Danny spun around on his stool a couple of times, looking annoyed.
‘There are two cab drivers I haven’t been able to get to yet,’ he said, finally. ‘One’s a family man, apparently, henpecked like hell. His wife got him to take a few days off, take her and the kids away. I’m waitin’ for him to get back.’
‘And where’d they go?’ I asked. ‘Can’t you go to them?’
‘Florida.’
‘Who goes from Las Vegas to Florida for vacation?’ I asked.
‘You got me.’
‘What about the other one?’
‘Him,’ Danny said, as if he hated the guy. ‘He got fired. I’m still lookin’ for him.’
‘So you’ve pretty much been chasing two cabbies around for two days?’
He pointed his finger at me.
‘This is the dirty part of the job, Eddie,’ he said. ‘Believe me, I’ve been in places that have never seen soap.’
‘OK, OK,’ I said, ‘I’m just pokin’ at ya. Findin’ a body is no bed of roses either, you know.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ he said.
‘Besides, don’t we already have a cabbie who saw Stanley hustled into a dark car?’
‘We do, but he didn’t see any faces. I’m still lookin’ for somebody who can describe these two jamokes. I’m hopin’ that’s one of these missin’ cab drivers.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘You’re gonna have to deal with Hargrove sooner or later.’
‘Hopefully I can give him a killer.’
‘Before another body shows up.’
‘I just hope if the fired cabby did see somethin’, he’s not in hidin’. That’d just make him that much more trouble to find. He probably found a hole and pulled it in behind him.’
‘Yeah, but you’re good at findin’ holes, Danny,’ I said. ‘Nobody can hide from you in Las Vegas. Not for very long, anyway.’
We finished our drinks and I settled up with the bartender.
‘You know,’ I said, when we got outside, ‘if the next victim is DeStefano it might get the cops off my back and lookin’ at the mob.’
‘So you just wanna hope he’s next,’ he asked, ‘or set it up? Jerry can make the hit.’
‘You know, Jerry likes you,’ I said. ‘He’d never make a remark like that about you.’
‘Hey, I like the big buy, too. I was just kiddin’. I mean . . . you don’t wanna kill DeStefano, do you?’
‘Of course not.’
‘OK.’
We started back to my house, where our cars were.
‘I’m just sayin’ if somebody did kill him, it would take some heat off us. That’s all.’
He looked at me.
‘I’m just sayin’,’ I said.
When we got back to the cars he asked me the question I didn’t want him to ask.
‘So what kind of alibis did you and Jerry set up? Do you need my help?’
I looked at him and smiled. ‘Here’s the part you’re gonna find funny.’
SIXTY-SEVEN
I went back to the Sands and did a late shift in my pit. Jerry was nowhere in sight. Maybe he and Mack Grey had found something else to do, or maybe they really were in his room watching movies. Maybe they actually got along.
I kept my eyes peeled for Hargrove, or any other cop. When they didn’t show up by three a.m. I started to wonder what was going on? Phil’s body must have been found by now.
It was almost four a.m. when Jack Entratter appeared as I was getting ready to hand my pit off. He looked as if he had dressed quickly after somebody woke him up. His suit and white shirt were wrinkled, and he wasn’t wearing a tie.
‘Eddie,’ he said, waving to me.
My replacement moved into the pit and I joined Jack on the casino floor.
‘What’s up, Jack?’
‘I just got woke up by the cops,’ he said. ‘They were lookin’ for you and Jerry.’
‘Hargrove?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I don’t think Hargrove would’ve called. He would’ve wanted to surprise you.’
‘Are they comin’ here?’
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I called our lawyer, he’s on his way, too. Can you think of any reason why you shouldn’t be here when they get here?’
I scratched my cheek and said, ‘It might not be so bad if it’s not Hargrove. Maybe he’s . . . off.’
‘Yeah, maybe.’
‘I’ll get a hold of Jerry. He’s probably in his suite.’
‘I’m wonderin’ Jack said, ‘if we should bring Bing in on this?’
