You Make Me Feel So Dead Read online

‘I was just thinkin’ of a snack.’

  ‘Jerry,’ I said, ‘you’re always thinking about a snack.’

  ‘Mr G.,’ he said, ‘you say that like it’s a bad thing.’

  We drove to Fremont Street, parked around the corner from Danny’s office and walked to the front door. It was locked. I had a key, but I tried ringing the bell.

  ‘Nobody home,’ Jerry said.

  I held up the key.

  ‘Shall we?’

  ‘He gave it to you, didn’t he?’

  I unlocked the door and we went up the stairs. Once again I knocked, and when no one opened the door I used the second key.

  The office was much the way I had left it last time. It didn’t seem that anyone had been back.

  I walked to Penny’s desk and picked up her phone.

  ‘Who you callin’?’ Jerry asked.

  ‘First Danny’s place, then Penny’s,’ I said. ‘They’ve got to be at one of them.’

  But both phones rang with no answer.

  ‘So maybe they’re out getting somethin’ to eat,’ Jerry suggested. ‘Or maybe they’re doin’ … somethin’. You know, they’re too busy to answer the phone?’

  ‘That would be a good answer,’ I said. ‘OK, so then we wait for them to contact us. What do we do in the meantime?’

  He gave me a meaningful look.

  ‘OK, OK,’ I said. ‘We’ll walk over to the Horseshoe, get you a snack, and do some thinking. I need to take Elvis and his crew someplace to eat, tonight.’

  ‘Well,’ Jerry said, ‘I’m more worried about eating now.’

  ‘I can always count on you, Jerry,’ I said.

  ‘That’s right, Mr G.,’ he said. ‘You can.’

  We were talking about two different things, but both were true.

  We slid into a booth at the Horseshoe’s coffee shop. It wasn’t so bad with Jerry on the other side. It was only when you tried to sit on the same side of a booth with Jerry that problems arose.

  ‘Whataya have?’ the bored looking waitress asked. ‘Hey, I remember you.’ She wasn’t talking to me, she was talking to Jerry. ‘You’re the pancake man.’ Suddenly, she wasn’t bored. Her face lit up and I saw the young girl she had been twenty years ago, before her life had beat her down. Waitressing was supposed to be a transitional job. But when you held the same job for a long time, like she probably had, it was a rut.

  ‘That’s me,’ Jerry said. ‘I’ll have a stack.’

  ‘Just one?’ she asked. ‘We talk about you in here, you know. Nobody’s ever eaten as many pancakes as you – and hey, you done it a few times, right?’

  ‘Whenever I’m in town,’ Jerry said. ‘But right now we’re just here for a snack.’

  ‘A snack, huh?’

  ‘Yep,’ he said. ‘One stack.’

  She looked at me.

  ‘Coffee.’

  ‘That’s all?’ she asked, the bored look coming back.

  ‘An order of French fries.’

  ‘Comin’ up.’

  ‘How many friends does Elvis have, Mr G.?’ Jerry asked. ‘I mean, with him.’

  ‘Well, there’s Red, Sonny … probably five, plus him, plus Ann-Margret …’

  ‘… and you and me.’

  ‘Right. So about nine.’

  ‘What about a show?’ Jerry asked. ‘Some showgirls? Booze. Food. Always works with the people I deal with.’

  ‘I’m thinkin’ about something else,’ I said. ‘Elvis doesn’t go to shows, he performs them. I’m thinkin’ of takin’ them to the Bootlegger, and then some gambling.’

  ‘The Bootlegger. Been there, right?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘it’s a favorite of Frank’s.’

  ‘What about Mr S. Will he wanna go, too?’

  ‘I don’t think Frank would want to hang around with Elvis’ crew,’ I said. ‘Besides, he’s going to stop in on one of Elvis’ shows.’

  ‘Well,’ Jerry said, ‘all I care about is, I’m gonna meet Ann-Margret.’

  ‘You like her, huh?’

  ‘Well, she ain’t Marilyn or Miss Gardner,’ Jerry said, ‘but she’s a cute kid.’

  ‘Yeah, she is.’

  ‘I seen her in State Fair and Bye Bye Birdie. I bet she’s sexier in Viva Las Vegas. I bet she’s gonna do lots of sexy parts.’

  ‘I’ll bet she is,’ I agreed.

