It Was a Very Bad Year

by Robert J. Randisi

  I went down the hall and through the same curtained doorway. No naked girls, this time. Just Irwin, standing in the center of the room with his arms folded. He looked like he was posing.

  ‘You got my money?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ve got it,’ I said. ‘You got the pictures?’

  Instead of answering the question he said, ‘Meet Wayne.’

  ‘Wayne who?’

  ‘Wayne me,’ a voice said from behind me. A big man in his fifties came in through the same doorway I’d used. He had broad shoulders and muscular arms, but sported a hard paunch. He shopped the same place for clothes that Irwin did. Still, I would not have wanted to try to handle him alone.

  ‘What’s this?’ I asked.

  ‘Give me the dough.’

  ‘Not till I see the pictures.’

  Irwin shook his head and looked past me at Wayne. I turned, saw Wayne reach behind him and come up with a sap. I was glad it wasn’t a gun.

  I also saw Jerry’s big forearm come through the curtain and snake around Wayne’s neck. His other hand relieved the man of his weapon. The big man immediately began to fight, but he was no match for Jerry. His face started to change colors, and by the time it reached purple he passed out. Jerry lowered him to the floor.

  I turned and looked at Irwin, who seemed panicked.

  ‘H-hey—’ he said.

  ‘What was your plan, Barney? Have Wayne work me over and then take the money?’

  ‘Naw, naw,’ Irwin said.

  Jerry stepped past me and approached the photographer. Irwin put both hands out in front of him and cringed.

  ‘Hey, I got neighbors,’ he said. ‘They’ll hear—’

  ‘Relax, Barney,’ I said. ‘We’re just gonna go for a little ride.’

  ‘Huh? Where?’

  Jerry reached out, settled one big paw on the back of Irwin’s neck.

  ‘You’ll see,’ he said.

  Irwin looked down at Wayne and asked, ‘Is . . . is he dead?’

  ‘Naw, he’s just asleep.’

  Irwin looked at me, his eyes pleading.

  ‘The pictures are here,’ he claimed. ‘I was gonna make the exchange. Wayne was just back-up.’

  ‘Where are they?’

  ‘There.’ He pointed. I walked over to a table where a brown envelope lay. It had stains on it, which it had acquired that afternoon in Clipper’s. It was the same envelope, with the same photos in it. No nudes.

  ‘Not good enough, Barney,’ I said. ‘Where are the nudes?’

  ‘How many times I gotta tell you—’ he started, but Jerry tightened his hand on the back of Irwin’s neck, which took away his ability to speak.

  ‘Come on, Barney,’ I said. ‘We’re going for a ride.’

  TWENTY-ONE

  Danny found us a downtown warehouse that had seen better days and had been empty for a while.

  He was waiting for us when I pulled the Caddy up in front. I drove so Jerry could sit in the back with Irwin, making sure that Barney didn’t try anything.

  We got out and Irwin asked, ‘Who’s he?’

  ‘Shut up,’ Jerry said, and cuffed him on the back of the head.

  Danny opened the door.

  ‘Thanks, Danny.’

  ‘It’s all set,’ he said. ‘Just some chairs and a table.’

  ‘Good enough.’

  I let Jerry drag Irwin inside.

  ‘Here’s the keys,’ Danny said, handing them to me. ‘Lock up when you leave.’

  ‘What’s in here to steal?’

  ‘Nothin’,’ Danny said. ‘Just lock it, OK? I’m borrowin’ the place.’

  ‘OK, I’ll lock up.’

  ‘And I promised the owner you wouldn’t leave any bodies behind.’

  ‘That’s a promise I can keep.’

  ‘Sure you don’t want me to come in with you?’

  ‘No, Jerry can handle it,’ I said.

  ‘Keep him on a short leash, Eddie,’ Danny said. ‘He can do some real damage.’

  ‘I know it,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry.’

  Danny slapped me on the shoulder. ‘I won’t worry. Let me know what happens.’

  I slapped his back and went inside.

  Jerry already had Irwin in a chair, his hands tied behind him. He was watching us with wide eyes, his face already slick with sweat. His skin had a yellow cast, because of the naked yellow bulb above him.

  ‘What’s goin’ on?’ he demanded.

  ‘Barney, my friend does this for a living, so make this easy on yourself.’

  ‘What are you talkin’ about?’

