When Somebody Kills You

by Robert J. Randisi

  ‘If I have to,’ she said.

  ‘Good,’ I said. ‘Pack a suitcase.’

  ‘One?’ she asked, shocked.

  Apparently, Judy Garland’s idea of travelling light was different from mine.

  ‘OK,’ I said, ‘two.’

  ‘I’ll try. Harrington?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  She and her house man left the room, leaving Boyd, Jerry and me.

  ‘Boyd, you carryin’?’ Jerry asked.

  ‘Always.’

  ‘We may be running into cops when we get back to the hotel,’ I warned.

  ‘I got a carry permit.’

  ‘OK, good, but Jerry doesn’t. When we get there, can he leave his piece in your car until we determine whether or not the cops are there?’

  ‘Sure, I got a panel in the trunk.’

  ‘This is your own car?’ I asked. ‘Not a rental?’

  ‘My own.’

  ‘You drove from Vegas?’ Jerry asked.

  Boyd nodded. ‘Fifty-six Chevy Corvette.’

  Jerry’s eyes lit up. ‘With the second carburetor?’

  Boyd nodded.

  ‘Two hundred and twenty-five horses!’ he told me, enthusiastically.

  ‘Great.’

  ‘Mr G.’s got a Caddy, but he really don’t care much about cars.’

  ‘Why would he have to,’ Boyd asked, grinning, ‘with a Caddy?’

  Jerry’s grin broadened.

  ‘I’ll bring my car around and keep an eye out up front,’ Boyd said.

  ‘Good.’

  Boyd looked at Jerry.

  ‘You wanna drive?’

  ‘Hell, yes.’

  ‘Well, come on.’

  Jerry looked at me and I nodded.

  Harrington came in first, carrying two suitcases, followed by Judy.

  ‘Where are Jerry and Kenny?’ she asked.

  ‘Waiting outside,’ I said. ‘We don’t want any surprises.’

  ‘Like photographers?’

  Like killers, I thought, but said, ‘Sure.’

  FORTY-THREE

  When we got to the Beverly Hills, Jerry and I took Judy to the bungalow. Since Jerry wasn’t armed, we figured it wouldn’t hurt if we ran into the detectives. They’d probably be looking for us in the lobby, but might have a man watching the bungalow.

  ‘Charming,’ Judy said, as we entered.

  ‘I’ll get my stuff out of my room,’ Jerry said. ‘You can have that one.’

  ‘Thank you, Jerry,’ she said. ‘You’re very sweet.’

  ‘Make the bed,’ I suggested. We had told the desk clerk we wouldn’t need maid service, except for towels.

  He gave me a reproachful look and said, ‘I did that this morning, Mr G.’

  ‘Of course,’ I said. ‘What was I thinking?’

  There was a knock on the door and I let Kenny Boyd in.

  ‘I parked in a lot down the street, came through the lobby,’ he said. ‘I think I spotted a cop there.’

  ‘We figured that much,’ I said. ‘The detectives will probably be here soon.’

  Boyd took out Jerry’s .45. ‘I figured the big guy would feel better with this inside.’

  ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Give it to him – let him hide it somewhere he can get to it quick.’

  Boyd nodded.

  ‘OK,’ Jerry said, coming out of his room with his belongings, ‘the room’s ready for you, Miss Garland.’

  ‘Thanks, Jerry.’

  Judy went in and Boyd handed Jerry his .45, which he had retrieved from the car.

  ‘Thanks.’ Jerry looked at me. ‘I’ll find a safe place for it.’

  ‘Good. Boyd spotted a cop in the lobby, so we probably don’t have much time.’

  At that moment there was a knock on the door.

  ‘How do you want to play me?’ Boyd asked.

  ‘I don’t,’ I said. ‘I wanna keep you a secret.’

  ‘Closet, then?’

  I had the feeling he was used to hiding in closets.

  ‘You better go out the back,’ I said.

  ‘They might have a man out there.’

  ‘They’re only here to question us about the explosion.’

  ‘Just in case, I’ll go out a side window. Go ahead and get the door.’

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Jerry said.

  He walked to the door, waited until Boyd was out of the room, then opened it.

  ‘Well,’ Detective Franklin said, ‘where have you two been?’

  ‘Detective Franklin,’ I called out. ‘Come on in.’

