‘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.
She suddenly looked troubled by something.
‘Uh, Eddie. .’
‘Yes?’
‘You’re not going to. . oh, never mind.’
‘We’re not going to what?’ I asked. ‘Look at the photos before we bring them to you?’
She nodded.
‘I ain’t gonna look at ’em at all, Miss Dalton,’ Jerry said. ‘And Mr G. is only gonna look to make sure they’re the right ones.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean-’
‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘Jerry,’ she said, ‘you can call me Abby, you know.’
‘No,’ I said, ‘he can’t.’
In the end he was calling her Miss D.
We talked a bit about JFK, his presidency, and his assassination, and then we walked her back up to her room. On the way I offered one more time to take her to see Tony Bennett.
‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘but I think I’ll just turn in early. When you hand me those pictures tomorrow I’ll head back to Hollywood. I need to get back to work or Joey might divorce me.’
‘Hey, that’s funny,’ Jerry said. He looked at me. ‘See, Joey’s got the same name on the show-’
‘I know, Jerry.’
When Abby closed the door and left us standing in the hall Jerry said, ‘You wanna go inside with her, Mr G.? I can go downstairs. .’
‘No, Jerry,’ I said, ‘Abby and me, we don’t have that kind of relationship. Let’s go check on Billy.’
‘OK, Mr G.’
Billy was gone.
‘Goddamnit!’ Jerry raged. He stormed around the suite. ‘What the hell-’
‘Maybe he just went downstairs.’
‘I thought I scared the hell outta that boy!’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘he’s your cousin. If he’s anything like you — and I mean, beyond the physical — then he doesn’t scare easy.’
That seemed to mollify him a bit. He stopped pacing and stared at me.
‘You might be right about that, Mr G.’ He sat down heavily on the sofa. ‘But where did he go?’
‘If he went downstairs he’s not going to be able to play,’ I reminded him.
‘But what if he goes somewhere else?’
‘They won’t give him any credit,’ I said. ‘What’s he going to play with?’
‘Oh shit!’ He sprang up off the sofa and ran into one of the bedrooms. ‘Crap!’ he shouted, and ran back out. ‘He took the five grand I stashed for you.’
‘Abby’s money?’
He nodded.
‘I
f he gambles five grand and loses, somebody’ll give him more on credit. And then I’ll have to tell Abby something.’
‘I gotta find him, Mr G.’
‘Before he spends Abby’s money.’
‘If he does,’ Jerry said, ‘I’ll make it good, Mr G. I’ll pay her back. But I gotta find ’im.’
‘OK,’ I said, ‘let’s go.’
TWENTY-FIVE
We searched the Sands first, but there was no sign of Billy. I took Jerry to meet Mike Dotelli, for two reasons. I wanted to hear from Mike if he’d seen Billy again. And I wanted Jerry to know who had screwed with his cousin.
I waved Mike out from behind the pit.
‘What now?’ he asked.
‘This is Jerry,’ I said. ‘It’s his cousin you put in a seventy grand hole today.’
Jerry glowered at Dotelli, who reared back a bit.
‘H-he put himself in a hole.’
‘He’s a kid,’ Jerry said, ‘You never should have okayed him. If I ever hear that you do it again, I’ll come back and tear your arms off. Am I clear?’
‘What? Clear?’ Mike looked at me for help. ‘Is he serious?’
‘Dead serious,’ I said.
‘Jesus.’ Mike looked at Jerry. ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s clear.’
‘OK, then,’ I said. ‘Have you seen him again today? In the past hour, maybe?’
‘Yeah,’ Mike said, ‘yeah, he came back down, tried to play some more.’
‘Did you let him?’ Jerry demanded.
‘N-no, no,’ Mike said. He looked at me again. ‘Jack came down and read me the riot act. No more credit for kids. And he said not to let this particular kid play anymore, even with cash.’
‘OK,’ I said, ‘so where did he go?’
‘I don’t know,’ Mike said. ‘He left, Eddie. He just. . left.’
‘Damn it!’ Jerry said. ‘He’s gonna try another casino.’
‘Don’t worry, Jerry,’ I said, ‘don’t worry. We’ll find him. Come on.’
Outside we split up. I went left, to the Flamingo. Jerry went right, to the Desert Inn. Billy couldn’t have gotten much further than that. With five grand he should still be sitting at a table in one of those casinos.
I entered the Flamingo and headed for the craps tables. I didn’t see Billy. I spoke to a pit boss and a couple of dealers I knew, described the kid, but they hadn’t seen him. I hoped Jerry was having better luck at the Desert Inn.
It Was a Very Bad Year rp-7 Page 7