  ‘I want the nude photos of Abby Dalton.’

  ‘I already toldja,’ Irwin replied. ‘I never took no nude photos.’

  ‘I can’t buy that, Barney,’ I said. ‘The way Abby looked back then, young and fresh? No way you’d let her get away without a few nudies. Somebody’s threatening to take those photos public, and you’re the only one who ever took any.’

  ‘That’s what she said?’

  ‘That’s what she said.’

  He thought about it for a minute, then said, ‘She’s a liar.’

  I stared at him for a few seconds. ‘OK, Jerry. He’s all yours.’

  ‘What? No, hey, wait a minute—’

  I went out the front door, closed it behind me and leaned against it. Danny had picked a good place. I couldn’t hear anything that was going on inside. I checked my watch, and after five minutes I went back in.

  Irwin was still in his chair, but his head was hanging down, his chin on his chest. I looked at Jerry.

  ‘I think he’s ready to deal,’ he said.

  I checked Irwin out, critically. It didn’t seem that any of his appendages were broken.

  ‘What’d you do to him?’ I asked.

  ‘Nothin’,’ Jerry said, ‘I just kinda . . . asked him nicely.’

  ‘Asked him nicely, huh?’

  He nodded.

  I walked over and stood in front of Irwin.

  ‘Barney.’

  He looked up at me. His eyes seemed haunted, but he didn’t look like he was in pain.

  ‘The nude photos of Abby,’ I said. ‘Where are they?’

  ‘I got ’em . . . in the bank.’

  ‘A safe deposit box?’

  ‘Y-yes.’

  ‘What bank?’

  ‘The Bank of Las Vegas.’

  ‘What branch?’

  ‘The one on Simmons.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, ‘how about we go there and get ’em tomorrow?’

  ‘Sure,’ Irwin said, ‘OK.’

  I turned and looked at Jerry.

  ‘He’ll be there, Mr G.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, turning back to Irwin, ‘so let’s meet in front of the bank at nine a.m.’

  ‘Yeah, OK.’ Irwin lowered his eyes, as if he couldn’t meet mine. Whatever Jerry had done to him had made him feel . . . ashamed.

  I walked behind him, untied his hands. He didn’t bring them around in front until Jerry said, ‘It’s OK, Barney.’

  He rubbed his wrists.

  ‘Let’s get you home,’ I said. I went to grab his arm and help him up, but he flinched and pulled away.

  ‘Come on, Barney,’ Jerry said. ‘We’re just gonna drive ya home.’

  Once again I drove while Jerry sat in the back with Irwin. When we got to his house they got out of the car together.

  ‘I’ll just walk him to the door,’ Jerry said.

  I watched as they walked, Jerry with his arm around Irwin’s shoulder, Irwin looking completely crestfallen. At the door they stopped. Jerry turned Irwin to face him, spoke to him briefly, at which point Irwin nodded miserably, and went inside.

  Jerry came back and asked, ‘Can I drive?’

  ‘Sure.’

  I shoved over and allowed him to get into the driver’s seat.

  ‘Jerry, he seems like a completely broken man.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘But . . . he’s not. You didn’t break anything . . . right?’ />
  ‘Only his spirit, Mr G.,’ Jerry said, ‘only his spirit.’

  TWENTY-TWO

  By the time we got back to the Sands, Lee Harvey Oswald had been arrested and charged with the murders of a police officer, and the President of the United States. The images of Oswald in handcuffs were played over and over on the screen.

  We went to Jerry’s suite. He let me in and then said he was going to look for his cousin, Billy. First, I asked him to stash the five grand for me because I didn’t want to carry it around, then I used the phone to call Abby Dalton’s room.

  ‘Isn’t it horrible?’ she asked me. ‘I’ve been watching all day.’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ I said. ‘It’s hard to believe. Listen, Abby, I’ve been workin’ on your problem and I think I’m gonna get those photos tomorrow.’

  ‘From Irwin?’

  ‘Yes, apparently he has them in a safe deposit box.’

  She hesitated, then said, ‘Maybe I should be flattered.’

  ‘I’ll come back here right away when I have the photos,’ I said. ‘You’re probably anxious to leave Vegas and get home.’

  ‘I do have to get back to work.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, ‘just be patient one more day.’

  ‘I’d be more patient if I had some company.’

