Before Anelmo could continue, Nails Pietro nodded. Anelmo caught a sign from Genara and said nothing more. He had been on the point of telling Pietro about the Schultz and Spirak affair.
“Larrigan is no good,” declared Pietro, loud enough for Joe le Blanc to catch the words. “You are right. It will be trouble for me if Larrigan becomes strong, as Savoli will make him. There has been trouble already. Italians and Irishmen do not work together. Why not put Larrigan on the spot?”
“Larrigan on the spot?” Anelmo questioned indignantly. “What about his mob? Savoli wants them. They would go after you — after us — after whoever bumped off Larrigan, and Savoli would let them go. There is only one thing to do!”
“Put Savoli on the spot,” declared Genara grimly.
He extended his hand across the table. Anelmo shook it. Then they both shook hands with Nails Pietro.
“We have work to do tonight,” declared Anelmo. “None of us must fail. We will finish Nick Savoli. Rely on us. As for you, Pietro — “
“I understand,” replied the gang leader firmly.
The emphasis of his words convinced the Sicilians. They knew that Nails Pietro would not fail in his part of the bargain. He had much to gain by the elimination of Pete Varona and Al Vacchi.
The disputed leadership of the Unione Italiane would be ended. It was an office granted on the theory that might made right. Each candidate killed his opponents. Those who held office lived in fear of death; yet each new man felt sure that he could beat the game.
“I must get them, or — ” Nails Pietro nodded without completing the sentence.
Genara and Anelmo knew his thoughts. He was looking at the matter from the viewpoints of Mike Varona and Al Vacchi. Those men would soon tire of waiting for a settlement of the office. Together they would first kill Pietro; then battle between themselves, unless Savoli intervened.
NAILS PIETRO was considering something else. In Chicago, those who plotted against the big shot assumed a tremendous risk.
Anelmo and Genara had revealed themselves to Pietro. If he did not agree to go with them, they would have but one course: to kill him, before he would have a chance to tell what he knew. The presidency of the Unione Italiane was more attractive to Nails Pietro than death.
The gang leader looked at his companions. He displayed an evil grin. He stood up, and once more shook hands with the Sicilians.
“Tonight!” he said. “Tonight. I am leaving now. Remember — “
“Leave Savoli to us,” declared Anelmo.
The three men left the room. A few minutes later they were gone from the Gray Mill — Pietro in his car, with a bodyguard; Anelmo and Genara in a taxicab.
Joe le Blanc entered the vacant room. He stood as though in a daze, trying to piece together the words that he had heard.
“The Homicide Twins are going to put Savoli on the spot!” he muttered. “Tonight, eh? We’ll see about that!”
He laughed nervously as he left the room. Joe le Blanc realized that he had found an opportunity. Through Steve Cronin, he could reach the big shot.
He hurried to a telephone, and called Frank Marmosa’s restaurant. When Steve Cronin was summoned to the phone, Le Blanc lost no time in pouring out his story.
Meanwhile a hand came through the window of the empty room where the conference had been held. The instrument was removed from behind the radiator. A soft, whispered laugh followed. Then the man outside was gone.
A few minutes later a taxicab rolled away from Joe le Blanc’s road house.
WHEN Anelmo and Genara arrived at the Escadrille Apartments, they had cooked up an excuse for their visit.
Like Monk Thurman, they had a grudge against The Shadow. They knew that Nick Savoli would be interested in any new report on that sinister personage. So they were ready with their story of a chance encounter on the highway, with the imaginary flight and escape of The Shadow.
Genara and Anelmo used taxicabs on many of their ventures. It would have been easy for a man in a powerful car to get away from them.
The Homicide Twins were ushered into Savoli’s apartment. They did not sit down when they reached the library; instead, they remained standing, awaiting the arrival of Savoli and Borrango.
The big shot and his enforcer came in, Borrango walking in front. The killers had expected this. Their plan was laid out.
“Well?” questioned Savoli, as he sat in his big chair.
Borrango also looked intently at the visitors as he leaned against the bookcase.
“We have seen The Shadow once more,” said Anelmo, stepping forward toward Savoli. Genara, moving slightly, edged in Borrango’s direction.
Nick Savoli rested his chin on his left hand, and slipped his right hand into the pocket of his smoking jacket. It was a characteristic pose of the big shot; it meant that he was keenly interested.
“He came by us, in another car,” said Anelmo. He made a gesture with his left hand, as though to describe the scene. “Before we could stop, he — “
With a rapid movement, Tony Anelmo whipped out an automatic with his right hand. The action required but a fraction of a second. Yet it was the last deed that the Sicilian ever performed.
Neither he nor his companion, Genara, were quick on the draw. They were sinister killers who came upon men in the dark. They lacked the speed of other notorious gunmen. Anelmo did not live long to regret his laxity in this phase of gunmanship.
Before he could cover Nick Savoli, the big shot fired, using an automatic that was hidden in the large pocket of his jacket. The bullets found their mark. Tony Anelmo sprawled upon the floor without a word.
John Genara had acted with his comrade. He was facing Mike Borrango. It was his job to cover the enforcer; then swing on Savoli, the instant that he was sure Mike Borrango was incapable of action.
The Homicide Twins wanted Borrango as their man; but Genara was ready to kill the enforcer if he appeared dangerous. He had expected Mike Borrango to throw up his hands, which were hanging idly at his sides.
But Genara never learned exactly how Mike Borrango responded. For other shots were fired, a split second after those discharged by Nick Savoli.
The volley came from an opening in the bookcase; the shots, fired from close range, found their target in Genara’s head. He joined his companion, Anelmo, on the floor.
NICK SAVOLI did not arise as Steve Cronin emerged from the hiding place where Borrango had put him before the arrival of the Homicide Twins. The big shot gazed thoughtfully at the bodies.
He regretted the loss of Anelmo and Genara, not because of friendship, but because they had been capable killers. The first law of the underworld was death to traitors. The Homicide Twins had attempted a double cross. They had received their just reward.
“We could use Monk Thurman, now,” observed Borrango philosophically.
“Too late,” replied Savoli.
“Yes,” said Borrango. “It is after twelve o’clock. Larrigan is already — ” He paused, because of the presence of Steve Cronin.
“Joe le Blanc was right,” observed Cronin.
“Yes,” said Borrango. “But where’s the other guy — Nails Pietro? They were talking to him, weren’t they?”
“Forget Pietro!” said Savoli briskly. “He was probably going to help them in a getaway. Let’s get rid of ‘em.”
Another episode had been added to the annals of gangland’s killings. Two more gentlemen of the rod had gone their way. To Nick Savoli and Mike Borrango, it was just one more instance of a futile attempt to double-cross the big shot.
CHAPTER XXV