The wind snapped the tent flap as I looked toward 86 visible up the small incline to the east. No one moved around the black truck with a canvas box behind the cab. I began to circle around the main tent so I could hide in the scrubs and high weeds. I could not control my curiosity. By the time I carefully made my way along the perimeter, I saw a rusty black truck rumbling along in the direction of the wagon as two men stood on the fenders. I could not believe that the government agents would be so stupid as to start the transaction before dusk.
The truck stopped and the men moved away from the truck. I half-crawled and half-walked through the sparse scrub cover into the more densely vegetated hillside. Many minutes passed before anything happened. The sky was moonless but the truck outline was visible. Two red tipped cigarettes moved toward 86.
Something moved near my leg. I jumped when I saw a copperhead crawl across the leaves. I heard voices behind me before I saw men. Two husky guys stepped through the undergrowth within three feet without detecting me. My heart was pounding and sweat dripped from my forehead. The men stepped straight toward the numerals on the back door of the wagon. After the door opened, one guy crawled inside as the other guy stood on the ground watching. Two minutes later, the truck motor roared and pulled toward me before backing up to the wagon. It blocked my view. I scrambled around in the tangled brush to get a better view. The guy in the wagon set crate after crate on the threshold. A guy on the ground handed three or four boxes up to a guy inside the canvassed hood before three guys banishing guns ran from the woods near me.
“Hands up, government agents! Bastard, drop the box. Right there! Now, you slug. Now!”
An explosion from a thirty-eight overpowered the voices. There was just one shot. One of the government guys fell to the ground. A fat guy who drove the truck ran for the cab and jumped into the seat. Another jumped out of the wagon and smashed a bottle of booze over an agent’s head.
The shot alerted the thugs on the lot because suddenly the field was filled with guys running in our direction. I sprang out of the bushes and moments later I jumped on one guy who had a drawn knife. He was ready to stick it into the ribs of an agent. I grabbed him around the neck just as the agent turned in my direction. I wrestled the big guy to the ground and rolled with him under the truck. We avoided being run over as the truck started to move forward then stopped. We were prone as the gunfire erupted from the bushes and screaming sirens approached. The scene was chaotic as men jumped on agents, fists flying, and bodies bouncing against each other.
My muscle bound prey was twice my weight and intent on suffocating me. He pulled my head under the back tire, but I dragged myself out from under the greasy undercarriage He had his hand on my belt and pulled as I grabbed the running board. I gasped, but he let go and scrambled in the opposite direction trying to escape.
Fighting and yelling continued but there were no more shots. I knew if I stayed around I would be questioned, so I lay quietly for minutes as the action above quieted. I also knew if I was detected moving toward the bushes I might be clubbed or shot by one side or the other.
As I pulled myself upright, I hoped one of the agents would recognize me. I stood with my thumbs hooked in my belt loops resting my shoulder against the canvas cover of the truck. A dusty suit came my direction.
“I’m one of Jacobs’ guys.”
He turned and went a different direction. People pushed and shoved as one guy after another was handcuffed. I was close enough to see bloody noses and torn shirts. One guy limped and held his left side as he cried for a doctor. Another agent with a crumpled Fedora approached and asked what I was doing.
“I’m one of Jacobs’ guys.”
He challenged me. “I’ve never seen you. Step over here.” I followed him. Jacobs, in a white greasy apron, looked at me.
“He’s OK. Seth, get your ass out of here quick.”
I turned one more time to examine the group that had been handcuffed, but didn’t see Ralph. I saw Williams speaking to two agents. He was not arrested but spoke intently. Inspector Brown spotted me and several minutes later a St. Louis van pulled away full of Ralph’s gang of bootleggers. The black truck was backed up to 86 and the government guys cleared out the booze crates. A hand fell on my shoulder.
“We didn’t get the big guy,” Inspector Brown said.
“You got Williams.”
“No we didn’t. Not yet. He was trying to get us to release his guys. We got only peons. You seen Ralph?”
“No.”
“He’s around, and we’ll get him. We found fifty pounds of dope along with all the booze. Big score, big score.”
He pulled his hand back and walked away. I thought about what Jacobs had said to me. He told me that he made a deal with Williams for a pickup during the performance. While I suspected that Williams was a leader, I didn’t think that he would get directly involved.
