The Starlight Club: The Starlight Club (Mystery Mob Series Book 1) (10 page)

Carlos nodded once. He was happy to be alive. This was a pleasant surprise
. He had expected to be dead by now but alive was good, alive was a second chance. Oh yeah, alive is definitely good, he thought.

It was unnecessary, as they were rendered useless, but Jimmy pulled Carlos’ arms behind him, wrapped them with duct tape, and taped Carlos’s mouth to keep him quiet
.   Better, he thought, to err on the side of caution. Carlos couldn’t walk, couldn’t move his arms, couldn’t scream. He’d bleed out, be dead before morning or sooner, if the alligators came for him.

Cruisin’ down Alligator Alley, heading back to their hotel, Red turned to Jimmy and said rather matter of factly. “Ya’ know, Jimmy, the right thing would have been to shoot him in the head and put him out of his misery
. It just ain’t right to leave a man in the Everglades like that, with blood an’ all. You know what’s wrong with me? I’m too damned soft hearted, that’s what’s wrong with me. I care too much about people and that’s a weakness I have to work on.”

Jimmy asked, “Do you want me to turn around and we go back and put him out of his misery?”

“Nah. Let’s just get back to the hotel, but you know what I forgot?”

Jimmy looked at him. “No, what?”

“I never bothered to ask him how he knew what hotel we were staying at.”

“I can still turn around and head back there. I’ll find out how he knew about the hotel and then I’ll cap the guy.”

Red shook his head but didn’t say a word to Jimmy.

“Look Red, about this Rodrigo character that ordered the hit on you, I’ll take care of Carlos now and then I can leave tomorrow, go up north and take care of this Rodrigo guy and we end this thing.”

“No, let him think he has us. We’ll take care of him when we get back. What I’m worried about is now that he thinks we’re dead, will he try to take out any of the guys at the Starlight Club? We’ve gotta call and warn ‘em.”

Chapter Twelve

As soon as they returned to the hotel, Red went straight to his room and called The Starlight Club
. Trenchie answered. He couldn’t help but smile when he heard Red’s voice.

“How you guys doin’ down there
? I bet you’re gettin’ plenty of sun so you can both come back and make all of us jealous with your tans.”

“Yeah. We’re having a helluva a time down here. We met some nice chicks, we’re catching some shows
. I got four tickets to see that kid from Jersey, Frankie Valli tomorrow night at the Diplomat and we still have some sightseeing to do.” Red purposely guarded his words. He knew the phones might be tapped, most likely they were, so he chose his words carefully. “And you know the advice you gave me before we left? Well, you were right. It was just a little flea bite so I took care of it. But I’m afraid the bar might get infested soon. I think you should call Ralph, the exterminator. Tell him to make sure he brings his exterminating equipment. This might be a big job so tell him to bring some help. Now what about Yip and his buddy George? Yeah, George, you know who I’m talkin’ about. How are they coming along with that little matter they were tryin’ to work out just before we left for our vacation? Do they have it worked out yet? Almost, eh? And when do they think they’ll settle it?”

“Couple of days
? Well that’s promising. Look, I’d like to time the resolution of that matter with the end of my vacation, so I’m thinkin’ that in a few days we’ll start back. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good to me,” Trenchie responded. “I’ll run it by Yip and get back to you. Meanwhile everything is great
. Frank dropped in a few times and the restaurant’s doin’ good. I still haven’t visited my restaurant yet. I’m plannin’ on doin’ that when you return. I’ll keep in touch and you do the same. I’m glad you treated that flea bite.”

“Yeah, me too. I was told that the flea I got came from the Bronx but there’s a big ole nest of ‘em in Harlem, spreadin’ around
. Gotta’ run now. Talk to ya later and give my regards to all the jealous guys in the bar.” Red hung up the phone looked at Jimmy and said,

“It’s still early
. Let’s call the girls and see if they’re free. Maybe they’d like to take in a show.”

Jimmy called Tiffany’s number. She answered on the second ring
. “It’s Jimmy,” he said and she squealed with delight. She sounded excited and told him she loved the idea. She promised to call him back in a few minutes after she spoke to Iris. Forty-five minutes later, the girls arrived in the hotel lobby, all dolled up.

