Chapter 16 - It's the Small Things That Can Kill You! - The Code

Chapter 16 – The Code

“What do you mean by that? You said, ‘For Frank’s sake’? Is Frank in danger?” Clara asked.

Joey looked at both of us. “Walk with me while we talk a bit. My driver, Sal will pick us up on the way.”

“Where do you plan to take us?” I asked suspiciously.

“Back to Happy Meadows to see Frank. I presume that was where you were headed when we rolled up on you.” Joey ran his well-manicured hand through his hair. There was a child-like quality to him. Perhaps it was his voice. Joey Flowers might have been an alto in a local church choir had he made other choices in this life. His voice was melodic and sweet to listen to. His hands and face were delicately structured. I was beginning to understand how Frank might have mistaken Clara for Joey, when he pulled out a picture from his wallet.

“If there was any doubt as to whether I’m on the ‘up-and-up’ about my association with Frank Calabrese, here is a picture of us taken a year after he started training me.” Joey flashed another one of his spectacular smiles at her. The guy could have been a movie star, I thought.

Clara looked at the photo and gasped. I peeked over her shoulder. The young man standing by Frank was approximately the age Clara was now. He had roughly the same hair style and color of hair that she did. He was even wearing the same type of glasses as Clara did. Combined with Joey’s somewhat effeminate body language, if seen through the haze of Alzheimer’s Disease, I could see how Frank could have mistaken Clara for his old apprentice.

We kept walking. “Before you tell me what type of trouble Frank might be in, I need to know something?” Clara looked at Joey. They were nearly nose-to-nose. He easily could have passed for her father, although Clara’s father had died years before I had the chance to meet him.

“Ask me anything, but I shouldn’t linger in town too long.” Joey replied.

“Did you kill James Cody.” Her voice was calm and even.

“I was hired to dissuade him from causing a scene and shutting the baseball game down before it started.” Joey explained. “People don't usually hire me to verbally reason with a man holding a sniper rifle. That isn’t my skill set. I'm a terminator by reputation, not a negotiator. “Not that I can’t be charming and persuasive when need be. So, I intended to at least have a conversation first. Talk before bloodshed was necessary.”

“Answer my question.” Clara demanded.

“I think that you already know the answer, so let me give you the gift of plausible deniability in case the police question you. With a clear conscience you can say that you didn’t hear me confess to the homicide of James Cody. By the way, why does it matter to you whether I did it or not?”

“If you did murder him, it ramps up the amount of danger that I might be in even if I wanted to cooperate with whatever you have in mind for Frank.” She responded.

“Okay, that makes a certain amount of sense. Let me tell you a story about the old days, about the times when Frank was training me. He taught me so much more than a person like you might realize about being a professional.”

“Such as?” She asked as I held the picture of Joey and Frank just staring at the two of them.

“Frank taught me an ethical code. He said it was so I wouldn't ‘lose my way’ over those years that I worked for Tony Accardo’s organization. If you understood that the ‘code’ became sacred to me, then you would also understand that I don’t pose any danger to you.”

“So, is this some sort of religious thing?” I asked. I expected to hear something deep and philosophical.

“Hardly.” Joey laughed. “A bit more pragmatic. I always assumed Frank learned this the first time he went to prison. It goes like this. There are two worlds. The world of citizens and the world of criminals. When I say criminals, I mean people like Frank and myself, not people that jaywalk or refuse to pay traffic tickets. Capeesh?”

We both nodded. “Jaxon, give that picture back to him. It gives me the creeps. I handed the picture back to Joey and he chuckled.

“I wanted you to see that I looked enough like you when I was your age that we could have been twins.” He explained. “By the way. When this is over, you must quit pretending to be me. It could go badly for Frank if his parole officer thought he was having conversations with me.”

“Why? She said with renewed curiosity.

“Because I’m a felon. He isn’t supposed to have contact with another felon. It would be a violation of the conditions of his parole. He could go back to prison.” Joey saw his ride up ahead and he held up his hand.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”  She said rather surprised.

“Look, I know you and Frank have developed some type of bond. You could just tell him that you were my cousin. Or I could tell him that if you wanted me to. I don’t think it would change much. We do look and sound alike. Did you grow up here?”

“No, my family lived in east Chicago.” Clara replied.

“Mine too. That’s where part of the similarity comes from. We both still have some of the accent from that common point in our past.” Joey reasoned.

“But back to the ‘code’. If you don’t trespass into my world, I can’t touch you. I don’t murder people that are citizens. I don’t take contracts that involve killing innocent people. I don’t kill children, for any reason. Neither does Frank.”

The grey ford sedan pulled up. Joey’s driver got out and opened the back door for us. Joey looked at the burley driver. “Salvator, meet Clara Lipton and Jaxon Larue.” Sal just touched the brim of his fedora and nodded at us.

“You know our names. What else do you know about us? Clara said in an accusing tone. 

“Plenty. I spread some money and my own personal brand of charm around Kildeer. I’ve been in your quaint little village for several days. Sal and I are staying in a hotel in Del Rey City because I hear the F.B.I. is in town here in Kildeer. But we've been back and forth. I learned a little about you two from Mikey Bevins. He’s met me before. He and Frank were never that close but Frank and I bailed Mikey out of a few jams when Mike was a teenager.”

“Back to James Cody.” Joey’s voice took on a serious note.

“Thought you weren’t going to talk about that anymore.” Clara said standing in front of the car with arms folded.

“So, you look like two bright people.” He said, turning up the charm in his voice. “I’ll bet you’ve been to college.”

“Clara has.” I signified while thinking that nobody lately had ever accused me of being bright.

He looked at us with an odd expression. It was soulful. It invited empathy. “In that case, you would know what the term ‘hypothetically’ means? Yes?”

“Yes.” We both answered simultaneously.

“Good. I have a hypothetical scenario to relate to you. It is about a ‘hit’ man and a compulsive gambler that trespassed into the ‘hit’ man’s world.” Joey grinned. “Shall we take a ride while I tell the tale?”

Clara and I both hopped into the back seat of the sedan.