Jack of Diamonds (58 page)

Lenny pushed himself back in his seat, driving with his arms fully extended. He seemed to be thinking, then finally said, ‘You mean, am I a gangster?’

‘Well, yes. Anything I should know about? I only ask because I don’t want to settle in Las Vegas and get a nasty surprise.’

‘Fair enough, buddy. Glad you asked. Lemme set it out for you.’ He gripped the wheel and straightened in his seat. ‘We’ll have this conversation and I tell you everything you wanna know; then, if you ain’t happy, no hard feelings, you can be on the next train tonight, okay?’

I nodded. ‘Sure.’

‘Just one thing before I start. It’s a conversation we
never
had. If you’re asked, you know nuttin’. You’re just the guy who plays piano. Understand?’

‘Sure, Lenny,’ I replied, somewhat hurt that he felt he needed to explain that.

We’d turned onto the highway. ‘Now, first I’m gonna show you the Flamingo, or what’s gonna be the Flamingo some day; then we’ll go see the construction site of the Firebird; then I’ll take you home to the El Marinero, where I hope you gonna play piano till we got the Firebird finished in six months, tops.’ He glanced at me and grinned. ‘That’s of course if you decide to stay after this talk. Jack, buddy, I’d trust you wid my life. But not staying
schtum
on this thing is more than your life is worth, mine too.’

‘I got the idea in one, Lenny,’ I said.

He nodded and continued. ‘I don’t deny some of them – my cousins, uncles – they did some bad things, still do – Chicago, New York, LA – but not here in Las Vegas. Sure, my name is Giancana, an’ I ain’t ashamed a that. I’m a US marine, you know that, one year college, then the war. Interfered wid my education. I coulda took a degree maybe. Yessir, master sergeant, US Embassy, London, England – I’m a cleanskin just like you, Jack. The US marines, they don’t accept criminals. Also, the state of Nevada is controlled by Mormons. Nevada gaming laws don’t permit illegitimate business or operators wid a criminal record.’

‘So, the casinos are legit?’

Lenny hesitated then said, ‘Yeah, one hunnerd per cent . . . on the surface. That’s all that counts wid the Mormons. Jesus, Jack, the business we got here, the business we
gonna
have wid the Firebird, you won’t believe how good it’s gonna be. Lemme put it this way, it’s so good we can afford to be legit but not to be stoopid, like the kike wid his head up his ass who’s building the Flamingo.’

‘The kike?’

‘Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel! He’s a big-time gangster, works outa LA for the New York syndicate. Meyer Lansky give him the job of looking after their New York interests when they bought into the project with Billy Wilkerson. Problem is the stupid kike got himself some big ideas of his own. But when it come to construction he couldn’t organise himself outa a shithouse wid no door.’ He pointed up ahead. ‘It’s coming up soon. We’ll stop and have a look, see for yourself the future of Las Vegas. Ha, ha, if Benny Siegel ever gonna get it finished. Supposed to be by Christmas, that’s the big joke around this town. He already way behind schedule and way over budget. This may be the biggest building fuck-up in Las Vegas history.’

‘Lenny, you’re losing me. Meyer Lansky, Billy Wilkerson . . . ?’

‘Meyer Lansky, the accountant of the New York syndicate. They don’t have no godfather like us. He the guy calls the shots,’ Lenny explained. ‘Now, Billy Wilkerson also from LA, owns the
Hollywood Reporter,
nightclubs, some other things. The Flamingo his personal project, but he gone and got himself into financial trouble and Meyer Lansky bought a controlling share for one mill. That’s what it’s supposed to cost in the first place, but now it’s already way, way, more wid Mr Big Ideas Bugsy Siegel in control.’

We’d pulled off the road in front of a huge building site.

‘See, no fence.’ Lenny pointed out.

‘Should there be one?’

‘Jesus, Jack, c’mon! This a fucking building site! Wid building material so short it’s a licence to take whatever ya want. Should be a fence, guards at the gate, dogs patrolling the perimeter, the whole fuckin’ shebang! The joke around town is that the builders Bugsy Siegel hires during the day come back at night and steal the material, then sell it back to him the next morning. Dumb fuck don’t realise it’s happening. Also, like I say, he got some very grand ideas and keeps changing his mind, tearing down, adding stuff, going bigger. We using the same tiling company for the Firebird and the foreman tell us the kike has changed the colours of the tiles four times. You know how many hunnerd bathrooms they got? That’s just one example.’

