Fly Me to the Morgue (13 page)

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Authors: Robert J. Randisi

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âLemonade sounds good,' Jerry said.

âCome on, Jerry,' Bing said. âLet's walk this big boy back into the barn.'

âRight, Mr C.'

I saw how Jerry had been able to get to us so quickly when he vaulted back over the fence to grab the reins from Bing.

âJust come up to the house when you've secured the horse,' Adrienne called out to them. To me she said, âShall we walk inside?'

âSure.'

As we walked back she asked, âMy brother didn't hurt you, did he?'

âOnly my pride,' I said. âI've never really thought of myself as a little guy.'

When she looked at me our eyes were about even, but I consoled myself with the fact that she was wearing cowboy boots.

âDo you have any more relatives we have to worry about?' I asked.

âActually, I have quite a large family,' she said, âbut Philip is the only one to worry about. I have a younger brother and sister, but they're not the least bit interested in horses.'

âIs your sister anything like you?' I asked.

âHow do you mean?'

âI mean beautiful.'

âOh.' She surprised me with a slight blush. I had thought she was being playful, but apparently she actually didn't know what I'd meant.

âWell, she's younger than I am and, yes, quite pretty,' she said. âBut she's not here today.'

We reached the house and entered through the unlocked front door. I hadn't heard a vehicle leave, and half expected to find big Philip somewhere inside, but it seemed empty.

âLemonade?' she asked.

âSure.'

âAnd your friends?'

âI think that'll be good for everyone.'

âI'll go and get it,' she said. âMake yourself comfortable.'

I walked around the big living room, which was dominated by a baby grand piano that was covered with framed photos. I walked over to take a look. Most of them seemed to be of a man I assumed was Chris Arnold, standing surrounded by horses. I didn't see any photos of Adrienne until I got to the fireplace mantle.

âOh no,' she said, as she came in carrying a tray, ânot the family photos.'

âDo you play the piano?' I asked.

âI'm afraid not,' she said. âThis is actually my brother Chris's house. That is, it was. We haven't read his will yet, so I don't know what will happen to it.'

âWhat do you think will happen to it?' I asked.

âWell,' she said, setting the tray down on the coffee table, âI know my brother Philip wants the place. But I think he's going to be disappointed.'

âYou think Chris left it to you?'

âEither that, or equal parts to the four of us, but I don't think he'd want to do that to the rest of. Make us partners with Philip, I mean.'

âPhilip seemed to think he had an interest in the horse,' I said. âWhat's the horse's name, by the way. Bing didn't mention it.'

âMy brother didn't usually name the horses,' she said. âHe left that to the people who bought them.'

âHe didn't race horses himself?'

âNo,' she said, âhe likes â liked â to breed them, but he didn't have the actual racing gene in him.'

âIs that why Philip would want to keep the horse?' I asked. âTo race him?'

âI really think the reason Philip doesn't want the horse sold is that I do.'

âSo, it's like that?'

âOh, yes,' she said. âDo you have any brothers or sisters?'

âOne of each,' I said. âWe don't speak much.'

âIt must be easier that way.'

âIt is.'

âAnd your parents?'

âMy mother died recently,' I said. âMy father and I don't talk. My family still lives in Brooklyn.'

âBrooklyn,' she said. âThat's it. I've been trying to pinpoint your accent.'

âIs it bad?' I put my hand over my mouth, as if she had told me I had bad breath.

âNo, it's hardly noticeable, except sometimes you drop your âg's', and pronounce a word or two in anÂ .Â .Â . odd way.'

âWhere are you from?'

âHere,' she said. âNevada. My parents are dead. Have been for a long time. I actually raised my younger brother and sister. I'm glad my parents didn't live to see what an ass Philip has become.'

At that point Bing and Jerry came walking in.

âThere's a bathroom right through there, if you want to wash up,' she said, pointing.

âThank you,' Bing said. He and Jerry went through. Adrienne poured two lemonades and handed me one, then poured two more and left them on the tray for Jerry and Bing.

âSo,' she said, âyou work in a Vegas casino. Must be a lot of women in your life.'

THIRTY-TWO

âThere are a lot of women in Vegas,' I said, âbut no one special, right now. You?'

âUnattached, at the moment,' she said. âKeeping my brothers from killing each other is a full-time job.' Then she put her hand over her mouth as she realized what she'd said.

âOh God,' she said. âI didn't meanâ'

âIt's OK,' I said.

Bing came walking into the room at that moment, then stopped short, as if he thought he was interrupting something.

âCome on in, Bing,' I said. âThe lemonade is very refreshing.' I pointed to the two glasses sweating on the tray.

âJerry'll be along in a minute,' he said, snatching up one of the glasses.

âMr Crosby,' she asked, âwhat did you think of the horse?'

âPlease,' he said, âcall me Bing. Jerry thinks the horse is very sound, and well formed.'

âWell then, could we go to the study and talkÂ .Â .Â . money? Or do you want yourÂ .Â .Â . trainer involved in that part?'

âNo,' he said, âI can handle that myself. Gents?'

âGo ahead,' I said to Bing. âIf it's all right with the lady we'll wait here.'

âOf course,' she said. âMake yourselves comfortable. If you want something stronger than lemonade there's a bar against that wall.'

âThank you,' I said.

âBing?'

They each carried a glass of lemonade out of the room with them.

âYou want a drink?' I asked Jerry.

âNo thanks, Mr G.'

I decided to stick with lemonade.

âWhat do you really think of the horse?' I asked.

âWell, he's a half to Crazy Kidâ'

âA half?'

âHalf brother,' he said. âAnd he's put together well. I think it's a good buy.'

âFor two hundred thousand?'

Jerry hesitated before he answered, then said, âThat depends.'

