by Ivan Infante
“I’m fine. You?”
“I could be better.” Sloppy said it with a smile. He came from New York. Mike had heard a rumor once that John had come from money, but the family had lost it all in the crash. Now John traveled the back roads and worked in small country towns. His routine was basic. When he got to a new town, he went into the biggest roadhouse he could find with a briefcase full of small plastic dime store items. Once in the bar, he drank heavily and made an ass of himself trying to sell his trinkets to the locals. In the course of his buffoonery, John flashed his boodle for all to see. It was a huge roll, mostly newspaper, with a few big bills on the top and bottom.
The locals saw it, got greedy, and started thinking about ways to take it from him. When their greed was palpable, Sloppy John brought out the dice and invited everyone to play. He let the locals roll his dice on the back of the battered briefcase, but he called the rolls: odds or evens.
Sure enough, John lost to everyone. He led them deeper and deeper into his confidence. It was easy to convince them they were gonna hustle the dumb Okie and take his money. Once everyone was wide-eyed with the prospect, Sloppy John hit the tiny electric switch on the side of the briefcase. The magnets in the dice did the rest.
By the end of the night, John walked out with most of the money. Unfortunately, the con lacked sophistication and this kept Sloppy on the move. Also, Sloppy really was a drunk and he often forgot the bars he played in. If he made a second appearance in the same place, the bartenders figured him. In fact, that’s what brought him to Benny. He had gone to a bar in Riverside one too many times and earned himself a beating.
Mike knew something else about Sloppy. Something that made him just the man they needed. Sloppy had a carbine and he knew how to use it.
“Come on in.” Mike stepped back from the door.
Sloppy John gave the girl a brief look over when he came in. She gave him a big smile. She measured him like she wanted to try and work him, but she came up empty. He bent the wrong way for her. That was another reason he was a good choice. Benny knew a normal man wouldn’t last ten seconds before the girl would have him tied in knots. Knots so tight that he would only get loose when she let him.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
At sundown, Benny and Mike left Sloppy John with the girl and drove the Chrysler back to Benny’s place. It took them a while. Traffic was terrible and Benny made a lot of mistakes. He took several wrong turns. When they finally got to the saloon, the parking lot was full. Lo and the boys had opened on their own and they were doing good business.
Benny and Mike got out of the car and headed for the entrance. They stayed in the shadows and kept their eyes open as they picked their way from car to car across the lot. They could hear ‘Sometimes I’m Happy’ playing on the bar’s radio before they got close. The music was loud.
At the last row of parked cars, they picked up their pace and jogged across the open clearing and bounded up the steps to the entrance. As they got to the door, a fellow in blue overalls stumbled out. They slipped inside behind him before the door closed.
They spotted Tino as soon as their eyes took in the room. He sat alone at a small table in the corner. He saw them and waved them over. Mike accepted the invitation and made his way across the bar. Benny didn’t go with him. He disappeared into the kitchen.
“You by yourself?” Mike pulled his chair a short distance away from the table and set it at an angle where he could see the door, then he sat down.
“Yeah, I’m a big boy. I even dress myself.” Tino poured whiskey into two glasses. “You’ve been busy since I last saw you.” Tino took a drink and sipped it.
“Busy doing you a favor.” Mike picked up his glass and gulped the whole thing.
“How do you figure?” Tino sounded sincere.
“Those boys in the Sunset Room. They must have been causing you quite a bit of trouble.” Mike didn’t know if this was true, but he figured if he kept Tino talking, Tino might say something useful.
“I wouldn’t call them a problem. I appreciate you shutting down that venue. Business jumped up at our spots because of it. I guess that’s a favor, but it’s a small one.” Tino used his thumb and index finger to indicate exactly how small.
Mike changed the subject and got right to the point. “Your boss will pay 100k to get her back.”
“On top of the fifty you already got?” Tino stopped mid-sip. He put the glass down like he was done with it for good.
“I didn’t get that fifty.” Mike said.
“It got away from you?”
