Chapter 15 Kavita Ridley
Kavita Ridley
It had been weeks since Kavita had received her red letter.
Franklin didn’t dare say another word about Dale because Kavita loved to live in her own reality.
If it didn’t matter to her anymore, the subject no longer existed.
Dale was gone, and that was the only thing that mattered.
Because the dead couldn’t speak. The heat was now back on Adesua.
Father quickly paid every paper, once again, to report that Dale’s death was an attack by mobsters, trying to deflect the blame from his innocent children.
Franklin had invited Kavita to come to a day party in a secret location to get her mind off things.
He wanted to get back to the old “them.” The ones who were the life of the party.
Kavita was excited for an outing. She’d been cooped up in the house for months under Father’s strict orders after Dale’s death.
The idea of this outing gave her a different feeling than the late-night speakeasies they would go to.
Kavita twirled in her sparkling white dress.
She slinked down the stairs, waving quickly to her family as everyone ate a late lunch.
Her flamboyant cousin Sebastien, who’d just gotten back from France, chased her down the hallway.
“Not so fast, cousin! You think you’ll leave me hanging with these boring people?”
Kavita knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “It’s a love . . . emergency. Very private matter. I am sure you understand.”
He was about to give a quick response but instead let it go.
“Fine, I will let ya slide this time. Have fun with Franklin. He has to be the perfect kind of crazy to be with you!” He kissed her on both cheeks as if he were still on vacation in France.
Kavita hopped into the private car Franklin had sent before anyone else could run after her.
As the car wound over the roads, a peace came over her.
The fall leaves were starting to glow in that perfect shade of orange she loved.
Quickly, she realized they were not heading into the city, and this made her even happier.
The car approached a beautiful conservatory.
The tall windows reflected the greenery in the greenhouse, which had perfectly placed overgrown ivy that crept out onto the cobblestone path.
It made her feel like she was in a distant land filled with magic.
Kavita was becoming smitten with Franklin all over again without even seeing him.
The grounds and gardens were filled with people laughing and chasing each other, enjoying the sun with cocktails in their hands.
She even saw that the women were barefoot, throwing their shoes near the fountain.
This was her style of party, with people from different boroughs, different working-class people all having picnics together on scattered blankets.
The platters of food, with fruit, cheese, and savory sandwiches, kept coming and being passed around.
Seeing people relaxing on hammocks or dancing to the live band, Kavita was sure she was in an oasis.
“Welcome to the Garden of Eden,” said a sultry Franklin, looking dashing in a cream suit.
She turned toward him, giving him a tight hug, to his surprise.
“Thank you for inviting me; this is absolutely beautiful,” she said softly.
He smiled hard at her elation.
“We like to call her the Eden Gala. At the very end of the summer heat, right when fall is starting to come, we host this get-together for any and everyone at this abandoned greenhouse. It started off small, but word of mouth is how it has become so successful,” he said quietly.
He passed her a cocktail from a tray. “The heat makes people restless. Best to stay cool.”
He grabbed her hand, and they walked the grounds together, Frankling leading her into a different section of the greenhouse.
They approached a row of gambling tables all set up perfectly with a great view of the festivities beyond.
The thick smoke and smell of cigars permeated the air as a dealer shuffled a deck of cards.
“It’s been a while since we’ve done this,” Franklin remarked.
Kavita was more than ready for the high of gambling.
The last time she’d played was unlike anything she’d done before.
She walked over to the roulette dealer, and he slid over the crimson chips.
Being a Ridley came with favors, which led the dealer to put her on credit almost instantly.
Kavita placed her first stack of chips on number three.
She always loved that number, for whatever reason.
A man with a raspy voice spoke from behind.
“Back for more fun, little miss?” he said, with a woman vastly younger than his last ex-wife on his arm.
“Can’t let Franklin here get all the good stuff.” Kavita looked at the woman, who gazed back at her.
It was gangster Lucky Moretti and some of Franklin’s old friends.
She knew Franklin had to keep a poker face, not only at the table but also with Lucky.
Especially after what had happened last summer.
The red letter had only caused her even more stress as she wondered who Franklin really was.
Before he’d met Kavita, he worked with Lucky to make a living.
She didn’t judge him for that because he changed and left Lucky before they met.
Now she spoke briefly to keep the peace so he wouldn’t retaliate.
Surprisingly, even after all her father’s doings these last few months, indirectly blaming Dale’s death on mobsters like him, Lucky had a peaceful nature to him.
Lucky spotted her look. “Oh, forgive me, my beautiful. Kavita, this is my wife, Francine. She decided to come out and play with me tonight.”
Francine nodded in approval. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sweets. Franklin here hasn’t stopped talking about you.”
Franklin started to blush. “No need for all that, Francine. You know I hear the refreshments are quite great,” he said, trying to change the subject.
Lucky focused on the table. “Hey, you two, hush so the miss can focus.”
The roulette ball started to bounce in what seemed like slow motion before it finally landed on her number. She felt exhilarated as everyone cheered, hearing her win. Her winning streak continued. Kavita decided to change to number twelve. Until that third round, which became a loss.
Lucky, being the older man, leaned over toward Kavita with optimism. “Look, kid, you know what you’re doing. You’ve won many times before. This is the moment that separates winners from losers. Which will you be?” he said confidently.
This was going to be her last spin no matter what.
Her chest tightened as she placed her final bet.
The roulette ball seemed to move slowly along the rim until it clicked past her number.
The dealer swept away the last of her chips with practiced efficiency.
Reality crashed in as Kavita calculated her losses.
The dealer looked up at her with stoic eyes. “Quite a sum you lost, miss. Time to settle up.”
