As Charlie helps get Calvin out from the mob, Thurston watches in fascination as Freddy responded to the old woman, who he assumes to be Freddy's wife.
Thurston's eyes snap back to the trumpet player. He wants to make sure the man doesn't get out of sight.
While keeping half an eye on the trumpet player, Thurston walks over to Rene.
"Rene! Rene! It's okay!" He slaps him on the cheek. "Pull it together man! Here, get up, walk it off."
He'll try to guide and walk Rene toward the trumpet player.
"We need to talk," Thurston says to the trumpet player.
He gets a few words in, mildly expletive, saying 'do you know who you are dealing with?' and 'the Mayor will hear about this' and other threats like 'I'll splash your ugly mug over the pavement or over the front pages'.
I would like you all to give a big hand to a newcomer on the jazz scene, a bright young upcoming star straight outa the Delta, nam'a Leroy Turner! We's gonna do a snappy new number for ya'll now, called Dead Man's Stomp!......So hit it."
René carefully watches the hand slapping him on the face like a good detached observer. He then looks at Thurston, nod and start moving with him. As he sees the trumpeter whose name he doesn't remember, he also notice that he carries a trumpet and feels, without knowing clearly why, an urge to take possession of that instrument. There's something about a house too, or maybe a warehouse... maybe he needs to take the shiny horn to a house...
Some of the crowd disperses, with a few of them running away as if they had just seen a ghost. Charles rushes over to the side of the badly beaten Calvin, trying to convince the men hitting him to stop what they are doing. One of the motorcycle policemen rushes over, blowing his whistle loudly to finally put an end to the fight before it puts an end to Calvin. The hack reporter, though bruised and battered, should survive the unpleasant incident. Charles helps him to his feet again despite the jeers from the locals.
The second policemen stands at the center of the action, very close to Thurston and Rene, trying to piece together what just happened that he couldn't see from his position on the bike. He hears the shouts from the crowd that the funeral directors were at fault for putting Freddy in his coffin before he was actually dead. But anyone close enough to the corpse can tell what shape the body is in, making it rather unlikely that he had been interred prematurely.
Thurston slaps the struggling Rene hard across his face, all the while trying to keep one eye on Leroy Turner, the young trumpet toting jazz man. When the funeral directors attempt to put Freaky Freddy back into his final resting place, Charlie Johnson and a few other close relatives aid the men, finally getting the deceased back out of the public eye. A few of the band members remain, though all of them have stopped playing. Leroy stands near them, his shiny trumpet still in hand. He looks down at the instrument and shakes his head slowly, obviously in a deep state of confusion. The young man recognizes Thurston when he speaks to him, even though they did little to aid him the night before. He studies the crazed look of the mind altered Rene who cant take his eyes off the mans horn. Leroy takes a few steps closer to the police officer and responds. "Oh ya? What could the two a you possibly want with a dreg like me?" His words are slightly slurred, as if he had been drinking already.
Actions?
With the deceased now back in his coffin, Rene can function almost normally again. Be warned however, that committing another crime in the direct presence of the police will essentially end the game for the perpetrator. Calvin is badly battered, but will be fine once his injuries heal. Several of the men who were hitting him continue to watch his every action, apparently needing very little to set them off again.
Feeling he has outstayed his welcome backs away resetting his jaw and counting his teeth. He thinks better of explaining stuff to the officer. Who would believe him. So he walks away with Charles.
"Say fellows. What say we take a little drive away from here. Get Leroy come with us."
He suggests driving away but has no location in mind. "Strange old lady. She kinda knew what to do. If only those boys had the same tender touch." he remarks.
The trumpet player's name finally comes to Thurston.
"Leroy, we saw you play at Small's, and now here," says Thurston. "I'm Howard Thurston, and this is Rene. Quite a shock today. Music to move the soul." Trying to persuade the alcoholic. "We're all a little shook up. How about we all get a drink?" Not too loud that the police hear. "I couldn't help but notice your trumpet."
Thurston sees Calvin and Charles heading back toward the car. He motions for Leroy to join them walking in that direction.
The stage magician glances around for Mrs. Borden, hoping she hasn't fled.