“No, I never caught it in the first place.” Mike knew the person who caught it was sitting across from him.
“That’s a shame.” Tino leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You did good work up on Sunset. You should finish that job.”
“That’s not my line.”
“Ha! Like hell that’s not your line.” Tino shot back.
“It’s not. I don’t know a thing about that line. I don’t even know how much you’d get paid for that kind of job.”
“You’d get paid as much as I could get my hands on.” Tino smiled.
“I suppose if you ran things, you could get your hands on a lot more.” Mike liked this idea. He liked it a lot.
“I could and I could maybe make it easier for you and your little buddy to operate.” Tino got out of his chair and came over to Mike. He leaned down and put his hand on his shoulder. “You might not even have to get your hands dirty. Ask her. She might want to do it herself. Now get up, we’re leaving.”
“What?” Mike didn’t move an inch.
The room got quiet. Mike looked around. The other patrons stared toward the kitchen. Mike followed their gaze. Benny stood in the doorway with trouble boys on either side of him holding shotguns.
“Relax everybody.” Benny reassured the room with hand gestures indicating calm. “These guys are just trying to make a point. Mike, they say we have a place to be.”
Tino whispered in Mike’s ear. “Don’t you want to go up there and take a look around. It’ll help you make up your mind. I guarantee it.”
“Fine.” Mike’s answer dispelled the tension. Everyone went back to drinking.
Tino and his boys had three cars waiting for them in front when they got outside. Benny and Mike were put in the back seat of the middle car. The caravan made good time through Hollywood. It was late and there wasn’t much traffic. They drove even faster once they got above Sunset. Mike recognized the road.
After several twists and turns, they pulled up to the same iron gates where Mike had left Doug the night this whole thing had started. This time, they drove through the gates and up a steep slow-curve drive that was lined with marble statues. They looked Greek or Roman, but they were cheap knock-offs from Riverside.
The cars parked in front of a sprawling red-tile roof mansion. A couple of tough guys slouched on either side of the door with their hands in their pockets. Benny and Mike got out of their car and Tino escorted them up the steps.
At the front door, he had his boys frisk them. They found a huge kitchen knife on Benny. He just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Tino showed it to Mike with a look of disbelief. Mike shrugged his shoulders too. He wasn’t surprised. Tino handed the knife to one of his boys, then he led Benny and Mike into the house.
They stepped over a marble threshold into an enormous lobby lit by electricity. Well-polished fixtures sparkled under the bright light. In the corner, a tall long-haired dog walked around in circles looking for a place to lie down. Tino stopped them in the lobby and the three of them watched the dog look for its bed until a butler came out of a doorway under the stairs.
The butler greeted Tino with a respectful nod. “He’s waiting in the study.”
Tino motioned for Mike and Benny to follow him and headed off down the hallway. Mike and Benny lingered until the butler slipped behind them and pulled a small revolver from his coat pocket. Benny and Mike shared a look, then followed Tino down the long narrow hallw
ay.
Portraits hung on the walls. Mike looked at each one as he passed by it. The people in the portraits didn’t look related. Some pictures had the subject’s names etched on small metal labels embedded in the frame. No two names were the same and none of the names were even vaguely Sicilian. These were portraits of strangers arranged as if they were family. Benny sidled up to Mike.
“They’re going to kill us.” Benny looked like he wished he still had his knife.
“No, they wouldn’t bother to bring us here if they planned on putting us down. There’s another angle. Tino’s cooking up something. I can smell it.” Mike had started to put it all together.
“You sure? I don’t think so.” Benny searched his pockets like he was hoping he would somehow find another knife.
In front of them, Tino waited at a heavy wood door. When Mike and Benny reached him, he commanded. “You should call him Mr. Spinelli if you call him anything. Got it?”
“Sure.” Benny spoke up. Mike just nodded.
“Now pull yourselves together.” Tino opened the door.