The amount would make her father’s head spin. Franklin noticed her panic.
“Go get the money. I’ll wait,” the dealer grunted calmly, but his eyes urged her to hurry.
She looked at Franklin with worried eyes.
Kavita was annoyed that Franklin wouldn’t pay up for her.
That was one of the sacrifices she’d made in the name of love; paying for everything was normal for her.
Everyone knew she came from money, but she expected to be taken care of, especially since this was his idea.
Nevertheless, Kavita assured Franklin she was fine and left him to catch up with his old friends.
She picked up her empty champagne glass and walked to fill it with more champagne.
As she was about to pour, she noticed a crumpled piece of paper at the bottom.
Kavita assume it was confetti from earlier. Instead, it was a note.
One more glass . . .
Kavita couldn’t maintain a poker face this time.
Chills ran over her body. She immediately thought the worst, believing she had been poisoned by a disgruntled fan.
Kavita grabbed the money out of her wallet, which was in Franklin’s coat pocket, to give to the dealer.
The hairs on her arms stuck up sharply; she decided to put on her gloves.
One finger wouldn’t go in, no matter how hard she pushed it in.
The threading must have gotten out of whack, she thought.
As she turned the gloves inside out, another slip of paper fell out.
One more dead body . . .
This wasn’t something she could ignore anymore.
The greenhouse, which had seemed magical just a moment ago, now felt like a trap, like sulfur and smoke were choking her.
Everything around her began to feel small.
She walked back to the table and paid the dealer, signaling to Franklin she wanted to leave. He ignored her cues.
Lucky switched places with Franklin, getting closer to Kavita.
“Speaking of owing, I just spoke to Franklin about you and your father. I think it’s time for Lucky Moretti to turn over a new leaf. I do a lot for the city of New York that goes unrecognized,” he said, then swigged down some alcohol.
Kavita thought about what he did. It was a far cry from helping. If anything, he stole from people who were barely making it. She let him continue so his ego wouldn’t be bruised.
“I need to clean up my image a bit. I feel it’s the least Franklin can do after all I have helped him with. Isn’t that right, Franklin?”
The idea of Lucky coming back into their lives hit Kavita with a nagging feeling that something was amiss.
Lucky had let Franklin go after he’d done his duty and paid off his debt.
There were people envious of him because he’d seemingly gotten off so easily with Lucky.
Because everyone knew Lucky was someone you could never escape, no matter how far you got.
She waved off her never-ending thoughts.
But what if someone wanted vengeance, and a way to pull Franklin back in?
Something in Dale’s file could have given someone a clear way to force Franklin back under Lucky’s wing.
Franklin looked defeated. Oh, how Kavita was tired of weak men flocking to her family, from her father letting Amelia be the person in control instead of Wei and Omar, Joseph abandoning Adesua on her special night, and Jamison keeping Amelia on a string.
When she thought about Amelia, she wondered whether she got the short end of the stick from everyone.
At first, Kavita hadn’t felt bad for her when Omar and Wei called her out at the pier, but truly, no matter what the sisters did, they were in a man’s world.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Franklin placed his hand on her head. “You looked like you were about to faint for a moment.”
Kavita waved her hand, brushing off Franklin’s question, trying to focus on what Lucky really wanted.
“My father is so busy. Anytime I talk business, he brushes me away, unfortunately.”
Lucky went to her ear, whispering, “For your and Franklin’s sake, I think you will have to try a little harder, darling. You know, for old times’ sake,” he said, winking his right eye and putting a toothpick in his mouth.
“Very well, then. If you both can excuse me,” Kavita said curtly.
She ran to the tiny house on the property and called Mr. Pierre to come pick her up.
Kavita felt grimier than the mud outside.
She sat outside as far away from the greenhouse as she could, waiting near the driveway.
Mr. Pierre came within minutes. She was grateful they were still in Long Island.
The last thing she needed was for her thoughts to run rampant.
Mr. Pierre opened the back door to the only thing that was in her way.
Father.
“Why are you at a place such as this, Kavita? You keep on at it, and I will call this wedding off myself, so help me God.” Father slammed his fist on the seat, insisting she get in.
The words continued. A series of insults about her failures. “You lie constantly, Kavita, and I let you get away with it. Not anymore.”
She sat, taking in every word. Kavita wanted to let him ramble, but she couldn’t bite her tongue.
“He was just like you, Father,” she said coldly.
Father turned in his seat as they made it up their driveway. “Excuse me?”
“Franklin didn’t have a silver spoon in his mouth when he was born, but he worked damn hard for every cent he has. You know this and I know this. So the least you could do is give him a chance. Why does everyone in our family get chance after chance but people like Franklin don’t?”
He cleared his throat, keeping silent. One thing Father would never do was say he was wrong.
Kavita was in a never-ending battle of proving not only herself but also someone she loved and cared for.
Father being this close to a mobster like Lucky made her feel paralyzed.
She took his silence as the closest thing to agreeing with her, for now—or was that what he wanted her to think?
The Manhattan Herald
September 21, 1927
Metropolitan Musings
Politics and Prohibition Collide
Politician George Tanner has gotten caught up in an underworld racket scheme with mobster Lucky Moretti.
Some say he even tried to get the Ridley Line involved.
Dale Caimen had a file showing how Tanner tried to woo his way in with Kavita to get access to the Ridleys and use of their ships for Lucky’s not-so-lucky business.
This comes weeks after the Ridleys spoke at the World Shipping Alliance Convention on safety and protecting the piers. Ledgers and telegrams put them in hot water. The office of George Tanner has denied the claims.