The Way You Die Tonight by Robert Randisi Read Free Book Online Page A

Robinson was supposed to arrive. I didn’t greet him in the lobby, though. I wanted to give him time to get settled, and I didn’t want to seem too eager to meet him. So I sat at the bar in the lounge and had a drink.
    While I was there Julius LaRosa walked in. LaRosa had risen to fame as a singer on the Arthur Godfrey show, and had a short-run TV series a few years back. Frank was his idol. He was a handsome kid with a big smile, and he was turning the full wattage on me.
    â€˜Hey, Eddie!’
    â€˜Hello, Juley,’ I said. ‘Drink?’ I signaled to the bartender.
    â€˜I’ll have a martini,’ Juley told him.
    He accepted the drink and remained standing.
    â€˜Eddie,’ he said, ‘can you get me a couple of tickets for a show?’
    â€˜Here at the Sands?’
    â€˜No, the Golden Nugget. It’s sold out and I need two tickets.’
    I didn’t ask who the second ticket would be for. At that time I didn’t know if LaRosa was married or not.
    â€˜I can make a phone call.’
    â€˜Will you?’ He sipped the drink and set it on the bar. ‘Thanks.’
    â€˜Are you staying here?’ I asked.
    â€˜Yeah, I got a room.’ But I knew he wasn’t performing at the Sands. He was doing a stint in the lounge at the Riviera, up the strip.
    â€˜I’ll have the tickets held for you.’
    â€˜I won’t need to have ’em in my hand?’
    â€˜They’ll be at the box office for you,’ I promised. ‘Guaranteed.’
    He took my hand, pumped it enthusiastically and exclaimed, ‘Thanks, Eddie. Thanks a lot. Frank’s right. He always says you’re the man.’
    As he went out the door, I thought, Oh yeah, that’s me. I’m the man.
    â€˜Can you bring me a phone?’ I asked the bartender.
    After I made the call I had two more people approach me to arrange something for them. One player wanted dinner at the Sahara, and another wanted an increase in his credit limit, even though he wasn’t playing in my pit. I accomplished both with a phone call.
    By the time I was finished I was thinking that maybe Jack was right. Maybe I needed to come out of the pit and be some kind of … casino host. When I first met Frank and Dean, I had some contacts in Vegas. But during the intervening years, with people realizing that I had their ear, I became even more well known. I could pretty much get people what they needed with a well-placed call.
    Casino host. A new job. Maybe even with a raise, if I could play Jack right.
    I was giving the phone back to the bartender when it rang. He answered it, then held it out to me.
    â€˜Mr Entratter, for you.’
    â€˜Somebody told me you were down there,’ Jack growled. ‘What the hell are you doin’, takin’ it easy?’
    â€˜No, I’m—’
    â€˜Eddie Robinson is in his suite,’ Jack said. ‘He’s waitin’ for you.’
    â€˜I’m on my way.’
    â€˜Good,’ he said, and slammed down the receiver.
    I got out of there before somebody else came to me with a problem or a request.

FIFTEEN
    I knocked on the door of Edward G. Robinson’s suite. The last time I felt this nervous was when I met George Raft a few years back.
    The door was opened by a young woman in a business suit that did nothing to hide her curves. Not showgirl curves, but enough. The color of the suit was green, which worked well with her red hair. It was long, but at the moment was gathered into a bun at the nape of her neck. I imagined her removing the pin and shaking it out when she got home at night.
    â€˜Yes?’ she said. ‘Can I help you?’ I realized she’d been waiting for me to say something.
    â€˜My name’s Eddie Gianelli,’ I said. ‘I’m here to see Mr Robinson.’
    â€˜Oh,’ she said, with just a slight widening of her green eyes, ‘Eddie G., right?’
    â€˜That’s