Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime

by Robert J. Randisi

  “Your doctor tells us your hearing loss is temporary,” he went on.

  That was good to know, but I didn’t let on that I’d understood him.

  “I think he’s fakin’,” Smith said, glaring at me.

  “The guy got blown up, Willie,” Hargrove said. “Somebody put a freakin’ bomb in his car. The doctor said he’s deaf.”

  “Temporary,” Smith said, “the doctor said it was temporary. What if he already has his hearing back and he’s scammin’ us?”

  Hargrove looked at me. I tried to stare back at him with a look of total innocence on my face.

  “You wouldn’t do that to us, Eddie, would you?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry guys,” I said, and shrugged.

  At that moment the doctor walked in.

  “Come on, doc,” Detective Smith said. “Can he hear or can’t he?”

  “We’ll know when he tells us,” the doctor said. “Right now I need for you gents to leave.”

  “Okay,” Hargrove said, “but we’ll be back. After all, we have to find out who tried to kill him.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be glad to help you with that when he can,” the doctor said.

  The two detectives left, Smith tossing me one last hard stare. The doctor approached the bed and looked at me curiously. He was in his forties, with steel-gray hair and eyes and a strong jaw. I was sure he made all the nurse’s knees weak when he walked the halls.

  “You’ll have to talk to them eventually, you know,” he told me.

  “I will,” I said. “How did you know?”

  “Experience,” he said. “Let me take a look at you.”

  He used a light to check my ears and eyes.

  “You have a concussion,” he said. “We’re gonna keep you here all day and overnight just to be on the safe side.”

  “Fine with me,” I said. “Can I have visitors?”

  “Who’d you have in mind?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Frank Sinatra?”

  He laughed.

  “If Frank Sinatra walks into this hospital I’ll let him visit you,” he said, going along with what he thought was a joke.

  “Fair enough,” I said.

  “My name is Montgomery,” he said. “If you need anything that a nurse can’t give you ask for me. I’ll be on until six. I’ll look in on you before I leave.”

  “Thanks, Doc. And thanks for not tellin’ the cops I can hear.”

  “Well, I wasn’t really sure, was I?” he asked. “I assume you’ll be ready to cooperate with them tomorrow? I mean, you do want to find out who did this to you, don’t you?”

  “Oh yeah,” said. “I just need some time to think.”

  “I don’t believe I’d need time to think if someone had put a bomb in my car,” he said, “but it’s your call.”

  I looked at the phone on the table next to me.

  “Can I use that?”

  “Why not?” he asked. “You’re going to be paying for it.”

  As he left the room I leaned over, picked up the phone and set it on my chest. I dialed Danny’s number, and when Penny answered I didn’t tell her what happened. I just asked for Danny. When he came on I gave him the news.

  “What the hell,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “I was deaf for a while, but it’s comin’ back to me,” I explained. “I scammed the cops, though, into thinkin’ I was still deaf.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “I guess I’ll have to think about that.”

  “Well, I’ll come over and help you think,” he said. “You want anything?”

  “Just don’t bring any flowers.”

  After I hung up on him I dialed the Sands and asked for Jack Entratter. When I told him what had happened, he exploded.

  “What the fuck is goin’ on?” he demanded. “Somebody put a fuckin’ bomb in your car?”

  “Looks that way.”

  “You stay put,” he said, “and do what the doctors tell ya. Don’t worry about nothin’. The bills’ll be paid for.”

  “Thanks, Jack.”

  “I’ll be there in a little while,” he said. “I got some calls to make. You’re done with this, Eddie. You hear me? You’re done.”

  “No, Jack, wait—” I started, but he hung up.

  Physically, I felt pretty good. I had a few aches and pains, but nothing was broken. And I knew a concussion wasn’t life threatening. I’d known enough football players who’d gotten five or six during their careers. And boxers. One wasn’t going to kill me.

  My hearing was getting better by the minute, which was a relief. I probably could have gotten out of that bed and walked out of the hospital, but I didn’t want to—not just yet. I needed someplace quiet and safe to think, and this was as good a place as any. If I wasn’t going to back off, then I needed to plan my next move.

  Fifty-four

  THE NURSES WERE VERY ATTENTIVE, but when I told them I didn’t need anything they left me alone. That gave me some time alone before Danny or Jack Entratter arrived. When Danny did get there I’d thought it out pretty well. Now all I needed to do was talk it through with someone and have them point out all the mistakes I was making. Danny Bardini was perfect for that.

  “Well, well,” he said, when he walked in, “I thought I’d find you all bandaged up from head to toe.”

  “I was pretty lucky.”

  “I know,” he said, shaking my hand and then holding onto it. “I talked with your doctor. Apparently the blast picked you up and tossed you a good distance. It also threw you clear of flying debris.”

  “See any cops on your way up?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did,” he said. “There are still some sheriff’s deputies around, and I saw your buddies, Hargrove and Smith. Apparently, the sheriff’s office has handed your case over to them completely, given their previous experiences with you.”

  “I guess that’s okay,” I said. “Maybe they’ll actually figure out who did this. Can I have my hand back now?”

