A Bloody Business by Dylan Struzan

Author:Dylan Struzan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan

Chapter Fourteen

We All Sign on the Dotted Line

MAY 1929

The sun beats on the thick gray clouds that hang over Atlantic City. The clouds refuse to budge. They remain impenetrable, unyielding. The sixty-six thousand residents sigh. Business will not pick up until the sun fills the sky.

Anne dons her new mink coat. She and Meyer take to the near-empty boardwalk. Anne breathes in the magic of open spaces, and yet it’s not without some unease. Manhattan, a city of seven million, offers anonymity. Here, walking this way out in the open with nothing to shelter her prompts the anxiety of exposure. Meyer seems unfettered by this discomfort. They have the perfect cover story, just another honeymoon couple out strolling the boardwalk.

Meyer holds his head erect as though he is on top of the world and runs through the moves that have gotten him to this moment. Charlie calls it the Atlantic City Conference, a gangster gathering of sorts that will, hopefully, tame the beast of street violence that plagues their business. Meyer has asked the right questions of the attendees. His propensity for understanding how far the criminal mind is willing to go in a compromise has served him well. “What do you want from our cooperation?” “What will it take for you to make a deal?” “What will break the deal?” “What do you expect in return?” The odds for dissatisfaction are greatly diminished when the endgame is clearly understood.

“A successful partnership is predicted by a good contract,” Aaron Sapiro had said. “A good contract manages expectations well.”

Meyer spent time visiting allies and associates in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, and Boston. Whenever Italians were involved, Charlie came along. The Racing Wire breathed new life into old negotiations. The massacre undermined deeply rooted beliefs on the subject of street violence. Meyer was quick to propose cooperation. His reasons run deeper than anyone imagines. He is not only interested in spreading a web of gambling connections across the U.S.; he has plans to make Charlie the man in New York. This is the beginning of Meyer’s moves, a considerable undertaking, and he can’t wait to get started.

The dominoes of a major conflict between Joe the Boss and Salvatore Maranzano have already begun to tumble. Old ways will give way to the new. The Atlantic City Conference is the melting pot that has the potential to solidify a sizeable amount of manpower. Success here means violence can be contained and the government can return to looking the other way.

Al Capone believes he is a major part of the new face of crime, organized crime, a business not dissimilar to Wall Street and the rest of American capitalism. He arrives with his boys from Chicago, which emphasizes the ongoing teamwork between Chicago and New York. The future depends on what happens here in Atlantic City.

Anne snuggles into Meyer’s arm as they walk. The Loop-the-Loop clacks under the strain of a single car bobbing along the wooden track. At Abe Klein’s delicatessen, Meyer sees Charlie and Vito Genovese talking shop over the remains of a couple of pastrami sandwiches.

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