Occupation: Cigarette seller and cocktail waitress at the Third Door, a Chicago Speakeasy
Hey, there! Welcome! Glad you found your way to the Third Door!
Follow me—I saw a table on the other end of the dance floor. First-timers, right? I can always tell (even though I’ve only been working here a few weeks myself). Was it tough getting the password? It was? Yeah, that’s how it goes sometimes. The regulars, they won’t tell, and Gooch and Little Johnny, the hired muscle, are mighty particular in that regard. Bet you had to pay a little something to get in tonight? So I’ll let you in on a little secret—you know how tonight’s password was ‘applesauce’? Well, turns out they use that one the first Saturday every month. Become a regular and you’ll learn all the tricks.
Name’s Gina Ricci, and I’ve got your smokes, your candy, your Wrigley’s gum. When the other girls—Faye, Lulu and Jade—are doing their numbers, hoofing shimmying for the crowd, I’ve got your drinks too. Sidecars, Gin Rickeys, Southsides—you name it. See that white-haired gent behind the bar? Yeah, that’s Billy Bottles. Legendary in these parts–makes the best drinks in all of Chicago, none of that bathtub swill here.
Say, the way you’re looking around. You ever been in one of these joints before? Well, the Signora and Big Mike, they keep a real elegant place. Those are real chandeliers hanging from the ceiling—this isn’t a dimestore dump. This place is real classy—it’s the Bee’s Knees!
Oh him? That’s Neddy Fingers over there on piano, a real sweet crooner, a bit of a swell if you know what I mean. All the big acts come through here—Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong—sometimes I can hardly believe it. Big names too, Babe Ruth, Bob Hope. I heard Lilian Gish, you know, the film star, was here back in December, but that was before my time. Oh, yeah, and see that big man sitting at the end of the bar? That’s Clarence Darrow—the famous attorney. Saved Leopold and Loeb from swinging, if you remember that story.
Gin Blossoms for the ladies, and Rumrunners for the gents? Sure thing. Say, I notice you’re still looking around. You’re not working for the Drys are you? Those federal agents come sniffing around sometimes, but we’ve never had a raid. Big Mike’s got a few inside men. And then of course the cops in this town–they’ll be the first ones to stop in for a nip after a big case. A free drink there, a bit of dough there, and everyone stays hunky-dory. We’ve got a few other exits though if something happens. Sometimes you can wait it out in the drugstore or the tea room upstairs. Yeah, that’s right, I guess you can call them ‘fronts.’ Never heard that word when I used to work in a kitchen. Now that I think of it, I suppose I’ve learned lots of words since I started working here! My dear mother must be rolling over in her grave.
Oh, that room back there? No, you can’t go in there. Yeah, there’s gambling going on there, but it’s not what you think. That’s where the ex-servicemen spend their evenings. The Great War did a number on them you see—the men are just more comfy back there, where they don’t have to have prying eyes, staring at them and looking at their injuries. My brother died in the Great War and sometimes they ask me about him…I’ll be right back with your drinks.
Here you go! Down ‘em quick! Ned’s back on the piano, and this place is gonna start hopping! Just keep your nose to yourself, mind your own apples, and for heaven’s sake, don’t rat anyone out, and you’ll have a real fine time.
You can read more about Gina in Murder Knocks Twice, the first book in the NEW “Speakeasy” historical mystery series, released April 30, 2019.
The first mystery in Susanna Calkins’ captivating new series takes readers into the dark, dangerous, and glittering underworld of a 1920s Chicago speakeasy.
Gina Ricci takes on a job as a cigarette girl to earn money for her ailing father―and to prove to herself that she can hold her own at Chicago’s most notorious speakeasy, the Third Door. She’s enchanted by the harsh, glamorous world she discovers: the sleek socialites sipping bootlegged cocktails, the rowdy ex-servicemen playing poker in a curtained back room, the flirtatious jazz pianist and the brooding photographer―all overseen by the club’s imposing owner, Signora Castallazzo. But the staff buzzes with whispers about Gina’s predecessor, who died under mysterious circumstances, and the photographer, Marty, warns her to be careful.
When Marty is brutally murdered, with Gina as the only witness, she’s determined to track down his killer. What secrets did Marty capture on his camera―and who would do anything to destroy it? As Gina searches for answers, she’s pulled deeper into the shadowy truths hiding behind the Third Door.
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About the author
Susanna Calkins writes the award-winning Lucy Campion historical mysteries set in 17th century London and the Speakeasy Murders set in 1920s Chicago (Minotaur/St. Martin’s). Her fiction has been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, the Agatha, the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery (Lefty) and the Anthony, and was awarded a Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award (the Macavity). Born and raised in Philadelphia, she lives in the Chicago area now, with her husband and two sons. Check out her website at susannacalkins.com.
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