  Abruptly, as if he didn’t know he’d been holding it, he let it go. He grabbed a chair, pulled it over to the bed and sat down.

  “You were lucky, Eddie,” he said, seriously. “Whoever wired the car knew what they were doing. Hargrove can’t explain it, but there was a hesitation when you turned the car key and the blast didn’t go off right away. What happened? Why weren’t you in the car?”

  “I realized I forgot my wallet,” I said. “I was walkin’ back to the house when it went off.”

  “Jesus,” he said, shaking his head. “You gonna give this up now and hand it over to the police? Rat Pack and all?”

  “I had a woman with me last night, Danny.” I didn’t tell him it was Judith Campbell. “I called her a cab this morning. If I’d offered to drive her home she would’ve been in the car.”

  “More good luck,” he said.

  “Well, bad for somebody,” I said, “because now I’m pissed off.”

  “Eddie …” he said.

  “What?”

  “You’re a long way from the streets of Brooklyn,” he said. “You got out of there, went to college, became a CPA and somehow ended up in the pit at the Sands.”

  “Your point being?”

  “You may work for some hard guys, my friend,” he told me, “but you ain’t a hard guy. Let the cops handle it, or let the boys handle it.”

  “I wish I could, Danny,” I said, “but this ain’t right. Too many people have died already, and for what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “And I don’t know,” I said, “but I wanna find out. This must have to do with something other than some threats against Dean Martin.”

  “Did you ask them all about threats?”

  “I asked,” I said. “Dean’s the only one.”

  “The threats, them dead girls, Mike Borraco, and now this,” Danny said, shaking his head.

  “You get that list from Marcia?” I asked.

  “I got it, but it’s go
nna take a while to go through all those people.”

  “Too long,” I said. “We’ve got to come up with something else.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I wish Jerry and I coulda found out who hired Ravisi and Davis.”

  “Wishin’ ain’t gonna do you any good, bud,” Danny said.

  “I know.”

  “Why don’t you spend a quiet night here and think about it in the mornin’,” he suggested. “You want me to come and pick you up?”

  “No, I’ll have someone from the Sands do it. They’re gonna cover my bill.”

  “Okay, then.” He stood up, reached out to touch my arm, then stopped. “Take it easy.”

  “Don’t forget you have a date tonight,” I said. “Enjoy the show.”

  “I will,” he said, then added with an evil grin, “and I’m gonna enjoy your girl.”

  “She’s not my—” I started, but stopped because he was already out of the room.

  I didn’t know I had fallen asleep until I woke up to find Jack Entratter standing by the bed.

  “Hey, Jack.”

  “Eddie,” he said. “How you feelin’?”

  “Got a headache,” I said. “Doc said I had a concussion.”

  “I thought they weren’t supposed to let you fall asleep with that?” he said.

  “I dunno,” I said, hoarsely. “Guess I’ll have to ask the doc. Is there any water here?”

  “Water?” He picked up a pitcher from the table next to the bed. “Yeah, here’s some.” He poured it into a cup and handed it to me.

  “Thanks.” I drained it and handed it back.

  “When you gettin’ out?” he asked.

  “Tomorrow mornin’.”

  “You wanna go home from here?”

  “I dunno,” I said. “Guess I’ll decide that in the morning.”

  “I’ll have somebody from the Sands come and pick you up.”

  “I appreciate that, Jack.”

  “No problem, Eddie,” he said. “You’re here because I made you talk to Frank. I feel bad about it.”

  “Don’t, Jack,” I said. “I coulda pulled out any time. I didn’t.”

  “But you are now, right? I’ll talk to Frank, and Dean—”

  “No,” I said. “I want to see this through.”

  “Eddie … whatayawanna get killed?”

  “No,” I said, “but I don’t want to run, either. I want to do what I said I was gonna do, help find out who’s threatenin’ Dean.”

  “Frank and Dean ain’t gonna think any less of you if you quit,” he assured me. “Not after this.”

  “Jack,” I said, “I think it’s too late to pull out, don’t you? I mean, somebody obviously wants me dead. They might come for me, anyway.”

  “You got a point,” he said. “I hate to say this … never thought I would … but maybe you should go to the cops.”

  “I still have to think about it.”

  “Can’t get rid of that tough Brooklyn guy inside you, huh, kid?”

  “I was never that tough, Jack,” I said. “Just kinda stubborn.”

  “I’m gonna get you all the help you need, Eddie,” he said.

  “You bring in some muscle, Jack, and we may never find out who was behind this.”

  “Why would that be so bad?” he asked. “Let’s just scare ’em off.”

  “No,” I said, “I want to know who put a bomb in my car.” I wanted to know who had almost killed Judy Campbell, too. If she had been in my car I would have had to live with that all my life.

  “Okay,” Jack said, “okay, we’ll play it your way. I’ll still have you picked up in the morning.”

  “No argument.”

  “If you come to the Sands make sure you stop by and see me first.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I already spoke with the hospital,” he said. “Don’t worry about the bill.”

  “Thanks, Jack.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  I thought I blinked, but my eyes must have been closed longer than that because when I opened them Jack Entratter was gone.