  ‘I’ll come by in an hour and take you to dinner.’

  ‘Wonderful! That will be so much better than sitting here watching the television.’

  ‘I’m gonna bring a friend who’s helpin’ us,’ I added. I figured Jerry would like to meet Abby.

  ‘The private detective?’

  ‘No, another friend. I think you’ll find him . . . interesting.’

  I hung up and dialed Entratter’s office.

  ‘Any word on Frank?’ I asked when he answered.

  ‘He was on the Warner Brothers lot shooting Robin and the 7 Hoods with the rest of the guys. I talked to Dean. He said Frank went directly to church, then called the White House.’

  ‘Did the Kennedys talk to him?’

  ‘He spoke with Pat Lawford.’

  ‘Not Peter?’

  ‘No. Pat told Frank she’d pass his condolences on to the family.’

  ‘That must not have sat very well with him.’

  ‘They closed down the set for the day. I don’t know where Frank is now. Maybe with Dean. He seems to be the only one who can talk to Frank.’

  ‘Frank’s gonna want to go to the funeral.’

  ‘Then he’ll be disappointed,’ Jack said. ‘There’s no way they’ll let him go.’

  ‘I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see.’

  ‘How are you doin’ with that problem for Abby Dalton?’ he asked.

  ‘Should wrap it up tomorrow.’

  ‘Well, at least that’s good news. Let me know when it’s all over.’

  ‘I will. I should be in the building the rest of the night. I’m taking Abby to dinner, and then I’ll go down to the floor for a while.’

  ‘OK,’ Jack said. ‘See ya there.’

  As I hung up, the door slammed open and Billy came stumbling into the room, followed by Jerry, who was about as livid as I’d ever seen him.

  ‘Take it easy, Uncle Jerry!’

  ‘What’s going on?’ I asked.

  ‘This idiot,’ Jerry said, pointing, ‘is in to the casino for seventy grand!’

  ‘Seventy?’ I asked. ‘Who okayed him for seventy grand?’

  We both looked at Billy.

  ‘I dunno,’ he said, with a shrug. ‘I asked for ten grand credit, then ten more—’

  ‘And kept askin’,’ Jerry said. ‘And he woulda still been askin’ if I hadn’t stopped him.’

  ‘I’m close, Uncle Jerry,’ Billy said. ‘My system is gonna work.’ He looked at me. ‘I just need ten thousand more.’

  ‘Shut up!’ Jerry shouted, his face almost cherry red. ‘You’re done gambling.’

  ‘But that’s what we came here to do,’ Billy complained.

  ‘Yeah, with the money you brought with you. Nobody said you could run up a tab.’

  ‘The guy downstairs said it was OK.’

  ‘Who?’ I asked.

  ‘I don’t know his name.’

  Jerry gave me a look.

  ‘I’ll find out,’ I said. ‘Just keep him here.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Jerry said. ‘He ain’t goin’ nowhere.’

  I left the suite and went down to see what idiot had given a twenty-one year old seventy grand worth of credit.

  TWENTY-THREE

  His name was Mike Dotelli, and he’d been in the pits exactly three months. Jack had promoted him, against my better judgment.

  ‘Why would you ever OK that much credit to a kid?’ I demanded.

  ‘Why do you think I’ve got to account to you, Eddie?’ Dotelli asked.

  ‘It doesn’t make any sense, Mike.’

  ‘The kid shot ten grand on his own, Eddie,’ Dotelli said. ‘Said he was here celebrating his twenty-first birthday. Who are we to ruin the celebration?’

  ‘How about you’re ruining his life?’ I asked.

  Dotelli raised his eyebrows at me. He was young, maybe thirty-three. I didn’t think he was ready for the pit, and this proved it to me. I had to wonder if this would prove it to Jack Entratter, as well?

  ‘Eddie,’ he said, ‘if we started to worry about ruining people’s lives we wouldn’t let anybody play, at all.’

  ‘Jesus, Mike,’ I said, ‘how high would you have let him go?’

  ‘If his cousin hadn’t yanked him outta here? Probably another thirty grand.’

  ‘A hundred grand?’ I asked. ‘Happy fuckin’ birthday.’

  ‘Hey, the kid has a system,’ Mike said. ‘He’ll be back.’

  ‘Not if his cousin has anything to say about it.’

