Levey looked at the horse and then at the fat man who clearly wanted the attentions of Miss Harlow. He didn't want to get in the middle of that, but Harlow was right, something had happened.

"Sir, my name is Mister Levey Posner. You likely don't know me, but I assure you that if I wanted you to, you would. Now, you're going to tell me how much you paid for this horse. I'm going to double that, and then you're going to tell me the names of the men who last saw Tamsyn. DO I make myself clear?"

He was not waiting for an answer, he had a hand into his billfold before the fat man could speak and he began peeling away hundreds as if they were worth exactly as much as the paper they were printed on.

"Of course, if I haven't made myself clear, well, it wouldn't be too difficult for the docks to find another foreman I don't think. What do you think Ben?"

He turned to his bodyguard and asked as casually as if asking for a letter opener, or a cigarette.

"You see I intend to be very good friends with the foreman at the docks here. The question on your plate is, are you that foreman, or are you about to promote someone?"

Harlow stepped back allowing Levey to take control of the situation utterly.

The man stammered and nodded, "No... I'm... I'm the foreman."  He stared at the money longingly, having already forgotten Harlow and now lusting after something entirely different.

"Harvey Phelps, Joe Cancio, and um... fuck... Tony Romani.  I can call 'em up here to talk to you if you want.  It ain't no big deal, Mr. Posner.  I promise.  Just give me two shakes of a rat's tail and they'll be answering to you if you want that?"

Levey nodded one time and let the man go.

"Miss Harlow. Would like to assist me in questioning these men?"

He smiled and made his way toward the office once again, leaving the horse behind for the moment. It wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I hope I don't have to resort to anything drastic, but I have a feeling you will keep me from doing that yes?"

Harlow nodded, "Of course, I speak up if I think you're going in a bad direction.  I know how worried you are about her, but we're getting closer to the truth.  Just try to stay focused on that."

She gave Levey a reassuring smile as he held open the office door for her and she entered.  

Five minutes later three men entered with the new foreman.  He introduced them one at a time.  The first was a hairy man, stocky with a solid build.  "This here is Harvey Phelps."  

He motioned then to a slender Italian guy with an unusually long neck in coveralls, "This here is Joe Cancio."

He then turned to the last guy who was just coming through the door.  The man, presumably Tony Romani, was a very young Italian man and the second he set eyes upon Levey_Posner, he turned and bolted.

The foreman stammered after the quickly disappearing teen, "Tony?!?" 

Levey watched as the man flew round the corner and then he nodded.

"He'll get caught soon enough, we know where he lives, the bars he likes to go to, and where he works, right boys?"

He asked the group of men there with a smile. A few grumbles which were clearly meant to remind him that he was the outsider said these men were not going to do too much talking. The boy who ran, he knew.

"Well, here's the thing, we're all family here, we all could use a little help from time to time. Miss Tamsyn, she was a dear friend of mine, and if any of you boys know anything... "He pulled a roll of bills from his pocket and began to flip through them one at a time, revealing that each one of them was a hundred dollars. "I would..." flip "...be very thankful..." flip "...and generous."

With a wad of about a thousand dollars, he slipped the rest back into his pocket.

"So boys, what do we know, oh and where can we find Tony Romani?"

Harlow stood silent and still as the men began to talk.

Joe spoke first.  "Yeah, I know Tony.  Don't know why he ran, but typically he's a pretty straight ace.  A little lazy on the job, but he's a fucking kid, ya know?"

Joe shrugged.

"There's a pharmacy on maple street that sells bathtub hooch in the back.  Some of the guys go there to gamble on payday.  You might find him there, he likes tossing dice a little too much for his own good.  Can't stay away from it for long."

Harvey seemed to loosen up after his buddy spoke up, "The kid was really sweet on the Fazzone dame.  I'd seen them together at the Green Mill downtown a few times, the young fellas like to take their best girls dancing and play at being wise guys.  And, if you got a few sawbucks for the waitresses, they'll put a shot of something good in your drinks.  Tony was always flashing his dice winnings down there.  Hell, when she came by for that horse, he was chatting her up about a date.  At least those suits chased her off."

Joe nodded.  "Yeah, a couple of big guys.  Italian.  Had guns.  I never saw them around these parts before but they weren't the sort you ask questions."

Harvey continued, "Don't know that Tony's got any reason to go to the Mill with how he ran from here, but its a common haunt of his in the evenings."  

The foreman remained silent, watching Levey_Posner carefully... nervous.

Levey nodded and crooked a smile from his lips, leaving the stack of bills in Ben's hands.

"Well boys, looks like steaks are on me tonight, I'm sure Ben here is a generous fellow, he'll share what he thinks is appropriate. I thank you for your time. Oh, and if any of you have a bit of extra time on your hands and want to help me move a horse, it would be well compensated."

He tipped his hat and then made his way back toward the car, expecting Harlow to follow.

"You got a pretty dress Miss Harlow, or are we going to have to go shopping?"

"To be honest, I wasn't planning on going out on the town so ... maybe a shopping trip is in order before we hit a classy place like The Green Mill."

"Well then..."  Levey offered his arm.  Harlow took it and the two of them headed off to shop and prepare for a 'night on the town' in the windy city business district.