Cemetery Weather
Part VIII - Locket
Pairing: Richard Harrow(Boardwalk Empire) x Female OC Audette Rhys Warnings: Angst, talk of depression/mental health, suicide, fluff, hurt/comfort, guns, language, racial offenses, prostitution mention, mafia drama/violence, discrimination for disability, female@male catcalling/assault, drinking, smoking Summary: Audette is back at square one.
Main Masterlist - Cemetery Weather Masterlist
Read on ao3 - about 4k words
The way there is awfully quiet, save for the rumble and grind of the train against the rails. Audette keeps her head down, staring at the worn-in but elegant pair of shoes Angela lent her. Jimmy can see and recognize that they were once his wife’s, cursing himself for the sordid fate she’s being forced to undergo. The train exits a tunnel, shining the bright glow of the sun into the cabin. It beckons Audette’s attention, causing her to lift her gaze, making eye contact with Jimmy for a split second.
He motions in the seat across from her like he wants to tell her something, letting the moment pass in hesitation. Instead, he offers her a sweet from the tin of Metro assorted hard candies he picked up from the station. She accepts, holding her hand out with her palm facing the ceiling. A golden lozenge drops out of the tin and settles into her hand. She exhales sharply, humored by the sight of the contradictory enjoyment she feels for the candy still drowned out by the overpowering dread in her heart.
“What’s so funny?” Jimmy decidedly asks, unable to let the silence rest anymore.
“Butterscotch.” She transitions her hold on the candy and pinches it between her index finger and thumb, holding it up to the sun’s glare in the distance. It refracts through it, casting her fiery locks in the golden glow. “My favorite.”
“Angela’s too.” Jimmy agrees, politely smiling at her before igniting a cigarette. “Every time I pick a can of these up, I take them all out and give them to her.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Audette looks at Jimmy, then the candy in her grasp before putting it into her mouth and tucking it away in her cheek. It’s sweet, creamy and the molasses is strong. Just as Jimmy is reminded of Angela by the confection, Audette’s mind drifts back to Richard. To save herself from the embarrassment of crying in front of Jimmy again, she turns to look out the window, but he takes notice.
“Audette, listen to me.” Jimmy starts, scooting to the edge of his bench with his voice low. “I meant what I said back at the house.”
“I know, and I trust you, Jimmy.” Audette swipes her cheek quickly to clean evidence of her sorrow. “Just please make sure they don’t hurt Richard any more than they already have.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll have a bone to pick with me if they try that shit when I’m there.” Jimmy speaks in defense of Richard, already wanting to piece Capone up for having his goons attack him.
“No!” Audette raises her voice at this answer, looking around penitently in case anyone was bothered by her outburst. “Don’t. That would only make things worse.”
“You know, Al and I were good friends once.” Jimmy discloses, regretful of the path their relationship has taken.
“You were?” Audette knows they were business associates to propel their prohibition plans, but she didn’t know they had gotten close.
“Yeah, broke bread with his old lady and kid.” Audette’s ears perk up at the mention of his child, having heard through the grapevine he had started a family. How old is the boy now? Audette thinks it uncouth to ask, so she sits still and intently listens. “We were both in the same position; me with Nucky and him with Torrio.”
“So it’s safe to say he’s already taken over.” Audette rolls her eyes, knowing the way things go in the family.
“I wouldn’t speak so soon.” Jimmy contradicts her initial assumptions, challenging them.
“Why is that?”
“I have a few ideas. Need to see them pan out.” Jimmy inches forward and takes her hands in his, giving them a thoughtful squeeze. “We play nice for now since things are on their terms, but when the script gets flipped, none of them will have the power to tell you how to live.”
“How will I know when that is?” Audette doesn’t dispute Jimmy’s ambitions, but she’s no-doubt apprehensive about just what he has in store.
“You’ll know.” Jimmy tells her just as the brass bell chimes in announcement of the approaching next stop.
Audette and Jimmy are picked up at the station where Capone’s henchmen are patiently waiting for their arrival. They are confiscated of their possessions, not a word is spoken through the entire duration of the transit to the Four Deuces. Capone is standing outside with more of his lackeys, a particularly burly one of the bunch having restrained Richard in front of him. These reticent chauffeurs allow Audette and Jimmy to step out of the cab where everyone approaches the stoop just in front of the club.