‘Let’s not wake him and Kathy up just yet,’ I suggested. ‘We can do that if the cops ask for them.’
‘OK,’ Jack said. ‘I’m goin’ to my office to take some bicarbonate before they get here. Although I doubt very much it’ll help.’
‘I’ll come up after I talk to Jerry,’ I said.
‘Yeah, OK.’
He didn’t ask me to come to his office and make the call. I was glad. Let him have his bicarbonate in peace.
I decided to go to Jerry’s suite instead of calling. I only had to knock once and he answered.
‘Hey, Mr G.’
‘Guess I didn’t wake you.’
‘Naw, come on in.’
As I entered I noticed that the TV was on, and Mack Grey was asleep sitting up on the sofa.
‘How long has he been asleep?’
‘I think he nodded off halfway through The Charge of The Light Brigade.’
There was a room service tray with a metal pot of coffee and a few cups.
‘Anything left in there?’
He nodded. ‘Might even still be warm.’
I poured and sipped. Just warm enough not to be cold.
‘What’s up? Cops around?’
‘That’s what I came to see you about,’ I said. ‘They’ll probably be here within the hour. Called Jack Entratter already.’
‘Hargrove?’
‘That’s the odd part,’ I said. ‘It’s not him. Not yet, anyway.’
I noticed we were both speaking in hushed tones so as not to wake Mack.
‘So what do we do? Wait for them to come lookin’?’ he asked.
‘No, I told Entratter we’d come down to his office and wait.’
‘That’s real cooperative of us.’
‘Yeah, it is.’
‘You talk to the sister?’
‘Adrienne,’ I said. ‘Yeah, we . . . talked. She’s gonna try to come up with a name for us, somebody doin’ business with her brother and DeStefano who might be targeting Vince next. She’s also tryin’ to get me a meeting with Vince.’
‘She’s bein’ helpful, too.’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘We’re all bein’ so damned cooperative.’
‘What should we do with Mack?’ he asked.
‘Let’s just let him sleep, for now.’
‘OK,’ Jerry said. ‘I’ll change.’ He was wearing a t-shirt and trousers. I knew he’d want to change into a sports jacket, though. Even if he wasn’t going to wear his gun beneath it – I hoped. Jerry was only casual when he was at home.
I finished my lukewarm coffee while waiting.
‘I’m ready,’ Jerry said, when he reappeared.
‘Jerry . . .’ I said, eyeing him.
He held his jacket open and said, ‘No gun, Mr G.’
SIXTY-EIGHT
When we got to his office Jack was taking two aspirin.
‘On top of the bicarb,’ he said, putting down the glass of water. ‘Does wonders.’
‘I’ll pass,’ Jerry said.
‘Me, too.’
We both sat.
‘Well,’ Jack said, ‘this is a switch.’
‘Whataya mean?’ I asked.
‘You guys really haven’t done anythin’ wrong, and you’re still in trouble.’
Jerry held up a huge forefinger and said, ‘We did break into the dead guy’s house.’
‘Well, compared to murder, that’s not much of a charge,’ Jack sa
id.
At that point the phone rang. Jack picked it up, said, ‘What?’ listened, then said, ‘Thanks,’ and hung up. ‘Two detectives are on the way up.’
‘Do we know them?’ I asked.
‘We’ll know when they walk in.’
We waited, heard the elevator, then the footsteps and some unintelligible words. Presently, two men wearing suits walked in, both looking like they’d been awake for many hours. Happily, neither of them were familiar to us. No Hargrove.
‘Mr Entratter?’ one of them said.
‘That’s right,’ Jack replied, standing.
The detective shook Jack’s hand, took a quick look at us.
‘I’m Detective Maddox, this is my partner, Detective Lang. I’m the one who spoke to you on the phone. Sorry to have to wake you.’
‘That’s all right,’ Jack said. ‘Murder’s a serious business.’
‘Yes, it is,’ Maddox said. ‘I assume these are the two gents we talked about?’
‘That’s Eddie Gianelli, one of my pit bosses,’ Jack said, ‘and Jerry Epstein, a friend of his who is a guest with us right now.’
