Member-only story
A Prohibition Ballad.
“He taught me how to love but not how to stop.” — Anonymous
The following is based on a true story…
…The eardrum-shattering dual reports of the .38 slugs resonate across the decades in this place. On stormy nights at the strike of 1:24 AM you can hear their echo — surrounded by a pungent, otherworldly scent of red roses in full bloom — through what is now The Darkhorse Tavern, a forgettable dive bar on a forgettable street in an even more forgettable Midwestern city.
It was on just such a tumultuous night in 1928 when something unspeakable occurred at the spot where the Darkhorse now operates. Back then, the place was a speakeasy called Club Paradisio with a legitimate diner in the front operated by the Club owner’s mistress.
Local officials and police knew all about the debauchery inside the Paradisio — gambling, cabaret dancing, the new craze called “jazz”, burlesque shows, and an endless flow of illegal intoxicating beverages. They just didn’t care as the owner, a gruff Irishman named O’Malley, made sure they had a chance to wet their beaks in his profits in return for being able to operate his establishment with impunity. It only helped that Old Man O’Malley reportedly had connections to both Capone and the various New York outfits.