  ‘Hey, are they gonna show Viva Las Vegas? You know, a preview?’

  ‘I know they’re here to promote it, but I don’t think they’re gonna show it. If they do I’ll get you in, don’t worry.’

  ‘I never worry about you, Mr G.,’ Jerry said. ‘I know you always take care of me.’

  Said the man who had saved my life more times than I could count.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  We left the Horseshoe and drove back to the Sands, for want of something better to do. I figured I’d use a phone there to make some reservations for that night for Elvis and his guests.

  As I entered, one of the bellmen came running over. He almost ran me down before he could stop.

  ‘Eddie, Mr Entratter’s been lookin’ for you all morning,’ he said.

  ‘What’s it about?’

  ‘All he said was I was to grab you as soon as you came in and send you up. That was a couple of hours ago. I been lookin’ out for you ever since.’ He spoke quickly, without taking a breath.

  ‘OK –’ I looked at the name on his ID plate – ‘Billy, thanks.’ I turned and looked at Jerry. ‘You want to come up with me?’

  ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘I like Mr Entratter.’

  ‘Let’s go.’

  We took the elevator to Jack Entratter’s floor and walked to his office. His girl looked up as we entered, frowned twice as deeply as usual, probably due to Jerry’s presence.

  ‘He’s been looking for you.’

  ‘I heard.’

  I suppose she was happy there was no more need for her to speak to me. I went into Jack’s office, followed by Jerry.

  ‘I heard you’re lookin’ for me, Jack.’

  ‘What’s goin’ on?’ Entratter demanded. ‘What have you two been into now?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘A young lady named Penny has been callin’ here every ten minutes for the past two hours lookin’ for you or Jerry.’

  ‘She had a problem we were helping her with.’

  ‘When you’re supposed to be takin’ care of that Elvis thing?’

  ‘Don’t worry, Jack,’ I promised, ‘it won’t get in the way.’

  ‘I’m glad you think so,’ he said. ‘She wants you to meet her at the police station.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Apparently,’ Jack said, ‘your buddy the private eye has been arrested.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘Murder.’

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  When we got to the station, Penny was waiting by the front desk.

  ‘Oh, my God!’ she said, running up to me. ‘I’ve been calling everywhere looking for you.’

  ‘We’ve been looking for you, too,’ I said. ‘We went to your office and called both of you at home.’

  ‘They came for him this morning, just as we were opening the office.’

  ‘Who was it?’

  ‘Who else? Hargrove? He was so happy while he was putting the cuffs on Danny.’

  ‘Who do they say Danny killed?’

  ‘Eddie, it was Billy Reynolds.’

  ‘What? How do they figure that?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘They won’t even talk to me.’

  ‘What about Danny’s lawyer?’

  ‘I called him,’ she said. ‘His secretary says he’s in court. She’ll give him the message and get him here as soon as possible. Eddie, Danny’s been alone back there for hours!’

  ‘OK,’ I said, ‘try to relax. Let me see what I can find out.

  Jerry?’

  I walked to the desk. Jerry wasn’t quite sure what to do, but Penny solved that problem for him. She grabbed one of h
is big arms and held on.

  ‘Help ya?’ the sergeant at the desk asked.

  ‘Eddie Gianelli to see Detective Hargrove.’

  ‘I’ll check and see if he has time for you,’ the sergeant said. ‘He’s kinda busy.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘I think he’ll see me.’ If just to rub Danny’s arrest in my face.

  The sergeant made a short call, then hung up, looking surprised.

  ‘Someone will be right out,’ he said.

  ‘Thanks.’

  The ‘someone’ was the dapper Detective Henry Martin, Hargrove’s new partner.

  ‘I’ll take you back,’ he said.

  I turned to Penny and Jerry and said, ‘Come on.’

  ‘Not him,’ Martin said, pointing, ‘and not her. Just you.’

  ‘It’s OK, Eddie,’ Penny said. ‘Just go. Danny needs you.’

  ‘Lead the way,’ I told Martin, even though I was fairly sure I knew the way.

  As I followed him down a familiar hall he asked, ‘What’d you ever do to Hargrove, Mr Gianelli? He sure has it in for you and your friends.’

  ‘I often wonder that same thing,’ I said. ‘I think he just doesn’t like what I do for a living.’

