We walked outside. Da Vinci asked the valet to call him a cab.
“Don’t bother,” I said. “I’ll drop you off. Where are you staying?”
“I’m at the Beverly Rodeo,” he said.
“Jump in,” I said, as the valet opened the car door for Kim.
I dropped Da Vinci at the Beverly Rodeo Hotel. His jacket swung open as he stepped out of the car.
“We’ll be in touch tomorrow,” Da Vinci said.
“Okay,” I answered, and watched him as he went into the lobby of the hotel. Then I moved the car away from the curb and into the traffic.
I looked at Kim. “He’s got a gun in a shoulder holster.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“I saw it when he got out of the car. It doesn’t make sense to me. Why does a computer banker need a piece?” I shook my head. “Nothing makes sense.”
“You’re tired,” Kim said. “Let’s go back to the hotel bungalow and you can relax. Maybe you need a bath in the Jacuzzi. It’s been a rough day.”
I nodded. I still hadn’t told her about Uncle Rocco’s leaving the country.
“But first, I need to speak to Alma,” I said. “Call her at the hotel, tell her I’m coming over to talk to her.”
Kim picked up the car phone and dialed Alma’s hotel. She asked for Mrs. Jarvis.
The desk clerk spoke into the phone. Kim hung up the receiver and looked at me. “She’s checked out.”
“Okay,” I said. “I guess there’s nothing I can do. Let’s go home.”
* * *
IT WAS ABOUT 11:30 P.M., and Kim and I were sitting in the Jacuzzi. I leaned back into the bubbling water.
Kim looked at me. “I’ve come to a decision, Jed. I’m quitting my job.”
“What the hell for?” I asked her. “You have a great job.”
“I don’t need a job,” she said angrily. “I need a relationship. I thought we had one, but all we have is a fuck every now and then.”
“I have many problems,” I answered.
“You had more problems when we first started this business,” she said. “But you still had time for us.”
“We’ll have it yet,” I said. “I just need a little more time to get through all of this.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “In another year I’ll be thirty years old, and my mother always says that if you’re not married by the time you’re thirty, you’re an old maid.”
“Oh, Jesus,” I said. “You’re still a kid.”
“You’re not that young either,” she said. “I think we’d better decide what our future is going to be.”
“I know what our future is,” I said. “We’ll get married, just like everybody else.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Of course I mean it,” I said. “But don’t push me.”
She got out of the Jacuzzi.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“I’m going to shave my pussy,” she said. “I want to feel young again.”
I stepped out of the Jacuzzi and put on my terry-cloth robe. “Come on to bed,” I said. “We’ll practice a little.”
She looked at me. “Don’t you want me to shave my pussy?” she asked.
“It doesn’t bother me,” I said.
“Then you better shave your beard, or you’ll scratch my clit.”
“Oh, balls,” I said. “Let’s go to bed.”
The telephone began ringing. She reached for it, listened, and then turned to me, a look of disgust on her face. “There’s a limo in front of the hotel,” she said. “Your niece, Angela, is waiting to come up.”
Kim slipped into a jumpsuit and I changed into jeans and a T-shirt. The doorbell rang and I opened the door. Angela was standing there, and a bellboy stood behind her with a valise.
“Uncle Jed,” she said in a small voice.
“Yes, sweetie.”
“My mother told me to stay with you for a few days.” She looked apprehensively up at me. “Is that okay?” Obviously she didn’t know if she was welcome.
“Come on in, honey,” I said, taking her hand. “Where is your mother?”
“She had to go on a business trip.”
“Where?” I asked.
Angela looked at me. “I think she’s going to France.” She turned and saw Kim. “Is she your wife?”
I smiled at her. “She’s my fiancée,” I answered. “We’re getting married very soon.”
Angela was smart. “She’s a very pretty lady,” she said.
I introduced them to each other. Kim smiled at Angela. “Have you had dinner?” she asked.
“I haven’t had much,” she answered.
“C’mon, let’s have something to eat,” Kim said, and they walked together into the kitchen.”
* * *
I CALLED PEACHTREE on the telephone while Kim was showing Angela to the guest room. It was near midnight, and I apologized for calling that late.
“I need some information,” I said. “I remember that you escorted Thyme to Brad’s party.”
“That’s right,” Peachtree answered.
“I also heard somewhere that her boyfriend was a Mafia gangster out of Las Vegas.”
“That’s right,” Daniel said, “although I’m not sure ‘boyfriend’ is the right term—he’s more her protector. His name is Jimmy Pelleggi, and he used to be Sam Giancanna’s representative in Las Vegas.”
“Does he still have anything to do with the casinos?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” Daniel said, “because the gaming commission got all the Mafia out of the gambling operations.”
“Then what do you think he’s doing in Vegas?” I asked.
“What I hear is that he runs drugs and prostitution. He’s a tough man,” Daniel added. “They call him Jimmy Blue Eyes because his eyes are blue like ice.”
“What does he have to do with Thyme?” I asked.
