Deacon King Kong

Elefante goes to the Bronx, and he and the Governor tour the bagel business that the Governor owns. Elefante’s daughter Melissa runs it, and the Elefante is immediately smitten with her when she comes into the Governor’s apartment. He runs into her again as he’s leaving the apartment, and they talk. Elefante’s attraction to her grows all the more. The three characters—Melissa, Elefante, and the Governor—are quickly forming a web of trust between them. Melissa trusts Elefante because her father trusts him. Elefante comes to trust the Governor because his own father trusted him. The Governor trusts Elefante because of his friendship with the elder Elefante.

Before he leaves, Elefante learns the story of the “Venus” from the Governor and agrees to help him. The Governor’s younger brother Macy was stationed in Vienna during World War II and had an eye for art and artifacts. After the war, Macy stayed on in Vienna and discovered a treasure trove of artifacts that were hidden from the Nazis, which he shipped home to himself. Shortly before he died, Macy showed the Governor the artifacts, most of which he kept for his own enjoyment. The Governor urged him to return them to Austria, which Macy did. There was a small, ancient statue of a woman—the Venus of Willendorf—that the Governor liked, however, that Macy held back. It was the most valuable thing in Macy’s collection. The Governor took the statue, and Elefante’s father hid it for him. The Governor was going to give him part of the proceeds from selling it back to its rightful owners, but he died before the two could get back in touch after prison. The Governor has recently been in touch with a dealer in Vienna who will come to the US to get the statue and pay $3 million for it.

The Governor is anxious to get the deal over with because he senses the dealer could threaten him or Melissa if there are any delays. Elefante checked all the storage units he could and didn’t find anything that looked like the Venus but promises to try and get access to more storage units. Before he leaves the Governor, the old man gives him a postcard that Elefante’s father sent him, hinting at the Venus’s location. 

One of Deems’s friends who’s involved in the drug trade, Lightbulb, tells Bunch that Deems is getting too particular about who he sells to. Earl listens nearby. During the conversation, Lightbulb relates how Deems got his current territory—by crippling the drug dealer who had it before him in retaliation for a minor argument they had in a juvenile detention facility. Lightbulb asks for Deems’s old selling territory in the plaza in front of the Cause buildings, and Bunch says he’ll think about it. Lightbulb nervously walks the line between betraying Deems and staying loyal to Bunch.

Bunch wants to cut Deems out of the operation and have all the details worked out by the time Joe Peck’s big shipment of heroin (the one Peck asked Elefante about in Chapter 11) comes in. After Lightbulb leaves, Bunch tells Earl that a hit man they sometimes use, who lives in Virginia, is coming into the city to take care of Sportcoat because Earl’s own attempts have failed so far. Earl, who Potts has arrested several times, has agreed to work with the police as an informant on the drug circle and nervously hopes Bunch doesn’t find out about his betrayal.

Potts goes back to Five Ends and tells Sister Gee that someone followed her and Soup when they carried the unconscious Earl to the train station in Chapter 10, and that holding back passengers from boarding is a major offense, one that could be punishable. Potts tells her she should have called the police if she’d wanted to get rid of Earl but that the station shutdown will be “overlooked” by the police and transit authorities. Potts also tells her Earl has been arrested and urges her to stop protecting Sportcoat so the police can instead get him in their custody and protect him from retaliation. Potts believes that doing so will dampen the violence over Sportcoat’s action that threatens to erupt. Sister Gee asks why the police don’t just arrest Deems, because he’s the one who’s actually involved in the drug trade, and Potts replies that the drug ring is too powerful and wealthy and keeps bailing out its members who are arrested.

Through Earl, Potts has been informed about the hit man Bunch is bringing up from Virginia to send after Sportcoat, and he warns Sister Gee to tell the community to be vigilant. Because of his attraction to her, Potts wants the residents of the Cause—including her—to stay inside and away from the plaza to avoid getting caught up in the hit man’s violence. Sister Gee indignantly refuses to agree to the suggestion, and Potts begins to leave, dejected after what he feels is her rejection of him. Sensing her own attraction and afraid he won’t come back again, Sister Gee calls after him to return to the Cause and keep them updated on the case, even if it’s bad news. Feeling more hopeful after this encouragement, Potts leaves.

Sportcoat helps Mrs. Elefante with her gardening and plant searching. The two go out to a vacant lot to find pokeweed for Mrs. Elefante’s heart. An elderly woman, she’s slowing down and tired by the time they get back, so she instructs Sportcoat what to do with the plants they’ve gathered and goes upstairs to rest. On his way out when he’s done, Sportcoat runs into Elefante and the two talk for a few minutes. They formally introduce themselves to each other, and Sportcoat is awestruck to be talking to a real mobster. Elefante tries to pay Sportcoat for his work, but Sportcoat refuses the money—partially because he’s already been paid by Mrs. Elefante and partially because he’s grateful to Elefante for pulling Hettie’s body out of the harbor. Sportcoat offhandedly says, “I hope God holds you in the palm of His hand” (231), as he’s about to leave, one of Hettie’s farewells. Elefante questions him about the saying, and Sportcoat tells him about the mural at Five Ends. He leaves with a feeling of goodwill toward Elefante, mistaking the other man’s interest for religious inquiry.