Aside from the fact that she genuinely loved her child, it was important to her to be a good mother. And she was–generally speaking.

What made her sensitive about it, was an incident that happened in the park when her son was three years old.

Now keep in mind, she was very particular about the way her son dressed; it was important to her that he had the best play clothes and the nicest play shoes…that his hair was cut just so. She didn’t care if his clothes got dirty, or that he tore his pants. She would just throw them away, or–if she had the time–donate them to the Church…

I’m referring to Janice. Janice Drake…I thought you knew that…

Anyway, she was the same way about herself. Immaculate.

So, she’s at the park, she’s swinging her son on the baby swings…and this woman, a mother with a little girl who was at the swings when Janice got there…she grabs her little girl and gathers up their stuff…

And she just runs off…

Well, she didn’t run…but she hurried, like Janice was a demon or a witch.

That really bothered her. She never got over it.

Allan used to get upset with her if she harped on it. He’d say…well, I’m not going to say what he’d say…but it was something like, “give it a rest why don’t you? Who cares what that bitch thinks?”

But she did care. She cared what people thought of her.

So did Allan, if you want to know the truth. They were both very self conscious.

The deal with Janice though…she was so striking…that’s why that harpy ran off like that…if she was little Suzy homemaker, she would have gotten the same reaction from that woman.

Janice was beautiful. She was sexy without even trying. And some women didn’t like that. They were jealous.

∼

It was her least favorite thing about her job–the sleeping around part. Most people thought that was all her job was. But they were wrong. They had no idea about her job–of everything it entailed.

There was a reason why she made as much money delivering a package to an apartment as most stiffs did working six months at their straight jobs.

Her job was dangerous. Her job was exciting.

Why should she apologize for monopolizing her number one asset? She was a business woman.

She didn’t want an empire. She just wanted a nice Manhattan apartment–and a lot of spending money.

And she wasn’t going to get what she wanted by letting Junior feel her up under the bleachers after the dance, even if Junior’s dad owned Wilkes pharmacy, and Junior was going to be entry level rich when he was in his twenties. It didn’t matter.

Entry level wasn’t rich enough to stomach Junior.

She didn’t like him.

Allan, she liked.

She didn’t know why exactly. They just clicked.

He was very honest with her. She felt that she could trust him. He told her the truth…private things about himself. Embarrassing things…

He talked to her like she was a real person…very respectful of her intellect. No man had ever really talked to her before.

She guessed she loved him. She felt differently about him than she did anyone else.

Except her son.

He, she loved.

Regardless of that, she had a job to do.

Some of the fellas she dated she liked better than others. Same as any other job.

Believe it or not, she didn’t mind dating Mr. Anastasia…

Albert “The Mad Hatter” Anastasia…

Absolutely. She knew that he was a very violent man, but she didn’t experience him that way. With her (she called him Albert; Mr. Anastasia too, but only when someone was around) he was very polite. He opened doors, pulled out chairs. He reminded her a lot of Allan.

Anastasia was either the third or fourth most powerful mobster in country at that time. He was head of Murder Inc. with Joe Adonis and Lepke Buchalter.

Uh-huh. Lepke went to the chair. He’s the only big-time mafia guy who was ever executed…In actuality, he was probably the most decent of them all.

Anyway, two nights before Anastasia got gunned down in the barbershop at The Park Sheraton…Janice was bar hopping with him.

Yeah. Just like Nat Nelson.

Anastasia was close to Little Augie too. Real close…Little Augie was upstairs, in the Sheraton at poker game, when the hit happened.

Drake was furious. It scared him. This was the second time. Granted the first time was years before, but still…

He couldn’t say a thing about it to Little Augie though. It was forbidden.

No. They never talked about Little Augie’s business except for his supper clubs that Drake looked over…and they talked about Little Augie’s horses…and Janice of course…

But nothing about murders.

To be cont’d…