I'm a Fool to Kill You (12 page)

Authors: Robert Randisi

BOOK: I'm a Fool to Kill You

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âBy the time they suspect anythin',' Louie the dispatcher had said, âand come in to check, nobody here'll know nothin'.'

âIf I give you a call in a few hours,' I said, âyou can let me know if they let anything slip about who they're working for.'

âSure thing,' Louie had said. âIn fact, when they come in lookin' for you I'll have one of my drivers check out their car.'

âThat'd be great,' I said.

Before I drove out Louie asked, âYou want a better car than this one, Mr Vegas?'

âNo, this'll do,' I said. âI'll leave it at the hotel after I rent another one.'

âYou need to rent a car? Here.' He dug a business card out of his pocket. âMy brother's got a car lot. No questions asked. It's a cash business, though. I can get you a discount, butâ'

âThat's OK, Louie,' I said. âI'm willing to pay.'

âOK, then,' he said, and we shook hands. âLooks like we're in business.'

I pulled up in front of the hotel and grabbed the bag out of the back seat.

âThey're cold,' I said, as I entered the bungalow.

âI can't eat cold hotdogs,' Ava complained.

âI can,' Jerry said, grabbing the bag.

âThen you can have them all, sweetie,' Ava told him, with a smile.

âSweetie?' I said.

âHey, you left us alone,' Ava said, âso we got acquainted.'

I looked at Jerry. He blushed, bit into a hotdog and said, âWe played cards â like I told ya.'

âHe owes me big,' Ava said from the sofa.

I walked over to her. She was smiling, and looked refreshed. I didn't think she had been drinking.

âWhat happened at the studio?' she asked.

âThey're making cartoons and TV shows, now,' I said. âThey're not happy.'

âFuck 'em,' she said.

âNobody's been there looking for you.'

âWho told you that?'

âA man named Vargas.'

âDon't know him,' she said. âWhat are we going to do now?'

âWe're going to Vegas.'

âWhen?'

âTomorrow.'

âCan't we go today?' she asked. âI'm going stir crazy here.'

âTomorrow,' I said, âJerry and I still have some things to do today.'

âLike what?' Ava asked. âSomething interesting, I hope?'

âWell, we have to rent a car.'

âThat's not interesting,' she said, disappointed.

âWe're not gonna rent it from a rental agency,' I said. I took out Louie's brother's card. âWe're gonna rent it from this guy.'

âThat's interesting,' Jerry said, with â I think â the entire second hotdog in his mouth. He had mustard in the right corner of his mouth, and I didn't know how to tell him.

âJerry, sweetieÂ .Â .Â .' Ava said, and wiped at the corner of her mouth with her thumb.

Jerry did the same to his and said, âThanks, Miss Ava.'

âAnd after you rent a car?' she asked.

âWell, actually, probably before we rent a car we have to find out who the rat is in the hotel; the clerk or the manager.'

âAnd how will you do that?'

âJerry's gonna ask them, because that's kinda what Jerry does.'

She looked at Jerry.

âThis big sweet man?'

âI ask people questions they don't wanna answer,' he said. âI can be real persuasiveÂ .Â .Â . if ya get my drift.'

I said. âThat's how it works.'

She looked at Jerry and said again, âThis big sweet man?'

Jerry blushed again, and ate the third and final hotdog.

âHow were they?'

âYou're right,' he said. âNot Brooklyn.'

âSo, when you go and rough up the manager, can I come?' she asked. âI can't stand that little pipsqueak.'

THIRTY-TWO

W
e started with the clerk. Ava stayed in the bungalow.

âKeep the door locked,' I told her. âWe'll be right back.'

âYa want this?' Jerry asked, holding out his forty-five.

âOoh, yes!' she said, eyes wide.

âOh, no,' I said. âPut that away, Jerry.' I looked at Ava. âJust lock the door. We won't be long.'

She pouted as we went out the door.

âLet's go to the lobby. Hopefully, the clerk is on duty.'

He was. He saw us coming, and looked like he wanted to run. The fact that he didn't had me thinking he might not be the guilty party.

âJerry, don't hurt him, just scare him a little.'

âYou don't think it's him?'

I shook my head. âMaybe he'll give up the manager though.'

We approached the desk.

âCan I help you, sir?'

âDo you know my name?' I asked.

âUm, Iâm sorry, sir,' he said. âI know I heard it when the phone call came in, but I can't remember.'

âTry,' Jerry said, putting his big hand on the young man's chest.

âI, uh, I'm sorryâ' he moved his eyes nervously between us. âIs he gonna hurt me?'

âI'm afraid so,' I said. âUnlessÂ .Â .Â .'

âUnless what?' he asked, leaping at what he thought might be salvation.

âSomebody made a call,' I said, âwhen I got here.'

âA call?'

I nodded.

âThat's why there were two men waiting to put me in the hospital when they heard me being paged,' I explained, âonly the cab driver took the call, and the beating.'

âOh, IÂ .Â .Â . I think I understand.'

âDid you place that call?'

âN-no, I swear.'

âThen who did?'

He looked frightened, and not only of Jerry.

âLook, if you're worried about your job, don't. Nobody will know. When I got here and asked for Lucy Johnson's room, somebody made a call. Who was it?'

The clerk didn't answer fast enough, so Jerry made a fist, gathering the kid's shirt in it.

âIt was MâMr Gentry. Bâbut I don't know who he called. I just know he made a phone call.'

âWhere is he?'

âIn his office.'

âShow us.'

The clerk nodded and Jerry released his shirt. He came out from behind the desk, walked us around the corner and pointed to a door.

âOK,' I said. âGo back to work.'

âSure thing.'

