When Man Judges For God

Ellen Cross

A nice front hall or parlor with a stair which wrapped around the room. Zach was let in by a large man like himself. The man had frowned when Zach showed his papers and badge that told him who Zach was. This was wealth gained through illegal activities. From the recent trend of bootlegging. One of the worse things the United States did was make booze illegal. It paved the way for the bootlegging that made gangsters like Luke Mason wealthy.

A woman came down the stairs, followed by a colored woman, the woman wasn't drop dead gorgeous, though there was a strange attraction. She was like some Greek or Roman statue come to life. She had the classic curves of and slim waist that the previous generation found attractive. It may have been that the Colored woman was so plain, that the other woman in contrast appeared to have a chiseled beauty.

Compared to the black dress worn by the Colored woman who accompanied her, Ellen Cross wore a peacock blue blouse, a matching modern skirt coming up to the mid-calf to reveal white strappy shoes with clunky high heels. Silver jewelry set with hematite. She had a bobbed helmet of blond hair.

"Mr. Mason is out at the moment." Ellen Cross had a whiskey voice, deeper then some women. Her accent had a Virginia Southern sound. "Perhaps I can help you."

"Galvin Mennes is dead." Zach waited for the reaction.

"I know him. He is with the acting troupe at the Warehouse Theater that I sponsor. I'm not in charge of the place though. That would be Miss Rachael North, most people know her as Rae. Why did you come here?"

"I came here Miss Cross, after talking to Miss North and her acting troupe. You are the next logical source concerning my inquiry." Zach informed her.

"Would you like some coffee. I was just planning to have some myself." Ellen gestured to a room at the end of the entrance parlor.

"Miss Cross, I would love some coffee." After Rae North's tea, Zach was happy to get a decent cup of coffee. Something the cafe he had stopped at didn't have, coffee yes, decent no.

Escorted to the other room Zach sat on a yellow satin cushioned wooden sofa. Ellen sat in a matching chair. A coffee table of light stained wood that matched the wood of the sofa and chair sat in the center of the room. All of the furniture had a art deco style to it. The Colored woman left and brought in a coffee urn with two cups on a silver tray that the woman laid on the coffee table. There was also sugar and cream on the tray. Sitting down the tray, the woman started to leave.

"Thank you, Clara." Ellen said. The woman left them alone.

"What can I do for you, Detective?" Ellen leaned over and began to pour coffee for Zach and herself. Adding cream to her coffee.

Zach took a sip of his coffee and savored it. It was black, only slightly bitter, and much better than the coffee in the cafe. "You knew Galvin Mennes, as I understand."

"Not socially, I met him at the theater, we had an occasional conversation. He was a terrible gossip, though." Ellen daintily sipped her coffee. Sitting crosslegged. Her attention focused on Zach.

"Did Mr. Mason have any encounter with him, or anyone else associated with his operations?" Zach tried the diplomatic approach, not accusing them of bootlegging flat out.

"Mr. Mason's operations are none of my business, but as far as I know, no one even knew or cared about Galvin. I only know him because Rae North is my mentor." Ellen's hazel eyes remained connected with Zach's own brown eyes.

"I think you do know the nature of Mr. Mason's operations. Let me assure you that if there is anything illegal going on here, that is for the feds to dig up. I need to know if some how Galvin managed to get on the wrong side of Mr. Mason or his colleagues."

"Why, Detective Nathon, I assure you nothing illegal is happening here. None of Mr. Mason's colleagues or himself knew Galvin from Adam." Ellen broke eye contact after that to turn to Clara who brought out sugar cookies on a tray.

Clara's face, which seemed unusually sad, seemed to brighten when Ellen turned and smiled at her. "Oh, thank you, Clara. My favorite."

Zach knew he was wasting time. If Ellen Cross knew anything about Luke Mason's business, she was a great actress. She was a kept woman who provided social company and was most likely just a quiff. Zach made a diplomatic exit, in case he needed to come back. Cross said Rae North was her mentor. No doubt she inherited her morals from the woman. Zach suddenly had a light bulb go off in his head. If Cross was taught by Rae North, she might be a great actress after all. Maybe she did know what was happening under Luke Mason's roof after all.