âOn what?'

âFirst, does she have the right to sell it, or will he have to deal with that brother,' Jerry said, âand second, the paperwork has to work out.'

âYou mean, is he really a half to Crazy Kid?'

âRight.'

âWon't Bing need you for that?'

âI know a good horse when I see one, Mr G.,' Jerry said, âbut I don't know squat about papers. Mr C. is on his own there.'

âWell,' I said, âit's his money, and he's bought horses before. And he has other trainers, right?'

âI suppose so,' Jerry said.

âWell, it didn't seem like he knew this one very well.'

âI think the trainer came to him with this deal,' Jerry said. âMaybe they never had a horse together before.'

âYou could be right.'

Surprisingly, Bing and Adrienne came back into the room. Seems they didn't need all that much time to hash out a price.

âI'll give you a call, Adrienne, probably in a day or two.'

âI'll be waiting to hear,' she said. They shook hands.

âI'm curious about something, Adrienne, if I may?' I said.

âBy all means.'

âAre there any other buyers interested in this horse?'

âNot at the moment,' she said. âIf Mr Crosby doesn't buy it, though, I'm sure there will be.'

I nodded.

âAnything else?' she asked.

âNope,' I said. âI'm done.'

âI'll be in touch, Adrienne,' Bing said.

She walked us out to our car and stood there watching as we drove off, with her hands on her hips.

âWhat do you think?' I asked Bing.

âI'm worried about the brother,' he said. âShe says he has no claim on the horse.'

âI think he's probably a sore loser,' I said.

âHe's a muscle-head,' Jerry said. âDon't worry about him.'

âI wouldn't,' Bing said, âas long as you're around, Jerry.'

THIRTY-THREE

When we got back to the Sands we all needed to clean up. I got one of the valets to take the car to get washed. Bing and Jerry went to their suites for showers, while I had mine in the locker room.

I'd taken most of my changes of clothes out of my locker lately without replacing them. All I had left were jeans and a t-shirt. I was going to have to go and pick up my laundry.

I called up to Jerry's suite to let him know what I was going to do.

âComin' back later, Mr G?'

âOh yeah,' I said. âI've got no life outside of this place. I'll be back.'

âYou oughtta get yerself a life, Mr G.,' he said. âMaybe a steady girl.'

âA steady girl in Vegas, Jerry? With all these waitresses and showgirls around? No thanks.'

I told him I'd see him later and hung up.

My Caddy was in its parking spot, clean as a whistle, inside and out. I found the valet and tipped him extra, then drove home, stopping first to get the laundry.

When I got home I put my laundry away, setting aside a few things to take back to the casino. Then I had a cold beer and wondered if I should go back to my pit when I got back to the casino. After all, what more was there for me to do? I'd been so busy with Bing that I hadn't been able to fulfill my obligation to play host to Frank Junior.

On the other hand, Kathryn had specifically asked me to watch out for her husband. To that end I figured I should remain available to him until he decided to leave town.

But what about Jerry? He'd done what Bing had asked him to do, take a look at the horse. If we sent him home would the police end up looking for him and having him brought back? Were we even going to hear from the Sheriff's detectives again?

The fact that Hargrove had chosen to involve himself in matters made me nervous. Also, his laid-back attitude when he'd spoken to us at breakfast bothered me. What was that about? I couldn't see Hargrove, at this late date in his career, exchanging his bully boy tactics for a gentler hand.

I thought about having another beer but decided to skip it. I could have something when I got back to the Sands.

I left the house and started walking to my car, which was in my driveway, when I heard a voice.

âHey! Hold it!'

I turned, saw three burly men walking across my lawn at me. The one in the front, calling out to me, looked familiar. When he got closer I could see his red face and recognized him as Adrienne Arnold's muscle-head brother, Philip. He looked mad, and so did the two muscle-bound idiots with him.

I know my limitations, and that day they were even more obvious. These three guys would undoubtedly bust me up if I let them get their hands on me.

I sprinted to my Caddy, leaped over the door into the seat and got it started. They all got their hands on the car as I backed out, yelling something, but I popped it in drive and took off, hopefully leaving them behind.

THIRTY-FOUR

It wasn't that easy.

The three of them managed to get back to their car, a green sedan that apparently had something under the hood. They got behind me, but rather than chasing me, they seemed to be following. It looked like they were going to try to tail me to wherever I was going and brace me again there.

I had other ideas.

My neighborhood was full of small residential streets that you couldn't very well speed through, but since I knew where they were I was able to get into them quicker. Each time I took a turn on one of those streets, I got a little more room between us.

I finally made my way to Industrial Drive, a large multi-lane street that pretty much ran parallel to Las Vegas Blvd, referred to by some as âThe Strip.' Once I got on that multi-lane road I put my foot down. My plan was to come at the Sands from the back, hopefully losing my tail along the way.

I entered the hotel from the rear, made my way down a hall to the front lobby. I went to the door and looked out, trying to see if there was a green sedan being parked.

I moved back through the lobby to the casino, where I felt safe. But now what would I do about going home? And what did Philip Arnold have against me, anyway? It was Bing who was buying the horse, and Jerry who had embarrassed him. All I'd done was get knocked on my ass by the muscle-head. Why was he coming after me?

I briefly went by my pit to see how my replacement was doing, and saw that I wasn't being missed there.

I went into the bar for a beer and got the bartender to bring me a house phone.

âWhat are you doin'?' I asked Jerry when he answered.

âWatchin' TV.'

âYou order room service?'

âI was thinkin'. Why, are you back?'

âYeah, I'm in the bar.'

âYou wanna go someplace to eat?'

âYeah,' I said. âCome on down. I'll take you for a good burger.'