“Get those off of him, Al. C’mon.” Jimmy addresses Capone with a scrunch of his nose, displaying the distaste for Richard being bound by rope. “And give him his mask back”
“Sure, Darmody. Just because I respect ya.” Capone gestures to the man keeping Richard in place a signal to release him, untying the bindings. Richard adjusts the ways his arms are set at his sides, loosening the tension before being handed his facial covering. The glass lens over his false eye is still fractured, missing pieces now after suffering his most recent beating. He can see that Audette’s eyes are puffy and red, wishing he could banish all that torments her, but Capone shatters their moment to open his big mouth again. “Don’t think you can weasel your way outta this arrangement though. I’m getting what I want from youse.”
“No one’s looking to give you the slip, Al.” Jimmy admits, flashing his open palms at him in a sign of submission to his conditions.
“Is that right, cuz ?” Capone then asks Audette, to which she can only nod in detestable acquiescence. “What, cat got your tongue?”
“Can we just get this over with?” Jimmy cannot stand the antagonizing games Capone likes to entertain himself with, propelling the confrontation along.
“You change sides and suddenly your sense of humor is gone, Princeton?” Capone spits out the toothpick he was chewing on and it tumbles down the concrete steps. He turns on his heels and waves for everyone to come inside. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road. Remus will be here any second.”
Richard tries to keep his vision set on Audette, but the bouncer responsible for him roughly shoves him past the threshold and into the club. One by one, people file into the establishment. Despite being met with the crisp air of Chicago’s elevation, it’s stuffy and humid indoors. The furnace is running on high. With all the bodies Capone keeps as his personal roaming shields coupled with the high stakes of this meeting, Audette is beginning to break a sweat.
“I’ll take that. You look warm.” Capone approaches Audette, peeling her coat off her shoulders to place on the rack himself. The transition is no doubt pleasant, but his honeyed behaviors are cloaked in corruption. She recoils away from him at first, but he continues to invade her space in the name of making her comfortable. He nods at one of his men, silently ordering him to plant Audette in one of the many chairs in the foyer.
He roughly places his filthy hands on her shoulders, shoving her down forcefully into the nearest seat. Her red plaits are slightly jostled, and she yelps from the discomfort, repositioning herself in the chair.
“Don’t touch her!” Richard raises his voice from where he stands, both arms being held behind his back. His breath is hastened, and he looks like he wants to rip Capone apart with his bare hands. The bouncer is struggling for once to contain him, like a lion tamer with no way to appease his savage.
“I’m fine, Richard.” Audette eases his worries, sharing her voice with him for the first time since they were separated. He immediately softens, missing the way she says his name. “It’s okay.”
“You’re on thin ice, Half-Moon.” Capone wants to retaliate, but at the height of this happenstance, George Remus’ vehicle pulls up out front and everyone in the vicinity can hear the motor chugging on approach. In a matter of seconds, he’s ascending the steps and Capone feels the pressure to shift the mood. Jimmy is ushered to Capone’s table, chewing his inner cheek to save from saying something he shouldn’t. “All of youse sit down and don’t say a fucking word.”
“Quite the party you’re hosting for Remus.” George Remus has a peculiar quirk determined by his ego that demands he refer to himself in the third-person, causing ears to perk up at this strange social soliloquy. He and Capone shake hands, a visible discrepancy in their stature to show that they couldn’t be further from complete opposites, yet they have found the humility to work together. “He appreciates the hospitality.”
“Ah well, any great business venture deserves to begin with a bang!” Capone opens the conversation up, welcoming Remus to have a seat besides Jimmy surrounding the large tea table at the center of the brothel’s floor while an attendant pours them a few drinks. “Now, you wana tell me why you set up shop all the way in cow shit country, Cincinnati?”
“Well for starters, if you draw a circle three-hundred miles around the city, you get eighty percent of all government bonded whiskey in the entire country.” Remus takes a sip of his own serving of bourbon, letting the ice clink around in the crystal glass as he lets Capone in on the logistics of the operation.
“That so?” Capone tests his integrity, adding a follow-up question. “And how much of that is in your pocket?”
“Enough to float your speaks, cushion your clubs, plus a whole lot mor e.” Remus gives Capone a smug look, confidence pouring out of him like water.
“Steady business.” Capone sets his drink down, letting Remus know he’s serious. “That something you’re interested in?”
