The Starlight Club 6: Double Seven

by Joe Corso

  Dalitz, who had been calm up until then, flinched when he heard who the owner of the casino was. When Dalitz’s men worked over Red’s men, it was a fast and brutal surprise attack and no one had a chance to say anything. Dalitz stood up from behind his desk and he calmly put on his jacket and then he motioned for his two men to leave the trailer. “Sorry about the mix-up. If I had known this was Big Red’s place, I would never have pulled a stunt like this. I’m sorry about your men. Here’s my card…send me the hospital bills and whatever expenses those men incurred and I’ll cover them.”

  As Dalitz was about to pass Bull on the way to the door, he put out his hand. “No hard feelings, I hope?”

  Bull hesitated taking Moe’s hand for a number of reasons. One: he didn’t like him, two: Dalitz’s men put some of his friends in a hospital and maybe worse, maybe they were dead…and three…Bull felt that his men deserved something extra. Or maybe it was just to aggravate Dalitz, but Bull felt a need to push him a little further. “How many of my men did your guys put in the hospital?”

  “Three.”

  “Three, eh? Well, then, I think that as part of the expenses, you should give them an extra grand each.”

  “What? A grand… each? You’re crazy. Look, I’m a reasonable man. I offered to pay their expenses, but I’m not gonna pay them a grand each.”

  Bull looked over at Joey, who still had his gun trained on them. “Lock the door, Joey, ‘cause these bums ain’t going anywhere.”

  Bull pulled one of the guns from his belt and walked over the guy he decked. “First, I’m gonna whack this bum and then him and then you. Now I’m gonna ask you for the last time. Are you gonna give my men a grand each besides covering their expenses?” Bull was angry and his voice grew louder. “Now, if you still say no, I’m gonna cap this punk here first and I’m gonna do it in the next few seconds and if I do him, then I’ll be forced to whack the two of you ‘cause I can’t have any witnesses alive to talk about what happened here.”

  Dalitz knew exactly what Bull meant. He had done away with witnesses himself a few times. Moe put up his hands in surrender, his cool veneer beginning to crack. “Okay! Okay! No need to get upset. If it means that much to you, I’ll give your men a grand each.”

  Bull put out his hand, palm up. “And don’t forget, you’re gonna cover all of their other expenses too.” Moe reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills and he counted out fifteen hundred dollars onto Bull’s outstretched hand. “Here’s something on account. It’s all I have on me.” Then he remembered that he had his checkbook in his jacket. “If you will trust me, I’ll give you a check for the rest of the money.”

  Bull smiled for the first time since he walked into the office. “Sure I’ll take your check. I trust you.”

  As soon as Moe and his men left the line shack, Bull called the Starlight Club. After Bull explained to Red what he walked into when he arrived in Vegas, Red said, “Stay right by that phone. I’m gonna make reservations for tonight’s redeye. I’ll call you right back.” A short while later, the phone rang in the foreman’s shack. “It’s me, Red. Pick me up tomorrow morning at McCarran airport. I’ll be arriving at LAS at seven a.m. Now go and check on Ernie and see how the guys are doing. I want a full report tomorrow morning. I don’t have to tell you that I’m a little pissed off right now.” Red hung up the phone and Bull and Joey Bones got in their car and headed to the Double Seven Casino to see how the guys there were doing.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Before leaving Nell’s Silver Spur’s construction site, Bull pulled the foreman off to the side. “What’s your name?”

  “Frank.”

  “All right, Frank. I’m Bull and that guy over there with the dead eyes is Joey. My boss is flying in and he’ll be here tomorrow morning. You will take orders from me because this is his place and while he’s gone, I’m him. I’m in charge of this casino while it’s being constructed and I’ll be in charge after it’s completed. Those morons stepped on their dicks when they tried to take over this place. Remember what I’m telling you. If you have any problems, you get in touch with me and I’ll make them go away. Understand?”

  Frank nodded sheepishly. “I understand.”

