Fly Me to the Morgue (12 page)

‘Why would they have it in for me?' he asked. ‘I hardly ever come to Vegas.'

‘Well, you had the misfortune of gettin' mixed up with Jerry and me,' I said. ‘We would have warned you, but we had no idea that your wanting to look at a horse would lead to two dead bodies.'

‘No, that's not your fault.'

‘Maybe not, but it's us that Hargrove has it in for,' I said. ‘That's got to spill over on to you, and that's what I'm apologizing for.'

‘OK, look,' Bing said, ‘I had my lawyer make some calls. He found out there's a family and they're still willing to sell that horse.'

‘Don't tell me you want to go back out to Red Rock Canyon,' I said.

‘That's the only way for me to see the horse,' Bing said. ‘If I don't at least take a good look at the animal, my trip here is wasted. I mean, as much as I like Frank, and want to support Frankie, I came here to try and buy a horse. Is Jerry still willing to do it?'

I looked at Jerry, who had been listening to my end of the conversation while working on some bacon and toast he'd ordered after he finished with his pancakes. He simply nodded.

‘Jerry's willing.'

‘What about you, Eddie?'

‘I'm with you, Bing.'

‘OK,' he said. ‘I made an appointment – I mean, an actual appointment – to meet with Chris Arnold's sister, Adrienne, at noon today. We got time to make that, right?'

‘Just about,' I said.

‘OK, then I'll meet you guys in the lobby in ten minutes. After we see the horse I'll buy lunch someplace expensive. How's that?'

‘Jerry's always up for lunch.'

‘Great. While we're driving out there I'll tell you what else my lawyer said.'

‘OK,' I said. ‘See you in ten.'

‘Ten?' Jerry asked as I hung up.

‘Finish your bacon,' I said. ‘I want to make a quick call to Danny.'

I dialed and got Penny.

‘It shocked me,' she said, ‘but yeah, he's here this early. Hold on.'

‘What's up, Bud?' he asked, coming on the line.

I told him about our visit from Hargrove, and warned that he should be on the lookout.

‘He's got something up his sleeve,' I said. ‘He was way too calm, which makes me think he's confident. Which makes me real uncomfortable.'

‘Can I point out that this time we're actually in the clear?' Danny said. ‘What could he possibly be confident about?'

‘I don't know,' I said, ‘but a smug Hargrove is not a pretty sight, so be careful.'

‘I will. What're you guys up to?'

‘Going back to Red Rock Canyon to see a horse,' I told him, knowing what he would say.

‘Again? You're a glutton for punishment.'

‘Hey, it's Bing's call.'

‘Well, look out for falling bodies,' Danny said. ‘Call me if you need me.'

‘Hopefully, we won't,' I said.

TWENTY-NINE

‘My lawyer said the family owns the horse,' Bing said, ‘but that some of them are not in agreement about selling it.'

‘Wouldn't be the first time family killed family,' Jerry said, ‘over a lot less than a horse. What's the askin' price, Mr C?'

‘Two hundred thousand.'

‘Wow,' I said. ‘This must be some nag.'

‘You remember that horse who won at Del Mar last year when we were there?'

I didn't, but Jerry said, ‘Crazy Kid.'

‘Right. This one is supposed to be a half brother to that one.'

‘Makes him worth the money,' Jerry said, ‘if he's sound.'

‘Sound?'

‘If he ain't a cripple,' Jerry said.

‘I getcha,' I said.

‘Hopefully, we'll get a better look at him today,' Bing said.

When we reached the point in the road where we had encountered the other car we all had our eyes peeled, but we were alone out there. Nobody spoke, but I sensed two sighs of relief to go along with my own.

We reached the ranch at eleven fifty-five, five minutes early for our noon appointment. As we drove up to the house I saw a woman waiting for us with her arms crossed. She was wearing pants and what looked like riding boots, and had a very nice shape on her, from a distance with long, red hair that hung past her shoulders, pulled back into a ponytail. As we got closer, she only got better. The pants and boots really showed off what appeared to be showgirl quality legs.

