‘OK, what brings you two jokers here? Eddie, you’re supposed to be lookin’ out for Ava.’
‘That’s why I’m here, Frank,’ I said. ‘To give you a progress report.’
‘Good man! Let’s have it.’
I told Frank everything that had happened since I started looking for Ava, even though he knew some of it. I started at the beginning so I’d have time to work my way up to what I really had to tell him.
Of course, I didn’t tell him everything, just what he needed to know.
When I was done he said, ‘This don’t sound too good. I’m glad I had Jerry come out to help you. I don’t want you gettin’ pounded on account of this, Eddie.’
‘I’m doin’ my best not to, Frank.’
‘Jesus,’ he said, laughing, ‘I wish I coulda seen Ava holding a gun on those four Clydes. That woulda been a hoot.’
The waiter came with his drink and Frank took a long sip before asking the question I was dreading.
‘OK, Eddie, so where’s Ava now?’
‘She’s safe, Frank.’
‘Whataya mean, she’s safe?’ He looked directly at me and the expression on his face wasn’t friendly. Frank had a rep for having a bad temper and I’d only seen it once or twice, but I didn’t want to see it again. ‘Where is she?’
‘Frank,’ I said, ‘Ava doesn’t want you to know where she is.’
He put his glass down so hard some bourbon slopped on to the table.
‘Whataya talkin’ about, Eddie? She came lookin’ for me for help, remember?’
‘She did that without thinking, Frank,’ I said. ‘Now that she’s had time she doesn’t want you involved. Just in case there’s some bad publicity.’
‘Bad publicity?’ Frank said. ‘What other kind do I get?’ He looked at Dino. ‘Dag, get a load of this guy.’ ‘Dag’ was Frank’s nickname for Dean, stemming from ‘Dago.’ Nobody else ever called him that.
‘I don’t think it’s such a bad idea, Frank,’ Dean said, looking down at his cigarette.
‘What? Not you, too.’
‘Hear Eddie out, Frank,’ Dean suggested, quietly.
I had seen Dean’s brand of ‘quiet cool’ calm Frank down before, and it was having that effect now.
‘OK, kid,’ he said to me, making a show of sitting back in his chair, ‘pitch.’
As I started talking I was aware that my mouth was going a mile a minute. I had to make a good case for this or it just wasn’t going to work.
‘You wanted me to help Ava, Frank. That’s what I’m doin’. I’ve got Danny Bardini on it and we’re gonna find out what happened during those forty hours. If it’s something bad and she needs a lawyer, you’re the first guy we’re gonna call. But if it’s not somethin’ you can help with, then Ava doesn’t want any mud gettin’ slung on to you.’ I took a quick breath and went on before he could speak. ‘If you want me to help Ava I’ve got to do it her way. You know what’ll happen if I don’t.’
He stared at me for a few seconds, then grinned and said, ‘Yeah, she’ll go off like a Roman candle.’
‘You got it!’
He looked at Dean.
‘So you go along with this?’
‘I do,’ Dean said. ‘You asked Eddie to handle it, and you know you can trust him. Let him do what he does.’
Frank looked at me, pointed his index finger and said, ‘You got a lotta balls.’
‘Well. .’
‘But you were also smart enough to bring the right back up,’ he finished. ‘So OK, don’t tell me where she is. I’m gonna assume since you’re here, Jerry’s with her?’
‘That’s right, Frank.’
‘I do trust you, Eddie,’ he said, ‘and I trust Big Jerry, but you’re the one I’m gonna hold responsible if anythin’ happens to Ava. Got it?’
I swallowed and said, ‘I got it, Frank.’
‘All right,’ he said, ‘so we got that settled. Now how about we get some steaks, huh?’
FORTY-SEVEN
Dean and I got back to Vegas late. After drinking all night with Frank, Dean had to get me from the airport to the Sands. He pushed me into the limo and sat back.
‘You did it, kid,’ he said.
