back again! this time, i decided that i'd make it easier on you guys. so i have here for you a little dictionary of the 30s slang i used in this chapter:

filly- girl/girlfriend

chicago overcoat- a coffin

to take the fall- to take the blame for a crime

bubs- er, i think you can figure that one out when you read it in context

spade- derogatory name for an african-american

sap- idiot


Bonejangles stopped dead in the doorway and his spirits fell.

"The hell you doin' here?" he spat at the newly arrived corpse who sat at the empty bar. The man turned, and Bonejangles noticed with satisfaction that there was a large and messy bullet hole through his forehead.

"Bojangles?" the man sneered, "That you? Well, I see your skin's rotted away. You do that on purpose? So no one could tell you're a negro?"

"I see you got yourself shot in the head," Bonejangles retorted, not letting the man's insult affect him, "I knew it'd happen sooner or later. You're too much of a sleazeball for folks to put up with for long, Rubinetti."

The man formerly known as Harry the Hammer stood slowly and deliberately, his eyes narrowing.

"This here is the work of your little filly," he said, pointing at the hole in his head, "Oh, but don't worry. She'll be down here soon enough and you'll be together again!"

Bonejangles' hands closed into fists.

"What did you do?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"Me?" Rubinetti asked innocently, "Why, nothing! Nothing at all! You know me, Bojangles, old pally, I'm a reasonable fella-"

Bonejangles scoffed and rolled his single eye.

"But my hitmen ain't so nice as me," Rubinetti continued, "They find out their boss has been bumped, they'll make sure the culprit's wearing a Chicago overcoat soon, if you catch my drift."

"Your goons'll never nail her," Bonejangles said, but even he wasn't convinced, "She's a smart doll…"

"Not smart enough," Rubinetti grinned, "A gunshot's loud, especially in a back alley."

"Damn, Lu!" Bonejangles whispered. Of all the places she could have done it…

"Not such a bright idea, was it?" Rubinetti said, "My men are all over. They'll have heard it. And when they find her, she'll have nowhere to hide and no one to take the fall for her. Y'know, I bet she's still standing there, the stupid bitch."

"Get out," Bonejangles said hatefully.

"What'd you say…?"

"You heard me."

"You don't tell me what to do, spade," Rubinetti hissed.

Bonejangles only chuckled.

"If you haven't noticed," he said, "This joint is basically mine. See that sign there? The one with my face on it?"

He motioned towards the sign above the door. Indeed, that was his face carved in the wood.

"So I can tell you to get out if I want to," he said smugly. Rubinetti glared at the sign and tried to formulate another comeback. Finding none, he stormed out of the pub, letting the door swing angrily closed behind him.

Bonejangles watched him go, but he sighed worriedly.

"Be careful, Lu," he said, looking up towards the ceiling, and beyond that, the Land of the Living. "Be careful…"


LuLu's hands trembled as she stood over the body. She unconsciously dropped the pistol and backed into a wall. With a hand over her mouth she tried to calm her shuddering breath. Harry's carcass was only a dark lump in the waning dusk light.

"Oh God," she whispered over and over, "Oh God…"

She pulled a cigarette out of her purse and tried to light it, but to no avail. She dropped the match which hissed and went out with a trail of smoke as it hit the wet asphalt. The cigarette soon followed it.

Where do I go? was all that her frightened mind could ask. And she didn't have an answer. Should she try to hide the body? But where? She looked around. To her left was the back door to the speakeasy. To her right, a grubby brick wall. Behind and in front of her were narrow alleys filled with forgotten garbage cans. She sank helplessly to her knees. She could run now, go back in through the speakeasy…but what if someone saw her? They'd wonder where Harry was. LuLu covered her ears against the noise of the nearby street. She couldn't think straight. Looking down at her feet she realized that a dark substance had run down to her feet and was smeared along the hem of her skirt. Harry's blood. She let out a strangled cry and jumped up. The blood trickled down a sewer grate underneath her. She stared. If she could just lift the metal bars…She hesitated only a moment before dragging Harry's body over next to the sewer. Pulling with all her might, she lifted the grate only a half an inch before it slipped out of her hands. She nervously ran her hands through her hair and held back a desperate sob before she tried again. With a quick heave that seemed to rip all the muscles in her arms, LuLu finally got the grate out of its metal recess. She wiped her hands on her skirt and pulled the grate a little further, but it was as far as she got.

"Hey, over here, fellas!" a gruff voice called. LuLu's insides turned to ice.

"Christ!" a large, burly man exclaimed as he stepped out of the shadows. "Got 'im good, didn't you, ya little wench!"

LuLu whirled around to meet him and slipped on the wet concrete. She tried to scoot herself away from him, but another man caught her from behind and dragged her to her feet by her short hair.

"We don't like whatcha done to our boss," the first man said menacingly.

"And you know what they say, dollface," the man who held her said with mock sweetness and a Chicago accent, "'An eye for an eye'."

From his pocket he pulled a pistol and held it to her heart. LuLu stared at it in silent terror.

"Shame to ruin such a nice pair of bubs," the man sneered as he grabbed her chest. LuLu squirmed beneath his strong grip. He grinned at the first man, who rolled his eyes.

"Just do it, Mac," he said, "Quit bein' a sap."

Mac scowled, but did as he was told. As his finger tightened on the trigger, LuLu closed her eyes and braced herself. She remembered something her mother told her long ago: "If you're ever in a situation where you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you're going to die, think of something good. It might not be so bad if you do."

LuLu was always a good girl and listened to her mother, and now was no exception. In the instant before the bullet pierced her heart, she thought of the first good thing that came into her mind.

Maybe I'll be with Bojangles now…


that's right, one of the many reasons that rubinetti hates bonejangles becomes apparent: he's african-american and he"stole" lulu...who's not african-american. and back then,dat's bad.

lulu finally died! horray!...sorta...

but what to do about rubinetti? bonejangles and lulu might be reunited next chapter, but harry'll be hanging around pestering them all the time! or worse...