Publication
Date: July 22nd, 2022
Genre: Historical
Fiction/ Crime Thriller
New
Jersey, 1928.
The Cons – Roy, Urbane, and Victoria –
made a living by separating fools from their money and rarely stayed
in one place for too long. Keeping food in their bellies and a roof
over their heads often meant hopping from one game to the next,
barely staying ahead of the law or poverty and sometimes both.
That
was until the day Roy – the Idea Man – thought he found a big
score; one that would put the Cons on Easy Street. No more scraping
by. No more hungry nights in the cold or picking pockets in
desperation. Maybe even enough to get them out of this life for good.
But things were never that simple.
When a tragic death
brings the law snooping around, the Cons find themselves running
afoul of cops, gangsters, and other powerful people – ones with
secrets.
The Cons have gotten out of scrapes before, but
their luck may soon run out and this particular game may end in
luxury, a jail cell, or an early grave.
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Excerpt
Today
she was on fire. Heads started to bob and the group pressed closer,
trying to get a better look at the device.
With
her work done, Victoria fell quiet. The excitement of the crowd was
properly kindled now. A contended grin curled up her full lips. To
Urbane’s surprise, her sharp eyes suddenly found his. At first, he
thought it might be a fluke. Or perhaps his supposedly concealed
location had been somehow compromised. Before he could stress himself
over the matter, she winked. Then, all other thoughts fled. Just as
his face started to heat up, she returned her attention to Roy. It
was his turn to bring it home.
“Now,
I’ve been given strict instructions by Treasury Department
officials to accept no less than two thousand dollars for this
device,” he intoned formally.
This
was met with groans of disapproval and one or two boos and
justifiably so; one could buy a small house for that amount of money.
It was a far higher bid than in previous towns.
Feigning
surprise, the Idea Man continued. “You understand, surely, that
such a sum would be recovered in a matter of weeks if the prescribed
regiment is followed?”
Urbane
wondered if that was right. Knowing the scam – game – he had not
previously given much thought to its premise. Having lost sight of
Victoria for the moment, he quickly did the math in his head and came
up with about fifty days. This was with the assumption that the
machine was operated every five hours… and that it was not a scam.
As
one who dealt in numbers and concrete reality, this world of
deception was foreign to him. How people could believe such an
outlandish proposition boggled his mind. A naturally curious sort,
Urb simply could not fathom the lack of such in others.
Outside,
Roy let the groans begin to subside before he extended the olive
branch.
“Hang
on, now. Hang on. Well… it will mean some hard questions from my
superiors. Maybe even some shady bookkeeping on my part. But if that
is asking too much, perhaps a discount might be considered. Just for
the hard working folks of Lawrence, mind you.” In a quieter voice,
he added, “But I must implore you to please keep this just between
us. I could go as low as twelve hundred dollars.”
Again,
boos. Though, fewer than before. In the end, Roy was obliged to drop
the bid twice more before a collection hat started passing around.
Urb shook his head, astonished. Roy and Victoria could steer a crowd
the same way he could tickle a lock or build a mechanism. For the
price of a decent used car, these people had accepted this deal that
should have been too good to be true – of course it was. The crowd
soon divided into two factions, apparently debating how the
forthcoming riches would be allocated.
One
man emerged as the representative of the group, holding the
collection hat. Urbane’s eyes went wide. It was more cash and coin
than they had made in the past three towns put together. If properly
budgeted, it could well be enough to carry them into summer. The
crowd shifted and he caught sight of Victoria again. She had also
glimpsed the considerable sum. Like Urb, she bit her lower lip in
anticipation. Seeing the curve of her face and the swell of her hips,
he nearly forgot about their windfall and most everything else for
that matter.
And
he was not the only one to take notice. Would-be suitors were not an
uncommon issue. As a professional hazard, Victoria tended to attract
male attention like iron filings to a lodestone and today was no
exception.
It
was a young fella. The excessively confident ones often were and
Urbane frowned as this one fixed Madame Charmer in his sights. She
inspired many emotions: infatuation, longing, lust. Urb was a
thinking man, but after six months of living and working in close
proximity, even he could not fully resist her allure. Watching others
make the attempt for her affection, even knowing they were doomed to
fail was not good for his heart.
Though
entirely capable of rebuffing such attempts, it seemed Vic had not
yet detected her latest admirer. As the young man drew closer, Urb
realized too late that something was off. This fellow had none of the
telltale signs of one about to ask for a date.
At
the same time, another speaker fired a bombshell question directly at
Roy.
“How
is this not counterfeiting?”
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About
the Author
Wes
is an engineer by trade, a busybody by habit, and a lifelong Jersey
boy.
Writing
has been a hobby in one form or another since 2006 when he started
drawing 3-panel comics. When he is not putting words down, he is
picking them up; the “to-read” pile only seems to grow larger.
A
fan of nature, he spends as much time outside as possible.
Wes
Verde
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