I had to laugh. He had some humor too.
“Yes it does,” I said. I pulled half a finger of Scotch out of the tumbler and down my gullet. He smiled at me and then he looked at me sternly. He was good at keeping eye contact.
“I like you Anthony. You’re a man of character and integrity and honor. I’ve said that before, but you’ve also got this weakness I talk about. I can see it with how you handle your liquor. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. You’d do well to leave it alone. I know this Anthony from first hand. That’s all I’ll say about it.”
He sipped his iced tea, and me, well me being inspired by his advice of the day I took a good pull on my Scotch. And I smiled at him. Like a Cheshire cat. Like I’d just caught a mouse. He humored me. I put down my tumbler.
“Gianni,” I said. “Can I ask you please to leave this kid Stephen alone? I want to give him a chance to clean up and I said I’d come and talk to you about it. I told him that if he wasn’t serious, that if he faltered just once I’d withdraw my support and let the dogs back at him. You said that you were hoping that leaning on him would give him the chance to clean up. I think with his experience of Fat Tony and me coming by to see him that he’s motivated. I hope so anyway for his sake. Maybe I’m mistaken. You know me Gianni, I’m a hopeless romantic. But I’d like to give him a try. I figure he deserves a shot. Him and Jezebel. What do you say? As a favor to me for old times.”
“Sure Anthony. For old times. And maybe we’ll both be suckers, but we would’ve given the kid a chance. I don’t mind that. It’s chump change anyway. And if he doesn’t own up to it, he’s gonna be in a whole world of hurt. But not with me Anthony. There’s other people who have got his number to. I suggest he moves someplace else. Different neighborhood at least.”
“Yeah I told him that. Thanks Gianni. I hope he does right by us.”
“Well Anthony, Aurelio did alright with that thing you did those years ago. He’s gonna be a lawyer now. People can change if they want to. But they’ve gotta make some tough choices. It’s not easy, you’ve gotta dig deep into your character to make a change. You know what I’m saying?”
He was talking to me. He was back on about my drinking. I took the last swig and put my tumbler down. He didn’t know shit about this. I handle my liquor just fine. Helps a fella unwind and relax.
“I know what you’re saying,” I told him. I looked around and caught Alex’s eye. She was a real sweetheart. She started towards us but then she stopped and turned around and went to check on her other tables. Out of the corner of my eye I had caught Gianni hold his hand up to stop her. Maybe he was tired of me eyeing his candy. Maybe he was tired of me drinking his liquor. Maybe I’d be on my way soon. A guy’s gotta know when he’s no longer welcome in a place.
“You think these people have got character Anthony? Him and his old lady?”
Gianni was looking at me again. His hand was down now, down in his lap with the other one. I couldn’t see what they were doing. Maybe they did have that gun in their reach. Maybe he was going to tap me in the belly and have me spill his liquor out on the floor. That’d be a shame. A crying shame and a waste. I looked at him for a while before I spoke. The Scotch was oiling my mind. I had things in there I wanted to lay on the table.
“Yeah I do Gianni. I figure everybody’s got character. Sometimes people just don’t know where to find it. How dig to deep. That’s all. It’s there all right, like their soul. And like their soul they sometimes don’t know it’s there. So him and Jezebel, yeah they’ve got it. They’ve just gotta start looking now that’s all. And maybe with a little elbow room they’ll do that.”
He shrugged again. He liked doing that. Lots of body language. Hands and shoulders. Maybe he had a bad back, and it helped him shift easier. Maybe he didn’t like what I was saying. Shouldn’t have asked then.
“Well I’ll tell you one thing Anthony. If the kid has it, then he’s not like his old man in that respect. The old man never had it. Or if he did he never bothered mining it like you say. Kept coming to me for ten grand here and five grand there. I told him to use his own goddamn money if he was such a hotshot producer. But the wife wouldn’t let him he’d say. Thing is, he was usually good for it. Plus the interest. Even without this five hundred grand I’m still ahead. I don’t know how he pulled that one over the wife. Paying me back all the time. Thing is, the guy won just enough to keep him in the game. You see it all the time in the casinos. Just need to taste the bait and these people are hooked.”
