Hey There (You with the Gun in Your Hand)

Forty-six

“Half a million?” I asked, after picking my jaw up off the table. To his credit Jerry didn’t flinch.

“Not a lot of money, considering where we are, is it?” Sloane asked.

“Half a million dollars is a lot of scratch no matter where you are,” I said. “Are you thinkin’ you’re makin’ your buy from the same people we’re makin’ ours from?”

“How many rolls of film can there be?” he asked. “Are you after the roll, or a particular photo?”

“One photo,” he said, “but we’ll buy the whole roll to get it.”

“So why would these people want fifty thousand dollars from one man when they’re gettin’ half a million from … who? The President?”

“Who’s your principal, Gianelli?”

“I think that’s a question I won’t answer, Agent Sloane.”

“Same here.”

“So when was your meet set for?” I asked.

“We’re staying at a small hotel just outside of town,” he said. “They’ll contact us there.”

“Well, our meet is set for tomorrow morning,” I said.

“What were you doing out there today?”

“Scouting it,” I said. “Jerry, here, is supposed to be my backup. We were lookin’ for a place for him to set himself.”

“I see.”

“Are you going to let us make our buy?”

Byers and Simpson finished their beers and stared at Sloane.

“What time’s your meet?”

“Ten A.M.”

“When is Jerry going out there?”

“Seven.”

“Maybe,” Sloane said, “we should let Agent Byers go out with him.”

“Is that the only way we get to complete our transaction?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, fine,” I said. “Jerry and Byers can meet out in front of Harrah’s.”

“Fine,” Sloane said. “Then Agent Simpson and I will meet you at, say, nine? Same place?”

“Sure,” I said. “Out front. Jerry and Byers can use our car, and we’ll use yours.”

Sloane drank half his beer and set it down. The three men stood up. “We’ll see you gents in the morning, then.”

“Not going to do any gambling while you’re here?” I asked.

“We’ll do plenty tomorrow,” Sloane said, “with our lives. What about you two? Where will you be spending the night?”

“Hey, this is Reno, baby,” I said. “It’s open all night. We’ll be fine.”

They started to leave and Jerry said, “Ain’t you forgot somethin’?”

Sloane turned and looked at him.

“Like what?”

“My piece.”

Sloane smiled.

“Oh, yeah.”

He took it from his belt, passed it over, then headed for the door. Byers and Simpson waved and followed Sloane out of the lounge. “They didn’t ask enough questions,” Jerry said. “I know.”

“I don’t think they’re Feds,” Jerry said.

“Maybe not. That’s why I told them our meet was tomorrow,” I said.

“Why do you think they’re here?”

“It sure isn’t to pay anybody half a million dollars,” I said. “I wouldn’t trust them with that much money.”

“What if the money man was comin’ later?”

“What if they are from Washington,” I said. “Not exactly Feds, but …”

“What are you sayin’?”

“I’m thinking out loud,” I said, “and if I’m gonna keep on doin’ it we need two more beers.”

I waved to the waitress. When she had us set up I started to talk. I was trying it out on Jerry, and on myself, out loud.

“I’m thinkin’ about the first dead guy in the warehouse, Jerry. What if he wasn’t killed by one of his partners? What if somebody met him to make a buy and killed him instead?”

“These guys?”

“Why not?”

“And you think they’re here to kill somebody else?” Jerry asked.

“If there’s a picture that’s worth a half a million bucks, then there’d be a picture worth killing for. I see two scenarios. One, these guys are lookin’ for the picture for themselves.”

“And two?”

“They were sent to make a buy, but what they really want to do is get the picture and kill everyone and anyone who saw it.”

“From Washington?” Jerry said. “You mean you think JFK sent these guys out to kill instead of buy?”

“Maybe not Jack,” I said, “maybe Bobby. He’d do anythin’ to protect his brother.”

“So Mr. Davis got a photo of JFK doin’ somethin’ he’s not supposed to be doin’, with somebody he ain’t supposed to be doin’ it with.”

“You know, I actually followed that.”

“So how do we find out?”

“Today we make some calls, and tonight we go to the meet. Maybe we can convince the seller of Sammy’s picture to come clean by tellin’ them all of this. We can’t forget that our part in all this is to get Sammy his picture back.”

“So who we callin’?”

“Somebody who can answer a few questions about the Kennedy clan.”

“Mr. S.?”

“No,” I said, “Peter Lawford.”

“That guy?” Jerry made a face. “Why would he talk to you?”

“Because Sammy’s gonna ask him to,” I said, “and they’re buddies.”

“Wait a minute, Mr. G.,” Jerry said. “What happens to us if we see that picture?”

“One thing at a time, Jerry,” I said, “one thing at a time.”