Monthly Archives: April 2018

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 30)

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Leo flipped it around and saw the name R. Lester in the top left-hand corner, although no address was included underneath.  He thanked her for keeping it, tucked it into the pocket of his suit coat, and then spent the remainder of the day with his family, eating a delicious roast dinner and even helping with the dishes.  He was very interested in the contents of that letter, but also did not want to have to share it around if asked to, or answer any questions about it at all.  Olivia commented to him on his reluctance to open it, wondering in a quiet aside to him if this was more of his secrets, but he kept his cool and refrained from replying or opening the letter.  As he said good night to his mother that evening he felt strongly that he might never see her again and he hugged her closely,  longer than he might have otherwise.  He felt he had made amends and that this was his goodbye to her.  

Later, he slipped his finger under the edge of the envelope and pulled out two sheets of paper.  The letter was dated June 17, 1925.

Leo –

I had figured to forget you and be the better for it but sitting around that prison just made me think about you all the more.  I noticed that you never had the courage to contact me, not that this is surprising given what you obviously are.  I decided to not let you go without calling you out for that, calling you exactly what you are, and that’s a rat!  You sold me out in Hawaii and that put me away for four years that could’ve been many more if not for getting out on good behavior.  You should’ve kept your mouth shut because now I got you on my list and I’ll be taking care of you the first chance I get.  I didn’t learn much in prison but one thing I did learn is that rats need to be taken care of.  I’ll be in Bakersfield if you have the nerve to face me like a man.  Otherwise, look for me to be finding you anytime, 

RFL 

Leo slammed his fist hard into the wall and crumpled up the letter.  He had never said a word to anyone about Lester and he surely was not a rat.  He had stayed silent about everything and was not even sure what had ever happened to his partner after his own arrest in Hawaii.  Leo had actually hoped more than once that Lester had in fact gotten away clean from that scheme.  He had even told Lester in that letter he wrote from McNeil that he had kept the code of silence.  Leo was furious, and became even more so as he thought about it, thought about Lester telling others about what a rat he was, how he had betrayed his partner in crime.  That could threaten to undo all of the progress Leo had made in making sure he was seen as a stand-up member of the criminal community.  After about fifteen minutes of  fuming away about it Leo did manage to realize that it was possible Lester had never received his letter, although that did not make things any better.  He still had to straighten matters out and make sure his reputation was repaired.  He had to get to Bakersfield right away and get to work on finding the man, which he knew would be a challenge as he had no address and doubted Lester would be very conspicuous.  He could find him though, he had to.

The next morning Leo called Olivia and told her that he was leaving immediately to take care of some business that had come up.  She was not sympathetic and scolded him for running away so soon.  She did agree to sell what little of value there was among his items in the trunk and to forward the money to him, and Leo told her he would send back an address as quickly as he could.  He then left on April 9th, his route and actions again unknown, and something must have happened along the way because he does not arrive in Bakersfield until May 3rd.  On that morning he checked into the just completed El Tejon hotel under the name Lee O’Dare, sending a brief note back to Olivia with the address that same day.

el tejon courtesy kern county library

El Tejon Hotel courtesy kern county library

For the next month of so he did what he had learned to do in any new town, which was to start to make inroads into the criminal community.  He felt that he had a little more credibility now, more time and experience under his belt, and that brought him a little more confidence as he started to make connections.  Leo passed on a few early opportunities, considering them to be beneath his level of skill, and spent most of his time looking in phone books and other public documents for Robert Lester.  He also made very discreet inquires, not wanting to give his former partner any warning that he was in town and looking for him, as he preferred the coming confrontation to be a surprise.  He figured that would give him the upper hand.  Although none of these early efforts led to Lester, Leo did meet one interesting character who would play a large part in future events.  That man was known simply as the Clockmaker. 

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 29)

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“Yeah, sure, sure.  So what’s the answer?  Did Mom say she would let me come up to the house?”

“Hardly Leo, she won’t hear of it right now.  She’s still hurt you took off like that and a lot more hurt over all these years of silence and worry  you put her through.  Father you could talk to, but not at the house, he won’t cross Mom on that, so you’d have to catch him out in the fields someday.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll think about that I guess.” 

They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, placing an order and then starting to eat their sandwiches after they came to the table.  Eventually Olivia spoke again.

“Don’t worry about it though, she’ll let you come over eventually.  She’s got that letter.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed a little.  “What letter?”

