The Way You Die Tonight

by Robert Randisi

  ‘Stuck-up?’

  ‘Too good for everybody else, ya know?’

  ‘Everybody else, or you?’

  Hannigan squinted at him.

  ‘Whatta ya mean?’

  ‘I heard you and she had words once or twice?’

  ‘Who told you that?’ Hannigan asked. ‘The nosy old biddy across the hall?’

  ‘Somebody.’

  ‘Yeah, well, all I ever did was ask her out a couple of times,’ Hannigan said. ‘She got nasty and turned me down flat.’

  ‘Nasty?’

  ‘You know,’ Hannigan said, ‘one of those broads who can’t just turn ya down, she’s gotta shoot ya down, too. Ya know, make ya feel bad about yerself?’

  ‘So she made you feel bad about yourself?’

  ‘Hey, not me,’ Hannigan said. ‘I get plenty of broads. I ain’t gonna break down and start cryin’ just ’cause one don’t like me. There’s plenny of ’em out there. The bars are full of ’em.’

  Danny studied the manager. Even if Hannigan had it in for Helen, he couldn’t see the man going to the Sands unnoticed and killing her there. In fact, Mrs Orchid was probably right about that. For Helen to have been killed the way she was, where she was, it must have been somebody on the inside.

  Jack Entratter wasn’t going to be happy to hear that …

  In fact, I wasn’t happy to hear it, either.

  ‘So that was it,’ Danny said. ‘I left him to his TV dinner.’

  ‘And that’s why you felt you had to come right over?’ I asked. ‘To tell me you think it was an inside job?’

  ‘The more I thought about it, the more it made sense,’ Danny said. ‘Somebody on the outside would wait until she left the building. Why take a chance on trying to get in, maybe somebody seeing them where they didn’t belong?’

  ‘But somebody who already belonged wouldn’t have to worry about that.’

  ‘No,’ Danny said, ‘they’d just have to worry about getting her alone – like in the ladies’ room.’

  ‘Makes sense. Will you come by tomorrow and snoop around?’

  ‘On the payroll, right?’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Hey,’ Danny said, ‘before I go, you never told me about your meeting with Hughes. How was he?’

  ‘Naked.’

  ‘For real?’

  ‘Well, he had a tissue across his crotch, but yeah, pretty much.’

  ‘So he’s as crazy as they say?’

  ‘Actually, I don’t think so,’ I said. ‘He’s got this disease that makes it hurt whenever anything touches his bare skin.’

  ‘Anything?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Guess I’d sit around naked, too, if I had that,’ Danny said.

  ‘That’s what I was thinkin’.’

  ‘What about the floor?’

  ‘What about it?’

  ‘How’s he walk in his bare feet?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I was wondering how he even sat down.’

  ‘I suppose he’s got to,’ Danny said.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘So what did he want?’

  ‘He says he’s looking to buy a casino.’

  ‘And what’s he want with you?’

  ‘He says he’s heard about me, wants my help in finding a place to buy.’

  ‘You think he’s after the Sands?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘What did you tell him?’

  ‘I said I’d think about it.’

  ‘He offer you a lot of money?’

  ‘Some.’

  ‘He didn’t find your price though, did he?’

  ‘I’ve got to get to dinner, Danny,’ I said. ‘See you at the Sands tomorrow?’

  ‘I’ll be there, Eddie.’

  ‘Let me get my jacket and I’ll walk you out.’

  I walked Danny to his car and watched him drive off. Then I got in the Caddy and drove to the Sands.

  TWENTY-TWO

  ‘Come on in,’ Frank said. ‘I’m almost ready.’

  I stepped in and closed the door.

  ‘I have to get my jacket, and my wallet,’ Frank said. ‘I’ll be a second.’

  He went into the bedroom, reappeared just seconds later, one hand in his pocket; I assumed tucking his wallet away. He put one arm into his jacket and said, ‘OK, let’s go.’

  ‘How are you, Frank?’

  ‘I’m good, kid.’ He finished putting on his jacket, then slapped me on the arm, ‘I’m good. Let’s go show Eddie a good time, huh?’

  We took the elevator to Robinson’s floor and knocked on his door. When he answered and saw Frank, his face became infused with genuine pleasure.