  “Good. Tomorrow, you’ll meet the real owner of this place, Big Red Fortunato, so remember, you don’t listen to anyone but me, Red, or anyone we authorize. By the way, you’re doing a great job. I didn’t expect to see the place this far along.”

  Bull’s compliment relaxed a very uptight Frank. “Thanks, Bull. We’re doing our best.”

  “I know. I can see by the way the place looks that you take pride in your work.”

  Frank smiled for the first time since Bull pulled him aside. “Yeah, I take a lot of pride in my work. I was a bricklayer in New York. That’s where I learned my trade. You can tell my work from some of the other guys. Take a look over there.” Frank pointed to a brick wall that would be part of the entrance when it was completed. “I did the work to the right of the door and another guy did the other side. You see how straight my lines are compared to his?”

  “Yeah. Now that you mention it, his line is wavy.”

  Bull became interested in what Frank was telling him. “My bricks are laid using New York Standards where every line of bricks is lined up to a taut string so that the bricks are perfectly straight. These other guys lay the bricks without a string; that’s why their line is wavy.”

  Bull furrowed his brow. “But wouldn’t that make the job go off kilter?”

  “No, because the man laying the bricks will level the last line of bricks so it’ll still be straight, but his workmanship doesn’t compare to mine.”

  Bull just got a lesson in brick laying and he felt a lot better when he got in his car. He looked at Joey and motioned with his hand. “Come on, Joey; take me to the Double Seven Casino. I need to find out how the guys are doing.”

  The two men entered the crowded Double Seven Casino. Every table appeared to be full with onlookers crowding around the crap tables and the card tables. Each table was busy taking the suckers’ money at a steady pace. The sounds of slot machines hitting the jackpot alerting other players of a winner rang rhythmically every few seconds throughout the casino, creating the illusion that all you had to do was to slide some coins into a machine and you’d automatically become a winner. Bull smiled inwardly. He knew that, in the end, the house always won. The place was different since its renovation. The money Red invested had paid dividends. Gone were the gaudy reds and yellows that had decorated the walls and rugs that covered the floors. Red had them replaced with soft earth tones. Prevalent now were mauve and soft purples and blue colors. Red knew from experience that the hot colors, the reds and yellows, were found in restaurants and not in casinos. Those hot colors had the psychological effect of making people want to eat fast and then leave the place, whereas the cool colors like blues and purples had the psychological effect of relaxing you and making you want to linger longer. It was as much about the mind as it was about gambling. Like every other business, you had to use whatever machinations worked for that business. And Red knew that the blues, purples, and earth tones were perfect for a casino.

  Bull spotted Richie Fingers walking among the crowd, just another interested onlooker watching the action with morbid fascination. Joey Bones followed close behind Bull as he approached Richie. Bull put his finger in Richie’s back and whispered, “Put your hands up. This is a stickup.”

  Richie smiled. “Bull, when did you get in town?”

  “A little while ago.”

  “Did you stop by Nell’s?”

  “Yeah. Me and Joey stopped by to see how the construction was coming along.”

  “So you know what happened, then?”

  “Yeah, I know, and I straightened everything out. When I called Red and told him about it, he bought tickets and he’s flying in tomorrow morning. Wants to see it for himself. He doesn’t like it when any of his boys get leaned on like what happened at Nell’s place.
Which of our guys were hurt by those bums?”

  “Three of our guys were worked over pretty bad. Richie D, Petey D’s brother, Fat Tony, and Little Al Figueroa.”

  “Little Al too?”

  “Yeah, but they were all taken by surprise. They didn’t have a chance.”

  “It’s too bad. I remember when Little Al was a promising lightweight and when he retired, Red bought him his cab. That was before he become a member of our thing. Where are the boys now?”

  “They’re still in the hospital. The doctors told us that it’ll be another week before they can leave.”

  Bull looked around the casino. “Where’s Ernie?”

  “Upstairs in his office.” Bull turned to leave, but Richie stopped him, which caused Bull to give him a sidelong glance.

  “What is it, Richie?”

  “I just wanted to know where Joey is. I have to speak to him.”