  ‘I don’t think he’s after you because you’re a pit boss,’ Martin said. ‘It must be something else.’

  ‘Well then, I guess it has something to do with who I work for.’

  ‘The Sands?’

  ‘Or Jack Entratter,’ I said.

  ‘Or maybe it’s who Jack Entratter works for,’ Martin said, ‘because Hargrove really does have a hard-on for the mob.’

  ‘Well, I’m not in the mob,’ I said.

  ‘But you have mob affiliations.’

  ‘My affiliations are with the Sands,’ I said. ‘That’s it.’

  ‘Well,’ Martin said, ‘this is for you and him to resolve. I’m just along for the ride.’

  ‘For how long?’ I asked. ‘Hargrove’s partners don’t usually stick around very long.’

  ‘I do happen to have my eye on another situation,’ he admitted.

  We had reached the interview rooms and Martin said, ‘Stay here.’ He went into a room and came out with Hargrove.

  ‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ he said with an unfriendly smile. ‘Come with me.’

  He took me to another interview room with just a table and two chairs.

  ‘Am I under arrest, too?’ I asked.

  ‘Of course not,’ Hargrove said. ‘This is just a place for us to talk. Have a seat.’

  Just to keep it from feeling like I was under arrest I sat on the side he’d usually take. He didn’t mind. He sat across from me.

  ‘So what’s goin’ on, Hargrove?’ I asked. ‘First you try to pin this murder on Jerry, and now Danny? Who’s next? Me?’

  ‘No, not you, Eddie,’ Hargrove said. ‘But your buddy’s girl, Penny O’Grady, might be next.’

  ‘Penny? Why her?’

  ‘Don’t act innocent with me, Eddie,’ he said. ‘You knew when I had Jerry in here yesterday that the dead man was her old boyfriend.’

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘actually, I didn’t.’

  He studied me for a moment, then said, ‘You know what, Eddie? This is one of the few times I believe you.’

  ‘Why don’t you tell me what this is all about, detective? This murder only happened yesterday and already you’ve made two arrests.’

  ‘I know how to do my job, Eddie,’ Hargrove said. ‘It didn’t take us long to find Penny’s connection to William Reynolds, our dead man.’

  ‘Connection?’

  ‘They were partners once,’ Hargrove said. ‘Boyfriend and girlfriend. Come on, don’t tell me you don’t know she’s got a sheet.’

  ‘I do know,’ I said, ‘but that was a long time ago. She was young.’

  ‘That’s what they all say,’ he replied. ‘As if being young forgives everything.’

  ‘Some things.’

  ‘Well, maybe not this,’ Hargrove said. ‘Once we had the girl’s name it led us right to your buddy the keyhole peeper. The rest was easy.’

  ‘Why easy?’

  ‘Because we canvassed the neighborhood where the murder took place and came up with Danny Bardini’s description.’

  ‘Lots of guys look like Danny.’

  ‘Yeah, but lots of guys don’t drive his car, with his license plate.’

  ‘Somebody else could have been driving it.’

  ‘Well, it hasn’t been reported stolen,’ Hargrove said. ‘Reynolds was shot with a thirty-eight. Bardini carries a thirty-eight.’

  ‘Has it been fired recently?’

  ‘It has. We got it off of Bardini when we took him in. I should have a ballistics match soon.’

  Damn.

  ‘What about his lawyer?’

  ‘I believe we’re waiting for him. Not being sent by your boss, is he?’

  ‘Danny has his own lawyer.’

  ‘Good,’ Hargrove said, ‘then I won’t have to deal with another goddamned mob lawyer.’

  ‘Look, can I see him?’

  ‘Sure,’ Hargrove said, ‘maybe you can get him to confess.’

  ‘I’m sure he didn’t do it.’

  ‘Your loyalty is admirable. Come on. I’ll give you fifteen minutes.’

  ‘Very generous.’

  ‘I’m a generous guy.’

  We left the room, went down the hall to another door.

  TWENTY-NINE

  ‘In you go,’ Hargrove said. ‘Fifteen minutes.’

  I opened the door and entered. It was a room like the one I’d just left, furnished with a table and two chairs. Danny sat at the table, looking disheveled, like he hadn’t slept in hours. There were several empty coffee containers on the table, and an empty Milky Way wrapper.

