The Starlight Club: The Starlight Club (Mystery Mob Series Book 1) (16 page)

The next day a newspaper article stated that.

A man named Porky Sullivan was found dead near his home by a neighbor. He was killed by a single 22 LR bullet to his temple. A tan 1959 ford sedan was seen leaving the scene of the crime and the man who found his body memorized the plate number. The police traced the car to a Zelda Jackson living in Rego Park Queens. The car had been reported stolen two nights ago and was discovered under the Long Island Expressway underpass. The police found no prints on the car and no evidence as to who might have stolen it.

Two days later another newspaper article stated. “A body was found at 8:15
am yesterday in a dump in Ridgewood Queens by a Joseph Garfone a heavy equipment operator. The police have identified the man though his fingerprints as Carlo Slats Lattieri who was known to his associates as Slats. He drove an oil truck for Premium Oil and had a lengthy police record. The police have no motive for his murder.

Since Yip
’s death Red spent most days at the Corona Gentleman’s club taking care of the families business just as Yip had done since before he was a kid. It wasn’t just the desire to continue Yips policies by running the business in the club. By working here he insulated the family business from the Starlight Club but he tried to spend as much time as he could at The Starlight Club which was mostly in the evening.

Two weeks after the murders of Porky and Slats he held a meeting with his top men at the Corona Gentleman’s club. He had his expert sweep the place for listening devices before the meeting started.

“I told you guys that when I found out who murdered Yip I would retaliate but I couldn’t act until I knew who committed the hit. Through a stroke of luck and some monumental stupidity on the guy who rigged the bomb we found out who did it and those two men are no longer with us. But we have a more serious problem to consider. We know for certain that it was Profaci who paid these men to kill Yip so what do we do about it? Do we kill him? Or do we negotiate with him? We can continue this war and take care of that bum or we can have a sit down and negotiate with him for a larger share of his business. What do you think we should do?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

              Trenchie was spending more and more time with Mary. The two were quite comfortable with each other and were becoming a steady twosome. Trenchie had been looking at condos for weeks and up until now, he hadn’t seen anything he liked. After an exhaustive search in what seemed to be every inch of Queens, this morning, his real estate agent took him to Island Estates in College Point, Queens. It was a convenient ten minutes from Corona and Trenchie loved Phase Two of the development. Trenchie was a man who knew what he liked when he saw it and this was no different.

“How much is this place?” Trenchie asked
.

“$75
,000.00,” replied the petite agent.

“How much down do you need?” He thought for a moment then said, “Forget it. I’ll give you a check for the full amount.
” The agent was caught a bit off guard. Cash buyers were not common. It was time for the obligatory questions - a buyer needs to be qualified. Do you have a business? Are you the only one on the contract? Do you have an accountant? The agent asked for a check for $20,000 and access to his accountant before requiring the balance. The two of them discussed putting the condo in his business’s name and using the monthly payments as a write-off. It made sense to him to have the business pay the monthly mortgage payment. He thanked her but had already decided- he was buying this place no matter how it was executed.

The moment Trenchie got back to The Starlight Club, he called his accountant to solicit his input regarding the mortgage
. The accountant echoed what his agent had said. Trenchie phoned his real estate agent notifying her that he would not be putting any more money down on the condo, but for her to proceed with the paperwork. One last call - Mary. He wanted Mary’s opinion. “What does a mug like me know about buying an apartment?”

Mary walked through the apartment looking at every aspect of it through a woman’s eyes. She loved it
. It was practical. It was in a good location with great access to the major arteries and airports. And, best yet, he could drive to The Starlight Club or to his restaurant within minutes. From Mary’s point of view, it was perfect and would make a lovely home.

“So how do you like it?”

“Trenchie, I love it. It’s perfect. When will it be yours?”