‘So, is he going to run the Flamingo?’

‘No, worse luck. He’s a gangster. You have to have a cleanskin up front. That’s all the Mormons worry about.’

‘So, who is going to run it?’

‘You mean day to day? Christ knows, they haven’t said.’

‘I take it you’ll be running the Firebird?’

‘Yeah . . .’ He paused. ‘Well, Mrs Fuller, really. I’m front of house.’ Lenny gave a self-deprecating laugh. ‘
Mr Meet ’n’ Greet Lemme Show You Your Suite.
That’s me. I’m doing the same now at the El Marinero, where she’s showing me the ropes. Then we both move over to the Firebird when it opens.’

‘I take it this Mrs Fuller is a good operator?’

‘Jesus, Jack, she’s the best. When we bought the El Marinero, beginning of the war, it was a heap of shit, nothing but a few old-fashioned slots and faded baize tables. They say the roulette wheel squeaked. It was just another sawdust casino goin’ nowhere fast. Rooms like any hotel, bathrooms down the hall. Now it’s rated with the El Cortez the most profitable small casino in Las Vegas. She gotta get the credit for that when she invented the GAWP Bar.’

‘The what?’

‘G-A-W-P.’ Lenny spelled it out. ‘It stands for the Girlfriends And Wives Piano Bar, but that’s our name for it. Official name is The Princess. Baby grand, snazzy decor. It’s where you’ll be until we move to the Firebird.’

I shrugged, still not understanding. ‘So, what’s so special about this piano bar?’

‘Well, the GAWP Bar isn’t just any old piano bar, buddy; it’s why the El Marinero is the best sawdust casino in town and why we finally decided to build the Firebird.’

I must have looked as confused as I felt.

‘It was Mrs Fuller started it, had the idea. Lemme explain. When the Family bought the El Marinero just after the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor we had ourselves a vision. America at war and military and air force bases planned for Nevada. It’s only natural we gonna attract airmen and soldiers from the bases and camps coming into Las Vegas for R&R. A brand-new population of single guys. So, what they gonna do when they come into town?’

I shrugged.

‘They gonna go looking for some pussy, right?’

I nod. ‘Sure.’

‘Wrong! Fucking Mormons. No girls, no whores in the entire state, according to them; no entertainment ’cept gambling, and the real gamblers among them are few and far between, and those who blow a few bucks on the slots are spread among all the Glitter Gulch casinos. We got nothing special goin’ for us. We just one outa lotsa sawdust casinos. Airmen, soldiers, they moving, comin’ and goin’ . . . there’s a word for it . . .’

‘Itinerant?’

‘Yeah. So, they don’t stick around for long. On top of that we paid too much for the El Marinero and we’d hired this fancy dame from the East Coast at great expense.’

‘Mrs Fuller?’

‘Yeah, she’s working at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York at that time, one of them assistant managers, and we’re hoping she’ll give us a touch of class. But the casino’s falling apart. We’re losing dough hand over fist. So, Bridgett goes to Chicago wid a business proposition. Tony Accardo, he the godfather, he ain’t accustomed to no dame comin’ up wid a plan, even a dame with nice manners and a fancy East Coast accent. She says to him, “Mr Accardo, forget the servicemen, go for the high rollers.” She says she’s made a list, while she’s at the Waldorf-Astoria.’ Lenny glanced at me. ‘Understand, this a lady who likes making lists. So, this list is of all the rich people who stayed in the Waldorf-Astoria when she was working there. She’s got their home addresses, every goddamned one. She says she wants to write, invite them to a complimentary holiday in Nevada, all expenses paid ’cept their airfares. Wives or girlfriends to come along and get a poolside tan in the middle of winter. She says, wid a war on, the rich can’t go no more to Europe – Monte Carlo, French Riviera, Paris – so they lookin’ for a holiday nearer to home. Some of the men she reckon got potential as high rollers if they got the opportunity here in America.’

Lenny was away, his face lighting up as he told me the story of this Mrs Fuller. I began to wonder if he felt more for her than he was letting on.

‘But that’s not all. She says he gotta upgrade the El Marinero’s rooms – all with their own bathrooms, then put in a swimmin’ pool and restaurants, and a cocktail bar with a piano and different pianists from Hollywood every month!

