Читать книгу Every Man for Himself - Mark J. Hannon - Страница 13

CHAPTER 9

BUFFALO, 1920

After getting locked up, Torreo lost the job in the brewery. It took a lot of his savings to bury his brother. Many a day he would sit on the front porch, or in the cafe, drinking coffee and eating only when Frankie or the others urged him. Nobody bothered him, and the outlaws stayed away from the cafe. Frankie found him a job loading trucks at a fruit and vegetable company on Niagara, and when an opening came up for a driver, he got it, the boss figuring the big man could load and unload himself, saving him money on a helper. Nobody would ever try to pilfer anything with this guy around.

One day, in winter, Torreo sat in the cafe on Jersey Street thinking of his family. It was quiet, and there was only one other customer. Torreo saw the burly man in a black suit with a round head and short bristles of hair, looking at Torreo and smiling. He was short, with no neck and no necktie, smoking a cigarette. He nodded at Torreo, and he nodded back.

“You’re the truck driver, aren’t you?” the man said.

Torreo nodded.

“I have a small business myself and could use a man who can drive a truck.”

“I already have a job,” he answered, looking out the window.

“This wouldn’t interfere. The work is at night, and not very often right now.” Looking at Torreo’s arms, he said, “You can lift a barrel, no problem, yes?”

Torreo breathed and said nothing.

“You used to work for the Tedeschi, in the brewery, before this

Prohibition foolishness started. You still know these people, yes?”

“You are a bootlegger?”

The burly man tilted his head to the side and crushed out his cigarette. “I am trying to make my way in this country as a businessman, trying to get enough money to go someplace warmer than Buffalo.”

They both gazed out the window at the snow piling up. The only sound was the scraping of Frankie’s shovel on the pavement, pushing the snow off the sidewalk.

“My name is Torreo Monteduro.”

The burly man rose, went over to his table, and shook hands. “Vincente Tutulomundo.”