“Remus wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t.” He leans in closer referring to himself in the third person again. “Remus owns the distilleries and the pharmacies that stock their supply. And what’s more? Remus owns the trucks that hijack his liquor.”
“Now ain’t that a neat trick?” Capone is surprised at the leaps and bounds Remus has gone to ensure his undertaking is absolutely bulletproof.
“No trick, my friend.” Remus sits back in his chair, visibly relaxing. “Remus read the Volstead Act. Very closely .”
“What I tell ya?” Capone scoffs at Jimmy and he feigns a smile to seem polite despite the circumstances unbeknownst to their guest. “Worthy enterprise if you ask me.”
“Remus would agree.” He nods, including his next point. “Where’s Torrio’s supply coming from now? Canada?”
“Yeah, what of it.” Capone can hear in Remus’ tone that he wishes to take advantage of the geographical proximity.
“Makes sense, but you never know what can happen on those Great Lakes. As for Atlantic City and Chicago, Cincinnati’s a lot closer.” Remus leans in, whispering this time. “And who really likes Nucky Thompson anyway?”
“I take it Remus doesn’t.” Capone jokes, joining in on his odd habit as both men giggle and guffaw.
“How does sixty-thousand apiece sound?” Remus lays the price of admission right out before them. Capone’s eyebrows raise, as do Jimmy’s. Audette cannot even wrap her head around a figure like that after having lived in the woods on her own for so long, the discussion proving to be too rich for her blood; a contradictory statement that deals a hefty amount of dark humor now that she’s back in the custody of her kin’s syndicate. “Does Remus have a deal?”
“I take it you want that cash up front, huh?” Capone reaches across the table, shaking Remus’ hand to confirm he understands the terms.
“What does your partner have to say about all this?” Remus asks about Jimmy, realizing he hasn’t spoken once since his arrival.
“I’ll cut him in, myself.” Capone tilts his head at Jimmy as he converses with Remus. “You have my word.”
Remus stands up and Jimmy does the same, meeting him halfway for his turn to share a handshake. “Remus is looking forward to doing business with you, gentlemen.”
“We’ll have the money for ya first thing.” Capone promises as Remus leaves, leaving them alone to deal with the Audette and Richard situation at last. “Drop by on your way outta town and Jimmy and I will set you up.”
“Remus is holding you to it.” He tips his hat and exits the building where a cab is waiting to take him to where he’s staying for the night. Once the dust settles, Capone has all the time he needs to handle the exchange for Audette now.
“It’s one thing finding out Half-Moon over here made an attempt on Torrio’s life, but you got a lotta nerve lying to me like that, Princeton!” Capone’s eyes are blazen as he practically screams at Jimmy. “Especially about her .”
“Look, Richard had no idea who exactly Audette was until the very same second I did. None of this is on him.” Jimmy takes responsibility for the misunderstanding as well as the betrayal, hoping to dissipate the volatile energy broiling. “It was my decision to keep things tight-lipped.”
“Not on him, ya say?” Capone isn’t keen on hearing Jimmy out, the vendetta against him having decided how things are going to go before he even showed up. “What about the hit? That’s on him. And he’s gotta pay for it.”
“That’s why I’m here!” Audette announces loudly, all eyes gravitating to her. She’s sick of his predictable displays of force, comparing him to a tantruming toddler when he doesn’t get his way. “You know that, Al.”
“Yeah, ain’t that convenient.” Capone lights a cigar and waves for Audette to be taken upstairs, leaving the men to handle the rest. “Thank ya for reminding me.”
“Let go of me!” The brutes try to shove Audette where Capone’s ladies of the night are boarded, keeping her there until he can make proper arrangements, but she stops them and insists they unhand her so that she can walk there on her own. “I know where it is.”
“Everybody else, get the fuck out of my club.” Capone lets his marching orders be known as Audette tries to get one last look at Richard and Jimmy before ascending the staircase. Richard likewise struggles with Jimmy, fighting against his persuading grasp, knowing that if he stays here, the agreement will have been all for naught. Capone delivers a set of parting words to Jimmy and Richard in warning. “And you . I better see you here with that money before the ass-crack of dawn.”
