find the hootch.

"If you force me to do it, I will kill you all. I have no qualms about it whatsoever. I killed a hell of a lot more men in France. So, have your man put down the pistol."

I give Severs one thing he was cool under pressure. "Maybe you can, but how about the woman."

"Do anything, other than what I say, and you will never find out. You will be dead before the man behind has time to make a move."

"Put the gun away Mike," he ordered.

"Not good enough, I want the pistol on that table. Then I want him on the other side of it. Do it now."

"Do it mike." I noted with satisfaction that some of the cool was leaving him.

"I figure you are stealing my booze while we sit here. So here is the deal I want two hundred bucks for it now."

"You are nuts," Severs said.

"Two hundred or I am going to splatter your brains all over the wall." I gave him a wicked smile. "Go in your pocket and come out slow." I kept my eyes on the doors behind Severs. If there had been more, they must have been waiting for a signal of some kind. It was never sent. Severs decided to go along and live. What would happen after he was safe was another thing all together.

From his pocket he removed his wallet. "Count out two hundred," I demanded.

For a big time crime boss I was surprised he carried so little money. "One hundred and five dollars is all I have."

"Pretty damn sad for a man in your position. Thomas cough it up. You can get it back from your friend when he sells the booze.

Thomas of course emptied his wallet. He carried only twenty-five dollars which was a lot of money for a man to carry in those days. Probably his days skim from the hotel.

"You," I said to the man standing across a table from me. "Bring me your wallet and empty it on the table." Severs nodded. From the wallet he removed five dollars.

"Damn for big-time gangsters, you surely don't have much money. You are still seventy bucks short." Since you didn't take it all, I am going to have to raise the price to five dollars a gallon. You get twenty-six gallons of hootch for your money. Now Thomas, I want you to walk to the door of the dinning room call the bellboy have him pack my duffel bags then bring them here.

The wait seemed longer than it was. When I had the bags, I forced Sever's goon to heft them. I stayed far enough away so that he could not use the bags as weapons. He had no idea of the fire power hidden safely inside one of the bags. He did know it was heavy as hell because he huffed and puffed as we quick stepped to the truck. He, Severs, and Thomas led the way.

When we arrived, I demanded that the three of them take off nine boxes. It was the amount of hootch they had paid four plus one extra gallon. It didn't seem like a good idea to stand on the street while they removed the extra gallon.

Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure. As I said it, I checked Severs for a weapon. Since nobody had one, I forced the goon to start the truck. As before Rachel drove the truck while I covered them through the open door. They were so far from their cars we had a good head start on them. Rachel drove very well for a novice. After several bad turns she finally found the signs to the highway, such as it was. We headed off back towards West Virginia.

"You know Deacon the liquor business is a lot more work than I thought, not to mention the danger." Rachel made the observation as we drove into the Kentucky night.

"Well. it ain't as dangerous as trying to empty a German trench, but it ain't a picnic in the park either." I looked to my right at her then smiled.

"You are enjoying this aren't you?" She didn't just chuckle the laugh was the release of tension.

"I suppose so, I hear some people never get over the feel of combat." I was enjoying her obvious release of tension.

"Well, I could get used to this. Why don't we just drop the liquor end of the business and rob these goons?" Rachel suggested.

"Sorry, I am not really a thief. I do have some morals you know." I was serious until she broke into laughter. I had to join in, it did sound ridiculous in light of what had just happened.

In every town large enough to have a drug store we sold the liquor. The druggist would make his purchase from the back door. We sold it almost in bootlegger sized lots. Just a couple of quarts at a time. The profit was more but the miles in between were greater. By the time we reached Huntington West Virginia, we were down to only half a gallon. The sale of the last two quarts went to a druggist there.

Rachael and I sat in a cafe to divide the money. I removed all the expenses from the trip before I made the split. Even so there was over a hundred dollars to divide.

"Well Rachael that will hold you for a few months." I said it since I didn't know what was in her mind.

"Yes it will, what do you plan now Deacon?" She asked it in a tone I could not read.

"I am going to drive to that hotel in the center of town. I plan to check in so that I can sleep for a week. I have been cold and tired too long. She should have recognized the red eyes, if not my stumbling walk.

"Would you mind some company? I mean we are, kind of, partners in all this."

"We were partners in one deal dear. That deal is over."

"Well, we could be partners again, couldn't we?" The look on her face told me she wasn't nearly as independent as she thought. She simply did not want to be alone in the world.

"Tell you what Rachel I will give it some thought. In the meantime I need a bath and to sleep for a week."

"We could share a tub and a bed." She had a hopeful look on her young face. She really did not want to be alone. I couldn't say that I blamed her much. The world didn't really offer all that much for a woman. I nodded as I stood to leave that table. The hotel was across from the docks but it wasn't a dive. It was in fact a very nice family kind of place. I guess it looked to the staff as though I had stolen someone's daughter. The clerk who sat behind the desk and in front of the open manager's door spoke first,

"Yes Captain, may I help you?" He looked a lot like a man with a dirty mind. The sneer on his face should have sent me quietly on my way without a word.

