THE SMOKE STACK MURDERS (Part Four)
NICHOLAS FREUND . . .
. . . HANDSOME AND CHARISMATIC LEADER OF THE RED-HOT HOUSE BAND AT HARLEM'S WORLD-FAMOUS APOLLO THEATER. NICKY CHARMS BOTH WOMEN AND MEN, BUT RUMOR HAS IT THAT ONLY MEN STAND A CHANCE WITH HIM! DUDE IS SEEN AS A PRIME CATCH; BUT WOULD ANYBODY THINK SO IF THEY KNEW HIS SHOCKING PAST? A PAST HE'S TRYING DESPERATELY TO HIDE! DURING THE APOLLO'S MOTOWN FESTIVAL, BOTH AN OLD FRIEND AND AN OLD ENEMY WANDER BACK INTO NICKY'S LIFE. IF THEY TELL ALL THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT HIM, WILL NICKY'S CAREFULLY RECONSTRUCTED WORLD COME CRASHING DOWN? AND WHAT DOES HE KNOW ABOUT THE MURDER OF DANCE CAPTAIN WINDSOR JOY?
POP CULTURE CANTINA
presents
A MARVELOUS LIE PRODUCTION
"THE SMOKE STACK MURDERS"
A Graphic Novelette in Six Parts
featuring the Songs of
SMOKEY ROBINSON
presents
A MARVELOUS LIE PRODUCTION
"THE SMOKE STACK MURDERS"
A Graphic Novelette in Six Parts
featuring the Songs of
SMOKEY ROBINSON
PART FOUR
"The Tracks Of My Tears"
THE TIME: THE YEAR 2063
(with flashbacks to the year 1990)
THE PLACE: NEW YORK CITY
THE NARRATOR: MARGYEE WENZEL
THE NARRATOR: MARGYEE WENZEL
Harlem's Apollo Theater opened its doors to Black music, dance and comedy acts in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression. Back then, most showplaces were segregated - Whites only! So The Apollo filled a huge void for marginalized performers of color. By the dawn of the Forties, the famous building on West 125th Street had become what Nashville's Ryman Auditorium was to Country music: The "mother church" of Black entertainment!
Surviving long past the era of segregation, the Apollo stage hosted many legendary performers of all ethnic backgrounds. Several of their most popular shows went down in history: Nat "King" Cole and his Trio in 1943! Buddy Holly + The Crickets in 1956! James Brown, recording famous live-in-concert albums in 1962, 1967 and 1971. Aretha Franklin, also in '71. Sold-out comedy shows by the likes of Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor throughout the Seventies; and the King of Reggae, the great Bob Marley headlined in 1979.
The hovering presence of my former boss, comedian Hudson Beecher, did nothing to soothe Glammus Vidal. On the contrary, it only upset her more! Finally, a nurse was summoned and poor Glammus was led away, covered in blood from her late boyfriend's wounds!
About fifteen minutes after Windsor Joy was found dead, the police arrived to seal off the crime scene and start their investigation. Hudson's compassionate façade vanished when she wasn't near Glammus; she came to me with a look of sheer elation on her face. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was overjoyed! “You’ll never guess who’s in charge of investigating the dance captain's murder,” she cooed. “Police Detective Weezy Nelson!” I looked at her blankly and asked, “Who? Am I supposed to know who that is?”
Exasperated, she grabbed me by the arm and yanked me into The Apollo Theater's lounge area. “Yes, you little dumbass!" she snarled. "Remember me telling you about Weezy Ramos, Lover Ramos’s sister? After Lover died, she joined up with the police academy. She was determined to bring her brother’s killer to justice! But when Nicholas Freund was convicted and sent to jail, she wasn’t satisfied; just like me, Weezy didn’t think his punishment was adequate. And I heard she had a four-alarm shit fit when he got an early release!”
A peal of laughter made the turkey wattles on Hudson's throat bounce up and down; she plopped herself into a chair and clapped her hands with delight. “This shit is too good to be true, Margot!" she squealed. "Weezy hates him like poison! And now, she’s the lead detective in another murder case that involves Nicholas. What do you bet that he’s her prime suspect?”
