You Make Me Feel So Dead (3 page)

‘Speed?' I asked.

‘Among other things.'

Suddenly, he was able to name something.

‘Look,' Parker said, ‘he's coming to town to promote the film. I don't want him getting his name in the papers for anything … bad.'

‘I've got a question.'

‘What?'

‘Is Ann-Margret also coming to town?'

‘She is.'

‘She and Elvis were supposed to have been lovers while they were filming the movie,' I said. ‘Was that true?'

Parker hesitated, then said, ‘Yes.'

‘Are they still lovers?'

‘They haven't seen each other for some time, but since they'll be in town together, and they are both … volatile people … I expect they'll pick up where they left off.'

‘You don't expect me to keep him away from her, do you?'

‘Of course not,' Parker said. ‘She's a sweet kid. I'd rather Elvis spend time with her than with his buddies.'

‘If I agree to do this,' I said, ‘what are you going to tell Elvis about me?'

‘That you're friends with Frank, and Frank wants Elvis to have a good time in Vegas. Elvis likes and respects Frank.'

‘So he'll go for it?'

‘He'll just look at you as another potential buddy,' Parker said. ‘He likes having people around him.'

‘What about the others? How are they going to greet me?'

‘I don't know,' he said. ‘Maybe with suspicion. It'll be up to you to make them accept you.'

‘How long is Elvis supposed to be in town?'

‘A couple of weeks. He'll promote the movie, and do a few performances at the Riviera.'

‘And where will you be all that time?'

‘Right here. I have several new deals brewing and have to go over the contracts.'

‘So if I need to talk to you …'

‘… I'll be available, right here. Any time. Day or night.'

‘Will you be here alone?'

‘I will. I'll have someone bring in supplies for me.' He picked up his glass and drained it.

‘Cooking for yourself?'

‘A little,' Parker said. ‘I also have a freezer filled with TV dinners. I'll be fine. What do you say, Mr— Eddie. Eddie G., right? Is that what they call you?'

‘That's right.'

‘I'd really like you to do this,' Parker said. ‘I can pay you well.'

‘That won't be necessary, Colonel,' I said, standing up. ‘I don't usually charge anyone for doing Frank Sinatra a favor.'

‘I'd prefer to have you on the payroll,' he said. ‘It would make our … relationship clear.'

‘I have one boss, Colonel,' I said. ‘Jack Entratter at the Sands. I'll do this as a favor, or you'll have to get somebody else.'

Parker smiled. ‘I never had anyone argue with me
not
to take my money.'

‘Hey,' I said, spreading my hands, ‘this is Vegas.'

A
fter seeing Colonel Parker and agreeing to ‘chaperone' – for want of a better word – Elvis around Vegas I returned to my house and called the Sands, first to talk to Jack Entratter.

‘So you agreed?' he asked.

‘I agreed.'

‘I knew it,' Entratter said. ‘How long is this gonna keep you off the floor?'

‘A couple of weeks, at least. Hopefully, that won't cause you too much trouble.'

‘We'll try to get along without you, Eddie,' Jack said. ‘By the way, where's Elvis gonna be staying?'

‘The Riviera.'

Entratter made a rude sound with his mouth.

‘Is he performing, also?'

‘Yes,' I said, ‘the Colonel said he's going to do a few shows.'

‘All right,' Entratter said. I knew he had tried to get Elvis for the Sands a couple of times, and failed. He wasn't a happy camper. ‘Stay in touch with me, Eddie. And let me know if you need anything.'

‘I will, Jack.'

I hung up, called the Sands again and spoke to Frank.

‘So Parker convinced you?' Frank said.

‘He did.'

‘Good,' Frank said. ‘I know you'll keep the kid out of trouble.'

‘Frank, I'll be on this job for about two weeks. You gonna be in town?'

‘Not that long, but I told Elvis I'd come to his premier and bring the guys.'

‘Dino?'

‘And Sammy. Maybe Joey.'

‘Peter?'

He didn't answer. He and Peter were still on the outs.

‘I'm also gonna go to one of his shows, so yeah, I'll be around – although I'll be at the Cal Neva in Tahoe part of the time.'

‘OK,' I said. ‘Then I'll see you around.'