As Jerry stopped the car she dropped her arms and walked towards us. She was wearing a man's shirt tucked into her jeans, which pulled the material taut over full breasts.

‘Mr Crosby,' she said, as we got out of the car. ‘I'm Adrienne Arnold.'

They shook hands and Bing said, ‘Miss Arnold, I'm so sorry about what happened to your brother.'

‘Thank you,' she said. ‘I appreciate that you found him and called the police.'

I thought this woman had a lot of sand to be meeting us here the day after her brother had been bludgeoned to death on the grounds.

‘This is my trainer, Jerry Epstein,' Bing lied, ‘and Eddie Gianelli, who works at the Sands Hotel, where I'm staying.'

Jerry nodded, didn't blink once when Bing called him his ‘trainer'.

‘Miss Arnold,' I said, ‘my condolences.'

Up close we saw how beautiful she was. She had big brown eyes and a gorgeous wide mouth. A prominent nose did nothing to ruin the effect and, in fact, gave her a very strong profile. I hadn't seen enough of the dead man's face to see if there was a strong resemblance.

‘Shall we go and look at the horse?' she asked.

‘Of course,' Bing said.

She and Bing walked ahead of us, and I noticed Jerry was watching her denim-encased butt as closely as I was. She was statuesque, the boots making her almost six feet tall.

As we got to the barn I couldn't help looking over at the stall where Jerry had found her brother. She seemed to have no trouble at all ignoring it, though, and walked right to the horse.

‘Why don't we take him out to the corral so you can get a good look?' she asked. ‘I moved the other horses out of there.'

‘Good idea,' Bing said.

‘Do you think your man could do that for me?' she asked. ‘It was always my brother who handled the horses.'

‘Jerry?' Bing said, looking at the big guy.

‘No problem, Mr C.,' Jerry said.

I stood back. I knew nothing about horses. Didn't know how to ride them, judge them or – as was obvious at Del Mar the year before – how to bet them.

Jerry actually put a halter on the horse before leading him out of the stall, through the bar and out the back into the corral. I saw Adrienne Arnold watching him closely, and decided she knew more about horses than she was letting on. She wanted to see how much Jerry knew.

Bing walked out with Jerry.

‘Why don't we go out the front, Mr Gianelli,' she said. ‘We'd only be in the way inside the corral.'

‘Suits me,' I said, following her out.

‘What's your job at the Sands, if I may ask?'

‘I'm a pit boss.'

‘That's an important position in a casino, isn't it?' she asked.

‘I like to think so. Do you gamble?'

‘Only on horses,' she said.

‘Well, if you played blackjack and wanted to increase the stakes at your table, that would have to be OKed by me.'

‘I see,' she said. ‘That puts a lot of money in your hands, doesn't it?'

‘Usually, yes.'

‘You must be very trustworthy.'

‘And loyal,' I said. ‘I'm a regular boy scout.'

‘Oh,' she said, ‘somehow I doubt that, Eddie.'

THIRTY

We watched from outside the corral as Jerry and Bing checked the horse's legs, and looked in his mouth. She explained to me that you could tell a lot about a horse by looking at its teeth.

I had noticed last year at Del Mar that Jerry referred to the horses as ‘he' and ‘her,' while most of the other folks around us called them ‘it.' Adrienne Arnold was one of the ‘it' people.

But I had a hard time listening to her talk about horses. I found myself zoning out and just staring at her profile when she wasn't looking at me. Except once when she caught me and gave me a long look back. I managed not to turn away, which I think won me some points.

‘Oh, no,' she said, looking past me at one point.

I turned and saw a man stalking towards us, obviously angry. He was dressed similarly to Adrienne, was also very tall, but was very thick through the middle. Nevertheless, I assumed this was another family member.

‘Problem?' I asked.

‘My brother,' she said. ‘He's not in favor of this sale.'

‘He does look mad,' I said, and as he got closer I added, ‘and big.'

‘Yes,' she said, ‘he uses his size to intimidate people. Did it to Chris and me as kids, and he's still trying.'

‘Get away from that horse!' he shouted, attracting Bing and Jerry's attention.