“You know, that explains something else too.  We just thought it was a misspelling on that envelope, it said Leo Humbert you know, like someone who didn’t know you too well wrote it.  But I guess that was the name you were using, huh?”

Leo nodded silently and looked back at her.  She tapped her fingers agains the table a few times and then continued. 

“Anyway, it came in the mail a while back.  It was in bad shape when it arrived actually, looked like it had been awhile in the mail before it managed to reach us.  She’s been waiting to give it to you and she won’t fail at that.  Besides, your stuff is still there too.”

“My stuff?  You can’t mean all that rubbish I left behind in the house when I moved out?”

“That’s exactly what I mean brother.  All your useless stuff that you just left there for us to clean up and be a reminder of you leaving, that you weren’t around anymore.   Rather inconsiderate I always thought.  I told father to get rid of it straight away but Mom wouldn’t have it.  So it’s all there in some trunk we had, packed away for your inconsiderate self to pick up someday.”

“Harsh words Ollie, I never asked anyone to keep it.”

“You should have taken it or gotten rid of it yourself, not expected us to.”

“Fine then.  Who’s the letter from?  Do you know?”

“Oh yes, thats another thing I spend my time on, keeping track of your trash and your letters.”

Leo thought it best to stop talking then as his sister was winding herself up into another lecture mode, sure to continue on with her discussion of his name change, inconsiderate behavior and other faults.   As they both finished eating Olivia blew out a deep breath.

“Some Lester person, I can’t remember if that’s his first or last name.”

“Huh?”

“The letter silly, it’s from someone named Lester.”

Leo immediately knew it had to be from Robert, his old partner in crime from the Kilauea Mercantile Company scam in Hawaii.  Although he could not recall ever doing so, he must have told him at some point that he was from New Munich, and apparently Robert had used that information to send him a letter.  Maybe it was in response to the one he wrote from McNeil, or maybe it had been written for some other reason.  Either way, he knew that he had to get it from his mother as he felt it was likely to include information that he did not want his mother or the police to read. 

“She didn’t open it, did she?”

“Of course not Leo, opening other people’s mail is not something us Hombert’s do.”  She said that louder than necessary and then walked out of the diner, leaving Leo with the bill and a slightly red face.

It took another twelve days but then Leo’s mother agreed to allow him into the house and he went there, dressed in his best suit and carrying flowers.  He had never really felt bad about the way he left, and had also not thought much about his family since then, but hearing his mother was hurt by it did give him some remorse and he hoped to make things right.  She was aloof when he first entered, remaining in her seat as he handed her the flowers and only nodding in reply to his, “It’s so good to see you Mom.”  That did not last long though, and after a very profuse apology from Leo and an awkward attempt by him at a hug, she finally stood up, grabbed him and pulled her long absent son in for a heart-felt embrace. Olivia had not mentioned the name change to their mother, and she did not bring up the supposed misspelling of his last name as she handed him the piece of mail she pulled from a drawer in her desk. 

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 28)

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ford ad 1926 sedan

Ford ad 1926 sedan

The two of them did manage to make it out of town safely, ditching the inspection car and running into a small wooded area where Leo had indeed stashed a getaway vehicle.  It was carefully hidden, parked in a small depression at the center of the woods and covered by a large, dark canvas that had branches and bushes arranged on top.  The car was as nondescript as it could be for the day, a black 1925 Ford Model T two door sedan, and they both climbed in quickly and started off south away from Olympia.  At Veronica’s request Leo took a turn and headed for Tenino, where she said she would catch a train to “somewhere far away from here.”   Before actually getting to the station Leo pulled off behind a tree and demanded that Veronica get the money belt out right then and there so they could split their money up properly and fairly.  After a few minutes spent lamenting the fact that Leo apparently did not trust her enough to count it out herself she complied and five minutes later they were back on their way to the depot.  As she got out of the car she asked Leo a question.

“How did you really know to hide those getaway cars?  Did someone tip you off?”

“No, nothing like that.  It was just good planning.”  He smiled back as he replied, obviously pleased with himself.

“You handled it pretty well Leo, you really did.  Stayed cool and got us out.  It’s more that I would have credited you with being capable of, you know.  You’ve always been a nervous fellow.”

“Well, I had to get better at this criminal stuff sooner or later I guess.  Especially as it seems the only life I’m going to be living.”

“Well, good luck to you.  Maybe we’ll cross paths again, we already have twice.”  She gave him a friendly smile, one of the more pleasant ones she had ever given anyone, and it made Leo just a little bit nervous.  “Where you off to Leo?”