“Well, I gave the agent a deposit today and I’m waiting for the loan to be approved which shouldn’t take long,” he fibbed
. “Then we’ll move in.” She caught the “we’ll move in” part but didn’t say anything. Whether she moved in or not was a decision that had been plaguing her. Although she loved being with Trenchie, she didn’t like the thought of being a kept woman. Trenchie was in love with her. It was the first time in ten years that he felt something alive inside of him. For years, his emotions were suppressed or just plain dead. He wasn’t lying when he had told Yip that he had no feelings, no fear, no love, no life. But right now at this moment, those negative feelings had evaporated - gone. He had a real life now with a gal who loved him. Maybe it was time he settled down. He had a nice business and he had a cut of some other businesses, he had a lot of money put away, and he tried to think of a reason why he shouldn’t settle down. Nothing came to mind, so he phoned trusty ole Red for advice on the ring.

“Don’t do anything, yet Trench
. Get back to The Starlight Club because I have some pretty snazzy rings in my safe. Take a look and if you see one you like, it’s yours.”

Trenchie drove to the club where Red greeted him at his office.

“It’s gotten serious eh, Trenchie?”

“Yeah
. Mary’s brought me back to life. I forgot how good it is to have feelings again. It surprised the hell out of me.” Red was the only person Trenchie would open up to. He always had difficulty displaying his feelings or discussing his life because he really felt it was nobody’s business. Red was the one exception.

“You said you had some rings to show me?”

“Come over here and take a look at these beauties. About a month ago, I had a load of fine jewelry come in and I kept a few of the best items for myself.”

Red removed a pouch from the safe, took out a few rings and placed them on his desk. “These are the two best rings. This one’s three carats and this one here is five.”

Trenchie examined the three carat diamond through the loop Red handed him
. It looked flawless. He also liked the setting on this ring better than the other one and five carats on Mary’s hand might be a little bit too much. Done. The three carat ring it was. Then he hesitated, “Is any diamond too large for a woman? Maybe I’ll be cheatin’ her by getting’ the smaller one. The three carat ring is prettier . . . but the five carat is bigger. Which one do I get?” He checked the five carat ring with the jeweler’s loop and it, too, was flawless.

“Red, help me out here. Which one should I get?
” Red was amused. Here was this big tough guy confused over a diamond.

“Well, I know the three carat ring has a nicer lookin’ setting, but don’t let that influence you
. We can always change the setting if she doesn’t like it. Take the bigger ring. She’ll love it.”

Trenchie smiled
. Red had taken the pressure off of him.

“Thanks for your help
. How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing. Consider it my wedding gift to the two of you.” Trenchie smiled a faint smile and gave Red a big ole Italian bear hug
. And at that moment, Red had another idea. Why didn’t he think of this sooner?

“Bring her here for dinner on Saturday night and give her the ring then
. I’ll have something interesting set up for the two of you. It’ll be special.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Vinnie and Red were congregated at The Starlight Club, j
ust shooting the breeze when Vinnie’s eyes opened wide. “Jimmy the Hat, what the hell are you doin' here? Aren’t you supposed to be making a movie?”

“Yeah, but shootin’ starts in two weeks and I missed you guys, so I took the red eye and got here this morning
. I wanted to be here, had to be here for Yip. If it’s not too much trouble, I’m gonna spend the next couple of weeks with you.” Red who had spoken to Jimmy earlier chimed in.

“You timed it perfectly. Trenchie just bought an apartment so you can use his room.”

“That’s great, Red. You know I can’t stay in a hotel because I can’t get any rest when I’m there. Everyone wants to meet me or shake my hand and it’s getting’ to be a pain. Don’t get me wrong - I love the action and I don’t mind meetin’ people, but since this picture opened, I haven’t had a single night’s rest. I know this won’t last forever and I’m doing my best to handle it, but I never knew that fame could be such a pain in the ass. It’s like I could use a little R & R, sort of like when we were in Florida with Iris and Tiffany.”

Some local girls had spotted Jimmy when he stepped out of the cab and clusters of fans, mostly young gals, were hovering around The Starlight Club positioning themselves in strategic spots near the entrance so as not to miss him when he left
. Red looked through his window at the activity going on outside and remarked, “Christ, they’re lining up in droves outside here. It looks like an infantry attack’s about to take place. Jesus, Jimmy, is this what you put up with every day?”

