Tag Archives: serial fiction

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 42)

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It all began innocently enough, with Christmas breakfast being brought up to the room and Leo, Stanley and Lester telling past Christmas stories about themselves.  Stanley actually dominated the conversation as he had none of the reservations about detailing his past which the other two men possessed.  He told very specific stories, about presents, food, company and decorations, while Leo and Lester limited their contributions to references about the weather or maybe a gift they had received.  It was after the food was gone and the men were drinking coffee that Lester started in on Leo again. 

“Did you open that letter yet?”

“What’s it to you?  I told you it was my own damn business and not yours.”

“Why are you afraid to open it?” Lester taunted back.

“Leave it alone!” Leo replied, “just leave it alone.  Maybe we should all go back to silence.”

“Sounds good to me,” Stanley said.

“Let’s just take a look at it, can I see it?” Lester asked. 

“No, damn it!” Leo shouted back, standing up quickly and pointing, “you just need to leave this whole thing with the letter alone, ok?”

“You sure are a sensitive type, aren’t you?” Lester replied.

Stanley got up, collected the coffee cups and placed them on a tray that sat on the sideboard.  Then,  saying he was going to just go walk around the hallways and lobby to stretch his legs, he left the room.  A few minutes later, Lester also got up and walked toward the door.  However, as he passed by Leo’s overcoat, he quickly reached inside and felt for the pocket, then withdrew his hand.  Leo had turned to watch him and now strode quickly over toward Lester, who stood with the envelope in his hand.

“You give me that, you bastard!”

“Ha!  I knew that was where you stuck it.  Great hiding place.” Lester pushed Leo back as he approached, sending him stumbling lightly into a nearby side table.  “Just settle down.  I just want to see if it’s from that pretty little sister of yours.”

“You better shut up about her and you better give me that letter, right now,” Leo demanded, his face bright red in anger.  

“Come on now, open it up, let’s see if she sent another picture.”

“God damn you! Give it to me and stop thinking about her that way!”  Leo swung and connected with Lester’s side although the blow was partially deflected and did not seem to cause much damage.  The two of them wrestled around for a few moments before Lester turned in an advantageous direction and Leo took the opportunity to snatch the envelope back.  Both men were a little out of breath from the yelling and rough-housing and stood about ten feet apart, collecting their breath.   Three minutes later, Leo sat down and waved the envelope mockingly at Lester.

“Maybe I’ll go ahead and open it now that I have taken it from you.”

Lester did not reply and Leo ripped the edge of the envelope off, snapping it in the air as he did so.  That caused a smaller piece of paper to fly out of the envelope, one which drifted for a second in the air before landing just a few feet from Lester, who promptly picked it up.

“Well, well, my friend, it looks like you have come into a little money here.”

“Give me that,” Leo demanded.

“You just wait,” Lester replied, “because we both know that you owe me a bit of money.”

“Yes, yes I know.” 

“Now, this here check is for one hundred and five dollars, kind of a nice Christmas gift from your pretty sister.”

“You shut up.  You’ll get your money when the bank opens up Monday.”

“And, I have this check and you do not.”

“What does that do for you?  You can’t cash it so what good will it do you?”

“Well, I think we need to negotiate a little change in the repayment terms.  Like, due to my patience, and the fact that I had to come find you here, inconveniences, et cetera, I think you owe me seventy-five dollars now.”

“Bushwa, you crook!  I’ll pay you the fifty and not a penny more.” Leo lunged out of his chair but stopped about a foot from Lester, who was holding up his hand. 

“You did not let me finish, friend.  You pay me seventy-five or I plan a visit to your hotsy-totsy sister, you know, just to strike up an acquaintance, maybe a few dates, marriage, who knows.  I did read the return address on that envelope so finding her shouldn’t be much trouble.”

“I will kill you if you so much as mention her name again.  Now give me that check and I’ll get you your fifty dollars on Monday.”

“Like I said, it’s seventy-five or I start taking up an interest in your sister.”

“You stand up and fight me right now!” Leo shouted, dancing back and forth with his fists cocked up.  “Get up, damn it!  I won’t have this!”

Lester laughed but did not stand up.  Instead he leaned back and looked at Leo, who did not notice he also had slipped a hand behind his back.  

excerpt from san bernadino paper on humbert shooting 27 dec 1926

excerpt from san bernadino paper on Humbert shooting

“I won’t take this!”  Leo then strode over toward the fireplace and picked up the poker.  Whirling around, he rushed at Lester who calmly stood up, pistol in hand, and shot Leo twice.  He then tucked the check into his pocket, took several minutes to collect up his belongings, and walked out of the room while Leo groaned and bled on the floor.  A few minutes later he climbed into an Essex 5 and drove off.

1926 Essex 5

1926 Essex 5

 

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 41)

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After a moment of recovery Leo stepped into the doorway to block Stanley from entering.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Hi!” Stanley replied brightly, not picking up on the wariness in Leo’s voice.  “Boy, it took a bit to find you, but I did it!  I must have been to every other place in town but I should have started here.  This is a nice place, a good place for you.  Can I come in?” 

