“Hey,” Winter said, “no offense. I just thought he was making a joke.”
Our platters arrived and we started to eat. I was hungry enough that eating next to a man with a gun didn’t ruin my appetite.
“Why don’t you tell us what the plan is?” I said to Winter, “and I’ll tell you where we can make the drop.”
“You’ve got that part wrong already,” Winter said. “We’ll tell you where the drop is being made.”
“That’s not smart,” I said. “This is my town.”
“That’s exactly why you’re not picking the place,” Winter said. “I’m surrounded by amateurs, and you’re one of them, Eddie. I’ve taken over the planning of this little gambit, so I’ll be making the rules.”
“Your partners don’t object to that?”
“My partners, as you call them, have done everything wrong up to now. They know if they want a payday, they’ve got to play by my rules.”
I looked at Jerry, who had bristled at the word “amateur” but said nothing. If Winter was going to think of Jerry as an amateur, maybe that would work to our benefit.
“Okay, then, Winter,” I said, “go ahead and make your rules.”
SEVENTY THREE
Winter laid it out. Jerry just glared at the man while I listened intently.
“The reason I’ve been here so many days was to scope the area out,” Winter said. “Now that I’ve got the lay of the land I picked out the best place for the pass.”
“Pass?” I asked. “Not a drop?”
“No drop,” Winter said. “You’re gonna pass the money right to me.”
“Your partners are goin’ along with that?” Jerry asked.
“They don’t have a choice,” Winter said, pushing his plate away. “Neither do you.”
Jerry and I had cleaned our plates. Winter had left a few bites of his burger, and about half his fries. As evidence of just how much Jerry disliked the cop, he wasn’t even looking at the food.
“Okay, when?” I asked.
“Tonight.”
“That’s quick,” Jerry said.
Winter grinned. It was only then I realized how much the man looked like a wolf.
“I’m not giving you time to come up with a plan.” He pointed at Jerry. “And you won’t be anywhere nearby. Eddie makes this pass alone.”
“And then you put a bullet in me,” I said.
“I don’t have any reason to,” he said, “but I’d advise you not to give me one.” He slid out of the booth, dropped a piece of paper onto the table. “There’s the time, place, and instructions, laid out nice and neat. Don’t deviate from that, Eddie. Understand?”
He didn’t wait for me to answer, just walked away, out of the restaurant.
“So,” Jerry asked, “what do we do now?”
“Have dessert,” I said, “and figure out how we’re gonna deviate.”
***
The note said the pass would be made at midnight. That gave us about four hours.
“What place did he pick?” Jerry asked.
I read it and grinned.
“What’s funny?”
“I’ll show you,” I said. “Let’s take a ride.”
***
We got in the Caddy and I had Jerry drive South on Industrial Road until we reached Blue Diamond Road, That intersection was deserted except for a few abandoned buildings, and a vacant parking lot.
We pulled to a stop alongside the lot.
“He picked this place,” I said,
“There’s nothing for miles around,” Jerry said. “How am I gonna protect you?” He looked at me. “And why are you grinnin’?”
Of the three abandoned buildings, two of them had collapsed walls, so no one would be able to hide inside.
“That building there?” I said, pointing to the third one. “You have to live in Las Vegas, and be in the know, to know that it’s not abandoned.”
“It’s not?”
“Come on,” I said, getting out of the car.
Jerry got out and followed me across the parking lot to the building in question. It was like a cement block, with a wrought iron front door that was chained.
“How you gonna get that chain off to go inside?” Jerry asked.
”I’ll show you.”
I stepped up to the door and pounded on it. A small eye-slit opened and I said, “Hey.”
There was the sound of a couple of locks being thrown, and then the door opened. The chain remained where it was, allowing the door to swing out. It wasn’t locking anything, it was just for show.
“Eddie G.!” a man shouted. “How ya doin’, man?”
“Hey, A.J.,” I said. “This is Jerry. He’s with me. He’s all right.”
“If you say so. Come on in.”
I entered, followed by Jerry, and then A.J. closed the door and locked it.
“What brings you here, Eddie?” A.J. asked. He was in his late thirties, with shoulder length blonde hair and clear blue eyes. I had heard more than one woman describe him as looking like “a fallen angel.”
“Just provin’ a point to my friend, here, that everything isn’t always what it seems.”
“Well,” A.J. said, “whatever you want...”
“Thanks.”
He went down one hall, and I took Jerry down another until we came to a room with a bar. A few people were sitting at it. There were also some tables, a few of which were occupied by one or two people—a man alone, two men drinking together, and a young couple with eyes only for each other.
“Why ain’t there no cars parked outside?” Jerry asked.
“Folks get dropped off,” I said. “Friends, cabs, whatever.”
“So what is this place?” Jerry asked.
“Kind of a club,” I said, “for people who don’t like the glitz and glamour of the strip. This place has whatever they want.”
“Anything?”
“You can get what you want to drink, snort or shoot,” I said. “They have to know you to let you in. There’s even a small horse-and-sports book in the back, plus the occasional poker game.”