“Yeah, only worse
. At least here I can duck somewhere, but at the studio I’m a target for every starlet or teenager within ten miles of the studio.”

“I went to see your picture at the Loewe’s Plaza and I have to tell you, I was impressed with your performance
. The picture was good but you were terrific, especially in that part where you hit the guy in the knee with a wrench. Man that was realistic.”

Jimmy laughed and thumped his knee with his hands and then told Red the story of how that part came
about.

“You mean Shorty Davis filmed it while you clobbered the guy?”

“Yep. He sure did. And you know, I was happy to see him again. He’s my only link to you guys in New York and we’ve become close again. You know how sometimes when you have a buddy and you take him for granted without realizing it? Well, that’s what happened with me and Shorty and that’s what I don’t want to happen with me and you.”

Red was touched by Jimmy’s talk of friendship, but his curiosity was aroused
. “So let’s get back to this guy you had a problem with. How did he get into the studio and what was he doing there?”

“Lana Thomas, the studio’s top female star gave the guard at the gate his name so he was allowed in
. He was blackmailing her. I realized somethin’ was wrong after the first few takes when she couldn’t remember her lines. This girl’s a professional who takes her work seriously. She comes to the studio prepared; she always knows her lines, so I knew something was wrong. It was like she was out of it and when I asked her about it, she started to cry. Then this big lug walks over like he owned her, and well, you can see what happened on the screen.”

“Listen Jimmy, you can’t afford to get in any trouble. From now on if you have any problems, call me and I’ll handle it
. Now promise me you’ll do that.”

“Okay boss, you have my word on that.”

Just then Vinnie knocked on the door and walked in. “Red, Rocky Marciano is on the phone. Says he’d like to talk to you.”

“The rock is on the phone and wants to talk to me
? Are you sure?”

Red picked up the phone, listened intently and spoke for a while mostly answering with yes’s and no’s
. When he hung up, there were several sets of curious eyes waiting for Red to fill them in. When he didn’t offer, Vinnie asked, “So what did he want?”

“Rocky knows Swifty real well. They used to train together when he was champ
. Swifty told me how the Rock would climb high into the mountains to train in deep snow. Said it was good for his legs. Rock telephoned Swifty the other day and asked if he was still fighting. Swifty told him he still fought occasionally so Rocky told him that he’d like him to fight for him, but he told Rocky that he owed me money and he’d have to call me to ask me to release him from his obligation. That was what the phone call was about. He asked if I would allow Swifty to fight for him and I had to say no. Swifty owes me a lot of money. It’s about respect. I haven’t gone after him for the money but if he wants to fight, he has to fight for me, not Rocky. I would have loved to say yes to Rocky but Rock’s a street guy and he knew enough not to pursue it.”

Swifty was a talented middleweight fighter who had knockout power in either hand and usually knocked his opponents out swiftly thus his nickname. He could have been the movie star because he was handsome and talented but totally ambitionless
. He wasn’t lazy about keeping in shape but he was lazy with most other things. He fought only when he needed money for something. If he needed a new wardrobe, he would fight or he tried to borrow a grand from Red and then he wouldn’t fight again until he needed something else. It was a shame because if he had made just a small effort, he could have been a champion fighter, especially with Red as his manager. There was no limit to what he could have achieved, but when all was said and done, he wasn’t going anywhere all because he had no drive.

Later that morning, Jimmy asked Red if one of the guys could take him to Maximus to buy a few suits, stating he has an image to keep up
. Red checked his calendar. He had nothing scheduled for the rest of the day. Vinnie drove and Red took Trenchie as a bodyguard. Somebody had to keep the women off of Jimmy or they’d never get anything done. Right around, twelve-thirty pm, Vinnie parked the car by the curb in front of the men’s store. As Jimmy was about to enter the clothing store, he was immediately recognized by a gaggle of girls. Jimmy smiled and was gracious shaking hands, giving hugs, and just letting the girls touch “the star.” Once inside the store, Red said, “Good show you put on out there Jimmy.”