Alex came by. She was a naughty girl. Gianni was so engrossed in his own soliloquy that he hadn’t paid attention. I admired her as she came towards us. She asked me if I wanted another drink. She bent over the table more that she needed to. She picked up my tumbler and I said no thanks, I think I’d had enough. Then she asked me if there was anything else she could do for me. What do you say to that? I bit my tongue. I was certain there were things she could do for me. Hell, maybe she really liked me. Maybe it was the Scotch talking. I just said thanks hun you’ve been great. I better get going. I could’ve sworn she almost pouted. I watched after her. She was likely every freshman’s dream. And none of their realities. Me neither. I felt their pain. I looked back at Gianni.
“You think there is anyone else I might be interested in talking to about this murder? Anyone I might have overlooked?” It was a long shot but what the hell, Gianni had been gracious so far.
“Yeah I think there might be. Like I was saying, this guy Max had the world on a platter. You’ve seen his house, you know what I’m talking about. He must have been worth twenty, thirty million or more. A king’s ransom. But it’s not enough. He’s insatiable, with the gambling and the women. This is what I’m talking about Anthony. These deadly sins, they’re good guidelines. Most people with a good-looking wife and a son and a job they love and a great house and lots of money. Most people Anthony would be happy with that. But not Max. He wanted more. Different experiences, different people. You know what I’m saying?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to play games with him. I just wanted direct answers.
“Well I think Max saw people as things to some degree. So like when you and me want to get a different car because the old model is well, old, Max was like that with women. And I think the only reason he stayed with his wife was because she overlooked it. Now I’m speculating on most of this but we had lots of heart to hearts. For some reason he figured that because I lent him money I would also lend him my ear. And I did. You learn a lot from people just by listening Anthony. So what I’m saying, is you might want to look into Angels from Heaven. It’s a classy escort establishment serving only rich clientele. But you and me know what an escort service really is.”
I hadn’t heard of them. Not that I would. I don’t do business with those kind of agencies. Cute name though. That would attract a crowd.
“So who should I talk to about this?”
“Max told me the Madame of the place is Miranda. Miranda Evers I think he said. And the reason I think you might want to check out this place is because of Leaf Shivers. At least that was the name she went by. Max kept talking to me about her. How he just couldn’t get enough of her. How she played rough etc, etc. But then lately he started talking about this new girl he had found called…” he paused there for a minute and looked into his lap like he was holding a cheat sheet.
“Um, Ruby Red I think is the name. I shit you not, the names they come up with. This is what I’m talking about Anthony. The guy couldn’t stay happy for long with just one hooker. He did have a good run with Leaf though. Probably close to a year. But she wasn’t taking it too well that he was moving on. I understand he was a good tipper. So you might want to check this place of Angels out.”
Sounded like heaven. A place to look but not touch. Fallen angels are ruled by Lucifer apparently. I think that’s how the story goes. Or maybe that’s my Catholic guilt. Hard to tell some days. I didn’t like the way this whole murder was unraveling. I was trying to nar
row suspects down, not gather more. Anyway, seemed like a long shot from what I could tell. Would he let one of these hookers into his place? Maybe. Maybe that’s where they used to get it on. In the master bedroom when Vanessa was away. They probably didn’t share the same bed anymore. Him and Vanessa. So why not. The whole thing looked like a crime of passion. Shit, could be anyone of the names I’d been given.
“So you think she would have had access to his house? Did he entertain these hookers at his home?”
“That’s what he told me. Now they didn’t have a key or nothing. But that’s where he entertained them like you say. Apparently he was discreet. And the wife was always out with god knows who. Besides, as I understand it she turned a blind eye to the whole thing.”
