Fireball immediately launched himself onto the couch, nestling himself at her feet.
“I think that’s why they call them ‘catnaps,’ ” Tussy said, closing her eyes.
1959 October 06 Tuesday 16:58
“There’s going to be an election next year…” Shalare said. Getting no response from Beaumont, he went on, “The biggest one in the history of this country, from where we sit.”
Beaumont said nothing.
Those eyes of his, they look like the sky just before it rains, Shalare thought. “We’ve all got a stake in this one,” he said. “Yes, sure, we all have a stake in every one, but this one, it’s going to change… business, for all of us. Forever.”
Beaumont raised his thick eyebrows, but stayed quiet.
“That is, of course, if the right man wins. It’s my job to see that he does.”
“Your job?” Beaumont said.
“Ah, you’re right to put me in my place,” Shalare said, with a self-deprecating smile. “It’s not my job to make such a grand thing happen, of course. It’s my job to do my part. To do what I can do. Whatever I can do. There’s people all over this country-all over the world, truth be told-that have the same job. The trick is to make sure all the horses are pulling in the same direction, so that none of us cancel out the others.”
“That would be quite a trick,” Beaumont said.
“Aye. But it’s one that can be done, provided each man sees what’s in it for himself. And for his people, of course.”
“And that’s your job? To tell me what’s in it for me and my people?”
“It is.”
“What are you looking for, exactly?” Beaumont asked.
“Well, the simple answer is… votes. Not local votes-we don’t care who’s the next mayor or city councilman or governor, even. The only thing we care about is the presidential race.”
“What makes you think I could-?”
“Because you do,” Shalare interrupted. “Your machine runs this town like the engine in my car. You built it, you maintain it, and you control it.”
“Are we still taking about votes here?”
“That’s my point, Mr. Beaumont-”
“Roy.”
“And I’m Mickey,” Shalare said, bowing his head slightly to show his appreciation of the gesture. “And it’s only votes we’re talking about. Not the casinos, not the clubs, not any of the… enterprises that your people control. Rightfully control, I might add. A man’s entitled to the fruits of his labor.”
“There’s some around here who don’t agree with you.”
“I’ll get to that, I promise. But let me just finish-about the votes, I mean. We need every single one, Roy. Come election day, we can’t allow anyone inclined to go our way to stay home. And we won’t be encouraging visits to the polls by any of those who might be opposed, either.”
“It’s not going to be a landslide,” Beaumont said.
“Right you are! And that’s why I’m here, hat in hand, to ask you for this special favor.”
“Exactly… what?”
“Exactly? I’ll tell you exactly, Roy. This is a Republican town, isn’t it? On paper, anyway.”
“On paper?”
“Well, if someone was to take a poll, right? The local Republican club is the power in Locke City. Everything gets run out of there. The mayor’s a Republican, the-”
“And it would be better, for this one election, if they weren’t?” Beaumont cut in.
“Much, much better,” Shalare said, not smiling. “And that’s where your organization comes into play. Sure, you’ve got the judges, the city council, the mayor. But they’re not what we’re after. To Mr. Royal Beaumont, those are just chess pieces. You’ve got the ward healers, the precinct captains, the ground-level troops. You’ve got them all. Not that tool Bobby Wyeth. You. On your payroll, in your debt, following your lead, because that’s the way it’s always been done, here. What we need is for this whole area to turn around.”
“Vote Democratic?”
“For this one election only,” Shalare said, leaning forward.
“That’s a huge effort.”
“Yes. Way beyond our reach. But not beyond yours, Roy. You could make it happen. Especially if you started laying in the foundation right now.”
“Even so, it would cost a fortune, in time and money. Because, from what you’re saying, I don’t think you want to leave this up to speeches and posters.”
“That’s right. We need the voting machines to work properly, too,” Shalare said, flatly. “But the more the final tally reflects how people in the area actually know they voted, the less… attention is drawn.”
“So, all over America, there’s men like you meeting with men like me,” Beaumont said, nodding his head thoughtfully.
“There are. There are areas of entrenchment we can rely on, we believe. The people in power there, they’re already committed to our side. Nothing but gold and gravy for them if things come out right. Each side can count heads. And each is going to try and poach off the other’s land.”
“Politicians poach with promises.”
“And they all make the same ones,” Shalare agreed. “That’s why our strategy is to go right into the heart of those places the opposition isn’t going to waste any time or money on. Places where they believe they already can count on the vote.”
“Locke City.”
“Not just Locke City, Roy. We know your reach goes out way past the city limits.”
“You may be giving me too much credit.”
“More likely, you’re giving us too little. No offense, but we’ve done our homework, too.”
“It’s a massive move you’re proposing.”
“We’ve no dispute about that, Roy. But this game is worth the candle, no matter if it’s all burnt by the end.”
“More like a stick of dynamite than a candle, Mickey.”
“I’ve had those in my hands, too. They work just fine, so long as you throw them quick enough.”
“And accurately.”
“Yes. That’s why we wouldn’t even try this area without going to the man who controls it.”
“Like I said before, there’s those who seem to have a different idea. Or a different ambition, I should say.”
“Dioguardi,” Shalare said.
“I would have put you on that same list,” Beaumont retorted, calm-voiced. “You’ve been coming from different directions, is all.”
“We’ve never interfered in any of your-”
“No. No, you haven’t. And, now that you’ve laid out your cards, I can see why you’ve been buying up people in the statehouse.”
“And I’ll not deny it,” the Irishman said. “But it was never the plan to try and move in on-never mind take over-your operations. Hell, man, when it comes to this part of the state, I’d rather have Royal Beaumont in my corner than the governor himself.”
“That’s what they told you, was it?”
Shalare took a sip of his drink, then raised his eyes to Beaumont’s. “That is what they said, for a fact,” he said, frankly. “We thought there was a hierarchy of some kind. A pyramid, like. So, of course, you start at the top, if you can. But we found out, soon enough, that this state isn’t one pyramid, it’s a whole row of them. And when it comes to picking your pyramid, you don’t look for the tallest one, you look for the one with the broadest base, the one that’s been standing the longest. Because that’s the one that’ll weather any storm.”
“That’s on the money,” Beaumont said. “No matter who wins, we’ll still be standing at the end. So what good would it do me and mine for your man to win the next election? It wouldn’t change anything around here.”
“Ah, that’s exactly it! You don’t want things to change around here. And we’re in a position to help you see that through.”
“That brings us back to Dioguardi, doesn’t it?”
“I do mean Dioguardi. But I don’t mean it as you think I do. We both understand that Dioguardi doesn’t stand among his men as you do among yours. If he vanished like this,” Shalare said, making a hand-washing motion, then flinging his hands apart, “his people would just put another pawn on the table, and keep the game going. We can reach past him. In fact, we already have.”