  ‘Crap,’ he said, ‘I thought it was my lawyer.’

  ‘Nice to see you, too.’

  ‘Have a seat,’ Danny said. ‘Sorry I can’t offer you some refreshment.’

  I pulled out the other chair and sat across from him.

  ‘What’s goin’ on, Danny?’

  ‘That’s what I want to know,’ he said. ‘We went to work today and the cops were waitin’ for us. I didn’t know what the hell was going on until we got here and they told me I was under arrest for killin’ William Reynolds.’

  ‘Did you and Penny talk about Reynolds?’

  ‘We did,’ he said. ‘Old boyfriend who took advantage of her, blah blah blah. What do I care? I only care about who she is now.’

  ‘That’s fine,’ I said. ‘Now tell me you’ve never seen Billy Reynolds in your life.’

  He didn’t say anything.

  ‘Danny?’

  ‘I can’t say that, Eddie.’

  ‘Oh Danny,’ I said. ‘You didn’t tell me the whole story, did you?’

  ‘No, buddy, I didn’t,’ he said. ‘I’m really sorry, Eddie.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, ‘let’s talk about that later. Just tell me you didn’t kill the guy.’

  ‘I didn’t kill the guy.’

  I nodded. ‘I believe you.’

  ‘So now what?’

  ‘So now I guess we have to wait for your lawyer,’ I said. ‘Look, I don’t have much time. They say they got your description and your plate number, that you were in the area around the house.’

  ‘I was,’ he said, ‘but I didn’t kill him. I just wanted to talk to the guy, to convince him to leave Penny alone.’

  ‘And did you talk to him?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘Did you convince him of anything?’

  ‘I didn’t,’ he said.

  ‘What else?’

  ‘I flattened him.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘That’s it,’ he said. ‘He said Penny was gonna have to pay to get rid of him. I … I told him there were easier ways, and I hit him. Just once.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘And then I left.’

  ‘What’d you mean when you said there were easier ways?’
/>   ‘I was just trying to scare him, but the guy didn’t scare.’

  ‘OK, quick,’ I said, ‘tell me what you saw when you were there.’

  ‘Not much,’ Danny said. ‘I’ve been thinkin’ about it. I didn’t see anyone else, didn’t see any other cars. Not when I got there, and not when I left. As a witness, I’m fuckin’ useless.’

  ‘You can say that again.’

  The door opened at that moment and cut off any retort he might have had.

  ‘You’re done,’ Hargrove said.

  ‘My lawyer here yet?’ Danny asked.

  ‘Not yet. But don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know.’

  ‘Can I have another minute—’ I started, but I knew the answer even before he cut me off.

  ‘Not a chance,’ Hargrove said. ‘You’re done. Let’s go.’

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ I said to Danny.

  ‘My lawyer will get me out, Eddie,’ he said. ‘I didn’t kill anybody. Take Penny home.’

  ‘I’ll have Jerry take her, and stay with her,’ I said. ‘I’ll stick around until your lawyer gets here.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Hey, pit boss!’ Hargrove snapped. ‘Out!’

  I left the room, followed by Hargrove, who slammed the door.

  ‘He still singin’ the same tune, huh?’ he asked. ‘He didn’t do it?’

  ‘That’s because he didn’t.’

  ‘We’ll see. Martin will take you back to the front.’

  ‘Like I told Danny,’ I said, ‘I’ll be around until his lawyer shows.’

  ‘Suit yourself.’

  Martin appeared at my elbow as if by magic and said, ‘This way.’

  Sneaky bastard.

  THIRTY

  ‘Is he all right?’ Penny asked anxiously when I got back to the front.

  ‘He’s fine,’ I said. ‘He wants you to go home.’

  ‘Eddie, I can’t—’

  ‘You have to, Penny,’ I said. ‘I’ll stay. Don’t make Danny worry about you while he’s fighting to get out of here.’ I turned to Jerry. ‘Will you take her home in the Caddy?’

  ‘Sure, Mr G.’

  ‘And stay with her,’ I said.

  ‘How you gonna get back?’ he asked. ‘You got that Elvis thing—’

  ‘I’ll call you to come and get us when Danny gets out.’

  ‘What about Elvis?’

  ‘Don’t worry about him,’ I said. ‘I’ll take care of it.’