It Was a Very Bad Year

by Robert J. Randisi

  ‘Look here,’ Jerry said. ‘These two cabinets have got his hand prints all over ’em.’

  ‘And the desk,’ I said. ‘Let’s get started.’

  I took the desk, and Jerry started on the cabinets. I sat in Irwin’s rickety chair and started rifling the drawers. There were two on the left, two on the right, and a smaller, center one. I started on the left, found one drawer full of papers. I leafed through them, but didn’t find anything interesting. The top left drawer had something, though – a .38 revolver. I didn’t touch it, closed the drawer and started on the right. More papers, some cheesecake photos of what looked like half a dozen pretty young girls. They were all smiling vacantly into the camera while showing lots of leg or cleavage. The top drawer yielded a half-eaten sandwich – tuna, from the smell – and some rotten fruit that had been in there for a while.

  I only had the center drawer left.

  ‘I got lots of pictures,’ Jerry said, ‘but none of Miss Dalton.’

  ‘Any nudes at all?’

  ‘No,’ he said, ‘just cheesecake.’

  ‘Yeah, me, too.’

  More papers, some note paper that he’d scribbled on. I was about to close the drawer when a name jumped out at me.

  Sinatra.

  I took the note paper out and looked at it. This was written on it:

  Nov. 22.

  Sinatra.

  Keenan & Amsler.

  Barry.

  Johnny.

  Canoga Park.

  ‘Anything?’ Jerry asked.

  ‘Not about Abby,’ I said.

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. I folded the sheet and put it in my pocket. ‘Maybe we can figure it out later. Let’s keep looking.’

  I went through the rest of the drawer, but found nothing.

  ‘Still got another cabinet over there,’ Jerry said, pointing.

  ‘I’m on it.’

  I got up and moved to the cabinet. There were half a dozen more, but the dust revealed they hadn’t been touched in a while.

  I started at the bottom, closing each drawer after I finished. We didn’t want to leave any indication that we’d been there.

  I found much of what Jerry was finding, and what I had found in the desk, files with girls’ names, cheesecake photos.

  ‘Mr G., he must be keepin’ the nudies someplace else,’ Jerry said. ‘Like at home.’

  ‘You’re probably right,’ I said, closing the top drawer. ‘We better get out of here. I’ll call Danny and see what he’s got for us.’

  Jerry went to the desk and pulled the chain on the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. Seconds later his pen light went on and pointed the way to the door.

  TEN

  Outside, with the door locked behind us, we got into the Caddy. Jerry asked if he should drive back to the Sands.

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘my place. You can spend the night. In the morning I’ll pack a bag and we’ll head over to the Sands. I need to put some fresh clothes in my locker.’

  ‘What about your pit?’

  ‘I’m not scheduled to work tonight.’

  We pulled into the driveway of my little house. I opened the front door, and Jerry went directly to the kitchen, got two cans of Piels from the frig. He opened them both with an opener and then handed me one.

  ‘I want to show you something,’ I said. I took the piece of paper from my jacket pocket and showed it to him.

  ‘What does it mean?’ he asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘It was in his center drawer. Do you know any of the names, other than Frank’s?’

  ‘Well, Irwin, that’s the photographer’s name.’

  ‘Why would he write his own name like that?’ I asked. ‘I’d say it was a brother, or cousin.’

  ‘And these other names? Keenan and Amsler? I never heard of ’em.’

  ‘Neither have I.’ I took the paper back from him. ‘Could be nothing, I guess.’

  Jerry finished his beer and said, ‘We gotta get somethin’ to eat.’

  ‘How about a pizza?’

  The big guy made a face. ‘In Vegas?’

  ‘You’re right.’ Pizza in Vegas was terrible, especially when you grew up in Brooklyn.

  ‘How about Chinks?’ he suggested.

  ‘Sounds good. There’s a take-out place near here. Their menu is in that drawer by the sink. I’m gonna call Danny.’

  I went into the living room and dialed Danny’s home number. It was too late to try his office. He didn’t answer. I went back to the kitchen.

  ‘No answer,’ I said. ‘He must still be watching Irwin.’

  ‘Why? You only wanted to know where he lived? Why’s he still watchin’?’

