[right][sub] __________ 
𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕 𝚂𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎
𝚂𝚘𝚒𝚛é𝚎  
𝟼𝟿 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝
𝙼𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚊, 𝚆𝙸 
__________ [/sub][/right]



[quote] “[i]Ain’t no Winifred here.[/i]”[/quote]

Like a wail through water, the disconnect tone needle-pricked Pearl’s right ear. A short, sharp snarl ripped from the back of the Madam’s throat as she dashed the receiver in the vague direction of its cradle. Plastic rattled as the phone tussled with itself. The noodled telephone cord tangled and coiled before it stretched just as a bungee cord may strain against those brave enough to jump. The receiver hung limp and lifeless as it swayed through the air, abandoned yet mocking, dull thuds like ellipsis against the leg of the table. She wasn’t sure whose voice had bitten back at her, so audacious and accusatory, immune to Pearl’s ominous threat. She paced the perimeter of her dingy office, eyes spinning in their sockets like hastily potted cue balls roll across a snooker table. 

[quote] “[i]Ain’t no Winifred here![/i]?” she hollered, again and again, a scratched vinyl begging to move on. Her shrill cries were met with a stale silence.[/quote]

As if sensing her daughter’s soft white underbelly, Pearl’s Mother’s voice spoke out from beneath the cesspit of rage within. That smoker’s rasp swept away Pearl’s own futile voice with a brush of a phantom hand and spoke with a disappointment that planted a kiss atop her head.

[quote] “[i]Pearly girl, how did you miss it, huh? How did you let that old wog fool ya?”[/i][/quote]

The Madam’s fists clenched tight, balling at her sides. She daren’t argue with her Mother. Not in life nor in death. Least when Moira was living, she could be walked away from. Nowadays Pearl carried her everywhere, malignant and inescapable.

[quote] “[i]Well, it’s no wonder she pulled the wool over your eyes, little lamb. You ain’t had your eye on the prize for weeks, have ya? Been too busy starin’ down the bottom of a bottle, ain’t ya? Pearl, I’ve done told you that shit is a goddamn kaleidoscope. This House has been rottin’ from the inside out and all you’ve been seein’ is pretty patterns. Before long you’ll be starin’ down the bottom of a barrel. How about that? I’m tellin’ you, you got a pest problem? Call in the cats! Fix up, Pearl. Goddamn it, FIX UP!”[/i] [/quote] 

Pearl Sackville’s hands flew to her face, eyes shielding themselves behind her finger picket fence. She didn’t answer Moira. No, she didn’t dare rush to her own defence. She didn’t deny the poignancy of the booze nor did she blame the coke she’d hoovered between Manhattans. She wished she could bury her incompetency beneath the bodies of her vices. But her Mother was, as she often tended to be when it came to Soirée, absolutely right. 

[quote] “[i]You’re gonna make this right, my little lamb. You’re gonna send after that skinny little whore and you’re gonna reset the balance in your House. Bring her Home. Deliver her to those oily wops. Get her back here ready for em. A little gift. And whilst you’re at it, these bozos you’ve got guardin’ the place might as well be little boys playin’ cops n robbers. Y’know half of them don’t even be packin’ any heat? How are they gonna guard the fort, Pearl? With they matchstick wrists and heads full of minced beef? Goddamn it, girl. FIX UP!”[/i][/quote]

The clarity of the final specs in a freshly cut line of coke burned through Pearl’s nostril. She felt the electric rush wash away the drunken waves that crashed against her corroding cliff-face. Moria’s rasp had ebbed away with the tide and Pearl was, once again, alone in her office. Thoughts of what to do, who to scream at, where to go and her next line all buzzed angrily in her hive. 

[quote] “[i]Who the fuck was that? Who do they think they’re speaking to?”

“Winifred best be on the first Greyhound outta here if she knows what’s good for her…”

“I’m gonna light that skinny bitch up. How the hell am I gonna get to this diner?”[/i] [/quote]

The office, quickly becoming suffocating as it filled with the pressure of decision, was soon behind her as Pearl made her way back to the Soirée bar. She felt like she was reentering the scene a new woman. A performer who’d undergone a wardrobe change backstage. She wore a signature vengeful smile on her lips and a sobering determination she hadn’t sported in days. Roger spotted her from across the room, instantly recognising that smile. The Madam strode towards him, Moira’s rasp lingering like a hangover. 

[quote] “[i]With me. Now.[/i]” [/quote]

Roger obediently tailed her, moving with less fluidity than his boss yet urgent nonetheless. They exited through the back door that opened out onto a back alley. These were brick walls that harboured secrets and turned blind eyes to Roger’s fist-filled farewells. The cool night air greeted them both first, abrupt and stunting,  then Pearl whirled round to face her right-hand. 

[quote] “[i]What’s small, black and usually really fuckin’ good at keepin’ secrets?[/i]” her tone was facetiously melodic. The riddle rolled off her tongue but she spat out each syllable like olive stones. Flecks of spittle splattered against Roger’s cheeks, little saliva specks like drizzle on a window pane. He seemed unperturbed. “[i]No guesses, Roge? Boo! You’re no fun. I’m talkin’ about our rat, Roge. The one that got me grabbed up by that greasy wacko wop? Remember? Now, I know you been wracking them 3 brain cells for the answer but don’t worry, Minnie and her mind-blowing IQ helped me figure it all out.[/i]”[/quote]

Much like his immunity to the spittle, Roger didn’t take the bait regarding his intelligence either. A dramatic pause ensued. 

[quote] “[i]Winnie’s Wash, Roge![/i]” she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in a theatric “quelle surprise!” style. “[i]Winnie’s washed up! She’s sold out! Given up the ghost! She’s thrown her old pal Pearly under the bus as one final “Adieu” then jumped right on with her one-way ticket and cut outta town. And that’s a good job really ain’t it, Roge? Cos you was hot on her tail ready to break them breadstick bones over your knee, weren’t ya?[/i]”[/quote]

Roger twitched one singular brow. He didn’t have a chance to interject before Pearl launched into her next breath.

[quote] “[i]So here’s my plan. I’m gonna make a couple calls, Roge. Pearly’s gonna call in a couple favours. I’ve got money on the streets that I’m about ready to collect. There’s a lil someone who’s gonna go retrieve our Dixie from uptown. Someone she ain’t gonna see comin’. And there’s someone else who’s gonna help me kit out these schmucks you’ve bulked out our muscle with. Half of them couldn’t even handle a Crossy 38 if it came with a fuckin’ picture book play-by-play. Now, I told you to get the best bodies you could find. I want you to take a look at them, Roge. Ask yourself if they could handle themselves around the fuckin’ Family. Get this place locked down by tomorrow. When big daddy Tony comes back? I don’t want a single one of these spunk bubbles unarmed at my front door. I wanted guard dogs and I’ve got kittens in fuckin’ Christmas bows.”[/i][/quote]

A wind whistled down the alleyway, tousling Pearl’s jet black pin curls. She flattened them with her palms, fixing them back in place. Roger nodded, ever stoic and solemn. She didn’t await confirmation. She didn’t need an answer. She knew her order had been received, it was written in Roger’s hardened upper lip. He didn’t need to tell her that it was good to have her back. He didn’t have to acknowledge that bright, devilish light that had returned to her corneas. And he didn’t know that it was thanks to Moira’s ghost that Pearl was back. Just in time.