Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime

Thirty-three

Later, Jerry told me what happened when he went inside ….

He might have thought he could go unnoticed, but that would only be by men. The place was busier than it had been the first time we were there, and there were girls working the floor. A big, healthy-but-tired-looking brunette in a filmy negligee spotted him as soon as he went in and sidled up to him. From the way she moved and looked she was more than a little tipsy.

“Jesus,” she said, licking her lips, “you’re a big one, aren’t you?”

Jerry had heard that a million times before, and since his preference in woman ran to smaller ones he was going to brush her off, but then he thought that would bring him some unwanted attention.

“You’re kinda big yerself,” he said.

“Double-Ds baby,” she said. She pulled down the top of her negligee so that those babies popped out in all their glory. But even the smooth skin and large brown nipples couldn’t distract Jerry from what he was there to do. “Listen, we got a room in the back-”

“What’s your name, sweetie?” he asked her.

“Catalina.”

He knew it wasn’t her real name, but that didn’t matter.

“They call you Cat?”

“Sometimes.” She tucked her tits back in. “You can call me whatever you want.”

“Listen, Cat,” he said, “I really need a drink. I was thinkin’ of goin’ to the bar. How about you and me get together a little later?”

To soften the blow he tucked a ten dollar bill into the soft, smooth valley between her breasts.

“You’re on, handsome,” she said. “Don’t forget about me, though. You’ll never know what you missed.”

“I won’t forget,” he lied. “I promise.”

I learned that when Jerry was working he had a one-track mind. He just couldn’t help it. As soon as he walked away from Catalina and headed for the bar he did just what she asked him not to. He forgot all about her.

But the bartender had not forgotten about him. As he approached the bar the man looked at him and started, as if he thought Jerry might reach across the bar for him. In fact, he backed up a step.

“Where’s your partner?”

“Don’t matter,” Jerry said. “I’m the one you gotta answer to.”

“Hey,” the man said, “they just came in the door. I ain’t said a word to them.”

Jerry turned his head and saw the two men sitting at a table, deep in conversation. He knew what they were as soon as he saw him. Two-bitters. They wouldn’t last a day in New York.

“They’re waitin’ for Iris to come out.”

“And when does she do that?”

“’Bout ten minutes. It’ll be her last set.”

“And then what?”

The man shrugged.

“Then they leave together.”

“And go where?”

“Beats me. Her place, their place?”

“Those two live together?”

The bartender snorted.

“Those two do just about everything together-and maybe more, if you know what I mean.”

Jerry preferred not to think about what the bartender was talking about.

“Okay,” he said. “Keep your nose clean and you won’t ever have ta see me again.”

“That suits me fine.”

Jerry gave him one last look for good measure, then turned and started for the door. Ravisi and Davis had suspended their conversation and were looking at the skinny girl who was finishing up on stage. The big man might have made it out of the place without being seen by them, but at that moment Catalina spotted him heading for the door. She took offense and wasn’t shy about letting everybody in the place know it.

“Hey! Big fella! What’re ya doin’?” she shouted. “You ain’t leavin’, are ya? Hey, I’m talkin’ to you. I showed you my tits. Nobody leaves after I show ’em my tits.”

Jerry thought about simply going out the door as heads turned toward him but then Catalina asked loudly, “What are ya, a faggot or somethin’?”

Well, it wasn’t that he got insulted or anything, but he noticed that Ravisi and Davis were among the men looking at him, grinning all the while, and if he just walked out the door after she called him a faggot it wouldn’t look right. It would look suspicious.

So what did he do? He walked across the room, put his big hand right up against Catalina’s face and shoved her. She went flying, arms pinwheeling, legs going faster and faster as they tried to catch up with her momentum, but to no avail. She slammed into an empty table and both she and the table went to the floor.

“Yeah, big man!” Buzzy Ravisi shouted. “She had it comin’.”

Jerry turned and walked out of the club ….

“So they saw me,” he finished.

“So what?” I asked. “They don’t know you were lookin’ for them.”

“It was just an edge we had that we don’t have no more,” he said.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I said, hoping I was right.

“No,” he said, but he didn’t sound like he was in total agreement with me.

About an hour later Ravisi and Davis came out with the blonde, Iris, between them. Even from where we were I could see she was wearing a short skirt and a low-cut top that she was almost falling out of. They walked to a car, an old Chrysler that belched exhaust when they started it.

“They’re not gonna be hard to tail,” Jerry said, starting the engine. “Hang on.”

He waited for them to pull out before putting the Caddy in drive.

“These two are small-timers,” he said, as we followed them, “but that don’t mean they’ll be easy to handle. You sure you don’t wanna gun?”

“I’m positive.”

“Okay,” he said, “but this is what I do, okay? You gotta do what I say when I say it.”

“I understand. Just remember, all I want from them is information.”

“You’ll get it.”

“I don’t want them killed.”

I didn’t like the pregnant pause before he said, “I don’t kill nobody who ain’t got it comin’.”

We drove along in silence for a while, following their exhaust cloud, and then Jerry mumbled, “If I was Italian I’d be a made guy, by now.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.