The durham mob, p.23
The Durham Mob, page 23
“He’ll see you in a few minutes.” He read a magazine and waited for about fifteen minutes. Finally, Attorney Stern appeared from a door, walked over and greeted William with a firm handshake. “Come into my office. Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.” William sat in a big, comfortable chair in front of his desk and relaxed. Attorney Stern took out the file for the bank loan and went over the facts and assured William that it was going to be easy. “Everything is in order.”
William called the bank several times to check on the progress of the loan and to see if they needed more information or documentation from him. He always spoke to Leslie. On one of the calls, he asked her out to dinner. She accepted. She lived on the east side, downtown in a nice small apartment. He picked her up and took her out to dinner. He took her to Jack’s Soul Food, the restaurant that he was trying to buy. She liked it very much. “Is there a conflict of interest for you by going out with me for dinner?”
“No, I don’t make the decision to make the loan or to deny it. I just gather the information and pass it to my supervisor with a recommendation, based on the numbers. He makes the final decision. If it were a conflict, I wouldn’t have accepted the invitation.”
“Why did you accept?”
“I like your energy and intelligence, and you’re kinda cute.”
“More, more, I love it!”
“Why did you ask me to have dinner with you?”
“You’re very intelligent, and cute. You know you’re smart, otherwise you wouldn’t have such a good job. Where did you go to school? What was your major?”
“I went to Princeton and I majored in business and accounting. What about you?”
“You have all of my history in those papers.”
“Oh, I forgot for a minute. You went to school in North Carolina and you were a French teacher who taught English as a Second Language, right?”
“Your memory is good. Where are you from?”
“I’m from Princeton. I was born and raised there.”
“You still have family there?”
“Yes, all of my family still lives there. I go home often.’
“You must show me your city and university one day.”
“That’s a possibility.”
After dinner, he drove her to her apartment and walked her to her door. “Let’s do this again,” he said.
“Why not? Oh, a little business, you will need a three-year projection for the restaurant. Any accountant will know what to do. Get some figures from Rosenfeld. He knows what you need.”
It was time to visit his brother. When he was checking in, the guard told him, “Your brother got sick. He’s in the infirmary. Once you are cleared here, you’ll be allowed to visit him. William became a little concerned. He knew that his brother had a lifelong heart ailment. He was born with it and all the boozing and coke probably made it worse. He was patted down and searched and then was led inside. The loud banging of the keys and the opening and closing of the heavy metal doors made him extremely nervous. It reminded him of the sounds when he was a teacher at Riker’s Island Prison. It made him realize even more why he never wanted to be confined in a prison. The thought of being locked up and confined to a tiny room made him anxious. He had the desire to control his environment. In prison, one is at the mercy of people who don’t care about your need to control your environment. Even though he was only going to visit his brother, he was still very nervous. The guard finally reached another door. This one didn’t require a key. He motioned for William to enter. Coy was in the room alone. William had seen many prison movies where the prisoners were in a ward, but Coy was alone. He didn’t look sick. He sat up in his bed and greeted William. “I’m okay, I just got a little dizzy and because they had my medical records, they didn’t want to take any chances.”
“I was a little worried when they first said you were in the infirmary. You look okay.”
“I’ll be out tomorrow and back on my difficult job in the library. What’s new with you?”
“You remember the Jack’s Soul food deal, right?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
William reminded him of the story of how he was approached and all the rest. “How’s the loan going?”
“Everything’s fine except I will need a three-year projection for the bank”
“That’s always a requirement for a business loan. I can do it for you, offered Coy.”
“Will they let you do it in here?”
“I can do it but I’m not allowed to send anything out.”
“Well?”
“This is a prison but things come in and go out every day.” He looked around and lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret. “I’ll have someone contact you. We’ll get it done. Just get the records from the owner, with the address, the rent he’s paying and how much he claims he’s making per month. He’ll know what you need. I’ll have someone pick it up.”
Two days later, the doorbell rang at William’s apartment. When William opened it, there was a large black guy standing there. “Are you William Smith?”
“Yes, and who are you?”
“I’m a prison guard from Sing Sing. Your brother Coy asked me to pick up some papers from you.”
“Just a minute.” William went to his desk in his bed room and picked up a manila envelope which he had gotten from Julie and contained the accounting figures for one year of the Jack’s Soul Food income, etc. He gave the envelope to the guard. Without saying another word, the guard took the envelope and walked away. Five days later, the door-bell rang. It was the same guard. Without any formality, he said, almost soldier like, “Your brother asked me to bring you this package.”
“You wanna come in for a minute.”
“No, I’m not supposed to be here, so I’ll just drop off the package.”
