We Do What We Must

Copyright

www.EvolvedPub.com

To make sure you never miss out on any important announcements related to our books, special promotions, etc, please subscribe to our newsletter at the address below. And fear not, we’ll not spam you, nor will we share your information with anyone else.

Subscribe to the Evolved Publishing Newsletter

~~~

WE DO WHAT WE MUST

(Blood, Wine, and the Birth of the American Mafia in New Orleans)

Copyright © 2022 Richard Robbins

~~~

ISBN (EPUB Version): 1622537351

ISBN-13 (EPUB Version): 978-1-62253-735-8

~~~

Editor: Lane Diamond

Cover Artist: Kris Norris

Interior Designer: Lane Diamond

~~~

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

At the end of this novel of approximately 59,515 words, you will find two Special Sneak Previews: 1) THE CLOVIS DIG by Teri Fink, a multiple award-winning literary fiction piece with crime/mystery overtones, featuring Native American Indian cultural elements, and; 2) THEY TELL ME YOU ARE WICKED by David Hagerty, the first book in the critically acclaimed Duncan Cochrane series of political crime thrillers. We think you’ll enjoy these books, too, and provide these previews as a FREE extra service, which you should in no way consider a part of the price you paid for this book. We hope you will both appreciate and enjoy the opportunity. Thank you.

~~~

eBook License Notes:

You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

~~~

Disclaimer:

Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on actual events and individuals. Certain names, characters, places, and incidents may have been changed or added for dramatic effect, but the author has sought to maintain the spirit of the true, original story.

Books by Richard Robbins

~~~

Love, Loss, and Lagniappe

~~~

Panicles

~~~

The Tormenting Beauty of Empathy

~~~

We Do What We Must

~~~

Find them at:

RICHARD ROBBINS’ Books at Evolved Publishing

~~~

Or visit the author’s website at:

www.RobbinsBooks.com

What Others Are Saying about Richard Robbins’ Books

~~~

LOVE, LOSS, AND LAGNIAPPE:

~~~

Written with a genuine flair for originality, Robbins has created a cast of distinctive characters deftly embedded in a narrative-driven, exceptionally engaging story that holds the readers’ fully engaged attention from beginning to end. ...very highly recommended, especially for community library Contemporary General Fiction...

~ Midwest Book Review

~~~

"If you are looking for a great read with a little something extra, search no further; Love, Loss, and Lagniappe is the novel for you."

~ Feathered Quill Book Reviews

~~~

"This is a fast-paced novel, with great moments of joy and devastating moments of heartbreak and sadness. Drew is the main character, and how he deals with life-changing moments are the foundation of this captivating novel. His choices are authentic and powerful yet could easily be misunderstood. There are layers of meaning, and an astute reader will dig in and truly relish the nuances within this plot. There is nothing like a long walk to clear the mind and discover life’s meanings. Author Richard Robbins has skillfully crafted a thoughtful romantic fictional work in Love, Loss and Lagniappe: A Love Story That Defied the Laws of Nature. This is much more than a romantic story!"

~ Deborah Lloyd for Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews (5 STARS)

<<<>>>

PANICLES:

~~~

"Panicles will make you think, make you cry, make you laugh and smile and keep you reading until the very end."

~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Trudi LoPreto (5 STARS)

~~~

Readers who enjoy novels steeped in a sense of purpose and psychological insight and inspection will relish this story because it doesn’t take the easy way out by following predictable social climbs, but includes plenty of serious inspection of purpose and personal responsibility as the characters hone their goals and test their values against life’s ups and downs.

~ Midwest Book Review, D. Donavan, Sr. Reviewer

~~~

"Runners get a runner’s high when everything is at a peak point, and I got a reader’s high with this book. I finished it in two sittings. The title and theme of Panicles is a great visual way to show how the strength of family and friendships can grow and thrive as extraordinary positive force. There is such a range of characters that are so well developed that every reader will find empathy, inspiration and humor that will draw them in."

~ Kevin R. (5 STARS)

~~~

Just finished this wonderful, page turning saga, an epic story of 2 families spanning 3 generations. Well written, often surprising and grand in scale, this story kept me in suspense and wanting to hear more.

~ Jeffrey Slaff (5 STARS)

~~~

An amazing story of two families that intertwine beautifully; and keep you rooting for a true love story that builds over a lifetime. Don’t pass up this book that will keep a smile on your face as you zip through it!

~ Suzanne Rachel (5 STARS)

<<<>>>

THE TORMENTING BEAUTY OF EMPATHY:

~~~

"What a delightful surprise The Tormenting Beauty of Empathy was. The writing was so simple, yet clever, and the plot so different I was caught up from the first chapter, and got so hooked I lost sleep because of the desire to keep reading. The characters are compelling, even the children are fully developed and compelling people. The situations they encounter are right out of today’s headlines, and Robbins writes in a beautifully descriptive style. Sometimes I almost felt like I was walking down the street with them. I enjoyed it so much, I am now reading Panicles, and am already engrossed in it."