  Fifty-five

  WHEN l OPENED MY EYES again I saw that I had another visitor. I also saw that it was dark out, probably well past visitor’s hours.

  “How’d you get them to let you in here?” I asked Jerry.

  He turned from the window and walked over to the bed. I had recognized his broad back.

  “I tol’ ’em to try and make me leave,” he said. “Nobody had the balls to do it.”

  “What are you doin’ here, Jerry?”

  “My job,” he said. “Keepin’ you safe.”

  “I’m in the hospital, Jerry.”

  “They can get to you here just as easy as out there, Eddie,” he said. “Believe me, I know. I’ve seen it.”

  “You gonna stay awake all night?” I asked.

  “That’s the plan.”

  I stared at him. Was he doing this because Frank had told him to keep me healthy, or had we managed to bond over the past two days?

  I really didn’t care.

  “Thanks, Jerry.”

  “Sure,” he said.

  “What happened with you and the cops—”

  “Just go to sleep,” he said, cutting me off. “I’ll be here when you wake up. We’ll talk about it then.”

  I wanted to tell him that was jake with me, but when I opened my mouth no words came out … .

  Next time I opened my eyes the sun was streaming in the window. Jerry was still there, sitting in a chair, still awake.

  “’Mornin’” he said.

  “You must be exhausted,” I said.

  “I had a few hours rest yesterday in a cell,” he said. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “How’d the lawyer get you out?”

  “There was no match with my gun, and the witness they had turned out to be not so good. He saw two men, one taller than the other, but no faces.”

  “So how did the cops know to come to the Sands to get you?” I asked. “And why talk to me about it?”

  “You ain’t so concussed,” he said. “Them’s good questions.”

  “Something’ ain’t right here,” I said.

  “With cops,” he said, “nothin’ is ever right. You ain’t gonna get no help from cops on this, Eddie.”

  “I believe it.”

  “Yer gonna have ta count on me, and on yer friend Danny.”

  I knew I could count on Danny. But could I really count on Jerry? After all, he was Giancana’s man on loan to Frank Sinatra. Seemed to me I was low man on the totem pole.

  “First thing we’ve got to do is get me out of here,” I said. “Jack Entratter said he’d be sendin’ someone.”

  “That’s me,” he said. “I’ll drive ya.”

  It was then it hit me that my beloved ’52 Caddy was gone. There may have been a piece or two on my lawn somewhere, but it was gone.

  “You thinkin’ about your car?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “That’s a sin, blowin’ up a car like that. Somebody needs to die just for that.”

  I agreed with him.

  Jerry found my clothes in a nearby closet. I was dressed, sliding my feet into my shoes when a middle-aged nurse came through the door.

  “Looks like you’re cleared to leave, Mr. Gianelli,” she said.

  “Thank you.”

  She gave Jerry a hard look. I didn’t bother asking what kind of run-in he must have had with the nursing staff the night before.

  “Wait here while I get a wheelchair,” she said.

  “No,” I said. “I can walk.”

  “A wheelchair is required, Mr. Gianelli,” the nurse said. “Regulations.”

  “My man says he can walk,” Jerry said to her. “He’s gonna walk.”

  She glared at him again, seemed about to leave, then said to him, “You’re a horrible bully!”

  He looked at me with an expression that asked, What did I do to deserve
that?

  “She doesn’t know what she’s talkin’ about,” I said.

  “Thanks. I just—”

  “I think you’re a helluva bully.”

  Fifty-six

  JERRY MADE ME WAIT just inside the front door while he brought the car around. Jack Entratter had given him a vehicle registered to the Sands, a black Mercury. As I got in and he drove off we were both silent. I knew we were each thinking about my late Caddy.

  “Well,” he said, breaking the quiet, “one good thing came out of this.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You ain’t a suspect no more,” he said. “Cops figure somebody tried to blow you up might be the same somebody killed those girls, and Mike Borraco.”

  “I guess that’s one way of puttin’ a positive spin on it.”

  “It ever happen to you before?”

  “Never. You?”

  “Once.”

  “What happened?”

  “I got lucky,” Jerry said. “Like you.”

  “Just a coupla lucky stiffs,” I said.

  “Better’n a coupla dead ones.”

  I couldn’t argue with that.

  When we got to the Sands we both headed up to Jack Entratter’s office, but Jerry stayed out in the waiting room while I went inside.

  “You look woozy,” he said.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You shoulda went home.”

  “This is my home.”

  “Eddie—”

  “I know what you meant, Jack,” I said, cutting him off. “I don’t wanna go home. I’m pissed, I wanna do something.”

  “Like what?”

  “Kick some ass,” I said, “I just have to find out whose ass to kick.”

  “Let it go.”

  “What?”

  “Let the cops find who put the bomb in your car.”

  “We went through this last night, Jack,” I said. “They’re gonna keep comin’ for me, whoever they are.”

  “I thought of that,” he said. “I got an idea.”

  “What?”

  “Get outta town.”

  “And go where?”

  “Reno,” Entratter said. “Frank’s got a piece of the Cal-Neva. You can work there for a while.”