story #3 based on the painting NIGHTHAWKS by Eward Hooper 1942. It hangs in the Instutute on Art in Chicago

NIGHTHAWKS

Black Market

by

Archie L. Tautfest, Jr.

"You want a cup of Joe"

You ask me what's new. Well I'll tell ya.
The other night I'm cleanin' as always, when in walks Kennedy. Now you know Kennedy, he's the cop that walks the beat in this neighborhood.
Well that night Kennedy ain't wearin' his cop outfit. No, he's wearin' people clothes. He sits down whesitting, and since I was cleanin', like I says, I don't recognize him right off. That is not until he says.

"You got a cup of mud in this joint?"





Nobody can mistake Kennedy's voice. So I look up from me cleaning my grill. I must'a had a surprised look on my kisser, cause he laughs, ya know that deep baritone voice, it almost rattles the window when he talks.

"Well I'll be.", I says, then I adds, "What's going on? -- You in real peoples clothes."

"Something, isn't it?", he says.

"Yeah somethin'.", I says.

"Yeah I had a date tonight.", he says.

"Date?", I asks.

"Yeah, even cops have dates.", he says.

"I guess -- I didn't know you ain't hitched.", I says.




"Mary Rose she died a couple years ago.", he says.

"Mary Rose?", I asks.

"Mary Rose was my wife -- God Bless her soul.", he says.

"Ya know you been on this beat as long as I been at this Diner. I didn't know you was married, and I'm sorry I didn't hear 'bout your wife passing on.", I says to Kennedy, with sadness in my voice.
"No reason to.", he says.

Well I kinda shrugged and handed him his cup of coffee. Now you know me, I ain't one to stick my beak in anybody's business, but I had to ask Kennedy.

"Date, huh, who's the lucky girl?"

I know that Kennedy must be forty five years old, so I know that any woman he's gunna date, ain't gunna be





a girl, but I figure it sounds better than saying, woman. Maybe it'll make him feel better too.

Kennedy answers witha , "You know Sarah the lass that works for Mr. Tortella at the market."

"Sure.", I says. Now Sarah is a plain little girl, nice, but plain. I hope I don't show it, but I was taken back when he said Sarah, 'course Sarah is only about twenty two or twenty three years old. But I don't say anything.

While Kennedy and me are talkin', in walks this guy, by the name's Carl. Now I've seen him in my joint a time or two and by the looks, a time or two, is a time or two, too many.

Now Carl, he's one of them little weasel like guys, kinda skinny, with a pencil mustache, and he always wears dark pin stripe suits with the most god-awful green tie with a hand painted hula-girl on the tie.
Anyways, Carl walks in and says, "Hi Phillie.", like me and him's old pals, which we ain't.




He is a payin' customer, so I says, "Hi, want a cup of Jave?"

And he says, "Sure, like always."

Now like I says, he's only been in here a couple of times so it ain't "like always".

I get him his coffee, and go back to cleanin'.

It ain't long before Carl says to me, "Can I have a refill?"

While I'm givin' him a refill, I want to tell him he ain't usin' good English when he says, "Can I have..." I want to tell him he should say, "May I have...", but I didn't. I just give him and Kennedy refills. Then 'course things are slow, and they are the only ones in my place, I go back to cleanin'. I pick up my cleanin' stone that I use on the grill, when Creepy Carl, as I calls him, pipes up.

"Either one of you need anything?"




Kennedy looks up from his coffee mug, and I looks over at him from my grill. Kennedy and me says together, "What?".

"You guys need anything. You know, things thats hard to get now days?", Carl says.

Kennedy looks at me, and I look at him. We sees the same look in each others eyes. Nobody can be that stupid. Here Carl is askin' strangers if they want to buy on the black-market, Kennedy knows Carl is in trouble, big trouble because Kennedy's a cop and me, I know Carl's in trouble 'cause I know Kennedy's a cop.

Kennedy and me kinda smiles at each other and Kennedy pipes up, "What do you have?".

With that question from Kennedy, Carl gets a large smile on his weasel face and he says, "You got a car, how about tires, or maybe you need gas stamps?"






Kennedy don't say anything, so Carl goes on, "You got a broad, how about some nylons? Maybe some chocolate.".

Well, Kennedy and me still didn't say nothin', so the little weasel keeps talkin', this time he talks right at Kennedy. "You look like a healthy guy, and I bet you like your meat. I can get you all of the meat you want."

"Oh?", Kennedy says, like he might be interested.

"Yeah, you name it, if I didn't have it, I can get it.", Carl the creep says.

"I might be interested in a pair of nylons for my girl.", Kennedy says.

"Now you're talkin'. I just happen to have a couple of pairs here in my pocket. Let's see, because I feel good tonight -- I can let you have'm for five dollars for the two pair. That's a good deal don't you think?", says Carl.

"Sure sounds fair to me, but maybe I could use some other things you were talking about.", Kennedy says.

"Sure. Sure.", Carl says. I can tell he's gettin' excited, like he's hit the daily double at the track or somethin'.

"I need to see the stuff first.", says Kennedy.

"Yeah, okay, when you want to see it?", asks Carl.

"Where do we have to go? Is it close?", says Kennedy.

"'Bout ten blocks, over on Blake and Tenth. I got a buddy.", Carl says.

"Good you want to go now?", Kennedy asks.
"Let me buy your coffee. I'll get my car around the corner.", says Kennedy, as he gets up to leave, and he throws four bits on the counter.
I stand there and look as Kennedy and the Weasel leave, and go around the corner.




Well about two hours later, just before I'm closing, Kennedy walks in with a large smile on his face.

Like I say, I don't put my beak where it don't belong, but I do ask Kennedy, "What happened?".

Well he tells me like this. "I took the cockroach to his building, and sure enough it's full of tires, and nylons, and boxes of chocolate, and he even has an ice box full of meat. He had stuff that most people would kill for. Well I look around for a while, then I tell the roach that I have a buddy that may need some tires for his car. I ask if he's got a phone, so I can call my buddy. He said no but there's a booth out front. Well I go out to the booth and drop my nickle in, and call the station house. Then I go back into Carl's building and wait."

"About ten minutes later there's four patrol cars full of cops outside the building. Well, is Carl surprised when I put the cuffs on him and they take him away."
As Kennedy talks, I refill his mug with the last of the mud in the urn. He goes on after he takes a sip, "Yeah,




you should have seen the look on that little weasel's face when I told him I'm a cop and he's under arrest."

"Yeah I would have like to have seen that picture. You know I wasn't sure if you were gunna bust him or you was going to buy.", I says.

"That creep got what was coming to him. I may take an apple or a cup of coffee along the street, but I know some good boys over there that are getting killed, and any time somebody like Carl is selling things that those boys could use, to keep alive, and I get a chance to step on a bug like him, I'll do it.", says Kennedy.

"There's always a few tryin' to make a buck the wrong way. Yeah, I'm glad you got Carl. Say any time your in the neighborhood with your new lady, stop in, coffee and pie's on the house.", I says.

"Thanks.", Kennedy says.

"You want a refill of Joe"