~ Bill Capo, Author of ‘Category 5’ and ‘Lights, Camera, Kill’

~~~

...a beautiful, touching, and redeeming tale that I can highly recommend to everyone. When as a reader you feel better inside for having read a book, you know the author has achieved his or her goal. This is such a book.

~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Grant Leishman (5 STARS)

~~~

...the story moves with basic grace... told with heartfelt belief, but also with an unswerving directness that feels preordained.

~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Joel R. Dennstedt (5 STARS)

~~~

This is a new to me author and I’m so excited he has written other books as I love the way he writes. It’s beautiful, heart wrenching, real and raw. I love historical fiction and although this is a work of fiction, it weaves history. The imagery is amazing. But I really love how he brings to light the issues we all face, choices we make and how they affect others. I really like how he draws the need for empathy and how it’s played out. So good! A breath of fresh air!

~ Shaylene King

~~~

This novel is a real treat to read. It’s a wonderful story with memorable characters and poetic imagery. I’m a big fan of historical fiction, and while this is not quite that, it does shine a light on historical issues in Central America and our immigration system. I’d love to write about the ending, but I will not spoil the surprise. This book is ideal for anyone with an afternoon or two to spend in a well written world with intriguing characters and an ambitions plot. I highly recommend it!

~ Jeff Altabef, Author of the "A Nephilim Thriller’ Series and the ‘Red Death’ Series

~~~

I enjoyed this gripping tale of a mute woman’s refugee journey from Guatemala to the U.S., told with an insider’s view of the Guatemalan culture. In the US, the refugee finds a new home and gives birth to a daughter who possesses special gifts. The extraordinary events that take over their lives make this page-turning book a stand-out.

~ Teri Fink, Author of ‘The Clovis Dig’ and ‘Invisible by Day’

BONUS CONTENT

We’re pleased to offer you not one, but two Special Sneak Previews at the end of this book.

~~~

In the first preview, you’ll enjoy the first three chapters of Teri Fink’s novel, THE CLOVIS DIG, a multiple award-winning literary fiction piece with crime/mystery overtones, featuring Native American Indian cultural elements.

~~~

~~~

OR GRAB THE FULL EBOOK TODAY!

FIND LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER HERE:

TERI FINK’S BOOKS at Evolved Publishing

In the second preview, you’ll enjoy the first two chapters of THEY TELL ME YOU ARE WICKED by David Hagerty, the first book in the critically acclaimed Duncan Cochrane series of political crime thrillers.

~~~

~~~

OR GRAB THE FULL EBOOK TODAY!

FIND LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER HERE:

The DUNCAN COCHRANE Series at Evolved Publishing

Table of Contents

Copyright

Books by Richard Robbins

What Others Are Saying

BONUS CONTENT

Table of Contents

Dedication

WE DO WHAT WE MUST

OVERTURE

ACT 1

Chapter 1 – New Orleans, 1908

Chapter 2 – Palermo, 1893

Chapter 3 – Palermo, 1893

Chapter 4 – Palermo, 1893

Chapter 5 – New Orleans, 1893

Chapter 6 – New Orleans, 1895

ACT 2

Chapter 7 – New Orleans, 1904

Chapter 8 – New Orleans, 1905

Chapter 9 – New Orleans, 1907

Chapter 10 – New Orleans, 1908

Chapter 11 – New Orleans, 1908

INTERMISSION

ACT 3

Chapter 12 – New Orleans, 1909

Chapter 13 – New Orleans, 1909

Chapter 14 – New Orleans, 1910

FINALE

Chapter 15 – New Orleans, 1917

Chapter 16 – New Orleans, 1922

ENCORE

Acknowledgements

About the Author

What’s Next?

More from Richard Robbins

More from Evolved Publishing

Special Sneak Preview: THE CLOVIS DIG by Teri Fink

Special Sneak Preview: THEY TELL ME YOU ARE WICKED by David Hagerty

Dedication

To those of us who know the person they want to be, realize they have come up short, and try to do a little bit better each day.

OVERTURE

The young Englishman’s horsedrawn coach skidded to a stop. As soon as the Clergyman John Forester Rose opened his door to the sunbaked Sicilian foothills to determine the cause, he knew he was in trouble. Before him stood a group of bandits, led by the smallest and darkest skinned one in the group, twenty-three-year-old Giuseppe Esposito.

