To Become A Con Artist

Chapter Seven

The ivory dress I wore was sequenced at the bust with a low waist and frilled hem. It was one of the only flapper style dresses that I owned and had cost me most of my savings from the bakery.

My hair hung in a French braid, but as I paced the street I envied the shingle style hair and boyish cuts that the elegant women adorned with sparkling headbands. They smoked their cigarettes and threw their heads back in laughter at the arms of their gentlemen.

I tried to keep a low profile since I did not want Jean to see me dressed up in front of the Copper Bull after I had told her that I could not go out. I skimmed the crowds for any sight of Leo since it was almost nine o'clock.

As I cast my eyes down the streets, a black automobile pulled up directly in front of me allowing the glow of the street lamp to emphasize it's interior.

The horn honked causing me to jump back and almost curse the driver until I noticed the familiar face of Tony glance through the window. He smiled up at me and came out the car.

"Good evening, doll"

"Hi Tony. Leo told me to be here at nine. Do you know where he is?" I asked continuing to eye the sidewalk.

"No, but he did instruct me to pick you up." I turned back to the car. I had really anticipated the sight of Leo tonight since I could still feel the sweetness and warmth of his lips on mine. But I couldn't ponder right now since Tony held the door open for me as I circled the front of the car and slid into the shiny seats.

I had never been in an automobile this beautiful and, as I assumed, expensive. Was this the sort of money a con man made? I thought this all as we rolled down the busy streets.

"I've never been in a car like this." I said running my fingers over the smooth seats.

"Really?" He seemed surprised that a girl from the Bowery was foreign to a luxury automobile. "I planned this con two years ago and walked away with about three thousand dollars." I gasped at the amount.

"So when I saw the Rolls Royce ad for the New Phantom last year I spent some of the money on it. Some life huh?" He chuckled as I was still recovering from the thought of three thousand dollars in my possession.

I glanced out the window and noticed that there were no longer tenements and shabby flats lining the street. I saw no trash and the air no longer held a foul, though familiar, stench. The sight of brownstones were now the current image as I realized we were in the area of the city's elite. This was where the wealthy lounged and inhabited. The place where I had only been twice before, both times for Arnold's soirées. We were at Gramercy Park where the street lamps were brighter and the cobblestones were smoother.

Tony stopped in front of a brownstone with a light shining through the front window. Arnold's home was near this one, I knew it despite the dark night.

"Oh, swell they're here." Tony said to himself walking up the steps as I followed close behind.

"Who's here? And why are we here?" I almost feared that maybe the person who occupied the home would be a mark since they seemed to target the wealthy. But when Tony opened the door and signaled me to go inside, a wave of relief flowed over my skin.

I stepped inside and onto an elegant patterned rug. The sound of jazz filled the lit hall. Tony closed the door and led me to the parlor where the source of music was identified.

A fair skinned woman sat on a velvet chaise, her blonde hair in short finger curls, and her red lips separated into a grin. Her thin body was clad in a rose colored sleeveless chiffon dress with iridescent beads in an elaborate lace pattern. Layers of pearls hung around her neck and strapped low, touching the cushion of the chair. Her blue eyes were focused on the black man leaned against the wall with a glass of dark liquid in hand. He was tall and broad with a defined jaw structure and low dark hair. He simply wore tweed slacks and an off white shirt.