I shook my head. "What reason would Nicky Álvarez have to kill Windsor Joy? As far I could tell, they were friends.” Hudson flew into a rage! Her eyes got crazy, and for a second, I thought she was going to slap my face. “Don’t be such a ridiculous cunt!" she yelled. "That was just an act to deceive people while he plotted that poor boy's demise. Once a murderer, always a murderer! The State of New York should never have turned his Kraut ass loose; but of course, his Mafia family’s shyster lawyers got him off easy.”
After her fit of temper had subsided, she took a sip of the coffee I’d brought her and smiled. It was a nasty Grimasse that made her even more unpleasant to look at than usual! “He won't beat the rap a second time,” she chuckled, “because it’s yet another gangland-style killing. That Mafia brat just couldn’t help reverting to type! No, Margot, this time Nicholas-fucking-Freund is going to go down permanently; and you’d best believe that Hudson Beecher’s gonna do her part to make it happen!” Sure enough, Hudson made it her business to corner Detective Nelson and cast as much suspicion on Nicky as she could.
Naturally, Windsor Joy’s murder and the subsequent investigation cast a pall over the rest of the Motown Festival. "Windy" had been a popular dance captain, and his troupe members were devastated at his loss; not to mention the excessively gruesome way he died! Toni Topaz had dated Windsor before he fell for Glammus Vidal; she was so overwhelmed with shock and grief, she couldn’t go onstage the next night! But other than Toni's absence, there was no hint that anything was amiss.
“The show must go on,” the stage manager declared, and it did: Everyone put on a brave face and performed to the best of their abilities. Of course, the public knew that a murder had been committed; there was no way to suppress such sensational news. Morbid as it sounds, the killing actually increased ticket sales! The rest of the Motown Festival was completely sold out - standing room only! There's no doubt in my mind that some of those gore groupies were hoping for another crime to be committed. Unfortunately, they'd soon get their wish . . .
Members of The Archies were quickly cleared of suspicion in the murder, and on Tuesday morning they were preparing to return to New England. They were backstage adding their names to the Apollo's famous Wall of Signatures when news broke that another festival headliner had cancelled! William “Bootsy” Collins, the closing night act, sent word that he couldn’t make it. He’d accidentally been overbooked and had a conflicting gig that was too important to miss.
The festival producers weren't happy about Bootsy's intent to cancel, and all morning they negotiated with his management to avoid taking legal action. The compromise they reached that afternoon resulted in a split bill, with Bootsy's Rubber Band only playing the first half of the last show.
They had to get someone else to close the festival on short notice! The Archies eagerly volunteered to fill the vacuum. Why not? They’d turned the place out on opening night! I’m not privy to everything that went down on the business end but, long story short, they bagged that closing gig; and Betty told me they also bagged a hefty portion of Bootsy’s appearance fee! "It's never about the money," she laughed, "except for when it is!"
We spoke just before I had to run out and buy lunch for Hudson. That day she was craving a certain kind of kosher smoked salmon, and I must've visited half the Jewish delicatessens in New York before I found it. By the time I got back to Hudson’s dressing room, all hell had broken loose! Nicky Álvarez was in there.
He and Hudson had squared off against each other, and they were going at it so hard, neither one realized that I was in the room! That smoked salmon was destined to be Hudson's dinner; her confrontation with the former Nicholas Freund was so stormy, she forgot all about eating lunch!
PERFORMANCES WILL BE SOLD
ON BOOTLEG SINGLES AND
EPs AS WELL AS ON A
VINYL ALBUM
Like a feral cat, she spat at him: “How dare you talk to me like that? Fuck you!” Nicky wasn’t intimidated. “I mean it, Hudson!,” he said. “Leave Glammus alone. She isn't interested in you and she’s still traumatized by what happened to Windsor Joy.” Hudson snapped her fingers in Nicky’s face. “As if you didn't know anything about that killing!" she hissed. "Who do you think you're fooling, bitch? You're the cause of her trauma! You're the one who should stay away from Glammus."