  ‘I guess we’ll find out when he calls us. You pick what you want from that?’ I pointed to the menu he was holding.

  ‘Yeah,’ Jerry said. ‘Here.’

  ‘Why don’t you call it in? I’ll eat whatever you order.’

  He looked crestfallen.

  ‘My food?’

  ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘What was I thinking?’ I forgot that Jerry didn’t like to share his food. ‘Order me some spare ribs, and the pepper steak.’

  ‘Fried rice?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Gotcha.’

  This time he went into the living room to use the phone. I put some water in a kettle and set it on the stove for tea then sat at the kitchen table to finish my beer and give our evening’s activities some thought.

  The table was covered with Chinese food cartons. Both Jerry and I were inept with chopsticks, so we each used a fork.

  ‘How can you manipulate lock picks, but not chopsticks?’ I asked.

  ‘Nothin’ beats lock picks for a lock,’ Jerry said. ‘I mean, when ya don’t have a key. And nothin’ beats a fork for eatin’.’ He paused a moment, then added, ‘Besides, chopsticks are stupid.’

  As I picked up my last egg roll, I couldn’t disagree with him.

  ELEVEN

  Jerry slept on the sofa. It was a large one and almost accommodated him. But he’d slept there before and knew how to maneuver it. Besides, he could sleep on a picket fence.

  I lay awake for a while, wondering if the words on the list had anything to do with Abby Dalton, then decided they didn’t. It had to be something totally unconnected. I was just making things more complicated. We simply had to find those photos and negatives, and reveal Irwin to be the culprit.

  I finally fell asleep, wondering why Barney hadn’t asked for any money. Or should that be . . . yet?

  Food was never as big a part of my life as it was when Jerry was around. The next morning I packed a small bag and we went to a diner near my house, where we had eaten breakfast a few times before. He ordered pancakes. I ordered a Spanish omelet.

  ‘What about French toast?’ I asked.

  ‘A poor substitute for pancakes.’

  ‘Waffles?’

  He shrugged. ‘Same thing.’

  I left him alone after that and let him eat his pancakes.

  I had called Danny’s home number before we left my house and gotten no answer. Then I called his office, but it was too early. I was starting to worry about him, and having flashbacks to when I had asked him to go to LA with me, and he’d disappeared. We were lucky to get him back that time.

  Jerry drove us down the strip, past the marquees that announced Alan King was at the Riviera, Louie Prima was playing the Desert Inn. As we made the turn into the Sands I saw that Nat King Cole was at the Flamingo. The Sands’ marquee said ‘A Place in the Sun’ and announced Tony Bennett.

  When we got out of the car Jerry said, ‘I’m gonna find Billy, and also go to my room for a shower. Let me know when you hear from the PI guy.’

  ‘I will.’

  I went to my locker first and put the fresh clothes away. When I came back up I was walking through the lobby of the hotel when one of the girls behind the desk waved at me.

  ‘I’ve got some messages for you, Eddie,’ she
said.

  I didn’t remember her name, so I said, ‘Thanks, sweetie.’

  She handed me the slips. She was new, a pretty brunette. I’d have to ask somebody her name, and then make a point of remembering it.

  One slip was from Danny. It said he’d meet me in the Garden Room at noon. I checked my watch. It was just after ten.

  The second message was from Barney Irwin, and only had a call back number on it. I could have gone to the desk to use the phone, but I decided to use a pay phone, instead. More privacy. I got into a booth, deposited a dime and dialed the number.

  ‘Irwin Studios.’

  ‘Barney? This is Eddie Gianelli.’

  ‘I got what you want, Gianelli,’ Irwin said, ‘but it’s gonna cost you.’

  This was more like it.

  ‘I told you I’d pay,’ I said. ‘I’ll come and pick the photos up.’

  ‘Not here,’ Irwin said. ‘There’s a bar on Decatur called Clipper’s. Meet me there at six tonight.’

  ‘I’ll be there.’

  ‘Leave your big dog home,’ Irwin said, and hung up before I could respond.

  I came out of the phone booth and walked smack dab into my boss, Jack Entratter.

  ‘There you are!’ he said. ‘I’ve been lookin’ for you.’

  ‘I’m early, Jack,’ I said. ‘My shift’s not till later.’

