It Was a Very Bad Year

TWENTY-SEVEN

Jerry suggested calling ‘the dick’ to join us at the Horseshoe Coffee Shop. I called from a pay phone and Danny was there waiting when we got there.

‘Get it done?’ he asked, as we joined him in a booth.

‘Done,’ I said.

‘Those the photos?’ He jerked his chin at the envelope in my hands.

‘I didn’t want to trust leaving it in the car.’

There was no way one side of the booth would have accommodated both Jerry and Billy, so I got in on one side with Jerry, Billy joined Danny on the other side, and they shook hands dutifully.

‘Is he the runt of the litter?’ Danny asked Jerry.

‘How’d you know?’

‘Huh?’ Billy said.

‘Forget it,’ I said.

‘So this is a celebration breakfast?’

‘Celebration second breakfast,’ I said. But my first one had only been toast and coffee, so I went for eggs with the works.

Danny had steak and eggs, while the cousins demolished a couple of stacks of pancakes each.

‘So?’ Danny asked, halfway though.

‘So what?’

‘We get to see what’s in the envelope?’

‘Nope,’ I said.

‘What’s in the envelope?’

‘That wouldn’t be right,’ Jerry said.

‘Just a peek,’ Danny said.

‘What’s in the envelope?’ Billy asked, again, pouring syrup on to his second stack.

‘Never mind,’ Jerry said. ‘It just wouldn’t be right.’

‘You haven’t seen them?’ Danny asked Jerry.

‘No.’

Danny looked at me.

‘He wouldn’t look if I gave them to him.’

‘What a gentleman,’ Danny said.

‘What’s in the damn envelope?’ Billy asked.

‘None of your business!’ Jerry snapped.

‘Jeez,’ Billy said.

‘What’s with the cousins?’ Danny asked.

‘Family tensions.’

‘I’d hate to be at the reunions,’ Danny said.

‘There,’ Jerry said, ‘you’d be the runt of the litter.’

The waitress came to clear the wreckage when we were done, and we all got seconds and thirds on the coffee.

‘So, what’s the next step?’ Danny asked.

‘Just get these to Abby,’ I said. ‘Then she’s on her way back to Hollywood, and we have our lives back.’

‘I guess we should all get back to our lives,’ Danny said. ‘I mean, after what happened yesterday.’

‘Why not?’ I asked. ‘We get a new president an hour later. The government goes on, so should we.’

‘Anybody talk to Sinatra?’ Danny asked. ‘See how he’s handling this?’

‘Entratter found out where he was when he heard,’ I said. ‘On the set.’

‘And now?’

‘I guess they closed it down, for the day at least. I don’t know where he is now.’

‘Mr S. is a pro,’ Jerry said. ‘He’ll be back on the set today or tomorrow.’

‘Probably,’ I said.

Billy looked over at the envelope beneath my elbow and asked, ‘Come on, what’s in the envelope?’

Outside the Horseshoe, Danny asked, ‘You guys gonna do some gambling down here?’ He was looking at the cousins.

‘Yes!’ Billy said.

‘No!’ Jerry said. He grabbed his cousin by the scruff of the neck and walked him away.

‘What’s that about?’

‘The kid got himself in the hole seventy grand.’

‘Yikes. Who gave him that much credit?’

‘It was a mistake,’ I said.

‘You?’

‘No, not me. A lunkhead Entratter promoted to pit boss.’

‘Has he met Jerry?’

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘he’s not gonna make that mistake again.’

‘Well,’ Danny said, ‘at least now I understand the family tension.’

‘I’ll talk to you soon,’ I said.

‘Yeah, sure,’ Danny said. ‘Thanks for breakfast.’

He went to his office, which was only a few doors away, and I joined Jerry and Billy in the Caddy.