‘Let’s just get on with the statement.’
‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Anything you say.’
It took me twenty minutes, probably because Hargrove wasn’t flirting with me the whole time.
‘Don’t leave town,’ Hargrove said. ‘Any of you. Remind Entratter of that.’
‘Jack never leaves town,’ I said.
‘Fine. See that you and Miss Gardner don’t. Not until I tell you.’
I looked around.
‘Where is she?’
He did the same.
‘I don’t know.’
I looked at Holman’s desk. He was gone too.
‘Where’s your partner?’ I demanded.
‘Beats me,’ Hargrove said, with a shrug. ‘He’s supposed to be here.’
‘Ask somebody,’ I said.
‘What?’
‘Find out where they went!’
‘Who do you think-’
‘Unless you want to be held responsible for the death of Ava Gardner,’ I said, ‘ask!’
SEVENTY-FIVE
Hargrove came back into the squad room.
‘An officer saw Holman leaving with Miss Gardner.’
‘Does he know where they went?’
‘No.’
‘Damn it!’
‘What’s this about, Eddie?’ he demanded.
‘Come on,’ I said, ‘I’ll explain on the way.’ I headed for the door.
‘On the way where?’ he asked, trailing after me.
‘I don’t know!’
We were in Hargrove’s car, driving around aimlessly, trying to see if Holman had stopped somewhere close by with Ava.
‘You think Holman works for Napolitano?’ he asked. ‘That’s crazy.’
‘You have never seen the ring he wore on his right hand?’
‘Well, sure. .’
‘What does it look like?’
Hargrove thought.
‘Damn it, I can’t remember!’ he said, finally.
‘Come on, Hargrove,’ I said, ‘a trained observer like you? You can’t tell me you can’t-’
‘It was silver!’ he said, suddenly.
‘Ah,’ I said, ‘silver like the ones on your desk in the evidence bag? Like Napolitano’s gold one?’
‘But Napolitano’s in jail,’ Hargrove said. ‘Why still go after Ava?’
‘Because,’ I said, ‘with Napolitano’s lawyers he’ll probably be out by morning.’
‘So even if we manage to save her he’ll be after her again.’
‘I don’t think so,’ I said, thinking of Giancana.
‘Why not?’
‘Wait,’ I said, suddenly struck by a thought. ‘Head for the Sands.’
‘Why?’
‘Is Holman a killer?’
‘Yesterday I would’ve said no. But that ring. .’
‘Maybe it doesn’t mean what we think it means,’ I said. ‘Maybe it’s not made guys that wear it, just. . guys who have worked for Napolitano for a certain amount of time.’
‘What’s your point?’
‘If he’s not gonna kill her himself, he’s got to take her to someone who will.’
‘And where do we find that guy?’
‘At that Sands.’
SEVENTY-SIX
We pulled up in front of the Sands. There was some commotion, people complaining, valets running around. I spotted Kenny, and Hargrove spotted the car.
‘That’s Holman’s,’ he said.
‘Kenny! What’s happening?’ I asked.
‘Some guy drove up and ran inside with Ava Gardner,’ the valet said. ‘Just left his car here with no key in it. Now we’re blocked.’
‘I’ll take care of it,’ I said.
Hargrove and I ran toward the front door while Kenny called out, ‘You can’t leave yours here, either.’
Hargrove turned and tossed Kenny the keys.
We ran into the hotel lobby with Hargrove harping in my ear.
‘I don’t know why I’m goin’ along with this, Gianelli,’ he said. ‘My own partner-’
‘You saw the ring, Hargrove.’
‘Yeah, but why would he wear the ring on the job?’
‘How about arrogance?’ I asked. ‘You’ve run into that on the job, haven’t you?’
He ignored my theory.
‘Where do we look?’ he asked.
‘All over,’ I said. ‘You go into the casino, I’ll check the hotel. Napolitano put a man in here to spy on us. It’s my bet he’s still here.’