While seated at the bar, Red informed the girls that their “business” had been taken care of and that he and Jimmy were now free for the next few days
. He gave them a faint smile, not waiting for some sort of acknowledgement, but rather just stating a fact. “We can start by goin’ to dinner tonight, somewhere nice. If you girls have any preferences, speak up because I’ll go anywhere you want as long as the food’s good.

“If anyone’s in the mood for a good steak dinner, there’s The Reef Restaurant over on Las Olas,” Tiffany said. .

Red perked up. “Good choice, Tiffany. I’m in the mood for a good filet. Are we dressed appropriately for that place?
” Both girls nodded in agreement. “Jimmy, head over to the desk and have them call The Reef for us and make a reservation. Give this to whoever makes the call for their trouble,” and he handed Jimmy a twenty.

The boys each wore chic Italian slacks, open neck shirts, Bally Swiss shoes and almost matching, crisp, blue blazer sport coats
. There were differences in the color scheme elsewhere. Red wore navy blue slacks and a white open collar shirt while Jimmy wore gray slacks and a gray open collar shirt. The sport jackets were not worn for fashion sense. They had one purpose - to hide their guns.

Iris gave the boys a glance over and remarked, “You guys look terrific. It’s like you knew we’d wind up going to The Reef because you’re dressed perfect for the place.”

If the boys looked good, the girls looked better. Iris wore a clingy red dress that made her look sexier than ever. Her dark hair was swept up in the back and it changed her looks somewhat. Red noted how pretty she was when he first studied her in the Elbow Room, but tonight she was the most beautiful girl he had ever dated. Tiffany wore a tasteful, yet sexy, emerald green dress with a slit on the side displaying a firm, toned leg. The dress reminded Jimmy of the mandarin style dresses the girls wore in Japan during the Korean War. He always thought that style dress makes any woman look better, but looking at Tiffany, he thought she’d look good wearing a potato sack.

The group received first class treatment. They were escorted to a prime table overlooking the water where there were drinks on the house
. It seemed as though some of the people in the place were staring at them. Red was a little paranoid, given the hit that had been put on him. He thought it was over for the time being, but there could have been a backup shooter. Then he spotted a man he had seen earlier today in the lobby of their hotel. Great, here we go again, he thought.

Iris felt compelled to say, “You know, I’ve been coming here for a long time and I never seen them give anyone free drinks right off the bat. Do you know anyone here? Maybe the bartender or the manager?”

“No, this is the first time for me and Jimmy.”

Jimmy looked at Red and said sarcastically, “Relax Red. Nobody buys you a drink if they’re gonna kill you. They’d just shoot you and be done with it and save themselves the cost of a round of drinks to boot.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right, but I’m sure I saw that guy at the end of the bar and he’s been starin’ at us since we got here.”

“Red, look at these two beautiful girls sittin’ next to us. The whole room’s lookin’ at us, at them, not just that guy.”

“Still, I don’t like it. Stay here. I’m going over to have a little chat with him.”

Red left the group and walked over to the man sitting at the end of the bar and sat next to him. “Do we have a problem pal?”

The stranger responded calmly.

“No, there’s no problem with me and there’s no problem with you either.”

“You just lost me.”

“Yip called me after the incident last night and asked that I cover your back. I took the job, so wherever you go, I go
. If there’s a problem, I’ll handle it.”

Red was embarrassed and a little speechless. “Look, sorry about mouthin’ off to you. I’m a little paranoid ever since last night but we handled the problem so you don’t have to do this. We’ll be alright.”

“No you’re wrong. I do have to do this. It’s my job, so just act like I’m not here.”

Red felt indebted to him. He glanced back at
Jimmy and the girls he asked, “why don’t you join us, have a drink or dinner?”

“No, it’s better I remain invisible. I don’t want anyone to know I’m shadowing you
. Now as far as anyone who might be observing us now, you don’t know me, you made a mistake coming to this table. You thought I was someone else and well, you know the drill.”

“What’s your name?” Red asked.

“Johnny Downs, but everyone knows me as Johnny Eight Fingers on account of having two of my fingers cut off.”

“Look Johnny Eight Fingers, if you’re ever up in New York and find yourself in Queens or if you have any problems while you’re there, or if you need anything, look me up.” He reached into his jacket, pulled a card from his shirt pocket, and handed it to him.

“I owe you one, Johnny.”

As he turned to walk back to the table, he stopped and asked Johnny, “Were you responsible for the special courtesy we got when we walked in?”