He shook his head and replied.  “Don’t worry about that, and I won’t worry about where you’re going either.  Good luck to you Veronica.”

With that, he reached over and closed the door, taking a moment to wave at her before putting the car in gear and driving away.  He had no idea what he was going to do next, but he did know he needed to get very far away from Olympia as quickly as possible.  He drove to the point of exhaustion, finally pulling off the road outside Grant’s Pass in Oregon and falling asleep in the back of the car.  

The next day he felt comfortable enough to take some time to assess his options.   He had almost decided to head to California, somewhere in the northern part of the state, when the idea struck him to head back to Minnesota.  He was not quite sure why that suddenly sounded like a good idea, but he could not get it out of his head and eventually decided to heed the call and head back to his state of birth.  

Leo left Olympia in early March of 1926 and nothing is known about his route of travel, adventures or misadventures along the way back to Minnesota.  He also never mentioned when exactly he decided to return to New Munich, as his original plan was only to go back to Minnesota.  We do know that by March 27th of 1926 he was back near his family as an argument he had with his sister Olivia was overhead by some locals.  She was the only one from his family who would speak to him at this point and she had agreed to meet him for lunch at the local diner.  The argument started before the order was even taken.

“You know I did try to find you a few times.  I called around to your old friends, even that man you worked for is Sauk Center.  And the Army, I tried there too as you told me several times you were thinking about that as a way out of here.  I never found you though, but still, I didn’t forget.”

“It would have been hard to find me Ollie.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, I changed my name when I left here.”

“You did what Leo?  How could you think of such a thing?”  Olivia had slapped her hand down on the table as she spoke and several of the patrons turned their heads to look at the two of them, although she did not seem to notice.  “What’s so bad about us that you can’t keep your real name?  How could you disrespect mother and father like that?”  She kept at him for several more sentences until Leo held up his hand to stop her.

“Listen, it wasn’t like that.  I just, well,” he paused and shrugged, “I just wanted a new start, that’s all.”

“Whatever would you need that for?”

“Nothing, no reason,” Leo replied, waving his hand, “can we talk about something else?”

“I won’t accept it Leo, I just won’t, that’s all.  You’ll be a Hombert to us forever so don’t try any other name out around here.  Don’t you dare, ok?”

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 27)

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“Leo, we have to leave, right now!”

Closing the book he was reading Leo looked with slight confusion at Veronica.  “What’s wrong with you?  And what the hell are you talking about?”

“The police, you know Cromwell, that desk officer we’re paying off?  He just found me at Plumb’s and told me.  He said that the Seattle police nicked one of our driver’s and he gave the whole thing up.  Apparently he had some other trouble up there already, some old charges or something, and he gave us up to make it easier on himself.  They’re getting warrants for us now.  We have to go!”  She was a little out of breath as she finished and placed her hand on her chest as she attempted to recover.

Leo rubbed his head slowly then stood up.  Taking her arm and directing her toward a chair he replied.  “Settle down, will ya?  You’re looking like a scared rabbit right now.  Are you sure this information is good?  What if Cromwell is trying to spook us?  Maybe he’s working a plan for the police here to get us to make a hasty move.”

Veronica, who had her breathing under control, stood back up.  “I am not waiting around here to get picked up, no way that happens.  I’ve worked with Cromwell before, same deal as we have with him now. His info has been good and I know him enough, he’s not playing their side.  We need to leave!”

“I can’t go so fast, I have to get some things together.  At the least we have to get the money so we can split it up.  We’ll need it for traveling.  Plus, I’ve got a few things out there that need finishing.  If you’re in such a rush, go on and go then.  I’ll get out of here soon enough.”

Veronica stomped her foot down and put her hands on her hips.  “I’ve already got the damn cash,” she said as she patted the money belt under her dress.  “Don’t you think for a minute that I am trusting you to stay back here while I go.  You’re far too weak to face the police and not give me up, you’ll crumble like a cookie if they get you in cuffs.  You are going with me, and we are going now.”

“I would not!” Leo shouted back, angry now as his criminal toughness was being questioned.  “I’m no rat, I wouldn’t say anything about you.  Besides, I’m not going to get picked up.  They can’t just get a warrant and be here in a few hours, it takes longer than that.  I’ll be long gone by morning.  Give me my cut and then you can go if you want to.”

