Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime

Forty-five

I wanted to go the police station to help Jerry get released. Entratter vetoed the idea.

“What can you do that our lawyers can’t?” he asked. “Besides, if they decide they want to lock you up too, let them come lookin’ for you.”

“So what do I do?”

“What you’ve been doin’,” he said. “What you planned to do. Let me worry about gettin’ Jerry out.”

I have to admit, part of me was wondering who would watch my back while Jerry was in custody. It was selfish, I know, but I’d already been around more violence in the past few days than all of my life-including a couple of years on the streets in Brooklyn.

The other part of me just wanted to get Jerry out. After all, I knew he’d killed Buzzy Ravisi in self-defense, and had saved my life in the process. I already owed him a lot.

“I’m goin’ back to my office,” he said. “What was all that about with Marcia?”

“Just a few things I needed,” I assured him. “Nothing to worry about.”

Jack pointed a big index finger at me.

“That’s good,” he said, “because I have enough to worry about.Fix this Dean Martin thing, Eddie. I’m countin’ on you, and so is Frank.”

“I won’t let you down.”

Another bold-faced lie? That remained to be seen.

I got to a phone and called Danny Bardini. I told him he could pick the list up from Marcia in the morning and, oh yeah, he had a date with her.

“This the Marcia you went out with a few times?” he asked. “Frizzy hair, sexy mouth, whole eyeglasses thing goin’ on?”

“That’s the one,” I said. “She’s kinda special, Danny.”

“I’m hip,” he said.

“Then you’ll do it?” I asked.

“I’ll answer that after you tell me what it is I have to do.”

“Easy,” I said. “Just escort her to a Rat Pack show and then take her back stage to meet Sinatra.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Danny said, “That means I get to meet Frank, too?”

“Yes.”

“And Dean Martin?”

“Yes.”

“And Angie Dickinson?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “If she’s there … maybe.” I still hadn’t gotten to meet Angie Dickinson, myself. “I’ll arrange for you to get back stage. Will you do it?”

“It’s a sacrifice,” he said, “but somebody has to do it.”

With that done I told him how Jerry had been arrested.

“If he goes down he’ll take you with him, ol’ buddy,” he warned.

“I don’t think so, Danny,” I said, “but I’m not all that sure he’ll go down. Apparently, he’s already dumped the gun, so their ballistics test is not gonna come up with a match. Our only problem is the witness.”

“What witness?”

“That’s the problem,” I said. “I don’t know.”

“Eddie, if there’s a witness that can ID you and him …”

“I know,” I said. “It won’t even matter that it was self-defense. They’ll wonder why we didn’t report it in the first place.”

“Wait until they get a sheet on Jerry,” he added. “I’ll bet he’s been a bad boy in New York.”

“Entratter’s gonna get him an attorney.”

“Probably a mob attorney,” Danny said. “That’ll seal the deal.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Might as well get on with what you have to do while you’re waitin’,” he suggested.

“I know,” I said. “Jack already told me that. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“You gonna be there when I pick up the list?”

“Of course,” I said. “I have to introduce you to Marcia.”

“Was this date her idea, or yours?”

“Why would a date with you be my idea?” I asked.

After we hung up I wondered if Jerry’d had time to arrange for me to see Frank. The only way I was going to find that out was to find Joey Bishop, or have Entratter call down to the steam room for me.

Or, I could just go down to the steam room myself and see if I’d made the A-list all on my own.