Infinite Loop - Chapter 34

Cassidy Hugh

Chapter 34

As Harry manhandled the woman, Mary led the pair to the black LaSalle, opening the suicide back door behind the driver. Harry and Amber got in back while Mary took the driver’s seat. A black car went south, missing a taxi turning into a motel. Warren jumped out before the taxi stopped. Throwing his money at the driver, Warren dashed to Amber’s gray automobile. Breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the keys still in the ignition, he started the car. A moment later he sped after the LaSalle.

Fortunately, the LaSalle slowed down when it came behind an old farm truck hauling a load of grain. Warren soon closed the distance to the LaSalle. A range of options crossed his mind, none of them even remotely good for him. Trying to run the bigger car in front of him off the road in the middle of the day would probably get Amber hurt and the police involved. And they were heading back to Boston, sending Warren into the devil’s den. The only idea which made sense was following the LaSalle until he could act. With a deep breath, he slowed Amber’s vehicle and began to tail a car. Driving the narrow two-lane highway back to Boston, Warren kept the other car in sight.

As he reflected on his meeting a few minutes with Cassidy Hugh. He returned to the diner about fifteen minutes before the mobster arrived. Sitting in a corner booth in the diner, Warren felt his nerves spike when saw the flashy Duesenberg pull into the unpaved lot. Driven by a man who would have made Harry Jennison look small, the driver with a tweed hat got out and opened the rear car door. A lean man in a checkered sports coat and wearing a straw hat exited. Another man, who had an ex-fighter’s face and massive chest and biceps, followed him. The driver entered the building first, carefully looking at the customers inside before he went back and held the door for the other two men. Cassidy immediately recognized Warren and walked to his booth. The boxer went to sit on a stool at the counter, facing the table where Warren sat. He stopped the bucktooth waitress, telling her to go away when she tried to serve Warren’s booth.

“It’s been a too long, Baker. I’m worried about your health.”

Cassidy flashed his too perfect teeth with his warning. They matched his handsome tan face and his voice carried the Irish accent from Chicago.

“So was I,” Warren replied as he noticed the large driver remained close to the front entrance. He forced himself to remain calm. “You might have heard of some of it.”

“That’s what you get when you bump off that Russian rat Krupin with no alibi,” Cassidy observed.

“I didn’t do it, but I guess that’s not what worries you. So, what’s the arrangement?” Warren asked as he felt his hands sweating. He kept them on the table, thankful there were customers still inside the diner.

“Same as before,” Cassidy told him.

The answer frustrated Warren. He might have gotten by so far, but he needed to know his ties with this mobster. He decided to take a gamble.

“Lay it out for me,” he said. “That was a simpler time back then, and I want everything on the table since you mentioned the money I owe you. Boston isn’t a friendly town anymore.”

Cassidy’s eyes hardened. “You’re not trying to back out now? That wouldn’t be smart. Could get a guy hurt,” he warned.

“No, I’m not getting stupid. I know where the stuff is, but now I need help to get away,” Warren said. He glanced around like the wanted man he was. “I want to keep things square, and since we are friends, I thought you might help me out on getting away from here. Make me an offer along those lines.”