Leo repeated his question in a slightly more hostile tone and Stanley’s face reflected that he was getting the message.

“I didn’t mean no offense, I really didn’t.  I just, well, I had to get out of Bakersfield and I knew you were coming here and maybe could help me.  Besides, the mail came,” Stanley said while extending an envelope he had taken from his pocket.

“What? The mail, oh yes, the mail.  My mail, you mean?” Leo replied while looking at the envelope.  “Well, thank you,” he concluded and started to shut the door.

“It’s the police though, that’s why I’m here right now anyway, so fast, I just had to leave so fast.”

Leo stopped closing the door.  “The police?” he inquired.

“Yes, you bet,” Stanley replied in a nervous and excited voice that was gaining in volume, “they were right at Dad’s door,”

“Shut up and get in here,” Leo interrupted, grabbing the other man’s arm and pulling him into the room.  He closed the door promptly and, as he started to question Stanley, Robert walked out of the sitting area that was tucked into one corner of their room.  

Texaco truck circa 1926

Texaco truck circa 1926

It took a few minutes to get the younger Bittenhoffer calmed down but once that was done, the details came out fairly quickly.  Apparently, just the day after Leo had driven out of Bakersfield, the postman had delivered a letter to the clock shop which had been addressed to Leo Humbert.  This particular postman, new to the job just three days ago,  had actually taken the time to ask Stanley a few questions about, “who this Humbert was and why was he getting mail at the clock shop instead of a regular address.”  Stanley had managed to convince him that the addressee in question was a friend who was moving to the area and just needed a temporary place where his mail could be delivered.  As this part of the story was being told Leo had commented that it sure seemed odd that the post office was so interested in that piece of mail and that this did not bode well for his own prospects in the area.  Lester agreed and added they may all of them were in danger and should make plans to leave soon.  Stanley had then continued, revealing that his original plan had been to wait until after Christmas to contact Leo about the mail.  That had all changed later in the day, when he had been walking back to his Dad’s house after going into town to pick up some grocery items.  As he approached there were two policemen standing at the front door, already talking to Ben Bittenhoffer. Stanley had quickly hidden behind a large mulberry bush and watched for several minutes.  Although he could not hear what was being said, it looked like a tense conversation and his father looked extremely confused and worried.  That had been enough to spook Stanley completely and he had grabbed the few items of clothing he kept at the repair shop, some money from the bank and started to figure out how to get out of town and down to Pomona.   He had managed to pick up a ride from a Texaco truck driver headed out of Bakersfield and he had arrived late on the night of the twenty-second.  After a long night spent walking to hotels and boarding houses, and being met with hostility in more than one place due to his early morning inquires, he had finally decided to check the Mayfair.  That caught Leo and Lester up on the story and Stanley had slumped back in the chair with a, “I’m so relieved I found you, now I’ll be safe.”  Lester, who had remained quiet for most of the story, burst out laughing.

“You are about as stupid as I figured you would be,” he commented and walked back into the sitting area.

“What’s he mean by that?” Stanley asked.

“Never mind it.  Just let me think,” Leo replied.

After fifteen minutes or so, during which Stanley fell asleep, Leo sat silently, staring at the fake flowers in a vase on the mantle of the fireplace.  Then he got up and walked over to where Lester was sitting, reading the paper.  What followed was an argument that managed to wake up Stanley, who then overheard the details of how much Lester wanted him out of the room, Leo’s insistence that he needed to look after him, and both of their desire to get out of town quickly.  When they finished, Stanley feigned still being asleep and then “woke up” five minutes later.  

“What are we going to do now?” he asked Leo.

“We’re all going to stay right here in this room for now, and that means no one leaves.  We can’t be out on the streets right now.”

“But, this is Pomona.  They aren’t looking for us here.” 

“Boy, you really are,” Lester started, then cut himself off following a glare from Leo.  “Listen, here’s some information.  Police talk to each other, okay?  Pomona cops could easily be looking for us too.”

“Really?  I didn’t, I mean, yeah, I understand.  I guess I do.  So what do we do?”

“We stay here,” Leo repeated, “so just settle in and stay quiet.”

They passed a few hours in relative silence, Lester calling down for lunch for all of them around noon and managing to carry on a civil discussion with Stanley about clocks as they ate.  Just as they were finishing, Lester asked Leo a question.

“You know, you never did open that letter, did you?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s none of your concern.”

“Well, I mean the man did come all this way to bring it to you,” Lester replied while gesturing over at Stanley, “don’t ya think we should see what it’s all about?”

“It’s personal, so shut up about it,” Leo snapped back at him.

“Sure, sure,” Lester replied with a sly smile.

The three of them managed to get through that day and the next, passing Christmas Eve playing cards, napping and reading newspapers.  They all even shared a small spice cake for dessert and listened through the windows to some carolers outside the hotel.  It was a pleasant night overall and none of them would have believed that the next day, Christmas, would include an attempted murder. 

