The Murder of Eddie 'The Hammer' Hammond
E-Book, Englisch, 186 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-7362776-2-1
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet/DL/kein Kopierschutz
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
Chapter 1:
Army Or Jail The year was 1925. The “Roaring Twenties” were in full swing. Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office for the US presidency, which was broadcast on the radio (still considered no less than a scientific wonder!), F.Scott Fitzgerald finished writing The Great Gatsby, and the New York Giants joined the NFL. If you wanted to get a date to prom, you needed to know how to do The Charleston. Better yet, you could take your date to watch Charlie Chaplin’s, The Gold Rush, for a mere twenty-seven cents- they don’t call these the “good ol’ days” for nothing! Amongst other things, Prohibition was in full effect. The manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol were illegal under Federal Law – just having alcohol on you could land you in jail. The nightlife thrived in cities like Syracuse, New York. If you were looking for a good time, you would probably end up at a nightclub that played jazz to your liking – and maybe you could get lucky with a flappers dancer. It was a wild time, to say the least, fueled by alcohol. Despite the ban, alcohol was just as prevalent, so long as you knew where to look. Simply put, demand and supply. The demand was through the roof, but the supply? When you could get thrown behind bars for having a gin and tonic, you could say the stakes were quite high. But, there were always people willing to risk it all for the right price, as was the case for local Syracuse boy, Eddie Hammond. He was an Irish-American immigrant, son of William Hammond, a World War I veteran. Raised with three brothers, Eddie was as tough as they come. Fighting was in his spirit, and it’s something he genuinely loved to do. It’s no surprise that Eddie was on his school’s boxing team and even the State Championship for his weight class during his senior year. Eddie wouldn’t be complete without his best friend, and partner in crime, Dave Leonard. The two of them were high school seniors, no different than any other eighteen years old; they drank until they blacked out, had wild parties, and of course loved to chase the ladies. *** It was a cool, fall afternoon. The air was crisp, brown leaves littered the pavement, and the familiar cold of Christmas was right around the corner. Eddie drove with Dave, making a “special delivery” – a trunk full of whiskey. Eddie puffed on his cigar while keeping it in his mouth, freeing up his hand to shift gears, “Feel’s like winter’s gonna hit hard this year. Whaddya think?” “Hey, as long as I get a bottle of brandy, I’ll make it through!” Dave replied with a laugh. As they made small talk, Eddie noticed a particular car in his rearview mirror. Squinting, he immediately saw the flashing red and blue of a police car as it got closer and the Sirens grew louder. “Shit! They after us?” Eddie exclaimed as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. “The hay bales cover the crates fine, Ed. We double-checked from all sides just like we always do… unless…” Dave responded as he looked back at the cop car as it was gaining speed. “Unless what…” Eddie asked. By now, he was paying more attention to the rearview mirror than the road. “Maybe the attendant at the gas station we were just at ratted us. “Why the hell would he do that?” Eddie replied nervously as the police cruiser gained on them. We didn’t move the hay bales; all that happened was we got out. I pumped gas while you went in for a box of cigarettes. They would never know we were running moonshine and gin … unless… Did something happen in there?” All Eddie could think of was how running moonshine through Onondaga and Oswego Counties could land him for years behind bars – if his dad let him live to see the day, that is. “When we stopped for gas twenty minutes ago, I short-changed the guy,” Dave replied in a muffled tone – but it was enough for Eddie to hear. Eddie immediately punched him in the shoulder, “Dave, you moron! This could have been a simple drop if your smart ass didn’t mess things up.” “Short changing” was an old trick that Dave’s brother, Joe, had taught him. You would drive up to a gas station and get five dollars worth of gas, pay with a twenty-dollar bill. After you got your change in big bills, two tens, you got the attendant to change it into smaller denominations during the shuffle. If done right, you could swindle an easy tank of gas with no one the wiser. By the time the attendant could realize what had happened, he