Jerry and I both stood up.
‘Stay seated, guys,’ Maddox said. ‘We just have a few questions.’
We sat back down.
‘You gents know a man named Philip Arnold?’
‘We know him,’ I said.
‘How?’
‘We were helping another of our guests, Bing Crosby, buy a horse from a man named Chris Arnold. As you probably know, he was killed a couple of days ago.’
‘We do know,’ Lang said. ‘That’s how we got on to you.’
‘We got a flag that cases involving anyone in the Arnold family should be referred to Detective Hargrove,’ Maddox said.
‘We know Hargrove,’ I said. ‘Where is he?’
‘He’s off, today,’ Maddox said, ‘but when he gets in this morning he’ll find a note on his desk.’
Great.
They asked us when we last saw Philip, what the circumstances were, and then what we had been doing last night. We told the truth, that we’d gone to the show at the Flamingo and then for a night out with Frank and company.
When they asked what we’d done during the day Jerry gave them Mack Grey’s name, and I reluctantly gave them Penny’s name and contact info. Reluctantly, because when I told Danny that I’d be using Penny as my alibi – that she had volunteered – he hadn’t been real happy about it. But there was nothing he could do about it, because he knew if he told Penny she couldn’t do it, she’d just dig her heels in.
‘But don’t use her unless you absolutely have to,’ he told me.
‘I’ll do my best,’ I promised.
So much for my best.
The detectives finished their interview in about twenty minutes. They thanked Jack Entratter for his assistance in gathering us in one place, then thanked us for our time.
‘I’m sure Detective Hargrove will be in touch when he gets to his desk in the morning and catches up,’ Maddox said.
‘I’m sure he will,’ I said.
They said good-morning and left. We waited until we heard the elevator come and go.
‘Wow,’ Jerry said, ‘good cop and quiet cop.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’m sure Hargrove will play the bad cop very well.’
‘You fellas and your other buddy, Bardini,’ Entratter said, ‘better try to wrap this thing up today. The only way you might stay out of jail is to hand Hargrove the killer.’
I looked at my watch.
‘Have you slept?’ Entratter asked.
‘No.’
‘You?’ he asked Jerry.
‘No.’
‘You both might as well catch four or five hours,’ he said.
‘Three would be more like it,’ I said. ‘In four or five hours Hargrove will be here lookin’ for us.’
‘OK,’ Jack said, ‘so three hours. Do it, and then go catch a killer.’
Jerry and I stood up and headed for the door.
‘You’ll have to get Mack off your sofa,’ I said, as we walked to the elevator.
‘Let him sleep,’ Jerry said. ‘He won’t bother me. Are you gonna be in the hotel?’
‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘I’ll go down to the desk and get a room. I’ll meet you at seven forty-five . . . but not in the lobby. We might accidentally run into Hargrove.’
‘The café?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘The parking lot, by the car. We’ll get somethin’ to eat and figure out our next move. I’m too tired to figure it out now.’
‘Me, too,’ Jerry said. ‘I’ve seen enough TV to last me a long time.’
SIXTY-NINE
I got into bed at five a.m.
The phone rang at seven fifteen.
For a moment I debated about answering it. What if it was the cops? Hargrove? I answered it.
‘I’ve been lookin’ for you,’ Danny said.
‘At seven a.m.?’
‘I haven’t been to bed at all. Do you wanna know why?’
‘Definitely.’
‘I found the fired cab driver. He’s our guy.’
‘Did the cabbie see anybody’s face?’
‘He was in line behind the cab they pulled Stanley away from.’
‘So he got a clear view of his face.’
‘He did.’
‘And is he able to describe it?’
‘He is, and he did.’
‘And?’
‘He said he has a face like mashed potatoes,’ Danny said. ‘Like somebody who’d spent his life in the ring. And this cabbie should know. He used to fight middleweight.’
‘Could he be more specific?’
‘Six three or four, big mashed nose, square jaw, and startling blue eyes.’
‘Startling?’
‘Yeah, he said “startling”.’