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 40)

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View of Pomona, CA

View of Pomona, CA

It was only about one hundred and forty miles from Bakersfield to Pomona but Leo took his time, stopping twice to eat some sandwiches he had brought with him and once to hide when he thought someone was following him.   He also stopped to assist a woman and her son who were having some car problems and had pulled off on the side of the road.  He had enough knowledge to get their vehicle running again and was rather pleased when the woman called him a, “heaven sent stroke of good luck,” before she drove off.  Leo was not much for providing such acts of kindness but he admitted to himself that it made him feel pretty good, in a way that was different than when he pulled off a scheme or outwitted the police.  He drove without stopping again after that and by the time he actually drove over the hills and down into the “Queen of the Citrus Belt” it was evening and he was fairly tired. 

Pomona Hotel in better days

Pomona Hotel in better days

He took a room for the night at the Pomona Hotel, left most of his belongings in the car, and went to bed before ten o’clock.  At six a.m. he was awoken by a persistent knocking on the door.  When he opened it he found the smiling face of Robert Lester, who was holding two cups of coffee in his hands.

“Good morning friend.  I though you might want some room service.”

Leo, who had been quite startled to find his former partner standing there, recovered quickly.  Rubbing his hand across his face and feigning indifference he replied.  “Well, I don’t remember ordering anything but sure I’ll take some coffee if you’re bringing it to me.”

“Good, good, here you go,” Lester replied, pushing past Leo and walking into the small room.  “Not exactly the best place in town but I guess it suits you, huh?”

“It was late when I got in and this place was right on the road.  I took it and figured to look around today for something better.”

“Well, that’ll be the Mayfair for sure, if you’re figuring to step up a bit around here.  It’s a nice place but a bit expensive to live at, ya know?” Lester was grinning too much as he spoke and Leo realized what he was looking for although he was not going to give him satisfaction on that if he could help it.

“Hmm, well I’ll see about it when I go out.  Right now I’d like to have some peace and quiet.”  

“I can help you look around, we can look around together, check things out,” Lester replied, sitting his empty cup down on the floor.

“Sounds like you already know the place.  Why don’t I meet you somewhere later?”

There was no reply from Lester who had gotten up and was looking out the one window in the room, seemingly lost in thought.  Leo opened the door and stood to the side.

“I’ll see you later, Rob.”

Lester turned around slowly and walked up to Leo, stopping when the two were face to face.  “I know you’re wondering how I found you, and you’ll just have to keep on wondering my friend.  Take it as fact though that I can find you and I won’t be forgetting about my fifty dollars.  You go look around then and I’ll meet you for lunch at the Mayfair.”

“Maybe you will,” Leo replied defensively.

“I will.” 

Lester left without another word and Leo sat down on the bed, shaken on the inside more from the fact Lester had found him so quickly than by the actual encounter.   An hour later he checked out of the hotel and drove toward the center of town.  If he was going to stay around for awhile he wanted to be closer to the action.  By eleven a.m. he had grudgingly admitted to himself that Lester was right and the Mayfair Hotel was exactly the place he needed to stay at in Pomona.  The manager told him that there would be a room coming available later in the day and Leo, who had only had the cup of coffee as breakfast, sat down to eat lunch in their restaurant.  He found a little bit of humor in the fact that Lester had been correct but was not looking forward to having the fact brought up whenever his former partner arrived.   Ten minutes later Lester slid into the chair directly across from Leo and laughed right in his face.

Mayfair Hotel Pomona CA

Mayfair Hotel Pomona CA

“Pretty smart, aren’t I?” Lester asked after he had regained his composure.

“Fuck off,” Leo shot back loudly which turned the heads of a few nearby diners.

“Little testy aren’t ya?  Just lighten up a little my friend, I knew this place would appeal to you, that’s all.  Don’t take it so hard.”

Leo did not reply but resumed eating and neither of them spoke again until their meals were complete.  Shifting back in his chair while sipping on a whiskey, Lester nodded toward the approaching manager.

“Coming to get you for your room, I think.  How about you and me share it?  I could use a place to sleep for a bit and it’ll make it easier for me to keep an eye on my money.”

“Not likely.  Why would I want you around me that much?  Besides, I’m sure it’s a single set up so there’s nowhere for you to sleep.”

“It’s a double.  And you want me living here with you so I don’t follow you all over town.  That’ll get rather bothersome I suspect.”

Leo glared back at Lester.  

“Sir, your room will be ready in a few minutes.  Please come to sign the registration documents,”  the hotel manager asked.

“I don’t suppose it has a second bed, does it?”  Leo replied.

“Certainly it does sir.  Is that ok?”

“Yes, yes.  This gentleman will also be staying with me.”

“Very well.  I’ll need you both to sign of course.”

“Of course,” Leo replied sharply as he got up and followed the man, Robert Lester trailing close behind with a satisfied look on his face.   They registered as Leo Humbert and Lorrane North and twenty minutes later had settled into the nicely furnished two bedroom suite on the third floor of the hotel.  

The next morning, December 23rd, Leo experienced a sense of deja vu as he was awakened again by persistent knocking on the door.  He opened it and was met with yet another surprise when he saw Stanley Bittenhopper standing in the hallway, nervously tapping his fingers together and humming an unrecognizable tune under his breath.  