When he reached us I saw that he was at least six-three, in his forties, which put him at least ten years older than his sister. He was barrel-chested, with arms that strained at his long-sleeved shirt, and legs like tree trunks. His eyes were narrowed in anger, his mouth twisted, but he shared the prominent nose with his sister, which made it pretty obvious that they were related.

Bing looked to Adrienne Arnold for guidance.

‘Keep examining the horse, Mr Crosby,' she said. ‘I'll handle my brother.'

By the time the man reached us his face was crimson with fury, and his big hands were closed into fists.

‘Philip,' Adrienne said, ‘don't make a scene.'

‘I'll make a scene if I want to, Adrienne,' he snapped. ‘Who are these people?'

‘They're here to look at the horse,' she said. ‘In case you don't recognize the man in the corral, that's Bing Crosby.'

‘Crosby!' he said. ‘Are these the men who found Chris yesterday.'

‘That's right.'

‘Well, you sure didn't waste any time gettin' them back here, did you?' he demanded.

‘This is what Chris wanted, Philip.'

‘What he wanted? What do you know about what he wanted? This is what you want, and you bullied him into selling.'

‘I'm not the bully in this family, Philip.'

‘You can't let that go, can you, Adrienne?' he asked. ‘We were kids—'

‘You've hardly grown up, Philip. You still think your size gives you the advantage.'

‘I'll show you an advantage,' he said, coming at her, fists raised, looking as if he was going to hit her.

I stepped into his path to stop him, said, ‘Hey—' but that was as far as I got before he brushed me aside with a swipe of one arm.

As I hit the ground I thought for sure he was going to strike his sister but, out of nowhere – I never saw him move – Jerry was there. He grabbed Philip Arnold's raised arm by the wrist and the two big men's eyes locked.

Arnold was muscle-bound, but Jerry was slightly bigger, and rawboned. He didn't work on his strength in a gym, it came to him naturally. He was big and strong by the grace of God, not Charles Atlas.

If possible, Philip Arnold's face got even redder as he strained to pull his arm free of Jerry's grip. Finally, Jerry released his hold with his right hand, but stiff-armed the man with his left, driving him back. Arnold's arms windmilled as he tried to stay on his feet, but in the end he ended up sitting on his ass in the dirt, staring up at Jerry.

‘Looks like you've finally met your match, Philip,' Adrienne said, with great satisfaction.

Arnold switched his hate-filled glance to his sister. I got back to my feet and went to stand alongside Jerry. Bing was still in the corral, holding the horse's reins, patting his neck to keep him calm.

‘Take it easy, man,' Jerry said. ‘Don't raise your hands to the lady.'

We all waited to see what Philip Arnold's reaction was going to be.

THIRTY-ONE

Philip Arnold slowly got to his feet, but I was watching him closely, as was Jerry. If he charged, Jerry would be ready, but instead he stood there, brushing the dirt off his butt, seeming to gain control of himself.

‘This ain't over,' he said, maybe to all of us, but definitely to his sister. He pointed a thick finger at her. ‘My lawyer says you can't make this sale without my signature.'

‘Then you better have your lawyer talk to my lawyer, Philip,' Adrienne said. ‘I think you'll find I can.'

‘You can bring in all the bully boys you want,' he said, ‘it ain't gonna make a difference.'

‘You can't stand that you're not the biggest, strongest man in the room, can you?' she asked, mocking him.

‘We'll see who the bully boy is, Adrienne,' Philip said. Unconsciously he was rubbing the wrist that Jerry had grabbed. ‘We'll see.'

He turned and stalked away.

Adrienne looked at Jerry and said, ‘Thank you. I've never seen anyone overpower my brother like that before.' Then she looked at me. ‘And thank you for stepping between us.'

‘Didn't do much good,' I said. ‘He swatted me aside like a fly.'

‘It doesn't matter,' she said. ‘He might have hit me if you hadn't given Jerry time to step between us.'

She turned and looked at Bing in the corral.

‘Shall we go inside and talk. I have lemonade, or something stronger.'