‘Accardo don’t believe his fucking ears. In his whole goddamned life he never heard a plan so stoopid. Ferfucksakes, the US at war wid the Japs, this ain’t no time for complimentary holidays, luxury suites in a two-bit gambling town middle of the fuckin’ desert that suppose to attract the rich just in case some of them want to – perhaps, who the fuck knows? – gamble!

‘So, naturally he thinks this fancy dame gotta be off her fuckin’ rocker. So, he tells her to go screw herself, or words to that effect, and when her contract comes up in six months some other casino gonna have to employ her because it ain’t gonna be the El Marinero.’

‘So what happened?’ I asked, intrigued. I was becoming slightly concerned that Mrs Fuller, who was likely to be my boss, might be a bit unreliable.

Lenny continued. ‘Well, she don’t sulk none, she ain’t that type. It so happens that Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel is visiting the El Cortez, where the New York syndicate got an investment. This is long before they decide to build the Flamingo. They, the El Cortez, they doin’ okay, they been in the biz a long time and they got a local client base and they also gettin’ their share of the servicemen as well. Compared to us they doin’ great. So, Mrs Fuller goes to see him. I guess she’s got nuttin’ to lose. She knows he’s a gangster and she thinks maybe his New York Mob could be interested in her ideas.’

Lenny paused. ‘Now, what you gotta understand about Bugsy Siegel, he looks like a Hollywood movie star, and he loves women. His regular girlfriend is an actress, Virginia Hill. She likes to gamble, so that’s why they come to Las Vegas. But this time she ain’t wid him, an’ Bugsy Siegel ain’t exactly the faithful type. He takes one look and then it’s, “What can I do for you, Mrs Fuller?”’

‘Oh, so Mrs Fuller’s young and good looking?’ I asked, surprised.

Lenny, impatient to continue, replied, ‘You better believe it, Jack, she’s a knockout. Then what happened I cain’t say wid my hand on the Bible, buddy, but she’s pretty smart and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. I mean, you don’t gotta be Albert Einstein. Anyhow, she’s got nothing to lose, has she?’ Lenny paused for a moment. ‘Okay, so she uses her natural advantage, and he, well, he’s gonna tell her it’s a great idea, ain’t he? That he definitely wants it for the El Cortez. Maybe he even promises he gonna phone Meyer Lansky.’ Lenny laughed uproariously. ‘In the meantime, will she be so kind as to remove her pants, lift her skirt, then bend over and touch her toes.’

I laughed at the picture Lenny had painted. ‘It’s as good a guess as any. I wonder if she followed through?’

‘Frankly, buddy, I don’t think so. She’s too smart to go wid Bugsy Siegel, ’specially knowing Virginia Hill is his girlfriend. Virginia, she’s a tough broad. She’s also a
bona fide
member of the Mob. Virginia Hill is white trash from Alabama and Mrs Fuller is a classy lady from New York. It ain’t gonna happen wid a gangster like Bugsy Siegel.’

‘So, do you know what
really
happened?’ I asked.

‘Now, Mrs Fuller goes back and tells Accardo the Jews are definitely interested in the idea for the El Cortez and she wants to resign pronto. Accardo don’t know if it’s all bluff, but if her idea works wid the Jews, he’s gonna look like a fuckin’ idjit! So, he agrees to let Bridgett go ahead. Later he claims he’s got some spare cash he gotta use in a hurry because the IRS been sniffin’ round asking questions.’

Lenny went on about the renovation of the casino, and my concentration lapsed as I gazed around me, until he mentioned a Mrs Anna-Lucia Hermes, the mayor’s wife.

‘So, will I be answering to Mrs Hermes, too?’ I said. It sounded as if I’d come to the wrong place if I wanted to avoid women controlling my life.

‘You ain’t listnin’, Jack. Bridgett – Mrs Fuller – discovers the mayor’s wife is an interior decorator. Worked in Hollywood, so she engages her to do the work.’

I nodded, relieved that the number of females I’d have to answer to wasn’t increasing.

‘Like I said, Jack, Mrs Fuller ain’t stoopid and having city hall on side is very useful, especially when we do the inside of the Firebird. And there’s other stuff . . . it’s a connection we don’t wanna lose.’

He looked uncomfortable, so I changed the subject. ‘You haven’t mentioned the GAWP Bar yet.’