  Bull looked around, surprised that Joey wasn’t beside him. “He must have stopped at a table. Wait a minute; here he comes.”

  Joey looked at both men. “I had to take a leak…anything wrong?”

  Bull shook his head. “Richie wants to talk to you.”

  Joey’s eyes narrowed into a threatening grimace. “Did something happen to my sister?”

  Richie looked around. He didn’t like talking about his personal life in front of anyone and that included Bull. “Joey, let’s go somewhere a little more private. I don’t want anyone to hear what I have to tell you.”

  Joey expected the worst, but his curiosity got the better of him so he walked silently with Richie to a lounge near the bar where it was a little more private with a lot less casino noise.

  “Excuse me one minute, Joey. I have to make a quick phone call. It’ll take me a minute so don’t leave, okay?” A few minutes later, Richie was back.

  “What is it, Richie…and this better be good.”

  Richie looked into Joey’s expectant eyes, not knowing how to tell him. He figured that the simplest way to tell how he felt about his sister was to tell him straight out.

  “Joey, me and JoAnne are going to be married and I wanted to tell you straight out so you wouldn’t get any wrong ideas.”

  Chapter 34

  For the first time in Joey’s life, he was speechless. “I need a drink.” He motioned to a cocktail waitress and when she came over, he ordered a drink. He held up his hand, signaling for Richie to hold his thought while he tipped the girl. He took a long swig of Jack Daniels before nodding for Richie to continue. “I don’t know if I like where this conversation is going, but go ahead and talk.”

  “When I first saw JoAnne, I felt something for her. I thought maybe I was feeling sorry for her and that’s why I offered to drive her back to Queens. It was on the drive back that I knew I loved her and I wanted to give her a better life.”

  Joey took another pull of old Jack and said, “But does she love you?”

  A voice from behind said, “Yes, she does.”

  Joey turned to see the radiant face of his smiling sister standing close behind him.

  Richie shrugged sheepishly. “That was the phone call I made. I wanted you to hear it from her. We’re gonna get married. We just waited for you to get here.”

  Joey misunderstood what they meant when they said they were getting married. He thought they meant they were getting married in Vegas and he jumped up from his chair and said angrily, “You’re not marrying anyone.”

  Her smile turned to tears as JoAnne’s eyes began to cloud up over at how angry her brother was. “Please, Joey, we love each other and we want to get married.”

  Joey pointed angrily at the both of them. “I told you,” he said loudly, gesturing with his hands, which attracted the attention of the people sitting at the bar. “I told you. You will not get married in Vegas. Red would kill me if you did that. No, you’re gonna be married in Queens at the Starlight Club and that’s final.”

  JoAnne and Richie looked at one another in astonishment. They thought Joey was against their getting married, but that wasn’t true at all. He just didn’t want them to get married in Las Vegas, which was what he thought they meant. He just couldn’t see them getting married away from all of their friends. He knew that the proper thing for them do was to have the ceremony was at St. Leo’s Church in Corona, Queens, and there was only one place to have the reception and that was at the Starlight Club.

  Richie put up his hands. “Joey, you misunderstood us. We already discussed this with Red. We never intended to be married in Vegas; we’re getting married in Corona.”

  JoAnne, bursting with happiness, rushed into her brother’s arms, which melted the tough heart of Joey Bones, mob enforcer and killer extraordinaire. Then the three of them, Richie, Joey, and JoAnne, embraced each other in a huddle and Richie whispered in Joey’s ear, “It’s gonna be good to have you as my brother-in-law, Joey.”

  When Richie broke away he looked at Joey’s cold, dead eyes and he realized they were filled with emotion. The one thing that Joey Bones loved more than anything was his sister and Richie had just taken her from him…or did he just add himself into the equation? Joey didn’t know nor did he care; he was happy as long as his sister was happy.

  When JoAnne left to go back to her room, Joey pulled Richie close to him. “Take care of my little sister, Richie, because if I ever find out that you hurt her, I’ll kill you. It’s a promise, so you just remember that. She’s the only thing in this whole world that I care about. Do you understand?”

