Larrigan looked at Savoli, and Nick nodded his agreement with the enforcer’s words.
LARRIGAN was now at ease. Relieved from all tension, his mind suddenly reverted to the purpose of his visit. He had business to discuss, and now was the time to do it.
“Listen, Borrango,” he said. “You say you’re a friend of mine, don’t you?”
The enforcer nodded.
“You’re in with Nick, here,” continued Larrigan. “He’s a friend of mine, too. Is that right?”
Borrango’s second nod was more emphatic, than the first.
“All right,” declared Larrigan. He turned to Savoli. “I’m going to talk plain to you, Nick. Why were Schultz and Spirak bumped off? What do you know about it?”
The big shot shrugged his shoulders.
“I was very sorry to hear of that,” he said. He looked to Borrango for corroboration, and the enforcer nodded. “Very sorry,” added Savoli. “I have sent flowers — many flowers. It is too bad. It is just the kind of thing I do not like to see.”
“Flowers don’t mean nothing, Nick,” blurted Larrigan. “You sent flowers and a big wreath. They all do that. Sometimes the biggest wreath comes from the guy that did the bumping off.
“Now, I know who bumped off those two boys. It was Monk Thurman. But who was Monk working for?”
“Maybe he was working for himself,” suggested Borrango.
“Maybe,” replied Mike Larrigan doubtfully, “and maybe not. It don’t look right to me, Borrango. That’s why I came here.
“You said that if I had anything to squawk about, come to see you. I’m here, and I’m squawking!”
“There was trouble between Monk and those two boys,” said Borrango smoothly. “Maybe they were after him — and he got them instead.”
“They were after him, all right,” admitted Larrigan. “But he was laying for them, and he got them where he wanted them. All right.
“If he knew they were after him, why didn’t he clear out — back to New York, maybe? Why was he staying around here in Chicago, with guys trying to put him on the spot?”
“There’s a lot of good torpedoes who are dumb, Mike,” said Borrango, by way of explanation.
“Listen” — Larrigan was getting to the point of his argument — “after that trouble down in Marmosa’s, there was a lot of talk that you fellows were trying to get Monk Thurman to work for you.
“There was more than that. They say that Monk Thurman came here. They say he was working for you. That’s what I want to find out. Was he working for you, or wasn’t he?”
The question was put to Savoli. The big shot was indirect in his reply.
“I shall tell you, Larrigan,” he said. “You want to know if I was after Schultz and Spirak. I answer you — No! Why should I want them on the spot?”
“They tried to stick up Marmosa’s,” replied Larrigan.
“I know that,” returned Savoli. “But that was not the first trouble they made for me. I have let many things pass. Why should one more trouble me? They did not stick up Marmosa’s after all. Marmosa is not my man.”
“He gives you a cut.”
“Of course. But he must find his own protection.”
Larrigan was on the point of being convinced by Savoli’s argument. Borrango was ready to add persuasion. But before the Irishman could formulate a further reply, Savoli became suddenly direct in his statements.
“It is good for you,” he said quietly, “that Schultz and Spirak were bumped off.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Larrigan.
“Were you master of your own mob?” questioned Savoli, with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “No, Larrigan, you were not. You had your gang; Schultz and Spirak had theirs. You often went by what they said. Their men were yours — while you did what they wanted. Am I right?”
LARRIGAN’S freckled face became red. He was too angry to speak, but his wrath left him as suddenly as it had come. He stared at Savoli, and was met with a look that was firm, yet not unfriendly. Borrango broke the strain.
“Nick is a friend of yours, Mike,” he insisted. “He is not trying to make you feel bad. You told him what you thought; he is telling you what he thinks. It is all between friends.”
“Well,” said Larrigan slowly, “you may be right, Nick. I never looked at it that way, but you may be right. Those two fellows were pals of mine, though. Don’t forget that!”
“I have not forgotten it,” said Savoli quietly. “Like you, I am sorry that they are dead. But friends of mine have died, too. We have ourselves to think about.”
“You mean — “
Savoli looked significantly at Borrango. The enforcer took his cue. Now was the time for him to make a proposal that would interest Mike Larrigan.
“Nick means this,” said Borrango. “Before now, it would have been difficult for you to work with us, because Schultz and Spirak might not have liked it. But now we can work together.”
“Pete Varona might like to move away from the South Side,” said Nick Savoli, in a thoughtful tone.
Larrigan caught the suggestion.
The South Side saloons and booze joints were divided in allegiance. Varona, as Savoli’s underling, controlled more territory than did Larrigan. In fact, all of Larrigan’s increase of business had been at the expense of Pete Varona.
It had been a battle between Larrigan’s gunmen, who frequently shot up places that bought booze from Varona. In return, Pete’s bombers had a habit of flinging pineapples into places that were supplied by Larrigan.
Until now, the Irishman had been making progress. One by one, booze peddlers had been showing preference for the liquor that came from Larrigan. But with Schultz and Spirak gone, the tide was sure to turn.
Larrigan was an Irishman who liked fights; yet he could yield to the lure of easy money. Savoli had spoken well. Already, visions of controlling the entire South Side were forming in Larrigan’s mind. He would pay tribute to Savoli, to be sure, yet his own profits would be tremendous.”
“That sounds good to me, Mike,” commented Borrango. “What do you think about it?”
Larrigan’s indecision suddenly left him. He thrust his hand toward Savoli.
“Shake on it,” he said.
Nick grasped Mike’s hand.
Larrigan rose; then stopped.
“There’s just one thing, though,” he said. “We’ve made a bargain, and I’ll stick to it. But I want the man that got Schultz and Spirak. I don’t care now whether he was working for you or not. I want him, and if I get him, I’ll call it quits.”
“Listen, Mike,” said Savoli quietly. “This fellow they call Monk was not working for me. He came here, and I gave him credit for helping out in Marmosa’s. He wanted to work for me, but I didn’t need him.”
“Can you get him to work for you?” questioned Larrigan eagerly.
“Perhaps,” said Savoli thoughtfully.
“All right,” replied Larrigan. “Get him, and let me have him.”
“That might be done,” said Savoli, turning to Borrango.
“I think it could,” returned the enforcer, speaking to Larrigan. “But we will have to be careful. He might suspect something, now that you are with us. Give me time, Mike, and I can do it.”
“All right,” agreed Larrigan.
“One moment,” Savoli spoke seriously. “We must not hurry this, Larrigan. It must not disturb our plans to work together.
“I tell you what we will do. There are other men in Chicago who should be working for me. I can give them all territory — not as good as yours, but territory that will please them. Suppose we call a meeting, two nights from now. Could you arrange it, Borrango?”
Nick looked significantly at the enforcer as he finished his short talk. Borrango was secretly elated. Savoli had cleverly turned the course of events into a great plan which he and the big shot had arranged.