Robert Randisi - I'm a fool to kill you

‘OK, but I can’t tell you where she is. I’ll bring her to your office.’

He was about to object, but I’m sure what went through his mind at that moment was having Ava Gardner show up at the police station, asking for him.

‘OK,’ he said. ‘Today.’

‘Sure.’

‘I got a statement from your secretary, Mr Entratter,’ Hargrove said. ‘She’s pretty shook up. You might want to send her home.’

‘Yeah, I’ll do that,’ Jack said.

‘And I’ll need you to come to headquarters with me,’ he said. ‘As long as you’re stickin’ to the story that you pulled the trigger.’

‘I did pull the trigger,’ Jack said.

Hargrove looked at me.

‘I threw the sauce,’ I told him.

When I picked Jerry up he said, ‘You got sauce on your sleeve.’

Leave it to him to immediately recognize the red stuff for what it was.

‘Come on, I’ll tell you about it in the car.’

By the time we arrived at Penny’s I had filled him in. Now I was going to have to repeat it for Danny, Ava and Penny.

‘That was pretty smart,’ Jerry said, as we got out. ‘And lucky.’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘About the lucky part, I mean.’

We went up to Penny’s place and she opened the door.

‘Thank God,’ she said. ‘We’re losing all our money in gin.’

‘I shoulda warned ya not to play with her,’ Jerry said.

‘Hey, look who’s back!’ Danny said, from the kitchen table.

‘How did everything go?’ Ava asked.

‘Actually, it went pretty good,’ I said. ‘We got Napolitano.’

‘How’d you manage that?’ Danny asked.

I told them the story. Ava actually laughed when I got to the part about throwing the jar of sauce.

‘So that’s what’s on your sleeve,’ Danny said.

‘I spotted it right away,’ Jerry said, proudly.

‘You would,’ Danny said.

‘So it’s over?’ Ava asked. ‘Napolitano is the one who’s been trying to have me killed?’

‘He’s the one,’ I said, ‘but we still don’t know who killed his son.’

‘How about Giancana?’ Danny asked.

I frowned.

‘That would mean he was willing to let Ava take the blame,’ I said. ‘Since Frank’s his friend, would he do that?’

‘That animal always hated me,’ she said. ‘Probably because I hated him. I can believe he’d let me take the rap.’

‘I guess that makes sense,’ I said.

‘Can’t prove it, though,’ Danny said. ‘Maybe you can get Giancana to admit it to you, but you still wouldn’t be able to prove it.’

‘You could tell Mr S.,’ Jerry said.

They all looked at him.

‘I mean, then he’d have to explain himself to Mr S.,’ the big guy said.

We all thought that over for a few moments, and then Ava broke the silence.

‘As much as I used to try to get Frank to dump Momo,’ she said, ‘I don’t like that idea.’

‘Why not?’ I asked.

‘It would hurt Frank to know what Momo did,’ she said. ‘And like Danny says, we don’t have proof.’

‘OK’ I said, ‘nobody says anything to Frank.’

‘So what do we do now?’ Penny asked.

‘The cops want to talk to you, Ava,’ I said. ‘They want me to bring you to headquarters.’

‘What should I tell them?’

‘Almost the truth,’ I said.

‘How much is almost?’ she asked.

‘I’ll coach you on the way.’

Hargrove was a damned liar.

When Ava Gardner walked in he jumped to his feet and gushed.

‘We can use my Lieutenant’s office,’ he told us. ‘Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea?’

‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m fine.’

‘I’ll have some coffee,’ I said.

‘Forget it!’ Hargrove said. ‘And you stay out here while Miss Gardner and I have a talk.’

She looked at me and said, ‘I’ll be all right.’

There was no reason why she shouldn’t be all right. We had all coached her on the way. I had left Danny and Jerry off at a bar down the block. I didn’t remember if the two of them had ever spent anytime together, alone. I hoped they would get along.

Hargrove closed the door of his Lieutenant’s office, leaving him and Ava alone. Entratter was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he had made his statement and gone home. Of course, he could have been in a cell. I had no idea if the gun he’d used in his office was registered or not. Meanwhile, Danny was going back to his office after dropping Jerry off at the Sands.

I sat in the chair next to Hargrove’s desk. On the desk I saw a plastic evidence bag with the two silver snake rings, and the gold one.

If Entratter was back at the Sands he was probably already looking for the man Napolitano had somehow inserted in to his Sands staff. It was because of that man I still wouldn’t be able to take Ava back to the Sands when Hargrove was done with her.

I spotted a coffee pot across the room, so I got up and poured myself a cup. Nobody tried to stop me. I went back to Hargrove’s desk and sat down. His partner came over and sat at the desk closest to me.

‘So, what happened to Hargrove’s other partner?’

‘The negro?’ he asked. ‘He’s moved on to other employment.’

I guess if I cared I would have asked what that meant.

‘You’re supposed to be a pretty big shot in this town,’ he said.

‘I’m just a casino pit boss.’

‘That’s not what Hargrove says.’

‘Hargrove isn’t the detective he thinks he is.’

‘I’ll tell him you said so,’ he said, with a grin.

‘Please do.’

He applied himself to some paperwork on his desk and I drank my coffee, staring at his right hand.

After about half an hour the office door opened and Hargrove came out with Ava.

‘Thank you for your statement, Miss Gardner.’

She smiled at him and said, ‘Always my pleasure to spend time with a handsome man.’

I could see by the look on Hargrove’s face that he had been totally charmed.

He walked over to me and said, ‘Your turn.’

I saw Holman getting Ava a cup of coffee as Hargrove closed the office door.

‘How’s your new partner workin’ out?’ I asked Hargrove.

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ he asked.

‘I noticed his right hand,’ I said.

‘What about his right hand.’

‘Used to have a ring on it,’ I said.

‘Let’s just get on with the statement.’

‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Anything you say.’

It took me twenty minutes, probably because Hargrove wasn’t flirting with me the whole time.

‘Don’t leave town,’ Hargrove said. ‘Any of you. Remind Entratter of that.’

‘Jack never leaves town,’ I said.

‘Fine. See that you and Miss Gardner don’t. Not until I tell you.’

I looked around.

‘Where is she?’

He did the same.

‘I don’t know.’

I looked at Holman’s desk. He was gone too.

‘Where’s your partner?’ I demanded.

‘Beats me,’ Hargrove said, with a shrug. ‘He’s supposed to be here.’

‘Ask somebody,’ I said.

‘What?’

‘Find out where they went!’

‘Who do you think-’

‘Unless you want to be held responsible for the death of Ava Gardner,’ I said, ‘ask!’

Hargrove came back into the squad room.

‘An officer saw Holman leaving with Miss Gardner.’

‘Does he know where they went?’

‘No.’

‘Damn it!’

‘What’s this about, Eddie?’ he demanded.

‘Come on,’ I said, ‘I’ll explain on the way.’ I headed for the door.

‘On the way where?’ he asked, trailing after me.

‘I don’t know!’

We were in Hargrove’s car, driving around aimlessly, trying to see if Holman had stopped somewhere close by with Ava.