  ‘Frank!’ He grabbed him and they hugged each other. ‘Good to see you.’ He slapped Frank on the back.

  ‘Hey, Eddie,’ Frank said. ‘Ready for a good dinner?’

  ‘I’m ready.’ Robinson was already wearing his suit, so he just stepped into the hall and pulled his door shut. He looked at me, smiled and said, ‘Eddie G.’

  ‘Hello, Eddie.’

  ‘Where we goin’, boys?’ he asked, putting an arm around each of us as we walked to the elevator.

  I decided to take Robinson to the steak house at The Golden Nugget. It was off the strip, but was still classic Las Vegas. I thought we could then check out the poker at Binion’s Horseshoe.

  Most of the conversation over dinner was between Frank and Robinson, catching up on each other’s news.

  At one point Robinson said, ‘I’m so glad things worked out OK for you last year, Frank, when your boy was kidnapped. I tried to call, but I couldn’t get through.’

  ‘That’s OK, Eddie,’ Frank said. ‘The cops and the FBI had my phones tapped, we were trying to leave them open for ransom calls.’

  ‘Well, I’m glad he got home OK.’

  ‘Much of that was due to this guy,’ Frank said, slapping me on the back. ‘Eddie G. was there for Junior at every turn. Don’t know if we woulda got him back without him.’

  ‘There were a lot of people in on that, Frank.’

  He left his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

  ‘Eddie G.’s modest, Eddie,’ he told Robinson. ‘We can always count on him.’

  ‘Well,’ Robinson said, ‘I counted on him for this meal and it was excellent. What’s next, Eddie G.?’

  ‘Next,’ I said, ‘is poker.’

  We went over to the Horseshoe and watched a few hands of poker in the poker room. Having Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson there at the same time created a bit of a stir, but poker players are a single-minded lot and eventually went back to their games.

  ‘Eddie,’ Pete Santos said, ‘what are you tryin’ to do to me?’

  Santos ran the high-stakes poker room at the Horseshoe, and didn’t like anything to disrupt things.

  ‘Relax, Pete,’ I said, ‘Mr Robinson is doing research for a movie role. He just wants to observe. Besides, look at your players. They could care less.’

  Frank and Robinson were standing off to one side, watching and speaking to each other in low tones, with their heads close together.

  ‘They’re not disrupting anything,’ I said.

  ‘Well, keep it that way, will ya?’ Santos said. ‘I don’t need none of your celebrity friends messin’ with my room.’

  ‘Don’t worry, they won’t.’

  ‘They better not, or Entratter will be hearin’ from Mr Binion.’

  He walked away, his shoulders hunched.

  Frank and Robinson walked over to me.

  ‘What’s his beef?’ Frank asked.

  ‘He thinks we’re distracting the players.’

  ‘Are we?’ Robinson said, looking over at the tables.

  ‘Not anymore,’ I said. ‘Poker players can concentrate in a tornado.’

  Robinson waved a finger and said, ‘Now that’s the kind of thing I need to learn.’

  ‘I’ll get you in to some private games soon,’ I said, ‘but for now you can watch here.’

&n
bsp; ‘Good, good,’ Robinson said. ‘I’ll just stroll around.’

  He couldn’t walk among the tables and watch, only the players were allowed near there. But he could circle around on the outside.

  ‘Frank, can I ask you something?’

  ‘Sure, pally,’ he said. ‘What’s on your mind?’

  ‘Have you talked to Howard Hughes about me?’

  Frank looked away from the games at me.

  ‘What makes you think I talk to Hughes about anything, let alone you?’

  ‘I just …’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I had a conversation with him recently,’ I said. ‘He mentioned you.’

  ‘Me? What did he say about me? And why were you talkin’ to him?’

  I decided to come clean.

  ‘He’s in Vegas, looking to buy. He thinks I can steer him toward a property.’

  ‘Does he want to buy the Sands?’

  ‘He didn’t say. He just says he’s looking to buy.’

  ‘And how did I come up?’

  ‘I just asked why he’d contacted me, and he said that you and Dean had confidence in me.’

  ‘Well,’ Frank said, ‘I hate Hughes and the feeling is mutual. He didn’t hear nothin’ from me. And I doubt he heard it from Dino.’

  I hesitated a moment, then said, ‘Ava?’

