The Piranhas

by Harold Robbins

  “Okay,” I said. “Where are you staying?”

  “I haven’t checked into a hotel yet,” he answered. “I just arrived here.”

  “Then come home to dinner with me and we’ll find a place for you to stay.”

  He nodded. “Gracias, señor.”

  I turned north onto the freeway to Sunset Boulevard, and then east to the Bel Air gates.

  Gonzales said, “Do you have bodyguards following you?”

  “No,” I said.

  “There are two men in a black Ford who have been behind us since you pulled out of the office garage.”

  I looked in my rearview mirror. I couldn’t see anything.

  Gonzales opened his jacket and took out an automatic. “Just in case,” he said quietly.

  “I wonder what the hell is going on,” I said, as I pulled past the hotel entrance to my bungalow.

  We got out of the car, but I still didn’t see anyone. We went into the apartment. Angela saw me as I came through the door and then she saw Gonzales.

  She smiled and spoke in Spanish. “Buenas noches, Tío!”

  He bent over to kiss her. “Angela,” he said in English, “you’re becoming a very big girl.”

  She turned to me. “I would like to get a Big Mac for dinner.”

  Just then Kim came from the other room. “The nanny says she’s been eating hamburgers and French fries all day at Disneyland.” she said.

  “What the hell do I know?” I said. “If she wants a Big Mac let her have it. Kids are entitled to be kids.”

  I introduced Kim to the general, but told her that he was visiting from Peru because I had called him.

  “I think we should have dinner in,” I said. “I think we’ll hear from either Alma or my uncle this evening.”

  “I still want a Big Mac,” Angela said.

  “Okay. Kim, ask the nanny to take Angela out and get one for her.” Then to Gonzales, “You’ll join us for dinner and I’ll call the desk and get you a room here at the hotel.”

  We ordered from room service, and while we were sitting at the bar having a drink, Jimmy Blue Eyes called me.

  “Have you heard anything from your uncle?” he asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “I put two bodyguards on you,” Jimmy said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  “You worried me a little bit,” I said. “I was aware there were two people following me from my office.”

  “They are my men,” he said. “I told them to stay nearby in case you had any problems.”

  “Why should I have any problems?” I asked.

  “Da Vinci is going to screw you,” he said.

  “How is he going to screw me? He’s nothing but a fucking messenger.”

  “He’s more than a messenger,” he said. “He’s a hit man.”

  “Who is he after?” I asked. “He didn’t bother me.”

  “He’s after your uncle,” Jimmy said. “I’m guessing that’s why he went back to Europe. I have a feeling that your uncle has gone to Sicily to talk to the commission.” Jimmy Blue Eyes was quiet for a moment. Then, “Did Da Vinci leave anything with you?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “He left two valises that he said belonged to Alma.”

  “Okay,” Jimmy Blue Eyes said. “Sit tight, I’m on my way over.”

  We were in the middle of dinner when the desk clerk called and told us we had a visitor, a Mr. Pelleggi.

  “Send him over,” I told her.

  When I opened the door, Jimmy Blue Eyes looked at Gonzales. “Who the hell is he?” he asked.

  “He’s a friend of Alma’s from Peru,” I answered.

  He looked at me. “Is he okay?” he asked.

  “He’s on our side,” I answered.

  “Good,” he said. Jimmy opened the bungalow door, asked his two bodyguards to come in, and then turned back to me. “Where are the valises that Da Vinci left?”

  I looked at Kim. “Where did you put the valises?”

  “In the guest closet,” Kim answered.

  I opened the door and took out two twenty-eight-inch aluminum valises.

  Jimmy gestured to one of his men. “Open them.”

  The man took out a big pocket knife. He pushed the flat side of the blade against a valise lock and hit it. The lock fell open. He lifted the top of the valise.

  We looked inside. It was packed with cellophane-wrapped bags of white powder. Jimmy had his man jab one of the packages. Jimmy dipped his finger in the powder and tasted it.

  “That’s heroin,” he said.

  Kim turned to me. “What are you doing? You’re going to wind up in jail.”