“Thanks.” The guard quickly disappeared. William quickly opened the package and saw several pages of figures that he didn’t quite understand. When he looked closer, he saw that they contained the three-year projection for the restaurant. The pages were all typed and the figures were in neat rows, easy to follow. Although he wasn’t good at accounting, he could follow the figures. They showed a breakdown of the monthly expenses, the gross monthly income and the net profit. It was easier to understand than he at first thought it would be. He immediately went to a Xerox store and had three copies made. He returned home and called the bank to tell them that he had the necessary documents. Later, he went by the tall office building and went to the twenty fourth-floor. He gave the documents to the receptionist and asked her to give them to Mr. Berkowitz and Leslie Fern.
He decided to go to Jack’s Soul Food to have lunch. Julie saw him and asked him to come to his office when he finished. Although he was in the process of buying the restaurant, he still had to pay for his lunch. There was no free lunch! When he finished, he went and knocked on the office door. “The bank told me that everything is proceeding on schedule. Looks like we might have a deal! While you’re here, I want to show you something.”
He opened his safe and showed William about ten thousand in cash. He said, “This is not your deposit. That’s in the bank. This is money I pull off the top for myself that I don’t pay taxes on. You can do the same thing.” Then he pulled out two notebooks. “I keep two sets of books, one for the IRS and one set for me. I’m showing you this early so you can see the potential earnings. You can make a lot of money for yourself.”
“Then, I still don’t understand why you want to sell such a lucrative business.”
“I explained to you that I don’t like to run businesses forever. I enjoy starting them and the pleasure of making something from nothing into something of value. When the business is running well, it’s no longer a challenge to me. Many business people do this. You’ll understand one day. But if you’re more concerned for me than for acquiring this business, then maybe you shouldn’t buy this restaurant.”
He was joking, of course and William wasn’t concerned about him, he was just trying to understand his motive. All this was new to him. He was sure that Coy would understand. “Thanks for the heads up.”
William was so excited about buying the restaurant, that he would have lunch or dinner almost every day or night. He took several dates there including Iliana and bragged about his future ownership. The restaurant had a very large basement and he entertained putting a bar and maybe dancing down there. For some reason, Julie didn’t like the idea. He wanted to sell the place but he wanted it to continue just as it was. William noticed that he wasn’t pleased with the thought, but William thought, ‘It’s not his business what I do with my restaurant? Anyway, it was just a thought, not a plan.’
He received a call from his sister, Evelyn that her husband, Gilbert, had left her.
She was crying. She was not crying because he had left her, but because she would not be able to make the mortgage payment on the house. She wanted to know if he could help her. “If I have to move out of my house and take an apartment, I would be so embarrassed.” She seemed more concerned about how she would look to the community than about losing her husband. “What happened to you guys?”
“It’s a long and sad story. You don’t want to know.” Gilbert was just finishing his twenty years in the Navy. He was retiring. He had spent his last year in the Navy instructing other sailors in the field of restaurant management. He had started in the “galley,” as he used to call it. He learned to cook and all of the necessities of feeding a large number of people.
William told her he would try to help her as much as he could, but he was in the process of trying to buy the restaurant and had very little to help her. The good news was that her mortgage was only one hundred dollars per month.
Gilbert called him also and told him he wanted to come and stay with him for a while. He knew that Coy was in prison and that William had an extra room. Gilbert was like a brother to him, more like a brother than Coy right then. There was nothing negative between them so he welcomed the opportunity to help, even though it put him in the middle of a family split.
He picked Gilbert up from the airport and took him to his apartment. It was a pleasure to have him there. He was a very good person and very helpful in many ways. In fact, William got the idea of letting him manage the restaurant. He was also an excellent bar tender and had acquired a certificate from the navy as
a food service supervisor. So, William approached Julie about hiring Gilbert until he took over. Gilbert could learn the lay of the land so when William would take over, there would be a smooth transition. Gilbert could teach William how to run the restaurant. He would be very valuable. Julie hired Gilbert, which gave him something to do instead of sitting around hurt and thinking about his circumstance. William’s sister’s tragedy was becoming his gain.
Before Gilbert went to work, he had sat around wallowing in self-pity. He drank too much but was never drunk. William had a collection of small bottles of whisky that he had collected from his airline flights. One day, he looked in the cabinet where he kept them and discovered that they were all gone. He was surprised, but not too upset. After all, they were just bottles that could be replaced if he wanted. Although, he was a little disappointed that Gilbert was drinking so much and took his bottles without permission. They were not in a bar open to drink. Still, he understood that a man married for twenty years was hurt and disappointed. If that was the worst he was going to do, he would live comfortably with it. So, working in the restaurant gave him something constructive to do and he was paid. He really didn’t need the money because he had his retirement money coming in and he didn’t have to pay rent. He didn’t have a car, so William drove him to work and one of the employees would give him a ride home at night after the restaurant closed. Everything was moving along well.