  Franklin entered with an older man after him. ‘This is my partner, Detective Wilcox.’

  ‘How are ya,’ I said. ‘That’s Jerry.’

  Jerry nodded and closed the door.

  ‘We’ve been tryin’ to find you two,’ Franklin said. ‘We need to talk about the car bomb.’

  ‘Is this about Greg?’ I asked. ‘How is he?’

  ‘Still alive,’ Franklin said, ‘still unconscious.’

  Wilcox was looking around. I noticed he gave the air a sniff. Probably Judy’s perfume.

  ‘Anybody else here?’ he asked.

  ‘As a matter of fact, there is,’ I said. ‘Judy Garland.’

  Wilcox gave me a hard look. ‘Come on,’ he said.

  ‘She’s in one of the bedrooms,’ Jerry said.

  Franklin and Wilcox exchanged a look.

  ‘This could get interesting,’ Wilcox said.

  ‘You want some coffee?’ Jerry asked. ‘I can call room service; they’re pretty quick.’

  ‘Sure,’ Franklin said, ‘coffee’s good.’

  ‘And donuts,’ Jerry said, heading for the phone. ‘We need donuts.’

  As he made the call, Franklin looked at me and asked, ‘Is he joking?’

  ‘He never jokes about donuts.’

  FORTY-FOUR

  They still didn’t believe us about Judy.

  With a coffee pot in the center of the table, the four of us sat in the kitchen and talked. Franklin’s partner, Wilcox, took notes.

  First, they had me tell them why we were in Beverly Hills. I stayed as close to the truth as I could without mentioning Frank.

  Wilcox shook his head as he wrote down the name ‘Judy Garland’.

  ‘Why would Judy Garland call you for help?’ Wilcox asked.

  ‘Maybe,’ Franklin said, ‘it’s because Eddie, here, was also friends with Marilyn Monroe.’

  ‘Get out!’ Wilcox looked at his partner. ‘Is he yankin’ our dicks?’

  ‘No, gentlemen,’ Judy said, from the doorway, ‘he’s not yankin’ your dicks.’

  Both detectives looked at Judy, and Wilcox jumped to his feet.

  ‘Holy crap!’ he exclaimed. ‘Judy Garland.’

  ‘Eddie,’ she said, ‘why don’t you introduce me to your friends?’

  She was wearing cuffed jeans, a long-sleeved plaid shirt, and was barefoot. With carefully applied eye make-up and red lipstick, she looked like she was due on set in twenty. She must have heard us talking and decided to put on a show.

  ‘Judy,’ I said, standing, ‘this is Detective Franklin and Detective Wilcox. They’re here about the car bomb yesterday.’ Franklin got to his feet.

  ‘Please,’ she said, ‘sit down and drink your coffee, gentlemen. That was a horrible thing with the car, horrible. Have you found out who tried to blow up Eddie and Jerry yet?’

  ‘No, ma’am,’ Wilcox said, ‘not yet.’

  ‘Well, get to it, will you?’ she said. ‘I don’t want to lose these two. They’re doing important work for me. Jerry, pour me a cup, will you?’

  ‘You got it, Miss Garland.’ Jerry poured and fixed it the way she liked it. I didn’t know how he knew. ‘I’ll drink it in the bedroom and let you all finish talking.’

  She turned and left the kitchen. The two detectives finally sat back down.

  ‘Holy crap!’ Wilcox said, looking at me. ‘Did you really know Marilyn?’

  ‘I really did.’

  FO
RTY-FIVE

  ‘What are you doin’ for Miss Garland?’ Franklin asked.

  ‘That’s got nothin’ to do with the car bomb,’ I said.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  There was only one way to keep Judy’s name out of their report and out of the press.

  ‘Yeah.’

  Franklin looked at his partner, who raised his eyebrows. Then he looked at me again.

  ‘You mind tellin’ us how you know that?’

  ‘There’s a contract out on me.’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘A hit,’ Jerry said.

  ‘Yes, we know what a contract is,’ Wilcox said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’

  ‘Do I have to answer that?’

  Franklin looked at his partner and said, ‘We didn’t ask.’

  ‘Well, we’re askin’ now,’ Wilcox said. ‘Who put out a hit on you?’

  ‘I’d certainly tell you if I knew,’ I said. ‘All I know is it’s an open contract, so I got out of Vegas for a while.’