  “Look, this isn’t my business,” I said.

  “Now what do we do?” I asked Jimmy.

  “This was part of the deal. Da Vinci was to bring heroin from Sicily in return for cocaine from Colombia,” he answered.

  “What has this got to do with Uncle Rocco?” I asked.

  “Your uncle has been out of this business for a long time. And there are some people who want him back in it,” he replied. He told his men to lock up the valises.

  “How much heroin do you think is in there?” I asked.

  “I think each valise has about forty kilos,” he answered.

  “What’s that worth?” I asked.

  “Wholesale about seven million dollars. On the street, after it’s cut, maybe a hundred and fifty million.”

  “Now what happens to it?” I asked.

  Jimmy smiled. “I’ll take care of it,” he said. “Can I use your phone?”

  “Be my guest,” I said.

  Jimmy punched numbers into the telephone. In a few seconds he was talking to someone in Italian. He spoke so quickly I couldn’t follow what he was saying. After he hung up the phone, he turned to me.

  “Da Vinci is already in Sicily,” he said. “I think it is important that as soon as we hear from your uncle, we let him know that.” He then motioned to his two men to take the valises out.

  Jimmy Blue Eyes held out his hand. “Keep in touch, I’ll leave my two men here in case you need help,” he explained. “You never can tell what those shitheads will do.” He shook his head. “Now that the pizza connection trial is over, there is a whole group of new ‘zips’ moving in, and I think they are after the old men. The only way they can be controlled is by the Sicilian lords.”

  I watched as they left the bungalow. Then I sat down at the bar and looked at General Gonzales. “What do you think?”

  The Peruvian general spoke quietly. “They’re all crooks,” he said.

  10

  IT WAS ELEVEN o’clock. We had finished dinner and were having coffee. Angela had returned and gone to bed. The general looked across the table at me. “Do you have a gun?” he asked.

  “No,” I answered. “I don’t need one here.”

  “I think you need one now,” he said. He reached inside his jacket and handed me a small 9mm automatic. “Keep this just in case,”

  “Do you think there will be a problem?” I asked.

  “I have a feeling that something is not quite right,” he answered.

  “What do you mean?”

  He looked at me. “Jimmy Blue Eyes didn’t seem surprised that the heroin was here at your bungalow,” he said. “It didn’t take him long to take off with the valises. How much did he say that it would be worth? Seven million dollars?” he said.

  “Yes,” I said.

  The Peruvian nodded. “That is not a bad night’s work.”

  “What are you saying?” I asked.

  “He said they were exchanging cocaina for heroin. But he didn’t tell you where the cocaina was coming from. I have a feeling that we will hear more from the Mafioso this evening.”

  “He said he would leave me two men here as bodyguards,” I said.

  Gonzales smiled curiously. “I don’t know whether they are bodyguards or executioners. Jimmy Blue Eyes is playing with seven million dollars. If I were he I would not leave any witnesses behind.”

/>   I thought for a moment. “Maybe you’re right.”

  The telephone began to ring. Kim answered it. “Your Aunt Rosa is on the phone.”

  “Aunt Rosa?” I asked. “I haven’t heard from her in a long time.” I reached for the phone. “Aunt Rosa, how are you?”

  “I’m fine,” she answered.

  “You’re up very late,” I said.

  “I just remembered,” she said. “Your father used to always send flowers for your grandparents’ anniversary mass in Palermo,” she said. “I thought it would be nice if you would send flowers this year.”

  I thought for a moment. This was the first time I had ever heard about this. I knew Aunt Rosa was telling me something.

  “I don’t mind,” I said. “When do I need to send the flowers?”

  “The mass will be in Palermo in three days,” Aunt Rosa said. “We have a cousin who is a florist in the Villa Igiea Grand Hotel. He’ll know where to send the flowers.”

  “Good. I’ll arrange it right away.”

  Aunt Rosa’s voice was serious. “Don’t forget. It’s really important.”

  “Don’t worry, Aunt Rosa, I’ll take care of it,” I said.

  “You always were a good boy. I know you will. Goodnight.”

