Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 4: Penny-2

“He’s kind. No, really! He was nothing but a gentleman that night, and then later when he came in for a coffee—”

“He followed you to work?”

“No! It was a coincidence—”

David laughed, cruelly. “I can’t believe you’re this stupid. He probably just saw some dumb fuckin’ airhead and figured you were an easy target.”

“You’re wrong! He was totally respectful and nice to me the entire ride back to my place.”

David’s eyes widened. “You let him know where you live? Jesus H. Christ, Penny, you are a special kind of slow.”

“I…I…” Angry tears burned the corners of her eyes, and Penny shook her head. “He offered me a job!” In defiance, she showed David the business card. “Angelo has been nothing but professional and courteous to me since the moment we met! He’s treated me a lot better than you did that night and I—hey!” Without warning, David snatched the card from her hand and held it out of her reach. “David, give me that back!”

“This is for your own good, Penny.”

“David!”

Turning, David threw the card down a sewer drain, and into the depths beneath the street. Penny watched helplessly, her hand outstretched as Angelo’s information fluttered well beyond her reach. As her heart sank, the bus rolled up, and its doors hissed open. David didn’t say a word as he got on the bus. Penny didn’t bother following. Instead, she sat on the bench, her heart heavy, and stared at that pretty sundress, left cold in the grocery bag. She took a deep breath and clutched it into her lap.

He’s wrong. David’s a liar. Doubt swirled in her chest, but she pushed it as deep as it would go. She didn’t have time for those kinds of questions. At this point in time, it was either keep to the plan, or try and find something else to contend with rent. It was an impossible ask. She hugged her dress tighter.

I’ll just go tomorrow before six, she rationalized, and I’ll keep my eyes and ears open. If anything feels off, I’ll leave once I have enough money. She nodded, wiping her face clean, and settled on a plan.

Survive now. Ask questions later.

* * * *

That Thursday was bleak and overcast, with winds that snapped at exposed skin and threatened innocent umbrellas. It had been raining off and on since early in the morning. Penny had to swap out her nicer, more interview appropriate shoes with her well-worn boots in preparation for flooded sidewalks and filthy gutter water. Bundled up in a scarf and raincoat, Penny got off her bus and surveyed the area. Down the block from her stop was none other than the Golden Palace. Unlike before, the building was dark and quiet, looking more like a mausoleum than a nightclub. She checked her phone. Half past four. She hoped that she wasn’t too early, but then again, Angelo did tell her to simply swing by any time before six.

Walking up to the front door, she hesitated. David’s words from earlier clouded her mind. As Penny stared at the overwhelming front facade of the Palace, she wondered if he had been telling the truth. And if he had been, what kind of danger was Penny walking into? She glanced back at the bus stop, teetering on indecision.

“You have that little voice in your head for a reason.”

Penny straightened up as Angelo’s words echoed in her mind. A new wave of determination hit her, and Penny took a breath. David is just trying to get under my skin, she thought. Emboldened by newfound confidence, she grabbed the handle to the front door and tugged. It didn’t budge. Ah. Right. To her left, she noticed a plaque with the Golden Palace hours of operation. The doors didn’t even open until eight.

Of course if I had his number, I could call, Penny thought bitterly. Yet another reason not to give in to David’s “advice.” She should have saved the number in her phone when she got a chance.

Deciding to find another way in, she wandered around the side of the Palace. As she stalked the perimeter, it hit her just how massive the building was. It certainly felt big the first time she was there, but now in the daylight, it was utterly monstrous. Judging by the windows, there were at least three floors she could decipher, let alone if there was anything underneath the building like a storage cellar. She wondered just how much manpower a place like this took on the day to day…Thinking of her own tiny café, Penny didn’t know how she would handle the transition. Though she was sure she’d be given an area or designated work zone. How could a place like this run otherwise? No doubt the employees had to be cogs in a well-oiled machine.

Coming around to the back, she found a parking lot and smoking area for employees. There were a few cars idle, but no attendant or valet, even though a station sat empty. “Hello?” she called out. No one. She headed towards an employee door. Stomped cigarette butts were smooshed into the porous cement. Probably recently, considering they were dry. Glancing up at the door, she realized that the knob was indeed locked, though through happenstance, a stopper was wedged between the frame and the door. Penny poked her head inside.

“Hello? Mr. Angelo…?” Again, no one answered her. With one last meek look over her shoulder, Penny slipped into the hallway and out of the cold. Looking around, she found herself in a long hall with rows of lockers to her right. The hallway itself was old and narrow, with a few panels of wall curling from water damage. She’d heard that the Golden Palace had been built with the frames of existing buildings, and wondered to what extent the rumor was true. The hallway was lit by buzzing, dim incandescents which flickered as she walked past.

Coming to a bend in the hallway, she saw an open kitchen to her left and looked inside. Everything from the foot mats to the well-loved equipment looked perfectly in place. And, as first thought, currently untouched. It would probably be another hour until staff started prepping bar food for the night. Another door lead to an employee lounge, the door of which hosted a fairly rude sign with crude boobs doodled in Sharpie. She hoped that there was more than one break room…

Finally reaching the end of the stretch hallway, she came to the mouth of the club itself. Stepping in was like entering an underwater cave. The bars sat innocently at either end of the dance floor, which could conceivably hold a high school football field. The ceilings were so high, Penny could barely spot all the rows of Fresnel lights, currently at rest. Outside, it had started to rain again. Water twirled its way down the many stretch windows, snaking shadows down onto the polished floor. It reminded Penny of a cathedral. Though she didn’t want to think about what god would want this place as their center of worship.

