I sat down and raised my palms in an okay, I give up gesture.
“But I’m the boss here,” I reminded them, “and I have to know exactly what you’re all doing and not days after you do it. And if I ask anyone of you to do something for me, for the investigation, I expect you all to do it.”
Everyone blew out a breath and a wave of yesses, and of courses came tumbling out of their mouths.
Then Toni said, “Ok. Where do you think we should start, Johnny?”
I looked at Connie. “Your brother’s wrestling match is tonight, right Connie?”
Connie practically stood at attention. All this thinking was confusing him, but he answered with a strong voice.
“Yeah Johnny. At the Garden, just like I told you!”
I said, “I know your brother won’t play ball with the mob, and Victor and his crew definitely won’t make it, but I’m curious as to who might be filling their reserved seats at ringside.”
Connie scratched his head.
“Uh, I’ve seen lots of bums hanging around the fights. I mean the big boys, the real big boys, go for the boxing, but wrestling gets their fair share.”
I looked at Toni, I could tell she knew what was coming.
“I guess we got a date tonight at the Garden. Ok by you?” I asked.
Toni gave me a crooked smile, so I already thought things were looking up, then she said, “Sure Johnny, but do we have to sit close to the ring? Those guys always smell.”
“No worries,” I said, “we can’t see anything when we’re too close. We’ll be in the back.”
“Eddie, I want you there as well. I want to know if anyone from the docks is in the crowd, both workers and bosses.”
“Annie, get to work on those files. First priority.”
“Right boss,” said Annie.
I gave her a sideways glance, “and please, don’t call me boss!”
****
The Garden was packed. The placed hummed with an excitement that cut through the thick haze of smoke and sweat. Connie was in his brother’s corner, but saw us, waved and pointed to a couple of seats about 10 rows away from the ring, not as far as I would have liked, but not bad. Toni and I had to weave our way into our seats about five seats from the aisle. We got kneed pretty good and pelted with popcorn but slid into our seats without too much trouble—at least for a wrestling match. I looked around. I recognized a few people from the docks, a few of the union big shots. The smoke was so thick I thought I could be in a cigar convention.
The bell was rung and a tall skinny white-haired guy stepped into the middle of the ring. The microphone came down from heaven.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, our first match of the night is sanctioned by the New York Wrestling Association. The winner will be able to challenge the champion, who is also fighting for his title, if and when the opponents agree. So without further ado I will introduce our fighters.”
The bell rang frantically for a couple of seconds.
The ring master pointed with his left hand,
“In this corner, weighing two hundred and twelve pounds, Fighting Joe McDonald!” Lots of booing ensued, clearly poor Joe is the villain of this theatre.
With his right hand pointing to Connie’s corner, “and in this corner, weighing a lean three hundred pounds, Bernie Briggs, better known as The Cave man!” The crowd went wild.
Toni leaned her head toward mine, “Johnny, is this for real?”
“Yes…and no,” I admitted.
“Huh? I always thought the outcome was decided even before the match,” she said.
“Yes. But what goes on before the final count is open for interpretation. It can and does get real nasty.”
Toni just looked at me and says, “How dumb can you get!”
“Well, if the Caveman is on his way to the championship, he’ll win and get paid pretty darn well.”
“By who?”
“The association, and his management. Most of those walk a fine line between legal and illegal activities,” I answered.
Suddenly there was a roar from the crowd. McDonald is on the mat. The referee gets down near the writhing wrestler. He slams the mat, once! Twice! That’s it!
The Cave man jumps up, raises his fist, the referee grabs his arms and holds them up. The microphone comes down.
The crowd quiets down a few decibels.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the winner in two minutes of the first round, The Cave Man.”
Toni looks at me, “Is that it?” she asks.
“Yup”
“Wow, that was quick!”
I can see Connie talking to his brother non-stop, while using a towel to wipe off the sweat.
“Sometimes, that’s how it works.”
“Do the people feel cheated?”
“Nah, the undercard can go long or not so long, depending on the night’s ticket. They like the Cave Man because he’s local, but the big match is for the title. That’s why they came,” I said, “would you like to go back to Bernie’s locker room and meet the big guy?”
