The Way You Die Tonight (12 page)

‘No, no,' I said, cutting him off, ‘it's very important to Jack – and to us – that you get what you need from this trip.' Not to mention, important to Frank.

‘Well, all right, then,' Robinson said.

We pulled up in front of the Sands and gave the Caddy to a valet. I told Robinson we'd come and get him later, and then Jerry walked his new friend to the elevator.

I
went to the front desk and asked, ‘Any messages for me?'

‘Got one, Eddie,' the girl said. Her name tag said: Candy. She handed me a pink message slip. The number on it was Danny's. Maybe he had some news after talking with Helen's co-workers.

‘Can I use your phone?' I asked.

‘Sure, Eddie.' She flipped it around for me. I dialed Danny's number. Penny answered.

‘What's happening, Eddie?'

‘I just had dinner with Edward G. Robinson, little girl. Who'd you eat with?'

‘Eat? What's that? I've been working late.'

‘I was trying to catch Danny in, returning his call.'

‘He's not here. He might be home. This about the girl at the Sands?'

‘That's right.'

‘That was an awful thing. Can the police really be stupid enough to call it a suicide?'

‘We're talking about Hargrove, Penny,' I said. ‘I think he sits at his desk trying to come up with new ways to be stupid.'

‘You're probably right.'

‘OK, I'll try him at home,' I said. ‘If you see him let him know I called. I'll be here at the Sands most of the night, and I'll keep checking my messages.'

‘You got it, Eddie.'

‘Goodbye, my love.'

‘If only,' she said, giggled and hung up.

I turned just as Jerry came toward me.

‘What's up?' he asked.

‘Message from Danny, but I didn't catch him at his office. I'm gonna try him at home.'

I dialed Danny's home number from memory, let it ring ten times, then hung up.

‘Not home?'

‘Nope.'

‘Then where is he?'

‘I don't know.'

‘Think he's in trouble?'

‘I wouldn't have thought so,' I said. ‘This case doesn't sound like the kind he could get in trouble with.'

‘We're talkin' murder, right?'

‘Well, yeah, but—'

‘Murder's murder, Mr G.'

Jerry was speaking from strength, so I knew he had a point. I didn't like it, but I knew it.

‘Let's face it, Mr G.,' Jerry said, ‘guy in the shamus business, sometimes he gets into trouble.'

Yeah, I thought, especially when he does something for me. A couple of years ago he'd gone to LA for me and got kidnapped. Last year he was helping me and got arrested for murder.

I don't know why I thought this was an easy, simple case with no danger, just because it was Jack's girl who was killed, inside the Sands. Like Jerry said, murder was murder.

‘All right,' I said, ‘we've got time to kill before the poker game.'

‘Then let's go find him,' Jerry said.

‘W
here do we start?' Jerry asked, as we walked through the lobby.

‘Entratter,' I said. ‘He's the first one Danny went to see.'

We found Jack still in his office. Helen's desk was very empty.

‘Jack.'

He looked up as we entered.

‘You know how much extra work there is when you don't have a secretary?' he asked. ‘If she did commit suicide she really screwed me.'

‘But she didn't.'

‘Still sure, huh?'

‘I know what I saw, Jack.'

‘Yeah, yeah … I heard all about it again from your buddy Bardini.'

‘How long was he with you?' I asked.

‘We talked for about twenty minutes,' Jack said. ‘He's very thorough. I told him all I could about Helen, but I-I never realized how little I knew about her. I mean … her life outside of this office. I didn't know … anything.'

‘And why should you?' I asked. ‘She worked for you. You weren't friends. You didn't see each other away from work … did you?'

‘What? No, no, I never did.'

‘OK,' I said. ‘Did Danny say where he was going next?'

‘He was gonna to interview the rest of the office staff,' he said. ‘And then some of the people in the hotel and casino, to see if they knew Helen.'

‘Do you think they did?'

‘Probably not.'

‘What about lunch? Dinner? Did she ever eat at the Garden Café?'

‘Probably … I don't know.'

‘OK,' I said, ‘OK.'

‘What's wrong? Can't you find Bardini?'