  ‘And how did you know Miss Garland needed a job done?’

  ‘My boss at the Sands,’ I said. ‘He’s got connections.’

  ‘And who would that be?’

  ‘Jack Entratter.’

  ‘Can we check this story with him?’

  ‘Be my guest.’ My bet was they’d check Jack out before they called him. That gave me time to get to him first.

  ‘What about Mr Epstein?’ Franklin asked.

  ‘Innocent bystander,’ I said. ‘He just happens to be helping me with Judy’s problem.’

  ‘Guess he was pretty pissed to find out you had a contract on you and didn’t tell him,’ Wilcox said.

  ‘But I got over it.’

  ‘And the driver?’ Franklin asked.

  ‘Just a driver,’ I said. ‘Wrong place, wrong time.’

  ‘So that’s why you’re coverin’ his expenses at the hospital,’ Franklin said. ‘Or, rather, the Sands is.’

  ‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘Do you have anything on the bomb?’

  ‘Makeshift,’ Franklin said. ‘Dynamite and an alarm clock.’

  ‘Amateur hour,’ Wilcox said. ‘This open contract must have them comin’ out of the woodwork after you.’

  ‘I guess so.’

  ‘And you got no idea why?’ Franklin asked.

  ‘Not a one.’

  ‘Anybody tryin’ to find out for you?’ Wilcox asked.

  ‘I’ve got a couple of friends askin’ questions,’ I said.

  ‘Will you let us know if they find out something?’ Franklin asked.

  ‘You guys’ll be first on my list.’

  Wilcox closed his notebook and the two cops stood up. I walked them to the door while Jerry washed the cups.

  ‘I’ve got a question,’ I said.

  ‘What’s that?’ Franklin asked.

  ‘You fellas haven’t checked me out yet?’

  Franklin smiled.

  ‘We’ve got some friends workin’ on it, Eddie,’ he said. ‘You and Jerry.’

  ‘Well, let me know when you find out somethin’, will you?’ I asked.

  ‘Sure, Eddie,’ Wilcox said. ‘You’ll be first on our list.’

  I watched them walk back towards the hotel. Apparently, they chose to go through the lobby. Maybe had some questions for the desk clerk.

  When I got back to the kitchen, Jerry was eating another donut. The detectives had eaten one each and I’d had one. Judy came up behind me.

  ‘Any donuts left?’ she asked.

  ‘Plenty,’ Jerry said, pushing the box her way.

  ‘Where’s Kenny?’ she asked, rooting around in it.

  ‘He should be coming through an open window any minute now,’ I said.

  Jerry had washed the cups used by Franklin and Wilcox. His and mine were on the table, freshly filled. I snagged a jelly from the box.

  ‘Any jelly left?’ Boyd asked from the other room.

  I looked and saw that I had taken the last one. I put it back, grabbed a Bavarian cream.

  ‘One left,’ Jerry said.

  Boyd came in and said, ‘Pour me a cup of joe, will ya, Jerry?’

  Jerry did. We all sat down at the table, Judy and Boyd where the two detectives had been. Judy had brought her coffee back with her.

  ‘What’s this about a contract?’ Judy asked.

  I exchanged looks with Jerry and Boyd.

  ‘Come on, come on,’ she said. ‘I’m not a little girl, you know. I watch gangster movies. A contract. Somebody’s paying money to have you killed.’ She looked at me.

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘And is that why you brought me here?’ she asked. ‘To keep me safe?’

  ‘Seems ironic, don’t it,’ Jerry said, ‘but yeah.’

  ‘That’s not all,’ I said. ‘The two people who were killed – the PI and his girlfriend – I don’t think that had anything to do with me.’

  ‘But it has something to do with me,’ she said.

  ‘That’s what I think.’

  ‘Seems logical,’ Boyd said.

  The room fell silent. Boyd grabbed another donut. ‘I’ll take this with me and have a look around outside.’

  I waited till he was gone, then said to Judy, ‘It looks like somebody hired this private detective, Jacks, to make the blackmail drop for your manager, Begelman.’

  ‘And then killed him?’

  I nodded.

  ‘And his girlfriend? Why her?’

  ‘She either knew somethin’,’ Jerry said, ‘or just got in the way.’

  ‘And what about David?’ she asked. ‘Will they try to kill him?’

