Chapter 79

It was daybreak the next morning and John's figure walked slowly about room. He was but a shadow in the early morning light, sauntering about smoothly. He slipped on his overcoat and spent a moment examining one of his rifles. Eventually the gun slipped somewhere into his coat, disappearing from view. As was John's signature, he reached for his fedora and placed it on his head, the hat completing his silhouette. There was nothing left to do but exit the room but before John could do that he turned his attention to the beautiful girl sleeping some feet away.

Billie lay upon the mattress, a thin and flimsy sheet acting as her only cover. She had slept with her new coat bundled above her and John reached down to adjust it. He fanned the coat out so it covered her body, the fur insulating close to her neck. She didn't move with this adjustment and so John spent another moment merely watching her.

His beautiful Billie. Her dark hair surrounded her, her cheeks and lips brushed a light shade of rose. It was hard to be angry when he looked at her, and although she could calm all his fears and worries, he knew that he had reason to act upon them. She deserved so much more; he wanted to give her so much more. John leaned down and kissed Billie's cheek and forehead, slipping through the room and out the door a moment later.

Billie woke and it only took a matter of seconds for her to realize something was amiss. John wasn't next to her but neither did she think he was in the apartment. A quick scan told her that much. In place of her strong, strapping protector there was a small feminine figure at the table. Jane.

The woman turned around when she noticed Billie stirring, offering her a small smile. She looked guilty already.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, followed immediately by, "where's Johnnie?"

Jane opened her mouth to reply but suddenly couldn't find words. She had rehearsed what she would say to Billie all morning, but now that she was faced with the situation she felt numb. Billie wasn't all that intimidating but she was a friend, and the idea of hurting someone she cared about made Jane fumble. Billie was standing now, the fur coat having fallen off her body without a second thought. She observed the room just long enough to know John wasn't hiding around or under anything.

"Jane?"

The woman didn't answer. Billie's alert senses flew off the handle. Something serious was happening. If this were another surprise or a playful, trivial secret of some sorts Jane would be smiling and excited. Instead, she looked hesitant. Fearful.

Getting no answer from the woman Billie took matters into her own hand. The only other place John would be was upstairs in the other apartment and so Billie set off. She flew through the door, Jane calling after her worriedly. There was no stopping her. Billie climbed the stairs in a matter of seconds and went charging into the room upstairs- that alone tipped her off first. The door shouldn't have been unlocked.

Billie wanted to see who was in that apartment and who wasn't. She could feel her heart drop into her stomach when all she saw was Mairy sitting at the table, giving her a reluctant expression much like the one Jane had expressed. None of the men were in the apartment. The Dillinger Gang was missing.

"What's going on?" she asked, aware that her voice was shaking. Mairy stood up and Jane slipped into the room, frazzled from trying to keep up with Billie on the stairs. She closed the door behind her and Billie was left starring helplessly between the two women. "Well?"

Mairy seemed more comfortable dealing with a sticky situation. It wasn't the first time she would be telling Billie something she didn't want to hear. "John didn't want you to know."

Quiet seconds passed between them. It all made horrific sense when Billie thought about it. Then men were gone, including John, and he wouldn't do such a thing unless he thought it of the utmost importance. She had been worried about him lately, his health her main concern, but John had been so focused on the money. Of wanting and needing more. If he were planning a robbery Billie understood why he would try to keep it from her. She would have done everything to stop him.

She thought back to the night before. Before John had given her the fur coat something strange had passed between he and Homer. Billie tried to recall anything- how John had silenced him with something painful. What had he been saying? Something in relation to that morning, no doubt. Something pertaining to the robbery John didn't want her to know was happening.

More fearful and frantic than she could handle, Billie jogged to the window and gazed out. If the men were gone they had to have taken the cars wherever they went. Confirming her thoughts she was able to see most of the cars were no longer there. There was, however, just one left. The idea had simply popped into her head and she didn't hesitate to jump on it. She turned toward the two women.

"Where did they go?"

No one answered her.

"Tell me where they are!"

It was the first time Billie had raised her voice in such a way to either of the women. This was a serious matter and not to be taken lightly. Billie already felt helpless and was scrambling to grab control of anything. Judging by the look on Jane's face Billie was sure she and Mairy knew the whereabouts of the men. Mairy didn't appear to be shaken but Jane was already crumbling.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," she whispered pathetically.

"Give me the keys," Billie demanded, working at another angle. Again neither of them budged. Billie felt she was somewhere between sobbing and physically wrecking havoc. She took a step closer to them, her body shaking. "We don't have time! Give me the key!"

The hysteria and pain in Billie's voice finally broke Jane who then promptly scurried to find the car keys. Mairy threw her head down, that action the only indication of defeat she showed.