  I turned to Kim and Gonzales. “Now we know where to meet Uncle Rocco.”

  Gonzales looked at me. “I think it would be a good idea if I stay here with you. After all, I’m a professional and I’ll know how to handle any trouble.”

  “All I can offer you is the sofa, since Angela is in the guest room.”

  “That’s no problem,” he answered.

  “Where are you going to meet your Uncle Rocco?” Kim asked.

  “In Palermo in three days. So we’ll arrange our travel plans in the morning. Let’s go to bed now.”

  At three o’clock in the morning the telephone rang again. I picked it up. This time it was Alma.

  “Is Angela with you?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Is she all right?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I answered. “Where are you?”

  “I’m in Paris,” she said. “Did General Gonzales arrive?”

  “He’s here now,” I said.

  “Good, let me talk to him.”

  I went into the living room. He was sitting on the couch, wide-awake. “Alma’s on the phone,” I said.

  He picked up the phone. I listened for a moment and I realized they were not speaking Spanish. It was probably a Peruvian argot.

  Finally he said to her, “Okay, I’ll be there too.” He put down the telephone.

  “What did she say?” I asked.

  “She has arranged to rent a yacht in Cap d’Antibes, and she and your uncle will take the yacht to Palermo. Your uncle thinks it is the safest way for them to travel.”

  “Did she say anything about us meeting there?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he answered. “She confirmed your Aunt Rosa’s message.”

  “Good enough,” I said. “I’ll arrange to get the plane tomorrow.”

  He looked at me. “What do you want to do about the bodyguards outside?”

  “Screw them,” I said. “If they don’t bother us, we don’t bother them.”

  I went back to the bedroom. Kim was sitting up in bed. “What’s happening?” she asked.

  I smiled at her. “We’re going on a honeymoon. To Europe.”

  * * *

  WE ARRIVED IN Palermo the day before I was to meet Uncle Rocco. The hotel was comfortable, and Kim and I had a nice suite. Gonzales had a room across the corridor from us.

  At 7 P.M. we went downstairs to the cocktail lounge to have a drink.

  “It seems like a quiet town,” I said.

  The general nodded. “It reminds me of some of the towns in Peru. They always seem to be quiet, but always there are problems below the surface.”

  The waiter came to the table. Kim wanted Asti Spumante. The general and I ordered scotch.

  Earlier in the day we had had lunch at a restaurant not far from the hotel. We had decided to have dinner later this evening at the hotel. The menu was completely Italian. Pasta, pasta, pasta.

  We were sitting quietly, not talking, when I heard a voice behind me. “Mr. Stevens.”

  I turned around. Jimmy Blue Eyes stood there with his two bodyguards.

  “Do you mind if I join you for a drink?” he asked.

  “Be my guest.”

  He moved into a chair. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said.

  “Neither did I expect to see you here,” I said.

  “Are you meeting your uncle?”

  “I haven’t had any messages, I’m just traveling a little. And I’ve come to attend the anniversary mass for my grandparents,” I said. “What brings you here?”

  “Business,” Jimmy Blue Eyes said.

  I didn’t ask him what the business was.

  Jimmy Blue Eyes smiled. “I know this town very well. Why don’t you let me take you to dinner tonight?”

  “If it’s not an inconvenience to you,” I said.

  “Not at all,” he said. “It would be my pleasure.”

  I looked at him. “By the way, you mentioned the other day that Da Vinci was in Italy already,” I said. “Do you think he might be here?”

  Jimmy Blue Eyes shrugged. “I don’t know. But anything is possible. I think we should keep our eyes open,” he said. “I will pick you up in the lobby at eight-thirty.”

  “You’ve got a date,” I said.

  Jimmy rose from his chair and left the cocktail lounge, his bodyguards following.

  I looked at Gonzales and Kim. “What do you think?”

  Gonzales didn’t look happy. “I think we’re in trouble. We don’t know who’s on our side.”

  * * *

  JIMMY BLUE EYES picked us up in a Mercedes 600 limousine. It took us about twenty minutes to reach the restaurant on the outskirts of the city. The restaurant was in what had been a private mansion. We sat on the terrace overlooking the water.

