Chapter 21 Chapter 21

"Gravedigger" Johns recklessly poured out his fury on Imabella who was prostrate on the ground.This stinky bitch, who poured acid all over her body, tried to play tricks on him; and his partner, "Coffin Bucket" Ed, is still lying in the hospital, his life and death uncertain.His anger filled the air. "Gravedigger" Johns carried Ed's pistol with him along with his own.Even he himself didn't know when he pulled it out and held it in his hand.His finger was on the trigger of the pistol, ready to fire.His purpose of doing this was to dispel those innocent thoughts in Imabella's head.

Two uniformed police officers came across the recording room to stop Gravedigger, and when they saw the quivering pistol in his hand, the two policemen were almost speechless in astonishment. When the two patrolmen escorted the three drunk prostitutes, they also stopped, their eyes widened in surprise.The whore's loud invective breaks off abruptly, and they curl up in a frightened position and suddenly wake up. Everyone in the room thought that "Ground Digger" Johns would shoot Imabella.Imabella stood up quickly, and the sound broke the silence.She glared at Gravedigger. "What the hell are you trying to do, officer?..." Imabella yelled in panic. In her rage, she even forgot to pull down her raised skirt and dust off the dust on her clothes.

"If you speak again..." "Gravedigger" Jorns said loudly. "Don't... don't be impulsive." The clerk interrupted "Gravedigger" Jones's anger. The left side of Imabella's face was red and swollen, her hair was disheveled, her eyes were yellow, and the gash at the corner of her mouth made her look like an ugly wild dog.The uniformed policeman looked at her sympathetically. "Gravedigger" Jones tried hard to control himself, and the hand holding the gun trembled from time to time.The tall and slender body swayed erratically, like a puppet hanging from a string.He seemed a little in disbelief that he could see her again.

Joens turned to the clerk and asked in a low voice, "Why is this woman here, and what is her crime?" "She chopped up a man at the 125th Street station." "is it serious?" "Well, a painter who lived behind the station said she hacked at him with a knife." "Gravedigger" Jones turned around again, looked at Imabella, and originally planned to ask her something, but changed his mind temporarily. "The victim has been sent to the Harlem Hospital for stitches," added the clerk. "He will be suing this woman shortly." "I want to take her away." "Gravedigger" Johns said in a peaceful tone.

The clerk looked at the ferocious face of "Grave Digger" Jons, and repeated in doubt: "Take her away?" At the same time, he pressed the button to call the captain's office.He didn't want to argue with "Grave Digger", but, without the permission of his superiors, "Grave Digger" Johns could not let the suspect be taken out of the police station casually. The deputy captain on night shift came out of the captain's office and asked, "What's wrong?" The clerk nodded to "Grave Digger" Jorns and Imabella, pointed to Jorns and said, "Joens wants to take her away."

"This bitch was arrested for being drunk and making trouble by the river tonight." "Gravedigger" Johns said deeply. "Why do you want to take her away?" "She can lead me to them." The vice-captain seemed to not care about this reason. "What did she say in the statement?" The deputy captain turned to ask the clerk. "A black man said she slashed him, just over there on Park Avenue, but hasn't brought the victim over yet." The vice-captain turned his gaze to "Gravedigger" Johns, and asked him, "Did you find any clues?"

"She was going to tell me," said "Gravedigger" Johns in his thick voice. "I didn't cut anyone," Imabella exclaimed, "I've never seen that person." "Shut up." The clerk shouted angrily. The vice-captain looked at Imabella carefully. "Watch the bait," he murmured angrily, after a moment's thought. "It's these dark brown whores like her that cause so many black boys to commit crimes." "It's getting late." "Gravedigger" Johns said angrily. The vice-captain frowned, and asked "Gravedigger" Johns to take Imabella away, which was against the regulations. He didn't like any unruly things to happen when he was on duty.But several thugs had already poured acid into the eyes of a policeman, and this woman was one of the thugs.This man was again the partner of the victimized policeman.

