Fly Me to the Morgue (23 page)
I didn't find anything interesting in the file cabinet. I figured anything that would help us was probably in that safety deposit box.
I left the office after a few minutes and ran into Jerry coming back down.
âNothin',' he said.
âLet's get out of here.'
We retraced our steps and wiped prints off the French doors. Let the cops think that whoever killed him broke the window to get in.
We climbed the wall again to get to the car. I half expected to find police waiting for us when we dropped down off the wall.
We scrambled into the car and got away from there.
Along the way I told Jerry about finding the bank statement.
âI'll bet there's somethin' in that box that him and his brother've been killed over.'
âYeah, so how do we get to it?'
âWe don't,' Jerry said. âI ain't never broke into a bank, Mr G. You know anybody?'
I shook my head.
âNo bank robbers in my phone book,' I said. âBut his brother or sister can probably get in there after he dies.'
âYeah,' Jerry said, âif they ain't killed before that.'
SIXTY-ONE
Everything started and ended at the Sands.
It was late afternoon when we got back there. We'd started out very early going to see Vince DeStefano, even though it felt like days ago to me.
We had stopped along the way at a pay phone. I had disguised my voice and called in a disturbance report at Philip Arnold's address. Even said I thought I'd heard breaking glass.
We sat parked in the lot for a few minutes.
âI hate finding bodies.' I looked at my shaking hands.
âI know how you feel, Mr G.,' Jerry said. âAinât my favorite thing, neither.'
We sat quietly for a few moments.
âWhat do we do now?'
âI'd still like to talk to Adrienne some more,' I said, âbut think we need to spend some time around people.'
âAlibis?'
I nodded.
âWe'll need an alibi for last nightâ'
âWe got alibis for last night, Mr G. We wuz at the Flamingo for Frank Junior's Show, and then we went out with Mr S.'
âThat's right,' I said. âJesus, that seems like days ago to me. OK, but we still need 'em for the rest of the afternoon. We don't know when the cops will find him, or when Hargrove will get called in, but when he does he'll come after us. That much I'm sure of; and he'll try to place us here today.'
âWe can't alibi each other,' Jerry said. âBelieve me, I know that never works.'
âWe've got some people we can ask,' I said. âLet me work out the details. You go to the horse book and make sure you're seen.'
âHave you seen me, Mr G?' he asked, spreading his hands.
âYeah, you're right. Mount Rushmore would have more trouble bein' seen.'
We got out of the car and started toward the casino, but I put my hand on his arm.
âNot the front door,' I said. âWe don't want some valet or bell boy tellin' the cops when we came walkin' in.'
âGood thinkin'.'
We went behind the casino and entered that way. In fact, Jerry was able to veer off and go right to the horse book with a âSee ya later.'
âStay there until I come for you,' I said. âWe don't wanna talk to anybody until we have alibis for today.'
He nodded and I went into the casino.
I had a few choices for alibis. I could ask Bing, Frank, Dean or Jack Entratter. However, first I had to find out who was still around. Even if Frank had left, it would take the cops a while to check with him, because he'd be in Palm Springs.
When I got to Jack's office, like the day before, he wasn't there. The girl looked at me.
âStill trying to catch that slot granny at it,' she said, with a shrug.
âGot it,' I said. âThanks.'
Probably the most civil exchange of words we'd ever had. We were practically dating.
Jack saw me coming, but then frowned at the old lady.
âBack today?' I asked.
âShe's been at it for days,' he said. âI know it's only nickels, but it's the principal of the thing. I
know
she's cheatin'.'
know
she's cheatin'.'
âWell, I need to talk to you. It's important.'
âWhere?' he asked.
âSomeplace where it's just the two of us.'
âThere's no game in the VIP room,' he said. âLet's go there.'
The Sands had a room in the back that was reserved for big money private games. This was where Jack Entratter treated his âwhales' to whatever kind of game they wanted.
The silence in the room fell over us like a blanket. That was good. I had the feeling if he could hear the nickels striking the tray I'd lose him.
I told him about finding Philip Arnold's body. Told him how, when, where, and what we did. I'll give him credit. He could have blown his top, but he listened intently.
âSo where's Jerry?'
âIn the horse book.'
âYou both need alibis for today.'
âRight.'
âYou didn't do nothin,' he said, âbut you need alibis. Well, you did break into the man's house. That broken glass is gonna be blamed on the killer.'
âHopefully. We wiped away any fingerprints.'
âAll right,' he said, scratching his head. âWho'd you have in mind? Me?'
âWell, I work for you. I was thinkin' maybe Frank or Dean.'
âFrank left with Junior today,' he said. âDean's leavin' tomorrow.'
âBing?'
âHe can't leave until the police tell him,' he said, thoughtfully. âWe need two people, one for you, one for Jerry.'
âI could ask Dean.'
âWhat about your P.I. buddy? That wouldn't surprise anybody.'
âI haven't talked to him since yesterday when we split up. He's been working the trainer's death, but we could work somethin' out, I guess.'
âYou and Jerry can't alibi each other,' he said. âHargrove wouldn't go for that.'
âNo, he wouldn't.'
âWhat about Mack Gray? You could talk to Dino about using Mack for Jerry.'
âThat's good,' I said.
âNo,' he said, âthey'd wanna know where they went, they'd expect people to remember two guys like them.'
âThey can say they stayed in and watched some movies, had some beers.'
âMovies?'
âJerry likes them, and Mack's been in some.'
He thought a moment, then said, âOK. That'd take care of Jerry for last night. What about today?'
âHorse book,' I said. âCasino. He and I were in the Dunes earlier.'