‘Hey, Eddie?'

‘Yeah?'

‘Don't try to keep up with the kid,' he said. ‘He can go all night. You ought to get some help, like your PI buddy, Bardini, or Jerry.'

‘Maybe Jerry,' I said. ‘He'd get a thrill out of meeting Elvis.'

‘And Bardini wouldn't?'

‘Not a fan,' I said. ‘Talk to you soon, Frank.'

‘See ya around, Clyde.'

After we hung up I decided to go out and get something to eat. I wanted a leisurely meal, over which I'd decide whether or not to import Jerry for this job. But before I could get out the door my phone rang.

‘Eddie?'

‘Hey, Danny.'

‘Can you meet me at the Horseshoe?'

‘Sure,' I said, ‘I was about to get something to eat, anyway.'

‘On me, then.'

‘You must need me for a job real bad to buy,' I kidded.

‘Not a job, Eddie,' Danny said. ‘I need your help with something personal.'

He wasn't kidding around so I said, ‘I'll be there, Danny. When?'

‘Right now.'

T
he coffee shop at the Horseshoe was one of the best in town. It was also walking distance from Danny's Fremont Street office.

Danny Bardini was already sitting in a booth when I got there, with a cup of coffee in front of him. His hair was a mess and needed cutting, and his suit was wrinkled, as if he'd slept in it.

‘Hey, Eddie,' he said, looking up at me. ‘Thanks for coming.'

‘It sounded important,' I said, sitting across from him.

‘It is.'

The waitress came over and we both ordered a burger platter. It was easier than taking the time to study the menu. The food – though really good – was not the main reason we were there.

‘What's going on, Danny?'

He took a moment to sip some coffee, then held the cup in both hands.

‘OK, here it is,' he said. ‘It's about Penny.'

‘What about her?' I asked. ‘Is she all right?' Penny O'Grady was Danny's long-time secretary – Gal Friday, really – who had more than secretarial feelings for her boss. I believed it was the same for him, but he had never admitted it.

‘Something's going on with her,' Danny said. ‘She's been very … secretive lately. Leaving early, coming in late. Unavailable in the evenings.'

‘Have you asked her?'

‘No.'

‘Have you followed her?'

Danny hesitated, then said, ‘No, I haven't. I–I can't do it.'

Uh-oh.

‘But you can.'

‘Danny—'

‘Eddie,' he said, reaching across the table to grab my wrist, ‘you gotta do this for me.'

‘Why don't you just talk to her?'

‘No,' he said, releasing my arm. ‘If she wanted to talk to me she would have by now.'

‘So what do you think is going on?'

‘I don't know.'

Maybe he suspected she was seeing someone. Maybe he was coming to terms with his feelings for her.

‘Danny, Penny's my friend.'

‘I know, Eddie,' he said, ‘that's why I'm asking you for help, and not somebody else. Because you're her friend … and mine.'

My problem was I'd promised Frank and Colonel Parker that I'd take care of Elvis. Now Danny was asking for a favor, and he'd been my friend a lot longer than anyone.

‘OK, Danny,' I said, ‘I'll see what I can find out. But I might need your help.' Putting him to work could keep his mind off Penny, and out of my way.

‘What do you need?'

‘I've agreed to do a favor for Frank,' I said. ‘I'll need you to cover me.'

‘What kind of trouble is he in now?'

‘No trouble,' I said. ‘Elvis Presley is coming to town …' I told him about my meetings with Entratter, Frank, and Colonel Parker.

‘So they want you to babysit the King of Rock and Roll.'

‘Pretty much.'

‘And he's gonna have all these hangers-on around him?'

‘All the time.'

‘Why doesn't Parker get rid of them?' Danny asked. ‘Word is he controls Elvis.'

‘Not according to him,' I said. ‘He says he's in charge of the financial end, but that Elvis makes his own decisions otherwise.'

‘Interesting,' Danny said. ‘When does he get here?'

‘Two or three days,' I said. ‘I'll have to check.'

‘And what do you want me to do? Sit on him?'

‘Just keep an eye on him,' I said. ‘You know the kinds of places in town he shouldn't go. The kinds of people he shouldn't associate with. Part of the job will be to keep him out of the newspapers.'