Daniel laughed. “He follows Giancanna. After all, Giancanna had a singer under his wing for a long time.”
“Do you know anything about a man called Leonardo Da Vinci?”
“The artist?” Daniel asked.
“No,” I said. “He’s a European banker, and I know that he knows Jimmy Pelleggi.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Daniel answered.
I thanked Daniel and put down the telephone. For the first time I felt frustrated that I couldn’t get in touch with Uncle Rocco. There was a peculiar setup going on. I knew now that Jimmy Blue Eyes was in the drug trade. And I remembered that Alma had also been in the drug trade. And I knew that Da Vinci had contact with both of them. Something was going on, but I didn’t have the answers.
Kim came into the living room. “Angela has gone to bed.”
“Good,” I said. “I think that we should do the same. It’s been a long day.”
Kim looked at me. “Why do you think Alma took off for France in such a hurry?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I have a feeling it has something to do with Uncle Rocco. He’s also taken off for France tonight. He may be in real trouble.”
8
KIM AND I were having coffee and Danish for breakfast.
Kim said, “We have to get someone to take care of Angela when we go to the office. We can’t leave her alone.”
“I didn’t think about that. Do you know anyone that could do it?” I asked.
“My sister has three kids. She’ll know someone who can help.”
“Get in touch with her,” I said. “We need someone right away.”
The telephone rang. Kim answered it. “It’s Da Vinci.” She handed me the phone.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Good morning,” he answered. “Have you heard anything from Alma?”
“Not a word,” I said.
“Well, I have,” he said. “I heard that she left her child with you.”
“It was a surprise for me,” I said. “She showed up after we came home from dinner.”
<
br /> “Did she say anything about where her mother had gone?” he asked.
“No, she only said that her mother told her to stay with me for a few days,” I answered.
Da Vinci was annoyed. “I have two valises of Alma’s that I was supposed to give her. Now I don’t know what to do with them.”
“What’s in them?” I questioned.
“I don’t know, they belong to Alma. She never mentioned what was in them.” He hesitated a moment. “Is it okay if I drop them off with you, and you can give them to her when she returns?”
“I don’t know why not,” I answered. “After all, I have to return her kid to her also.”
“I’ll drop them at your hotel,” Da Vinci said. “I have to return to Liechtenstein today.”
“Okay.” I put down the telephone and said to Kim, “Da Vinci has two valises for Alma. I told him he could leave them here.”
She picked up the phone, called her sister, and spoke to her for a few minutes. “My sister knows a girl who can take care of Angela. She’s sending her right over.”
“Thank God,” I said.
Angela came into the breakfast room. “Good morning,” she said.
“Did you sleep okay?” I asked her.
Angela nodded. “Really well.”
Kim said, “What would you like for breakfast?”
“Petit pain du chocolat and coffee.”
Kim laughed. “Number one, we don’t have petit pain du chocolat; number two, you’re too young to drink coffee.”
Angela frowned. “My mother always lets me have coffee.”
“Look,” Kim said, “this is America. In America kids drink milk, not coffee. I can’t get a petit pain du chocolat, but I can get chocolate doughnuts. I think you should eat something more substantial, however,” Kim said, sounding motherly. “How about ham and eggs, or pancakes and sausage?”
“Pancakes and sausage sound good,” Angela said brightly. “But if I don’t have a cup of coffee, I won’t be able to stay awake for the whole day.”
Kim laughed. “Okay, but very weak coffee.”
“Okay,” Angela said. “I’ll have café au lait.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Kim said, and called room service.
Angela looked at me. “What are we going to do today?” she asked.
“I’ve got someone coming over here to stay with you. Kim and I have to go to work,” I answered.
“You both sound exactly like my mother,” she sighed.
* * *
JIM HANDLEY WAS waiting for me when I came into my office.
“I’ve got some word from Aerospatiale,” he said.
“What’s the word?” I asked. He didn’t look happy.
“It doesn’t look good. The Dutchmen have offered them more money.”
“That’s crazy. Aerospatiale offered us the deal,” I said.
“What can I say? This is just what they told me.”
“I think that the only thing we can do is send them the down payment,” I said after pondering the situation for a moment.
Handley looked at me. “You haven’t even spoken to the other airlines yet. How do you know how much you can take a shot at? Twenty percent down on that many planes will cost a minimum of a quarter of a billion dollars,” he said. “And we haven’t got it right now.”
“We’re fucked,” I said. “Someone has gotten a line on our cash. That’s why the Dutch company made the offer.”
“What are we going to do?” Handley asked.
“We’ll fuck the Dutch company,” I said. “We’ll buy them.”
“But they want to buy you,” Handley said.
“They want to buy us, we want to buy them,” I said. “So they’ll give us three billion dollars. I’ll offer them five billion for their company.”
“Where are you going to get the money?” Handley asked.
I didn’t tell him that Uncle Rocco wanted me to head up a tremendous company, probably one of the biggest investment companies in the world. And if I did what Uncle Rocco wanted, I would have the money. Instead, I told him that if it didn’t work, we could always merge, or we could get Milken to sell junk bonds for us and get the money.