“She probably had her reasons,” I said. He didn’t catch that one. Just as well.
“All right Gianni. I’ll check them out. But I think it’s a long shot anyway.”
“Well you’ve got to keep open minded about these things. I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”
“No you don’t. But when you’ve done it a whole bunch of times like I have you start to get a gut feeling about things. And I think there is more to this murder than just spurned hookers. Maybe spurned passions, but I don’t see why she would’ve done him in unless he had promised her outlandish things.”
Gianni shrugged again.
“I’m a simple man Anthony. From the country, but I’ve seen people get killed for less. I’ve seen people bludgeoned to death over a bad five dollar debt. Don’t underestimate the passions of the people. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had promised her the world. You never know the kind of pillow talk they might have had. And then maybe he started promising these same things to Ruby. So then you’ve got Leaf all pissed off because maybe she’s thinking that Max here was really gonna get her on the straight and narrow. A lot of women feel that way. Waiting for their knight in shining armor. He might have promised her that he’d leave the wife for her. And over the months she believes it. It can’t be helped Anthony, when a man and woman bed together soon enough they’ll bond at an emotional level. Doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see this kind of thing happening. That’s all I’m saying. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was here. That’s all.”
I listened to him. He made a lot of sense. He was a smart man. No wonder he had never been caught.
“You know Gianni. If you had some beach front property to sell in Wyoming. I’d be tempted to buy it.”
He smiled at me. He shrugged again. “I’m just a simple man Anthony, but people’s motivations usually aren’t all that complicated.”
I excused myself from the table. For the restroom I told him. Scotch was coming right through me. It’s hard to think when there’s a stone the size of a grapefruit in your groin. The washroom was clean and had sport results posted up above the urinals. I saw something about another overpriced sport star. Basketball this one was. Overpaid in my mind. So I looked down at the white urinal with the blue mint. It was more interesting.
I put a little lotion on my hands after washing them. That was a nice touch. You don’t often see that kind of a luxury at the places I’m usually at.
“Thanks for your time Gianni,” I said when I returned to the booth. He looked up at me and smiled.
“Come back again soon Anthony. I like our talks.”
I fished into my pant pockets for some change. He shook me off. This is my pleasure he said. It’s on the house. I didn’t like that so much. It would be on my conscience then. I fished out two Jacksons and placed them face up on the table. They looked at him with their frowning eyebrows and terse lips.
“For Alex then,” I said. Sure he said. I went to leave.
“When is your show Anthony?” he asked after me.
“Friday, thirty first,” I said. “Bring some money and support a starving artist.”
He laughed at that. I just might he said. I walked towards the door. I gave Alex a wink as I walked by. She gave me a cute little wave. Something a dog might do with an injured paw. Jimmy watched me with his best old school Mafia look. I let him ride it.
“Ciao bella,” I said to her and walked out into the darkening evening. It was seven thirty something. Enough time to enjoy a cigarette and watch the cars go by. I pulled out a Marlboro and sparked it up. I leaned against my car like James Dean might have done. I thought it looked pretty cool. But then that’s just me. I blew smoke rings into the still night air. And I spied on people through them as they walked on by. It was pretty quiet I thought for this time of night. Even if it was a school night. I realized I didn’t know what Jane looked like. Maybe I should’ve worn my leather chaps. But then again, maybe I wouldn’t stand out that way.
FOURTEEN
Here, Here Kitty
I got into my car, checked on my gun. Sound asleep still in the cubby. I pulled out onto Wilshire Boulevard and headed northeast. I love this drive up Wilshire, through the Veteran’s Medical Center and the Los Angeles Country Club where I’m a member. In my dreams. Or maybe that’s nightmares. Couldn’t be certain about that. Probably nightmares. I didn’t seem to have too much in common with these rich people I was rubbing elbows with lately. Besides I didn’t play golf. Rich, idle man’s game in my opinion. And it’s not a sport, I don’t care what they tell you. Driving around in electric vehicles to hit a little white ball in business attire while sipping G and Ts just isn’t a sport. Sorry, it’s not. The golfers couldn’t hear me anyhow so I turned on the radio. Back to KJAZZ with Bob Parlocha. That man has a voice like honey dipped gravel. It was made for radio. I pulled onto Santa Monica Boulevard.