“Indirectly I guess I was. I checked in with Yip to give him an update and while we talked, I didn’t realize the bartender was listening. It wasn’t his fault. He was bending down behind the bar replacing a barrel of Reingold bee
r
and I didn’t see him. There was hardly anyone at this end of the bar, but I guess he heard things he shouldn’t have. You should have seen the surprised look on my face when this guy’s head pops up from under the bar.”

Johnny laughed and said, “We stared at each other like two jerks not knowing what to say.”

“So what happened?” Red asked.

“Nothin’. I told him that my conversation never happened, because if I found out he told anyone, that’d be the last person he ever spoke to. He said he didn’t know what I was talking about.”

“You believed him?”

“Sure. He just heard some wise guy talk with no substance behind it. I could be just a big talker for all he knows, but I think he put you at a good table and sent the drinks over just in case, to let you and me both know that everything’s alright.”

Red nodded in agreement and went back to the table.

“Who was that guy?” Tiffany asked.

“Nobody. I thought I knew the guy but it turned out I was wrong.” But Jimmy the Hat knew differently. He’d find out later who this nobody was.

Chapter Thirteen

The bar was crowded with armed Gallo men. Crazy Joey had entered the bar moments ago and he was on a rampage
. Tarzan watched him as he walked the length of the bar demanding names, wanting to know who destroyed his machines. He kept swearing that whoever did it would pay for every stinkin’ machine they smashed, which he estimated to be around fifteen thousand, or he’d kill them all. Maybe he’d kill ‘em all anyway because that’s the way he was feeling. Tarzan hadn’t seen Joey this mad for quite some time. Tarzan stepped out from behind the bar and held his hands out to stop him. He gently grabbed Crazy Joey’s arm and pulled him towards Red’s table.

“Calm down Joey and let’s talk about how we’re gonna make these bastards pay.” Joey liked that, he wanted to find the culprits, and he wanted answers, so he followed him to the table.

“Yeah, let’s talk about how we’re gonna make these bastards pay,” he said with a look in his eye that suggested they’d pay in blood.

Joey’s rage simmered down a bit but he continued, “Hell, I know what I’m gonna do
. I’m gonna kill whoever is responsible for this. They had to know whose machines they destroyed. Do they have any idea of what’s gonna’ happen to them when I catch up with them or are they just plain stupid? I’ve never taken shit like this from anybody and I sure as hell ain’t gonna take it from these schmucks!” Joey sat back in his chair. He was like a tea kettle at its boiling point. Tarzan reassured Joey that the guys would be caught. Joey, restraining himself, asked, “Do we have any idea who,
who
these guys are that wrecked my machines?”

Tarzan measured Joey’s voice and body language carefully and chose his words cautiously, knowing that there was no reasoning with Joey once he slipped into that killing mood of his
. And he thought to himself that this was one of those times that he wished he could lock Joey in a cage until they needed him. Wouldn’t it be great if they could open the cage, point him to the problem, much like the K9 dogs they used in the war, and then put him back into the cage, like they did the dogs? It would be nice, he thought, if they could use Joey like that. Tarzan began to lay out the story.

“I have good news for you, Joey. We do know who busted up our machines. Big Red found out a guy from the Bronx, Rodrigo Cordero, is behind this
. He’s the one who set this whole thing up. He’s hooked up with a black crowd from Harlem and they figure while we’re at war with the Profaci’s, they’ll move into Queens, take it over, and split the territory right down the middle. Cordero’s the guy who put a hit on Red. He sent a guy to Florida to kill Red and Jimmy the Hat and as far as he knows, they’re dead. The guy he sent down there to do the job called him and told him that they’re dead. What he didn’t know was Red was holdin’ a gun to his head while he was talkin’ to him and then Red whacked the guy. How he knew Red was lamming it to Florida no one knows. One of the guys hangin’ around the bar could have heard some talk and ratted them out. There’s also been a couple of black guys that have come in here a few times and they might have heard somethin’ or maybe it was somebody at the precinct who dropped a dime. Somebody tipped Cordero off and as soon as Red gets back, we’ll go pay him a visit and we’ll find out who talked. He doesn’t know that we know he’s the guy who put the contract on Red. He thinks he’s sittin’ pretty. He has no idea that we’re comin’ after him.”

Joey responded ominously. “Yeah, well, then he’s got another surprise comin’, cause I’ll be there too.”