Viola and the Sheriff (closed)

(This is a conversation that takes place between 2 characters from the role play, Mob Money. It is being written here so that the main thread isn't filled with our short, back and forth posts. If you are a member of the role play or simply following along, please enjoy this side thread, too. It begins immediately after this post, to which we will return you at the end of this thread.)


Viola's tummy turned over when she saw the Deputy Sheriff step into the little café. She thought she'd been found, either by a good cop who would take her to the Feebs to be hidden away as a possible witness or by a bad cop who would take her to the woods to be murdered, a cell phone pic of her sent to the Syndicate members who were surely searching for her. But the Deputy only smiled to her before heading to the ordering counter to get his brew.

She contemplated getting the hell out of there. But that would be suspicious. Just stay calm … calm, cool, collected … he doesn't know you for Jacqueline, she told herself. Her panic began to rise even higher, though, when he crossed the old wooden plank floor to greet her.

"Welcome to Brownsville," he said with a friendly smile and an offer of a hand. "Passing through? Staying with friends? I haven't heard of any recent home sales, but if you just moved to town, welcome once again."

She took his hand, hoping he didn't notice that it was both trembling and sweating. "Well … honestly … I'm not sure. I, um … I needed a change … so … I just sorta pack a bag, hopped a train, and came out west."

Viola looked out the window toward the Calapooia, then back. "I checked in, sorta, at the boarding house across the way, but there wasn't anyone there. Do you know, is it clean … neat … you know, no cockroaches and such?"

We are not writing this anymore.

"I'm the owner."

Viola did her best to hide her shock. He offered to check her in, but when he offered also to carry her suitcase Viola panicked and snagged the bag's handle. "That's okay! I mean … thanks, Sheriff. I, um … I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. I just, um … I have a thing about people touching my stuff. But yeah … I'd like to get checked in now, if that's okay."

They headed across the street again. Viola got her key, and the Sheriff showed her to her room on the 2nd floor. She took the $99/week option for one of the boarders rooms and was expecting something akin to a walk in closet with a cot. But she was surprised at what she found: it was closer to 20x20 feet, with a queen sized bed, a little dining table with 4 (mismatched) chairs, and a kitchenette with a sink, mini-fridge, microwave, cupboards, and counter tops.

"You only charge $99 for this … for a week?" she asked with obvious surprise. "Where I come from, you'd pay a grand a week for this."

As soon as she said it, Viola realized she'd opened herself up for questions about where she had come from. If Jack did ask, she would tell the truth, New York City. The quickest way to get caught in a lie, her mother used to tell her, was to tell one in the first place.

"This will be good, thank you, Sheriff," she told him, turning to face the door as if ready for him to depart. "I'm sure I'll be very happy here."

We are not writing this anymore.

"Well, I don't care to ever go back," Viola said after Jack told about his lack of interest in ever visiting New York City. That wasn't true, of course. She missed New York so horribly. But she knew that to return there would mean death … or even worse, testifying followed by witness protection. She told Jack simply, "Too many people."

She listened to him describe the town's financial woes. It seemed ironic that he and his townsfolk were struggling to survive and here she was sitting on nearly $3 million dollars in cash and diamonds. Maybe she could donate a few dollars to the school or to the fire department or to one of the churches; a couple of hundred maybe.

Of course, Viola couldn't know just how much money she'd put into Brownsville over the weeks and months to come.

When Jack mentioned the repairs that needed to be done to her room, the comfort-loving Viola asked, "If I were to hire someone to do the repairs, would you mind. I mean … it's your place, but … if I paid...?"

She listened to his answer, then his comments about the Chamber of Commerce list and map, then about his need to get back to his patrol. They bid farewell, and after Sheriff Jack was gone, Viola fell onto her bed and laughed aloud. How the hell did she get herself into this situation?

She needed a bath and a change of clothes, but looking to the rolling suitcase Viola wondered what the hell she was supposed to do with it? She stood and went to the corner of her room which was also the corner of the building's second floor. She had windows in two walls that looked down upon the town to the west and north. The natural light was going to be wonderful.

But she wasn't looking at the view; Viola was looking at the bank across Main. What were the chances they had safe deposit boxes? The only way to find out was to go across the street and ask. She checked the hall, found it empty, and rolled the suitcase with her to one of the shared bath rooms. She showered, dressed, and was doing her makeup in the medicine cabinet mirror when she noticed that it seemed loose.

And then she remembered a scene in a recent movie. She used a dime from her purse to unfasten the loose screws holding the inset cabinet to the wall. The medicine cabinet was old heavy steel and glass, but Viola was able to carefully remove it from the wall. And just like she'd hoped, there was room between the back of the cabinet and the studs to hide objects … objects about the width of a dollar bill.

She opened the suitcase and began stacking bank wrapped bundles of $100 bills -- $10,000 per bundle -- atop the studs. She managed to hide away $340,000 … in the bathroom! She still had a long ways to go, but it was a start. She put the cabinet back into the wall but this time tightened the screws down tightly. Then, seeing how well this went, Viola moved to the next bathroom and did the same there … and then the next. She didn't get as much into these last two, but Viola had managed to hide away nearly half of her more than $1.7 million in cash.

Viola returned to her room, stuffed the rest of the cash and the diamonds into a carry bag, and headed downstairs and out on the street. She went to the corner to cross to the bank, but before she did, she caught sight of a man sitting on the pavement half a block down. Viola had seen her share of the homeless in New York City, and although she couldn't be 100% certain that he wasn't simply resting and enjoying the shade, she felt for him.


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