‘Yes, sir, we do,’ Jerry said. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow mornin’, Mr G. You tell Mr S. to hang on, ’cause I’m comin’.’
‘See ya, big guy. Watch your back.’
‘I always do.’
I hung up, called Danny’s number next. He wasn’t there but I told Penny I’d be in LA the next day, and would call from there to give them a number where they could reach me.
‘Watch yourself, Eddie G.,’ she said, before we hung up.
‘I’ll do my best, doll.’
After I hung up I sat there for a few moments. I needed some time to myself. My head was pounding, my gut still ached, and it was starting to hit me that Frank Jr.’s life might be at least partially in my hands. That made me nervous as hell. But I was bolstered by the fact that, of all the people Frank could have chosen to do this, he chose me. Nothing I’d ever done for him before had ever been as personal as this, and I was determined to come through for him.
I stood up, shook my arms out, stretched and then figured — with the help of some aspirin — I could get right back into the game.
FORTY-THREE
It came down to me, Jack Entratter, Jilly Rizzo and Frank in his room, first drinking coffee, and then ordering some bourbon from room service. I took the opportunity to tell Frank about Jerry meeting us in the morning.
‘That’s good,’ he said. ‘I want him to make sure the exchange goes down perfect, and you get back safe.’
‘Where will you be staying in LA, Frank?’ Jack asked.
‘I called Nancy,’ Frank said. ‘I’m gonna stay in her house in Bel-Air. When we get Frankie back I’ll have him brought there. His mother and sisters are worried.’
‘Everybody’s worried, Frank,’ Jilly said.
‘I know,’ Frank said. ‘The word’s got out.’
‘How’d that happen?’ Jack asked.
‘You know, Jack,’ Frank said. ‘This kind of thing is hard to keep a lid on. I got some calls offering to help.’
‘From who?’ Jilly asked.
‘Bobby Kennedy, for one.’
‘What?’ Entratter said, shocked. ‘What did the boy Attorney General want?’
‘He said if there was anything him or his family could do, I should let them know.’
‘Have you heard from them since Jack was killed?’ Jilly asked. ‘Since they wouldn’t let you go to the funeral?’
‘No,’ Frank said, ‘this was the first time.’
‘What did you tell him?’ I asked.
‘I said I appreciated his offer, but that me and my people had the situation in hand.’
‘You know who he’s gonna think you mean by your people, don’t you?’ Jilly asked.
‘I don’t give a rat’s ass what he thinks,’ Frank said. ‘As a matter of fact, I also got a call from Mo Mo.’
‘What’d he say?’ Jack asked.
‘Pretty much the same thing. If I need any help, give him a call.’
If Frank had allowed Giancana to get involved, the kidnappers probably would end up dead.
‘And what’d you tell him?’ Jilly asked.
Frank actually smiled, but just for a second.
‘Pretty much the same thing. I don’t need either one of them gettin’ involved. I just want to pay the ransom and get my boy back.’
‘We all want that, Frank,’ Jilly said.
‘We better turn in,’ Jack said. ‘We have to get an early start in the mornin’.’
‘Are we all going?’ I asked.
‘Yeah,’ Jack said. ‘Jilly and me, we’re stickin’ until the kid is back home safe and sound.’
‘I appreciate that,’ Frank said, ‘but Jack’s right. And I need to talk to Eddie for a little bit, alone. So you two get out.’
Frank was kicking Jilly and Jack out as nicely as he could. The bottle was empty, so they didn’t put up much of a fight.
When the door closed behind them Frank said, ‘Any coffee left in that pot?’
I picked it up and shook it.
‘A little.’
‘Pour it out, kid,’ Frank said.
I poured and handed him his cup.
‘What’s up, Frank?’
‘Just wanna give you a chance to back out, Eddie,’ he said. ‘You might be puttin’ your life on the fuckin’ line, here. Jerry’s flyin’ in, he can do the swap if you’d rather not.’
