A/N: Hey guys! This story is really rolling now! My goal is to have this story done by the one year anniversary that I posted it.
But this is a sad chapter, I will warn you now.
Massacre at Collingwood Manor
I didn't say anything to Britt about knowing him being the Green Hornet. I knew in my heart that he hadn't told me the truth for a good reason. And I also knew that when the time was right, he would tell me the truth.
I wish I could say that my relationship with Liam improved. Even when we learned that he was staying with old family friend Solomon Levine, I was still too upset to speak to him. While he had been coerced into it, he still could've gotten Else and Britt killed. Now I wish Liam and I had patched things up…
Britt would never forget September 16th of 1931. It started as a normal rainy Wednesday. The day had progressed normally. That was until about two-thirty that afternoon when Casey interrupted him. "Mr. Reid, somebody's here to see you. He says it's about Jack."
"Thank you Ms. Case." Britt was surprised to see Liam enter. The young man was dressed up in a nice brown suit. He had also cut his chin while shaving. Britt knew something was wrong. Ever since Jack had been rescued that past Friday, Liam had been in hiding. Despite Frank's best efforts, the cops refused to look into the case, claiming it was 'a conflict of interest' (leaving no doubt in Hornet's mind that they had been bribed or threatened to look the other way). The only one charged with anything was Benny and that was kidnapping and threatening. Thanks to Krieger, he was still in jail. No doubt the Third Avenue Terrors were looking for Liam. Now that he was here in the open… "Mr. Scanlon. How may I help you?" Britt said, closing the door behind him. He pointed to a chair, offering it to him.
Liam took the chair. "Thank you. First off, I wanted to apologize for what happened last Friday."
Britt sat down back at his desk. "Don't mention it. Jack told me what happened…you were forced into it."
Liam barked a bitter laugh. "I know but Mom raised me better. The other thing is that I'd like you give you this." He took a small bronze key out of his pocket. "Give this to Jack in case something happens to me. She'll know what to do with it."
"Why, what's wrong?" Britt asked, taking the key and putting it in his pocket.
"Oh, nothing too important now. But it would make me feel much better."
The words caught Britt's attention. "What's happened?"
Liam sighed. "Ray Bernstein's called a conference at the Collingwood Manor apartments. Apparently, he wants to offer the Terrors a good position after we get our debts straightened out."
This wasn't good. Britt knew what would happen. "But…the Terrors will kill you."
"And if I don't show, Bernstein will hunt me down, starting with my family. He knows I'm involved but doesn't really give a damn why I'm involved." Liam shook his head sadly. "That's why I'm talking to you Britt. Uncle Frank would try to stop me."
"And you thought I was just going to let you go?" Britt fought to keep his voice level. "There's no way I'm going to stand by…"
"I don't have any other choice. The meeting's at three and it wouldn't be good for me to be late." Liam said, standing up. "One more thing, Britt. Look after Jack for me. And tell her I'm sorry. I'd tell her myself but she won't have anything to do with me. Can't say I blame her, though." He left the office before Britt could stop him.
What could he do? Jack would never forgive him if something happened to her brother and he hadn't done anything to help him…but Liam was right. Until her brother had paid his share of debt in blood, Jack and her family were in danger. But maybe there was still a way… Britt picked up the phone, dialing home. It seemed forever until Kato answered. "Yes Mr. Britt?"
"Get the Black Beauty ready. Liam Scanlon is in danger." Britt quickly warned before hanging up and rushing past a surprised Casey and Mike.
Please God, he prayed, don't let me be too late!
It was a few minutes after three when the Black Beauty pulled in front of the Collingwood Manor apartment complex on Detroit's West Side. It had stopped raining and the sun was beginning to come out from behind the clouds. Hornet recognized the large black Chrysler, belonging to Ray Bernstein, parked out front. Somebody was inside, starting up the engine. It revved loudly before the driver pressed the car horn.