‘Not right now,' I said, ‘but he might just be checking out a lead. We'll find him.'

‘Yeah, OK.'

We turned to leave.

‘What about Eddie Robinson? I got that call from Billy. You got everything set for him?'

‘I do,' I said. ‘It's all set. But Billy was pissed.'

‘I know,' Jack said. ‘Fuck 'im. He'll get over it.'

‘Yeah, OK,' I said. ‘See you later, Jack.'

‘Just let me know what's goin' on, Eddie,' Entratter said. ‘Keep me in the loop.'

‘Sure thing.'

I nodded to Jerry and we left the office.

‘Where we goin'?' he asked.

‘Just down the hall,' I said. ‘I want to talk to Marcy. She found the body.'

He nodded and followed.

M
arcy was seated at her desk, but she wasn't working. She was staring off into space. She probably should have gone home hours ago. There was a time she would have gone to the gym. Back when we had dated she had been in excellent shape, but I noticed lately she had packed a few extra pounds onto her five foot eight frame.

‘Hey, Marcy,' I said, approaching her.

‘Hmm? Huh? Oh, Eddie. Hi.'

‘Are you OK?'

‘Oh,' she said, sitting back in her chair, ‘I just can't get the … sight of Helen … hanging there, out of my head. You know, I can't go into that bathroom. I go to the third floor.'

I put my hands on her shoulders and stood behind her.

‘I understand, Marcy. Um, you remember Jerry, don't you? From his other visits?'

‘Yes, I do,' she said. ‘Hello, Jerry.'

‘Ma'am.'

I couldn't remember if they had ever exchanged words before.

‘Marcy, do you know of anybody on the Sands staff who didn't get along with Helen?'

‘I talked to your friend, Danny,' she said. ‘I told him she … wasn't very popular.'

‘Did you give him some names?'

‘Yes.'

‘Can you give them to me, too?'

‘Well, sure.'

‘Good. And their addresses.'

‘I made a list for him,' she said. ‘I can duplicate it for you.'

‘Great. Thanks, Marcy.'

Jerry and I stood aside while she wrote the list over again for us.

‘You wanna dog the dick's trail?' he asked.

‘I think it's the only way to find him,' I said, ‘but I don't want to jump to any conclusions. Let's wait until tomorrow morning and see if we hear from him. I've got to get Eddie Robinson to that game, tonight.'

‘I could start now,' he said, ‘and visit some of these people.'

‘It's getting late,' I said. ‘Let's wait.'

‘Sure thing, Mr G.'

‘Here you go, Eddie,' Marcy said.

I went back to the desk and accepted the list from her. There were eight names on it. I recognized five of them.

‘All of these people didn't like her?'

‘More than that, but these are the ones I know she had problems with.'

There were five women and three men.

‘I thought I was the only one she didn't like.'

‘You were,' she said. ‘She didn't even notice these people, but they all … hated her for one reason or another. In fact, you were different.'

‘In what way?'

‘She noticed you,' she said. ‘Everybody else she ignored. No, that's not right. She just didn't see them.'

‘What about you?'

‘We weren't friends,' she said, ‘but we had to deal with each other every day. So we got along. We chatted in the … the ladies' room.'

‘About what?'

She shrugged.

‘I don't know. Nonsense. Who was playing the big room, who was laying the lounge. What was at the movies. Nothing deep.'

‘So nobody knew her well?'

‘Nobody.'

‘OK.' I pocketed the list and headed for the door.

‘I got a question,' Jerry said to her.

I stopped at the door and looked back.

‘Yes, Jerry?'

‘Why did Helen not like Mr G.?'

Marcy looked at me.

‘You never asked her?'

‘No,' I said. ‘Would she have told me?'

‘Maybe,' she said. ‘I don't know.'

‘Do you know?' Jerry asked.

‘Well, one time in the ladies' room she was fuming about something,' she said. ‘It turned out to be you.'

‘Me? Why?'

‘She didn't think you respected Jack Entratter,' she said. ‘She thought you were … flippant, flaky.'

‘Flaky? Me?'

