FORTY-EIGHT
Since my house only had one bedroom, and Ava was using that — with Jerry on the couch — I spent the night in a room at the Sands. I woke up with only a slight hangover, called the house and told Jerry to get Ava ready to go out for breakfast.
‘Where we goin’?’ he asked. ‘The Horseshoe?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I want Ava to meet Danny before he starts working.’
‘Great pancakes there.’
‘I remember,’ I said. ‘I’ll see you both there in an hour. And tell Ava it’s time for her dark glasses.’
‘You got it, Mr G.’
As I headed for the door he said, ‘Hey, Mr G.!’
I turned.
‘The radio says Liston KO’d Patterson in the first round.’
‘That get you even with Ava?’
‘Almost.’
Before I went to the Horseshoe I stopped by Entratter’s office to fill him in. It was early and his girl wasn’t there, which suited me.
He had a mug of coffee in his hand when I walked in.
‘Had to get this from the Garden Room,’ he complained. ‘I don’t know where that girl of mine is.’
‘I gotta go, Jack. I just wanted to let you know that Frank’s on board.’
He looked surprised.
‘He went along with it?’
‘Dean and I were able to convince him.’
‘Well. . good for you. Now what?’
‘I’m introducing Ava to Danny and he’s gonna start workin’ on those missing hours.’
‘You better not leave that guy alone with her,’ Jack said.
‘You know, if I did I wonder who’d be in more danger?’ I asked.
‘You got a point there,’ Jack said. ‘How about you?’
‘What about me?’
‘Are you safe from Ava’s feminine wiles?’
I hesitated, then said, ‘What man is, Jack? I’m doin’ the best I can.’
‘Yeah, OK. Oh, there she is,’ he said, spotting his secretary. ‘If she thinks she’s gonna sneak in on me she’s mistaken.’
‘Let me get out of here before you tear into her,’ I said. ‘She’ll find a way to blame me.’
‘Yeah, why does she hate you?’ he asked. ‘What’s that about?’
‘Beats me, but I don’t have the time to find out. I’ll see you later.’
Benny Binion had the best coffee shop in Vegas in the bowels of the Horseshoe. I got there first, ordered coffee and waited. Danny was next. His office was nearby. He slid into the booth next to me.
‘I wanted to make sure I was here when she walks in,’ he said.
‘You gonna rein in your libido and be serious?’ I asked.
‘Is she?’ he asked, with a wry grin.
‘I guess we’re gonna see, aren’t we?’
‘You don’t look so good,’ he said, ‘and I know that look. Who were you up late drinkin’ with?’
‘I was drinkin’ in Tahoe with Frank, and then up late havin’ coffee with Tony LaBella.’
‘He ain’t dead?’
‘He’s only sixty, and he’s playin’ the lounge at the Sands.’
‘He had a helluva voice once.’
‘Yeah. . it’s still pretty good.’
I couldn’t remember much of what we talked about. I thought I recalled Tony telling me something about a cabin he had by Lake Mead, where he sometimes stayed between shows. I remember thinking he must not have been so hard up if he had a place in that area. Just because he’d been out of the limelight for a while apparently didn’t mean he was broke.
At that point Jerry came down the stairs. Ava was behind him, hidden from view. Jerry looked quickly around the room, making sure everything was OK for Ava to enter. Satisfied, he turned, said something to her and let her enter ahead of him. She was wearing the dark glasses and a scarf but, thankfully, no blonde wig. She was also wearing a loose sweater, but tight fitting jeans and flat shoes. She wasn’t Ava Gardner, the screen Goddess, but the men in the room still watched her walk to our booth.
‘Good morning, Eddie,’ she said, in that sultry voice of her. ‘Who’s your handsome friend?’
‘Have a seat, Ava, and I’ll introduce you.’
Jerry stood by the booth. Ava sat then slid over to make room for him.
‘No way, Miss Ava,’ he said. ‘I ain’t built for booths. I’ll sit at the counter. Hey Gumshoe.’
‘Hey Gunsel.’
Jerry grunted and went to the counter, where he’d order at least a dozen pancakes — to start.
Ava slid to the center of her seat and removed her dark glasses. I knew Danny was feeling at least what I was, like a slug to the stomach. Ava took your breath away.
‘Ava, this is Danny Bardini. He’s the best private eye I know.’
‘Yeah, but ask him how many he knows,’ Danny said. He put his hand out and Ava slid hers into it. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gardner.’
‘Ava, please, Danny,’ she said. ‘It’s nice to meet you too.’ She looked at me. ‘Did you see Frank?’
‘I did,’ I said. ‘He’s goin’ along with us.’
‘What did he sa-’
‘Let’s order,’ I said, waving at the waitress, ‘and then I’ll tell you all about it.’
FORTY-NINE
Over breakfast I filled both Danny and Ava in on my meeting with Frank.
‘Sounds to me like Dean swung it for ya,’ Danny said.
‘Dean can usually calm Frank down,’ Ava said. ‘Well, this makes me feel better. Now what?’
‘Danny’s gonna start workin’,’ I said. ‘You need to tell him everything you can remember, from Spain to New York to L.A. and anything else.’
‘Now?’
‘Right now.’
She continued to work on her omelet while she talked. I ate my scrambled eggs, but Danny couldn’t take his eyes off Ava’s face the whole time and his eggs were getting cold. The only time he did look away from her was to make some notes in a little book he carried.
‘OK,’ Danny said, taking a bite of his toast, ‘is that it?’
‘I know it’s not much,’ she said, ‘but it’s all I can remember.’
Danny looked at me. She hadn’t given him any more than she’d told me. It seemed to me Danny was going to have to start in New York, where she woke up with blood on her.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘I guess I have all I’m gonna get. Time to get to work.’
He started to slide out of the booth but Ava put her hand on his arm to stop him.
‘Thank you so much, Danny.’
He smiled and patted her hand.
‘You do everything Eddie tells you to do, Ava, and we’ll figure this out. OK?’
‘OK.’
Danny stood up and headed for the door, pausing only to slap Jerry on the back. The waitress came by and refilled our coffee cups.
‘Is Danny done?’ she asked, pointing to Danny’s plate.
‘Yeah, you can take it away.’
She grabbed the plate and carried it away. I saw her sneaking glances at Ava, but she’d been working in Vegas too long to make a fuss.
‘He’s very good-looking,’ she said.
‘And he knows it.’
‘Is he good at his job?’
‘Very good. I’ve known him since we were kids. We can trust him.’
‘I trust you,’ she said. ‘If you trust him, that’s fine with me.’
She toyed with her omelet. Something was obviously on her mind.
‘Ava?’
She looked at me.
‘I want to call my sister, Bappie.’
‘Bappie?’
‘Her name’s Beatrice, but I call her Bappie. She needs to know where I am.’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Eddie-’ For a moment she worried, or was she feeling guilty? Or just upset that I wouldn’t let her call her sister.
‘You can call her,’ I said, ‘tell her how you are, but don’t tell her where you are, Ava. We need to keep that to ourselves.’
She bit her lower lip.
‘All right,’ she said, ‘but can’t we find someplace else to stay?’
‘You don’t like my house?’
‘It’s a nice house, Eddie, but it’s your house. It’s too small. Where did you sleep last night?’
‘At the Sands.’
‘You need to be able to sleep in your own bed.’
I hesitated, then said, ‘I guess I could find another place — but give me a day or two.’