I walked back onto the lot, brushing the dust off my clothes. Hot air from the tent gushed out with the people as the performance ended. The rush was more intense than usual as people pushed to escape the heat and humidity inside. It was about ten o’clock.
I hung around for twenty minutes without spotting Raina or Wolf. I hoped they knew the way to the hotel. Avery had agreed to do morning chores, so I wasn’t expected on the lot until the afternoon. The crowd thinned as I walked slowly to the streetcar stop. I boarded the streetcar with about twenty-five people and noticed a man with the mustache and glasses looking at me. My mind was preoccupied with Raina and Wolf. I wondered what would happen at the hotel between the two of them. I sat down on a wicker seat and closed my eyes.
I changed cars at Grand and Lindell, and the streetcar glided its way to the last stop at Fourth and Broadway. I sensed someone was watching me, but no one followed me. I took a convoluted route and arrived at the front door of the hotel at ten forty-five. The grandfather clock in the corner of reception chimed as I pushed open the front door. The beveled oval glass panels in the door caught the street light and sent tiny rainbows around the dark, quiet space. The door latch clicked behind me as the cool air pushed touched my cheeks.
I slowly stepped from one worn Oriental rug to the next on way to the stairs. A Tiffany table lamp shade dispersed a small radius of light from the reception counter. I heard the swish of the ceiling fans as they moved silently above my head. No one was in the reception cage.
I slid the key into the lock expecting to find a dark space, but it wasn’t empty. I saw a naked female shape silhouetted against the window. I couldn’t see Wolf so he must have changed his mind.
Raina’s voice sounded an alarm. “Seth, ve’re being vatched.” I jumped as Wolf’s hand touched my shoulder. The door gently latched, and I turned the bolt. As I walked toward the window, I suspected that Ralph knew where we were.
“Not a real good neighborhood,” Wolf spoke nerviously, “Are you sure the two of you would not like to be alone together?” She raised her finger to her lips to silence him. She stepped forward and kissed me long and slowly on my lips. She turned and repeated her action on Wolf. I heard him whimper softly. Her fingers moved straight to the buttons on his shirt. I pulled her close to me as she pulled Wolf shirt flaps away from this trousers. The three of us danced to imaginary music before I sat on a chair next to the door to loosen my boots. She watched me, and I saw her slender waist and tiny breasts highlighted by the outside street light. Wolf undressed except for his under shorts which were noticeable bulging in the front.
She moved toward me as I slipped out of my pants. Her hands reached for my waist. She took my hand and pulled me toward the bathtub. She pushed back the curtain and reached for the knob. The handle squawked as a warm stream of water flowed from the overhead nozzle. She stepped over to Wolf who acted like he didn’t know what to do. She smiled as she yanked down his shorts. His hard penis snapped up to his stomach. She took his hand and we stepped into the tub. The water startled my anxious body. She drew me close to her then pushed my head directly under the shower. She turned around and hugged Wolf sensuously and with her hand directing his penis to her spot. He did not resist which caused me to wonder. I turned away from them to wash off the dirt and dust of the fight. I felt a hand in my butt crack. I knew it had to be Wolf because the hand was smooth without calluses. His finger was reaching for my sweet spot. I moved into his searching finger. I wanted more. I wondered how Raina could so easily be with two men - one of whom she had just met.
Raina stepped from the tub and reached for a towel hanging on a rack near a little sink. She modestly hid while she dried herself. There was only one other towel which Wolf took and then I used to dry off. Raina and I moved toward the double bed on the far side of the room. The room was cool. Raina pulled me down on top of her outside of the sheets. She was not a subtle person and didn’t seem to care if we made love in the view of Wolf. I motioned for Wolf to come closer. I took his hand and pulled him onto the bed with us. Raina seemed to be in a trance. She took me with her. Our loving making was passionate and quick. She seemed to realize that Wolf was not experienced. She finished me and positioned herself so Wolf could enter her in the missionary position. He had no worry being hard and slowly began a lengthy copulation. Finally he did climax but not nearly as quickly as he did when we were making love. Raina and I were together more times that night than I imagined was physically possible. Unashamed I kissed Wolf and drew him close to us. Raina sensed our relationship was more than friendship. We slept little as female and male flesh were intertwined. In the early morning, I tried to move without disturbing Raina. I turned on the shower. The cool water fell gently over my joyously weary skin. Raina joined me and we washed away our night together. This time Wolf lay naked on top of the sheets. Raina and I dried off and dressed. We told Wolf we would wait from him in the lobby and go for breakfast or lunch depending on the time. She grabbed my arm as we walked toward the front reception. As my foot stepped off the lowest riser a man standing at the reception counter stepped directly in front of me.
