Jack of Diamonds (77 page)

The air-conditioner didn’t sing its usual lullaby as I lay in bed, unable to sleep. Over the months and years, I had begun to think I might never leave Las Vegas, but now I wasn’t sure. At first light, I rose and went for a long walk over to the Westside. There were a few people on the streets, mainly coloured folk going to their jobs, and I realised I’d never thought about the hour they had to leave home to cook our breakfasts or polish our shoes or scrub our kitchen floors.

I walked beyond the last of the houses and into the desert, going over things in my head, telling myself that I was a gifted piano player and that my musical life transcended everything else. If I left Las Vegas, my world wouldn’t come to a grinding halt. It wasn’t like being in Toronto, where nothing ever seemed to happen. In New York, LA, Houston, wherever I found myself, I’d be okay; it would be possible to find a regular poker game, even a good one. I wasn’t the best in the business, and there would be guys who could match me in almost every big city, so what was stopping me? A fleeting memory of Bridgett pressing her mouth to mine came to me, but I forced myself to ignore it. Bridgett would want no part of my life, either here in Las Vegas or anywhere else. I had to face the facts.

I walked for six hours and went over Johnny’s argument a hundred times, and each time it made more sense. Sammy was going to want payback from someone for what had happened to him and I would almost certainly be that someone. I realised I was frightened of the sort of violence this might involve if, as Johnny suggested, Chicago gave Sammy the go-ahead this time. I could still remember, as a child of eight, waiting for my father to come home from the tavern to beat up my mom and me, and I wasn’t prepared to live with that kind of fear again. A child’s fears never completely fade, even well into adulthood. Nothing was worth living like that once more.

My mind was finally made up. I went directly to the Firebird without returning to my apartment, so I could catch Lenny before too many other people gave him their version of what had happened.

He was in his office, swinging back and forth in his new office chair, and playing with a fancy new gold pen. Lenny always wanted the latest anything, as long as it was expensive and others could see it and appreciate its value.

‘Jesus Christ! Jack! Thank god you’ve come in. We went over to your apartment but you weren’t there.’

‘Oh?’

‘What the hell is going on? What the fuck happened at the Desert Inn last night?’

‘No, Lenny, you tell me your version. What’ve you heard? Has it reached Chicago yet?’

He seemed surprised by the question. ‘Why? Why should it?’ he asked.

I could tell Lenny was bluffing. ‘No, answer my question first, please,’ I insisted. ‘Has it?’

He’d recovered from his initial relief at my appearance and nodded slowly. ‘There and back, Jack. What the hell happened?’

‘Sammy took a sock at the wrong guy over not being allowed to play in a poker game at the Desert Inn, which never, in fact, transpired. Have you heard from the manager of the casino? He saw it all.’

‘Transpired? Ya mean, the poker game, it didn’t happen?’

‘Yes.’

‘So, Sammy starts a fight at 2.30 a.m. in the foyer of the Desert Inn over a poker game that didn’t happen. Is that what you’re saying, Jack?’

I didn’t like the inquisitorial tone he seemed suddenly to have adopted. ‘The manager of the casino would have told you that, Lenny.’

‘No, not at all, that’s not what he said he saw.’

‘What?’ I cried, startled. ‘What did he say?’

‘The version he gave me is that two hit men attacked Sammy and his helpers, and Johnny Diamond stood by laughing. It was obvious Johnny had set it up, he said.’

I almost laughed. ‘Yeah, two guys using bare knuckles against two, possibly three, men carrying guns – seems like a well-planned attack,’ I said, not without a fair amount of irony. ‘What about me? If Johnny’s falsely implicated, then so am I.’

‘I’ll get to that later. Just tell me what you know, Jack.’

I then told Lenny the whole story.

He didn’t reply for a long moment, then said quietly, ‘So, why did Johnny Diamond fly the coop?’

I kept my face impassive. ‘Has he?’

Lenny nodded. ‘It seems Johnny Diamond has packed up and left town. Did you know he was on with Sue Stinchcombe? It was Johnny who was the secret force behind that strike,’ Lenny said with a completely straight face.