  ‘I mean I been lookin’ for you for days, Eddie,’ he said.

  ‘Yesterday was my day off.’

  ‘Always an excuse,’ he said. ‘Come up to my office with me.’

  ‘What’s it about?’

  ‘Let’s wait until we get upstairs.’

  Obediently, I followed Entratter to the elevators, then to his office. When we walked in his girl was at her desk and gave me one of her looks of disdain. I had never gotten into it with her about why she disliked me. I guess it just wasn’t that important to me.

  ‘Close the door, Eddie.’

  I closed it. Jack was behind his desk, so I went and sat across from him.

  ‘What’s up, Jack?’

  ‘I like to know what’s goin’ on in my place, Eddie.’

  ‘I know that.’

  ‘Your buddy Jerry Epstein is in town. In fact, he’s in this hotel.’

  ‘I know that, too.’

  ‘What’s he doin’ here?’

  ‘He brought his nephew to Vegas for his twenty-first birthday.’

  ‘What?’

  I shrugged. ‘That’s it. It’s a family thing.’

  ‘What’s his nephew doin’?’

  ‘Playin’ craps,’ I said. ‘He’s got a system.’

  Jack settled back in his chair. ‘God bless system players.’

  ‘I know, that’s what I told them. But he insists it’s gonna work.’

  ‘OK, so what’s Jerry gonna do while his nephew is gambling?’

  ‘Cousin,’ I corrected. Here was my chance to tell Jack what I was doing for Abby Dalton, except she didn’t want it to be generally known. Jack had always told me he wanted the guys to be happy when they were here. That usually meant Frank and Dino, but I extended it to mean Sammy and Joey, too. (Peter Lawford could fend for himself. I never liked Lawford, and now he was on the outs with Frank.)

  ‘I guess he’s gonna play the ponies and eat.’

  ‘That’s it?’

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘I’ll probably have some meals with him. After all, we’re friends.’

  ‘Yeah, well . . . OK.’

  ‘That’s it?’

  ‘No,’ Entratter said, ‘I wanna talk to you about some of the new dealers. You got time?’

  ‘Sure, I got time, Jack,’ I said, even though I was chafing at the bit to get out of there and call Abby. ‘That’s my job.’

  ‘OK, then,’ he said. ‘You want coffee. I’ll have my girl bring it in.’

  ‘Yeah, but don’t tell her it’s for me,’ I said. ‘She’ll spit in it.’

  ‘She ain’t gonna spit in it, Eddie,’ he said. ‘She knows I gotta drink it, too.’

  ‘Yeah, well . . .’

  He buzzed her and said into the intercom, ‘Coffee, please, and two cups.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘OK, Eddie,’ Entratter said, ‘let’s talk about that kid – what’s his name . . .?’

  TWELVE

  I spent an hour and a half with Entratter, and in that time I saved three jobs, and got two guys fired. Tough luck. As dealers, they sucked.

  ‘OK,’ Jack finally said, ‘that’s it, then.’

  ‘I’ll see you later, Jack. I got some things to do before my shift.’

  I got up and headed for the door.

  ‘Eddie.’

  ‘Yeah?’ I turned at the door.

  ‘Keep an eye on your big buddy, huh? Trouble follows him.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s fair, Jack,’ I said. ‘But I’ll keep an eye on him.’

  ‘OK, thanks.’

  He grabbed some papers from his desk as I went out the door. His girl and I avoided each other’s eyes as I walked out into the hall.

  I took the elevator down to the lobby, then went over to the house phones.

  I called Abby, who was very anxious to hear from me.

  ‘I saw Irwin yesterday, and have an appointment with him tonight to buy some photos.’

  ‘You mean . . . the photos?’

  ‘I hope so,’ I said. ‘He didn’t mention specifics yesterday, or this morning when I spoke to him. I guess I’ll find out when I get there.’

  ‘I have some cash,’ she said. ‘I took it out of the bank after we spoke. Do you want to come up and get it?’

  I almost said yes, then remembered Danny was waiting for me in the Garden Room.

  ‘Why don’t you meet me down here in the Garden Room at noon?’ I asked. ‘I want you to meet someone who’s helping us out.’

  ‘You told someone else?’ she asked.