Toni pondered this, then said, “Sure.”
I got up, took Toni’s hand and said, “Let’s go.”
We found Bernie Briggs, also known as The Cave Man, lying face down on the massage table, getting a rubdown. He looked like a big hairy bear. Connie was whispering something to his brother who was shaking his head emphatically.
Connie looked up, “Johnny! Toni! Come in!” He smiled at us, but I could tell something was wrong.
The bear looked up. “Hey Johnny. I was pretty good tonight, wasn’t I?”
“Yup. Really good.”
The big man actually blushed.
“Thanks, Johnny.”
Connie slapped his brother on his backside, “You better hit the shower.”
“Thanks for coming Johnny, you too Toni,” said Connie.
Toni gave Connie a hundred-watt smile, “It was fun!”
The door opened and two well-dressed men walked in.
I recognized one of them as one of Albert Anastatia’s men. This was not good. I thought. Bernie wasn’t involved with organized crime, that is as far as I knew. Then I remembered how dumb I can be. They both stopped, looked me over, then took their time to look Toni over. And over.
Connie spoke up, “Joey, this are our friends Johnny Stone and Toni Farentino.”
The man I didn’t recognized said, “Johnny Stone, I heard of you. Ain’t you a private Dick?”
“That would be me,” I answering humbly.
The one I recognized was more interested in Toni.
“And you,” he said pointing his cigar at Toni, “is that Farentino as in Captain Farentino?”
Toni said, “That would be me.”
The mobster laughed. “You some tough broad or something?
Toni said, “Yup. Pretty tough.”
Joey looked over to Connie.
“I gotta talk to the kid.”
“He’s in the shower,” said Connie.
Joey blew some ashes off his cigar and said, “Well get him out here. Now.” He looked us over again, then to Connie, “Tell Bernie we’ll catch him later.”
I said, “We got to go anyway. Great match Connie, tell Bernie congratulations again.
Joey opened the door, then stopped it and turned to look at me.
“I heard you’ve been sticking your neck where it doesn’t belong.”
“ Just fighting for Truth, Justice and the American way,” I answered.
Then his got so close to me I nearly fell over from his bad breath.
“Maybe you should get a real job. Something that promises a longer life.”
He pulled away, turned to Toni and smiled. “Have a good night, ma’am.”
I looked at Connie. “You have anything you might want to tell me.”
Connie looked uncomfortable.
“Not right now, Johnny, not right now. I’m kinda in the dark myself and I need to talk with my brother.” He gave me a sorrowful look. I instantly knew he wasn’t involved with whatever was going on between the mob guys and Bernie.
I let him off the hook, for now.
“Okay Connie, we’ll see you at Angie’s tomorrow. We can talk about it then.
Connie’s shoulders relaxed and he gave me a half smile,
“Okay Johnny. See ya then.”
We left the locker room and started walking down the hall to the stairs that led to the main auditorium.
“What do you think is going on, Johnny?”
I stopped, lit a Lucky, Well I know what it looks like,” I told her, “but I’ll wait until Connie deals us in tomorrow.”
“Will he?” Toni asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
We climbed up the stairs to the main auditorium when someone in a real hurry, almost slammed me into the wall. “Sorry buddy,” the man said. Then he stopped and turned back to me. It was none other than Pete Miller. We both froze, but he moved first, and shoved me back onto the stairs. I tumbled all the way down. When I got my bearings and looked up, Miller was gone.
Toni was at my side.
“Johnny, are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“Only my pride baby, only my pride.”
“Who was that?”
“That,” I told her, “Was former FBI agent Peter Miller.”
We both jumped into one of the yellow cabs that were lined up outside the Garden. We were silent until we hit the Brooklyn Bridge, but our minds were racing, trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.
Toni turned to look at me and asked, “Who’s agent Peter Miller?”
I was just putting out my second Lucky since we got in the cab. I guess I was a little rattled. It was so smoky in the backseat that I opened the window, despite the drizzle.
“I had a visit from two FBI men a few days ago,” I told her, “at least they told me they were FBI agents, which was only sort of true.”