  I shook my head. ‘Not if he’s tellin’ the truth. Everything was done by phone and he never saw anybody but Jacks.’

  ‘I don’t like David,’ she said, ‘but that doesn’t mean I want to see him hurt.’

  ‘Well,’ I said, ‘with Jacks dead and the girl the only link to him, we’ll have to talk to him again.’

  ‘That’s fine,’ she said. ‘Listen, with the television show canceled, Sid wants me to sue both David and Freddie for back royalties. If you boys can find out anything that would help us with that, I’d be very grateful. Oh, I’d pay you!’

  ‘No need for that, Judy,’ I said. ‘We’ll do what we can.’

  ‘You’re both sweet,’ she said. ‘I’m so glad Frank suggested you, Eddie.’

  ‘Judy, we have to go out, but Kenny will be here to look out for you.’

  ‘All right,’ she said. ‘You know, I’m a little tired. I think I’m going to lie down. Let me know when you get back.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, ‘and we’ll bring some food.’

  She stood up, then impulsively kissed me and Jerry both on the cheek before leaving the room.

  Jerry touched his cheek and said, ‘We goin’ now?’

  ‘We are.’

  He stood up, opened the oven and took out his .45.

  ‘That’s where you hid it?’

  He shrugged, tucked it into his belt and said, ‘I thought that might be the last place they’d look.’

  I stood up, slapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘And you’re probably right.’

  FORTY-SIX

  Outside, I snagged Kenny Boyd.

  ‘You said you could do some phone work,’ I reminded him.

  ‘That’s right.’

  I handed him a slip of paper.

  ‘See if you can find out who owns that house.’

  It was the house where we had found Jimmy Jacks and Peggy Kendall.

  ‘You got it, Eddie.’

  ‘And you might as well stay inside with Judy,’ I added. ‘But keep your piece handy.’

  He patted the iron under his arm and said, ‘Always.’

  We went out to the front of the hotel to find a cab. When we got to the street, there was Zack, leaning against his car.

  ‘What are you doin’ here?’ I asked.

  �
�I had a feelin’ you guys would be needin’ a cab again today,’ he said.

  ‘Well,’ I said, ‘you’re right.’

  ‘Keep the meter runnin’?’ he asked.

  ‘You got it,’ I said.

  ‘Let’s make a detour,’ I suggested to Jerry, after we got in the car.

  ‘I thought we wanted to talk to the Bagel guy?’

  ‘We do, but we also want to see Mark Herron again.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s right. His, uh, friend probably told him we was there.’

  I gave the address to Zack and we sat back.

  ‘I meant to ask Judy again when the wedding is set for,’ I said.

  ‘A coupla days, I think.’

  ‘Maybe we can find somethin’ that’ll change her mind.’

  ‘Let’s hope so,’ Jerry said. ‘She’s a nice lady and deserves better.’

  I had to agree with him.

  When we reached Herron’s apartment complex, the pool was still filthy and empty. No one was on the grounds.

  ‘This place is a ghost town,’ I said. ‘No wonder he wants to marry Judy. Whatever her money issue are, she’s got to have more than he does.’

  ‘The guy’s a scumbag,’ Jerry said.

  We approached the door to Herron’s apartment and knocked. I was hoping his friend Henry Brandon wouldn’t answer again.

  When Herron opened the door and saw us, he didn’t look happy.

  ‘You wouldn’t happen to know where Judy is, would you?’ he demanded.

  ‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘Can we come in?’

  We entered. He slammed the door and turned to face us.

  ‘Brandon not around?’ I asked.

  ‘He’s at the studio,’ Herron said. ‘Why can’t I get Judy on the phone? We are getting married, you know.’

  ‘I don’t have anything to do with that, Mr Herron,’ I said. ‘If and when I see her, I’ll tell her you’re lookin’ for her.’

  ‘Which means you won’t tell me where she is. Why? Is she in danger?’

  He couldn’t see our bandages, or he’d have known that we were the ones in danger.

  I looked around. The place was cleaner than last time. Somebody had gone over it with a damp cloth or something.

  ‘I can’t offer you anything to drink,’ Herron said. ‘No, actually that’s not true. I don’t want to.’

  ‘Do you know a man named Jimmy Jacks, Herron?’ I asked.

  ‘What? Jacks? No, never heard of him. Why?’