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 38)

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At this point Leo glanced back at Lester who had a look in his eye that made it very clear he would not be forgetting this detail about Leo.  

“Get out! Now!” Leo shouted at Stanley, “Go back to work!”

“Who is he?” Stanley replied, pointing at Lester.  “Why did he say I didn’t know about what you two were doing?  What’s going on?”
Leo grabbed Stanley by the arm and shoved him out into the cold afternoon.  “Go back to work now!” he snapped before slamming the door shut and turning the bolt.

“Quite rough on him, weren’t you Leo?” Lester asked.  “He’s not exactly the criminal type, not by a long shot.  Is that who you’re into this jewelry scheme with?”

“You need to shut up too,” Leo replied.

Lester took a few steps so he was right in Leo’s face before he spoke in a low, rough tone while holding his hand against Leo’s chest.  “Don’t even try your tough guy act on me.  I’m not some dumb Dora or a Reuben you can fool with your little act and you ain’t the crime boss of Bakersfield either.  I tell you something friend, if you’re into it with that silly egg of a man than you’ll both be busted and locked up in little enough time.  I’m getting the hell away from this whole operation.”

“Settle the hell down, will ya?” Leo replied while pushing Lester’s hand off his chest.  “You don’t need to be worrying about him, I’ve got him under control, ok?  He isn’t even supposed to be out in town.  He just got a little confused when the mail came I guess, he’s a bit odd in that way.  But he’s no problem for us.”

“I really doubt that Leo, I really do.”  

Over the course of the next ten minutes the two men went back and forth but ultimately, with a promise to push hard on selling the stolen goods and to increase Lester’s cut, Leo won the man back.  With that resolved he ripped open the envelope and pulled out a letter.  As he did so a small photograph fell out also, landing on the floor.  It was of Olivia, a black and white image of her near a large tree with a small barn off to one corner of the picture.  It was a winter scene and the tree had clumps of frozen snow on the branches.  Lester reached down and picked it up, staring intently for several seconds before handing it to Leo.

“Your girl?”

“My sister,” Leo replied.

“She’s quite a bit of choice calico,” Lester stated, “any chance she’s coming out this way?”

Leo’s face flushed red instantly.  “You better shut up about her, and never bring it up again, you hear?  Never.”  

“Hmm, well, she’s very attractive is all, maybe someday I can meet her.”

Leo swung at Lester but missed by a large margin with the other man chuckling as he moved a few more steps away.  “Easy now Mr. Hombert,” he said, “just take it easy.  I won’t go bothering her but it’s good to know she’s out there.”   

“Damn you, get over here and say that to me!” Leo shouted, throwing the letter down onto the counter and putting up his fists.  “I won’t have you talking like that about her.”

“Easy, easy,” Lester replied as he clicked the door bolt open and stepped out, “you just take it easy and get back to selling things.”  With that he left and Leo remained, fists raised and face red, frustrated and angry.  When he finally settled down and read the letter it simply stated that Olivia had sold his items, would be sending the money soon, that she hoped he was well and wished him a happy holiday season. 

The events of that day brought considerable tension to both of Leo’s relationships with his partners, Stanley constantly bugging him to know about the “other man” and Lester mocking Leo or telling him that failure was imminent.  Lester also made almost a daily point of mentioning the Hombert last name and breezing out references to Leo’s sister, although always in a public place where any altercation would bring unwanted attention.  Once the Thanksgiving weekend had passed and the days turned to December things really started to pick up at the shop, with both the jewelry and the stolen items selling well to gift-purchasers who came into the store.  Leo even took to offering gift wrapping for an additional twenty-five cents on smaller items.   There was one more incident with the police at the shop also, one that Leo solved by buying the item back and throwing in an additional three dollars for the “unfortunate issue with quality” that the customer had experienced.  The pressure from the criminal community was mounting at a faster rate, with several more warnings from other grifters in Bakersfield and at least three other similar fake jewelry shops opening up in early December.  Leo knew the end was fast approaching but he was determined to make it through the Christmas rush if he could and then make a fast exit from town.  He knew that Lester was also making his own plans to leave after the holiday so Leo’s only concern was to break things off with Stanley in the smoothest way possible.  He was still formulating a plan for that on Monday, December 20th when he locked up the shop for lunch and started to walk toward the park.  As he approached the corner of his building he heard Lester’s voice coming from the small alley that ran between the L&S shop and the mercantile next door.  Leo also heard one other voice and that belonged to the policeman who had been into the shop twice in regard to customer complaints.  As he stopped walking and pressed himself against the side of the building to listen he heard Lester’s voice quite clearly.

“Ok, just take it easy, will ya?  I can tell you the whole damn story.” 