“Again the fool.”  Veronica reached out and grabbed Leo’s right  arm, squeezing hard and looking right into her eyes.  Speaking slowly and deliberately she said, “When I said they are getting warrants, I meant they are getting them signed right now.  And they are not going to wait.  Cromwell said they already have a couple of officers waiting to head over here on those fancy motorcycles.”

olympia pd

Leo shook his arm loose but now looked troubled.  He had to admit that he really did not know how long it would take the police to show up if they did, in fact, already have warrants waiting to be signed.  He blew out a deep breath.

“Damn then, let’s go.”

After ten minutes of quick but methodical packing by Leo the two of them exited the Angelus and then went around the back where Veronica had stashed her own suitcase and a small additional bag.  Once they had them in hand Veronica turned to Leo.

“Now what?  We never have come up with a plan to get out of here, we probably should have.  Here we are, two of us with our luggage in hand and out in the street.  How are we going to get out of here Leo?”

He seemed to have something else on his mind and appeared to be nowhere near as panicked as Veronica.  He did have a slight jittery feeling in his chest, a sense that danger was coming, but he was much more under control that his partner.  He paused, looking north with a furrowed brow.  He had just shook his head and turned to look south when Veronica spoke.

“What are you so damn calm for?  Can’t you tell we need to get going?  Let’s go!”

Leo picked up his bag and stepped off, saying, “Yes indeed, let’s get moving.”  Veronica did not know it but Leo was more prepared for this situation than she was, privy to information he had never shared with her.  It did not, however, include these exact circumstances and he had needed a few moments to evaluate what to do next.  He could tell that Veronica was not is a state of mind that was going to be of help in their situation and it would be up to him to get them out of Olympia safely.  He knew they could not be on the street looking like wanderers for long as someone was sure to take notice.  He did not want anyone to be able to say they saw the duo headed in any particular direction.  He also knew that once the police did not find them at the Angelus a full-scale effort would likely be made to look for them on the streets and in places they frequently visited in town.  Getting off the streets was the first priority.  Motioning with his head, Leo headed onto Columbia Way toward the rail line.  Veronica hurried to catch up.

1925 Ford Track Inspection Car courtesy owlshead

Three minutes after the two of them stepped off down Columbia two police motorcycles pulled up in front of the Angelus and the officers began the process of looking for them.  It took nine minutes for them to determine that neither Leo nor Veronica was present in their rooms or nearby, at which point the hunt was on, just as Leo had predicted.  By this time he was already in the process of stealing the track inspection car from the side rails by the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot down at Capitol Lake.  Veronica thought he was crazy to even try it, and she said, “Besides, how are we going to get away in that?  We’ll be trapped on the tracks!”  Leo, however, kept working and soon had the odd looking vehicle running, at which point he grabbed Veronica’s bags and tossed them onto the back seats.

“You wanted out, this is how we are getting out.  They are going to be looking on every street for us but no one will imagine that we would be rolling down the tracks.  We’ll look like workers out to inspect the line.”

“Seriously, you…” She stopped talking there though and reluctantly climbed in, at which point Leo handed her his hat.

“Put this on so you at least look sort of like a man.  I’m not so sure they have many women working for the railroad.”

“And what if they report this thing stolen Leo?  What then?”

“That’ll take awhile to get back to the police.  By then I plan to be far enough away that it won’t matter.”  Leo squinted into the sun as he got the vehicle moving down the tracks.  It was an odd thing to drive and it took him a minute to get the hang of it, but he did and was able to stop successfully as they came to the merge with the main line that ran through Olympia.  Jumping out, he pulled the lever that switched the track so he could travel onto it, and then he got back in and they continued on.  Veronica had covered her face with her hands but put them back in her lap once they were traveling south on the rails.

“How did you even think about this plan anyway?” she asked him.

Leo grinned before replying.  “All that reading, well, it just paid off.  Part of it was about railroads.”

She was silent for a few minutes but then had another question.  “And what happens when we get away?  We can’t stay in this thing for long. You know they are going to come after us as soon as it gets reported as stolen.”

Leo just grinned again but did not reply.

“Well?  What’s the next part of your plan Leo?”

“Don’t worry, I already have it set up.  I stashed a car, two actually, one north and one south, just in case we needed them someday.  Should be there in about fifteen minutes.   Then we can go wherever we want to.”

More silence followed until Veronica thought of a more pressing question.

“What if there’s a train coming?”

Leo, who was too happy about the fact that he was getting them out of town, that his plan was working, kept grinning as he replied.  “I guess we are just going to have to trust to luck.”

Veronica covered her face again and they continued on down the tracks.

…to be continued