Benny and Mike stepped into a square, high-ceiling room with built in dark wood bookshelves on every wall. In the corner, a fireplace roared. It threw shadows around the room and onto the old polished wood furniture that looked like it had been stolen from a Spanish monastery. Mike had never been to Spain or inside a monastery, but he was sure that if he ever were, it would look like this. Tino came in behind them and closed the door.
Old man Spinelli slouched behind a mahogany desk in a large ornate chair carved with the faces of angels and demons. A couple of hundred years ago, some monk had probably carved this monstrosity out of a single block of wood. The chair was imposing. The old man looked frail sitting in it. His beard alone could have been a hundred years old. It was enormous and covered most of his deep-red velvet robe. A white ascot barely peeked out from under it. Despite his frail appearance, the old man’s eyes were fiery and his voice hit like a bar of steel.
“You know where I can find my daughter.” The old man wasn’t asking. He was telling.
“Yeah, but there’s gotta be some money involved.” Benny’s voice was a squeak. Benny surprised Tino and the old man. They had expected Mike to do the talking and they didn’t like it when their expectations weren’t met. The old man gestured with a finger and Tino stepped forward. He swung at Benny with the pistol he had in his right hand. Benny moved quick. He blocked the blow, spun around, and disarmed Tino with a chop to the wrist. Before Tino could recover, Benny followed up with a hard shot to Tino’s temple and knocked him out. The big guy fell forward, but Benny caught him.
“I may not look like much, but I’ve got lightning fast hands tough guy.” Benny whispered in Tino’s ear as he lay him on the hard marble floor. When he was done, Benny moved to the door and locked it.
When Mike looked away from Spinelli and down at Tino on the floor, the old man seized the moment. He lunged for a half-open desk drawer and reached inside. Mike recovered and moved fast, too fast for the old man. Mike reached over the desk and slammed the drawer. The old man’s finger’s were smashed against the wood, but he didn’t give up. He reached for a phone on the desk, but Mike got to that first too. He ripped it out of the wall and tossed it into the fireplace. Sparks flew.
The old man gave up. He sat clutching his hand. Mike opened the drawer. The old man had a small silver .22 automatic stashed there. Mike took it and pointed it at Spinelli. “You want her back, we want 100k.” The gun looked tiny in his hand.
“The girl belongs to me.” Spinelli answered in a creaky voice.
“I know. That’s why you’re paying for her.” Benny spoke up from by the door.
The old man pointed at Tino when he spoke. “He’s trying to gaffle me.”
Mike nodded. “He’s your guy. That’s your problem.”
“I’m asking you what you think about it.”
“I don’t think.” Mike said.
“I know that’s not true.” The old man grimaced and snapped one of his broken finger bones back into place.
“You’re going to walk us to the front door and make sure we get outta here nice and clean.” Mike took Spinelli by the arm. “Then you’re going to get the money. We’ll call you later and tell you where to deliver it. It’s gonna be smooth.”
Mike pulled the old man out of the chair and hustled him around the desk to the door where Benny waited. The little guy’s hands had a white-knuckle grip on the knob.
“Why don’t we take him too?” Benny motioned to Tino on the floor.
“You wanna carry him?” Mike asked.
“I love her.” The old man interrupted.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re counting on.” Benny opened the front door and Mike pushed the old man out in front of them. The threesome moved at a steady pace.
“Who are these people?” Mike pointed the old man at the portraits.
“What difference does it make?” The old man shrugged.
They came out of the hallway into the foyer. The butler was alone in the room. He stood halfway up the stairs and he must have sensed trouble, because he had his pistol out and aimed at the doorway. He lowered it when he saw Spinelli out in front of them with his hands up.
“Get us a car.” Mike barked at the butler.
The butler didn’t move from his perch on the stairs. Benny dashed up the steps to him and took his pistol away. Then he grabbed him by the arm and took him across the foyer and out the door. Mike followed close behind using the old man as a shield.
Standing in the doorway, Mike scanned the front of the house and the lawn. Two gunmen and a chauffeur slouched against cars a short distance down the driveway toward the street. By the fence near the corner of the house, a gardener cleaned scum off the top of a pond.