“You bastard, you stupid bastard you’re finished.” he screamed. Ralph pulled a gun from his belt. Raina and I stood immobile as Ralph took a breath. “Now, you will die. Gone forever, you and your Kraut bitch.”
I lunged for the gun, which he held firmly in his right hand. An upright lamp smashed to the floor as our arms swung around. The gun went off, but the bullet missed me. Ralph was strong, three inches taller, and forty pounds heavier than me. I yelled at Raina to run. Instead she went straight for his eyes like a tiger goes after her prey.
“You kilted mine fader,” she shouted. We spun in a frenetic dance. The gun exploded into the chandelier and glass chards fell on our heads.
With his free hand, Ralph shoved me over a low table. He pointed the gun in my face. Raina clung to his neck like a vampire, her finger nails firmly embedded in his blood marked face. Ralph and Raina fell forward and the gun exploded. Raina fell away.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” I screamed. “You shot Raina!”
My rage was volcanic. I sprang at Ralph and ripped his head around, splitting his spine. The gun clattered to the floor. Crying I dragged Raina away from Ralph as blood dripped from his lips. His violent thrashing stopped as Wolf raced toward us. I embraced her crumpled body. She was still alive and even smiling.
People watched from the stairs and the upstairs railing. The police burst through the doors with guns drawn. Suddenly all moment stopped as Raina slipped away. I clutched her bloody chest to mine, and no one spoke for agonizing minutes. The policemen stood around awkwardly. I sobbed as Wolf held me. Only when men with gurneys arrived could they pry Raina’s body away from me. The bodies were taken away.
Other than my Wolf few people consoled me because few people knew of my relationship with Raina. George cried all afternoon of the murder. “I’m so sorry. She was so beautiful,” he said over and over.
We cried together out near 86, which stood exactly where we left it. After supper the day of the murder, a priest conducted a memorial service for Raina in the cookhouse. I thought the service should have been in the big top, but I was told me that it would bring bad luck to the circus. Rudi insisted that I sit with the troupe during the service. Other than Rudi no one in her troupe spoke to me. They blamed me for her death. Wolf sat with George and me. Avery stood with the other black men on the periphery of the cookhouse. After the service I rode the trolley with Wolf to Union Station where he boarded a train for Wyoming to conclude business that his brother had left behind when he died. We agreed to meet in New York after the season closed. I hugged him in public longer than men hug. He was the only one who really knew the whole story. I really did not want him to leave.
The circus quickly cocooned around the other members of the troupe. The performers came quietly to Anna, Raina’s cousin and best friend, Rudi, and the rest of the von Leuvenfeld troupe. The wailing was intense, except during performances. Then all mourning stopped, and they performed as if nothing had happened. Even the day of Raina’s murder, the von Leuvenfelds performed with Rudi catching. There was never a falter or hesitancy. Anna did a double somersault in place of the double fly away that she and Raina usually performed. I cried watching Anna’s tribute to Raina.
The next day was a blur. I was questioned intensely several times by the police. The hotel desk clerk and several other hotel guests corroborated my description of the events. The police and the federal agents seemed convinced that I knew more than I was telling about the smuggling operation. Their interrogation was unrelenting even though I had helped them. There were no charges brought for Raina’s murder because Ralph was dead, and no one could be identified as an accomplice. Williams was fired immediately by Rawlings.
The St. Louis Globe ran a short item on page eight with the headline “Circus Booze Runner Dead.” The article started with Ralph’s death and said that one circus performer had been killed when a smuggler had been confronted by the informant. The story was inaccurate and didn’t even mention Raina’s name. Finally, the article described the raid and the arrest of Carl P. Williams and three other circus workers for federal violations of the Volsted Act and the Harrison Act. Six men were also arrested for disorderly conduct and illegal possession of firearms but were released without charges being filed.