  ‘She hasn’t spoken to him in years. No, I think maybe he was tellin’ you what he thought you wanted to hear.’

  ‘Maybe you’re right.’

  ‘You tell Jack about this?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘He’s gonna see what he can find out, but he’s kinda messed up about his girl getting killed.’

  ‘Yeah, I can see that. How’s that going?’

  ‘I’ve got Danny lookin’ into Helen’s life to see what he can find out.’

  ‘Your PI friend. He’s a good guy.’

  ‘Yeah, he is, and I’ve got Jerry comin’ in tomorrow.’

  ‘Sounds like you got everything under control, Eddie.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘sounds like it, don’t it …’

  TWENTY-THREE

  Eddie Robinson turned in before Frank and I were ready. We offered to walk him to his room, but once we hit the lobby he said, ‘I need you to show me around Vegas, Eddie, but I’m sure I can find my way to my own room alone.’ He said goodnight to us and went to the elevator.

  ‘He’s a nice man,’ I said.

  ‘He is that,’ Frank said. ‘Come on, I’ll buy you a nightcap.’

  We walked through the casino to the lounge. People nudged each other as Frank walked by, but nobody approached him. I figured once we were seated at a bar a few autograph hounds would get brave. In the casino environment, Frank didn’t mind. But, when he was sitting with friends having dinner, he didn’t like being bothered.

  We sat at the bar and Frank ordered a martini. I settled for a beer.

  ‘You want me to send a car to the airport to pick up Jerry tomorrow?’ he asked.

  ‘No, thanks. I told Jerry I’d pick him up. Besides, he likes to drive the Caddy from the airport.’

  ‘How are you gonna divide up your time?’ Frank asked.

  ‘Not sure,’ I said. ‘I guess that’ll depend on how much Danny finds out.’

  ‘I could talk to Jack for you,’ Frank offered, ‘keep him off your back.’

  ‘No, Frank, it’s OK,’ I said. ‘I’ve got my own relationship with Jack. I can handle him. He’s in a bad way, right now. I think he liked that girl more than I thought.’

  ‘You mean …’

  ‘No, no, nothing like that,’ I said. ‘She just worked for him for a long time.’

  ‘What was she like?’

  ‘Unpleasant,’ I said, ‘at least, to me. She didn’t like me one bit.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said, ‘and now I probably never will.’

  ‘Lots of people don’t like me,’ Frank said, ‘and I don’t know all the reasons why. And I don’t care.’

  ‘That’s because you’re Frank Sinatra,’ I said. ‘The Chairman of the Board. I’m just Eddie.’

  ‘Hey, man,’ Frank said, ‘you’re Eddie G., the coolest cat in Vegas. Remember that, huh?’

  ‘Yeah, sure.’

  ‘And listen,’ he said, ‘be careful with Hughes. He’s a snake.’

  ‘I will.’

  He finished his martini and slapped me on the back. ‘I’ll be around, pally, if you need help. Just call.’

  ‘Thanks, Frank.’

  He got off his stool, started away, then turned and said, ‘Oh yeah, I meant to tell you. Dino’s comin’ to town. He’s doin’ his own show at the Sahara. I figured we’d go and see him.’

  ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘That’ll be good.’

  He winked, smiled and left the lounge. Right outside the door two girls stopped him for his autograph. He signed, and laughed with them. When he was done he walked off with a jaunty step.

  The girls came into the lounge, laughing and looking at his signature. They sat at the bar and ordered drinks. I had the feeling they were too young, but that wasn’t my job.

  I finished my beer and left the lounge. I was almost at the hotel lobby when a dealer caught up with me.

  ‘Hey, Eddie?’

  I turned and looked at him. His name was Patrick, and he’d been working at the Sands for a couple of years, but for six months in my pit.

  ‘What’s up, Pat?’

  ‘Red Skelton wants to up his limit.’

  I looked over at the table and Red waved to me and smiled. I waved back.

  ‘Who’s in my pit?’ I asked.

  ‘Henry Mills.’

  ‘What’d he say?’

  ‘He said no, but I told him Mr Skelton was a regular,’ Pat said.

  ‘Wait, Henry doesn’t know who Red is?’

  ‘I guess not.’

  ‘Jesus,’ I said. ‘OK, I’ll take care of it, Pat.’

  ‘Thanks, Eddie.’