Then the gunshots rang out. There were screams from various tenants of the apartment. Oh no… "Let's roll!" Hornet yelled at Kato. The two men jumped out of the car and ran inside. The sounds of the gun battle seemed to be coming from the second floor. Kato and Hornet ran upstairs. The sounds had long stopped just as they reached Apartment 211. The deafening silence made the Hornet's stomach twist. He kicked down the door.
Inside was a bloodbath. Paul, Sutker and Lebowitz lay on the floor, their bodies riddled with bullet wounds. They were dead. Liam was nowhere in sight. A tiny man sat on the couch, unharmed but splattered with blood. His big brown eyes were shell-shocked. Hornet recognized him as Solly Levine; a bookie who worked for the Purple Gang. From the frightened look in Levine's eyes, Hornet knew that he had the misfortune of being an innocent bystander.
"Where is Liam Scanlon?" Hornet grabbed Levine's shoulders. The man pointed into the kitchen. That's when Hornet noticed the long trail of smeared blood leading into the kitchen. No…
Liam was lying on his back by the kitchen window, whispering the words to the Sh'ma. Kato had already found him and was beginning a preliminary exam. Hornet hoped that the medical school graduate would find some reason to believe that Liam would live. But he instead looked up and sadly shook his head.
Hornet knelt beside Liam and cradled his head in an attempt to comfort him. He began to pray silently. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you…"
The end was near. The young man's face was ashen and his breathing shallow. As Liam's strength faded away, he gripped the Hornet's hand. "Jack, I'm so sorry…" Liam whispered before his breathing stopped. Kato checked his pulse and shook his head.
Liam Scanlon was dead. "Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of death." Hornet quietly finished the Hail Mary, crossing Liam's arms across his chest and closing his eyes.
"He's dead?" Levine asked from the other side of the room. Hornet nodded. "Poor kid. He shouldn't have been hurt…I know him and the Scanlons through synagogue. This'll break them."
There was the sound of running footsteps. Mike ran into the room, his pistol drawn. The man's normally ruddy face was pastry white as he looked over the scene. How did he…that's right, Hornet remembered running past him in the Sentinel office earlier. "Suffering Snakes! I knew you were a crook, Hornet! But I never knew you to be a murderer!"
"He had nothing to do with it!" Levine stood up.
Before Mike could react, Hornet gassed him. The heavyset man collapsed on the floor. Levine was about to bolt away but Hornet also doused him. "Help me get him to the Black Beauty. Hornet's going to take Solly Levine on a little ride." Hornet ordered Kato.
Hornet watched as Levine came to in the backseat of the Black Beauty. They were some ways out into the countryside. The only sound was of the engine humming. There was nobody around. Amazing how a ten minute drive turned bustling metropolis Detroit into rural Michigan. Like a time machine…
"Ugh, my head…" Levine blinked awake. He jumped when he saw the Hornet looking down at him. "Jesus, don't scare me like that!"
"What happened?" Hornet asked. While he was calm, he primed the gas gun to hopefully scare Levine into helping.
Levine rubbed his eyes. "It was awful. Ray told me two days ago that he wanted to negotiate a deal between him and Joe Lebowitz. Said that he and his brothers had decided to let the Terrors deal with the horse betting and a line of rum-running. I was surprised. Everyone knows how badly their kidnapping of Britt Reid and Jack Scanlon last week went…"
Kato passed a canteen of water from the front seat. Levine took it and drank slowly before continuing his story. "We all met up at the apartment."
"Who else was there?" Hornet asked.
"Other than the Terrors, Liam and myself? Ray, Irving Milberg, Harry Keywell and Harry Fleisher."
"Keywell? Wasn't he involved that big massacre in Chicago a few years back?" Hornet asked, a shiver running up his back.
"The one on St. Valentine's Day? Yeah, that's the one. Not that Milberg and Fleisher are clean as whistles either." Levine said bitterly. "Anyway, we talked, exchanging wishes for the New Year. Ray even congratulated Liam on his finishing up at the GM Institute in Flint. Liam thanked him and that everyone in his family was happy for him, especially his mother. Ray said that Shoshanna Scanlon had every right to be proud of her boy and that he had a bright future ahead of him. That gave me hope that Ray figured out that the poor kid was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then Ray left, claiming to get the accountant. We continued talking. There was the loud sound of a car revving and a horn honking. That must've been the signal…the three took out their guns and fired at us. One bullet nearly clipped my nose. The others were unarmed. It wouldn't have looked good to show up armed at a peace conference." Levine shook his head. "It was over as fast as it started. The men made sure I was ok and asked me to go with them. I refused, just shaken. They left me alone."