I turned right onto North Robertson. Funny thing is I was headed south. I drove by Here slowly, looking into the compound. That’s kind of what it reminded me of. There was a steady crowd gathered inside on the patio. With lots of room left. I looked at the clock and it showed me eight oh three. I was late. Fashionably I hoped. There were several women out on the patio. One woman to herself. That might be my mark. I parked across from Here on the street about fifty feet down. I got out and put my fedora back on. That would get me noticed I figured. I crossed the street and found myself face to face with a muscled bald guy from the Village People in motorcycle leathers. I contemplated breaking out into YMCA. He had a clipboard with him.
“You here by yourself Sam?” I looked around but I didn’t see anyone else he could have been talking to.
“Yeah but it’s not Sam.” I said to him, trying to be friendly.
“Might as well be. Sam Spade I was thinking. It’s a nice get up. You’re adorable.”
It wasn’t Halloween, and the last person who had called me adorable was my mother. When I was about six years old.
“Well, if Sam Spade’s on your list, then you can call me Sam.”
He looked it over and puckered his lips, feigning concern.
“No, I’m sorry you’re not on here. And I haven’t seen you around here before. You new to these here parts, pard’ner.”
I smiled at him. He must be an actor.
“You’re an actor, yeah I think I’ve seen you before. In that YMCA video the Village People did.”
He smiled. “You’re funny, honey.”
“And you’re a poet and you know it. Actually, I’m here to meet Jane. Jane Greenway. Do you know her?”
He looked over at what I thought was the woman I had seen earlier. She looked up at him and I thought I saw her smile. She didn’t look like a dyke. She wasn’t stocky and androgynous like a lot of lesbians. She was similar to Vanessa. She was all woman and I wept for all lonely, single men.
“Okay, I’ll let you in. But I’ll have to cop a feel first stud muffin.” He winked at that and for a second I wished I’d worn a chastity belt.
“Be discreet. We’re on a public street.”
I put my hands out to my sides and he waved the metal detector all over me. He went over my groin a few times. Then he tapped it and waved it over my groin again.
“Mmm,” he s
aid, “I’m sure there’s some solid steel there.”
I’d had enough. “Yes, I am your superman,” I said and walked past him.
“I’ll see you later,” he called after me and I vowed to find a rear exit to this place.
I walked up to the woman I thought was Jane.
“Ms. Greenway,” I said offering my hand. She took it and gave it a firm shake. Her nails were short and manicured but not painted.
“Mr. Carrick,” she said.
“Anthony. Please,” I said. She was around five six and slim with a good figure. She had on black slacks and black flat shoes with a green blouse. Her breasts were ample and firm. I wasn’t sure if they were constrained by the bra or just naturally tight. If she was on my team I would’ve like to have found out. She had no makeup on. Or if she did it was camouflaged as that natural look. She had good skin, unblemished with a nice, natural bronze undertone. Her eyebrows were plucked or lasered and her eyelashes were naturally long. I took a moment of silence for all lonely, single men.
“Let’s go up to the bar,” she said, and I followed her in. There was lots of space and the DJ playing some sort of dance music. House music they might call it. Was low enough that we could talk. There were some couples bumping and grinding with each other. Not so much dancing as trying to move as one. Two men exchanging tongue. Ain’t love grand. We took a seat next to one another. A bartender strolled up to us in jeans and a cutoff jean jacket open at the front. He had a mustache, the kind that Tom Selleck would have liked. As a matter of fact he could’ve passed for Magnum P.I. His torso was covered with hair and rippled. His stomach looked bullet proof. He spoke to Jane but looked at me.
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