Authors: Robert Randisi

I'm a Fool to Kill You (27 page)

BOOK: I'm a Fool to Kill You

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âYeah, well, they can't be very good men, can they? I mean, I'm just a casino pit boss, yet I have three of their rings right here.' I picked up the others, held them all in my palm and rattled them at him. I noticed there was a line of Momo's sauce down the side of the jar that had made a small pool on the desk.

âGive them to me!' Napolitano said, his eyes flashing.

âYeah, sure, here ya go,' I said, tossing them to him.

He put his hands out to catch them. As he did I grabbed the jar of sauce, flipped the lid off and tossed the contents into Napolitano's face.

His two men were stunned by the move, didn't know where to look or what to do. They did release the girl's arms and she slid to the floor, unable to stand.

Jack had opened his top drawer when I moved and grabbed his gun. At the same time I pulled Ava's little gun out of my pocket.

Jack stood up, extended his gun and fired twice at Napolitano's men. The sound was deafening within the confines of the office.

I moved in on Napolitano, who was still wiping sauce from his eyes. I jammed the barrel of Ava's gun right under his chin.

âEddie! Don't!' Jack shouted. He obviously thought I was going to pull the trigger.

Napolitano dropped his hands and looked at me from behind a marinara mask.

âGo ahead, pull the trigger. I am done, anyway. If you don't kill me I'll keep going after the woman, and you.'

âI don't think so, Napolitano,' Jack said. âFor one thing I don't think you've got many more men.'

âFor another, I'm still gonna prove that Ava Gardner didn't kill your son,' I said.

âThen who did?'

âThat's what I'm gonna find out.'

âAs well as who the traitor in my house is,' Entratter said.

âThat I will not tell you,' Napolitano said. He licked some sauce from his chin. âWhat is this?' he demanded.

âSam Giancana's marinara sauce,' I said. âYou owe me a new jar.'

SEVENTY-THREE

J
ack had to call the cops.

I had no choice but to stay and wait for them. Napolitano was sure to tell Hargrove I was there, and then he'd be looking for me â again.

Jack took his girl out to her desk, made her sit down and gave her a small brandy. She insisted she was fine and he told her she was a trooper.

I kept Napolitano company until Hargrove arrived with three uniforms and they took him into custody.

âWhat is all this?' Hargrove asked, looking at the orange stains on Napolitano and the floor. âIt doesn't look like blood.'

âMarinara,' I said.

âHow the hellâ'

âWe'll tell you the whole story,' Entratter said, coming back into the room.

âYou two?' Hargrove asked, folding his arms. âThat will be a switch.'

âWhere's Ava Gardner?' Hargrove asked.

âShe's someplace safe.'

âWith your buddy Jerry?'

âNo, with my buddy Danny.'

âHmph, Bardini.' He was almost less of a fan of Danny's than he was of me. âWell, I'm going to have to talk to her.'

âHave to, or want to, Detective?' I asked.

âI ain't a starry eyed movie fan, Eddie,' he said. âI'm just tryin' to do my job.'

âOK, but I can't tell you where she is. I'll bring her to your office.'

He was about to object, but I'm sure what went through his mind at that moment was having Ava Gardner show up at the police station, asking for him.

âOK,' he said. âToday.'

âSure.'

âI got a statement from your secretary, Mr Entratter,' Hargrove said. âShe's pretty shook up. You might want to send her home.'

âYeah, I'll do that,' Jack said.

âAnd I'll need you to come to headquarters with me,' he said. âAs long as you're stickin' to the story that you pulled the trigger.'

âI did pull the trigger,' Jack said.

Hargrove looked at me.

âI threw the sauce,' I told him.

When I picked Jerry up he said, âYou got sauce on your sleeve.'

Leave it to him to immediately recognize the red stuff for what it was.

âCome on, I'll tell you about it in the car.'