‘Me? You did it. All you hadda do was say “hear him out Frank,” in that cool way you talk, and that was it. How do you do that? Get him to listen to you?’
‘Oh, he doesn’t always listen to me, but Frank knows I have his best interest at heart.’
‘When don’t he listen to you?’
‘Like when I advised him to dump his holdings in the Cal-Neva,’ he said. ‘I still think it’s gonna come back and bite his ass. Also, the whole JFK thing. I knew he was gonna end up gettin’ hurt. There’s more. You wanna hear it?’
‘No,’ I said, ‘I’m too drunk and I’ll forget it all by mornin’. But I getcha, Dean. I getcha.’
‘You’re gonna have to keep a tight rein on Frank yourself from now on. I gotta get back home. I got some meetings, and dates to play. And I wanna spend some time with my family.’
‘I’ll take care of ’im,’ I slurred. ‘’s’no problem, Pally.’
At least I wasn’t drunk enough to try calling him ‘Dag.’
It was almost midnight when we got back to the Sands. Way past Dean’s bedtime, so he went right to his suite after I thanked him for his help.
‘Don’t mention it, Pally. You gonna be all right?’
‘Oh sure,’ I said. ‘The fresh air helped me, and I’m gonna go and have some coffee in the Garden Room.’
‘I’m headin’ home in the mornin’,’ he said. ‘You’ve got my number.’
‘Yup. I’ve got it. Thanks.’
Sometimes I still had to pinch myself that I had Dean Martin’s home phone number.
I went to the Garden Room, sat in a booth and had several cups of coffee. I knew Entratter wasn’t in his office now, and I could have called his suite, but I decided to wait until the next day.
I was almost done with my coffee when I saw Tony LaBella walk into the room. Tony was an old time crooner, an early influence of Frank’s, as a matter of fact, who had fallen on hard times of late. Jack Entratter booked him into the Silver Queen lounge whenever Tony needed work. I thought the guy could still sing, myself, but I was surprised to see him up this late. He was approaching sixty, and usually asleep at this time. I waved to him and he came over.
‘What’s doin’, Tony?’ I asked. ‘Kinda late for you, ain’t it?’
‘Couldn’t sleep, Eddie,’ he said. ‘Mind if I sit?’
‘Sure, go ahead. You want some coffee?’
The waitress came over when she saw Tony join me. He looked at her and said, ‘Tea, please, with honey.’ He looked at me. ‘Good for the throat.’
‘You feelin’ OK?’
‘Oh, yeah,’ he said, ‘just a little insomnia.’
‘I didn’t know you suffered from that.’
He rubbed his hands over his face. His hair was thinning, once brown, now mostly grey, his face a map of well-earned lines.
‘Only when unwanted memories come flooding back in the dark,’ he said. ‘Then I need some tea, some light. .’
‘And somebody to talk with?’
He smiled and said, ‘That wouldn’t hurt.’
‘What the hell,’ I said. ‘I could use a little more coffee.’
I stayed with Tony for about half an hour, letting him talk about whatever he wanted. He talked about a hideaway he had in Lake Mead, went on about past hit songs for a while, then started to talk about the future.
‘I’d really like to get myself a hit, and I think I’ve got the song,’ he said.
‘Oh? Which one?’
‘Frank’s song, the one he wrote for Ava after they broke up,’ he said. ‘I’m A Fool To Want You.’
‘That’s a great song.’
‘Yeah, it is. I’m gonna ask him, but I’m building up the nerve.’
‘Hey, Tony,’ I said, ‘you know Frank looks up to you, right?’
‘Well. .’
‘He always says he based his early style on you and Bing.’
‘That’s nice to hear. .’
‘No bullshit, Tony,’ I said. ‘I really think you should ask him.’
‘Hey, thanks Eddie,’ he said. ‘I’m gonna do it.’
I checked my watch.
‘I gotta go,’ I said. ‘It was great talking to you.’
‘Thanks again, Eddie.’
We shook hands and I walked out, hoping he would call Frank in the morning and ask him.