‘Johnny, on with Hector’s daughter? That’s a laugh. Why, you know that’s crap, Lenny. Complete bullshit! He used to play around a bit but he’s been with that chorus girl, Gina, for over a year. As for him being the main force behind the strike, that’s crap too. What did he have to gain? Everyone knows Sue had the guts to run that strike all by herself. If what you say is true, why didn’t Louis Springer send Sammy after Johnny instead of Hector?’ I was growing more and more angry. ‘Lenny, do you
really
believe all this horseshit?’

Lenny sighed. ‘Jack, old buddy, not a single word. I believe everything you’ve told me. But I’ve got my instructions. Be sensible for a moment. All’s well that ends well. Think this through. Whoever does the thinking for Tony Accardo is fuckin’ brilliant. Think consequences.’

‘Tell me.’

‘Well, in a nutshell, Johnny throws Sammy off the gaming floor.’

‘He was acting under instructions . . .’ I interjected. ‘You agreed to it yourself.’

‘Yes, but . . . what’s the word, he was over . . . overzealous! He roughed Sammy up in front of the girls and some of the high rollers.’

‘Wait on, what’s this got to do with last night?’

‘Sammy was pretty upset. He obviously knew about the reunion and waited for Johnny to come down so he could demand an apology for the way he was treated. Johnny eventually arrives with his old war comrades, they’re all drunk and they don’t like Sammy’s style. Johnny refuses to apologise and Sammy takes a swing at him. Johnny’s buddies come to his aid and go too far.’

I could see what was coming. ‘So, Johnny sobers up and realises his thugs have beaten up one of the chosen few and that the Chicago Mob isn’t going to accept his apology. So, he gets the hell out of town?’ I concluded the story for him.

‘Ya got it in one, Jack. By the way,’ he held up an envelope, ‘this was tucked under my office door when I came in this morning. It’s Johnny’s resignation.’

‘Well, does it say what happened?’

Lenny opened the envelope, unfolded a single sheet and read: ‘“
Dear Mr Giancana, I hereby resign without notice. There’s only one Sammy Shishka in town but it’s one too many. Look after Jack Spayd
.”’ Lenny glanced up, then added, ‘“
Yours sincerely, Johnson ‘Johnny’ Diamond
.”’

I reached out. ‘May I see that please, Lenny?’

‘Sure, buddy.’ He handed me the letter. It was in Johnny’s handwriting and, unsurprisingly, he’d spelled Sammy’s surname incorrectly. It looked genuine.

‘Jack, you haven’t spoken to anyone, have you? The cops? Anyone else? Bridgett says she hasn’t seen you.’

‘No, not yet. But I think I should . . . maybe there’s one or two honest ones left in town. But after I’ve resigned. That’s the reason I’m here.’

Lenny jerked violently in his fancy new chair. ‘Jack, Jack buddy, whaddaya talkin’ about?’

‘Lenny, I agree with Johnny Diamond. There’s one Sammy Schischka in town and that’s one too many. Time to go. Vamoose.’

‘Jack, you make up you own mind but, before you do, just lissen to me for a moment, will ya?’

‘Lenny, it’s been six years and you’ve kept your word – Sammy’s never laid a hand on me. But it’s only a matter of time. I know that and so must you.’

But Lenny didn’t appear to be listening. ‘Jack, you have nothing to fear from Sammy for the next month, maybe two. Pretty funny coincidence – his injuries much the same as that nigger’s were, busted nose, jaw, eye socket . . .’

‘Lenny, stop right there! You’re no longer my boss and I take exception to you calling coloured folk niggers. The guy’s name was Hector and he was Sue Stinchcombe’s father – a more decent guy would be hard to find.’

Lenny spread his hands apologetically. ‘Buddy, it’s a habit, I don’t dislike coloured folk. No harm meant.’

I could see that he wasn’t particularly sorry at all, I’d simply interrupted his chain of thought. But I felt better speaking my mind.

‘Sammy’s off the air for a month and his offsider has a fractured skull,’ Lenny concluded.

‘Nothing trivial, I hope?’

Lenny actually laughed. ‘The point is, as far as Chicago’s concerned . . . and, by the way, I agree with them, Sammy’s had his comeuppance. He’s gonna live. The goon with the cracked skull is out of his coma, calling for his mama. The vets have all gone home. Johnny Diamond has fled the coop and is smart enough to keep his mouth shut. The Nevada police can be kept out of this and you’re in the clear.’ He paused. ‘That’s if you keep your mouth shut.’

