The Last Don - Mario Puzo [208]
Dante and Losey would have two apartments in one of the Villas. Lia Vazzi and his men would occupy the other four apartments.
Senator Wavven and the governor and their entourages would occupy another Villa. Cross had arranged a private dinner for them with selected showgirls. He hoped that their presence would help take the heat off any investigation of what was to happen. That they would use their political influence to smother any publicity and legal pursuit.
Cross was breaking all the rules. Athena had a Villa, but Claudia, Dita Tommey, and Molly Flanders also had apartments in that Villa. The remaining two apartments held a four-man crew of Lia Vazzi’s men, to guard Athena.
A fourth Villa was assigned to Bantz and Skippy Deere and their entourages. The remaining three Villas were occupied by twenty of Lia’s men, who would replace the usual security guards. However, none of the Vazzi crews were to be involved in the real action, they did not know Cross’s true purpose. Lia and Cross were to be the only executioners.
Cross shut down the Villas’ Pearl Casino for the two days. Most of the Hollywood personnel, no matter how successful, could not afford to play the casino’s stakes. Those superrich guests who had already booked were informed that the Villas were undergoing repairs and renovations and could not accommodate them.
In their plan Cross and Lia Vazzi had determined that Cross would kill Dante and that Lia would kill Losey. If the Don decided on their guilt and determined that Lia had actually done the job on Dante, he might wipe out Lia’s whole family. If the Don found the truth, he would not extend his vengeance to Claudia. She, after all, had Clericuzio blood.
Also, Lia had a personal vendetta against Jim Losey, he hated all representatives of government, and why not mix a little personal pleasure in with such a dangerous business.
The real problem was how to isolate the two men and make the bodies disappear. It had always been the rule of all the Families all over America that no execution could be carried out in Vegas, in order to preserve the public acceptance of gambling. The Don was a strong enforcer of that rule.
Cross hoped Dante and Losey would not suspect a trap. They did not know that Lia had discovered Sharkey’s body and therefore knew of their intentions. The other problem was how to prepare for Dante’s strike against Cross. And then Lia established a spy in Dante’s camp.
Molly Flanders flew in early on the day of the party; she and Cross had business. She brought with her a justice of the Supreme Court of California and a monsignor of the Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles. They would serve as witnesses when Cross signed the will she had also prepared and brought. Cross knew that his chances of remaining alive were small, and he had carefully considered where his half of the Xanadu Hotel should go. His interest was worth $500 million, and that was nothing to be sneezed at.
The will left Lia’s wife and children a comfortable pension for life. The rest he divided between Claudia and Athena, with Athena’s portion held in trust for her daughter, Bethany. It struck him that there was no one else in the world he cared enough about to leave his money to.
When Molly, the judge, and the monsignor arrived in the penthouse suite, the judge congratulated him on his good sense for making a will at so young an age. The monsignor calmly surveyed the luxury of the suite as if to weigh the wages of sin.
They were both good friends of Molly’s, who had done pro bono work for them. She had called in her markers at the special request of Cross. He wanted witnesses who could not be corrupted or intimidated by the Clericuzio.
Cross gave them drinks, and the signing of the will was completed. The two men left; though they had been invited, they did not want their reputations sullied by attending a movie wrap party in the gambling hell of Las Vegas. They were, after all, not elected officials of the state.
Cross and Molly were alone