‘I hate to have to gamble on you. .’ Hargrove said, but he didn’t go on. We split up.
I turned and looked toward the front desk. I couldn’t very well go floor by floor, checking rooms. I noticed Rose was on duty, and something occurred to me.
I walked to the desk, caught her attention and waved her over.
‘Yes, Eddie?’
‘The man we talked about the other day,’ I said. ‘The one flirting with you?’
‘Yes?’
‘He works here, doesn’t he?’
‘Well, yes.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me that before?’
‘Y-you didn’t ask me.’
She was right, I hadn’t asked.
‘Do you know what his job is?’ I asked.
‘I–I think he works in the office.’
‘What office?’
To the front desk staff of a hotel everything else was ‘the office.’
‘I’m not sure. Employment?’
A job that gave him access to employees’ records would be very helpful to a spy. For instance, he’d know what room I was staying in so that he could slide a threatening message beneath my door.
‘OK, Rose. Thanks.’
She started to return to her position when I called, ‘Rose?’
‘Yes?’
‘You said you noticed his pinky ring,’ I said. ‘Does he wear any other jewelry?’
‘Oh, yes,’ she said, ‘he has a silver ring on his right hand. I didn’t get a close look, though.’
‘That’s OK,’ I said. ‘Thanks.’
I left her and took the elevator to Entratter’s floor. I needed something from him.
Jack’s girl’s desk was empty. She was probably still at home recovering. I barged into Jack’s office, saying, ‘Jack, I need your gun-’ I stopped short when I saw Frank sitting at the desk, Jack standing nearby.
‘Hey, Frank.’
‘I just came in to see what was going on with Ava,’ he said. ‘I didn’t hear from you after Chicago. Whataya need a gun for?’
‘Ava’s in the building,’ I said, quickly, ‘and she’s in trouble. She was snatched from the police station.’
‘By who?’ Frank demanded, jumping to his feet.
‘A cop,’ I said, ‘but I think he brought her here so one of Napolitano’s men can kill her.’
‘The damn spy of his?’ Entratter said.
‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘but they’re gonna be armed, and I’m not.’
‘Well, I’m not,’ Entratter said. ‘The cops still have my gun.’
‘Well, I am,’ Frank said, and took a.38 out of his pocket. I wasn’t surprised to see he had a gun. He’d once showed it to me in the steam room. ‘Let’s go!’
‘Frank, you can’t-’ Entratter started, but Frank ignored him. If he weighed a hundred and fifty pounds every bit of it was vibrating.
‘Forget it, Jack,’ I said, firmly. ‘This is Ava we’re talking about.’
We took the elevator to the second floor, where the business offices were. Marcia Clarkson pretty much ran the offices there, and was a good friend of mine. When I entered her office she looked up from behind her wire-framed glasses and smiled. Under normal circumstances I would have told her how pretty she was, but I had no time
‘Marcy, I’m looking for a man who works here. Dark-hair, hawk nose, pinky ring.’
She recognized the urgency in my manner, but she also recognized Frank and it threw her.
‘Mr Sinatra?’ she said, catching her breath.
‘Hiya, doll,’ he said. ‘Answer Eddie’s question, OK?’
‘Oh, uh, his name’s Jeff Smith,’ she said.
‘How long has he worked here?’
‘A few weeks.’
‘Where does he work, Marcy?’
‘Across the hall.’
‘Is he there now?’
‘He was a few minutes ago.’
We rushed out of her office into the one across the way. It was empty. Marcy came in behind us.
‘What’s going on, Eddie?’
‘We’ve got to find him, Marcy,’ I said. ‘Where would he be if he’s not here?’
She hesitated.
‘Come on, Marcy!’
‘I don’t want to get him in trouble,’ she said. Jesus, she had a thing for the guy?
‘He’s already in trouble, Marcy,’ I said. ‘He doesn’t belong here. He was sent to spy on Entratter. There’s a good chance he’s about to kill Ava Gardner. If you know something, tell me.’