  I walked back to the table with him, shook hands with Red, assured him it would only take a minute.

  ‘Thanks, Eddie,’ Red said, ‘I knew I could count on you.’

  ‘Are you playin’ the strip?’ I asked.

  ‘No, downtown this time.’

  ‘Well, sit tight.’

  I went over to Henry Mills and told him it was OK to raise Red Skelton’s limit.

  ‘He’s a star, and a friend of Jack Entratter’s.’

  ‘OK, Eddie,’ Henry said, ‘if you say so.’

  ‘Hank, you gotta start recognizing these people.’

  ‘I don’t go to the movies much, Eddie.’

  ‘Red’s on TV.’

  ‘Don’t watch much TV, either.’

  ‘Yeah, OK,’ I said. ‘But you gotta get a life, Hank.’

  ‘Thanks, Eddie.’

  No movies and TV, I thought, walking away. How the hell did the guy get hired? The Sands is a place where you had to recognize people. It was where the stars came to play.

  Jesus, even in my head I sounded like a goddamn advertisement.

  I left the building and drove home.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  In the morning I got up early and drove to the airport. I was hungry, but waited to have breakfast with Jerry. He would have taken it as a personal affront if I hadn’t.

  ‘Mr G.!’ He lifted me into a huge bear hug, which surprised me. In the past a handshake would do it, then a warm handshake. We had come a long way as friends.

  ‘How you doin’, big guy?’

  ‘I’m good,’ he said. ‘I’m ready to help.’

  He looked good, too. He was wearing a sports jacket and slacks and, thankfully, he had stayed away from the houndstooth jacket he’d worn last time he was in Vegas.

  ‘Well, we’re gonna be busy.’

  I didn’t bother trying to carry his bag for him. I did that once, and almost dislocated a shoulder.

  He tossed it into the back seat of the Caddy like a feather and got behind the wheel with a b
ig smile on his face.

  ‘Breakfast?’ he asked.

  ‘You bet,’ I said.

  I took him to a new place I had found off the strip, part diner, part mom-and-pop country cooking. It didn’t matter to him, really, he went for a huge stack of pancakes and sausage. I went for scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast. We both had coffee.

  Over breakfast I told him everything that had happened, from Jack’s girl to Howard Hughes to Edward G. Robinson.

  ‘Howard Hughes,’ he said, when I was done. ‘Is he as crazy as they say?’

  ‘Like a fox,’ I said. ‘I think he uses the rumors to his advantage, but he’s definitely in his own world.’

  ‘This broad that got hung,’ Jerry said, ‘she’s the one that don’t like you so much, right?’

  ‘Didn’t like me,’ I said, ‘right.’

  ‘Guess you’ll never know why, now,’ Jerry said.

  ‘Right now, we just have to be concerned with who killed her.’

  ‘The cops ain’t gonna like us steppin’ on their toes.’

  ‘Hargrove is callin’ it a suicide,’ I said, ‘or he’s telling Jack he’s callin’ it a suicide.’

  ‘You think he’s lyin’?’

  ‘From the time he wakes up in the morning to the time he goes to bed at night,’ I said, ‘but in this instance, it may be strategic.’

  ‘He’s tryin’ to put you off,’ Jerry said. ‘You think he figures somebody in the hotel killed the girl, and that makes you suspect?’

  ‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘We know he’s still wantin’ to pin something on me.’

  ‘And me, once he finds out I’m here.’

  ‘Well, we’ll keep that to ourselves as long as we can, although it won’t be easy.’

  ‘I can make myself smaller when I have to,’ Jerry said.

  ‘Yeah, right.’

  After breakfast we jumped back in the Caddy and drove to the Sands. I took Jerry to his suite to drop off his bag, and then down to Entratter’s office. I wanted to check in with Jack on everything.

  ‘Jerry,’ Entratter said with a nod as we entered.

  ‘Hey, Mr Entratter.’

  They were two big men who usually eyed each other warily. Jack thought that I got more reckless when I was paired with Jerry. He may have been right.

  ‘Eddie, what’s goin’ on with Helen’s case?’

  Case? Like I was a detective?

  ‘Danny’s gonna be in here later to ask some questions, Jack,’ I said. ‘You’ve got to give him a big pass to go anywhere.’