“What, no slot machines?”
“That’s part of the noise these people are gettin’ away from,” I said.
“What’s it called?”
“Folks just say they’re goin’ to ‘The Place.’”
“So since Winter ain’t from Vegas, he doesn’t know nothin’ about it.”
“Right. He picked this parking lot because he thinks it’s completely off the grid. The presence of The Place is only known to those of us who are well informed.”
Jerry got it. “So I can watch you from here.”
‘Right.”
“But all that means is, if he kills you, I can kill him.”
“Right.”
“After.”
“Right again.”
“I still don’t like it,” Jerry said. “I need to be closer.”
“Well, you can’t be.”
“Yeah, I can,” Jerry said.
“How?”
“Just make sure the pass takes place close to this building, and not out in the middle of the parking lot. I need to not only see, but hear.”
“Well,” I said, “I’ll do my best.”
“Mr. G.,” Jerry said, “you gotta do better than that.”
SEVENTY FOUR
We went to my house to pick up the money.
“You know,” I said, as we sat in my living room and had a beer first, “I don’t see that Gleason’s fifty grand is a big enough prize for Winter to want part of.”
“So you’re thinkin’ he’s gonna take it for himself?”
“Like he said,” I answered, “he’s dealin’ with amateurs.”
“Except for me.”
“He’s gonna be sorry he overlooked you, Jerry.”
“You got that right.”
There was a knock at the door at that point.
“That’ll be Danny,” I said. We had called him when we got to the house. He had
to drive out to Blue Diamond Road with Jerry because I needed to drive my Caddy out alone. I didn’t want either of them to hide in my back seat because I thought that was the first place anybody would look. As for the trunk, they might not even look in there, but just pump a few slugs through the door.
“Catch!” Jerry said and tossed a can of beer Danny’s way. The dick caught it with one hand.
“Thanks.”
We all sat and I filled Danny in on the plan.
“So Jerry and I will be in the place, and you’ll be out in the parking lot alone?”
“That’s right.”
“With this Detective Winter. And he’ll have a gun and you won’t.”
“That was part of the instructions he wrote down,” I said. “I’m to come alone, and unarmed, with the money.”
“Fifty grand?”
“Right here,” I said, slapping the briefcase that sat on the coffee table.
“And Winter’s gonna take that and share it?” Danny asked.
“Jerry and me, we were just talkin’ about that before you came,” I said. “It doesn’t seem like enough, does it?”
“No,” Danny said. “The way I figure it, he’s out for his own payday. He ain’t gonna share it.”
“Which means,” I said, “he’ll have to kill this Madame Merlina, and whoever she’s got with her.”
“The blade guy,” Danny said.
“Against a Miami cop with a gun,” Jerry said.
“My money’s on the cop,” I said.
“But first he’s gotta get the money from you,” Danny pointed out. “And then he’s gotta kill you.”
“Well,” Jerry said to Danny, “we’re gonna do our best to make sure that don’t happen, right?”
“Right,” Danny said.
***
Danny and Jerry left in Danny’s car two hours before me. Danny knew how to drive to ”The Place” without being seen from Industrial Road. They would walk a few blocks to get there and be in position. A.J. knew Danny and would remember Jerry, so he’d let them in.
I was nervous. Even with my two friend nearby—not close by, but nearby—I was out there all alone with an armed dirty cop. As a rule, I’m not crazy about cops, and the only thing worse than a dirty cop like Winter was a dumb cop like Hargrove.
Hargrove. I wondered if I should call him, then decided that was dumb thinking on my part. If he thought I was hanging myself out to dry and might get killed, he’d stay away. I had a strong dislike for him, but he had an unreasonable hatred for me. He wouldn’t lift a finger to help me unless he thought it would get him a medal, or a promotion.
So no Hargrove.
Danny had offered me a gun. I hadn’t taken it. Guns are not my thing and besides, I was sure Winter would frisk me.
I sat on the sofa and had a glass of bourbon. What the hell was I doing? What kind of plan was this? Walk right into the lion’s den and hand him a briefcase filled with 50G’s. Then what?
Well, what the hell did I think I was there to do? Jackie Gleason wanted the man paid, I should just pay him and be done with it. Wasn’t that what Jackie was asking me to do? Why was it up to me to try and stop the guy? The Miami Beach police were working on the murders, so why not leave this to them, as well? But Gleason wasn’t even going to file a complaint about being blackmailed, so if he didn’t care, why did I?
And then why did I have to go and get my friends involved, as well? Jerry ended up killing a man, and who knew what Danny was gonna have to do to try and keep me from getting killed?
Yet, there I was, ready to go through with it. And I knew why. We all knew why, right?
Right.
I was the guy.
SEVENTY FIVE
I drove the Caddy to the meet, my stomach fluttering. There were no other cars in the abandoned parking lot as I pulled in. I looked over at The Place, secure in the knowledge that Jerry and Danny were watching. I just hoped they wouldn’t end up watching me get shot.