She took perverse pleasure in baiting him! Her eyes narrowed as she defiantly stood her ground. "I have every right to comfort her," she declared. "What fucking business is it of yours if I do?” Nicky skipped a beat before replying: “I’m her friend, you know. I’m concerned about her.”
Hudson threw back her head and laughed, with that contemptuous laugh I’d grown to hate! “What an idiot you are,” she roared. “I guessed your true identity; did you really think I wouldn’t guess hers, too? I know about Annie Mae Cherry, that Black woman you married. She promised to cure you of your homosexuality! What happened, Nicholas? Did she find out what a dedicated cocksucker you are and kick your ass to the curb? Yes, and she divorced you, but not before getting pregnant. Glammus Vidal is your daughter! The family resemblance is so obvious, I can't believe nobody else noticed it."
Nicky saw that it was useless to deny the truth. “All right,” he admitted, “she is my daughter. And that's why I came here! I love Glammus too dearly to stand by and watch you drive your hooks into her, like you did with Lover Ramos.” At the mention of her late boyfriend’s name, Hudson’s eyes blazed! “That’s why you killed him, isn’t it?,” she accused. “Jealousy! Because he threw you over for me.” Now it was Nicky’s turn to be amused. “On what planet?” he scoffed. “You’re demented, Hudson! Lover wouldn’t have touched you with gloves on, and you know it.”
At those words, Hudson Beecher threw a blue and purple fit! Every obscenity known to man flew out of her filthy mouth. Then she screamed: “You queer Kraut bastard! I could have you fired on the spot! Your bosses wouldn’t think so highly of you if they knew your background: Jailbird! Gangster! Murderer!
Nicky maintained a glacial cool under her onslaught of verbal abuse. “I've never killed anybody, and certainly not the man I loved,” he stated firmly. “They used circumstantial evidence to hang that murder charge on me, and I got convicted of being an accessory; but I served my time! Besides, there are other people on the Apollo staff with prison records. My bosses aren’t as close-minded as you think they are.”
Hudson’s icy gray eyes narrowed again. “Maybe not,” she reasoned, ”but what about Glammus? What would they think of their new MC if they found out her father is a cold-blooded killer?” A grim smile creased Nicky’s face. “You’re a cold bitch, Hudson," he declared. "You probably would try to smear Glammus that way, but you'd be wasting your time. Everybody here loves her. They wouldn’t hold her responsible for my past!”
Then Hudson pulled her ace in the hole. “Ah, but that isn’t her only secret is it?” she cackled. “Glammus is just like me . . . she’s a Transwoman! Did you think I wouldn’t know, Nicky? Betcha when they find out missy is packing a penis, her brilliant career will be over before it even starts!”
That statement shattered Nicky’s cool for sure! “So it’s true,” he gasped. “You have been threatening to blackmail her! Well, if you try, it will be your word against hers and mine! But you’d better not try, you vulture! If you do anything to hurt my daughter, I'll commit murder for real! You won’t live to ruin anyone else’s life.”
Hudson leapt at him, punching, kicking and scratching! That’s when I finally intervened. At great risk to my own personal safety, I separated them and pleaded: “Calm down, both of you! Do you want to get the security guards up here?” Nicky quickly regained his composure, but Hudson was completely out of control. “You little prison bitch!” she bellowed. “You’ll regret saying that to me, I swear you will! Now, get the fuck out of my dressing room!” The cold rage in Hudson’s voice chilled me to the bone; I knew that she meant business! But Nicky Álvarez’s threat sounded no less serious. I sensed trouble ahead!
The Archies didn’t know about any of this, and even if they had known they were too busy to care. Once again, the group had a brief window of time in which to get a show together. Friday was Motown Revue night, and no specific songwriter was being honored. They had free choice of concert repertoire but what should they sing? More Smokey Robinson songs? Maybe Betty and Veronica could do a Diana Ross + The Supremes tribute? Or how about a musical “pot luck” made up of Archie’s personal Motown favorites? Deanie Grundy suggested a tribute to some of Hitsville's female writers: Valerie Simpson, Brenda and Patrice Holloway, Sylvia Moy or Pam Sawyer.