  ‘Only someone I trust completely,’ I said. Now it struck me I better not tell her about Jerry. ‘Don’t worry.’

  ‘All right. I’ll meet you there.’

  ‘Good. I’ll see you in a little while.’

  ‘Thank you, Eddie.’

  ‘Thank me when we get this whole thing settled.’

  ‘I’m thanking you just for trying to help,’ she said.

  ‘You’re welcome, Abby. See you soon.’

  I hung up, checked my watch. It was eleven forty-five. Just enough time for Abby to get herself together and come down.

  I went directly to the Garden Room.

  I got there first, grabbed a booth, had coffee waiting on the table by the time Danny got there at five minutes to noon.

  ‘Thanks,’ Danny said gratefully, when I filled a mug for him. He sat opposite me, with his back to the door.

  ‘Tried to call you a few times,’ I said.

  ‘Been out,’ Danny said. ‘I followed your man home last night, then had some work to do on another case.’ He leaned forward and added, ‘A paying case.’

  ‘Hey,’ I said, sounding wounded, ‘I’m gonna pay.’

  ‘Oh yeah? When?’

  Abby walked in at that moment, so I said, ‘Right now,’ and stood up.

  She came alongside the table and I said, ‘Abby Dalton, I’d like you to meet Danny Bardini.’

  Danny jumped to his feet, almost upsetting the table. He grabbed it to keep it from falling over, then stood up straight and stared.

  ‘I’m glad to meet you Mr Bardini.’

  ‘Um, me, too, Miss Dalton.’

  ‘Have a seat,’ I said, and Abby slid in so she could sit next to me. She was wearing a tight sweater, a skirt and high heels. Her hair was piled on top of her head, leaving her long, graceful neck bare.

  Danny sat, giving me a hard look for not warning him. He was wearing a rumpled suit that looked as if he’d spent the night in it. I was casual and clean in a T-shirt, jeans and windbreaker.

  ‘Abby, Danny is one of my best friends, and also happens to be a private detective. He’s ag
reed to help us.’

  ‘Oh, that’s wonderful,’ she said. She gave him a look that would weaken any man’s knees. ‘I’ll pay you, of course.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ Danny said. ‘I’m happy to help.’ Like me, Danny’s Brooklyn accent kind of went and hid when he was around beautiful women.

  ‘Coffee?’ I asked Abby.

  ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘Something to eat?’ I asked, as I poured.

  ‘No, I was up early and had breakfast before I went to the bank. I have some cash here—’ She started to go into her purse, but I stopped her.

  ‘We have time for that,’ I said. ‘Let’s hear what Danny has for us, first.’

  ‘Well,’ Danny said, ‘I picked your man up around two in the afternoon. He was in his studio and didn’t leave till five. He had a brown envelope with him, about eight-and-a-half by ten. I followed him home, a dump on Spring Mountain Road between a couple of strip clubs. He went in and didn’t come out. I sat on him until eleven, when all the lights went out.’

  ‘What about the next morning?’ I asked.

  ‘I thought of that,’ Danny said. ‘I went back this morning about seven a.m. He left the house at eight. He was carrying a brown envelope.’

  ‘He’s supposed to meet me at a bar tonight with the photos,’ I said.

  ‘Well,’ Danny said, ‘maybe that’s what he was carrying. Or maybe he’ll go back to the house to get them, and he was carrying something entirely different. Somebody’s baby pictures.’

  ‘Why would he do that?’ I asked. ‘The bar’s practically around the corner from his place. That doesn’t sound right.’

  ‘Then the photos are either in that envelope, in his house, or still at his studio.’

  ‘We searched the whole studio pretty good,’ I pointed out.

  ‘Look for false bottoms in drawers, false walls, a safe?’ he asked.

  ‘No.’

  Danny shrugged. ‘Then the stuff could still be there, somewhere.’

  ‘Danny, you said his house has strip clubs around it?’ I asked.

  ‘Yup.’

  ‘Not so busy during the day.’

  ‘Nope.’

  He knew what I was thinking, but neither of us said it in front of Abby. Jerry and I could break into the house while he was at work, take a look around.

  ‘OK,’ I said. ‘OK. You want something to eat?’ I asked Danny.