When Man Judges For God

Setting A Trap

"It is not anything associated with what Luke does." Ellen assured Rae. Clara, her companion was with Henry the chauffeur down the street at a cafe. "Nor does this have anything to do with his competition. From what I read in the papers it must be some sort of local street gang."

"Why would a street gang take offense of my theater. Two actors and an actress whose morals were questionable." Rae was certain it was a personal attack. "Well, definitely immoral I suppose, but not deserving to die. I hate to think that someone is taking revenge on my actions by killing my acting troupe one by one."

"Gal was homosexual, your actress was sleeping with Negroes, but John, what did he do?" Ellen wondered.

"He was playing a homosexual in my play. It doesn't matter that he was playing a role, they must have decided he was homosexual." Rae shook her head. "What if they are getting their revenge by killing my troupe off."

"I hate to say it, but I think you are right." Ellen said. "Maybe we should dismiss the troupe and wait until the police find these murderers."

"Ellen, they may go after you, or Clara next." Rae was horrified by the idea. "Maybe you should take a trip down South again with Clara."

"Let them, in fact, that isn't a bad idea." Ellen knew she would fall into the category of immoral by living with Luke without being married. She was more than that, if they only knew they would certainly target her.

"Don't even joke about it." Rae said.

"I'm not joking. Let them try to attack me. They'll no longer be a threat by the time Luke and his colleagues are done with them." Ellen was fearless as usual. "I want them to try to attack me."

"Don't talk applesauce, Darling." Rae told her. "I don't think they would ever attack you because they know Luke would retaliate."

"You know you may be their ultimate goal." Ellen said.

"If I was, they would have killed me by now." Rae suddenly stood up. "They want to make me suffer, they'll kill all of the rest of my troupe."

Ellen watched Rae pace the room. "Darling, they are making me suffer for my immorality. For daring to defy their vision of morality."

"Which is why I'm the best bait for this gang." Ellen reasoned. "With Luke's organization behind me I can lure this pitiful gang into a trap and we can get all of them in one swoop."

Naturally Luke had said 'No!' At first, until he heard the whole plan. He found the whole thing amusing. Giving Ellen permission to go through with it. Henry was to drive her to the theater, of course, but once he left she would still be in safe hands. Because Detective Nathon had heard her plan as well, accepting it with the one provision that all of them found amusing. Nathon wanted Officer John Peters to work with Ellen on her plan.

"You think they are watching the theater." Rae said to Ellen.

"They have someone watching the theater and calling the rest of the group." Ellen and Rae were drinking tea in her room behind the theater. "Possibly from the pay phone a block away from here."

"Poor Peters looked a bit disconcerted." Rae laughed.

Ellen smiled. Remembering the sight of the officer in her dress. Peters had a similar build and height, since Ellen was a tall girl. A bit of padding helped give Peters some convincing curves that he lacked. A wig cut short, pill box hat, and make-up helped him look a little girly, but he didn't really look like Ellen. There was also a short lessen in walking like Ellen.

"I guess we can only wait to see if they will mistake Peters for me." Ellen said as she sipped her tea.

"In the dark, from a distance, it could work. I'm hoping it does." Rae didn't sound that confident. "I suppose it depends on how well they know you."

"Well, if he stumbles in those heels, it shouldn't make them too suspicious the entire world knows I'm a klutz." Ellen tried to reassure Rae.

"Believe it or not, not everyone knows you are a klutz, Darling." Rae said. "It's not all about you, you know, there are people who have never heard of Ellen Cross. That worries me too, we may be wasting time."

"No, you dismissed the rest of the theater workers and actors." Ellen poured herself more tea. "That makes me the only possible target for these saps."

"Applesauce, Darling." Rae bit her lip. "I may have dismissed them, but what if they target one of them anyway. Maybe they already had someone picked out before I dismissed them."

"Bushwa (bullshit), Rae." Ellen said. "Stop being so grummy (depressing)."

"Stop talking like a college vamp, where did you learn those terms." It seemed to Rae that Ellen had picked up a lot of new words since associating with gangsters.

"From the same places I learned to curse like a sailor." Ellen said.

Rae shook her head. If Ellen's Mother could hear her, she would sit Ellen on her ear for both the crude college slang and cursing. Rae still missed Ellen's Mother. They had lost contact while Ellen's Mother was married. When she divorced the bastard, she had contacted Rae again. For Ellen's sake Rae had taught Ellen what she needed to know to help her survive.

Ellen had changed at puberty. Despite being a boy, she had developed breasts and hips of a woman. It was true Ellen's face was more delicate, but she was tall, broad shouldered. Her voice has the Southern accent and whiskey quality that men found sexy. No matter how well Ellen could pass for a woman, there was still her genitals that were a boy's. No one expected Luke to come around and sweep Ellen off her feet. Luke didn't seem to care, it certainly didn't stop him from seducing Ellen.

"You are so different from the balled up girl dressed a decade out of date. Who came to me so upset about having engaged with homosexual acts with Luke." Rae mused.

"I've accepted that Luke and I seemed to have been meant for each other. I have the body that is perfect for him. I suppose that is why he keeps me around, I am too well matched for him to simply toss away." Ellen said this with a certain resolution. As if she had come to accept who they both were.

"I told you at the time that if you love each other that is all that matters." Rae said.

"There were times that I always dreamed of what life would be like if things had been different. If I hadn't turned into a freak at puberty." Ellen saw that Rae was about to interrupt. "Let me finish. Luke changed that, I'm glad that I'm who I am, what I am. If I hadn't been, I wouldn't have Luke, and to be honest he's got some heavy sugar (money), and I wouldn't have that either. It helped to know that Mother not only knew, but approved. Although I'm sure she didn't know Luke was a bootlegger."

"Your Mother knew, I think. She also knew that Luke was a decent man, no matter what he happen to be involved in." Rae finished when they heard something crack and creek in the theater.

Walls of Rae's room were not that thick. She had wished they were at times. Rae could hear the players rehearsing. The stage workers talking, the stage mechanisms as the moved. The band, when she had one, practicing. Every creak in the old warehouse. This particular creak and crack was not sounding like normal settling of the old warehouse. Rae signaled to Ellen to keep talking.

"Our party boats and cruises are doing well. We boat out to the hooch ships anchored in international waters, buy liquor from them and there isn't nothing the feds can do about it. Although they have tried, but we are careful." Ellen continued along those lines as Rae grabbed her revolver.