  After we had been seated for only a few minutes, the waiters brought a large plate of antipasti to our table. Jimmy Blue Eyes ordered two bottles of red wine. I opened a package of breadsticks and started to laugh.

  “What are you laughing at?” Jimmy asked.

  I handed him the wrapper from the breadsticks. Printed on the outside was “Made in Brooklyn, New York.”

  Jimmy smiled. “It’s a small world,” he said. “Tell me, what do you think your uncle is planning to do now?”

  “As far as I know,” I said, “Uncle Rocco wants to retire and stay out of things completely.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “They’ll never let him do it totally. He knows too much.”

  “He’s an old man,” I said. “I think they could let him have his last few years in peace.”

  Jimmy didn’t reply to that. He said to Kim, “The food is very good here. They have wonderful veal and great fresh fish. Anything you want you will find very good.”

  “I like fish,” Kim said.

  I looked around the restaurant. There were about twelve tables on the terrace, but we were the only customers. “They don’t seem to be very busy,” I said.

  “It’s Sicily, nobody eats before midnight,” Jimmy said. “We’re Americans, we came early.”

  The waiter gave us menus. “I think I would like some veal,” I said. “With a side order of fettucini.”

  “I’ll have whitefish,” Kim said.

  “I’ll have fish, too,” Gonzales said.

  Jimmy looked at the waiter. “I’m going to have mussels.”

  I hated mussels. To me, just looking at them made me nauseous.

  Suddenly the sun was gone and it was dark. The waiters were putting candles on all of the tables.

  We were on our main course and Jimmy Blue Eyes seemed in a good mood. “You don’t realize how important Sicily is,” he said to me. “We’re a poor country. And a poor people. But somehow we have managed to work
our way to a level of importance. Don’t forget, if it wasn’t for us, there would not be a Las Vegas. And I’ve spent my life keeping everything there in order.”

  “But you don’t have the casinos anymore,” I said.

  He laughed. “We don’t need them. There are many other businesses that make a lot more money for us.”

  I looked at him. “Aren’t you worried that someone will take them away from you?”

  “People have tried,” he said. “But nobody has been able to do it.’”

  He looked toward the door. “What the hell is going on?” he said, glancing toward his bodyguards.

  Gonzales and I turned to follow his gaze. Two men were coming toward the terrace from inside the restaurant. Jimmy Blue Eyes’s bodyguards looked frightened, then quickly disappeared. Jimmy reached into his jacket as I pushed Kim out of her chair and onto the floor. I rolled on top of her to protect her.

  I didn’t see if Jimmy Blue Eyes had got his gun out of his jacket. But an Uzi seemed to play a tattoo on his body. The two men turned toward us, but this was where Gonzales was really a professional. He held two Colt 45 automatics, one in each hand. He blew off the head of each of the two men.

  “Jesus,” I said.

  Gonzales said, disgusted, “They’re assholes. If they were going to hit, they should have hit everybody at the same time.”

  I got up, and we helped Kim to her feet. She looked pale and nauseous. “Don’t look at them,” I said.

  Gonzales spoke. “Let’s get out of here before the police show up.”

  I looked at Jimmy Blue Eyes. He was lying on his stomach, blood soaking his jacket from the bullets that had gone right through him.

  Gonzales and I held Kim by her arms, and we started to leave. I looked down at the two dead gunmen. One of them was Da Vinci.

  Da Vinci is not going to play his computer games anymore, I thought. As a matter of fact, he had a very stupid expression on his face.

  The restaurant staff didn’t say a word as we went out the front door. I looked for the bodyguards. I didn’t see them anywhere. The Mercedes was still there, with the keys in the ignition.

  “Let’s go,” I said. “We’ll manage to find our way back to the hotel.”

  Gonzales looked at me. “I don’t know who they were after, Jimmy Blue Eyes or you.”

  11

  UNCLE ROCCO DIDN’T show up at the hotel until seven the following evening. By that time, I was ready to get out of Sicily. Palermo did not appear to be the friendliest city in the world.