“You liked it eh
?

“Yeah, that’s the way I want you to be
. Use your charm, be nice, and remember you owe those people out there. They’re the ones who made you famous. Don’t ever forget that. You remember Joan Crawford, the famous movie star of the forties?”

“Yeah, I remember her. Why?”

“Well some people in Hollywood always said she was a bitch, but every Christmas she bought all the cameramen, the grips, and the guys that handled the lights and the rest of the crew gifts, and she would hang around with them between takes and ask ‘em their opinions on things like various shots and angles and things like that. Now why do you suppose she did that?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

“She did it because she knew that those people were the ones that made her look good. She never forgot that. That’s why she asked about their kids and their families and if ever any one of ‘em had a problem, she would help ’em with money or in some other way. That’s why she gave ‘em gifts and hung out with ‘em. They kept her looking good year after year, long after most actresses were finished in films. You remember that. Don’t ever forget it and always remember to keep on the good side of ‘em. Word gets around. It usually does, and they’ll continue to make you look good and they’ll be your friend.” Red continued. “Ever hear of Lawrence Tierney?”

“No. Who’s he?
”

“He burst onto the scene in 1945 in a low budget picture that caught fire and became a sensation
. It was called
Dillinger
. It was about the bank robber and gangster of the thirties. It made him an overnight star, just like you with your picture. He could have been the greatest screen tough guy ever and he almost was, but he began to believe his press releases and got into drunken brawls, causing him to be arrested numerous times. He became so troublesome that no studio would take a chance on him anymore. So over the next forty years, he was given small parts and today he’s a ‘forgettable could-have-been’ in film history. I don’t want that to be you. I want you to behave yourself and take your career seriously. And remember this, no matter how famous you get, you still work for me, and since I’m your boss, I can tell you to behave yourself in your new career. Do you understand what I’m tellin’ ya? Now, if you have any problems, let me handle it for you. Make a phone call and let me know what the problem is and I’ll make it go away. If you called me today, by tomorrow your problem is history. It’s that easy. Do you understand what I’m tellin’ ya?”

Jimmy looked a little crestfallen. “Yeah. I understand.”

Then in a more conciliatory tone Red said, “Jimmy, I’m tellin’ you all this because I care and I’m proud of you. You took this opportunity and made the most of it. You’re one of the lucky ones. You’re makin’ somethin’ of yourself. How many people can say that?” Red continued, “Look Jimmy, when you were watching my back, I never worried about anybody or anything. I knew I could depend on you. Of all the guys I have on the payroll, there are only a handful I can always count on. I have Frankie, Trenchie, Vinnie, Moose and a few other guys at the Starlight Club that, come hell or high water, that’ll never let me down. And you especially. You never question my decisions, you follow orders, and you always did the job I gave you and you did it extremely well. Still do. Now you’re in Hollywood making pictures. I want you to think of it as a job I’ve given you, sorta’ like a hit only now you’re a hit of a different kind. I want this new job done professionally, capiche?”

“I got it boss
. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”

“Look Jimmy,” Red’s eyes moistened a bit as he spoke, “I don’t have any family not since Yip died and I don’t have any kids
. I always wanted a son but it never happened. You’re the son I never had. That’s how I think of you and that’s why I’m tellin’ you all this. You done good Jimmy, so don’t go and spoil it.”

Word spread quickly while Jimmy was inside
. As he exited, resplendent in camel hair topcoat and his new suit, he smiled as the girls gathered closer, asking for autographs. Jimmy obligingly wrote on pads, blouses, caps, braziers, wherever else his signature was requested. Red had never seen Jimmy so patient and pleasant. Amazing how charming he could be and yet turn on a dime and become a deadly assassin. Here, he was a totally different man - a movie star, a king - granting an audience to his loving fans. He did it well. Red was impressed.