"Okay, you can take her away," the vice-captain finally made a decision, "call another person to join you, O'Malley." "I don't want to bring anyone." "Gravedigger" Johns said forcefully, "It's enough for me to take Ed's pistol." The deputy captain didn't say a word, turned around and returned to his captain's office.The other policemen stared at "Gravedigger" Johns and Imabella, but said nothing. "Gravedigger" Johns walked in front of Imabella, who stood stubbornly where she was.Johns suddenly and quickly grabbed the handcuffs on her wrists, pulled Imabella and walked out the door; Imabella was at a loss for a while, and could only turn around and shout to the clerk: "You just So, let this crazy person take me away from here?" The clerk pretended to look away and ignored her.

"I want to assert my rights!..." Imabella continued to shout. "Gravedigger" Johns roughly pushed her out of the door, and she was dragged down the concrete steps before she could stand still. "Gravedigger" Jorns' car was parked half a block away. "Let go of me, I can walk by myself." Imabella said aggrievedly, and "Gravedigger" Jones let go of her arm. "Gravedigger" Jorns' car looks exactly like the black sedan that followed Gus to the hideout.He opened the front door of the car, and Imabella got in the car awkwardly as the handcuffs got in the way. "Gravedigger" went around to the driver's seat.

"Okay, tell me, where are they?" "I don't know where they are," said Imabella angrily. "Gravedigger" Johns suddenly turned to face Imabella. "Bitch, don't play tricks with me. I'm going to find those bastards who pull acid. You take me to them, or I'll smash your face with the handle of a pistol until no man dares to look at you again. " Imabella couldn't understand why the voice of "Gravedigger" Johns was so rude. Imabella sensed the danger coming from "Gravedigger" Jons.Still, even if Johns threatened to kill her, Imabella would fight back.She tries to escape before Hank and Jodie are caught and confessed.Without their testimony, she would have had nothing.Even though she knew "Gravedigger" Johns would do what he said - ruin her face.