Hornet's blood ran cold. God…how was Frank going to react? How was he going to tell Jack? "Where are they now?" Hornet asked when he managed to get his voice back.
"Ray and Keywell told me about meeting up with Charlie Auerbach after work today. Milberg and Fleisher are probably at Eddie Fletcher's apartment. They did tell us before the shootout that they were going there tonight for a round of cards."
"You're going to tell the cops what happened." Hornet said.
"Gladly." Levine was being sincere. "And Hornet? I'll set Axford right. I'll make sure the cops know you had nothing to do with it."
Hornet nodded at Kato to begin driving. After dropping off Levine, the Hornet was going to sting the Purple Gang.
Hornet kicked down the door to Charlie Auerbach's apartment. Bernstein and Keywell leapt off of the couch, looking down at the Hornet in fear. "Hello Ray." Hornet said coldly.
"What…what are you doing here, Hornet?" Bernstein slowly reached behind him and pulling out a pistol. Kato yelled and high jumped, knocking the pistol out of his hand. Before Keywell could defend his pal, Kato violently twisted his arm, throwing him to the floor.
Hornet looked down at the two men. Ray Bernstein, normally scowling and grim, shook. The blue eyes were afraid. It felt good. "Justice for Liam Scanlon". Hornet said before gassing them. "Help me tie them up." He ordered Kato. "Then we'll take care of the other two."
With Fleisher and Milberg, Hornet decided to take a more subtle approach. They crept through the fire escape of Eddie Fletcher's kitchen. Fortunately, the two men appeared to be alone, playing cards at the kitchen table.
"Hello boys." Hornet said.
"What are you doing here?!" Milberg shivered.
"Heard that you had some fun at Collingwood Manor?" Hornet said, priming his gas gun.
He gassed them before they could react. But Kato interrupted him with a loud cry. Hornet turned around. They hadn't been alone. Eddie Fletcher was sneaking up on them, armed with a firearm. If Kato hadn't taken care of him…
"Thanks Kato. Come on. Let's call the cops. Frank and his family will see justice for Liam." Hornet said as they were tying up the men.
"Then what's the plan?"
"We'll tell Jack. I'd much rather she find out about Liam through the Hornet than the radio."
It was near sundown when we had a visitor. I was making dinner and Hans had finished helping Else with her math homework. "There's a funny car sitting outside, Papa." Else said.
We looked outside. I recognized the v16 Caddie. The Black Beauty. Hans got up and hurried outside. My stomach dropped. Somehow…someway, I knew it was about Liam.
Hornet was surprised to see Krieger walking up to the Black Beauty. "Herr Hornet. What's wrong?" He asked softly as Hornet rolled down the window.
"Is Jack here?" Hornet asked quietly.
"I'm here." Jack came up from behind. Her face was guarded. Hornet scooted over and opened the door. She got in and closed the door. "Liam's gone, isn't he?"
Hornet couldn't say anything. He just nodded. Jack bowed her head and cried. Hornet wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She leaned close to him, her body quaking with sobs. "I'm sorry."
"Hornet, please take her back home. Jack, take as much time as you need off. Else and I can look after each other." Krieger said. "I'm so sorry, libeling."
Hornet nodded his thanks. Kato drove away, back to the Scanlon's apartment. Hornet rolled up the window. "Blessed…blessed are You, Lord, King…" Jack tried to pray, but was crying too hard to finish the words.
"…King of the Universe, the True Judge." Hornet finished. "It was an ambush. We didn't get there until it was too late. Liam was too far gone."
"God…oh God!" Jack screamed. The sound ripped Hornet's heart like paper, rendering him helpless and hopeless. He hoped to never hear her cry like that again.
