Read Online Another Dead Republican by Mark Zubro - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mark Zubro
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A.M.
The three of us sat and looked at each other for a moment.
I said, “This is screwed up.”
Achtenberg said, “If I know the Grums, it’s going to get worse.” She shook her head. “I’ll never know what Veronica saw in him.”
I said, “I completely agree. She must have complained about him.”
“Mostly she defended him. When we had coffee, she’d say that he rebelled against the family. That he wasn’t like them. That he wanted to get out from under them.”
I added, “I never saw any evidence of that.”
“Nor did I.” Achtenberg sighed. “They met because of me. I will always regret that.”
“How’d that come about?” I asked.
“A bunch of us friends were going out. Veronica and the rest of us were in The Evil Hawkeye bar in Iowa City. One of the women had a blind date. Turned out to be Edgar. She saw him for what he was and was trying to ditch him. Veronica and he met. And the rest is misery. And yes, I know, she loved him.” Another sigh.
I said, “Well, really, you weren’t directly at fault.”
“For the misery of her life, even a glancing sort of responsibility is enough for guilt.” She shrugged. “Love. Who knew?”
We both nodded. Scott handed out napkins and small slices of Kringle to Enid and me and took one for himself. It was pecan, the best kind. I swallowed it in two bites. Mom had remembered to pick up the Kringle from Racine. Count on mom to get the best pastry ever invented at a time like this. I took a sip of coffee from one of the cups mom and dad had brought in earlier. I felt I needed both caffeine and sugar at that moment.
Scott asked, “What did you mean, if I know the Grums?”
She said, “You know them, right?”
Scott and I gave summaries of what we knew about their role in the county.
After we finished, Achtenberg said, “That’s the Veronica version, mostly true. There’s the private, rumored version.”
“What’s that?”
“Vileness through the decades, the kind that doesn’t make headlines. For example in the fifties and early sixties the Grum family and their cronies led the fight to keep this county white, and if not all-white, then very segregated. Another example, in Chicago, the Democrats went to Daley for inside help. In Harrison County the Republicans went to the Grums for the same thing. People around the Daleys might go to jail, might be convicted, but the Daleys were never indicted, arrested. Same with the Grums. They always kept their noses clean. Politicians were bought off, deals were made, problems swept under the carpet, but I have no specifics. Certainly no proof of criminally indictable activity. If anybody does, I’ve never heard of it.”
Scott said, “I’ve read a number of history books on the Civil Rights movement in the fifties and sixties. None of them mentions marches or demonstrations here that I remember.”
As we talked I offered more Kringle around. Enid declined. Scott and I took more. You had to scarf down Kringle when you got the chance. You never knew when you might be facing your last chance at Kringle.
Achtenberg said, “My dear, it was then, and it is still going on. Nowadays the Grums try to be more circumspect. They work very quietly, deviously – a little zoning change here, a required lot size law there. Federal money comes in for high-density development, but poof, the money disappears. An Interstate highway moves a few miles this way or that and somehow where it goes or doesn’t go always seems to redound to the Grums’ benefit or help with their racist inclinations.”
Scott said, “And they get away with this?”
“The most recent lawsuit against a perceived racist move by the County board was filed five years ago. It will probably be going on for at least five more years. They fought change then. They fight change now. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t come. Just makes it harder.”
We
The three of us sat and looked at each other for a moment.
I said, “This is screwed up.”
Achtenberg said, “If I know the Grums, it’s going to get worse.” She shook her head. “I’ll never know what Veronica saw in him.”
I said, “I completely agree. She must have complained about him.”
“Mostly she defended him. When we had coffee, she’d say that he rebelled against the family. That he wasn’t like them. That he wanted to get out from under them.”
I added, “I never saw any evidence of that.”
“Nor did I.” Achtenberg sighed. “They met because of me. I will always regret that.”
“How’d that come about?” I asked.
“A bunch of us friends were going out. Veronica and the rest of us were in The Evil Hawkeye bar in Iowa City. One of the women had a blind date. Turned out to be Edgar. She saw him for what he was and was trying to ditch him. Veronica and he met. And the rest is misery. And yes, I know, she loved him.” Another sigh.
I said, “Well, really, you weren’t directly at fault.”
“For the misery of her life, even a glancing sort of responsibility is enough for guilt.” She shrugged. “Love. Who knew?”
We both nodded. Scott handed out napkins and small slices of Kringle to Enid and me and took one for himself. It was pecan, the best kind. I swallowed it in two bites. Mom had remembered to pick up the Kringle from Racine. Count on mom to get the best pastry ever invented at a time like this. I took a sip of coffee from one of the cups mom and dad had brought in earlier. I felt I needed both caffeine and sugar at that moment.
Scott asked, “What did you mean, if I know the Grums?”
She said, “You know them, right?”
Scott and I gave summaries of what we knew about their role in the county.
After we finished, Achtenberg said, “That’s the Veronica version, mostly true. There’s the private, rumored version.”
“What’s that?”
“Vileness through the decades, the kind that doesn’t make headlines. For example in the fifties and early sixties the Grum family and their cronies led the fight to keep this county white, and if not all-white, then very segregated. Another example, in Chicago, the Democrats went to Daley for inside help. In Harrison County the Republicans went to the Grums for the same thing. People around the Daleys might go to jail, might be convicted, but the Daleys were never indicted, arrested. Same with the Grums. They always kept their noses clean. Politicians were bought off, deals were made, problems swept under the carpet, but I have no specifics. Certainly no proof of criminally indictable activity. If anybody does, I’ve never heard of it.”
Scott said, “I’ve read a number of history books on the Civil Rights movement in the fifties and sixties. None of them mentions marches or demonstrations here that I remember.”
As we talked I offered more Kringle around. Enid declined. Scott and I took more. You had to scarf down Kringle when you got the chance. You never knew when you might be facing your last chance at Kringle.
Achtenberg said, “My dear, it was then, and it is still going on. Nowadays the Grums try to be more circumspect. They work very quietly, deviously – a little zoning change here, a required lot size law there. Federal money comes in for high-density development, but poof, the money disappears. An Interstate highway moves a few miles this way or that and somehow where it goes or doesn’t go always seems to redound to the Grums’ benefit or help with their racist inclinations.”
Scott said, “And they get away with this?”
“The most recent lawsuit against a perceived racist move by the County board was filed five years ago. It will probably be going on for at least five more years. They fought change then. They fight change now. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t come. Just makes it harder.”
We
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