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 37)

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When they did, and after they had exchanged with each other the names they were currently living under, Robert Lester and Leo struck up an agreement to use the L&S store to move merchandise stolen by Lester in addition to the fake jewelry already sold there.  Lester was opposed to mixing the two businesses but Leo stuck to his belief that the one store could serve a dual purpose and eventually his partner gave in.  Leo did not inform Stanley about the arrangement and was determined to keep his two partners completely separate from each other while running the store himself to profit off their work.  With that deal done, and beginning to feel a bit like the crime boss he wanted to be, Leo went over to check on production at the clock shop.   When he arrived Stanley was hard at work, a fact that pleased Leo, and he stood around watching the other man work for about half an hour.  There were a good number of new pieces on the table and he carefully placed them into a box to take to the store.  There was even a very nice mantel clock with a gilded face among the items and Stanley replied in the affirmative when Leo asked if it was something he had made for sale at their shop.  That initiative impressed Leo and he figured maybe he had misjudged the other man yet again.  Then, right before leaving, he jokingly told Stanley to cut his hair, something which it was apparent had not happened in many months.  Stanley replied that it was all part of his new look and Leo shook his head and left feeling like things were definitely looking up.  

All continued fairly well through the end of October and well into November.  There were a few arguments between Lester and Leo, mostly about the low volume of stolen product that Leo was managing to move through the shop, and several times when Leo’s two partners came close to meeting.  That was something he really wanted to avoid and so he told Stanley that it really would be better if he stopped going out into town or anywhere else for that matter.  He should just keep working and Leo would bring him whatever he needed.  This generated quite an argument as Stanley was still enjoying his new lifestyle among the burgeoning social scene in Bakersfield.  Ultimately Leo resigned himself to the fact that the two men were going to meet and he was just going to have to deal with it when that happened.  As things turned out that did not take long, and soon after two uncommon things occurred  which resulted in their meeting on November 23rd.  It was fairly cold out that day and Stanley, dressed in a long trench coat with a plaid scarf wrapped around his face, walked into the L&S store around two o’clock in the afternoon.  Coming to the store was something that Stanley almost never did so he caught Leo by surprise.  Leo himself had already been surprised by an equally infrequent caller, Robert Lester, who avoided the shop as he always told Leo because, “it’s the place you’re going to end up being arrested at one day, and I sure don’t plan to be there when that happens.”  Today the on-going lack of sales by Leo had finally driven Robert to the store, demanding that he be told what was holding up the making of some profits on the items  he was risking his own freedom to steal.  The stamping of Stanley’s feet as he crossed the threshold of the store stopped the argument between Leo and Lester.

“What are you doing here?” Leo snapped at Stanley, walking over quickly and grabbing the man’s arm.  “I though I told you to stay away from town.”

“Who is this person?” Lester asked from where he stood by one of the shop’s display counters, “I don’t suppose this is that silly clockmaker you are in business with?”

“Who’s he?” Stanley asked with some fear in his voice, “and how does he know who I am?  What’s he doing here?”

“Ah, so this fella doesn’t know about us then, huh?” Lester shot back, “all these secrets Leo, very bad for your constitution you know.”  

“What’s he talking about Leo?” 

“Stop!” Leo shouted.  “Stop it and shut up both of you.”

Lester laughed but otherwise stayed quite.  Stanley cowered a little and then stood with suspicious eyes darting back and forth between the other two men.

“Listen, both of you.  Neither one of you needs to know anything about the other.  You are working for me, and you talk to me and me only.  Neither damn one of you should be here right now, it’s bad for us to be seen together.  Now, why are you here?”  Leo asked Stanley, still holding his hand up in Lester’s direction.

“I, well, I had to give you something.”  Stanley replied, his voice low but clear. 

“Are you sure this is something we should be talking about here?” Leo replied.

“Well, well, I don’t know.  But you did say to give you letters addressed to any Leo name that came to the shop.”  As he spoke he withdrew an envelope from the inside pocket of the overcoat.

Leo’s eyes clouded for a minute as he realized it must be a letter from his sister.  He really needed to contain the information on his real name but Stanley kept talking.

“It said Hombert but I still did what you told me, I told the postman I would take it.  Is that your real name?”

“Shut up!” Leo exclaimed as he snatched the letter from Stanley’s hands.  “That isn’t even the name on here,” he continued in an effort to make both men forget what had just happened.  

“Sure it is,” Stanley replied.

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 35)

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“What do you mean, what does he know?  I told you, everything!” Stanley exclaimed, rubbing his hands together and walking slowly in a tight circle around the shop floor.  

“Will you settle down?  Just stop for a minute and tell me what he said.”

“He knows!  He asked me how the business was going!”

Leo reached out and grabbed his partner to get him to stop moving.  “What did he say exactly?”

“I told you!  He asked how the business was going!”

Leo rubbed a hand across his face, realizing that Stanley might be just a little bit unstable after all.  “That’s all he said Stanley?”

“Yes! That’s all he needed to say.”  

“You don’t suppose he might have been asking about your clock business?” Leo asked.

“Why?  What?”  Stanley replied, and then he stopped, a dumbfounded look on his face.  “Well, I mean, maybe, but why would he ask me that?”

“Maybe he was just wondering about it, or making small talk, or who knows why.  Did he mention the shop, or me, or anything about jewelry?”

By now Stanley’s face was bright red and his eyes were averted, staring down at the rugged wooden floor of his shop.  “No, nothing else.  Just like I said, he asked how business was. But…”

“But what?”