‘Jesus, I haven’t seen anybody like that this whole time.’
‘Sorry,’ Danny said. ‘I was hopin’ that would be helpful.’
‘Look, Jerry and I are gonna be on the move today,’ I told him, ‘tryin’ to avoid Hargrove. You wanna meet us for breakfast?’
‘Gee, that’s just what I need to start my day, watching that guy wade through stacks of pancakes. Of course I do.’
‘OK, let’s make it someplace Hargrove would not look for us.’
‘OK, that means not anywhere near a casino,’ Danny said.
‘Yup.’
‘I got just the place.’
Just as my favorite burger place was out of the way, so was Danny’s favorite place for breakfast. Well, one of his favorite places. It was in one of those long, silver diner things, but it was more than a diner.
Jerry and I pulled up in front, found Danny standing outside, leaning against the front of his Chrysler. We had driven way out on Highway 159, even going past the turn-off that headed out to Red Rock Canyon.
As soon as we pulled up I could see Jerry’s head go up, his nostrils flaring. He smelled the place before I did.
‘Ham,’ he said, as Danny walked over.
‘You said it,’ Danny said. ‘Ham omelets. It’s their specialty.’
‘How’s the pancakes?’
‘Out of this world. Come in, I’m starving. Been workin’ all night.’
We went inside and found a small, cramped empty space. A man came out of the back and he and Danny hugged like long-lost brothers.
‘Ham omelets for me and my friends,’ Danny said, ‘and a couple of stacks of pancakes for the big guy.’
‘Comin’ up, Danny.’
The guy – about Danny’s age, which was a few years older than me – came back out with coffee, got us all filled up and then went to cook.
‘Wow,’ I said. ‘Good coffee.’
‘Yeah,’ Jerry said, nodding his approval.
‘That’s just the beginning,’ Danny assured us.
Danny’s friend came out with all three omelets and the pancakes at the same time, and managed to deliver it all hot. He f
ollowed immediately with perfect toast.
‘Anythin’ else, guys, just let me know.’
We started to eat, and Jerry and I both heartily approved.
‘If the food’s this good why is this place so empty?’ I asked.
‘Oh, Lenny can’t have too many people knowin’ about this place,’ Danny said. ‘He’s wanted.’
‘Wanted?’ I said.
‘In about half a dozen states.’
‘For what?’ Jerry wondered.
‘We don’t talk about that,’ Danny said.
‘OK,’ I said, ‘then talk about our problem. Tell Jerry what you told me.’
‘You tell ’im,’ Danny said. ‘I’m eating.’
I gave Jerry the description Danny had gotten from the fired cab driver.
‘By the way,’ I asked Danny, ‘why’d he get fired?’
‘He loses too many fares.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Jerry said, chewing his pancakes.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘That day out on the road, when that driver almost forced us off the road?’
‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘the killer.’
‘I started to tell you I thought I saw something . . .’
‘What was it?’
‘Here,’ he said, waving his hand in front of his face. ‘I thought I saw like . . . a big . . . nose . . .’
‘Like a potato?’ Danny asked.
‘Yeah . . . I guess . . . I thought I was just . . . ya know, seein’ things, what with all the dirt and dust . . . damn it. I shoulda said somethin’.’
‘Why?’ I asked. ‘It’s not like we’ve run into a guy with a nose like that. But at least now we know he’s probably the Red Rock killer.’
‘But we were thinkin’ the Red Rock killer wasn’t also the killer of the trainer.’
‘He coulda been,’ I said, ‘if he killed the trainer the day before.’
‘We don’t know the time of death,’ Danny said.
‘No, but the police do. It could’ve been potato nose, or whoever his partner was when they picked up the trainer at the airport.’
‘Were there two guys in the car out in Red Rock?’ Danny asked.
I looked at Jerry and he shrugged.
‘Some pair of detectives you guys make,’ Danny said.
‘He’s the brains,’ Jerry said, jabbing his fork toward me, ‘I’m the muscle.’
‘And you’re the detective,’ I said. ‘So what do we do now?’
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