By the time we arrived at Penny's I had filled him in. Now I was going to have to repeat it for Danny, Ava and Penny.

âThat was pretty smart,' Jerry said, as we got out. âAnd lucky.'

âI know,' I said. âAbout the lucky part, I mean.'

We went up to Penny's place and she opened the door.

âThank God,' she said. âWe're losing all our money in gin.'

âI shoulda warned ya not to play with her,' Jerry said.

âHey, look who's back!' Danny said, from the kitchen table.

âHow did everything go?' Ava asked.

âActually, it went pretty good,' I said. âWe got Napolitano.'

âHow'd you manage that?' Danny asked.

I told them the story. Ava actually laughed when I got to the part about throwing the jar of sauce.

âSo that's what's on your sleeve,' Danny said.

âI spotted it right away,' Jerry said, proudly.

âYou would,' Danny said.

âSo it's over?' Ava asked. âNapolitano is the one who's been trying to have me killed?'

âHe's the one,' I said, âbut we still don't know who killed his son.'

âHow about Giancana?' Danny asked.

I frowned.

âThat would mean he was willing to let Ava take the blame,' I said. âSince Frank's his friend, would he do that?'

âThat animal always hated me,' she said. âProbably because I hated him. I can believe he'd let me take the rap.'

âI guess that makes sense,' I said.

âCan't prove it, though,' Danny said. âMaybe you can get Giancana to admit it to you, but you still wouldn't be able to prove it.'

âYou could tell Mr S.,' Jerry said.

They all looked at him.

âI mean, then he'd have to explain himself to Mr S.,' the big guy said.

We all thought that over for a few moments, and then Ava broke the silence.

âAs much as I used to try to get Frank to dump Momo,' she said, âI don't like that idea.'

âWhy not?' I asked.

âIt would hurt Frank to know what Momo did,' she said. âAnd like Danny says, we don't have proof.'

âOK' I said, ânobody says anything to Frank.'

âSo what do we do now?' Penny asked.

âThe cops want to talk to you, Ava,' I said. âThey want me to bring you to headquarters.'

âWhat should I tell them?'

âAlmost the truth,' I said.

âHow much is almost?' she asked.

âI'll coach you on the way.'

SEVENTY-FOUR

H
argrove was a damned liar.

When Ava Gardner walked in he jumped to his feet and gushed.

âWe can use my Lieutenant's office,' he told us. âCan I get you something? Coffee? Tea?'

âNo,' she said. âI'm fine.'

âI'll have some coffee,' I said.

âForget it!' Hargrove said. âAnd you stay out here while Miss Gardner and I have a talk.'

She looked at me and said, âI'll be all right.'

There was no reason why she shouldn't be all right. We had all coached her on the way. I had left Danny and Jerry off at a bar down the block. I didn't remember if the two of them had ever spent anytime together, alone. I hoped they would get along.

Hargrove closed the door of his Lieutenant's office, leaving him and Ava alone. Entratter was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he had made his statement and gone home. Of course, he could have been in a cell. I had no idea if the gun he'd used in his office was registered or not. Meanwhile, Danny was going back to his office after dropping Jerry off at the Sands.

I sat in the chair next to Hargrove's desk. On the desk I saw a plastic evidence bag with the two silver snake rings, and the gold one.

If Entratter was back at the Sands he was probably already looking for the man Napolitano had somehow inserted in to his Sands staff. It was because of that man I still wouldn't be able to take Ava back to the Sands when Hargrove was done with her.

I spotted a coffee pot across the room, so I got up and poured myself a cup. Nobody tried to stop me. I went back to Hargrove's desk and sat down. His partner came over and sat at the desk closest to me.

âSo, what happened to Hargrove's other partner?'

âThe negro?' he asked. âHe's moved on to other employment.'

I guess if I cared I would have asked what that meant.

âYou're supposed to be a pretty big shot in this town,' he said.

âI'm just a casino pit boss.'

âThat's not what Hargrove says.'