The group was undecided until arranger Rod Mack came to the rescue with an idea for a twelve-song medley. It included several Smokey Robinson compositions but also featured smash hits by some of the other great Motown writers: Norman Whitfield, Ivy Jo Hunter, and Holland-Dozier-Holland. Rod chose all the songs, with an ear for tunes that would be a good fit for The Archies.
He put the medley together on Wednesday night and sang it for them the next morning, accompanying himself on guitar. I was there with The Archies, taking a much-needed break from Hudson's temper tantrums! All of us loved it; even Hot Dog seemed pleased, wagging his tail and prancing excitedly.
One song, which Rod had intended for Jughead to sing, was the Jimmy Ruffin fave “What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted?” When the group heard the passionate way he phrased those sad lyrics, they agreed that he had to perform it on stage with them. “I couldn’t top that rendition,” Juggy told Rod, “and I wouldn’t even try!” If there was an encore, and everyone expected that there would be, The Archies would reprise “Going To A Go-Go”, the number that had gone over so big on opening night. Rehearsals began immediately and lasted well into the evening.
ARRANGEMENT BY GERALDINE GRUNDY
FOR THE APOLLO THEATER'S
MOTOWN FESTIVAL
Hudson had to rehearse, too, and I thought she needed some fresh material. By Friday morning, I had conceived a new comedy routine for the finale, based on an early joke I’d written. The problem was, I couldn’t remember the punchline! Back then, I had one of those early laptop computers; I searched my files for the joke but with no luck. Then I remembered that Hudson had kept some of my older material on notecards.
She never liked me going into her personal things, but if I could find that joke and turn it into a great monologue, it was worth risking her volatile temper. While searching for her box of notecards, I found something surprising hidden behind her suitcases: A large box of Deutsche schokolade - German chocolates! The Silbersee brand.
They aren’t manufactured anymore, but for many years they were some of the finest candies in the world! You had to import them from Münich, and they weren’t cheap. Hudson certainly had expensive tastes but she never ate chocolates; she was allergic. They gave her a skin rash! Why in the world was she keeping a box of them?
She may not have been a chocoholic, but I certainly was and I still am. I knew for sure she wasn’t going to eat those delicacies, so I decided to ask her to sell me whatever was left in that box. But I just couldn’t wait; I had to taste one of those Silbersee nuggets right then and there! In my defense, I’d worked through both my breakfast and lunch breaks so I was very hungry. I slid open the box, eager to sample that gooey goodness; but much to my disappointment, there was no candy inside. All I found was a coiled-up length of rope.
I remember exclaiming Was zum Teufel, which is German for what the fuck? And then I realized that this rope looked familiar. Mein Gott! It looked identical to the rope that Windsor Joy was found hanging from! I didn’t have time to put two-and-two together, though. I heard a footstep, and when I turned around all I saw was one of Hudson’s hand barbells coming at me. I momentarily felt an excruciating pain in my head, and then I blacked out!
I came to with an awful headache, a painful bruise over my left eye, a gag stuffed in my mouth and the feeling of something tight around my ankles and wrists. I gradually perceived that I was laying inside the dressing room wardrobe; I'd been unconscious for a couple of hours. The first thing I saw clearly was Hudson Beecher bending over me with that wild look in her eyes!
She was binding my hands, legs and feet with her panty hose, pulling the knots tight enough to cut off my circulation! All the while, she was babbling with glee: “Fat, fat, the water rat! Overeating will be the death of you, Margot! Haven’t I always told you so? But today I'm grateful for your ravenous appetite. It's going to make you more useful to me than you've ever been before! The mystery of Windsor Joy’s murder can be solved quickly now.”
STAGE BY THE ARCHIES @ THEIR APOLLO
THEATRE APPEARANCE