I felt betrayed. Abandoned. Angry. Heartbroken. I wanted to punch, hit, kick and hurt something. I wanted somebody to know just how much I hurt. I lashed out at the Hornet, hitting him. He didn't react, probably sensing why I was acting like that.
"Liam! Liam! You bastard! You listening to me!? I hope you are! Why…why did you have to be so…so stupid!?" I screamed. My punches were growing weaker. Hornet grabbed me and held me close.
"It's ok. Jack. Jack. It's ok." Hornet said soothingly, rubbing my hair. I sobbed into his coat, listening to his heartbeat and ticking watch. "I'm sorry Jack. I'm so sorry." I realized that if I listened very closely, I could hear Britt talking.
I remembered how two of the most important men in my life abandoned me. My father. And now Liam. I had almost lost Hornet and by extension, Britt. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." I whispered, really speaking to Britt. I didn't want to be alone. I didn't want to get abandoned again.
Hornet rested his chin on top of my head. "I'm not. I promise."
Jack had cried herself to sleep by the time they got back to the Scanlon's apartment. Hornet saw Frank's car in front of the building. They had to be careful in case Ethel was there along with Shoshanna. Hornet signaled to Kato to go around the back alley to the fire escape off of Jack's room. Then they'd tell Frank so nobody would wonder where she was.
Hornet carried Jack up the stairs. She leaned against his chest, sleeping calmly. Every once in a while, she'd let out a shaky breath. Lord, please don't let her have nightmares tonight. Hornet prayed. She's suffered enough for one day.
To his surprise, Frank was already in Jack's room, covering her vanity mirror with a large black sheet. Hornet saw that he had threaded a torn black ribbon in his lapel. Frank looked sadly at Hornet as he lay Jack down on the bed. "She cried herself to sleep. I didn't want her finding out through the radio." Hornet explained, tucking the blanket around her. Then he remembered the key… "Here," he took the key out of his pocket and gave it to Frank. "Liam gave this to me. Told me Jack would know what to do with it."
Frank nodded, putting the key away. "I know Solly Levine through synagogue. God…I didn't think he'd be mixed up with the likes of the Purple Gang."
"And we didn't think Liam would either. Both men were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wonder why Bernstein didn't have him killed too." Britt said, carefully taking his mask off. Cool September air blew against his face, feeling absolutely wonderful. He kept his back to Jack, in case she awoke. She had already been through the shock of losing Liam…learning of Britt's connection to the Hornet would probably be too much.
"On the brighter side, we've got the Purple Gang thanks to the Hornet. My colleague, Harry Toy, promised me himself that we would make sure Bernstein and the others would receive harsh sentences. The Gang should fall apart like a house of cards. And Britt, I want to say thank you for helping Liam." Frank said, gratefully. "Solly told me how the Hornet comforted Liam in his final moments."
Britt nodded. "Jack would've wanted me to that." His mind was made up as he took his coat off. "You alone here?"
Frank nodded. "Ethel's with Shoshanna at the rabbi's. We're going to bury Liam tomorrow after the autopsy is completed. I decided to stay here and prepare the house for shiva. Why?"
"I'm going to spend the night here, in case Jack needs me. Her mother and Ethel need you right now. And if anybody says anything," he bundled the Hornet's mask, hat and gloves into his coat and rolled it up. "Jack asked me to be here." Britt went back onto the fire escape and tossed it down to Kato.
That night, I had a nightmare. I dreamed of Liam's body, broken, bloody and cold in the morgue. I could see every bullet wound. I could smell the metallic smell of blood and even the burning smell of gunpowder. He was cold and white like the sheet that covered his waist. God…I still shiver thinking about it, all these years later.
I woke up screaming. It was dark, but I could make out the features of my room. How did I get here? Was this just a bad dream? But I knew the truth.
