Luke had a mild moment of concern when he saw the bullet holes in our home. It was touching. He asked about Clara and our cook first. Henry had met him outside. Informing him that I was safe. He looked me over. As if I might have missed any bullet holes in my body. Assured that I was not accidentally shot and didn't know about it, Luke became the business man again.
"No one expected us. We easily took out his few guards. I had O'Dea escorted down to the river front without having to fire a shot. As for the rest of his army, they are too busy leaving town to become a further problem. I suspect that Tony Sicily will take over the drug trade. Which means that from now on Marco will have his hand in the drug syndicate." Luke told me later.
"That will give him more power." I said. "We should keep an eye on Tony and Marco. He may decide to consolidate by removing you."
"In that case, he will most likely remove you as well." Luke said.
"Naturally, which is why I said 'we' should keep an eye on them." I smiled at Luke.
Phillip got his old job back. Working on the account books. He lost Luke's trust, but not his friendship. They had known each other since they were young. Marco's man, Tony. was replaced by a Dano Marcello. He seems friendly enough. Friendlier than Tony was. Time will tell what will happen with this new man and what Marco has planned.
"Phillip seems broken." Carol confided in me the next time I visited her. "He's stayed off the hop. Only he's so jumpy. Afraid of every noise. I hear him crying sometimes. In the kitchen. Late at night. He's still not the same."
"Give him time." I said to Carol as we drank coffee at the kitchen table. "He will slowly regain that old energy and confidence."
"I hope so. What I'm afraid of is this whole thing has left him a broken man." Carol said. "I promised though, to stay with him, in sickness and health. So, I will."
I didn't know how to reassure Carol that everything would be all right. All I knew was that things were changing. So much had changed in the last year. I had to wonder what this new year would bring. If everything would really be all right.
END
YOU ARE READING
A Crisis With Hop
Historical FictionOn September 16th, 1920, the world changed. It was not just the beginning of a new decade. It was the explosion on Wall Street. A TNT bomb planted by terrorists in front of the JP Morgan building. Caught up in that explosion was Ellen Cross, Luk...