I sighed. ‘Christ, not again! What if I don’t?’

‘Jack, take my advice; this time someone in the Family has been hurt, hurt bad.’

‘Not just some poor coloured bastard in the kitchen, a father with nine kids to support, eh?’ Lenny ignored this and I knew it would be pointless to continue. He wasn’t listening. ‘So, what about the other hood, and the night manager of the Desert Inn – what if one of them talks to the cops?’

Lenny picked up the gold pen again. ‘The night manager has . . . how can I put it . . . the right background, comes from Atlantic City. The promise of a nice clean envelope with a couple of used C-notes will make him say whatever we please.’ Lenny paused. ‘And, by the way, they’ve both already been briefed. You were never there, Jack. And now it’s even better. You’re not a veteran of the 101st Airborne and there never was a poker game. There was no logical reason for you to be present.’ Lenny pointed the pen at me and looked somewhat smug. ‘All taken care of, Jack.’

‘You know, Lenny, there is only one person capable of putting together this scenario.’

‘Oh, and who would that person be?’

‘Why, Mrs Fuller, of course.’

Lenny looked up slowly. ‘Does it matter, buddy? Nobody’s hurt, except Sammy and his helper and that’s no tragedy.’

‘Okay, but how did she know I hadn’t left with Johnny Diamond?’

‘One of the early morning nig— er, coloured maids in the kitchen told her she’d seen you walking Westside on her way to work; that’s when we checked your apartment.’ He paused. ‘We’ll pay for a new lock.’

‘Does this at least mean Sammy’s going back to Chicago forever?’

Lenny placed the pen down carefully, then spun it, so that eventually it came to rest pointing at one side of his desk and away from either of us. ‘I don’t know, but I doubt it. My guess is that he’ll stay for a while anyway. A few months, then we’ll get Bridgett to recommend that he leave town for health reasons.’

‘Thanks for not lying to me about Bridgett’s involvement, Lenny.’

‘Jack, she’s going along with this because she doesn’t want to lose you.’

‘I see. The best pit boss in America is lost to the industry, but the Firebird doesn’t want to lose their piano player,’ I said, not without a tinge of bitterness.

Lenny looked genuinely shocked at this statement. ‘Jack, you ain’t serious? You and Bridgett, don’t you know it’s much, much more than that?’

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I LEFT LENNY’S OFFICE
and made my way home, to find that the door of my apartment had been smashed in, then jammed shut with a wad of paper. Removing it, I saw it was a note.
Jack, sincerest apologies, locksmith will make good later this morning. We are worried about you. Will you please contact Lenny or me urgently about last night at the Desert Inn. Bridgett.

I was too confused to ask myself what I thought about Bridgett going to the lengths she had to keep me safe. Fuck everything, I was getting out. I’d have to try to warn Johnny that the Mob might be after him, but how? He was on the road and I knew he wouldn’t have left a forwarding address.

The doorbell rang and I jumped, but it was only the promised locksmith. He gave me a cheery good morning and mumbled his name, Victor something, and immediately began to examine the damage to the door. ‘Lose your keys, eh?’ I nodded, too exhausted to want to talk. ‘Typical. Pre-war, made in Japan, burglar’s gift. I can replace it with a Yale-reinforced steel one, the latest two-click lock; cost a bit more, though . . .’

‘Go ahead, but can you hurry, please? I have to go out.’

‘You don’t want a quote? Lady called to say to send the invoice to . . .’ He began to rummage in his tool bag.

‘I’ll pay you myself. Just fix it, please.
Fast
!’

My obvious impatience got him off his ass and I left him to get on with it while I shaved, showered and changed into a lightweight suit I’d only worn a few times, a white shirt and navy blue tie. I’d bought the suit on a shopping expedition with Bridgett after she’d agreed to an afternoon charity performance two years previously for Anna-Lucia Hermes, in aid of the Mormon Missionary Training Centres and some orphanage in Africa. I have no doubt that, at the time, it had important political implications for the Firebird, no doubt involving the mayor, Lucan Hermes.