When Man Judges For God

What it is Not

Rae came back the the District Station to confront Zach. "I went to Ellen as you planned. Neither she nor her acquaintances had anything to do with my actors' deaths."

"Ellen Cross has called the Police Commissioner and already informed him that I have no business investigating Luke Mason or his Associates." Zach said. "I have no doubt she put it nicely that I should back off, but I am sure that none of her associates have any reason to attack you or your theater. This has nothing to do with the Police Commissioner. I just don't see why they would attack someone they have sponsored and helped to get back into business."

"Then why cast any suspicion on them." Rae sat in the visitor's chair.

"I needed you to talk to them, assurance that something hadn't happened between them and the theater which caused these deaths to happen." Zach sat back. His notes on the case were in front of him on the desk. "If it isn't them, it could be one of their rivals. Miss North, Luke Mason has a unique business within the particular community he is a part of. Those party boats of his are essentially immune to prosecution because they operate in international waters where United States laws do not apply. He appears to have the patent on it, because the other members of his community won't copy his particular method to avoid the law. That means he has powerful support and possibly a few enemies."

"You think someone is striking at them, through me." Rae sounded a little shocked.

"It is possible, if Luke Mason is as smart as I think he is, he'll be checking as well. We will know if this is related to Luke Mason and his activities soon enough. Because there will be other deaths not related or following the pattern of these deaths."

"No, there is nothing happening. No one has anything to do with this." Luke had been on the phone all day. Most of the time Ellen had been in the office, pretending not to listen. "When Rae talked to you about this, I knew my organization had nothing to do with those deaths, but no one else does either. People who interfere with my business tend to disappear."

"They do not disappear. They are usually found dead, although there is no connection between their death and us." Ellen yawned, it had been a tiring day.

"Only those whom we wish to make examples of, my dear." Luke smiled. "You tend to make examples of those whom you take a dislike to."

"People should know what happens when they cross us." Ellen sighed. "I never ordered the death of anyone who didn't deserve to die. Antonio had blown up a street to try to kill you, tried to burn down theater and nearly did kill me, and then planned to expose us to our enemies when he found out what I was."

"True, you always have your reasons for killing."

Zach sat in his empty office. Rae North had gone home. It had been a busy day. Ellen Cross had called to suggest that there was no reason that Luke's competition would want to attack anyone concerned with the Warehouse Theater.

Zach had sent Rae North home in a patrol car as a precaution that these events weren't leading to her eventual murder. He had made sure that the officer knew to make sure Rae was inside behind a locked door before he left.

Zach found the report on his desk the next day. This report was about an incident in Harlem on the other side of the city. A couple were killed this time. Someone had broken into their apartment and beat them to death. There was crashing, screams, and it was a naked white woman with a naked black man. The woman was an actress at the Warehouse Theater. It was the only place she could find a job due to her preference in men. Namely Colored men.

This time the men did not get off too easy. Before realizing they were white men, the Colored residents of the building not only broke in on them as they attacked the couple, they attacked them. At firest the Colored residents were too angry to think about the consequences of their actions. Several of the men were cut and beaten as they tried to leave the room and through the labyrinth of the building halls full of angry people. As the residents realized the men were white, they began to get afraid and retreated to their apartments. Letting the battered and bleeding group leave the building.

Not quite beaten to a pulp, the Colored man had been hit violently in the head several times, before they turned on the screaming girl and silenced her. Only it had been too late. Before they could finish they were interrupted by the citizens of the building. According to one of the witnesses the men wore towels wrapped over their heads and around their faces. A few had pillow cases over their head.

"Not Klan, sir." Zach had brought in Officer Nick Stanslav. He was a Klan member in New York. He was careful, intelligent, and had a type of passive-aggressive bigotry. Not openly bigoted, but among those he trusted he'd share his real thoughts.

"Why not?" Zach didn't think they were, but he planned to cover the bases.

"Most of us hate Negros, not that we don't hate perverts too, but we don't kill either of them up North. Down South they get away with a lot of things, but here in the North, we don't kill anyone." Said the Officer. "Even assuming we did, most people aren't used to killing, don't want to. Not after the war. We just want people to quit acting like them. White people listen to their jungle music, dance like a negro too. We don't want their crude ways to infest decent white folk. That's why we got to put them in camps and ship them off to Africa where they belong."

Zach dismissed the officer, not convinced that Klan might not be involved. Officer Peters came in after knocking as Zach was considering what Stanslav had told him.

"What do you need Officer." Zach said.

"I'm officer John Peters, Sir---" Peter's started.

"I know who you are Officer Peters, what do you want."

"I don't think it's Klan, sir." Peters said. "Klan would have killed the couple first. They might have killed the fag, but not the other actor. What had he done, besides play the part of a fag in a play. Now the couple I can see Klan doing that, only it's more likely they'd just rough them up a bit, instead of killing any of them."

"Not convinced." Zach told Peters. "You didn't hear officer Stanslav talk about rounding these people up into camps and shipping them back to Africa."

"I didn't need to be. Nick--ah--Officer Stanslav, he talks about it to people who he thinks will listen. That is why I knew you were thinking Klan. Only it isn't their style up North. Beat someone up, yeah. Down South, they do stuff like this all of the time, but up North we aren't that vicious."

"We? Officer Peters." Zach stared a hole through Peters.

"I was talking about Northerners as a whole, Sir. I'm not Klan, don't suspect I could be. You see, I've got relatives who are Colored." Peters realized he made a second mistake. "You won't tell anyone, Sir. It might mean my job if people knew."

Peters must have had plenty of white blood to pass as a white person. Zach thought to himself. "Don't worry, Officer Peters. I can keep this secret. You are dismissed."

Peters left the office. If it wasn't Klan, could it be something similar. Klansmen were a type of moralist, twisted as those morals might be, they were still moral. It could be that this gang was also a type of moralist sect like the Klan. Possibly with Christian connections. Targeting Rae North's theater. It had been set on fire a while back. A moralist sect claimed to be responsible.