âHargrove isn't the detective he thinks he is.'

âI'll tell him you said so,' he said, with a grin.

âPlease do.'

He applied himself to some paperwork on his desk and I drank my coffee, staring at his right hand.

After about half an hour the office door opened and Hargrove came out with Ava.

âThank you for your statement, Miss Gardner.'

She smiled at him and said, âAlways my pleasure to spend time with a handsome man.'

I could see by the look on Hargrove's face that he had been totally charmed.

He walked over to me and said, âYour turn.'

I saw Holman getting Ava a cup of coffee as Hargrove closed the office door.

âHow's your new partner workin' out?' I asked Hargrove.

âWhat's that got to do with anything?' he asked.

âI noticed his right hand,' I said.

âWhat about his right hand.'

âUsed to have a ring on it,' I said.

âLet's just get on with the statement.'

âSure,' I said. âAnything you say.'

It took me twenty minutes, probably because Hargrove wasn't flirting with me the whole time.

âDon't leave town,' Hargrove said. âAny of you. Remind Entratter of that.'

âJack never leaves town,' I said.

âFine. See that you and Miss Gardner don't. Not until I tell you.'

I looked around.

âWhere is she?'

He did the same.

âI don't know.'

I looked at Holman's desk. He was gone too.

âWhere's your partner?' I demanded.

âBeats me,' Hargrove said, with a shrug. âHe's supposed to be here.'

âAsk somebody,' I said.

âWhat?'

âFind out where they went!'

âWho do you thinkâ'

âUnless you want to be held responsible for the death of Ava Gardner,' I said, âask!'

SEVENTY-FIVE

H
argrove came back into the squad room.

âAn officer saw Holman leaving with Miss Gardner.'

âDoes he know where they went?'

âNo.'

âDamn it!'

âWhat's this about, Eddie?' he demanded.

âCome on,' I said, âI'll explain on the way.' I headed for the door.

âOn the way where?' he asked, trailing after me.

âI don't know!'

We were in Hargrove's car, driving around aimlessly, trying to see if Holman had stopped somewhere close by with Ava.

âYou think Holman works for Napolitano?' he asked. âThat's crazy.'

âYou have never seen the ring he wore on his right hand?'

âWell, sureÂ .Â .Â .'

âWhat does it look like?'

Hargrove thought.

âDamn it, I can't remember!' he said, finally.

âCome on, Hargrove,' I said, âa trained observer like you? You can't tell me you can'tâ'

âIt was silver!' he said, suddenly.

âAh,' I said, âsilver like the ones on your desk in the evidence bag? Like Napolitano's gold one?'

âBut Napolitano's in jail,' Hargrove said. âWhy still go after Ava?'

âBecause,' I said, âwith Napolitano's lawyers he'll probably be out by morning.'

âSo even if we manage to save her he'll be after her again.'

âI don't think so,' I said, thinking of Giancana.

âWhy not?'

âWait,' I said, suddenly struck by a thought. âHead for the Sands.'

âWhy?'

âIs Holman a killer?'

âYesterday I would've said no. But that ringÂ .Â .Â .'

âMaybe it doesn't mean what we think it means,' I said. âMaybe it's not made guys that wear it, justÂ .Â .Â . guys who have worked for Napolitano for a certain amount of time.'

âWhat's your point?'

âIf he's not gonna kill her himself, he's got to take her to someone who will.'

âAnd where do we find that guy?'

âAt that Sands.'

SEVENTY-SIX

W
e pulled up in front of the Sands. There was some commotion, people complaining, valets running around. I spotted Kenny, and Hargrove spotted the car.

âThat's Holman's,' he said.

âKenny! What's happening?' I asked.

âSome guy drove up and ran inside with Ava Gardner,' the valet said. âJust left his car here with no key in it. Now we're blocked.'

âI'll take care of it,' I said.

BOOK: I'm a Fool to Kill You

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