Hey There (You with the Gun in Your Hand)

Fifty-seven

We had breakfast planned with Sammy at a corner table in Harrah’s coffee shop but he was late. I was about to call his room when he appeared. There was a smattering of applause as the other diners recognized him. He graciously waved and shook hands but otherwise no one approached him as he walked to our table.

“Sorry I’m late, guys,” he said, seating himself, “but I got a call.” He leaned forward. “You know? A call.”

“I get it, Sam,” I said. “What’d they say?”

“They asked if I still wanted the photo.”

“And?”

“I said I wanted the whole roll of film like we agreed. They said okay, but the price is now seventy-five thousand.”

“Did you tell them what we discussed?” I asked. “Yeah, I told them they’d have to call you because you’re the go-between. She went crazy-”

“She?” I said. “The caller was a woman?”

“Yeah. I didn’t mention that?”

“No, you didn’t,” I said. “Try not to leave anything else out.”

The waitress came over and we ordered breakfast-omelet platters for the three of us.

“Okay,” Sammy said, “the phone rang this morning and I answered. I thought it might be you but it was a woman-a girl, actually.”

“What kind of voice?”

“Young, pretty … flirty.”

“Sounds like a lot of broads,” Jerry said.

Sounds like Caitlin, I thought.

“Go ahead, Sam.”

“After she cursed at me for a few minutes I got some backbone and told her that if she didn’t contact you, there would be no deal.”

“Nobody said you didn’t have any backbone, Sammy.”

“I said it,” Sammy said, then pointed at both of us and with a crooked smile added, “but I’m the only one who can.”

“Agreed,” I said.

He looked at Jerry.

“Hey,” the big man said, “you scare me.”

“Yeah, right,” Sammy said. “I’m about as big around as your leg.”

“Can we get back to business?” I asked. “What did the girl say?”

“She cursed some more, but then she agreed,” he said. “She’s gonna call you at noon today.”

“Noon,” I said. “We’ve got a lot of time to have a leisurely breakfast.”

“And while we do,” Sammy said, “you can tell me what you guys have been up to.”

“Me, I been in my room,” Jerry said, looking at me.

“Let’s get some coffee,” I said, “and I’ll tell you a story….”

The story went on throughout breakfast, and we were still eating by the time I was done.

“Man, that’s freaky,” Sammy said. “So I did catch JFK on film.”

“Doin’ somethin’ naughty,” Jerry added.

Sammy looked at him.

“You sound happy.”

“I didn’t vote for ’im.”

I left out the part about Joe Kennedy basically hiring Jerry and me to stay at it, but Sammy was no dope.

“I hope you’re gettin’ some scratch outta Joe Kennedy for this.”

“He’s payin’,” I said, “and he’s willin’ to put up the money for your buy.”

“Works for me,” Sammy said. “But you guys still have a problem, don’t you?”

“Namely?”

“If Kennedy is tellin’ the truth and his men haven’t been tryin’ to kill you, who is? And who killed the man in the warehouse?”

“I think we’ll find it all out when we get the film, Sammy.”

Before I was ushered from Joe Kennedy’s presence he pressed a business card into my hand. I now had a way of calling him, which, he said, not many people had.

“Let’s finish eating and go to my cabin,” I said to Sammy.

“We’ve still got some time.”

“I want to place a call and get that seventy-five grand. We’re gonna need it, because we are definitely makin’ this buy.”