‘Who saw her?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘Word’s gettin’ around. You know how that works. Nobody ever remembers where something like that got started. That don’t stop them from spreadin’ it around, though.’
‘How are you gonna find out if she was actually here, Jack?’
He smiled at me and poked me in the chest with a thick forefinger. ‘I’m not, Eddie. You are. I’ll be in my office. Let me know what you find out.’ He started away, then stopped and turned. ‘Oh, and stop the word from going around. I don’t want to hear it again.’
‘Why me?’ I asked.
‘Because you’re the guy, Eddie,’ he said. Only he said, ‘The Guy,’ with capital letters. ‘You’re my go-to-guy, right?’
‘But why, Jack.’
‘Why what?’
‘Why do you want to know if it was Ava?’ I asked. ‘I mean, we get lots of celebrities here. It’s Vegas.’
‘Because I’m the boss,’ he said, ‘and I’m tellin’ you to find out for me. Do you need more than that, Eddie?’
‘Ya know what, Jack?’ I said. ‘I kinda do. I mean, after all this time workin’ for you, doin’ what you say without question-’
‘Ha!’
‘-I need an explanation for this one.’
He hesitated, then said, ‘OK, Eddie. This is not just a celebrity, this is Ava. Frank’s Ava. If she came here it was to see him, but then she ran out. I wanna know why before it gets back to Frank. That enough?’
He was looking out for Frank, like always.
‘Yeah, OK,’ I said. ‘That’s enough.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, and started to walk away.
‘Wait, Jack!’
He’d taken two steps, stopped and turned, frowning.
‘What about Frank?’ I asked.
‘What about him?’
‘Well. . can I just ask him if he’s seen her?’
Entratter rubbed his jaw thoughtfully.
‘I don’t see why not, but he’s got his ex-wife here, and his kids,’ he said. ‘Tread lightly.’
‘I always do, Jack,’ I said, ‘when it comes to the guys.’
‘Check with Dean first,’ he suggested. ‘Maybe you won’t have to bother Frank. Those guys usually know everything about each other.’
‘I’ll do that,’ I said. ‘I had dinner with him last night, but do you know where he is now?’
‘I can’t do your job for you, Eddie,’ he said. ‘You know Dino. Check the golf course. I heard Jack Benny’s in town. They’re probably playing.’
Entratter started to walk away, then stopped and turned, raising his arm like he forgot something.
‘What’s with Rachel?’ he asked. ‘She’s in my office, sayin’ you sent her home yesterday.’
‘She’s got two left hands, Jack,’ I said, scowling at him. ‘And she doesn’t have the head for a dealer. And why the hell didn’t you tell me she was some mob guy’s goumada?’
‘You didn’t ask,’ he said. ‘Besides, I’m the boss. That means I don’t have to explain everything to you. Right?’
‘But Jack. . does she have to be a dealer?’
‘No, she don’t,’ Jack said. ‘Why don’t you just find something else for her to do?’
‘Why do I have to-’ I started to ask, again.
‘Because I foisted her off on you,’ he answered, cutting me off. ‘You don’t want her? Foist her off on someone else. But don’t let it interfere with finding out about Ava.’
‘You got it, Boss.’
Since I was going to have to leave the casino floor — and probably the building — I needed somebody to cover my pit for me. One of my floormen was just weeks away from becoming a pit boss himself, so I asked him to take my place for the day.
‘Just today, Eddie?’ he asked.
I grinned and said, ‘I’m hoping it won’t be much longer than that, Phil, but if it is you’ll be the first to know.’
‘Anythin’ you wanna tell me before you leave?’ he asked.
‘Yeah,’ I told him, ‘just don’t piss off any of my regulars.’
Then I went in search of Ava Gardner.
FIVE
The last film I’d seen Ava in was On The Beach, with Gregory Peck. That had been in fifty-nine, three years ago. She’d done an Italian film with Dirk Bogarde in sixty, The Angel Wore Red, but I hadn’t seen it yet. Since then she’d been off the screen, living in Madrid and supposedly trotting around the globe. Only a few months back I’d heard that she’d started production on a new film called Fifty-Five Days at Peking, with Charlton Heston and David Niven. I didn’t know if that movie had wrapped or not, but if not what would she be doing in Las Vegas?
The answer was obvious. She would have been looking for Frank. They had been divorced since fifty-seven, but being friends with Frank I knew that he stilled loved her, and she still loved him. They tried to stay friends, but they mixed like dynamite and fire. Frank had once said to me, very sadly, ‘I love her, and God damn me for it.’
I went to the hotel lobby to talk to the staff, hoping to find out who had actually seen Ava in the building. But there had been a shift change. If a bellman or desk clerk had seen her, they had gone home. I decided to go outside and talk to the valets. That’s where I lucked out.
‘Yeah, I saw ‘er,’ a valet named Kenny said. He had enough acne to make him look like Howdy Doody. ‘Got out of a cab, went inside, came running out again a little while later.’
‘Where’d she go?’
‘Got into another cab.’
‘Did you hear where she told the cabbie to take her?’ I asked.
‘I didn’t hear, but I figured it must be the airport,’ Kenny said.
‘Which cab was it?’
‘It was an Ace cab.’
‘You know which one?’
‘I don’t know the number,’ he said, ‘but the cabbie’s name is Leo.’
‘Is he in line now?’ I asked.
Kenny looked over at the line of cabs waiting for fares and said, ‘No, he’s not back yet.’
I thought about going to the airport to find him, but he might have been on his way back.
‘Kenny, if he comes back in the next ten or fifteen minutes I’ll be in the lobby,’ I told the valet. ‘Tell him there’s a ten in it for him if he comes in and talks to me.’
‘What’s it about, Eddie?’ he asked.
‘Just do it, Kenny. OK? As a favor?’
‘Sure thing, Eddie.’ I gave him a five spot and went back into the hotel.
SIX
I used one of the phones behind the front desk to call Ted Silver, who worked in Security at McCarran Airport. I had to wait a while for him to come on the line. In those days the airport — named for Senator Pat McCarran — was pretty small, so he came on the line quick.
‘Eddie G., my man,’ Ted said. ‘What can I do for you, brother?’
‘Ava Gardner.’
‘Sign me up.’
‘I need to know if she flew in or out of Vegas in the past couple of hours.’
‘You’re kiddin’, right?’
‘Not kidding, Ted,’ I said. ‘In fact, she may be in the airport right now. Or stepping out of a cab.’
‘Jesus,’ he said, ‘what the hell am I doin’ on the phone with you?’
‘Find out for me, Ted.’
‘And whataya want me to do with her if she’s here?’ he asked. ‘You want me to hold ‘er here? She run out on a marker?’
Good question. What did I want? Entratter didn’t say anything about bringing her back to the Sands.
‘No, no,’ I said, ‘don’t detain her. I just need to know if she was here. And where she goes.’
‘That’s it?’
‘That’s it.’
‘What’s it about, Eddie?’ he asked. ‘Did she run out on a debt?’
‘Just do it for me, Ted. OK?’
‘OK, Eddie,’ Ted said. ‘I’ll give ya a call back at the Sands, right?’
‘Right. Thanks, Ted.’
‘Tickets to a show, right?’
‘Whenever you want.’
‘I’ll be talkin’ to ya.’
I hung up, nodded my thanks to the people behind the desk and got out of their way.
I decided not to bother Dean Martin with this. Frank had told me on more than one occasion that we were friends, and that I could talk to him anytime. On the other side of the desk I found a house phone and asked for Frank Sinatra’s suite, made arrangements to see him.