Audette and Richard share countless words in the few seconds their gazes meet. As she ascends ever higher into the shroud of darkness through the poorly lit halls, Richard is forced forward towards the exit where he and Jimmy will take a reprieve at select lodging courtesy of Capone before being escorted out of enemy territory the next morning. They’re under attack from everything always. Richard is willing to die to save her life, and he knows she feels the same. He’s taken so many lives as ornaments, the perpetual stain of blood paints him red when he’s reminded of the vast number, but none of it will be enough until he knows Audette is safe. The past is now his lesson while the future before him is a gift. Neither of them will break or crack under pressure, nor will they bend the knee to be saved. Like Audette said, they’re biding their time.
Audette is tossed into one of the only unoccupied rooms not designated for salacious activity. Capone anticipated a place to keep Audette hidden until he’s gathered his wits about him, having the room made spotless for her. The towering bouncer shrugs at Audette as he sets her luggage down, hoping she recognizes not to take his aggression too personally. Upon closing the door, she hears the many latches and locks used to keep her enclosed; prisoner once again.
The scent of lilac and bleach is a strange shift from cigar smoke and rye. Audette inspects the sheets. Fresh and clean, but not washed. Brand new. She smirks at the plush amenities her illegitimate cousin has provided for her. It’s scarce but optimal. She sits down at the edge of the bed, looking out the frosted over window, nailed shut. Who knows how long he will keep her closed off from the world before telling her father.
~~~
“I thought he would never shut up.” Jimmy tries to make light of the situation at Capone’s expense, but Richard can’t see anything but his own thirst for vengeance. The economic quality of their lodging leaves much to be desired. There is no central furnace, leaving him to provide his own source of heat with a wood-burning stove built right into the corner of their room. Jimmy wipes the soot and sawdust off his hands, nudging Richard slightly with a closed fist to his shoulder blade. “Hey, you listening?”
“How long?” Richard disregards what Jimmy said, his mind having never strayed from leaving Audette in that den of despair. Richard’s face is cleaned of blood but remains heavily bruised, though the ache in his features couldn’t hold a candle to the spear through his soul.
“Until what?” Jimmy asks, knowing what he’s to say next.
“Until we get her out of there.” The clicks in the back of his throat resound at the same time he swallows roughly, making himself able enough to enunciate.
“She can hold her own, Richard.” Jimmy cannot lie. He has no idea how to answer that, so he tries to advertise Audette’s inherent and undisputable strengths. “You’ve seen it yourself.”
“How… long ?” That response isn’t good enough for Richard, firm in his stance to gain a satisfying comeback.
“I don’t have an exact number on it, but I’ll know after I make some calls.” Jimmy takes a seat on the wooden bench adjacent to one of the beds Richard is seated upon, delivering this unto him so that he remains certain he can trust not only Jimmy with his life, but Audette and everyone else they hold dear. “You have my word.”
“That’s all a man’s worth, Jimmy.” Richard holds himself to these same principles, remembering he made his own promises in those letters he sent to Audette. What kind of man would he be if he fails her now? “Without that, we’re nothing.”
“We’ll get through this.” Jimmy does his best to instill Richard with hope, knowing it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when your world keeps going black. “I have a plan.”
The pair get some semblance of rest they can manage before their wake-up call at dawn demands their summons. Richard’s soreness has increased, the inflammation proving to be far more bothersome hours after the initial conflict, but he ignores it all the same. Just as they were escorted to their lodging, another set of nameless faces are there to take them right back to the Four Deuces and then to the train station. Capone is waiting out front, withholding his typical hospitality to conduct the meeting outdoors under the wintry fog. “Ya got the cash?”
“I had it on me yesterday.” Jimmy admits, tossing a thick envelope at Capone’s chest for him to fumble with instead of one of his lackeys. He fans through the stack of notes, calculating the figure to be spot on. “You forget, the deal you made only got off the ground because of me.”
“Oh yeah, my apologies. I guess I ain’t that good at giving credit where it’s due. You understand.” Capone gives him a squinty grin, tucking the envelope into the pocket lining his suit. “I take it you got Half-Moon under control?”
“For now.” Jimmy tilts his head in nuanced withdrawal and Capone does not take kindly to this gesture.
“Watch it, Darmody.” Capone warns, flashing the loaded Colt .45 secured to the holster under his arm. “Remember who I got under my roof.”
“She’s off-limits to you.” Richard defies Capone’s logic, having made himself familiar with mafia customs. “You can’t do anything.”