couldn’t even see your taillights. With the cop cruiser only a few car lengths away, Eddie saw an exit to a dirt road off the highway. He knew if the cops got onto the gravel road behind him, his best bet to get away was to step on the gas and pray the clunker he was driving wouldn’t blow a gasket. A few minutes down the line, as Eddie kept peeking in the rearview mirror, his eyes caught a glimpse of the red and blue flashing lights following him off the road – the chase was on! “Buckle up. This is gonna be a bumpy ride!” Eddie shouted as he floored the gas. The old truck engine roared as he shifted to the fourth gear, with a cloud of black smoke pumping out of the exhaust pipe as the truck raced on. The truck’s suspension had seen better days, and the crates of gin and moonshine weren’t doing it any favors. Eddie wasn’t concerned about a few broken bottles, so long as they both made it out without being arrested. As the car chase continued, the cops began to close in on them. “Faster, Eddie! Faster!” Dave yelled as he clutched onto the door. Eddie shifted down to third gear with the gravel getting deeper, pulled on the handbrake, and dropped the clutch while swerving left and right. This made the wheels spin out, flinging gravel and debris toward the cop car. It also raised a cloud of dust along with it. Abruptly, the truck lost traction and fishtailed, causing it too flip. “Ah, shit! I hit my head pretty hard!” Dave hollered out as he held his head in pain. “No time for that. Help me kick the windshield out so we can get outta here!” Eddie responded with vigor; despite bleeding from several places. As they crawled out, they glanced behind only to notice that the cop car was gaining on them. “Once they get to the stash, we’re done for, Eddie!” Dave yelled, panicked. Eddie thought for a moment, then quickly patted down his jacket, finding a matchbox. He hurriedly lit a match and shoved it back in the matchbox before tossing it inside the hay bale. “Hope this works.” Eddie thought to himself. The hay bale quickly caught on fire, and the fire instantaneously spread as there was due to the alcohol spillage. Within a matter of seconds, the truck was up in flames. “Don’t have time to stare! Run!” Eddie yelled at Dave, and he took off toward the woods close by. Meanwhile, Eddie dusted himself off and wiped off the blood from his head with his wrist. The cops pulled over and got out. Unfazed, Eddie blurted out, “How can I help you fine gentlemen?” with a laugh. The cops looked at him, unamused, then one of them said, “You alone here, Son?” “Well, unless you can see ghosts, I don’t think there’s nobody here,” Eddie replied sarcastically. The officers slowly walked toward Eddie, “You’re under arrest.” “Yeah, so, here’s the thing…” Eddie “negotiated” seconds before he threw a lightning-fast right cross to the officer in front, knocking him out cold in one blow. Eddie looked towards the other cop, who had his mouth partially open in shock, and said, “Weren’t you gonna arrest me?” The cop rushed Eddie, who dodged with a swift side-step. When he turned around towards Eddie, Eddie knocked him out with an uppercut. Before Eddie could take a sigh of relief, two more cop cars arrived, and four officers stepped out with their nightsticks. “Right on time!” Eddie exclaimed with a laugh. “The party’s just gettin’ started!” The four cops surrounded him from all sides, slowly closing in on him. Eddie took a deep breath, and like a jaguar, attacked the cops with expert precision. Eddie hit the cop in front of him with a lead uppercut knocking him to the floor. The one beside him became victim to Eddie’s barrage of punches. However, the two cops behind him overpowered Eddie, knocking him to the ground. Still trying to resist, Eddie kicked one of the cops in the gut, forcing him to back off. The other cop started beating Eddie with the nightstick, which he tried to block with his fists. Not until another cop car pulled up, and Eddie heard the cop load a shotgun did he back off. With a pump action pointed to his chest, Eddie stopped resisting. The knocked-out police officers came to as Eddie was slowly getting up. The cops handcuffed him and lifted him up. His shirt was torn to shreds, and he was covered in blood. “You crazy son of a bitch, all this for five dollars?” Said the cop pointing the shotgun at him. Eddie immediately realized they were after him for the short-changing stunt Dave pulled, not the moonshine! *** After spending the night in jail, Eddie’s arrangement was first thing the next morning. A bruised and battered Eddie was escorted to the courtroom – handcuffed and shackled. He was relatively calm and willing to face whatever consequence....