‘And the other part is to keep him from goin' off the deep end?'

‘Right.'

‘OK,' he said. ‘You find out what's goin' on with Penny for me, and I'll watch over the King for you. It's a deal.'

‘Thanks,' I said. ‘We have a few days. Maybe I'll find out what you want to know even before the King arrives.'

‘Whatever,' he said. ‘I'll do my part.'

The waitress came with our platters and set them down.

‘Let's eat,' Danny said. ‘I haven't had much of an appetite lately, but right now I'm pretty hungry.'

I nodded in agreement and repeated, ‘Let's eat.'

I
decided I needed Jerry.

One job I can handle but when it comes to two or more, Jerry's my guy. He hated being called a torpedo, but that was basically the job he performed in Brooklyn. Part of the reason we got along was that we were both from Brooklyn. He worked for Frank sometimes, and for mafia boss Momo Giancana, but in the four years I'd known him I'd come to depend on the fact that when I called him, he responded. Even if it meant getting on a plane at short notice, he came.

I went to the Sands and used an office phone to call him.

‘You know I'll be there, Mr G.,' he said, after I'd explained. ‘I like that Penny chick. She's too good for your friend the dick.' I knew he didn't mean that. He actually liked Danny.

‘Jerry, I might use you on the Elvis thing, instead,' I said.

‘That's fine with me if it's OK with him, Mr G. I wouldn't mind meetin' Elvis. I'll jump on the first plane.'

‘I need you here in a couple of days, Jerry,' I told him. ‘See if you can get a reasonably priced ticket. I'll cover it—'

‘Hey,' Jerry said, ‘don't sweat it, Mr G. I got it covered. I know how to get cheap tickets.'

‘OK,' I said, ‘let me know when you're landing. I'll pick you up if I can.'

‘In the Caddy?'

‘Yep,' I said, ‘in the Caddy.'

‘OK, Mr G.,' he said. ‘I'll be seein' ya soon.'

I hung up the phone, looked up from the empty desk I was sitting at and saw Jack Entratter watching me.

‘You'll cover the ticket?' he asked.

‘Well … you, me, it's all the same, Jack, when we're doing favors for the guys, right?'

He shook his head helplessly and walked to his own office.
I didn't want to follow him because his girl always gave me disapproving looks when I went in there. After all these years I still don't know what I'd ever done to her.

I left the offices to head for the elevator when Jack's girl stuck her head out and said, ‘Mr Gianelli?'

I turned. ‘Yes.' I rarely – if ever – heard her use my name.

‘You have a call.'

‘Really?' I turned. ‘Who is it?'

‘He says,' she replied, ‘that he's Elvis Presley …'

Well, it
was
Elvis Presley.

I had never expected my favor for Frank to take me to Memphis, and Graceland, and yet there I was, in front of the main gate.

As the limo I was in drove through the iron gates and up the long, winding driveway of Graceland, I ran the conversation through my mind, again …

‘You want me to come there?' I asked. ‘To Graceland?'

‘That's right.' I don't know how Jack's girl could have doubted it. I recognized his voice. I was talking to Elvis Goddamn Presley! ‘I'm more comfortable meeting new folks in a familiar environment. I'll send my plane for you, and then we can fly back to Vegas together.'

‘Well …'

‘Please, Mr Gianelli,' Elvis said. ‘The Colonel says you're friends with Mr Sinatra. I like to think I'm friends with him, too. I wanna meet you as soon as possible, and this seems to be the quickest way. Besides, you'll have a good time.'

What could I say …

I
rang the doorbell. It was opened by a big, beefy looking guy with red hair on his head and arms. I could hear music playing from somewhere inside.

‘Yeah?'

‘Eddie Gianelli,' I said. ‘Elvis asked—'

‘Come on in,' he said, cutting me off. ‘I'll take you to him.'

He closed the door, turned to face me and stuck out his hand.

‘Red West.'

‘Eddie Gianelli,' I said. ‘Or Eddie G.'

‘OK,' he said, ‘Eddie G. This way. Elvis is waitin' on you.'

He walked me through the house, which was full of people, a lot of them pretty girls in various states of undress. It was a party, all right, and in full swing, but there was no sign of Elvis.