Benny and the butler went down the front steps and headed for the cars. The gunmen stepped forward at a quick pace and drew their weapons when they saw them. Benny moved to the side and pointed at their boss in Mike’s grasp on the landing. They gunman stopped advancing and put the iron back in their pockets.
Benny stopped at the first limousine. It was a Cadillac Fleetwood and the keys were in it. Benny let the butler go and slid behind the wheel. He backed the limo slowly towards the front of the house. The butler moved over to where the gunman stood and got behind them.
When the limo parked at the bottom of the stairs, Mike climbed down quickly. He carried the old man with him and put him gently into the back seat. When the butler and the gunmen saw this, they panicked. They bolted toward the car in a crazed attempt to save their boss.
Benny gunned the engine and headed right for them. He bounced one off the hood, but the rest dove clear. Benny sped down the driveway toward the front gate. It was closed so he crashed through it. The limo dragged the gate across the cul-de-sac, but lost it at the first turn. A few seconds later, Benny stopped the car.
“We’ll call you. Get the money.” Mike shook the old man by both arms.
“Why don’t you keep me?” The old man asked in a pleading voice.
“Because you’re the one that can raise the money.” Mike shoved the old man out.
Benny hit the gas again. He drove the Fleetwood at high speeds down the windy narrow hillside roads. At the base of the hill, they turned west onto Sunset. They got to the Sunset Room in less than ten minutes and circled around it. They drove down the alley past the back entrance. It was open and workmen went in and out doing repairs.
Mike and Benny didn’t stop. They cruised back up to Sunset, parked a half a block away and waited. They took turns sleeping and watching. Mike was laid out across the back seat about a half hour into dreamland when Benny woke him with a hard nudge.
“Wake up. That looks like him, right? That’s him.” The little guy whispered from the front seat.
Mike rubbed his eyes and got a good look. Benny pointed at a man walking from the curb to the front door. It was Gomez, the tall skinny bald bastard was easy to spot.
; “Yeah, that’s him.” Mike said.
Mike motioned for Benny to start up the car. Benny didn’t move. Mike got out of the backseat and got in front next to him. Benny stared him down. “We can’t do this in the street. Look at that cop. Look at how he’s walkin’, he’s too wired to go down easy. I don’t wanna have to leave town.”
“We’re not taking him now, but I’ve got something he’ll fall for. We’re gonna make him tumble.” Mike got out of the car and lit a smoke. He took a few steps, then turned back. He went to the driver’s side and handed Benny the silver .22. “Pull up to the front as soon as I go in. I may come out running.”
“You think she’ll do it?” Benny was excited. He knew what Mike had in mind.
“Yeah, she’ll do it. She can’t wait to do it.” Mike jogged off down Sunset toward the club. The morning was sunny and bright and a stiff wind blew in his face. It smelled of alcohol and rot. The door to the Sunset Room had no guards. Mike opened it and looked in.
The place was lit by battered old movie lights. The bullet holes on the walls had been patched and the blood from Mike’s rampage had been cleaned up. Gomez and a couple of off-duty detectives sat around a poker table in the center of the room. It was covered by a white painter’s tarp. Gomez looked up from his drink and saw Mike in the doorway.
“Look at this fella just ambling on in.” Gomez said to his men. Then he turned to Mike and asked. “You have her somewhere, don’t you?”
“I got her somewhere all right.” Mike stayed in the doorway. He kept the glare of the bright sun behind him. The men inside had to squint to look at him. “You still want her?”
“Maybe. You come to make a deal?” Gomez sat back in his chair. He was interested.
Mike threw up his arms. “I came to make a deal.”
“How much?” Gomez asked.
“We just want the fifty that we got involved in this for.” Mike shrugged. “Of course, we’d want you to lay off all the charges.”
“There aren’t any charges. What happened is a mystery.” Gomez glanced at his men as he spoke like he wasn’t sure they’d go along with this.