Toni gave me a puzzled look.
“They had been with the FBI, but for reasons I’m not entirely clear about, they got kicked out.”
“What did they want?” asked Toni.
I said as casually as I could, “They wanted me to go under cover.”
Toni sat up straight, “What?
“They wanted me to help them find dirt on the Mob’s hold on the docks,” I said.
“Sounds dangerous.”
“No kidding,” I said. “You know, in hindsight, I didn’t like the look of them. They were too polished, both a bit sleazy, and one of them was too old,” I said.
“Too old?” Toni was confused.
I explained, “In the movies there’s always a senior man and a junior man. Miller and the other guy, whose name might have been Williams, were both about the same age.”
“And that meant something to you?” Toni asked.
“Not really, at the time,” I answered, “but after they left, I got to thinking about the whole set up. They came into my place while I was still in the shower, when I walked out, dressed just in a towel, mind you, they were sitting in my office like they belonged there.”
“How did they get in?”
“I don’t usually lock my door during the day,” I said, “and Angie told them I was upstairs.”
“I’m surprised,” said Toni, “Angie’s pretty protective of you.”
“Yeah, I know. But the FBI is the FBI.”
“Guess so,” said Toni, “then what happened?”
“I told them no,” I said.
“Just no?” asked Toni.
“Well, I did remind them that I could either lose my life, or worse”
Toni said, “What could be worse they being dead?”
“Getting arrested by your father,” I said.
Toni said, “Johnny this is serious. What should we do, call the real FBI, the cops?”
“They already know and they’re looking for them…I hope,” I told her.
The cab stopped at the bar, we both got out and just stood on the sidewalk.
Toni looked at me, “let’s go inside and talk for a while. I’ll catch a cab home when we’re done.”
It wasn’t very late, maybe 10 pm. Angie’s was busy and we didn’t stop to say hi.
We climbed the stairs. The light on the landing was out again. Toni held my arm.
I told her this always happens and reached up to tap the lightbulb. She grabbed me again, turned me around and kissed me. Hard. My heart beat out eight to the bar. I kissed her back, softer, but longer. We were clawing at each other when the door suddenly flew open.
The three of us stood, frozen. Me, Toni and Annie.
Annie was holding a red folder. Her face was two shades redder.
Toni broke the awkward silence.
“Hi Annie, what’s up,” she said smiling.
I said, “Annie, what are you doing in my office at, I looked at my watch, ten fifteen pm?”
Toni broke in, “Er, could we come in?”
Annie, still in shock, but with a big grin, pushed the door all the way open.
“Of course, come in.”
We hung up our coats, Annie moved to sit behind my desk where she had a small mountain of papers. She looked at me as we almost knocked into each other.
“Oh, sorry,” she said as she took another seat.
“So?” I asked, looking at Annie.
Annie smiled a Cheshire Cat smile.
“So, I cracked the code.”
“You what?”
“I cracked the code,” then she said in a lower voice, “well, I cracked the first five pages.”
“And?” I asked.
“And Albert Anatasia is definitely in this up to his neck.”
I must have looked disappointed since I knew that already, she continued,
“But he’s hands-off.”
I gave her a louder, longer, “Sooo?”
“So, his stand in is Sam Mendelson.”
Now I was surprised.
“I thought Mendelson was retired.”
Sam Mendelson was once Meyer Lansky’s second in command. He also ran everything illegal and half legal on the east side of Manhattan.
“Why is Mendelson working for Anastatia?” I was thinking out loud.
“Got me,” said Annie with a satisfied grin.
“But he is, and he’s meeting with the boss,” she looked down at her notes, “tomorrow, at Katz’s on Lodlow street at,” she looked down at her notes again, she was milking the moment for as long as she could, “at 10am.”
I said, “Well, it’s been a while since I had good deli. Think I’ll try Katz’s tomorrow for breakfast, say around Ten.
Toni and Annie just looked at me.
“Don’t worry,” I said, “I won’t let them see me,” I paused, “I guess.”
They both put their hands on their hips, like it was a rehearsed dance move.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll bring my gun.”
