The Speakeasy Murders

by Patricia M. Muhammad

Genres: Mystery

Synopsis

It is the roaring '20s in Chicago. The federal government enacts the Volstead Act. This does not stop the activities of the underground world, both in the coloured and white side of town. Helen Williams is an astute, but bashful upper class coloured detective who wields her heirloom magnifying glass more than she brandishes a gun. She goes undercover with her partner, Stephen Patterson, to further investigate murders where a vacant field is used as a dumping ground. She is surprised to know who was the head of operations all along. The suspects all lead to the illegal underground establishment--a speakeasy. Williams learns the latest dance crazes, fashion and even hairstyles of the atypical flapper. Yet, at least one person can readily tell that she does not belong in the illegal club. Helen meets Thaddeus, a handsome Englishman who courts her. Thaddeus eventually proposes. On the final night of her investigation, Williams uses a secret passageway to confront the female 'executioner'. The detectives, Thaddeus and the mastermind of a criminal organization confront one another in an upper suite of the speakeasy. Who will leave alive?

Release date: March 6, 2021

Publisher: Patricia M. Muhammad

Print pages: 419

Sample

"I stand by what I said, Helen." Thaddeus was not so shy. He leaned in to kiss her. She pulled back.

 

'Not here,' she thought. Thaddeus held the back of her head with his left hand. "I told you I don't care..."

 

"...but...Thaddeus." It was too late. Her fiancé pressed his soft lips against hers for a few more seconds. Helen held onto the base of his neck near the bottom of his shirt collar. She did not know what overcame her fiancé. This was not only unusual for him, he knew how much she would be against it. He pecked her mouth a couple of times before stopping and returning to his seat which was only inches away. Helen took the back of her finger and wiped the corners of her mouth. She picked up a napkin and smoothed it along his lips. He rested his arm on the table, facing her closely to one side. The detective did not realize it, but he only kissed in that manner so as to quell what he suspected was the budding suspicion of their serious dialogue. When he looked around, the only glances were of social curiosity. Helen was still reeling from what he did. She did not know whether to be angry or let it go as she felt so carefree when she felt Thaddeus so near. 

"Should I be -I mean what could you possibly be thinking?" Even Stephen witnessed Thaddeus and Helen's overt display which took her fiancé several moments to complete. Patterson would tell her to stop and she only did when she found his reaction too humourous to withhold her own. Fortunate for them all, too many people were still dancing and several others had become inebriated. After just a few minutes, Helen saw another figure walk the same pathway outside that window and towards the same direction as the first. 'They are both here,' she thought. She had to consider that there could be more. The detective needed reinforcements. She believed she would likely need at least one more person besides Stephen. It could not be Thaddeus. She would not allow it. Helen was just as protective of her gentleman as he was of her. They would always safeguard one another from threats to themselves; what they had begun to build as a life with one another. Williams drank some water.

 

"Still recuperating, Helen?" Thaddeus just could not stop teasing her.  Ironically, she appreciated the light-hearted moment he provided her. "I might as well get that off from you." He cleared off the remainder of her smeared lipstick. "You did not need any of that anyway." She mummed and puckered her lips twice. "Oh, do you wish for me to finish, my sweet?" He pushed himself upwards with his right hand anchored against the table. Helen gently pushed him back down with her right hand.

 

"I will return from the powder room shortly."

 

"I am right here. I'll be right here." Helen turned and blew him a kiss. The small feather of the rosette bounced along with her step. She had to gather herself. Williams stood against a wall and raised her right dress heel flat against it, looking towards the ceiling, darkened from the lack of light. It was the last official investigation she would conduct. But more than that, she was preparing to say goodbye to whom she knew would have to die soon. Thaddeus had already left from the table. He stood by the window nearest to the wall where that stairwell was. As soon as he saw Helen return from the powder room, he turned, pretending to look out that window. The detective thought she slipped by him. Her fiancé quickly turned around and entered only one foot behind. Stephen watched them both enter. He shook his head in disbelief as to what Thaddeus just inserted himself to. Helen had her shoes in hand. The dress she had no shimmer to light her way. Suddenly she felt someone's hand touch the base of her wait before she attempted her ascent. The detective did not hear anyone sneak behind her. Before she was to yelp, Thaddeus covered her mouth and pulled out a lighter he swiped from one of the tables.

 

"Slowly Helen," her fiancé whispered. Williams turned only her head. He flicked the light with a small light. Helen exhaled in relief. "It's me," he whispered. "I told you I won't allow anything to happen to you."