  Richie gulped his drink and then he patted Joey on his shoulder. “Don’t be such a downer, Joey. You should be happy. I’m gonna make you an uncle.”

  Joey’s eyes widened. “You mean she’s… she’s…?”

  “No, that’s not what I mean. What I meant was we talked about it and after we’re married, we decided we’d like to start a family. Now that I’m not pissing my money away, we shouldn’t have any problems raising a family.”

  Joey took a hanky from his pocket and wiped his brow. “Here I was expecting trouble from the wise guys we met today and now you tell me out of the blue that you and my sister are getting married.”

  Richie smiled. “But getting married is a good thing, Joey.” Richie put his arm around Joey, who usually didn’t like to be touched by anyone. “I wanted to tell you about us getting married so you could hear it from me before you heard it from anyone else. To tell you the truth, I was a little nervous, wondering how you would take hearing about us, but I figured that you would want your sister to be happy and I wanted to put your mind at ease. I’m gonna see that she has a great life. She’s a great gal and she deserves the best that life can offer her.”

  Joey looked at Richie and smiled for the first time since they had their talk. “Christ, this conversation is getting maudlin. Let’s go to the bar and have another drink.”

  * * * *

  Ernie put Red’s overnight bag in the trunk and then he opened the door to the Double Seven’s limo, the one they used to transport celebrities in. Big Red got in, followed by Trenchie and Shooter. “Take me to Nell’s, Ernie. I want to see the place for myself.”

  The limo pulled into the large parking lot next to the new diner that was just delivered and set on a slab. The casino itself was beginning to take shape. “It won’t be long now,” Red muttered. “Now let’s get to the hospital. I want to see how my boys are doing.”

  Ernie had visited the boys in the hospital every day for a week, so he knew the way there and back by heart. He pulled the big car into the hospital’s emergency room parking lot and the four men walked through the emergency room doors and ambled up to the information desk.

  A short while later, the four men were standing around the three beds, looking at their friends’ battered faces. Red’s expression was solemn and his face showed concern. “Someone’s gotta pay for this,” he said almost to himself.

  Ernie said. “Let it go, Red. Bull took care of it yesterday. Moe Dalitz didn’t know who owned Nell’s place. Once
he found out, he got up and walked out. But before he did, he told Bull to tell you that he didn’t know that you owned the place. He even offered to pay all expenses, plus Bull managed to squeeze an extra grand each for the boys out of him. The guy didn’t know you were the owner and when he found out, he did the right thing.”

  Red nodded. “And yet my men are still in the hospital.”

  Ernie grabbed Red’s arm. “Let it go, Red. If you retaliate, it will only bring you grief. Now is not the time for revenge. Let things cool down and if you still feel the way you do now, then we can talk about it and maybe plan something.”

  Red respected the old man’s opinion. He made sense when he offered his counsel. Red slowly nodded. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Now is not the time for revenge, but I have a long memory.”

  Red was torn between setting an example to anyone who interfered with his businesses or his men, but he heeded Ernie’s advice and he put his lust for blood aside until he could think with a clearer head.

  Ernie slapped Red on the shoulder. “Hey, I have something to tell you that’ll cheer you up.”

  Red waited to hear the good news.

  “Richie Fingers and JoAnne, Joey’s sister, are getting married. They told Joey that they were gonna get married and he thought they meant here in Vegas, but Joey became angry and nixed the idea of a Vegas wedding. He told them the only place for the wedding ceremony was at St. Leo’s Church and the reception should be at the Starlight Club.”

  Red’s face brightened and then he laughed when he realized that Joey hadn’t known that the wedding plans had already been finalized. All the stress of hearing how his men were brutally beaten and seeing them in the hospital faded away as his grin widened. “I was planning on a party anyway and a wedding is just the icing on the cake. It’ll be a great wedding. Sinatra said he’d be there with his pals, so it should be a real special night and one that Richie and JoAnne will always cherish. Yeah, that is good news. Thanks, Ernie. Now let’s get out of here. I want to visit the Double Seven and see how it’s doing.”