Page 86 of Cold Hard Cash

“Hey, Maury!” Jimmy called back. “It’s me, Jimmy!”

“Yo! Is that… Holy fuck, Jules fuckin’ Price.” Maury blinked when he saw Jimmy wasn’t alone. “What the fuck. I’ve had, like, half the fuckin’ Gentlemen in my shop all in a week.”

Jules grinned, reaching out a big mitt to shake Maury’s hand. “Big fan of your work.”

Maury snorted, but he grinned as they shook. “Pretty sure I busted up a few of you Prices back in the day, you know.”

“Yup. Got my old man once or twice with that crowbar of yours for not payin’ up.”

“Hey. Just business, Mr. Price.”

“Bah, shoulda hit him in the head with it. I ain’t worried about it.”

“Dead men can’t pay,” Maury said sagely, “but men with busted kneecaps sure fuckin’ can.”

“Wise words.”

“So.” Maury glanced between him and Jimmy. “What can I do ya for? Here to get more of your shit outta hock?”

“Not exactly. I don’t have a bank right now, so you’re the next best thing.” Jimmy grabbed a pen from the counter to endorse the check and then handed it over to Maury. “I want to start actually saving, and yeah, I do wanna try getting more of my stuff out eventually. But I want to put, like, five hundred in my dad’s commissary and stash the rest for now.”

“Look at you, big fancy fellow,” Maury teased, whistling when he saw the check. “I take it this means your audition went well?”

“Sings like a little canary, this one,” Jules said.

Jimmy blushed. “Hey, you know, it’s a job. I’m officially employed again. I’m doing okay!”

“Uh-huh,” Maury said dryly. “Is that why I heard about you gettin’ roughed up by some Luchesi pricks?”

“You know… you know about that?”

“Come on, kid. Who the fuck you think you talkin’ to? I hear everythin’.” Maury’s gaze shifted to Jules. “Like, hmm, heard somebody been visiting Geemaw.”

“Who is that?” Jimmy remembered Cold and Jules talking about her last night.

“Geraldine Peters. Old gangster’s girl.” Maury smiled fondly. “Used to be my girl from time to time, as a matter of fact. That woman helped make a man outta me. Was a clerk for the SSPD. Did all of their filing until she was, ahem, forced to retire.”

“What happened?”

“Apparently she had a bad habit of copying police case files and other sensitive type documents.” Maury chuckled. “Meh, she’d only been doin’ it for fifty years before anybody got wise to it. Nowadays, if somebody goes to Geemaw, they’re lookin’ for information.”

Jules scowled. “You really do got a big ass mouth, Maury.”

“Guilty as charged. Just kinda funny to me that anybody would be buggin’ ol’ Geemaw for somethin’ at her age. Must be lookin’ for some real good dirt.”

Jimmy sensed a flicker of anger simmering in Jules. He wasn’t sure what Maury was trying to get at, but he could tell Jules was getting pissed.

“So, Jules tells me the Luchesis used to run the jewelry store?” Jimmy said, trying to change the subject.

“A long time ago.” Maury shrugged. “Used to wash their cash over there. But it was legit when Eliza worked there, if that’s what you’re wondering about. I mean, gangsters still went there to get their bling fixed up and shit, but it was a straight joint until it closed.”

Jules’ phone buzzed. “I gotta take this. Be ready to go in five, Twig.” He looked at Maury and grumbled, “Don’t be tellin’ our boy here any stories now.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Maury replied with a firm smile.

As soon as Jules stepped outside to answer his phone, Jimmy whirled around to stare at Maury. “Hey! What was that about?”

Smacking Jimmy upside the back of the head, Maury snapped, “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into? Fightin’ with Luchesis, sniffin’ around Geemaw!”