"Jack?" I heard Britt's voice as he wrapped his arms around me. What's he doing here? Oh that's right; I fell asleep in the Hornet's car as he was taking me home. Britt Reid is the Green Hornet. He must've changed clothes after dropping me off. "It's ok." He hugged me. I listened for the sound of his ticking watch. The thing that convinced me he was the Hornet. I found it and rested my ear against it. The sound comforted me, strange as it sounds. "It's ok, Jack. It's ok. It's just a bad dream."
"Oh God…oh God…" I shook.
"Easy. Easy. You're ok now. You're safe." Britt began rubbing my scalp, just as the Hornet did. "What was your dream about?'
"Liam…he was in the morgue…" as I numbly recounted the dream, Britt listened, wrapping a finger around a strand of my hair. "God, it was awful…"
"Can't say I blame you." Britt said calmly, kissing the top of my head. "Go back to sleep, Jack. I love you and I won't leave you."
I laughed, hiccupping. That was the first time he had ever said the words to me. "I love you too. Wish it was said under better circumstances."
"Me too." Britt chuckled as I fell back asleep.
A/N: Yeah, poor Liam…I'll be honest, it hurt a lot to kill him off. But it needed to be done for the story's sake. Besides, Frank's career pretty much would've been over if word got out that his own nephew was involved with the Purple Gang.
Solomon "Solly" Levine was indeed real. He was a bookie for the Bernstein brothers and the go-between person between the Third Avenue Terrors and Ray Bernstein. Fed up with the Terrors' arrogance, he convinced Levine that he wanted to work out a job offer with the Third Avenue Terrors. In reality, he was going to get rid of them. It's believed that Levine wasn't involved in the planning or execution of the massacre and that he genuinely believed Bernstein was going to work things out.
On September 16 of 1931 (ironically, the day I updated this story before this was the 81st anniversary of the massacre), Bernstein told Levine to tell the Terrors to meet up at 3 o'clock at Apartment 211 of the Collingwood Manor Apartments on Detroit's West Side. Lebowitz, Sutker and Paul arrived with Levine, unarmed. Waiting for them was Bernstein, Irving Milburg, Harry Fleischer and Harry Keywell (who is believed to be involved in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago a couple of years previously, it's also believed that the Purple Gang helped Capone plan the bloodbath in Chicago but since nobody was ever charged, it's only rumors and legends. If I remember correctly, the case is still officially open in the Chicago Police Department, alebit).
Anyway, the men relaxed and chatted for a few moments before Bernstein left, claiming to get the accountant. In reality, he went to the Chrysler the gang had driven up in where he did rev up the engine and honk the horn loudly. That was the prearranged symbol to begin the bloodbath. Levine could only watch in horror as his friends were gunned down in front of him. He did tell investigators that one of the bullets whizzed right past his nose.
Once it was all over, the group left, taking Levine with them and dropping the murder weapons in a bucket of green paint in order to clean off any fingerprints. They also had shaved off the serial numbers on the revolvers to hide their tracks. After a little while of driving around, they dropped Levine off at work and paid him, Bernstein telling Levine that he was a good friend. It turns out that Bernstein had planned to frame Levine for the murders.
However, Levine quickly got picked up by cops and was interrogated for hours before he finally cracked and revealed the names of the shooters. The four men were indeed rounded up some 48 hours after Levine gave their names. And Wayne County Prosecutor Harry S. Toy did swear that he wasn't going to go easy on them.
This is the one thing that fascinates me the most about the Purple Gang. While they were ruthless and very dangerous when crossed, they were still considered upstanding and moral people. They went to the Temple on the High Holy Days. They had families and friends and were notoriously loyal and good to them. Actually, most of them didn't want their kids getting involved with the gang, keeping them as far away from the crime circuit as possible. I'm surprised that Scorsese, De Niro or even Spielberg have taken a look at the Purple Gang. It's such a fascinating story and always makes me wonder how they were able to reconcile being ruthless and cruel and yet good people
And finally, Levine mentions that the men exchanged greetings for the New Year. I didn't learn this until after I posted it, but the Jewish New Year (known as Rosh Hashanah) of 1931 was September 12th, the day after the Terrors attacked Britt and Jack. So I apologize that she doesn't say anything about that.
