Taking It on the Lam by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

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teeth, until he utilized his job acquired experience expertise and came up with a plan to steal what he thought was $200 from a lip's office on his route. Afterward, at his periodic bar haunt, Joe discovered that he'd actually stolen $5,000 from Victor Backett, a corrupt, politically and mob contacted attorney, though it was just the general conversation of the day, and he did not implicate himself. It was said that Backett had framed wealthy broker/patsy Emil Lorrison in a sex scandal, then extorted the cabbage from him with the help of Lucille "Lucky"

Colner and ex-con, ding dong and maniacially vicious goon, and accomplice Georgie Garsell. Georgie was delighted to have been instructed by Backett to find the lettuce and to torture before rubbing out whoever had it.

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Upon learning this through his former partners and bar mates, Joe began to panic. He attempted to explain his newfound wealth to his wife Ellen as being the result of a lucrative out of town job. He then disguised the clams in a package which he stupidly leaves with his hangout bartender, who he trusts for no good reason; Nick Drumman. Perhaps the “trust” is actually generated through being mentally unstable, one step away from desperation.

Concurrently, Lucille's body was found in the East River, strangled. Captain Walter Anderson of the New York Police Department investigated the murder. Both Lorrison and Backett were interviewed, their names having been found in Lucille's

"love diary."

After the birth of his child, Joe decided to try to return his ill-gotten gain, but Backett suspected a trap and refused the offer. At this point, Joe inspected the package he had recovered from Drumman to find that the clams were gone. Meanwhile, Backett sent Garsell and a taxi driver to grab Joe and recover the cash. Joe was able to escape after he convinced Garsell that Drumman had the scratch and had gone into hiding after substituting a nightgown in the package. Unlike naïve Joe, Garsell knew that Drumman was a ganef.

Now, intending to “safely” take back the dough, Joe looked for Drumman, but Garsell found the bartender first, strangled him,

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and recovered the dough. Joe confessed the original theft to Ellen, who urged him to turn himself in. But Joe found himself to be a suspect in Drumman's murder. He tried to track down the holder of the lettuce, Garsell, to clear himself; while Captain Anderson methodically pursued both he and Garsell as suspects; Garsell for Lucille’s murder and Joe for Drumman’s. Joe located Garsell's girlfriend, singer and floozy, Harriet Sirenity, who seduces him. But, nothing other than her racket on her mind, she found it “wise” to betray Joe to Garsell.

Garsell planned to murder Joe and strangled Harriet to eliminate her as a witness. Captain Anderson is hot on their heels and a chase ensued through the early morning streets of run down Ninth Avenue, New York. Joe was stalking Garsell, while Garsell was stalking him, and Anderson was stalking both of them. Sensing the claustrophobic pressure, and looking to cut a deal, Garsell's partner, the taxi driver, tried to surrender to the police, though he had unexpected difficulty in doing so, the result of trying to turn himself in to a cop on the pad. So, through a corrupt cop, Garsell is told of the taxi driver’s infidelity, rounds up Joe, and drills the taxi driver, filling him with daylight, and intending to frame Joe. He forced Joe to drive, but this decision did not prove wise, as Joe deliberately crashed the taxi in an attempt to end the nightmare. Garsell

Taking It on the Lam