‘Why would she be mad that Mr G. didn't respect Mr Entratter?'

‘Well …' she said, and then looked at me, ‘she was in love with him.'

‘But … he's married?'

‘He doesn't talk about his wife much,' Marcy said. ‘She's never around, really. They have a house. She stays there. She's never here – or hardly ever.'

I tried to remember if I had ever seen Jack's wife. I couldn't.

‘Wait a minute,' I said. ‘Helen was in love with Jack? She told you that?'

‘She didn't have to,' Marcy said. ‘I could tell.'

‘Did Jack know?'

‘I don't think so.'

‘Did you tell this to Danny?'

‘No,' she said.

‘Why not?'

‘It never came up,' she said. ‘I only thought of it now because of Jerry's question.'

‘So then Danny wouldn't have gone to see Jack's wife,' I said, mostly to myself.

‘What?' Marcy said.

‘Nothing,' I said. ‘Why don't you take some time off, Marcy?'

‘That comin' from you, Eddie, or Mr Entratter?'

‘I'll square it with Jack,' I said. ‘Go. Take a week, if you need it.'

‘I can't take a week, I need my salary—'

‘With pay.'

‘You can do that?'

‘I said I'd square it,' I repeated. I wasn't really positive I could, but I thought Jack would go along.

‘Well, all right,' she said, and started opening her desk drawer. I assumed she was taking out her purse, preparing to go home, but Jerry and I left and walked to the elevator before I could be sure.

O
n the way down, Jerry said what I was thinking.

‘Does this make Mr Entratter's wife a suspect?'

‘I don't know,' I said. ‘I don't think so. At least, not to the police. Not if they're calling it a suicide.'

‘What about with you? And Danny?'

‘Not Danny,' I said. ‘He doesn't know about it.'

We reached the lobby and got out.

‘When's the game?' Jerry asked.

‘Four hours.'

‘We could get a lot done.'

I checked my watch. It was almost eight. This was Vegas. It was still early enough to call on some people. But I wasn't yet ready to start going over ground already covered by Danny.

‘We've got to talk to Danny first,' I said. ‘He should be in his office in the morning.'

‘Or home now,' Jerry said. ‘If he's not missing.'

‘OK,' I said, ‘let's try him.'

This time I used a house phone to call Danny's home. No answer. Then I called Penny's home. No answer there, either. I called the office. She wasn't there.

‘Whataya think?' Jerry asked.

‘She could be out,' I said. ‘She could be between the office and her home.'

‘She could be missing.'

‘I don't wanna get paranoid about this, Jerry.'

‘I know, Mr G.,' Jerry said, ‘but I could go out for something while you're taking Mr R. to the poker game.'

‘Jerry, I don't need
you
to go missing.'

‘Danny's not even been gone twenty-four hours,' Jerry said. ‘Like you said, let's not get para … let's not jump to any conclusions.'

‘OK, look,' I said. ‘Just take the Caddy and find either Danny or Penny. Make sure they're all right.'

‘You want me to ask the dick anythin'?'

‘No – yeah – just bring him back here and then call me.'

‘Where are you gonna be?'

‘I'll leave a message for you at the desk telling you what room I'm in. Call me there.'

‘OK, Mr G.'

‘Hey, Jerry,' I called, as he started away.

‘Yeah?'

‘Are you heeled?'

‘Not yet,' he said, and hurried away.

R
obinson let me into his suite and asked, ‘Where's Big Jerry?'

‘He had some things to do.'

‘Workin', huh?'

‘He's helpin' me out with something.'

‘Well, all right,' he said. ‘Just let me get my jacket.'

He went into the bedroom. Came back with more than a jacket. He was wearing a tie, and a vest along with it. Very dapper.

‘What do you think?' he asked. ‘Is this Lancey Howard?'

‘It works,' I said, and added what I had been thinking. ‘Very dapper.'

‘Yes, he is,' Robinson said. ‘I'm thinking about adding a pinky ring.'

‘I'd re-think that part,' I said. ‘Ready to go?'

‘I'm ready.'

We left the room and walked to the elevator.