Jerry stopped him by putting his hand on his chest.

âDon't make no calls.'

âNo sir!'

âNow get lost.'

The kid ran back to the desk.

âDo we knock?' Jerry asked.

âWhy warn him?' I said. âYou go in first.' I figured Jerry's sheer size would put the manager in the right frame of mind.

âShould I kick it in?' he asked.

âLet's try the doorknob first.'

âSpoilsport,' he muttered.

He reached for the knob, turned it slowly and then nodded to me. I gestured for him to go in. He opened the door quickly and stepped inside. I followed, and closed the door behind us.

âMr Gentryâ' I said, and stopped.

Gentry was sitting behind his desk. His eyes were open, but he wasn't looked at us. In fact, he wasn't looking at anybody.

âJerryÂ .Â .Â .'

Jerry approached the man, examined him without touching him, then put two fingers to his neck.

âHe's a stiff, Mr G.'

âHow, and for how long, do you figure?'

Again, he examined the corpse as well as he could without touching it.

âI don't see no marks,' he said.

âMaybe he was strangled?'

âHis tongue would be out, and swollen,' Jerry said.

I looked at the desk top. No glasses to indicate he might have been poisoned with a drink.

âHis skin feels like it's coolin', Mr G..'

âSo not in the past hour or so, huh?'

âNaw,' Jerry said, âmaybe this mornin'.'

âWe could ask the clerk when he last saw him, but I don't want to alert him yet.'

âHe's gonna give us up when he finds the body.'

âHe doesn't know your name, and if he was on the level, he can't remember mine.'

âHe might mention Miss Gardner.'

âYou're right about that,' I said. âWe're gonna have to get out of here now. I'll call Ava and tell her to pack upâ'

I was reaching for the phone when he stopped me.

âNot from this phone, Mr G.,' he said.

âDamn it, what was I thinking?' I said, snatching my hand away from the phone. âLet's see if we can get back to the bungalow without passing the clerk.'

âIf we can't, maybe we can get to a house phone.'

âIf we pass him he's gonna wonder what went on,' I said. âHe might even decide to come back here to ask.'

Jerry examined the doorknob.

âWe can lock this and pull it shut,' he said, âthen tell the clerk his boss don't wanna be disturbed. It might keep him out of here for a while.'

âOK,' I said, âbut let's take a quick look around first. Maybe we'll find something helpful.'

âYeah, we can do that,' Jerry said, âbut don't touch nothin', Mr G..'

âI gotcha, Jerry.'

THIRTY-THREE

W
e looked the place over, mostly the desk, but didn't find anything. I was looking for a phone number scribbled on something.

âMaybe the clerk knows more than he's saying,' I said.

âI don't think so,' Jerry said, âI don't think we can take the time to find out. We gotta get out of this hotel, Mr GÂ .Â .Â .'

He was right. We needed to get Ava away from this murder.

âJerry,' I said, âany chance this man died of natural causes? Maybe a heart attack?'

âI dunno,' he said. âThere are no marks, but every heart attack victim I've ever seen looks calm. This guy looksÂ .Â .Â . well, surprised.'

He was right, again. With his eyes wide open Gentry looked like he'd been taken by surprise.

âOK,' I said, âlet's get out of here and lock the door. Look for a back way out to the bungalows.'

We got out of the office and pulled the door shut, locking it behind us.

âThis way,' I said, and we went in the opposite direction from the front desk. After a few false starts we found another exit from the hotel. We came up to Ava's bungalow from the other side, and let ourselves in.

âWhat's goin' on, boys?' she asked.

âPack up,' I said. âwe've got to get out of here.'

âWhy? What's wrong?'

âThe hotel manager got himself killed,' Jerry said.

âWhat?'

âIt's probably murder,' I said. âWe've got to get you out of here before the police are called.'

âWhat about you two?' she asked. âAre you in trouble?'

âThe clerk saw us,' I said, âknows that we went to see the manager.'

âHe don't know our names, though,' Jerry said. âWe just need to get out of here before somebody finds the body, Miss Ava,'

âAll right,' she said. âI'll pack. But where will we go? Vegas?'

âNot tonight,' I said. âWe'll get in the cab and figure it out. We just need someplace overnight.'

âWhat about my house?' she asked.

âSomebody may be watching it,' I said.

âWhat if they're not?' she asked. âWhat if whoever's looking for me has already looked there? Besides, if I was running from somebody would I go back home?'

âShe's got a point, Mr G.,' Jerry said. âI can check her place out, see if it's bein' watched.'

âAll right,' I said, âget your bag and let's get going.'

âTake me just a minute,' she promised.

Most women, no matter how little or how much they have to pack, need a lot of time. She was true to her word and came back out in a few minutes.

âLet's go.'

âJerry,' I said, âyou got a bag?'

âNope. Figured I'd get some clothes out here.'

âOK,' I said, âwe'll pick up some things for you on the way.'

Jerry played the gentleman, took Ava's bag and we left. At the cab we looked around to see if anyone was watching us, then we all got in with Jerry behind the wheel and Ava in the back seat.

âWhere to?' Jerry asked.

âI live on Vine Street, between Hollywood and Selma.'

âHollywood and Vine?' Jerry asked.

âClose by.'

âAva, tell Jerry how to get there.'

THIRTY-FOUR

W
ith Ava's directions we drove to the neighborhood, but stopped down the block from her house.

âOK, Jerry, take a walk and see what you can see.'

âSure thing, Mr G.'

It was getting toward dusk as he got out of the cab and walked down the street.

âSo tell me, Eddie, how did you and Jerry meet?' Ava asked.

âHe didn't tell you while you were playin' gin?' I asked.