"We need a room for a couple of days," I replied.

"Ah, you and your wife?" It was a question. He wasn't trying to be helpful.

"Sure why not," I replied smiling. I was hoping I could bluff it out.

"Surely, that will be two dollars a day. I just need to see your marriage license." He made no move to turn the register to me.

"I see, well you know we don't travel with that in hand." I looked him in the eye, but I knew it wasn't going to do any good.

"I am sorry Captain, it is hotel policy for me to see the license before I rent to couples." He had stopped the phony smile even.

"I see," I decided not to give him hell. It would only have made him angry. I also decided not to pay him the extra two bucks for a second room. What I did do was to lug my two duffel bags out the door.

I said to Rachel "You wait here with the bags." I left the two bags beside the door as I turned toward the truck.

"Hey Captain," the voice came from a little man in a uniform of sorts. I knew he was the bell captain. Rachel just looked frightened.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" I asked.

"Nothing for me, but I might be able to do something for you. There is a hotel to blocks down. It is down nearer the river. It is smaller, but it is clean. Since there ain't so much river traffic no more, it is kind of quiet now. If you like, I can call the desk clerk. You won't have any trouble there."

"Sure why not? We just need a place to sleep for a couple of days." He gave me directions to the hotel in exchange for a nickel tip.

The Clerk was happy to see us when we arrived. He greeted me with a pen and the register. The Dollar Fifty I paid him might have been a bit more than an older couple would have paid, but I didn't mind at all.

There were bathrooms as either end of the hallway. Each pair of bathrooms serviced ten rooms. It would have been a good ratio except maybe early in the morning on a day when the rooms were filled. On the day we moved into the hotel, the rooms were almost all empty. We pretty much had the bathrooms to ourselves.

I bathed in one room and Rachel in the other. I soaked a little longer than I needed but I was comfortable and warm for the first time in weeks. For some reason I had the .45 on a chair by the tub. I supposed that the couple of days of danger had me shook. Until I began the trip, it had been a while since anyone had pointed a gun at me.

When I returned to the room, Rachel was already in the bed. The one bed was a double so there was room for me. I slipped off my pants then moved the covers. What I saw made me removed my underwear as well. Rachel lay naked under the covers. Even her less than perfect body felt wonderful to me. It had been a long time since I lay in bed holding a female body against me. The things that one would expect happened. Rachel did not protest at all. In fact she encouraged me by both word and deed.

I absolutely hated the idea of leaving the bed again that day. Somewhere after dark Rachel woke me by saying she was hungry. She shook me until I dragged myself from the bed. I slipped on my wool trousers then went to the bathroom. Rachel slipped on her shift with no underwear. While I used one bathroom, she used the other. The whole floor must have been empty.

Unlike the fancy hotel, the Admiral where we stayed did not have a restaurant. However there was one a few doors down. The food was good and probably half the price of the Hotel's restaurant. After dinner we returned to the Hotel to again fall asleep in each others arms. The night passed quickly since it was a series of sex episodes followed by sleep cycles.

The next morning after breakfast Rachel and I went shopping. New clothes for both of us seemed to be a necessity. I bought two pairs of rough wool work pants. Three heavy weight cotton work shirts. Those along with wool underwear completed my purchases. I had plenty of shoes and boots left from the army.

Rachel bought long straight skirts with sweaters to go along. She also bought wool underwear. I suppose she planned to go along with me, on whatever my next venture might be. My purchases came to just over ten dollars while Rachel's came to about thirteen.

I looked at myself in the mirror when we were back in the hotel. I looked strange even to me, the colors seemed to be all wrong. The soft wool coat wasn't right it had the wrong cut about it. Not only that, it was tweed for god's sake. Rachel laughed at my ranting. I actually laughed with her but I couldn't stop. The new hat felt light on my head. It was one of those soft things that sailors wore on cold nights. Not the white dress hat mind you, but the watch cap. The one I bought was green not blue. It was plenty long enough to cover my ears. The ears had been the reason for the choice. Nothing like a couple of hours in the open truck to convince me that my ears needed protecting.

"Okay Deacon, we have made love, slept, and bought new clothes. So what are we going to do next?" Rachel asked it after she laughed at my new look.

"Well we made a few bucks with the liquor thing. Do you want to give that another try?"

"We almost got killed trying to sell it. If we could sell it safely, and all at once, I would go for it. Or if they came to us to order in advance, then I would do it. The selling of it is the risky part."

"We could sell to that distributor I guess," Rachel suggested.

"We really should just take over the liquor business. He can have the beer and wine business, if he wants it. Otherwise, we just put him out of business." I was thinking out loud.

"He has a gang Deacon. He will kill you," Rachel seemed concerned. She probably didn't want to be alone. It was just a thought. I didn't have much faith in her or anyone else.

"Well his gang probably never saw a war. It is one thing to shoot a man in the back of the head. It is quite another to walk into this." While I spoke, I removed the contents of the second duffel bag. The ugly looking chunk of steel was called a Lewis machine gun. The round magazine sat on top of the gun. The round it fired was larger and heavier than the Thompson gun.