‘Frank, I said I was in, and I am. I’m not going to change my mind.’
‘You’re a good friend, Eddie,’ he said. ‘A good friend. If we get Frankie back — what am I saying? When we get Frankie back you got a big fuckin’ thank you comin’ to you.’
‘It’ll be enough for me to see that kid safe and sound.’
‘Yeah, well, we’ll see,’ Frank said. ‘You just might find somethin’ nice on your doorstep. Somethin’ real nice.’
‘Frank, I don’t-’
Frank drained his cup and slapped me on the shoulder.
‘Now get out of here so I can get some sleep. We’ll meet in the lobby at seven a.m.’
‘Seven,’ I said. ‘I’ll be there.’ I put my cup down, untouched. It was cold, anyway.
I left the room, walked past two of the FBI men and entered my room.
‘Eddie.’
I jumped. I hadn’t expected to see anybody in my room, so the DA, Bill Raggio, scared the shit out of me.
‘Close the door, Eddie,’ Raggio said, standing up from the bed, where he’d been seated. ‘We have to talk.’
FORTY-FOUR
I closed the door, locked it, and turned to face the DA.
‘What’s this about, Mr Raggio?’
‘You know what it’s about, Eddie,’ he said. ‘The exchange. We want it to go off without a hitch.’
‘Without a hitch is what I want, too,’ I said. ‘Who’s we?’
‘Me and the FBI.’
‘And why wouldn’t it go off without a hitch?’ I asked. ‘I’m going to do exactly what Frank wants me to do.’
‘That’s what we’re afraid of,’ Raggio said.
I stared at him, but he didn’t offer anything more than that.
‘I’m afraid I don’t understand, Mr Raggio,’ I said. ‘What are you getting at?’
He started to pace, as if forming his thoughts.
‘The kidnappers,’ he said, finally, ‘we want them alive.’
‘What are you-’ I started, then realized what he was saying. ‘Wait a minute. You think. . I’m not a killer, Mr Raggio. Where did you get that idea?’
‘You work at the Sands, don’t you?’ he asked. ‘For Entratter?’
‘Sure I do,’ I said, ‘as a pit boss.’
‘Come on, Eddie. I checked you out today. I spoke to Detective Hargrove with the Vegas PD. He filled me in on your history.’
‘My history?’
‘When you and some Brooklyn thug named Jerry are around, bodies pile up.’ Raggio pointed his finger at me. ‘Why else would Frank Sinatra send for you to get his kid back? Well, I’m telling you now, I want those kidnappers, and I want them alive.’
‘Mr Raggio-’
‘I can’t go to LA with you tomorrow. That’s out of my jurisdiction. But I’m going to call ahead to the DA there. The cops are going to be watching you.’
‘That’s fine with me, Mr Raggio,’ I said. ‘You tell ’em to do their job, and I’ll do mine.’
‘And what is your job, Eddie?’
‘Right now it’s to help Frank get his son back. And I don’t intend to kill anybody while I do it.’
‘So you say,’ Raggio said. ‘Now you take this as a warning-’
‘And take this as a warning,’ I said, too pissed to worry about consequences. ‘Get out of here before I throw you out.’
‘Just remember what I said, Gianelli.’
‘You remember what I said, Raggio,’ I retorted. ‘Get out.’
Without another word Raggio left. Moments later there was a knock on the door. I considered not answering it, just in case it was him again. Or maybe this time it was the FBI wanting to ‘warn’ me.
In the end, I opened it. It was Jack Entratter.
‘Can I come in?’
‘Sure.’
He entered, closed the door behind him.
‘I saw Raggio leavin’,’ he said. ‘He didn’t look happy.’
‘He was here to warn me.’
‘About what?’
‘He says he wants the kidnappers alive,’ I said. ‘Seems he thinks Frank is sendin’ me to kill ’em.’
‘What?’
‘I know. I told him to get out. But he’s gonna cause trouble, Jack. He said he’s going to call ahead to the LA District Attorney.’