“Nothing,” Stanley muttered back, his face getting even more red.  Leo reached out his hand again and shook the other man’s shoulder.  

“Look at me friend, I think maybe you have something to tell me.  What did you say after he asked you that?”

There was a long pause and Leo knew he was not going to like the answer, but he needed it nonetheless.  He shook Stanley’s shoulder roughly and asked him again what he had said to his father.

“It, well, I thought he was on to us, you know.  I thought he knew about all of it.  I was just afraid, I didn’t know what to say.”

“But you did say something, so what was it?”

“I told him that it wasn’t my idea, that I was just doing the work, making the pieces but not selling them.  He was confused, starting asking me questions, and I, well, I just ran out of the place and over here.”

Leo stayed silent but his grip on Stanley’s shoulder increased, until his partner started to squirm under the pressure.  Finally he let go.

“Damn, damn, damn!  You stupid foolish dumb,” was a far as he got before he decided that berating Stanley was not going to be very useful.  He needed to figure out what to do next.  Collapsing back into the chair where he had been reading the newspaper, Leo sighed deeply and returned to silence, staring blankly down at the floor.  Five minutes later he looked back up.

“That’s all you said?  Absolutely nothing else?”

“Nothing else, I swear, nothing.”

“Ok, so now you are going to go back home and figure out just what exactly he might be thinking about what you said, and what he might be doing about it.”

There was about ten more minutes of protesting from Stanley but in the end he went and then met Leo the next day.  It turned out that his father was mostly confused and figured his son was having some kind of a fit, after which a long lecture on the effects of fire-gilding followed, and then it was dropped.  Ben Bittenhopper had mentioned through that he was going to be, “taking a stroll around,” to see what some of the new businesses were up to in town.  Leo knew that did not bode well, but things were less serious than they might have been.   As a safeguard he decided to shut the store for ten days, taking off into the nearby countryside for what he considered was a well deserved break.  When he returned Stanley confidently reported that his father had not mentioned the episode at all and had indeed toured the new businesses in town, returning only with some concerns about there being too many mercantile establishments.  Feeling he was in the clear at least for a little bit longer, Leo reopened L&S and they were back in business.  

A profitable three weeks followed and Leo was walking down the street behind his business on October 5th, on his way to eat lunch in a small park he liked, when he was brought to a dead stop.  Across the street, walking next to a short, blonde-haired woman, was Robert Lester.  

Leo took a few moments, following the couple with his eyes as he tried to convince himself that he was wrong.  After all the time he had spent looking for the man it was hard to believe that they had just walked past each other on a public street.  The man never looked back but it did not matter.  By the time he stepped off again toward the park, Leo was pretty well convinced that he had found the man he had come to look for in Bakersfield.  He was, however, not certain on how he wanted to proceed, weighing the need to get the “rat” issue resolved against Lester’s threat against him.  He thought about that as he ate, and for a whole day afterward, and then decided he was going to face the situation head on, just like he had originally planned.   He would go out and find Lester and talk to him and get this whole thing straightened out regardless of if it put his safety in jeopardy.   Knowing from his previous attempts that locating him through public records was futile, Leo took to spending one to two hours a day on that street behind his shop, just watching and hoping for a repeat appearance.  It finally came four days later, the man’s slight limp and arms that swung too much as he walked reconfirming Leo’s belief it was Lester,  and he ran across to confront the man.

“Robert!”

The man took three more steps before stopping, slowing turning around but reaching inside his jacket as he did so.

“Hold on, hold on, it’s just me after all, you remember don’t ya?” Leo said.

“You bet I know who you are,” the olive-skinned man replied, “and I got a score to settle that’s up on the board right now.  I plan to cash it in.”  Leo could see the gun, held just under the man’s jacket, free of its holster but still out of sight of the few others walking near them.

“You don’t need to do anything like that Robert, really, this is all a big misunderstanding, it really is.  I came here to find you, to straighten it up.  Let’s just talk for a few minutes, ok?”

Lester motioned his head back up the street in the direction of the park.  “Sure, we can talk if that’s what you want.  It’ll be much better to be in a secluded place anyhow.  After you then.”

Without looking back, but with his heart beating rapidly in his chest, Leo walked toward the park, his former partner a few steps behind him with one hand still nonchalantly inside of his jacket.  

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 33)