A muffled voice drew her attention ahead. Another cracked door enticed her forward, and she lingered by the opening. More voices joined the first. She struggled to understand what they were saying, but at least one of them sounded frantic. And another, she could say with near certainty, was Angelo DeRossi’s. Penny wondered if she should stay out here and wait, but something about the Palace made her feel like a lost princess in a castle, with only the urge to move forward and investigate. And so, move forward she did.

Quietly as she could, Penny slid into yet another hall until she found a flight of stairs leading down. The voices were clearer now, and she could see shadows moving against the concrete blocks that made up the Palace’s foundation.

“…don’t know what you mean, sir, really!”

“Jimmy, it’s no use keeping up this ruse. Unless you want to make me angry. Is that what you want?”

“No, no, sir!”

Penny furrowed her brow. The first voice was unrecognizable, but that second voice…That even tone sounded just like Angelo’s. But the things he was saying came off as cruel. Callous. Penny tried craning her neck, but couldn’t see anything past the shadows. As silently as she could manage, she prodded further, until she was on the top step of the stairwell. There was some rustling from below, and Penny crouched as she moved further. Eventually, she found a spot where she could see into the basement. What she saw froze her in horror.

Three men stood around a fourth, who was sitting at a card table. His hands were pinned to the table by two of the first, and under a thick layer of fop sweat were bruises and cuts all along his face. Penny noticed that a tooth, bloody and chipped, was resting on the corner. No doubt having come from this poor man’s puffy, red mouth. The two men who held him down looked placid, almost bored. If she had to liken their expressions to anything, it would be to men filling out paperwork. But as horrible as the situation was, it didn’t compare to the third man. The one circling the table like a shark, a utility hammer in his hand.

“I’m growing impatient, Jim,” said Angelo, weighing the tool against his fingers. “I just need to know who you’re paying off, and this will be all over.”

Jim, the captured man, sputtered out a gurgling, unintelligible response. “C-Come on, M-Mr. DeRossi, I ain’t—”

“Oh but you are.” Angelo let the hammer head thunk onto the table, making Penny jump, but she kept rooted to her spot. Angelo leaned in, facing poor Jim without a lick of sympathy. “You’ve been skimming, Jimmy. I’ve seen the books. You haven’t been turning a profit like normal. Even though you’ve been moving the same amount of product you always do. So who’s it going to?”

“Mr. DeRossi, please!” Jim pleaded “I—I just—! I just t-take a little extra here and there! Just a bit! Just for the g-girls and—!”

“Oh?” Angelo lifted the back of his hammer head and tilted up Jimmy’s swollen chin. “It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with paying your own boys? Hm? Trying to start up your own chain? Cokes-R-Us?”

“No, no sir, I swear—!”

“You’re aware of our recent problem, aren’t you?”

“Y-yes…”

“Then you know how bad it looks if my boys are jumping ship. Almost like rats, trying not to drown.” Suddenly, Angelo grabbed Jim by his jaw, forcing his head up. “Do you know something that I don’t, Jimmy? Like say…when the next FBI raid is happening? Or who’s our snitch? Maybe you’re trying to start up your own payroll so that when we do all go to prison, you’re sitting pretty with runners, pushers, and hey, your own set of books, isn’t that right?”

“No!”

Angelo stood up and sighed deeply through his nose. A tense moment of silence followed. He bounced the hammer in his hand, considering his options. Finally, he nodded. “Hold his knuckles out for me, fellas.” Jimmy writhed and struggled, crying out helplessly as his hand was forced flat, right in line of Angelo’s hammer. After readying his aim, Angelo reached back, prepared to bring his weight down and shatter Jim’s phalanges.

“Stop!”

Immediately after she said it, Penny slapped both her hands over her mouth. But it was too late. Every eye turned to meet hers, including Angelo’s, his hammer still high in the air. Realizing she was caught, Penny turned and raced for the door, nearly tumbling as she clamored for an exit.

“s**t—stop her! Quick!” Chaos erupted behind her as she raced for the opposite hallway. However, before she even got half way across the dance floor, two massive arms wrapped around her from behind, and she was hoisted off her feet as easily as a sack of beans. She cried out and flailed, but it barely made a lick of difference. One of Angelo’s goons had scooped her up and walked her back to the hallway, where Angelo was waiting.

Penny felt her blood go icy. No longer was this the kind stranger who helped her avoid a handsy date. Now, Angelo DeRossi was cold, stone faced, and from the look of things, exactly what David had warned her he was. A criminal. A mob boss.

Penny was in deep s**t.

“Drop her.” The goon did so. Before she could try and run again, Angelo took her arm and dragged her into the hallway. But he didn’t take her down to the cellar to smash her hand. Instead, he took a sharp left, and went to an open changing room, complete with a mirrored vanity, a plush couch, and a rack of uniforms, and tossed her inside. She stumbled and collapsed on the couch cushions, unable to control her desperate sobs. Angelo loomed over her and held out his hand.

“Phone,” he demanded. Penny looked up through her tears, unable to process the order. “Phone!” he snapped again. Trembling, Penny pulled her cellphone from her pocket and laid it in his palm. He said nothing else, and instead turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. A moment later, Penny heard the click of the lock from the outside.

Lost, alone, and overwhelmed with fear, Penny curled up, and clutched a pillow to her heart, wondering if this would be her last night on Earth.