Some say "Death is the end" some say "Death is just the beginning"

"In my time on this earth I've seen both sides and they are intertwined with one another..Death is the end of one part of life, but the beginning of another." - Max.

                Sanguine Noir

           Chapter 1: Escaped

Chicago, January 4th 1929 at 11:43 PM, as light flurries of snow dance around the cold bleak night sky a shadowy man in all black stands on a landing of the fourth floor of a seedy downtown motel, crawling across the grate trying not to make a sound stops under the balcony window of room 410 just out of sight and pulls out a tocamera. Carefully positioning himself he's poised to take photos of the people inside. with a careful breath he exhales and reaches up and quickly snaps a photo before hiding again, a few more pictures are taken before he crawls back to the rail guard and climbs to his feet.

Hopefully he was undetected but now he needs to get down to his car quickly and silently. With both nervousness and confidence he puts the camera away before backflipping over the railing and down to the grate on the third floor, again to the 2nd and finally to the ground floor landing as quietly as he could, he calmly walked back to his black 1924 Model T before driving out of the parking lot and onto the main streets heading back to his office.

Upon his return, he opened the doors that led down the hallway to his office. the sign on the door indicated his name & occupation "Max Holloway" Private Investigator. in the back corner of his office was a small makeshift darkroom where he could develop the pictures he took.

Once they were visible, Max hung them up to dry before leaving the office himself. Making certain he had everything he needed before heading home, as he locked up his office he heard the clacking of a woman's heels at the end of the hall.

Wearing red high heels, a black and white swirled dress and a black hat with a red silk band. An impressively beautiful woman with a pale complexion, a strong, commanding presence and delicate curves strolled along the hallway with the confidence of royalty closed in on Max, but stopped at the neighboring door and knocked.

Briefly glancing over at him while waiting for the door to open, once it did, the woman walked in expectedly and it closed behind her.

Who is that? he thought to himself as he shook himself back to reality. It's extremely rare to see a woman who looks like she stepped out of a magazine in this part of town. realizing he stood there for a while, he regained his composure and walked to his car, and began driving home.

Still exhilarated from the danger and excitement of the job he decided to turn towards a night club that he had recently become a member at. "The Red Lion" on 63rd.

A favorite place Max would go to get away from the hustle and bustle of work. The interior was a dark burnt orange color with a black felt designed pattern over that. dim lighting and a well crafted atmosphere.

recently becoming a staple of the establishment, he'd joined a small group of V.I.P's that would congregate in a secret unmarked room in the back. Stopping at the bar for a drink before meeting with the other's. "my usual" he told the bartender as he handed the man the money for his drink.

nodding he quickly got to work on his beverage. Once it was completed the tender passed him the reddish pink drink, Max thanked the man and took it to

the V.I.P room.

Greeted by most of the remaining group they all held up their drinks or what was left of them as he delightfully sauntered into the room and began conversing about their day and recent events.

some of the men teased Max about having a mixed drink instead of a beer or straight hard liquor, but he didn't let that get to him, it was his favorite and he knew he still had to drive home and didn't want any attention from the police who were rampant around town.

With prohibition in full swing, many places were getting raided by police and the community or had to find clever ways to disguise the bar and hide the alcohol.

only about twenty minutes into an appreciative conversation there was a loud busting of the door complimented by a loud yelling "Police! this is a raid!" some of the patrons fled, some stayed knowing that they were in good and hidden hands.

As there was a roughing of bodies and breaking of various products, Thankfully the V.I.P section had its own escape route in case of emergency get-aways. A trap door in the floor had been built many years earlier for an underground system of tunnels for a future railway system being built.

Max and the others went down the tunnel as quickly and quietly as they could, the tunnels led to various places all over the cities underground, but there were directions given to escape the raid going on above their heads.

After following the directions, they were led to a sewer entrance in a back alley a few blocks away, where they could return for their vehicles at their discretion. Max waited until the police had left and he got in his car and went home.

Living a modest life his house was a small but functional home. He put his coat and hat on a coat rack, stumbled through a corner of the dining room and to his bedroom where he fumbled out of his clothes and into pajamas before passing out on his bed.

At 7:00 am his alarm went off to wake him up, he was still very tired from the previous evening, but he knew he had a job to do, he grudgingly got up and went to the kitchen and made, then poured a fresh cup of coffee for breakfast.

getting dressed for the day, he wore a white shirt, black pinstripe suit and pants with a red tie and fedora before going to his office. As he passed the door next to his, he remembered the woman the night before and he wondered why she was there, but he knew she would have her reasons and hers alone.

focusing on his job he unlocked the door to his office and set his coat up on the coat rack then went into his makeshift darkroom in the back corner where he developed the pictures he took. rinsed them in a couple solutions and hung them up to dry.

After checking a few messages and going through his mail he was interrupted by a knock at his door.

Looking up he recognized the shaded outline standing outside his office. Standing up he announced "One minute"! he went to retrieve the photos from his back room before answering the door.

"Come in Mrs. Colverson" he welcomed her into the room and invited her to sit down. A middle aged woman with pleasant features despite age lines walked in. After returning to his seat he had to give her the news of what evidence he discovered. With a heavy sigh he showed her the pictures he took revealing the truth she feared was real.

Tears welled up in anger and devastation, terror and rage filled her heart but before she could react Max brought her back to the reality of the situation. "My condolences Mrs. Colverson, the truth has been brought to light, but I also still need the other half of the payment."

Max said as he handed his client a tissue. Opening her purse, she took out a few bills and handed them over to him. After looking them over he accepted the payment of sixty dollars. Apologizing again he escorted Mrs. Colverson out of his office and to her car.

Checking his messages he didn't have too much more to do that day, a few small jobs but nothing significant, so he grabbed the paper outside his door and brought it in to read.

As soon as he opened and saw the front page, his jaw dropped, eyes widened and a deep chill ran through his blood.