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As mentioned before, Bakersfield in the 1920’s had a population of around thirteen thousand and much of the manufacturing and commerce of the town focused on the oil industry.  The first big oil strikes in the area had occurred just two decades before and there were large crews of men toiling away at extracting that black gold from the ground.  There was also a decent agricultural presence, centered around the growing of grains and alfalfa along with the raising of various kinds of livestock.  An additional number of people transited through the town on the railroad.  These three groups, but especially the oil field workers and the travelers, encompassed the people that Leo now planned to run his scheme against with Stanley.  Once he was satisfied that he had the right man picked out, it had been a fairly simple process to convince Stanley to join up with his idea, especially once it was explained how much money they might end up making as a result.  Leo breezed over any concerns about the police or penalty, ensuring his new partner that he was experienced enough to avoid any trouble.  As part of their deal Leo moved into the back area of Stanley’s repair shed, writing back to Olivia soon after to tell her of the change of address.  He still was waiting for that check from the sale of his possessions and his move to the shed solved another problem which had occurred to him soon after he had checked into the El Tejon.  He might have notified Olivia about the address but had not dared to tell her about the false name he was living under again, believing that she would refuse to send it to him given her previous anger over his aliases.  Now he simply told Stanley that he occasionally used different names and if anything showed up addressed to any, “first name of Leo, don’t worry about the last name,” well, that was to be given to him directly with no further questions asked.   Leo disliked the idea of anyone knowing his birth identity but he hoped his inexperienced partner would forget about the Hombert name quickly.  The idea of false names seemed to fascinate Stanley and Leo had to cut off the discussion to avoid telling him too much about his past.  He just ended it with, “it’s useful sometimes but complicated, you probably shouldn’t try it.” 

South Pacific train depot Bakersfield

South Pacific train depot Bakersfield

Their operational plan was simple.  Leo would purchase copper or brass which Stanley would turn into pieces of jewelry that were then electroplated to appear to be more precious metals.  Leo would take these items to a very small shop he had rented out in the main business area of Bakersfield where he hoped to sell them as “solid gold and silver”, mostly to drunk oil workers or unsuspecting persons passing through on the train.  His shop, which he had managed to get by offering the former occupant one hundred dollars to move, was well situated for the scheme as it was located right by the train depot and only blocks from several well attended establishments that were subverting the prohibition laws.  They started up production in late June of 1926 and Stanley had produced the first pieces by July 1st, just in time for the big holiday weekend.  It was on that day that Leo also informed his partner that he was changing his name again.

“Why now?” Stanley asked when told.

“It just works out better for me this way.  Up to now, well, I’ve been Lee O’Dare and that’s still a good name in this town.  Starting up our business I need to have a name that I can burn here.”

“Burn?”

“Well, yes, one that will be associated with this business we are running.”

“The illegal one, you mean?”  Stanley replied.

“Yes.  It’s just a good idea, don’t worry about it, just call me Leo from now on.”

“Leo O’Malley?”

“Yes.”

“So, what should my name be?”

“What are you, oh, never mind that, you need to keep your name, you’ve been here too long.  You can’t just change it after all that time.”

“But what if we get caught?  Isn’t that why you are using a different name?  So that if we get caught you can change it to something else when you run way?”  Stanley’s voice was rising as he spoke. 

“Who says I’m running away?  And we won’t get caught.”   Leo was getting tired of the questions.  “Now stop worrying about it.  Just produce the goods and I’ll sell them.”

“But, what if we do get caught.  I can’t stand it, I mean, my father would be devastated, he really would be.  It would be terrible.”  

“Just stop with the worrying.  I’ll worry, and you just work and keep quiet.”

“But what if we get caught?”

“Shut up!  I’ll protect you!”  Leo shouted back, raising his fist a few inches but then thinking better of it.  “Just shut up!”

Stanley wiped his eyes before replying.  “We’re going to get caught, I just know it.  But oh well, I guess that can’t be avoided.”  He then shuffled off back toward the front of his repair shop to go back to work.  Leo snorted and shook his head, thinking that maybe his plan to use Stanley had not been such a great idea after all.  This operation had to work though, it just had to, as it was his very own and he needed to prove to himself that he could be his own boss.  Any issues with Stanley would just need to be dealt with as they came up. 

The July 2nd opening of their store was a great success, aided by the general air of celebration for the Fourth of July festivities.  Everyone seemed in a good mood and were spending freely, with people clamoring for all kinds of goods including Leo’s falsely advertised jewelry.  His stock was depleted by the following Monday and Stanley had not kept up on inventory production over the weekend, choosing instead to do work for his father in their shop and also take a day off to relax.  That did not sit well with Leo, who scolded Stanley harshly and told him that he needed to get his priorities straight if they were going to make good money with their venture.

“But I can’t work on it all of the time.  My father will get angry, or suspicious, or both.  And if he starts asking questions, well, what am I supposed to say I am doing down here?”

“Fixing clocks obviously.”

“He knows there is not enough business to keep me that busy.  I don’t have many customers you know, this is mostly by hobby.”

“Tell him you have more customers then, tell him you have a big order.”  Leo was getting impatient again, his words spoken in a terse manner.

“That won’t work.  He’ll know, he knows everything about business in this town.  He talks to people.”

“Well, I don’t know what then but tell him whatever you have to.  The priority is our business, ok? Or don’t you want to make money?”

“I do.  But,”

Leo cut him off.  “Here’s your share for now.  Get to work.”

Staring down at the eighty dollars which Leo had placed into his hand brought a smile to Stanley’s face.  He thought about all of the things he could do, the women he could seduce, the fine food he could buy, maybe a good set of clothes for himself.  Closing his fist around the money he nodded and went back to work.  