CHAPTER 42
The restaurant loan was about to be approved and William was nervous but ready to close. He called Julie and told him he was almost ready to close. Julie was hesitant. “Since it has not yet been approved, I will need an additional ten thousand dollars deposit for me to keep the offer open. I don’t want to be left without a buyer and have to start over again.” William didn’t understand his reasoning. The loan was going to be approved. Everything was in place. Why was he throwing the monkey wrench in the deal at this point? It seemed he had changed his mind about selling the place and was deliberately trying to sabotage the deal. Julie didn’t know William’s financial situation, but he didn’t have another ten thousand. Maybe Julie sensed this and was trying to get out of the deal. “I don’t understand why you are doing this. You have my ten thousand and the loan is definitely going to be approved.”
“What if it isn’t approved? I’ve taken my restaurant off the market and I will have to find a new buyer.” Julie seemed like a different person from the one he had been dealing with for several months. Why had he changed his mind?
“You’re talking about putting a disco in the basement and changing the whole atmosphere of the restaurant.”
“What are you talking about? I mentioned that as an idea to make more money. But, so what, it will be my place to do with whatever I want.”
“I don’t want to see this place turned into a dance hall,” he shouted. William had never heard him raise his voice but now he was angry and raising his voice. “I’m not giving you another ten thousand. We have a deal!”
“Without another ten, the deal is off.” William realized at that moment that Julie had changed his mind and didn’t want to go ahead with the deal. He was very angry. He had put so much energy into acquiring the restaurant and he had calculated that this would give him a good income for as long as he wanted. All of the guys had made big money in drugs and were living quite well. This was going to be his chance to make a lot of money legitimately. He thought he was very lucky to have this opportunity. He had even planned to move into a very nice apartment complex only a few blocks away so he wouldn’t have to drive to work. He liked that complex even before he got involved with Julie. And now, Julie was changing his future. All the plans he had made. He was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have another ten thousand and he sensed that Julie suspected it. He decided to call his bluff. He would give him another ten thousand. He knew many of the hustlers especially three heroin dealers. Two were Swazy and Bob, his home boys and the other was Roy, who owned the garage where he parked his car and had more money than Swazy and Bob combined. This would be a good deal for them to invest in a legitimate business First, he approached Swazy. “You heard that I’m trying to buy Jack’s Soul Food?”
“Yeah, I heard.”
“I put up ten thousand and now the owner wants me to put up another ten and I don’t have it. I already applied for a bank loan to pay the rest. It’s gonna be approved soon. I need ten thousand more or I’ll lose the deal.”
“You asking if I want to invest?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking. Maybe we can work something out. It’ll give you a legitimate income each week.”
“I have all the money I need.”
“Then you can do me a favor. You can help me. I don’t have lots of money like you guys. This is a great opportunity for me.”
“I don’t know anything about running a restaurant.”
“You’re not going to run it, I am! You’re just going to be an investor.”
“I really don’t want to get involved.” At this point, William didn’t want to beg as much as he needed the money. He knew Swazy had thousands and was pulling in about thirty thousand a week. “You don’t have to get involved, just lend me the money.”
“When can you pay me back?”
“I can’t say exactly, but you know me well enough to know that I’m a man of my word.”
“I wish I could help you but I just don’t want to do it.”
“I can’t believe that you won’t do me this favor. I have never asked you to do anything for me before. You know that I didn’t come out of the other deal as well as the rest of you, and this is my chance to secure my future!” Swazy just stood there without saying a word. Talking anymore would have been begging. “Thanks for listening.”
“I wish you luck,” said Swazy. William was so disappointed. Swazy used to be a man of character, a very decent man. He couldn’t believe what had happened. He just knew Swazy was going to lend him the money. He throws away that amount each week. He gives away that much to ladies, buying clothes and coke. Ten thousand was nothing for him. Then he remembered the philosophy of the hustlers, “It’s not enough for me to win, I want to see you lose.” They enjoyed their lifestyles. They had lots of money and they got most of the ladies. They didn’t want others as competition. Still, he was shocked that Swazy didn’t just hand him the money. They had always been friendly, never a problem between them. He had known Swazy since they were teenagers in high school. Swazy’s older brother graduated in his class. Like so many others, money had changed him for the worst! He hoped that Bob would be different. Bob probably had more money than Swazy. They collected about the same each week, but Bob didn’t spend as much on the ladies. He spent, but he wasn’t profligate like Swazy. He went to see Bob. They had partied together and never had a dispute or disagreement. He explained the situation to Bob and told him he needed ten thousand. “I can pay back the money over time, or I can pay you a weekly or monthly salary. That way you can show a legitimate income or I won’t pay you back, you can just have a piece of the business.”
“I’ll do it but I want fifty percent of the business.”
“But you are only putting up ten thousand.”
“Yeah, but you only put up ten thousand.”
“I also will have a forty thousand bank loan to pay plus the daily running of the place. I will be working seven days a week. Are you gonna put in some time working there?”
