“I see what you’re saying.”
“Now, you came to my place of business and caused me a lot of problems and cost me one of my guys. Your bill is very long and it’s come due.” He tapped the wood. “Now.”
“But it’s not just me. The LA County cops are investigating all of this, too.”
Paley put up a hand. “Let’s leave the cops out of this. They’ll do what they have to do, but not more than that. We both know that, right?”
“And I thought everybody was cleaning up their act.”
“They are. Hell, most of the mob left LA and came here. Easier pickings and even that element don’t like to slam their head against a brick wall. Now, they’ll go down there and horn in on some of the crummy card club action or the ponies, but that’s not really over the money. The money is right here. But they do it so the boys in LA don’t get too comfy. You know the name Sammy Rummel?”
“Mickey Cohen’s lawyer. Got knocked off in Laurel Canyon a few years ago.”
“As an example of what I’m talking about.” Paley adjusted his cuffs. “Now, as far as my business goes, I’m sensing the presence of some third party that ain’t supposed to be there. You know anything about that?”
“Third party?”
“Yeah. Let me explain. If I expected to get a hundred packages of something and I only get seventy-five, that’s a problem for me. But then the next week the difference gets made up and then maybe I get more than I thought I’d get. The next week, the same shit happens.”
“So what’s the problem if it evens out in the end?”
Paley shook his head. “If they could only get me less than x one week and then get me more than y the next week, something fishy is going on. It makes me feel like they could get me z anytime they wanted, but maybe they don’t because they’re feeding another hungry mouth. And I’m losing money because of it. And I do not like to lose money. It’s an obsession with me.”
“So that’s where the third party comes in?”
“Now you’re catching on. But you obviously know nothing about it.”
“I wish I did.”
Paley gave him another knowing look. “Yeah, I bet you do. Now I just need to find out where along the supply chain somebody else might be at the trough drinking my stuff.”
“Does Bernadette Bonham know anything about it? I saw you two talking outside of the Jade.”
As soon as he said this, Archer regretted it.
The scars started to twitch. “So she let you follow her to my place?”
“She didn’t let me do anything. I’m good at my job. She stonewalled me on everything, so I decided to see where she was going.”
Paley lit another cigarette and sat back. “Good, Archer, good. You told me something I didn’t know. That’s valuable to me.”
“So, do I just get to walk out of here?”
“No, Archer, that’s not what I’m saying. You knew that as soon as Little Tony got the drop on you, didn’t you?”
“I guess I did.”
“But you bought yourself some time. Not much, but some while I check out what you told me. And then maybe you get to walk out of here.”
“Are you serious?”
“No, Archer, I’m lying to your fucking face. Why? It’s just my nature.”
Archer wasn’t fast enough.
The butt of the gun came down on his head, near where he’d been sapped before. It didn’t hurt any less the second time around. He slumped forward, hit his chin on the desk, and fell sideways to the floor.
When Archer came to, all he could see was black. And he thought he was dead. And that he was in hell because heaven was not supposed to be dark and he could hear no angels playing their harps. When he reached out, he found he was encased in some sort of scratchy material, like burlap. It was close to his face and it was difficult to breathe. He had the sensation of movement, and, coupled with the sound of a motor, he knew he was in a car, probably in the trunk. He pushed against the material but it was so close to him he couldn’t get any leverage.
Then the sensation of movement stopped. The engine died. Doors opened and closed, and footsteps headed his way. There was another sound as the darkness became just a shade less black. The trunk had been opened. Archer’s adrenaline kicked into a higher gear and his breaths started coming more rapidly, as he sensed the end of his life drawing near.
Hands grabbed around parts of him and he was lifted out and placed on the ground.
A voice said, “Shoot him in the head and do it quick. We got to dig the hole deep. Critters around here.”
Archer instinctively started to kick and beat against whatever was holding him. He heard a laugh. “Hey, look who woke up.”
Then the laughter died and shouts took their place. Archer flinched when he heard the shot. Then he heard several others. There was a grunt, followed by a flow of expletives. More shots. Then a car started and he could hear the wheels grinding into the dirt. A few seconds later all became quiet.
Something seized him and he fought against it once more.
“Just hold on, Archer. We got you.”
Archer immediately relaxed at the words because he recognized the voice.
A knife bit carefully into the fabric around him, cutting an opening near his head. A light was shone in his eyes and then the beam was reversed and he was looking at a familiar face.
Willie Dash said, “How many times am I going to have to save your ass, son?”
But then Dash smiled, and Archer could see the sense of relief on the man’s features.
Still, it didn’t come close to the one on Archer’s.
Chapter 46
Paley will have a dozen witnesses swear he was never in Vegas tonight,” Dash said to Archer. “So that’s a dead end. And word is he’s wired tight to Lansky and some other big boys, so the cops will be more hindrance than help. The mob pays way better than the government.”
They were on a United Airlines night flight back to LA from Vegas. Archer glanced out the window as the prop plane wended its way over mountain ranges and valleys and back to Southern California. He still felt the suffocation of being in that burlap sack. He had barely been able to get on the plane, because he sensed the fuselage walls reaching out to crush him.
The stewardess had brought him some ice, which he’d applied to his head and his chin.
One more hard knock to the head, and I might just be done.
When Dash and two other men had cut him out of his burial cloth, he’d asked Dash how he’d come to even be there. Dash had told him that as soon as he’d learned Archer was in Vegas, he’d gotten the next flight out. Before he left, Dash alerted two veteran PIs who covered Vegas and had worked with Dash before. They had picked up Archer’s trail at the Sands, seen him disappear with Little Tony, and then had been quick enough to spot two men loading Archer into a sack and placing him into the trunk of a Plymouth. They had followed, and when the men had stopped and were about to finish off Archer, they’d stepped in with guns firing. Dash figured he winged one of the guys, but they had both gotten away.
“What about Little Tony?” asked Archer.
“Guys like him don’t do the grave digging. He’ll claim he doesn’t know what you’re talking about. He works security for the casino, you looked suspicious. He took you aside and talked to you and then let you go on your way. Anything happened after that, he knows nothing about and he’ll have witnesses to back that up.”