“And what are you going to do about Millennium Films?” he asked. “EuroSky has already advanced you five hundred ninety-five million. How do we get any money out of that?” he asked.
I leaned back in my chair. “They advanced me all the money, but the studio still winds up as my company.”
“So how are we going to pay back the advance?” Handley asked.
I smiled. “For years I’ve been watching Kerkorian sell MGM and UA over and over again. And at the end of it he always ends up back in control of the company. What he sells is pieces.”
“So?” Handley said.
“It’s very simple. I sell them the foreign distribution rights to the film library. That’s still fifteen hundred feature films, plus other film inventory,” I said.
Handley looked at me. “I thought you didn’t want to stay in the film business.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Didn’t we talk about the fact that their real estate and property could sell for as much as four hundred million dollars. That’s not bad.”
A bemused look of respect crossed Handley’s face. “Jed,” he said, “you’re turning into a real prick.”
* * *
KIM ENTERED MY office an hour and a half later. “My sister sent the nanny. And I made arrangements for her to take Angela to Disneyland,” she said.
“That’s nice,” I said.
“Also, after they had left for Disneyland and I was getting ready to come to work, Da Vinci came to the apartment and left a couple of large aluminum valises for us to give Alma when she returns.”
“Fine,” I said. “Did he say anything else?”
“Only that he was catching a flight this afternoon for Europe.”
“Well,” I said, “I guess that takes care of that.”
The phone rang and my secretary spoke into the intercom. “A Mr. Pelleggi is on the phone.”
I picked up the telephone. “Yes, sir.”
“We didn’t really meet last night,” Pelleggi said. “But I saw you with Da Vinci, and I was wondering if you had a number for him.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “As far as I know he is on his way back to Europe.”
“Damn,” Pelleggi said. “Do you have any information about Mrs. Jarvis?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
He hesitated for a moment. “I’m a friend of your uncle’s. We’ve known each other for many years.”
“I’m glad,” I said. “I’m very fond of Uncle Rocco.”
“I’m also one of the investors in a company with Mr. Di Stefano,” he said.
“Yes?” I said.
“It is very important that I get in touch with your uncle,” Pelleggi said.
“As far as I know, he’s still in Atlantic City,” I responded.
“I got no answer at his apartment,” he said.
“I’m sure he’ll show up in a short time,” I said. “If I hear from him, I will ask him to get in touch with you.”
“I appreciate that,” Mr. Pelleggi said, and hesitated again. “By the way, did you know that Alma’s husband, Reed Jarvis, hit on my girlfriend the night of Bradley Shepherd’s party?”
“I know nothing about it,” I said. Which was the truth.
“The son of a bitch is lucky he got himself killed before I could do him in. I wouldn’t have made it that easy for him,” he said.
“Well,” I said, “all’s well that ends well. Now all we have to do is keep our noses clean.”
There was silence, then he laughed. “You call me Jimmy Blue Eyes. I like you. You’re just like your uncle.” Then he hung up.
9
IT WAS LATE by the time I left the office. Kim had left earlier because she wanted to check on Angela and make sure everything was okay. When I got to the downstairs parking lot, it was empty. All the a
ttendants had gone for the day.
I jumped into the Blazer and left the garage. I turned onto Century Boulevard. A voice came from behind me in the back seat.
“Señor Stevens,” a man’s Spanish-accented voice said. “It’s been a long time.”
I looked in the rearview mirror. “It has been a long time,” I said. The last time I’d seen the man was in Peru. “Captain Gonzales.”
The man smiled. “You remember the name correctly, but it is no longer captain. I am now a general.”
“Congratulations,” I said. “Why didn’t you come up to the office?”
“I didn’t want anyone to know that I was here with you,” he answered.
“What can I do for you?” I asked.
“Señorita Vargas called me yesterday and asked me to get in touch with you because there are some big troubles.”
I pulled over to the side of the road and turned to him. “General Gonzales, why don’t you get into the front seat? It’s easier for us to talk that way.”
General Gonzales hadn’t changed much. He was still slim and dapper as before. There was a little gray in his hair, but his pencil-line mustache was still black.
I moved back into traffic. “Did Alma say what kind of trouble?”
“She couldn’t go into detail. But I know it has something to do with la cocaina.”
“I thought she was through with that business. After all, she married a very rich man, and she now has a lot of money.”
“That’s true,” Gonzales said. “But she’s under a great deal of pressure from the Mafia. They want her to open up her South American contacts for them.”
“Christ,” I said. “Nothing seems to change.”
Gonzales nodded. “She told me that she will be in touch with you, and we’ll find out what we need to do.”
I looked at him. “Do you know of my uncle, Mr. Di Stefano?” I asked.
“I know of him,” Gonzales said. “But we have never met.”
“I think that she and my uncle are together in Europe trying to straighten out the problems.”
He looked out the window. “Will you let me know the minute she contacts you?”
The Piranhas Page 20
