Public Enemies_ America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI - Bryan Burrough [171]
This was too much for Dillinger. Around four he told Wanatka there had been a change in plans. The group would be leaving that night, as soon as Pat Reilly returned from St. Paul. He asked Wanatka to serve them an early dinner, steaks with garlic.
Nan Wanatka was nervously preparing the meal when her sister Ruth appeared at the kitchen door. She started to say that her husband had driven to Rhinelander to call the FBI when Nan shushed her. “We bought so much meat for the weekend,” Nan said, glancing toward the barroom where the gang was eating. “Won’t you take some?” She motioned for her sister to join her in the meat locker. “They’re leaving as soon as Reilly gets back!” she hissed.17
When her sister left, Nan stepped through the kitchen door and poured herself another drink from the bar. Her husband was stunned. “Nan, are you drinking?” he asked. She started to respond when her eyes met Nelson’s. Nan swallowed. Emil tried to smile. Nelson said nothing, but he could tell they were up to something. Nan turned and returned to the kitchen. Nelson started after her, then apparently thought better of it, taking a seat by his wife instead.
Nan had just walked into the kitchen when she saw Pat Reilly drive up to the lodge; beside him in the car sat Pat Cherrington. Dillinger and the others, busy with their steaks, didn’t see them. Reilly seemed unsure what to do. There were no cars in the driveway—Dillinger had hidden them in the garage—and Reilly was worried that the gang had fled. As Nan Wanatka watched, he turned and drove away.18
Hugh Clegg’s five-man party reached Rhinelander first; its plane touched down a few minutes past five. On the runway Clegg was met by George LaPorte and Henry Voss. A crowd was forming, attracted by the airplane, so Clegg drew the two men into a glade beside the runway. Clegg produced photos of all the Dillinger Gang’s members. The only one Voss could identify was flat-nosed Tommy Carroll. But they were mobsters, he was sure of that.
Voss drew a rough sketch of Little Bohemia, its outbuildings and grounds. There was no way to escape across the lake behind the lodge, he emphasized to Clegg; there was no boat, and the water remained partially frozen. There was only a thin gravelly beach between the lodge and the lake. The Wanatkas had even formulated an attack plan. The gang appeared ready to depart the next morning. The family and staff would hide in the cellar at 4:00 A.M., just before daybreak. It was then that the FBI had to attack. Clegg was impressed with Voss’s enthusiasm.
First they needed cars. Voss drove Clegg into Rhinelander to a Ford dealership, where Clegg spoke to the manager. He explained that they were federal agents and needed to rent three cars. The manager said he had no license to rent cars, and only had one old coupe to spare anyway. He asked Clegg if he was raiding bootleggers in the area, because if he was, he could forget the whole thing; if word got around he was helping such a raid, the man said, half his business would disappear. When Clegg said he wasn’t after bootleggers, the manager asked if he was after Dillinger. Clegg said they needed the cars, and fast. The manager said it would take an hour or two.
As they talked, Clegg saw a plane coming in low over the trees: Purvis had arrived. They met at the airport. Purvis was a little shaken by a rough landing—his plane had actually spun around twice on touchdown—but they were ready to go. It was a fifty-mile drive to Little Bohemia but they had plenty of time, which they needed. While they waited for the cars, Purvis decided to send Agent Ray Suran ahead with Henry Voss to Manitowish to reconnoiter. Suran jumped in