Rene slowly coming back to his sense now that the latest walking corpse is out of his sight is very satisfied to follow along for a drink with Leroy away from this place and the agents of the law. Noticing Thurston searching the crowd, Rene's brain kick back in action.
"Ah, yes", he tells Thurston, "I wonder were this young woman ou were talking to earlier has gone. We should try to invite her and her mother too if we can."
Charles helps get Calvin away from the scene before the cops start asking questions, leading him back towards the parked car.
René looks around for any more dead bodies for a moment before assessing their current situation. He spots his friends leaving the area, but he doesn’t see either of the Borden ladies in the crowd.
Hurrying his small talk, Thurston recites the exact magic words that he knows will get young Leroy’s attention, “let’s go get a drink”. The bewildered trumpeter finally picks his eyes up from his horn and responds. “Make it 5 drinks…..on you…..an you got a deal, mister. I know a place up yonder that no cops knows about.”
Leaving the insanity to fester behind after they don’t catch sight of the women they wanted to speak with, the four men and Leroy Turner, a down on his luck jazz musician from the Delta, go looking for yet another illegal booze joint on the back streets of Harlem. Leroy again notices the way René stares at his horn as he replaces it in its case, finally confronting the man. “Mister. I got me a gun right here in my jacket pocket. So if you’s thinkin about doing sumthin foolish, you should know you’s dealing with a man who’s got nothin left ta lose.”
Actions along the walk to the hidden speakeasy?
You catch a glimpse of Leroy’s horn as he carefully places it back in the case, but Renés unintended extra attention to it seems to have made the man reluctant to show it off.
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Bluetongue wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 3:23 am
As we walk, would there be a late night pharmacy to stop by and pick up some headache tablets, ice pack, health restorative kind of things?
Well, its around noon right now, so........give me a Luck roll.
"Five drinks it is," says Thurston with a smile, slapping Leroy on the back. "Lead the way."
Thurston notes the tension between Leroy and Rene.
"Don't mind him, Rene's just interested in your trumpet because his deceased brother was a trumpet player," spins Thurston, "and had a horn that looked a little like that." Thurston catches a glimpse of the runes on the inner edge of the bell.
At an angle Leroy can't see, Thurston slyly winks at Rene, hoping he'll go along with the story.
Once inside the speak-easy, Thurston orders a round of drinks.
"To the power of the blues!" the stage magician toasts.
"So Leroy, where you from?" Thurston asks, trying to get him in a talking mood. "You play like a natural."
"Yes, I am a great interest in Jazz. My dearest brother was a fantastic player. I was never as talented but instead, his influence meant that I now own a Jazz club. Let's have a drink and talk Jazz", says Rene
Once in the bar, Rene will order drinks and continue the conversation
"You know up North, I can serve drinks in my bar absolutely legally. You'd like the place. Very nice and relax and the public really appreciate talented artists."
After a quick stop at the corner drugstore to patch up Calvin, Leroy leads you all to a rather seedy looking back ally in between two large buildings. Like most other speakeasy’s not called Small’s, this establishment is not named or advertised in any way, and the door is plain and unassuming. A rickety flight of steps leading to the basement level is the only ingress you spot.
Once inside the underground gin joint, a distinct difference from Small’s Paradise is quickly noticed. This place is dark and dingy, with a short unassuming bar and a few tables scattered around. Six African American patrons are in the establishment, with one burly young barkeep making sure everyone gets enough rot-gut liquor to drink. They each nod at Charles and Leroy, but give the white trio long, uncomfortable stares.
Selecting a table in one dimly lit corner, Leroy takes a long pull from a hidden flask in his pocket before drinks are even ordered. The lie from Thurston and René seems to work as the slim man’s tensions fade once inside. “I’m from Nola originally, but I been doing a bit a wandering since my Marnie died. And I’ma sorry ta hear bout the loss of your brother, suh.” He opens his trumpet case again but only offers a look inside, refusing to take the shiny instrument out. Thurston notices the runes lightly etched into the inner bell and the 4 finger valves instead of the usual 3. He replies to René after his offer. “I never been that far north. How is the Jazz scene up there?”
The large barman approaches the table with a damp rag in his hand. “This might be the most white folk we ever had in here at one time. Whatta ya drinking, gents?”