“That might be so, but Torrio has me playing matchmaker.” Capone chuckles, flashing all his teeth in an arrogant smile. Jimmy and Richard are silent. Jimmy looks at Richard like he doesn’t know what he means, but Richard’s head sinks when reminded of Capone’s prospect for planning a wedding. “Don’t look so surprised. I’ll be sure to send you an invite to the ceremony. If I have anything to say about it, Audette will be engaged to the nastiest, greasiest sleazeball I can pin down. Many of which just so happen to be part of the family. Torrio’s gonna make an honest woman of her in no time. You’ll see.”
~~~
Audette is kept under lock and key indefinitely. She’s on a far stricter watch than Richard ever was, unable to leave the attic of the Capone residence. He set up his wife and young son elsewhere, Audette having taken note of their absence. Capone was kind enough to offer his son’s entire bookcase as idle entertainment while he’s off doing who knows what. Though, Audette has found that she’s read nearly half the collection in the few days’ time she’s been here, and through it all, he hasn’t come to see her once.
Until now.
Audette sits up on the bed, closing the hardback copy of Anne of Green Gables when she hears the many locks and latches turning over. She straightens her posture, preparing herself to contend with the demon knocking at her threshold.
The door flies open, splintering a tiny section of the wall where the knob collides with the hardwood-stained planks. Capone stomps toward Audette, his index finger already wagging wildly at her. “Your old man is a real thorn in my side. Because a youse, I’m in real deep shit.”
His mercurial dramatics do not phase her, aiming to dish out her own objection. She hops off the bed, making her way to the door that Capone foolishly left unlocked. “Why don’t I cut out the middleman and call him myself? I can tell him how much of a fuck up you are.”
Capone scrambles to slam his weight against the door, keeping her from daring to open it. Capone glares at her, sweat dripping from his brow and flowing down the contours of the pair of scars along the left side of his face. He is so close to her, she can see the droplets soak into the collar of his pressed shirt, darkening the threads. “Are you fucking stupid?”
“You sound scared.” Audette taunts him, just the same as he’s been doing to her for as long as she can remember.
“Fuck you!” Is all he can say, too dim to think of a worthy response in the heat of the moment.
“You couldn’t fuck a two-bit whore if she were the one who paid you !” Audette has a mouth on her, having been raised around this. She’s never lost her nerve like this in front of her late husband. Not even Richard. It’s about time she uncork this bottle.
Her words are getting to him, sharp assaults to his fragile ego. Torrio has warned Capone of doing business with Jimmy before, reminding him not to participate in anything risky, and yet, he’s surrounded himself with hazards of his own making. “Shut the fuck up!”
“Why?” Audette laughs in his face, reveling in the sight of seeing him on the verge of implosion. “Ask anybody! They all know you want my father’s empire, but you’re too much of a pussy to make a move on him like Jimmy did with Nucky.”
“A move that turned out to be a crock of shit!” Capone is grasping at straws to stay on top, but Audette’s been itching for an outlet to unleash her anger on with no other candidate better than the man in front of her now.
“At least he made one!” Audette screams in his face, straining her throat but pushing through the pain. “You’re over here still doing his laundry! Should I get you a little apron and a bonnet too?”
“Oh, you don’t think I can kill that piece a shit father of yours?” Capone is inches from her face, gnashing his teeth so hard he could chip one.
“I know damn well you can’t.” Audette spits the words at him and Capone realizes things aren’t going the way he thought when he came in here. “When it comes to turning on one of your own, you’re just a pussy with no courage. Meanwhile, I’ve been doing it since I was born.”
Capone raises his fist to Audette and holds it a couple inches away from her cheek. His knuckles crack with the clenched tension, tremoring with the accumulation of his wrath.
“What? You gonna hit me now?” Audette continues to sass him, playing her mind games to watch his once powerful disposition crumble. “Or are you scared I’ll call my daddy and tell on you?
Capone lowers his fist to his side, realizing that Audette is right. If he thinks he’s backed into a corner now, there’s no telling what Torrio would do if Capone laid hands on her. “You’ll eat your words bitch, when I bring you his fuckin' head.”
“You do whatever you gotta do to feel like a big man.” Audette watches him recede, closing the door behind him and resealing all the locks. “I’ll be waiting.”
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