"I'll take you to where they live, and I hope you can catch them. However, I'm not sure if they're still there now, and may have escaped." "Gravedigger" Johns started the car, turned on the short-wave radio, and picked up the police signal. "Where?" Jorns asked Imabella. "On the top floor of a doctor's house in a simple hotel on St. Nicholas Boulevard." Imabella gestured. His tenant." "I know it's there. You'd better pray for them to stay there." "Gravedigger" Jones said viciously, and Imabella remained silent. They turned north on St. Nicholas Boulevard and a metallic voice came on the radio. "...following a black battered hearse. 1947 Cadillac, M-series license plate, number unknown. Driver a pudgy nigger in a black uniform... through the side of the car Through the window, a dark green suitcase can be seen, which is placed on the coffin bier at the back of the car. Inside the car is the body of a black male wearing a nun's clothes - that is, the famous Sister Gabriel. The dead man's throat was cut... Hearse traveling north on Park Avenue...END...REPEAT...Tracking a black battered hearse. 1947 Cadillac, M-series license plate, unknown number. Driver is a black uniform The dumpy nigger... Through the side window of the car, a dark green suitcase can be seen, which is placed on the coffin bier at the back of the car. Sister Gabriel. Deceased with throat slit..Hearse driving north on Park Avenue..END..Repeat..Tracking a black battered hearse. 1947 Cadillac, license plate of Series M, number unknown. The driver is a pudgy nigger in a black uniform... Through the side window of the car, a dark green suitcase can be seen, which is placed on the coffin bier at the back of the car. Dead body of black male in nun's clothes - otherwise known as Sister Gabriel. Throat slit... hearse going north on Park Avenue... end..." "Things are getting complicated!..." "Gravedigger" Johns immediately realized that what was said on the radio was the hearse driven by Jackson, and it must be Clay's hearse.Somehow Goldie was involved, and why did Jackson escape? Imabella trembled at the thought that her throat might also be cut. In the darkness, "Gravedigger" Jons pulled out a gun. "Where are you connected to Jackson?" "I didn't see Jackson." "What's in the box?" "Gold ore." "Gravedigger" Johns stared straight ahead. They drove quickly through the wet black streets of St. Nicholas Avenue.On the east side of the street is a row of apartment buildings, each larger than the last, and well maintained.Opposite the apartment building is the steep cliff of Rock Park.Further up is University Heights, overlooking the entire Hudson River. "I don't have time right now, to find those gold ores, I'm going to find the son of a bitch first, and then go find it." "I want you to kill them," said Imabella viciously. "I still have a lot to talk to you about afterwards, little sister." "Gravedigger" Johns sneered. In the morning light of dawn, the buildings on the high ground look even more abrupt. They passed on 145th Street, the intersection with the newsstand on the corner.The car is going fast, bouncing up and down with the undulations of the road, and the feeling is nauseating.There are groups of elites working underground and people who are working hard here. A truck was dumping a load of The Daily News onto the wet pavement.There is an all-night barbecue restaurant. Under the dazzling neon lights, the stools in front of the store are full of morning shift workers eating roast ribs.These pork ribs are threaded on four metal skewers that tumble on a huge electric grill built into the wall.The electric grill, near the glass window in front of the store, is tended by a tall black man in a white chef's uniform. Two doors away from Eddie's Cellar restaurant, Imabella pointed to a yellow-roofed Buick parked in front of a four-story stone house under a streetlight and said loudly, "Look, that's them. car." "Gravedigger" Jorns pulled up in front of the Buick, parked the car, got out, and looked through the darkened front windows of the house.The front door of the house was a black lacquered door with a shiny brass knocker, and three white enamel bells stood vertically on a red frame.Above the door frame was a black and white plaque that read "Dr. Robinson."The whole house was as quiet as asleep. "Gravedigger" Johns quickly walked to the Buick parked on the side of the road. While patrolling the street, he wrote down the number on the metal California license plate.First he opened the engine hood, detached the wire from the front switchboard, put it in his coat pocket, and then he closed the hood roughly.When Jorns was about to open the car door, he found that it was locked. He could only peek inside the car through the window. He saw a tan leather suitcase dropped by the door.Jorns went around to the trunk of the car, used a screwdriver in a large jackknife, and pried open the lock. After a quick glance at the luggage piled inside, he closed the lid and walked back to his car.The whole process takes no more than a minute. "where are they?" "At Billie's." "Are all three there?" Imabella nodded and said, "Unless they've already left." "Gravedigger" Johns sat in the driver's seat of the car and looked up at the black gravel of St. Nicholas Avenue.The trendy apartments on either side of the road, silhouetted gray in the morning sun, cast broad black stripes across the ground. The workers who got up early were dragging their heavy steps, running from the alley to the subway station.Soon after, white-collar workers working in offices in the downtown area also emerged from the crowded apartments, carrying polished leather briefcases with shirts in them, looking like businessmen, and each bought a copy of " The Daily News, ready to read on the subway. "What habits do they have?" "Gravedigger" Johns asked. "Both of them—Hank and Jody, all I know is that Hank likes hops and Jody likes heroin." ①Hops, also known as hops, can be used as a mild tranquilizer or sleeping pill. "What about the tall, thin guy?" "He's a drunkard." "What nickname did they use when they were with Billie?" "Hank called himself Morgan, Jody called Walker, and the lanky guy was a goldsmith." "Does Billie know about their gold mine plans?" "I don't think she knows." Imabella shook her head and said. "Woman, you still have a thousand questions to answer." "Gravedigger" Johns said as he put the car into gear and started the car again. They passed the Lucky Dance Hall, the Chicken King Restaurant, the elite barber shop, and the monolithic mansion known as "Harlem Castle".U-turn on 155th Street between the subway stations, past the Fat Man's Bar and Grill, and finally stop at the entrance of a gray stone six-story apartment building.On this street, luxury and expensive cars are parked in a row along the side of the road. Take the 155th Street ramp off the bridge, and in less than five minutes you'll be in the darkest and most gloomy part of the Harlem River.The sound of gunfire was already there.