âOK, that's good. Somebody there will remember seein' him. Now how about you?'
âI'll use Dino or Danny, whoever it works better with.'
âYou need a girlfriend, Eddie,' Jack said.
âYeah, Hargrove would buy that in a minute.'
âWell,' Jack said, âget busy tonight, maybe even work your pit. It'd be good if you were working when the cops came to talk to you.'
âYeah, OK,' I said. âI've been gettin' itchy to work, anyway.'
âOr maybe you can help me catch this slot granny at her game,' he said.
âI'll give it a try.'
SIXTY-TWO
I couldn't see it.
It looked to me like granny was just lucky. It was odd but she just kept hitting jackpots. I recommended we take her in the back and sweat it out of her.
âThat's what we'd do to somebody we thought was cheatin' at one of my tables, right?' I asked him.
âWe can't do that to an old lady, Eddie,' Jack said. âBelieve me, I thought about it already.'
âWell, I don't know what she's doin',' I said. âI've gotta go.'
âWhere are you off to?'
âI'm gonna drop in on Adrienne again and see if I can squeeze the truth out of her,' I explained. âI've got more of a handle on her now that I know she's a blackjack player.'
âYou takin' Jerry with you?'
âNot this time.'
âOK, I'll put him and Mack Gray together. Let them work out their song and dance.'
As I starred from the room he said, âWork out your alibi first; and let me know!'
I called Dino's suite and Mack answered. I told him what we needed and he said if it was OK with Dino it was OK with him. He checked with his boss and got the OK. He said he'd be right down.
I met him in the lobby and took him to the horse book. We figured he and Jerry would stay there a few hours, play some horses, have a few drinks. When the cops asked around in there, people would say yeah, they saw the two big guys in there playing horses. Maybe they'd be a little vague about the time.
I called Danny's office from a desk phone and Penny answered.
âHe's been in and out since you left yesterday, Eddie,' she said. âHe's still working on the murder of that trainer.'
âHas he found anything yet?'
âHe went back to the hotel. He's working the building and the area. What do you need? Can I help?'
I told her what had happened because I trusted Penny. She listened without comment, then said, âSo you want Danny to alibi you?'
âThat's it.'
âHargrove won't buy that,' she said. âHe'll just think your friend is covering up for you.'
âMy other choice is Dean Martin, but the cops'll think the same thing.'
âYou have another choice.'
âWhat's that?'
âMe.'
âPenny,' I said, âDanny'll kill me . . .'
âI'll clear it with him,' she said. âAnd I only come into play if and when the cops ask.'
âOh don't worry,' I said. âThey'll ask.'
âOK, then,' she said. âJust tell me what we were doing all night and all day . . . as if I don't know . . .'
Alibi set up, I left the Sands and got to drive my own car, for a change. I drove to Adrienne's building first and talked to the same doorman.
âHey, man,' he said. âYou find her?'
âI did, thanks,' I said. âShe told me to drop by later, though, so here I am.'
âYou're in luck,' he said. âShe came in about an hour ago. I think she's gonna recharge her battery and then get back to it.'
âWhat apartment is she in?'
âShe didn't tell you?'
âShe did,' I said, âbut you know us gamblers.' I pointed to my head. âLots of numbers.'
âTell me about it.'
âIf you don't wanna tell me her apartment just call her and tell her I'm here.' I took out a ten, folded it up and held it out to him. âBut I really would like to surprise her.'
âI thought you said she told you to come by?'
âShe did,' I said, âbut I didn't call ahead to say when.' I took out a second ten.
âOK sure, man,' he said, taking the money. âSix F.'
âThanks.'
In the elevator I started to worry. If there was a body waiting for me in her apartment, I had just hung myself out to dry. The doorman would definitely remember me and Jerry from earlier today, and remember me and my twenty dollars now.
I just had to hope she was alive.
I knocked on her door and held my breath. I released when she opened the door. She was wearing a robe, and her hair was wet, so she was fresh from a shower or bath.
âCome on in,' she said. She didn't seem surprised I was there. I wondered if she had already heard about Philip? If not I wondered if I should tell her and then question her, or question her and then tell her.
SIXTY-THREE
âWould you like a drink?' she asked.
The apartment was very large, but still could have fit into a Sands suite. She went into the kitchen and opened the freezer.
âSure.'
âYou like vodka?' she asked. âI keep it really cold.'
âThat's fine.'
She set the bottle on the counter, then opened the frig itself.
âI love fruit juice with it,' she said. âGrapefruit, cranberry or orange?'
âOrange.'
She made me a screwdriver and then added cranberry juice to her glass. She came around the counter, out of the kitchen, and handed me my drink.
âHere's to truth,' she said. âI assume that's what you're here for.'
âThe whole truth and nothin' but,' I said, and we clinked glasses.
How we ended up in bed is still fuzzy to me.
Somehow, with the gambling addiction, Adrienne seemed a little more real to me. Before that she was different from the other girls in Vegas, something I hadn't seen before, outside of my world. Somehow, that had made her both desirable and unattainable. But when her feet of clay showed she came crashing back down to earth, where I lived.
And we ended up in bed, rolling around with our feet of clay tangled up . . .
She lit a cigarette and blew smoke at the ceiling.
âYou want one?' she asked.
âNo, thanks,' I said, lying on my back. âI used to smoke when I was a kid, but I quit.'
âI'd like to quit, too.'
I turned my head and looked at her. She was sitting up with her back against the headboard. Her red hair was down, covering her shoulders and partially hiding her pale breasts. She had her left arm folded beneath her breasts, the other hand up, holding the cigarette. Her lipstick had been rubbed off, and her eye make-up smudged. The room smelled like sex.
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