…to be continued

A Burning Cold Morning (Part 32)

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Lucky Strike

Lucky Strike

 

By the time that Leo and Stanley met, the Bittenhopper’s had been in Bakersfield for over a decade.  Ben was content in his surroundings and job, making enough money to get by and enjoy just a few select luxuries that he favored such as smoking Lucky Strike cigarettes and going to the movies.  He had in fact just returned from seeing The Flying Ace when he interrupted Leo and Stanley’s first meeting.  As he walked back from the theater he remembered that there was a piece of unfinished work that Stanley had promised to complete by the next day and he decided to stop by his son’s clock repair shed to remind him.  As much as he disliked going to the place, he just planned to duck his head in the door for a minute to speak to Stanley.  As he did so he observed Leo, a stranger to him of course, standing by the work bench although no one else was in sight.

The Flying Ace

The Flying Ace

“You here getting work done by my boy?” Ben asked.

“If you mean the clockmaker here, well, not exactly but I stopped by to talk to him.  You’re his Dad?”

“Where is he then?”

Leo motioned toward the darker area at the back of the shop.  Several seconds later Stanley emerged with a clock in his hands.

“Hey Dad, what are you doing here?”

“Just stopping for a second to remind you about that work for Jack Peters.  He’s coming for it tomorrow so you better get over to our place and get it done.  Who’s this fella?” 

“I’ll get it done, I said I would.  You better go before you get the vapors or something,” Stanley replied in a friendly but mocking tone, a small smirk on his face.

“Funny boy, very funny.  This fella?  Who is he?”

“What’s it to you?” Leo asked before Stanley could reply.

“I just ain’t seen you around before and I wondered.  Nothing wrong with being new, we all were at one point or another around here.  I just like knowin’ the people, that’s all.”

“Le, umm, yes,  Lee’s my name and I’m just here for a bit, shouldn’t be anyone you need to remember anyway.”  Internally, Leo scolded himself for almost blowing his alias which could have been an issue as he had introduced himself to Stanley very clearly as Lee O’Dare.  

Ben started closing the door and called back over his shoulder, “Don’t you forget that work Stanley.” 

Once he was gone Leo let out a low laugh.  “Kind of rough on you, huh?  Treats you like a kid.”

“It’s always that way, but he’s not a bad character.  Just sees me as a youngster still I guess.  We work together, me and him, gold and silver stuff mostly.  He’s right though about that other job, I really need to close up here.  This one will work for you, I think.”  He extended the small clock he had in his hands to Leo, who took it and gave it a quick glance before nodding.  “It’ll do.  How much?”

“I have to say that I don’t get many folks that come here just to buy a clock.  I’m not really a seller you know?  I just fix ‘em for people.”

“Yeah, well I like used things and I heard about you when I was asking around town about some other business ventures I’m looking into.  It peaked my interest.”

“What did?” Stanley replied, an openly quizzical look on his face.

“The work you do, I mean, mostly the stuff with your Dad I guess.  I heard you two were goldsmiths but I figured you might be more interested than he would be in a business proposition I might have for you.”

“Fixing clocks?”

“Not, not that at all.”

Stanley still looked puzzled and stayed that way as Leo paid him for the clock and then left after saying, “It’s just an idea for now but I will come around and we can get to know each other a little better.  Maybe then we can discuss business.”

Over the course of several more visits and some additional time the two of them spent hanging out together around Bakersfield Leo confirmed several key factors about Stanley.  One was that he did not have much of a conscience when it came to small crimes that did not seem to hurt anyone.  He even admitted that on occasion he had pulled a minor scam on customers that irritated him, were too demanding or whom he just did not like.  This usually involved substituting inferior material in some piece of metal work or inflating the price on a simple job.  He had to be careful of course as his father was a completely honest business man, so the opportunities had been few and far between up to this point.  It also became apparent that Stanley was not happy with his own lot in life, wanting to make more money and have better things.  He also very much wanted to woo one, or preferably some, of the pretty ladies he saw around town or who came to him with repair work.  He figured he needed money to do that properly.  And lastly, although older, Stanley was willing to have Leo, or Lee as he knew him, be the captain of their operation.  

That operation was one that Leo had developed as he sought out opportunities for a viable criminal enterprise in Bakersfield.   He was determined to find a way to run his own operation, to be his own man and not have to work for anyone else, preferably ever again.  He was tired of the demands, rules and betrayals he had experienced at the hands of those he had worked for previously and believed this move to the west coast was his chance to establish himself as a top operator.  Initially nothing had presented itself other than offers to work for other criminal operations, all of which he had turned down.  Then one day, while he was sitting outside of a bar and smoking a cigarette, he observed a local scam artist selling pyrite to an unsuspecting traveler who believed it to be gold.  Although he had no intention of getting into that swindle, a fortuitously overhead conversation the next day did give him another, similar idea.  That discussion happened to be between two men at the general store and it centered on the idea of electroplating.  Leo was unfamiliar with the term but he gathered enough to realize that it generally involved making things that were not gold or silver look like they were in fact those precious metals.  He probably would not have connected that idea with profit if he had not observed the pyrite scam the day before, but the beginning of an idea now formed in his head.  All he needed was a qualified and willing tradesman, one who needed money, had few scruples and was willing to work for Leo.  In Stanley, he had found such a man.  

…to be continued

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