Esposito took Rose to a nearby cave in the foothills south of Palermo and sent a ransom note to his family. When no payment was returned, he cut off Rose’s ear and sent it along with a more urgent note. This infuriated the British government, who protested to the Italian government, which found and arrested Esposito. Months later, in the fall of 1880, with the help of crooked and sympathetic prison guards, Esposito escaped and sailed under a false name to the United States. After stopping briefly in New York, he eventually settled in the city that had received the largest number of Sicilian immigrants in the country, New Orleans.

Esposito would soon be captured and extradited back to Italy by an ambitious young New Orleans Police Officer, whose own murder a few years later would set off an international incident that would bring the United States and Italy to the brink of war. Yet Esposito’s brief time in New Orleans would long be remembered not for any one of his daring deeds, but for introducing into the New World two Sicilian criminal societies: The Mafia; and its messier, nastier stepchild, The Black Hand.

By the time sixteen-year-old Corrado Giacona stepped off the steamship Plata in 1893 to be reunited in New Orleans with the family he had never known, each organization had grown powerful, ambitious, and feared.

ACT 1

Chapter 1 – New Orleans, 1908

Every detail had to be perfect, as if their lives depended upon it. On this night, it just might.

Corrado picked up the pieces of the final place setting one by one, careful not to scratch the delicate surfaces of the fine silver-plated utensils, the ones brought out for just the most special occasions. He made sure to hold each piece with thumb and forefinger, by their necks, so that his father could grab them by their handles, just the way he preferred.

Here you go, Papa. He handed the last one to his father, who did not look up from his task.

Corrado watched as his father, Pietro, slowly laid each utensil carefully into place in perfect formal order and straightened each one after the setting was complete—always set from left to right, neatly centered, on perfectly folded white linen napkins.

Corrado stood by as patiently as he could, until he could wait no more. Okay, Papa, it looks good to me.

When his father failed to reply, he called out more urgently, Papa, do you hear me? It’s fine.

Pietro turned his large, melon-shaped head, which appeared even larger due to his oversized mustache and shock of unkempt salt and pepper hair. "It is not enough to be good, it must be perfect. We all make choices, and some choose to be good, and others to be perfect. It was my choosing to be perfect that created this business, made it thrive, and bought us this fine home. I will not choose anything but perfection, especially on this day, which may be the most important day of our lives."

Corrado exhaled and suppressed a soft smile. The familiarity of his father’s words momentarily distracted him from thoughts of the evening’s negotiations, thoughts he’d played over and again in his mind while he tossed in bed at night. Papa’s words distracted him from the fear and excitement, from the anticipation and uncertainty, from the magnitude of his plan, and the possibility of its failure.

He shook his head, brought himself back into the moment, and addressed his father. Papa, you speak often of choices, and of making good choices. He paused and twirled the edges of his thin, jet-black mustache with his fingers. But Papa, what if there are no good choices?

Pietro stopped what he was doing and looked directly into Corrado’s eyes. "There are times when there are no good choices. That’s what happened to me in Palermo, and I made the most of it. Sometimes you don’t get to do what you’d like to do, or what you ought to do. Sometimes you do what you must."

Corrado paused, signaling respect for his father’s words, then replied in his most considered tone. Yes, Papa, I know, and we're grateful for your courage and achievements. Now can you check on the Stigghiola while I go down to the cellar and bring up a case of wine?

The corner of Pietro’s eyes crinkled as his face pulled itself into a broad smile. Yes, son, that is indeed a good choice.

Corrado turned toward the steep stairs, and took them two at a time to the large dusty cellar where they stored their wares. He turned on the electric light, took a moment to admire the brilliant tungsten bulbs they’d just installed, and strolled up and down the aisles of dusty crates, some covered with fancy labels—all in Italian, some with the simple markings of homemade raisin wine—looking for the perfect case.

It must be expensive-looking, he thought, but not so expensive as to arouse suspicions. And high enough in alcohol content to achieve its intended effect.

Finally, he settled on a case of Valpolicella.

Perfect. Dark, red, and rich tasting, it has the highest alcohol content of all the wines.

He leaned over and hoisted a full case onto his broad shoulder, closed his eyes for a moment to let the dust settle around him, headed up the stairs, and placed the case next to the dining room table.

Papa, I put the wine in the dining room. He took a moment to catch his breath. They’ll be here soon. Is everything ready?

There’s just one thing left, Pietro replied from the kitchen, then set down the ladle he’d been using to stir the stew, walked into the living room, and opened the doors of the large wooden armoire across from the fireplace. He looked inside for a moment, leaning over and fumbling with some items, moving them from one side to the other, then reached down and picked up something with his right hand, and turned and headed silently back towards the kitchen.