I got out of my car and waited. It occurred to me that either Jerry or Danny could have ridden in the trunk, or hunkered down in the back seat. Either one probably would’ve made me feel a lot better.
I kept an eye out for headlights, but when I heard somebody’s feet crunching on the gravel surface of the parking lot, I realized that Winter was walking toward me.
There were no lights in the lot, so the only illumination was coming from the moon, and one light pole over by The Place.
Finally, after hearing the crunching footsteps for what seemed like hours — they were echoing in my head — Winter came from out of the darkness with an amused grin on his face.
“Eddie,” he said, “nice to see you. Is that my money?”
I gestured with the hand that held the briefcase and said, “Every cent.”
He took out his gun and pointed it at me.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“Just want to check,” he said, “make sure you’re not armed or wired. Spread your arms, please.”
I did as he asked and as I’d expected, he frisked me, doing a pretty good job.
“Very nice,” he said, “now just stand still, I want to check your car.”
“For what?”
“I doubt your bug-buddy could hunker down far enough in the back seat...” He took a quick look. “... right, didn’t think so, but maybe he’s in the trunk, huh?”
“I think that’d be an even tighter fit,” I said.
“All the same,” he said, standing behind my car, “maybe I should pump a few slugs into it, just to be sure.”
“All you’re gonna do is make holes in a beautiful car,” I said.
He stared at me. Underneath his fedora, his eyes were shaded by the moonlight, so I really couldn’t see much of an expression.
“Ah, you’re probably right,” he said, walking over to me. He put out his empty left hand. “Keys. We’ll just take a look.”
I took out the keys and handed them over. He opened the trunk, jumped back, ready to shoot whoever was in there, but it was empty.
“Jesus, Eddie,” he said, “so far you’ve done everything I asked.” He slammed the trunk shut. I had an idea that if he wasn’t going to kill me, he’d hand the keys back. If he was, he’s either just toss them away, or put them in his pocket.
I wasn’t encouraged when he dropped them onto the back seat.
I wanted to get him over near The Place, but I didn’t want to suggest it. Still, that was the only place there was a light...
“You wanna take a look at your money now?” I asked, starting to unbuckle the briefcase.
“In this light?” he asked. “Which is to say, no light at all. You’d like to slip some funny money past me in the dark, wouldn’t you?”
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“You know why I picked this spot for a pass, Eddie?” he asked. “Because of that light.” He pointed to the lamp post. “The only light. Let’s go. I want to see my money right under that light.”
I wondered where his car was? Was there somebody out in the dark who had driven him? If so, they’d certainly be able to see us standing under that light. But then, so would Jerry and Danny.
I started walking.
SEVENTY SIX
Again, the gravel crunching beneath our feet sounded incredibly loud to me. I knew they say when you’re about to die your life flashes before your eyes, but I wondered if your hearing also got very acute?
We entered the circle thrown by the light and Winter said, “That’s far enough.”
I could see the front door of The Place. I couldn’t tell if the eye slit was open or closed.
“Open it!” he commanded.
I opened the briefcase and held it out to him. He reached in with his free hand, came out with a packet of ten thousand dollars. With the other hand he kept his gun pointed at me. I wondered if his plan was to just shoot me and leave me lying there?
He studied the top bill, then riffled the pack one-handed as well as he could.<
br />
“Looks good,” he said.
“It is,” I said. “Why would Gleason pay with funny money? Where would he even get it?”
He stuck the packet back into the briefcase, took out another one. Satisfied, he put it back.
“Close it up!”
I redid the buckle on the front of the briefcase.
“Give it to me.”
I handed it over, stood there empty-handed, waiting. I wondered if I should try to jump him, hang onto his gun arm until Jerry and Danny came out to help me? Or would I just get shot? And what was the difference? Wasn’t I going to get shot, anyway?
Holding the briefcase in his left hand, and the gun in his right, he opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when suddenly, there were headlights. We hadn’t heard an engine start, but there it was, something with headlights, barreling toward us.
The tires crunched over the gravel, and as it got closer I could see it was a car, a dark sedan.
“Damn it!” Winter swore. He turned to face the car, held the gun out. But even as he fired it came at us, and I couldn’t wait to see what he accomplished. It meant to hit both of us.
I jumped out of the way as he fired a cou0ple of shots, and then it was roaring past. I didn’t know if it had struck him, but it missed me.
The driver hit the brakes and the car skidded on the gravel, then stopped. The doors opened on both sides and two people got out: a man from the driver’s side, and a woman. The woman had a gun, I could see it in the light from the pole. I could also see wild black hair and hoop earrings.
Madame Merlina.
She pointed the gun, but not at me. That was when I saw Winter on the ground, where he’d jumped out of the way of the car, as I had.
“You bitch!” he shouted. “You tried to kill me.”
“I’m not done trying!” she shouted back and pulled the trigger.
Winter had dropped both the briefcase of money and the gun when he leaped. Now he scrambled around, searching for his gun.
At the same time, the man who got out of the car came toward me. The light from the pole gleamed off the blade he held in his hand.
[Rat Pack 11] - I Only Have Lies for You Page 22
