by Cpt._Funkotron » Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:16 am
Felice
"Well Mr. Sarro's a friendly guy" he says casually, as he pulls the shot of espresso and slides the little cup across the bar. "Hold tight a minute, kid". He disappears through a swinging door behind the bar. After a minute, he reemerges and waves for Felice to follow. He leads him through a small kitchen where dishes are piled in the sink high above the faucet, the floor is in good need of a sweep, and a pair of jumbos are sat down smoking and playing cards. Passing through another door he enters a large store room with rows of ceiling-height shelves all stocked with identical crates, 'High Grade Cuban Coffee Beans' printed on the sides. Through a side door and up a flight of stairs, they come to a door marked 'Office'. As they reach it, a woman emerges straightening her hair and pulling on a tawdry fur coat, walking quickly past Felice and the barman without looking at them.
He looks off in her direction, sighs tiredly, and raps his knuckles on the door frame, calling out "Hey boss, are you decent yet?"
"Course I ain't decent, I'm a crook" comes the voice of Frank Sarro. The barman turns to felice.
"You'll have to leave your pieces with me" he says, holding his hands out to receive Felices revolvers.
Inside, Frank is standing behind his desk in a well-appointed office overlooking a park across the street, smartening up his necktie. It takes him a moment to recognize Felice, but once does he smiles and inclines his head.
"If it ain't the pony express. What can I do you for, kid? Had lunch yet?"
Evie and Dolly
Antoine's takes up most of the ground floor of a nice hotel just off the waterfront in the French Quarter. The windows are enormous, the walls look like wedding cake, and the tables are set with an absurd variety of utensils. Mr. Caldwell greets Evie and Dolly with a cheshire-cat grin and his sugary southern tones. The menu prices are outrageous, some items running several dollars each, although Mr. Caldwell seems unperturbed. How he can afford to lunch here regularly on the salary of a parish official is not explained. What might shed some light on the subject is the fact that he orders a bottle of wine for the table, which is flagrantly obliged.
Overall, the lunch goes quite well. The food is delicious, of course. Dolly catches Mr. Caldwell off guard with her firm reasoning and legal acumen, and Evie works the 'poor us' routine so well that he vows to effect the $500 reduction at the earliest convenience. On the subject of the further, questionably legal reduction, Mr. Caldwell smirks cannily at the suggestion, but is cagey and noncommittal. One gets the impression that he's fishing for more than the promise of gratitude for a favor of this nature.