Selma Alabama street scene around the time Leo lived there

The Selma, Alabama that Leo had arrived in was one with deep racial divisions and lingering scars from the Civil War battles that had been fought in and around the area.  It carried much of the tone and temperament of the entrenched white majority that had long lived in the area and had an “Old South” feel to it that Leo found foreign to his own experience.  He adapted fairly quickly though and was especially interested in the several banks which occupied a four block area in the downtown of the city.  The two men he had found, Jim Tunnney and Max Miller, who were also interested in the idea of robbing banks were locals and well known to the Selma police department.  Once Leo was sighted hanging out with them he started to gain some extra attention himself although that did little to dampen his enthusiasm for breaking the law.  He really saw himself as a big-time operator and was very interested in branching out into larger crimes.  One day, right after the turn of the new year, he met up with his partners at a local speakeasy.  One of the men had brought his girlfriend along, something Leo was not happy about initially although he changed his mind a little bit later when she starting flirting with him whenever her boyfriend was not paying attention.  After a few drinks all four of them walked out of the speakeasy and down to a local park where they planned to have their first serious discussion about the bank robbery plan.  A stiff breeze was blowing through the park when they arrived and they took some time to find a location that offered a little shelter.  

“You sure it’s ok to talk around the dame?” Leo asked as they all sat down behind a large decorative water fountain in the park.

“Sure, sure,” Jim answered, “she’s been in on a few things before.”  He spoke with a deep Southern drawl that Leo found difficult to understand some of the time.

“Few what?” Leo asked.

“Things,” Jim replied, “jobs, ya know?”  As he answered, the woman, who was his girlfriend and seated behind him, gave Leo a small wink for at least the sixth time that afternoon.

“Well, alright I suppose.  I’ll give you a quick idea of what I’m planning for this thing, just a little bit right now.  You’ll get more details when it’s closer to when we’re gonna do this job.  Until then I’ll be giving you some things to do, to get us ready.”

Max Miller, a man of medium height and dark brown hair cut in a crew-cut style, barked out a short laugh.  “You gonna plan it?  The whole thing, ya think?  Who made you my boss?  or his?”  He finished with a gesture toward Jim.

Leo’s face reddened as he replied.  “This is my thing, my plan.  I’ve had much more experience in this stuff than either of you, I’m sure.  If you’ve got something to say, to add to the plan, bring it up but it’ll be my decision.”  The woman gave him a quick, eager look that seemed to indicate she liked his style of leadership.

“I’m alright with it,” Jim said, “I don’t know much about banks anyhow, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, but how do we know that he does?” Max replied.  “He’s a nobody around here, we all know it.  New to town and trying to make himself into a boss, how do we know he ain’t just telling tales?  We trust him too much and we could all end up in the clink.”

“Listen,” Leo snapped back, “I know what I’m doing!  I already told both of you that I ran with the Pendergast crew in Kansas City and I was boss of my own operation in Bakersfield.  Maybe you’ve heard of Bob Markword? He’s a friend of mine, a bank robber, ok?”  Leo was upset at having to explain himself and getting very worked up.  “And I’ll have you know I’m a civil engineer myself and spent time on construction jobs at banks.  I know them inside and out so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”  He stopped to take a breath and Max cut in on his rant.

“So, you’re a real civil engineer then?”

“I said I was!” Leo replied defensively.

“Where from?” Max asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Where is your degree from?”

“Wh, what, well,” Leo stammered, somehow unprepared for that question.  He paused a moment and his mind quickly came up with Duke University, a place he had read about in his books as having a respected engineering program.  He replied with that information but it was too late.  Both men had started to walk away and the woman was trailing behind them a little, laughing and pointing back at Leo.  She swayed her hips a final time before hastening to catch up with her boyfriend.  Leo was furious at all of them but also at himself for not having been more prepared and vowed never to be caught out like that again.  He got up and walked back to his room.

When he got there he immediately sat down and sketched out a basic history of his life, at least the one he planned to sell to others going forward.  He made sure to weave in the time and places that would allow for him to have received his degree from Duke and still have all his criminal endeavors, both real and imagined, in place.  Once he had finished with that task he decided to write a letter to his sister and tell her that he never received the check and see if she would send another.  He told her up front about the name he was living under as he felt it would be too risky to try to figure out how to get mail under his real name in Selma.  By the next day he had most of his composure back and was out on the streets, working for the gang while still plotting a bank robbery in his head.  

…to be continued