  ‘You know these two?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘I know ’em.’

  ‘Well, mark my words,’ Mike said, ‘he’ll be back at the tables, if not here, then somewhere else.’

  I shook my head and walked away from the asshole. My next stop was Jack Entratter.

  ‘Eddie,’ Entratter said, after a few minutes, ‘you ain’t askin’ me to let this kid off the hook, are ya?’

  ‘He never should have been on the hook at all, Jack,’ I said. ‘He came here with ten grand birthday money. When that was gone he should have been finished.’

  ‘You wouldn’t have given him any credit?’

  ‘None.’

  ‘Because he’s Jerry’s cousin?’

  ‘Because he’s a kid,’ I said. ‘Where’s he going to get the money to pay up?’

  ‘When has that ever been our problem?’

  ‘It’s our problem to show good judgment,’ I said. ‘I OK credit to people I know are going to be able to pay up. Otherwise, I’m gambling with the casino’s money. And that’s not my job. And it ain’t Mike Dotelli’s job, either.’

  ‘All right,’ Entratter said, sitting back in his chair. ‘I’ll have a talk with Mike but there’s no way I can let the kid off the hook.’

  ‘Just give him time to pay, Jack.’

  ‘He’ll have all the time he needs, Eddie. I’m not lookin’ to break the legs attached to any of Jerry’s relatives.’

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘I guess not.’

  ‘Can Jerry keep him under control from here on in?’ Jack asked. ‘Or maybe take him home?’

  ‘I’ll talk to him.’

  ‘We can keep him away from our tables, but if he goes somewhere else . . .’

  ‘I get it, Jack,’ I said. ‘I’ll talk to Jerry, see what he wants to do.’

  Jack nodded, stood up.

  ‘Come on, I’ll go down with you. I wanna walk the floor.’

  ‘I’m gonna take Abby to dinner,’ I said. ‘Then I’ll hit the floor.’

  ‘Good, good.’

  On the way to the elevators he said, ‘I know you don’t think Dotelli was ready, Eddie, but mark my words, he’ll make a good pit boss.’


  ‘I don’t doubt it, Jack,’ I said, ‘in a few years, maybe.’

  He took the elevator down to the floor, while I took it up to Jerry’s suite.

  ‘Where’s Billy?’ I asked, when he let me in.

  ‘In his room,’ Jerry said. ‘He’s pissed I won’t let him leave.’

  ‘I’m taking Abby to dinner,’ I said. ‘She’s going stir crazy in her room. You wanna come?’

  ‘I’d really like to meet her,’ he said, ‘but Billy’ll just go back downstairs. If I don’t sit on ’im.’

  ‘If he does he won’t be able to play.’ I told him about my talk with the pit boss, and with Entratter.

  ‘Thanks, Mr G. I wouldn’t expect Mr Entratter to let him off the hook,’ Jerry said. ‘And I’ll sure as hell see that he makes good on the debt.’

  ‘I know you will.’

  ‘Hold on,’ he said. ‘I’ll talk to the kid and then I’ll come to dinner with you and Miss Dalton.’

  ‘Good. I want her to know that you helped get her photos back.’

  ‘Just let me scare the shit out of Billy, first,’ he said.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  We picked Abby up at her room. Jerry acted like a shy kid when we met her, and she was very nice to him. She had put on a silk blouse, tight black skirt and heels.

  ‘I figured we weren’t going anywhere really fancy.’

  ‘Just downstairs,’ I said, ‘unless you want to go somewhere else.’

  ‘No, that’s fine,’ she said. ‘I just wanted to get out of my room.’

  ‘We could take in the show at the Copa Room, if you like,’ I said. ‘Tony Bennett.’

  ‘No, really, that’s all right,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I’d be able to enjoy it. Let’s just go and eat.’

  ‘OK.’

  We took her down to the Garden Room and over dinner she asked Jerry a lot of questions about himself. He answered them as best he could, without really telling her what he did.

  Over dessert I thought of a way to tell her how we got Irwin to part with the photos.

  ‘We should be able to get them for you tomorrow.’

  ‘Do you need more money?’

  ‘No’ I said, ‘he should take the five grand.’

  ‘I don’t know how to thank you.’ She looked at Jerry. ‘Both of you.’

  ‘Thank us tomorrow, when we hand you the photos,’ I told her.