As he passed, Corrado noticed the long, wooden handle of their Winchester repeating rifle in his father’s right hand.

Pietro continued into the kitchen, placed the rifle carefully behind the half-opened door, and turned back towards his son. There. Now everything is perfect, indeed.

Chapter 2 – Palermo, 1893

The barefoot boy chased the ball across the field, reaching it moments before the rest of the pack. As the sun gleaned off his lean, shirtless torso, his right foot crashed into the ball, sending it flying towards the goal.

Corrado kept a keen eye on the ball, anticipating its path, preparing to leap to his left to block the shot. But as he coiled, he was tackled to the ground and could only watch helplessly as the ball sailed through the goal.

Hey, no fair, he screamed as he jumped to his feet, searching for the boy who took him down. That’s not a goal. Somebody tackled me. You can’t tackle the goalkeeper.

As he stood complaining, another boy ran over to him. Are you okay? You took a pretty hard hit.

I’m fine, Marco. I’m fine. That’s not the problem. The problem is that I was tackled before the ball want through the goal. I would’ve had it. That should be a penalty.

I didn’t see it, said another boy, running towards them. But if you want to call a penalty, go ahead.

Nah, forget it, Vincenzo, he said, not wanting to sound like a sore loser. Let’s keep playing. We’ll make up for it.

Corrado picked up the ball, rolled it towards the center of the field, and leaned down to brush the dirt off his knees. As he bent over, he felt a sharp slap against his backside and looked up to see a tall, muscular, deeply tanned boy sprinting past him.

"That was me, bambino. And I didn’t run into you, you ran into me."

Nico, it’s always fucking you, screamed Corrado. You’re the dirtiest player out here.

Nicolo grinned as he ran past. Me, dirty? Looks like you’re the one with the mud on your knees.

Corrado kicked at the sand in front of him and turned away.

After another hour of play, and another dozen skirmishes, the boys started home. Corrado carried the ball down the narrow, dusty road, accompanied by Marco, Vincenzo, and Nicolo.

Nicolo grabbed the ball from Corrado’s hands and tried unsuccessfully to balance it on his head. Another win today. I’m undefeated, he said, as the ball fell from his head.

We stopped keeping score halfway through, said Vincenzo. How do you know you won?

I kept score, and I say we did. And why play if nobody keeps score? It’s a sport, and in a sport, you’re either a winner or a loser. And I know which one I am.

Yep, you’re such a big winner, replied Corrado. That’s why you’re behind in school. Why you have to take special classes, why you have to read children’s books instead of the ones we read.

Marco and Vincenzo bent over with laughter.

Shut up, shit head. Nicolo’s face reddened. My father is sure as hell a winner, and he can’t read for shit. His eyes flared as he looked across at his friends. "And all of your parents shake in their boots when he comes by—those of you who have parents, that is. Nicolo glanced at Corrado, who looked away. And they all make sure they have their envelopes ready for him when he comes around each month. Reading didn’t get him that respect."

The boys ignored him and continued walking silently down the path. After a few meters, Corrado reached over and grabbed the ball from Nicolo’s hands and kept walking, without saying a word, his sly smile betraying his satisfaction with his power move.

When they reached a break in the trail, Vincenzo turned towards the path to their right. See you in school tomorrow. And remember, no fights before you get home.

Nicolo stood tall above his friends and draped his arms around Corrado and Marco’s necks and smirked. I promise, no more fights. These geniuses wouldn’t be dumb enough to fight me anyway.

Corrado shook his head free and could not control his broad smile. Nico, you are such an ass.

***

After bidding his friends goodbye, Corrado walked the few kilometers home, eventually arriving at a small stone cottage across from a lemon tree grove. Although the simple house lacked electricity or running water, his aunt and uncle had painted and planted it in a way that always made him happy to be home.

Zia, as he called her, was his mother’s eldest sister, and as such, her children were much older and had moved out of the house years ago. Corrado wondered if perhaps that was why she so cherished him, but for whatever reason, Zia and Zu made certain that he lacked for nothing, including love and affection.

As he entered, he immediately sensed that something was not right. Zia generally greeted him with a plate of freshly baked sesame bread and a cool glass of water from the well. Instead, he saw her and Zu sitting in their chairs, rather than welcoming him with their usual warm greeting.

He waited for them to speak, and when they did not, he voiced his concern. Is something wrong? You don’t look well.

Zu moved as if to speak, but paused and looked at Zia, who leaned forward, narrowed her eyes, and motioned for Corrado to approach them.